As many of you know, I am temporarily in the Dakotas. The Public Market is reuniting for a show at Bismarck’s own Urban Harvest (Thursday, July 24th, 8:00pm). Forget coming to the Colonial on July 21st if you are easily offended, Joe Johnson and I share the stage once again starting at 9:00pm. We are performing with Cicada Omega, and the 357 String Band… show up and raise some hell!
Spending time where the water is more clear than its surrounding air; trees so big it humbles me.
For the past few months I have been working with a wonderfully talented dancer, Corrine Fetcho, who specializes in tribal fusion belly dancing. She originally wanted me to work with the classes she teaches, but we ended up working on very intricately choreographed solo performances. Recently we came back to the original idea and put a workshop together for people interested in belly dancing with a live drummer. The workshop will go over basic tribal fusion movements using hips, arms, and upper body. We will finish the workshop with a composition of all the moves learned during the workshop. The rhythms used during the workshop will be included on a CD for all participants, which I composed and produced. Workshop fee is $20 pre-register and $25 at the door. April 28th 6-8pm.
Held at Dance with Debbie Dance Studio in Crescent City.
As it stands, I will playing at the Nautical Inn every Friday night at 6-9pm. The Nautical is just south of the Oregon/California border off Hwy 101. The Nautical sports amazing food in a spectacular setting just off the Pacific Ocean.
The jazz gig in Brookings was a hit! I was invited back. Come out Friday, April 11 to the Nautical Inn for some fish-n-chips served with live music.
I am performing some jazz tonight at the Nautical Inn just south of the California/Oregon border on Hwy 101, music starts @ 6pm. I am joining retired Brookings choral director Jerry Moffit (piano) and Brookings band director Matt “I got the” Power (bass). I’ll be pounding on the tubs. Come out and enjoy some good music and enjoy a gorgeous view of the pacific sunset.
Wild sunsets have been more scarce on the coast these days. I have to sneak out between clouds and deal with more rain than I have ever seen. To break up the rain days there are warm breezeless days of sunshine quite often, perfect to hike along side the ocean and allow the perpetual waves to inspire. Lately I have been enjoying a good morning walk from my residence down the beach to Hunter Creek and Kissing Rock, where I usually hang out under Hwy 101 for a while. If I feel like going a little further I head to ocean caves to play frame drum. When the weather is not so nice I’ve been recording music at home. A few weeks ago I played my first gig in Gold Beach with Chris Vorster. I was thrilled to see the venue overflowing with one of the best audiences I have played for. Most of the people I have met in Gold Beach were there. It feels good to have such strong community support in such a short time. These great people in GB have inspired me to do more around the community, so look for upcoming performances. I also started offering private music lessons and group workshops in Gold Beach. Contact me if you are interested, and stay tuned hitthedrum.com for all upcoming events.
Special day for me on the 12th. Thanks to everyone who contacted me. I didn’t answer because I was busy.
I have played with The Public Market for the past 5 years. Over the course of time the lineup changed, the music changed, and I changed. The focus of The Public Market, however, stayed true. It was never about fame or fortune, it was about creating a situation in which we were able to freely communicate using music as a medium; a situation where people could be involved on a level they felt comfortable, without the day to day pressures of life. At the same time, we worked to break the rules and create music untrodden to our audience. The Public Market became a highly compositional and highly improvisational group. This did not happen because people played. This happened because people listened. Enjoy a collection of choice improvisational moments with The Public Market recorded at 4th street loft during 2006. Zach Schmidt, Tony Fladeland, Brandon Schmidt, and Mike Reetz.
Finally, a complete archive of the last show to defy the laws of tradition in Bismarck. Hit The Drum brings the complete show in a 10-part series for your listening pleasure. We featured some of our favorite local artists throughout the night at Jorgy’s. Johnson’s Cleaning eased open the show with their original songs (parts 1-6). The feature presentation begins in Part 7 with Reetz and Haegele’s patient rhythms. Find out for yourself what happened after Part 7, but listen for Jim McMahon, Brandon Clayson, and Dillon Marchus. Hit The Drum appologizes for the sub-par recording by Matt Mees. If anybody sees Mees, contact the proper authorities, he must be wanted for something by now.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10
