Lots to talk about! Sorry to have been away from the blog so long, but I keep needing to take breaks and reinvent this thing. I've yet to officially launch the site as "completed", but it's coming soon, I promise -- almost there! I've been playing trombone and tuba in a three-ctiy production of "Cabaret" for the last month and going through the middle of May, and I'm having a great time on a great gig. I've met many talented people -- all of whom I hope to stay in contact with for many years to come. I've also had a great time documenting the process.  With my T-Mobile Dash and Kodak C813 for stills and video, I was armed at all times -- although I will admit in hindsight that I missed some great moments, only because I was too busy enjoying them! I'll be posting many more detailed posts about this gig in the coming weeks, but to wet your appetite, you can check out all my photos on Flickr, and here is a video of me doing my make-up:

www.flickr.com RedRaspus' Cabaret - San Jose photoset

You'll have to tune in next week, folks -- actually, it sounds like we will be back at the Sunset Tavern on the first Sunday of every month starting up in June, so we are all very excited to be going back to a club and staff we know and love. The gig on Sunday night was zany as always, but everyone was even more on edge as it was seemingly the end of era -- over a year and a half of Sundays devoted to this strange experiment of Ron and Mike's they call "punk jazz".  I still haven't decided it that's the right term for the band, despite having played with them for the better part of the last year or so. I've posted some pictures over on my Flickr account, and I'll try to see if there are any more out there -- many people were taking pictures besides me.  We will also be trudging along at the Seamonster Lounge, where we play the last Saturday of the month.  Throw in a gig here and there at the Fiddler's Inn, and you'll have no problem finding the Fuffering Suckheads (referred to as such for the sake of public decency).

www.flickr.com

I honestly can't remember when I met pianist Tim Kennedy, but it must have been at a jam session at the Owl and Thistle. I don't recall ever having played a gig with him, and I can't you how excited I was when he asked me to play duo at a new club in the South end of Seattle, the Columbia City Theatre. A great little bar-style in the front was our station for the evening, but the very inviting and larger back room is the true jewel of the establishment. This place has a history all its own, and it felt great to be just a part of it for one evening. In the tradition of the room, we tried to cover as many bases as possible from the classic jazz and standard repertoire, from I Cover the Waterfront to Nica's Dream. As a pianist, Tim really has a handle on a variety of approaches, from a Duke-ish kind of stride, to more open Tatum-esque runs, and dashes of blues, bebop and more in the mix. He just put the finishing touches on a new recording, so do look around for that, and possibly I'll play a bit on my podcast. Tim appears every Thursday at the Columbia City Theatre, so if you have a chance, be sure to go check him out!

Dig this! Mike Stone, Joe Doria and I had a blast last night playing for the Blue Flavor Holiday Party. Brian Fling, Director of Strategy for Blue Flavor, brought in Joe and I to play the party, and after hearing Mike Stone again the other night at the Sea Monster, we both made sure it would work for a trio. I hope the audience had as much fun as we did, because I know all three of us had a fun time playing funky-groovy, playing standards, and playing holiday songs to the backdrop of It's a Wonderful Life and The Miracle on 34th Street. Nick Finck, Director of User Experience, posted some photos from the party over at Flickr -- check out the whole set!

While I haven't had a chance to go out and hear any music this last week (with the exception of my regular jaunt to The Owl and Thistle on Tuesday), I had a couple of fun gigs this weekend. I really missed playing in more pop-oriented bands when I lived in New York -- mainly because it wasn't nearly as much fun when it was just a bunch of people I didn't know. Now that I am slowly finding my way back into being a true "Seattlite", I'm also finding my way into projects with a slightly-more commercial bent.

Friday night's gig was a loose, free-form hip-hop space odessey with The MC Project: Live at Waimea Brewery's "Get Lei'd" night. Featuring DJ Kamakaze and MC Matt Cavinta, plus myself on trombone and DJ Frank I adding some help on the turntables and percussion, we played off and on from about 9pm 'til midnight, with the DJ action going the whole evening. The concept of the group is slowly evolving, but the direction and voice is starting to find it's own as we interact more with the DJs. Not to mention that lots of cute Kirkland girls, dancing patrons, and accomdating staff were all present for the night.

Saturday night offered a slightly different vibe, in the form of the soul-groove cover band, Players Club. I subbed with these guys a while back, and playing for this holiday party on Saturday was an easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy kind of gig. With a solid book of charts from Michael Jackson to Donna Summers, these guys do a great job with dance music and still make it fun for the performers, too. I've been listening to this kind of music for years, and before I moved to NY I played a few gigs a week in this style, but I must say it sure feels good to play feel-good music with people that just wnat to do the same thing as you: give an audience what it needs to have a good time, and give the band what it needs to have a good time. Playing at the Rainier Club is always a pleasure, as well -- if you ever have the chance to attend an event here, by all means check it out: there's a kind of 19th century ambiance to the place that just makes you feel like old money!