Hidden Remedies 12/18/13

I had a great rehearsal this morning with Frank Silva, Dave Tranchina and Mike Lockwood for a show at the Blue Whale on Wednesday, December 18th. We are stretching out on a lot of Frank's original compositions, one from Mike Lockwood, and a couple of mine as well. The concert is a triple party: not only a show, but a CD release of Hidden Remedies, recorded in April this year and now a finished product for you to hear! It's also Frank's birthday...so come celebrate with us, we're hanging late! Get those details on facebook here.

Mike, Dave, Frank and me. It took all four of us to screw in that lightbulb.

The quartet show is looking like my last show of 2013, but January will be full of Michael Mull Octet performances as we gear up for our recording session in February. We will be playing in Woodland Hills, a house concert in Highland Park, and sharing what promises to be an amazing night at ArtShareLA with the Baba-Rowan Large Ensemble on January 24th! Dates for the first two shows are TBD, so stay in touch here and follow the Octet on facebook. We will be kicking off the new year with a crowd-funding campaign to help us make the recording, so think about maybe buying yourself a late Christmas present...? Details and more exciting news coming soon!

Video from Blue Whale 10/25/13

I compiled some memorable moments from the last Michael Mull Octet show, featuring the soloists of the evening. Stay in touch at www.facebook.com/MichaelMullOctet as we near recording our first album in February 2014!

The Works

Wanted to share some news blurbs:

- Michael Mull Octet show at the Blue Whale 10/25 went great, with our friends KROM making the first set a memorable one; it was there last show after a few weeks on the road, so they were tight! I'm compiling some video of the Octet from the show and will slap it up here as soon as I can.

- The following weekend, I found myself playing on my Central Coast home turf with Orkestar MEZE, and then up a bit farther in San Jose. Great crowds for both events, much line-dancing and get-downing, trash-talking (in the van), and gracious hosting in both locales. We'll be back, and next time with the new record in tow (due out in early 2014)!

- Speaking of new records, there is going to be a CD release for a quartet led by tenor saxo-blaster Frank Silva (of Octet fame....?) on December 18th at the Blue Whale. The group is currently in name-limbo.

- Speaking of new records (is there a tape-delay in here?), I'm hitting it hard and getting ready to record the Michael Mull Octet early next year. I will be setting up a fan-funding campaign about a month beforehand (January-ish), so if you like us and you know it, clap your hands (over your wallet)! But seriously folks, it's going to be a doozy...stay on top of things here, and like us on Facebook and follow on Twitter if you're into that sort of thing. We love ya!

Summer Begins

Long time since the last post...what a busy Spring it has been! Had a great Octet show at the Blue Whale, played a musical, did some fun sets with Mahadev, and recorded with tenor saxophonist Frank Silva for a new record of his original music. It's going to be a rip-snorting record, and I even got a tune on there, so keep your eyes here for more info as it gets released.

May is flying by, and I have a few shows with Orkestar MEZE coming up. First, this Sunday 5/19 we are playing at the Annual Bulgarian Festival in Culver City. It is a four-hour event with tons of other music, delicious Bulgarian food, arts, dance, and all that wonderful festival stuff! Best of all, pre-sale tickets can be purchased online for only $11. Eleven bucks. Yeah! Still only $20 at the door, but get them early and pick them up at the venue. Event runs from 12:30 to 4:30pm at the Veterans Memorial Complex, 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City 90230.

A week later, on Saturday 5/25, we are driving the plow and mules down to sunny San Diego (albeit with a somewhat downsized MEZE) to play a small daytime festival, and then rock the Turquoise Bar at night! We'd love to meet some new SD Peasants, so please tell your friends and enemies to come check us out.

Lots of other good stuff in the planning stages right now...stay in touch! Here's Orkestar MEZE with the incredible Ellis Hall in March!

Octet @ The Blue Whale this Thursday 3/28/13

Friends, it is my pleasure to "officially" announce the Michael Mull Octet's next show, this Thursday, March 28th, at the Blue Whale in downtown LA. We played our first show there in June 2012, and we have developed as a group over the past months. The Octet is taking over the whole night this time around, so come and enjoy two sets of music, much of it brand new, on Thursday! The band has been putting in a lot of work and is sounding incredible...

Michael Mull Octet is:
Michael Mull, Frank Silva - woodwinds
Harrison Kirk, Will Wulfeck - trombones
Adam Ratner, Tim Fischer - guitars
Emilio Terranova - bass
Mike Lockwood - drums

Michael Mull Octet @ The Blue Whale
Thursday, March 28th
9pm, two sets
$10, no minimum (food and full bar available)
Ages 21+ only, sorry!
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Blue Whale
123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St Los Angeles, CA 90012

Free street parking, or structure parking off of 2nd St.

bluewhalemusic.com

Octet Videos pt 2

Here we have two more videos from the Michael Mull Octet's first show at the Blue Whale in Little Tokyo. This first one was the set opener, entitled "Fallujah". This tune was a staple of the Big Enough Band, a quintet I was involved in for several years. It was a treat to fill out and orchestrate it for the Octet. "Fallujah" features guitarist Adam Ratner at the helm of a freight train crescendo.




The below video was the set closer, "Sources". This was originally written for a 5-piece band at CalArts, and I expanded and re-arranged it for the Octet. One of the more complex tunes I've written in a lot of ways, it is based on 9-beat grooves and features a collective improvisation from myself on bass clarinet and Harrison Kirk on trombone. Taking us barreling to the end is Tim Fischer on his brand new guitar.



If you are liking the influx of videos recently, keep your eyes open; I had a fun Michael Mull Trio performance in Northridge on Friday evening, and we filmed a lot of that evening's music as well. It won't look or sound as wonderful as the above videos though, so thanks again to Alex Chaloff for the great Octet videos...enjoy!

Octet Videos pt 1

The first performance of my new octet was part of a wonderful night at the Blue Whale. The room was packed to the gills (pun slyly intended) for Blockrad, who played an extraordinary set of subtle musical creations. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, and had a great casual feel that is sometimes lacking when the music starts to get "fancy". After a mad rush to set up and get the recording gear going, my octet braved the new music for all to hear. There were some great moments, and thanks to videographer/recording engineer Alex Chaloff, we got it on tape. Here are videos of what I feel were the strongest performances of the night.

The first is an original, "The People Who Raised Us", composed specifically for this group. It was actually the first piece I completed when forming the octet. Will Wulfeck is featured on trombone, getting just the right amount of outrageous with Emilio and Mike on bass and drums respectively. I recommend viewing these full-screen and with headphones; Alex did a fine job all around and it's worth seeing/hearing fully!



The next is an arrangement of "Caught Up In You" by the rock band .38 Special. I had been hearing this song my whole life and just heard something else in it one day. The band really blends here and Frank Silva takes a gorgeous solo.



Looking forward to making more music with these fellas. Stay tuned here for more videos from the performance and more gigs! I have a trio gig coming up in a couple weeks too, info to follow!