Well, somehow it's March already.  A trip back to Boston in January to play The Hot Stove/Cool Music benefit with Letters To Cleo kicked off the year right.  We're still ironing out the details on the next Cleo mini-tour but some shows will be announced soon.

Here's what's been going on at the studio.  The Reigning Monarchs' LP and an EP by Ingenue were both mastered by Nancy Matter at Moonlight Mastering and are awaiting artwork.  We have been working in batches with Matt Bunsen and the Burners on their first CD, and so far it's sounding great.  I just mixed the new single by Hello Dragon, whose website is going live any day now.  It's going to be the first of at least three "singles of the month", so be sure to check  it out.  Up on the horizon is an EP by Seth Freeman (of Little John), mixing a new CD by The Hard To Get, and SoCal pop/punkers Sugar Junkie.

I have been delving into my jazz collection lately quite a bit. It's not what it used to be- I stupidly sold off a ton of vinyl prior to the L.A. move. But I have dumped most of the CDs into the iTunes, so it's all right there at all times. A bunch of great 60s Blue Note stuff has cought my attention in the past few days. Here are some Blue Note standouts from my collection:

1) Hank Mobley - Soul Station My first and still my favorite from Hank Mobley, quartet (more Hank to go around) with Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.

2) McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy This one is so cool because it seems to combine 60s Coltrane, Miles and Blue Note sounds . So good- the rest of the band is Joe Henderson, Ron Carter and the incomparable Elvin Jones.

3) Sonny Clark Trio - Sonny Clark w/Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones One of my favorite piano trio records (by someone other than Bill Evans) Great arrangements, ensemble playing and outright swinging by this lesser-known pianist. I guess he OD'd before he got his due. Two Bass Hit and I Didn't Know What Time it was are standouts.

To be continued...

So I finally got around to changing the songs on my page. Here's a quick rundown:

1) Shay Gerson "I Hate Everything" - Here's one I co-wrote and produced for a great young singer. It's from her new "Catepillar EP" check out more of her music at http://www.myspace.com/shaygersonmusic

2) Hello Dragon "Good Cops & Coke Fiends" - L.A. indie rock band in which I play bass. This may be my favorite song by them. I played bass, acoustic guitar, casiotone, and mixed it.

3) Kay Hanley "I Guess I Get It" - Wilco-esque number from her Weaponize album. I played guitar and bass.

4) The Reigning Monarchs "Cuffed & Linked" - My instrumental band which I co-lead with Greg Behrendt. Here's our New Orleans inspired song, although we usually lean more to surf and twang guitar jams.

5) Some Hear Explosions "It's Our Time Now" - The latest addition. LA band featuring and old friend and a dynamic frontperson. I produced at my studio and it's pretty rad.

All or most of these artists are in my top friends, so if you like what you hear go to their pages and check 'em out.

So here are 6 new songs for the old myspace page.

1) Kay Hanley - Think Bad Thoughts

I helped Kay write this song, which involves some music she originally wrote with David Rolfe. I played guitar, bass and casiotone (and produced), the amazing Fred Eltringham on drums and, of course Peter Adams on trippy keyboards. Mixed by Adam Lasus.


2) Hello Dragon - Rats Of L.A.

L.A. indie band in which I play bass. I mixed this song and played bass. It was produced by HD lead singer and mastermind Chris Zerby, who gave me a production credit on the CD for helping out at the beginning and the end.


3) The Reigning Monarchs - Cuffed & Linked

My instrumental band and fantastic collaboration with comedian/musician Greg Behrendt. We co-write these fun surf-ish, ska, twang guitar jams and then slather it with brass (the amazing Lee Thornberg). This one is our New Orleans inspired song. Greg on rhythm guitar, Peter Adams on piano again and Blair Sinta on the drums. I played guitar, bass, produced and mixed.


4) Shay Gerson - I Hate Everything

Chris Zerby and I co-produced this artists debut CD which should be coming out soon. Blair on drums again and I played all the other instruments. Mixed by the incomparable Tom Polce.


5) Layne - Milwaukee

Straight-ahead rocker from Layne, Laurie Geltman's L.A. band. I love this song. I produced, played bass and sang background. Laurie on guitar and lead vocals, Fred on drums and a vocal cameo from Kay Hanley. Mixed by Bruce MacFarlane.


6) The Hard To Get - Late Shift

L.A. indie rock band The Hard To Get wrote this song for a film they scored. We all agreed it HAD to go on their CD, and it did. I produced and mixed.

I just listened to an awesome mix of a song I worked on (thank you Tom Polce). So I'm doing my daily emailing/web browsing and didn't realize that my iTunes was set on shuffle. So after preparing my mix notes, I just let it roll. About 5 or six tunes in, Frank Black came on and I decided to share. I love iTunes/iPods. It always gets me listening to music I love but would never pick off the shelf if it was up to me. Here's a wrap-up of a ten song stretch.


