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

March Rolls On

What an extreme second week of March last week...full of highs and lows, but I'm sure only to remember the highs in years to come! I was battling a nasty flu all week, but was able to participate in a couple great nights of music.

Orkestar MEZE played a ferociously energetic set of peasant funk on the House of Blues main stage on Thursday night! We were blessed to give out so many free tickets as a gift to our fans, old and new, for their incredible support over the past year. Part of the treat was sweetened with our guest, the ambassador of soul, Ellis Hall, sitting in on our version of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish". I wager that the House of Blues hasn't been that funky in a while!

One day's rest afforded me a little increase in health, so I was ready to join my wife Ami on Saturday for a night of female singer-songwriters at the Tribal Cafe in Echo Park. She performed a diverse set of originals and arrangements to open the night.

Getting excited to keep the ball rolling and bring my Octet to the Blue Whale for a full night on March 28th! A full post with more details to come.

FREE Show with Orkestar MEZE 3/14/13!

Our Orkestar MEZE show at MALABOMBA! two weeks ago was a rip-snorting good time, full of sweaty peasant dancing and foot-stomping grooves. As you might remember, we also played a few weeks prior to that at the House of Blues Foundation Room.....and sold out the show! We owe it all to the fans for your amazing support, so we want to say "thank you" with a FREE show this Thursday night, 3/14 - this time, on the historic main stage of the House of Blues on Sunset! That's right: not only a chance to rock out with MEZE for free, but you'll be doing it at one of the premier clubs on the West Coast with fantastic sound and good vibes. What's more, we'll be hanging out in the Foundation Room after our set to keep the party going, so come on upstairs and have a drink with the band! We're all peasants here!

The great Knoup from Viza joined us at the Foundation Room to rock some Greek goodness:



Word on the farm is that we will be hosting another legend with some major tricks up our shirtsleeves on Thursday night, so don't miss it! All you have to do is send an email to peasantfunk@gmail.com with your name, and the number of tickets you want for you and your buddies. As many as you want. Free. Just show up, pick up those bad boys at will call, and you are ready to get down! Here's the skinny:

Orkestar MEZE @ House of Blues Sunset - FREE SHOW
Thursday, March 14th
7pm, ages 18+
FREE - email peasantfunk@gmail.com to be added to the will call list
orkestarmeze.com
House of Blues Sunset
8430 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood
RSVP on Facebook

MEZE at MALABOMBA! 2/27/13

Back in 2010, Orkestar MEZE played one of its first official shows at the massive sexy dance party that is MALABOMBA! We are prepared to knock your peasant socks off this Wednesday night...I can't put it any better myself - see what the MALABOMBA! site has to say:

Release the goats and fill your flask with plum brandy, because on Wednesday, February 27th, you’re ditching the farm and heading down to MALABOMBA! L.A.’s favorite international dance party returns to La Cita to get down and dirty with the funky Bulgarian sounds of Orkestar MÉZÉ! Long-time Malabombaderos will remember their magical JBs-meet-Ivo Papasov stylings from the last time they blew the roof off a couple years back. Whether you’re a MALABOMBA! virgin or you love us long time, you won’t want to miss this one! Crooked dances, blazing horns, sultry vocals, and more funky Balkan madness than you can shake a shepherd’s crook at!

 Oh yeah! Entry is FREE before 10pm, and only 5 bucks after that...fits the peasant budget quite nicely. RSVP on Facebook if you please, and check the details below. See you there!

Wednesday, Februray 27th, 9:30 PM until last call
La Cita Bar, 336 S. Hill St, LA 90013 
FREE admission before 10:00 Only $5 cash after 
FULL BAR - FULL BOMBA!

Here's a taste of what went down last time MEZE took over the place!

Two Trios @ Barclay's in Northridge 2/23/13

It was really fun to reunite with Ben and Cameron and do a trio set at the house concert a couple weeks ago - getting back into it with those guys is always easy, having logged some serious playing time together over the years. Here's a video of my arrangement of Thelonious Monk's "Trinkle Tinkle" from the show:



This Friday, February 23rd, we are doing a set at Barclay's Coffee and Tea in Northridge, a great coffee spot with an excellent ongoing music series. I was there last Friday to catch Josh Nelson....woooooooooo doggie! On the 23rd we are splitting the bill with a new group led by Bryan McAllister, making a foray into the world of the organ trio. The group is brand new, but you can hear some of Bryan's previous material on this video:



There is no cover for the show, but we gratefully accept tips for the bands! Come and enjoy a delicious drink (tons of coffees, teas, juices) and support this great series!

Barclays Coffee and Tea Co.
8976 Tampa Ave, Northridge CA
No Cover
7pm - Bryan McAllister Trio
8pm - Michael Mull Trio
RSVP on Facebook

House Concert 2/8/13

Hi folks, it's a bit late notice but if you are free tomorrow night (Friday, Feb. 8th), there is another house concert/party happening in Highland Park, similar to one we had in October last year. This is how fun it was:



This time, we open the show at 8pm with the Michael Mull Trio, followed by the Anthropic Ensemble, and BLockRad. It's going to be a big hang, so bring some friends, bring some drinks, and get ready for some great music!

