Trio at Vitello's 2/16/14

In the midst of all this Michael Mull Octet madness, I'm pleased to take a quick detour this Sunday 2/16 to play a Trio set Upstairs at Vitello's in Studio City at 8pm. This is a really nice venue overall; great sound, warm-vibey room, and tasty Italian food (I recommend especially the flat, crispy pizzas or desserts).

I had played at Vitello's a few times with the Trio and other groups around 2009, and more recently with Connor McElwain, and I'm excited bring in a new configuration of the Trio, specifically for this show. As usual, I'll be playing alto saxophone and bass clarinet, and will be joined by Cameron Hicks on drums. On Sunday we will be joined by tuba player Stefan Kac, covering the bass chair for Ben Shepherd. Stefan is an amazing player that will get you re-thinking the tuba.

Michael Mull Trio feat. Stefan Kac (tuba)
Sunday, February 16th
Upstairs at Vitello's
4349 Tujunga Ave, Studio City

8pm, one long set
$15 cover + 2 item minimum (food or drink), at the door or presale
All Ages
Valet parking available, or plenty in the surrounding neighborhoods
RSVP on Facebook

Come see us put it all together on Sunday night! If you haven't heard the Trio before, you can play the video below of my composition "Israfel", performed at Barclay's Coffee and Tea in Northridge.

Pictures from Boo Boo Records

Here are a few pictures from our show at Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo on Friday 9/9/11. Following an awesome set the night before at the Santa Barbara New Music Series (with Cameron Hicks on drums), we swapped out Cameron for Mike Lockwood on the drums and played another rocking set in Boo Boo's great vinyl room. Thanks to the fantastic audiences at both gigs, hope to see you all again soon!

Up North Next Week

A couple of gigs next week for you northern-dwelling-denizens:

Thursday 9/8/11
Michael Mull Trio @ Santa Barbara New Music Series
Muddy Waters Cafe
805 E Haley St.
Santa Barbara 93101

$8 cover (it all goes to the bands)
9:00pm - Michael Mull Trio
8:00pm - Casey Anderson/Casey Butler/Josh Gerowitz/Louis Lopez


Saxophonist Colter Frazier has been hosting this music series since 2006, giving hundreds of talented artists a supportive place to play in beautiful Santa Barbara. I have been lucky to play here a couple of times before with Tim Fischer and Mahadev, and am excited to bring my trio in for an energetic set of originals from my Formation album. The gig will feature Ben Shepherd on bass and Cameron Hicks on drums.


Friday 9/9/11
Michael Mull Trio @ Boo Boo Records
Boo Boo Records
978 Monterey St
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401


5:30pm - one set only
No cover, please check out a CD!


This is a special gig for me as it is technically my first public performance in my home town since I moved to the LA area in 2006. Further, Boo Boo Records was a haven for me growing up, and the place that provided me with a huge chunk of my music collection. I would love to fill the place up and play for you all, so please come by to check it out. This gig features my trio with Ben Shepherd on bass and Mike Lockwood sitting in on drums.


.........ORKESTAR MEZE debut album is almost here......get ready for the PEASANT FUNK........

FORMATION Digital Release

I'm pleased to announce the digital release of my first album, "Formation". It is now available on CDbaby, Digstation, and iTunes, and soon will be available on various other sites like AmazonMP3, eMusic, and more.

If you would like a physical copy of the album, your best bet will probably be to meet up with me or come out to a gig --- no shipping costs! Alternatively, CD's can be purchased from CDbaby, and the album can be purchased digitally (in mp3 format) from CDbaby, Digstation, and iTunes. I would encourage digital customers to use Digstation, as I get the best cut from them! Links below:

Formation on CDbaby (CD/mp3)

Formation on Digstation (mp3)

Formation on iTunes (mp3)


The Feb. 17th CD release party at the Blue Whale was a great success! Many, many thanks to those who made it out and those who were there in spirit; we had an incredible time playing for you all, and the energy in the room was inspiring. Throughout our two sets, we played every tune off of "Formation" with a few new ones thrown in the mix; with your support and a little luck, I see these tunes on the next Michael Mull Trio album!

Thanks again to Ben Shepherd and Cameron Hicks for playing the hell out of my music, and to Joon Lee at the Blue Whale for having us. My parents even made it down from San Luis Obispo, and Ben's folks all the way from Melbourne! Let's take this positive thang and keep it going...keep your eyes here for more coming up very soon (Santa Barbara next week!).

Update

It's been a while since my last post and I neglected to post a few gigs that have happened since then. It's been an extremely busy time getting the last stages of the "Formation" record completed (compounded by many other factors including a fried hard-drive), but it makes me that much more excited for the release party February 17th at the Blue Whale. If you're facebooking around, you can check out the event here.

