Recording Projects

The past two days have seen the first recording sessions of what will become Mahadev's sophomore release. I have been involved in Mahadev since it's inception by bandleader Dave Cipriani in 2011, and through several changes in size and lineup over the years, the band continues to evolve. Like so many musical projects these days, Mahadev is difficult to describe without either using blanket generalizations or far too many words strung together - suffice to say it draws from multiple traditional music cultures from around the world and filters them through the members' individual interpretations, styles, and personal study.
Blogger is not currently letting me embed the player, so click here to check out a track from the first Mahadev album. You can stream the rest of the album as well.

I'm into the mastering stages for the Michael Mull Octet album, with initial passes on two of the songs. They both are sounding really solid already, so aside from a few potential tweaks, I'm going to be saving up some cash to send the rest off soon! The rough plan at the moment is to try to release the album sometime this Fall, so stay tuned.

Lastly, the second Orkestar MEZE album is also slowly coming to be, with mixing underway and some ridiculously fat sounds happening! We are definitely bringing the peasantry, but with an extra thick slathering of funk and soul this time around. We're talking SPF 100. We have a potential July show in the works, so keep an eye on Facebook and/or peasantfunk.com.

I count myself very fortunate to be involved in such adventurous and musically fulfilling projects, especially with such a wide range of style, dynamics, and personalities...keeping me on my toes and giving me plenty of practice material!

Mahadev CD Release at Alva's Showroom 2/26/12

The Mahadev debut album has finally arrived and looks/sounds fantastic! I'll let bandleader and guitarist give you the details in the following press release:

"Ok it is almost here! We're getting ready to perform for you on next Sunday at Alva's. The CD's should be arriving to my house today, we had an awesome gig Saturday as a warmup for this coming sunday, and we're ready to go.

The show is $15. Remember,  it's an early show (4 PM), so you'll be able to get back home in time for the Oscars, and we're offering the CD for JUST $5! It will be the only time you can get it so cheap.

You can hear a few tracks at http://soundcloud.com/davecipriani/sets/mahadev-tracks-1

We'll be posting it on Bandcamp later in the week and it will be available to purchase directly from us for those who can't make it this Sunday.

We're going to do all the songs from the CD, and we have awesome trumpet player Greg Zilboorg from Sogo Takeover now in the band and percussionist Jamie Papish from the Yuval Ron Ensemble. We're also going to have my good friend Rafe Pearlman join us for a vocal improvisation; you can see a video & interview with him here.  It's going to be a really wonderful show, with high charged music and deep meditative grooves.  

RESERVATIONS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!

We'll be lining up more gigs as the spring comes.  Please also signup to our official email list at www.reverbnation.com/Mahadev to stay in touch!

See below for details on each one as well as FB event pages if you want to send it to your friends! We look forward to seeing you there!"

SUNDAY FEB 26, 4 PM, $15

THE BIG SHOW! MAHADEV CD RELEASE AT ALVA'S IN SAN PEDRO!

Special guest Rafe Pearlman (others tba)

Dave Cipriani, Indian Slide Guitar & Classical Guitar

Eric Klerks, Bass

Michael Mull, saxophone & clarinet

Chris Payne, percussion (cajon, frame drum, shakers, zabumba)

Jamie Papish, percussion (cajon, riq, frame drum)

Greg Zillboorg, Trumpet

800-403-3447

1417 W. Eighth Street

San Pedro, CA 90732

http://www.alvasshowroom.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/348239991861287/

The band is sounding beautiful and this will be an experience to remember! In other news, Orkestar MEZE had a killer show at the world-famous Troubadour last weekend, and will return to Rusty's Surf Ranch in Santa Monica for our monthly peasant party on Friday, March 2nd. It's already proving to be a productive and eventful year, with much more on the menu; stay tuned here for all the gory details, and I'll see you on Sunday!

Mahaev @ The Joint with Mr DanZ

Everyone needs something fun to do on a Friday night, so I've got you covered this week. This Friday, September 30th, I'm performing at a relatively new venue called The Joint with Mahadev, the wonderful world-groove-jam quartet/quintet led by guitarist Dave Cipriani. We are followed by the talented fusion slam-dance that is Mr. DanZ, led by my good buddy and trio bassist Ben Shepherd and another fellow Orkestar MEZE member, Milen Kirov.

Here's the best part...tickets are FREE if you contact me before the show and say "ooh ooh me me I want to go!" Please leave a comment here, look me up through my website, facebook, or any other means and I'll get you a ticket. You can hear some Mahadev on the facebook page...see the event here! Here are the nitty gritty details:

Mahadev @ The Joint with Mr. DanZ
Friday, September 30th
Mahadev starts at 8pm, Mr. DanZ follows
FREE tickets by contacting me (leave a comment!) OR $5 at the door

The Joint
8771 West Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

Mahadev with special guests