1) Shay Gerson - Fat America

Unsigned artist I've been co-producing with Chris Zerby of Helicopter Helicopter and Hello Dragon. This was the new Polce mix, not the old one on her myspace page. An EP is forthcoming, I think you'll like her. http://www.myspace.com/shayalexandermusic


2) John Scofield - Best Western

Jazz-fusion ballad with a great melody and nice guitar solo from the 1984 album Electric Outlet. The bass sound is just gross and the drumming, despite the fact that it's Steve Jordan is a little stiff and boring to me. Still, he's one of my absolute favorite guitarists- just not his finest hour. http://www.myspace.com/officialjohnscofield


3) Territorial Pissings - Nirvana

Saturday on the Cape we were debating how well/poorly Nirvana is aging. The Peach was of the opinion that Nirvana just sounds terrible now. We all agreed that when "...Teen Spirit" comes on the radio, we lunge to change the station. Ditto for In Bloom, Come As You Are, etc. I argued that it is really just the incredibly overplayed hits that are unlistenable and it's only because we've heard them constantly for 17 years and they're still on the radio all the time, and how In Utero still sounds pretty badass. Well, this deep cut from Nevermind came tearing out of the speakers after the jazzy ballad and removed all doubt- Nirvana still kicks ass, just avoid the hits.


4) If You Could See Me Now - Wes Montgomery

Greatest jazz guitarist ever. Bar none. In peak form with the Wynton Kelly trio, live at The Half Note in 1965. Played a huge guitar with huge strings with only the thumb of his right hand, which probably felt/looked more like a foot. Pretty much defined what people think of as jazz guitar and established the guitar/organ/drums trio. http://www.myspace.com/picksalot


5) I Remember California - R.E.M.

Garden variety mid-tempo, brooding, R.E.M. deep cut from the Green album. Nice call and response guitar lick from Buck with the classic Rickenbacker Pete Buck sound. Nice enough way to 5 minutes while doing something else, but I'd probably fast forward halfway through in most instances.


6) Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash

Boy, this one came on and really made R.E.M. sound like amateurs. And I like R.E.M. Can't really say much else other than it's a classic for a reason. Always sounds good and how about those mariachi-style trumpets?


7) I Just Don't Know What To With Myself - The White Stripes

Well first off, it stood up to the man in black. They come in soft, tease you with a few hits and stay chill. Great vibe, nice tension and of course great guitar sound. Bass could have made that chorus massive, but maybe not.


8) Cherries - Brendan Benson

Who is this? Sounds familiar but for the life of me I can't place it. I'll just keep listening. A little low-fi. Dark sounding acoustic guitars, cool voice. No chorus really. Interesting song in that it is pretty good but for no apparent reason other than it just sounds nice. There's like one verse and then when you think the chorus is about to start, it goes to this more or less instrumental section for a couple minutes and then ends. Who could this be? OK, I have to go to the 'recently played' playlist and find out. Oh, of course, Brendan Benson from One Mississippi.


9) Frank Black - Headache

Hearing this one inspired inspired me to write this whole mess. It just come out of the gate sounding awesome. For a second, I thought it was Johnny Polonsky, which is notable because it was Frank Black who "discovered" Johnny. Well he didn't discover him but helped him get some studio time and get a record deal. It comes right in with the chorus. Great move. This is the kind of recording I'm into these days. It's not minimal, but well arranged. Acoustic guitars, bass, drums (that sound like actual drums). Nice feel. In comes some single-note piano on the verse and this chord progression is Pixies-ish. Back to the chorus with backing vox this time. Sounds like there's an organ in there too. Bridge, talky whispery. Nice tom fills. No 2nd verse- kind of like GBV's 'Glad Girls', arrangement-wise but simpler. And we're back to the chorus with the lead vocal up an octave. Just a great pop song, well crafted and cool at the same time.


10) Heartbreaker - The D4

Kickass rock band from New Zealand that broke up a couple years ago. Not their best work. Mediocre garage-rock jam about as interesting as the title. But I must say this- these dudes put on one of the best shows I have ever seen. TT's maybe 2002 or so. I went to TTs to see the Charms open for The Electric 6 who I guess had a song on the radio at the time. The Charms were solid, good in fact. This was post-Kat but still with Pete on bass. The D4 came on next and proceeded to rock like very few can. I really have no specific memory of the Charms or The Electric 6 (one of them was tall, maybe the singer) because the D4 is all I will ever remember about that night. Sweaty, leave it all out there, Iggy & The Stooges style high-energy rock for 40 relentlessly pounding minutes. Casey Riddles was there and can confirm the rocking majesty of this performance. I never buy band T-shirts but I bought 2 and a CD that night. According to wiki, their song 'Get Loose' (title track from the CD I bought that night) is now being used in Bacardi ads on American TV. So hopefully they're are making some nice $. http://www.myspace.com/thed4