1604 N Avenue 56
Los Angeles 90042
8pm-late (bands at 8, 9, 10ish)
Bring your own refreshments
Tips greatly appreciated!
Facebook

Orkestar MEZE @ The Foundation Room 2/2/13

It's peasant party-time! Orkestar MEZE's own beloved leader Milen is celebrating his birthday in the best possible way - in a slick Sunset Blvd. club, with tons of friends, and a full injection of PEASANT FUNK! Take part in the merriment on Saturday, February 2nd at 9pm as we play the Foundation Room in the historic House of Blues Sunset. It should be a packed house with plenty of booty-shaking and boozing to go around...

Show the love of commitment! Buy your tickets pre-sale and save 5 bucks off the door price, plus the first 40 pre-sale peasants get a sticker (check it out below, the best sticker ever made). Let's make this a big party!

You can visit the event page on Facebook to chime in and get more info, or see below:

ORKESTAR MEZE + Milen's Birthday Explosion
Saturday, February 2nd
9:00PM (two long sets --- we're playing all night!)
$10 pre-sale, $15 at the door
21 and over only

House of Blues
The Foundation Room Lounge
8430 West Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood 90069-1910

Best of the Blue Whale: 2012

It is my honor to announce the release of a new album, Best of the Blue Whale: 2012. Compiled by videographer and sound engineer Alex Chaloff as a surprise gift to the Blue Whale club's owner Joon Lee, this digital-only release features twelve choice cuts from performances at the Blue Whale that Alex recorded audio and video for. The album includes my composition "The People Who Raised Us" from the Michael Mull Octet's debut performance, and we couldn't ask to be in better company - other tracks include the likes of Anthony Wilson, Ben Wendel, Larry Koonse, Josh Nelson, Larry Goldings, John Daversa and more.

The reason this is a "gift" to Joon Lee is that 100% of the proceeds of the album sales will go toward upgrading the sound and lighting systems at the Blue Whale, meaning a greater listening experience for the music and a greater viewing experience of the ever-changing art installations! All the artist represented on this album donated their tracks so that we all can see, hear, and feel the benefits at the bastion of great music that the Blue Whale has become. Stream and download the album exclusively on bandcamp.com.

2012, Retrospectively Speaking

Since I am working all day tomorrow (and gratefully so), I thought I'd better post before 2013 comes around and gives us all a mischievous but good-natured wet willy. I haven't been keeping up on the blog as often as I'd like these past few months, hopefully something I can get back to more regularly next year. I played a fun show with Orkestar MEZE last week, and we are gearing up for a show at the House of Blues Foundation Room in February. Keep it here for details, as well as a more imminent show with Mahadev next week.

And so, I would like to conclude this year's posts with some reflections, in no particular order or manner, and interspersed with some pictures of me havin' fun. Join me?

2012 has been a musically fulfilling year for me, the most since I graduated from CalArts and entered the "real world". Great times playing with my Trio, Orkestar MEZE, and Mahadev. My fondest reflections are of the enormous amount of writing, rehearsing, practicing and prepping that went into launching the Michael Mull Octet as a functioning group. We had three well-attended, well-received, and extremely fun performances from June up to this point, and I am excitedly working on more material to push into 2013 with this group that has allowed me to reach so many musical places that I have been reaching for. I'd like to personally thank Tim, Emilio, Mike, Adam, Will, Frank, and Harrison for being the music - you guys are the best. Let's record next year!

Michael Mull Octet + Genevieve Artadi @ house party!

Two of the Octet's performances took place at what I (and many others) consider to be the hub of creative music in LA, the Blue Whale. Joon Lee has created not only a great performance space, but attracts an incredible range of talent to the venue because of his honesty and his passion for great music. I saw some unforgettable performances at the Whale in 2012, and what I saw was a fraction of what goes on there. Thank you, Joon, for truly being a champion for music in LA.

Rehearsing with a new project...coming 2013!

Who plays all this great music that we hear at the Blue Whale and elsewhere? Definitely some amazing out-of-towners, but many of them are denizens of Los Angeles. It's difficult to see or to sense the "scene" in LA because of the vast area it covers, but it's there, and it's future is bright. I'd like to give a shout out to "my generation" on the scene, so to speak, who have cranked out some great stuff this year. To name a few, Joe Santa Maria, Brian Havey (Z-1 and Trio), Chord Four, Dan Rosenboom, Gavin Templeton, Slumgum, Louis Cole & Genevieve Artadi and Grampus. These are just some who I can think of off the top of my head, and who have recorded this year; the live music was, of course, even more expansive and fresh. Keep it coming, guys and gals!

Michael Mull Trio @ Barclays

An overarching theme is that music increasingly allows me great opportunities; opportunities to create, to constantly better myself, to hang out with my friends, to work with and for my friends, to travel, to be inspired, and to love the unexplainable. Thank you to my wife, my family, and my friends and colleagues who all stand by me and contribute to these invaluable experiences - I love you all. See you in 2013.

No shoes at P-Nov's house. Feel the love!