Streetlight Manifesto hits South America

Streetlight Manifesto is heading to South America!  We'll be in Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires and Santiago with the WROS Fest, a big ol' punk rock festival featuring big names like Pennywise, Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Anti-Flag, Strike Anywhere, A Wilhelm Scream and more.

I can't wait!  My last time (and first time) in Brazil was amazing but grueling: so many airports/vans and so little sleep, plus it was their winter.  This time we're going at the start of their summer and the accommodations should be much nicer, plus I get to see Buenos Aires and Santiago!  Yes.

Warped Tour 2012 - Main Stage w/Streetlight Manifesto

  It's been nice being home for so many months, I'm happy to say that Ikebe Shakedown and Breakdown Brass singles are on the way.  I've had some fun gigs (Ikebe Shakedown's tour, sitting in with Galactic, recording for Ghostface Killah's upcoming album, a demo for The Devil Makes Three, tons of deep reggae recordings with Clive Chin, Prince Polo, etc.)  That said, it's time to head back out with Streetlight Manifesto!  We'll be doing the entire Warped Tour this summer, playing on the Main Stage.  Sweet?  You can see the individual dates on my calendar.

  I'll be offering Trombone/Tuba/Improvisation/Arranging lessons every day at Warped Tour through BandHappy.com, so I'm looking forward to meeting some young musicians and hanging!  The other Streetlight dudes are teaching as well, I highly recommend Chris Thatcher, Pete McCullough, Matt Stewart, Mike Brown and Jim Conti as excellent musicians and experienced teachers.

Ikebe Shakedown's Tour was a success!

  Wow. I'm home/exhausted after 10 amazing days on the road with Ikebe Shakedown. I'm happy to say it was a real success, the band has never sounded better. Booking over 75% of the tour, acting as TM and yapping on the mic was quite a learning experience, I'm glad I didn't screw it up. HUGE thanks to the guys, the venues/promoters and everyone who came out in Ithaca, Buffalo, Toronto, Hamilton, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh!

  Here's a clip of the encore in Hamilton, ON.  One of my favorite shows of the tour, a wild dance party on a Monday night in a new market (and the best merch night)

Booking a tour for Ikebe Shakedown

  Recently I've spent much of my time booking an Ikebe Shakedown tour to Chicago and back.  It's by far the farthest, longest trip we'll ever have taken, and it's been quite an educational process.  I'm not a fan of spending all my time emailing and calling venues, flipping between google maps tabs, etc.

  That being said, I'm happy to be seeing some results of the work that I and Robin (our guitarist) have been putting in.  Here are the dates!

4.19 - Brooklyn NY - Barbes
4.24 - Philadelphia PA - World Cafe Live w/The Right Now
4.27 - Kingston NY - Keegan Ales
4.28 - Albany NY - Red Square w/Oobleck
5.4   - Providence RI - The Spot Underground
5.5   - Northampton MA - Bishops Lounge w/Shokazoba
5.11 - Ithaca NY - Castaways w/Mutron Warriors
5.12 - Buffalo NY - Nietzches w/Psychedelphia, Slip Madigan
5.14 - Hamilton ON - This Ain't Hollywood w/Sound One
5.15 - Toronto ON - The Rex Hotel
5.16 - Ann Arbor MI - Live
5.18 - Chicago IL - Double Door w/Soul Summit DJ's
5.19 - Pittsburgh PA - Thunderbird Cafe


More dates are coming!

Other people's Mashups of my tunes!

  Check out this mashup "missdeinas" made of my Ikebe Shakedown tune "Pepper" and Greek folk singer Arleta (with some Max Romeo).   I'm really flattered, and I dig the track!
 


  Someone also did a mashup of AC/DC's "Back in Black" with my Breakdown Brass tune "Driggs" a little while back!

Marcinkiewicz Mouthpiece Factory visit

   I had a great time at the Marcinkiewicz mouthpiece factory outside Portland a few days ago.  A huge thanks to Zack, Joe and everyone over there for hooking me up with some newness!  I can't say enough about their expertise/generosity/patience.  Thanks also to John Christianson ("Johnny Christmas" from Reel Big Fish) for bringing me along, good times.

Streetlight Manifesto Winter 2011 Tour

  I'm heading out for about a month with Streetlight Manifesto, tis a co-headlining tour with Reel Big Fish with openers Lionize and Rodeo Ruby Love.  Hope to see some familiar faces!

• 11/21 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
• 11/22 - Huntington, NY - Paramount Theater
• 11/23 - Stroudsburg, PA - Sherman Theater
• 11/25 - Atlantic City, NJ - House Of Blues

Lionize's new single

  I'm happy to be featured on the lead single from Lionize's new album, "Superczar and The Vulture" alongside Jim Conti (Streetlight Manifesto).  Lionize are great dudes and fantastic musicians, huzzah!  Jim and I do a short horn trade at the 2:30 mark

Lionize - Superczar (w/guests Nadav Nirenberg and Jim Conti) by NadavNirenberg

Streetlight Manifesto live!

  It was pretty amazing selling out a 2300-person venue in my hometown.  This video of last tours set opener is pretty good, other than the audio.

Brazil goes HARD!

  I recently went to Brazil for a few shows with Streetlight Manifesto, the crowds there are crazy!  Beautiful country, beautiful people.  WARNING: This YouTube clip is LOUD and lo-fi, but it shows the amazing energy that night.

New MINI Coupe commercial features Ikebe Shakedown's "Sakonsa"

  I'm happy to announce that MINI recently licensed a tune from Ikebe Shakedown's recent LP for their new commercial campaign.  "Sakonsa" was written by Jason Colby, our trumpet player.  The full version is up on YouTube, check it out!

Streetlight Manifesto in Moscow!

  Moscow was one of the craziest places I've ever been: beautiful women, insane highways, and a sobering contrast between the rich/poor.  The wildest part was probably the fans moshing around and screaming the (English) lyrics at us.  I was insanely sick at the time (fever/chills, bronchitis) but I still know how lucky I am to be able to travel like this.   Big thanks to Diman Showman (our promoter), hope to make it out there again soon!

Teaser Track from Ikebe Shakedown's upcoming record!

Ikebe Shakedown - "Tujunga" by Ubiquity Records

Ikebe Shakedown - "Tujunga" b/w "No Name Bar"

  You can now stream the final version of my afro-disco tune "Tujunga" from Ikebe Shakedown's self-titled sophomore release, courtesy of Ubiquity Records (Orgone, Breakestra, NOMO, etc.)  We recorded this at Dunham Studios with Tom Brenneck (Dap-Kings, Budos Band, etc.), who also lent his late-night synth talents to the end.  I'm looking forward to my second songwriter credit on a 45!  The first single (Tujunga b/w No Name Bar) will be released on May 10th, and the full-length CD/LP "Ikebe Shakedown" will drop on June 7th.

Trombone, Solo on Ikebe Shakedown's "No Answer" (prod. Dunham Studios)

My solo starts at around 2:16, this tune was written by Robin Schmidt, taken from our debut EP "Hard Steppin". Recorded live at Dunham Studios (Budos Band, Menahan Street Band, Mark Ronson, Cee Lo, etc), this was the first take of the day.