"Formation" CD Release Party
Thursday, February 17th
8:30pm
The Blue Whale
123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St. Suite 301 (Park in the structure w/ a yellow "P" sign off of 2nd street and take the elevator up)

$10 gets you in, and I'll be selling fresh copies of the new album at this gig for a discounted price. Shortly after the release party, the album will be available digitally through CDbaby, Diggstation, and more (details as I get them).


Last week I played two nights in a row at Cafe Roma in Beverly Hills. First with a new group led by trumpeter Phil Fiorio, with trumpet/flugelhorn, bass clarinet, marimba, drums and bass. We had a great time playing Phil's latest compositions, one of my own, and some standards. I'm looking forward to more gigs with this open, "woody" sounding group. The second gig was with Juanma Trujillo's latest quartet formation: Juanma on guitar, Emilio Terranova on bass, Cameron Hicks on drums, and myself on saxophones. We had tons of music prepared and rolled out an eclectic mix of originals and standards. Both of these groups have provided me with new musical challenges, something I always look forward to.

Post-CD release, I have a smattering of fun performances coming up, including Orkestar MEZE, Mahadev, some recitals, and my trio in Santa Barbara. Come back often for details and updates, and I hope to see many of your smiling faces on February 17th!

Trio Sampler

Good evening, hope you are all enjoying the rest of Turkey-weekend. I'm pleased to announce that several hours work has yielded me a larger "web-presence" in the form of youtube videos and a reverbnation page, as well as a sampler track for my upcoming debut album with my trio. Let the links begin.

First, the SAMPLER! I'm excited to give you all a small taste of each track off the upcoming album, due for release January 2011. You can view it in video form HERE, or just listen (with the option of downloading) at reverbnation.com/michaelmull. Spread the word, if you please, and keep your eyes right here for a CD release show...

Secondly, I gave our trio facebook page a facelift, including cross-posted videos from a new youtube account with some older (but delicious) trio footage.

Finally, I am sick of myspace. Slow, unclear, not something I want to burden listeners with any longer. To help me make the switch to a much slicker, detailed, and intuitive site, visit reverbnation.com/michaelmull and take a listen to the sampler track, look around the site if you haven't been before (some great features for actually listening to music, imagine), and become a fan if you so desire.

After all this web-stuff, I'm hoping to post a LIVE trio gig soon; don't go far, and enjoy the new media!

Ludes & Lullabies

Trio gig tomorrow night at the Ludes and Lullabies acoustic music series. Check it out on Facebook. I was checking out the Garter's website, and this place has a great look, I may be there a bit early for a drink. The set is late, I know, but no cover and you know what's even better? Seeing my trio.

Me - Saxes/Bass Clarinet, Ben Shepherd - Bass, Cameron Hicks - Drums.

The Garter
2536 Lincoln Blvd.
Venice, CA (map)

Monday, November 15th
11pm
NO COVER
...but it is a bar, so 21+ only, sorry

A Couple Trio Sets + Chord Four

It's been a bit since I've posted, so we'll get caught up here.

I have a couple trio gigs coming up, the first tomorrow morning (November 6th 10-11am) to open the Granada Hills Charter High School Community Festival, celebrating the school's 50th anniversary. Live music, entertainment, food all day Saturday and Sunday. Schedule, directions and details can be found HERE. The second gig will be for a new eclectic, acoustic music series called Ludes and Lullabies at the Garter in Venice, CA. It will take place around 11pm on Monday night, November 15th, more details to be posted soon. Both of these gigs will be with bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Cameron Hicks, and we're excited to be playing some more as the album release gets closer and closer!

If you go to one event next week, make it Chord Four at the Industry Cafe and Jazz in Culver City. This is one of my all-time favorite bands, and I'm lucky to know them and have played with them all. Chord Four is kicking off an album release tour on Wednesday, November 10th at 7:30pm, and with their trumpeter Brandon Sherman now a New Jersey resident, opportunities to see them are to be taken advantage of. Industry Cafe boasts some amazing Ethiopian cuisine and a laid-back atmosphere, so come out for some enlightening music and grab a copy of what I anticipate will be an amazing album.

Aside from that, I've finished my first composition for my new octet, entitled "The People Who Raised Us", and I'm looking forward to our first rehearsal in a couple of weeks. I already feel the "stretch" writing for this group; this first piece was a unique challenge orchestrationally (getting used to this new instrumentation) as well as artistically, as I am taking particular care to address some personal aesthetics I'd like to manifest in the octet's music and group sound. I'm so excited to get this thing rolling, and the debut trio album (still unnamed) is slated for a January 2011 release --- a lot to look forward to.

