Are You Dave?

Goodness, I’ve had NO gigs this month! I’ve only had one birthday party, and I’m only teaching 9 or 10 classes a week instead of my usual 13 or 14. This is gonna bring my numbers way down. But on the up-side, I’ve had a LOT of great time to spend with my family. We’ve been up to the pool on campus quite regularly, and we’re off to northern CA at the end of next week to visit a whole bucketful of relatives. Tonight we went over to the Shipyard to see our pal Big Jeff perform with his band, The Bouncy People. Which reminds me, next Tuesday I am sitting in with Erin Lee and her new band at the Shipyard. I’d better rehearse….

Ugh! I just did a dumb thing at the playground, trying to run up the edge of the slide. I jumped for the rail at the top, lost my footing, and wound up dangling from the rail. I wrenched my left arm and bashed my left leg against the slide. It hurt so bad I was nauseous for a moment. Feeling a little better now but still very sore. Lifting my left arm hurts like the dickens.

In other news, It’s been a crazy few weeks. Oh, sure, on the surface I’ve just been finishing out my fall Music Together semester, and haven’t had any gigs, Lemony or otherwise. But behind the scenes: The Fuzzy Lemons album To The Moon is DONE! We spend this last week finishing the artwork, finishing the mix, and getting it mastered. The pieces were all delivered to DiskMakers before the week’s end. Someone, probably Dana, will have to drive down to south NJ to pick up the finished, shrink-wrapped CDs on Thursday, Dec 3.

We’ll be selling them at our Fuzzy Friday show in Brooklyn on the 4th, and having an official kick-off party in Hoboken on Dec 5. Woohoo! I’ve said it many times, the disc sounds amazing. Not only did everyone play really well, but everyone made significant contributions during the mixing process. And of course our producer Dan McLoughlin is a wizard for turning us into the band you’re going to hear on the CD. And his colleague Ed Littman punched the album up even more during the mastering process. A lot of brains, heart, effort and talent went into this. It’s gone from being a collection of songs to an ALBUM, a true piece of art.

And speaking of art, the artwork by Erik Craddock is just delightful. He did wonderful drawings of the band as moon-men (and women), pointy ears and all, and turned the lyrics of “To The Moon” into a 12-page comic book that’ll be included with the CD. The entire package is a treat from start to finish, and I think folks are really going to enjoy listening to it and looking at it. Time will tell, of course, but I’m feeling really really good about it….

~ Dave

And may the Force be with you!

Red Five, there seems to be a lot of carbon scoring on your droid... also chocolate.

At the end of last year I counted up all of the classes and concerts I’d done and found out that I’d averaged 90 minutes per day performing music for kids.

I’m pleased to say that I’ve kept that number up: As of the end of August 2009, the average is 96 minutes per day (assuming I’ve done the math right… I was an English major, after all).

So far in 2009 I’ve: Been part of the first rock concert at Liberty Science Center, won a People’s Choice award, performed on a restored barge on the Hudson River, played at a Pete Seeger birthday party, performed solo and with 5 different bands, at various synagogues, bars, museums, play places, restaurants, outdoor venues and the Elk’s Club.

None of it would be possible without the wonderful people of Hoboken and the awesome musicians in my life: the Fuzzy Lemons, Music Together, The Gordys, Erin Lee and Marci, and the rest. Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone! It’s been almost a month since my last post… mainly because August is vacation month! I haven’t had any gigs or classes in over 3 weeks. It’s been a lovely time. I got to do some waterskiing in CT on my dad’s boat, and the Fuzzy Lemons have used the time to write a new song or two.

Now, refreshed and ready, we’re launching into the Fall of ‘09. First order of business: FINISH THE CD! We’ve booked two more 10-hour days at Garden Street Music, for Dana, Kipley and myself to record guitars, vocals, keys, accordions, mandolins, woodwinds, and gosh-knows what else. Meanwhile, we’re starting to bounce ideas around for album artwork. The goal is to be able to put the thing in people’s hands on Dec. 1. I love seeing all of this creativity come together!

At the same time, we’ve got a bunch of gigs coming up, including some road trips!

• September 12 - Concert for the Mustard Seed school in Hoboken
• September 13 - Union County Music Festival, Oak Ridge Park, Clark NJ
• September 20 - 2nd Annual Long Island Pirate Festival, Farmingville, NY
• September 21 - Studio day
• September 28 - Studio day
• October 11 - In-Store concert at Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Triangle, NYC
• October 18 - Jubilee Day - Benefit for Jubilee Center
• October 24 - private party in Hoboken
• October 30 - Halloween party for Garden Street Music (in exchange for studio time!)
• December 4 - Fuzzy Friday
• December 5 - Dave and Howie’s annual holiday show at the Museum
• December 11 - Fuzzy Friday
• December 16 - Garden Street Music holiday party
• December 18 - Fuzzy Friday/HFA holiday concert

That’s a decent list. Playing shows, recording albums… that’s how I want my life to be!

More gigs in the works! Parties! Festivals! Pirates! Mark your calendars!

