Gutbucket, Mahadev and a MEZE gig

Folks, it's been a wild ride since my last post. I'll run through some of the happenings here and let you know about some upcoming events I'm very excited about.

On Monday, May 9th I had the privilege of performing some arrangements with the razor-sharp, avant-rock-jazz quartet Gutbucket. Touring behind their new album Flock, Gutbucket made a stop at the REDCAT Theater in downtown LA, billing the show as "The Gutbucket Chamber Orchestra". The first half was a brilliant quartet set of pieces from Flock, while the Chamber Orchestra (of which I was a part) joined them for the second set. Check out this positive review from the LA Times.

Recruited from CalArts students and alumni, the Alto/Guitar/Bass/Drums quartet was augmented with two woodwind players, two keyboardists, percussion, cello, and additional electric bass and guitar. We performed expanded arrangements of pieces from Gutbucket's previous release, A Modest Proposal. The music was incredibly challenging and complex, but only extraneous when it wanted to be. It was a great experience to work with the guys from Gutbucket in a few days of intensive rehearsal, getting all that music together; we all hit our stride during the soundcheck, and I had a blast performing with everyone at REDCAT. Thanks to Gutbucket and all the CalArts connections for the opportunity!

This past weekend, I went into the recording studio with Mahadev, a fun world-jam quintet I've been involved in for almost a year now. We got some great stuff laid down, and will be launching a Kickstarter project soon to spread the word and try to get this thing produced and released!

Tonight, Orkestar MEZE converges on Hollywood for the rapture! We are playing at the Key Club, opening for East-European rockers Viza, and looking forward to a packed show. We go on at 9:30pm, and there are a few other bands to check out as well. You can get more details on this Facebook page.

In other MEZE news, we have surpassed our initial Kickstarter goal raising money for the album, and looking to keep the momentum through these last ten days! With more support, we can put money toward mixing, mastering, and printing the album, meaning less time before it can appear in your peasant hands! Check out the page and pledge some support for a copy of the album and other cool incentives.