Show at CAP, 10/1/10

I wanted to let you all know about an exciting new show on October 1st that my trio (Ben Shepherd, bass; Cameron Hicks, drums) will be taking part in. This will be the first show put on by Imagine Nation Entertainment, a new entertainment company that is trying to, in the words of my contact Kelly, "put on shows that eliminate everything that sucks about shows." Following this philosophy, it will be at the Complete Actor's Place in Sherman Oaks, an interesting venue that doesn't follow the typical club or bar formula. For a $20 ticket ($25 at the door), patrons enjoy a 3-hour show of non-stop entertainment, music, drama, and comedy, facilitated by the next act setting up to the side while the others are performing. Included in that ticket price is an open bar for an hour and a half, and some snacks and finger foods; for what you would pay for a drink/food minimum at most "high-end" LA clubs, you get the whole deal.

A website with more detailed info is to launch soon, but you can preview it here for now, and follow on facebook here. If you want to buy tickets, contact me and I will make sure to get them to you.

Imagine Nation Entertainment presents: The IN Inaugural Show
Friday, October 1st, 8-11pm
Open Bar 7:30-9pm
$20 presale ($25 at the door)

Complete Actor's Place
13752 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423-3067
(818) 990-2001

Mixing and Orkestar MÉZÉ

Hello everyone! Keeping cool? .....me neither.

I've begun mixing for my debut trio album (to feature Ben Shepherd and Cameron Hicks) with engineer John Aspinall, and I'm pleased with the results so far. I've picked takes, and we've got a great rough mix on "Dirty Sugar". Tonight we will apply that general mix to some other tracks and start picking through the details and nuances of each song. This is my first top-to-bottom, self-produced, full-length (and other hyphenated phrases) project, and I am already having a blast putting it together. Make sure to check back here for updates on the album.

For about six months, I have been a part of an incredibly fun band, Orkestar MÉZÉ. Headed by pianist/keyboardist/composer Milen Kirov, Orkestar MÉZÉ is LA's only Balkan Brass Gypsy Funk Band, delivering infectiously groovy tunes from Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Romania with a healthy dose of funk. We had a great gig a few weeks ago at the Bootleg Theater, the crowd was digging it, and some video was captured...check these out!

Orkestar MÉZÉ at the Bootleg Theater 1

Orkestar MÉZÉ at the Bootleg Theater 2

Orkestar MÉZÉ at the Bootleg Theater 3 (yes, that's Ben Shepherd on the electric bass)

One more video of the band at CalArts this Spring:

Orkestar MÉZÉ playing "Sandokan" at the Wild Beast

There is a recording being planned for Orkestar MÉZÉ; more details as I get them. Until then, I'll post any gigs we have here. Bring out your inner peasant!

Debut Album in the Works!

Greetings friends,

I settled in for a long night in the Roy O. Disney Hall at CalArts on Monday to record what will soon become my debut album. It will feature all original compositions by yours truly and be brought to life by my fantastic trio buddies, Ben Shepherd on bass and Cameron Hicks on drums. The session went smoothly and with the help of engineer John Aspinall, we were able to lay down nine tunes in the space of about five-and-a-half hours. We've been playing much of this material for half a year or more, and Ben and Cameron catch on so quickly that eyelids weren't even batted at the newer tunes. There was a great energy throughout the night (despite the fact that we finished up around 4:30 am), and I feel confident that once I get back into the studio to start picking takes and mixing, I'll be hearing some beautiful moments.

I am also excited to announce that my long-time friend and artistic/musical co-conspirator Derek Schultz will be working on the album artwork! Derek is an incredible artist in every sense of the word, excelling in painting, drawing, multi-media, music and poetry as well as a host of other mind-numbing skills, and I have been continually inspired by his work since our elementary school days of drawing comic books together. Please check out his website, www.staralchemy.org, to get a small taste of what Derek is about.

On a side note, I had the unique opportunity and pleasure to have lunch with Wadada Leo Smith and Billy Childs today, two incomparable artists who are also warm, welcoming people. I was invited to tag along with a few other students after Billy Childs gave a brief but decidedly inspiring lecture at CalArts, and experience more of these artists in a different context. As Wadada put it, what happens at the lectures is "only part of it; the rest of it happens right here." If you are unfamiliar with the work of either of these men, I urge you to do a little listening and looking and you will undoubtedly find something new.

That's it for now; I've got to get some sleep! Still reeling from the session that lasted into the wee small hours. Please keep an eye on my blog to stay updated on the creation of my debut album, and get excited about music (or, stay excited about music)! There is so much beauty out there.