• July 28-31: Recording the Fuzzy Lemons at Garden Street Music
• July 28: Music Together at the Shipyard, 7:00 p.m.
• August 4: TFL at the Shipyard, 7:00 p.m.
• August 6: The Gordys at Sinatra Park, 7:00 p.m.
• August 11: Sitting in with Erin Lee and Marci at the Shipyard, 7:00 p.m.
• August 12: TFL at Church Square Park, 7:00 p.m.
• September 12: TFL at a private party for the Mustard Seed School in Hoboken
• September 13: TFL at Union County MusicFest, Clark, NJ, 4:15 and 5:15
• September 20: TFL at the Long Island Pirate Festival (tentative)
• October 18: TFL at Jubilee Day (Jubilee Center Benefit), time and location TBD
• October 24: TFL at a private event at Willie McBride’s in Hoboken
• November 15: Mini-Kidstock festival with The Fuzzy Lemons and Big Jeff (tentative)
• December 6: Dave’s Annual Holiday Show with Howard Olah-Reiken at the Hoboken Historical Museum, 3:00

The Fuzzy Lemons have booked a BUNCHA gigs in the last few days, which is nice. I hope it keeps up! Here’s my music schedule (not counting all the private birthdays and Music Together classes I’ll be doing):

• July 12: The Fuzzy Lemons at the Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue, NY, 1:45 p.m. Also appearing: Paul Helou, Dr. Planet and Marla Lewis
• Week of July 27: Recording the Fuzzy Lemons at Garden Street Music
• July 28: Music Together at the Shipyard, 7:00 p.m.
• August 4: TFL at the Shipyard,  7:00 p.m.
• August 6: The Gordys at Sinatra Park,  7:00 p.m.
• August 11: Sitting in with Erin Lee and Marci at the Shipyard,  7:00 p.m.
• August 12: TFL at Church Square Park,  7:00 p.m.
• September 13: TFL at Union County MusicFest, Clark, NJ, 3:00 and 4:00
• September or October: TFL unplugged at the Harlem Flea Market (tentative)
• October 10: TFL at a private event in either Hoboken or Spring Lake, NJ
• October 18: TFL at Jubilee Day (Jubilee Center Benefit), time and location TBD
• December 6: Dave’s Annual Holiday Show with Howard Olah-Reiken at the Hoboken Historical Museum, 3:00

So, Kipley and Dana came over today to work on some songs. At one point we were writing a song about taking a bath, and for fun I set up my mics in the bathroom and recorded the bathtub flowing. Dana got photos, look for them here soon.

This afternoon I spent an awesome 30 minutes with The Demolition String Band: Elena Skye, Boo Reiners and Dave Post. They were rehearsing at Maxwell’s for the Pete Seeger 90th Birthday celebration this Thursday. My slot was at 2:30, I popped in and we ran “Turn! Turn! Turn!” twice through. They’re such amazing musicians, I felt like I was IN the Byrds, not just covering them. Thursday is going to be magical.
~Dave

Wow, the calendar has been gig-free for a few weeks, and I’ve neglected to check in! But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. Last week, for example, The Fuzzy Lemons had a great session with Dan McLoughlin in our rehearsal studio–he gave us copious pre-production notes to help us prepare for our next sojourn into the recording studio.

On a personal note, I had two awesome weekends in a row–first I got to go to a ManKind Project bonfire, the first I’ve been to in a whole year, and it was fantastic to connect with some old friends again. Then, last weekend was Memorial Day and I got to take my li’l family up to CT to visit my folks, my sisters, and assorted spouses, nieces and nephews. I even got a waterski run in, as my aching shoulders will attest 2 days later.

And now it’s time to gear up for a whirlwind of activity: I have 5 gigs in the next three weeks!

• May 30: The Fuzzy Lemons at the Waterfront Museum, which is a way-cool restored barge. I’m excited to play there but concerned because ticket sales seem low.
• June 4: Pete Seeger 90th Birthday tribute, featuring some of Hoboken’s top musicians! This is the first of the town’s Thursday-night summer concerts, and it’s an honor to have been invited by Geri Fallo to be a part of it. My original fantasy of doing a duet with Jim Mastro fell through (he’s out of the country apparently) but I’ve been in touch with The Demolition String Band and they’ll be backing me up on a song, it seems. Also, the New York Times asked for photos of the performers for an article on the event. Below is the photo I sent. Exciting!      
    

  Photo by Fred Eisner

• June 6: June-A-Palooza in Jersey City: We just got confirmation that we’re on for 2:30. We’re not getting paid but it’s a big deal in Jersey City and we’re hoping to sell some CDs and build our fan base outside of Hoboken.
• June 7: TFL at the OLG Fun Fest at Church Square Park. Outdoor show #2 of the summer; we’ll be in the gazebo at Church Square (you last saw us there in August).
• June 14: TFL at Kiddiepalooza on Pier A. Outdoor show #3 of the summer! We’ll do three big sets.

Then we’ll enjoy some time off until we’re back at the Shipyard in August (and I have sets with Music Together, Erin Lee & Marci, and the Gordys around the same time–everything happens at once!)