On Saturday, September 6th, I will be performing at Studio 27.28 in Philadelphia, from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., doing up my new one-man show act and providing the background ambience.

Studio 27.28 is run by artist / photographer Jonathan Slinguff, and has been a hot new gallery in the northern North Star region of town.

The featured artists of this event are Eric De Jesus of Virginville, PA and Cassandra Warren of Portsmouth, NH. Come down and check it out!

One of my new songs, "Berks County Bike Ride" is featured on the latest Philadelphia City Paper’s bi-weekly Local Music Podcast.

Check it out here:

http://www.citypaper.net/music/local-support/

Today, I am psyched to introduce my new CD of instrumentals entitled First Berries After Hibernation. This album of 12 tracks was recorded at my Fishtown home and released by Philly indie label earSnake.

Above is the album cover, which features a photo taken by Melissa while we were walking aimlessly one autumn day in New Hope, PA. I love the gleeful smile of the girl with a piece of plastic attacking her face, while a tortured bald mannequin stands scarred on the left and another looks off to the right, meanwhile a stern Statue of Liberty stands in the distance.

With awful luck in bands, my home recordings have become my main steady artistic outlet, and I’m glad that the newly developed earSnake was willing to take it under their wing. Check it out at the earSnake site!

Mixwit is a very fun and free site that allows you to create a mix tape from a massive selection of songs, and then embed the player anywhere. Although this is nothing new, the player can be customized with your own photos, or you can use one of their default skins. This reminds me that I have a couple dozen cassette tapes in the basement that I just can’t seem to throw out! They’re so good.

Here is a Mixwit mix that I just made:

Gemini Wolf performed 4 songs last night at the World Cafe Live for Philly Sound Clash. Although they didn’t win the competition, they put on a stellar set. I do believe Mike’s sounds were WAY too low, and you can barely even hear him unfortunately.

My friend Mikronesia has released yet another album. Didn’t he just release one a few months ago? Ahh, I’m far behind in my listening "to do" cue. His new release is completely free, so go to his site and download it. I’ve listened to the first 5 tracks thus far. It’s a lucid ambient album to escape into, with such minor subtleties happening that headphones are necessary to really indulge in the full scope of the tracks.

Mikronesia and Pandar of Gemini Wolf are about to unveil their new record label called earSnake. To celebrate and introduce some of their artists, earSnake will be hosting a "12 Days Holiday Podcast" starting on Friday, December 14th. Each day, until the 25th, a new song will be added for your listening pleasure! Here’s more:

"Founded in late 2007, earSnake strives for a unique vision of sound, taste and soul. More than a label, earSnake is an artists’ collective of singers, beat makers, instrumentalists, visionaries, video painters, sound designers, soul scrapers and vibrational virtuosos. Find all of this and more at earsnake.com"

I haven’t recorded any new instrumentals or songs since February of earlier this year. Last night I recorded a new diddy called "Melting of The Evil Snowman", using the newly revamped GarageBand 4 (which is a HUGE improvement from the previous version). This is one of those "made on the spot" songs that I enjoy doing, giving myself a time limit to write and finish it, making it a fun challenge. Enjoy! Melting Of The Evil Snowman

Donned in their “Little Red Riding Hood” masks, Gemini Wolf played an extra spooky set at Cafe Habana on 10/26/07. Here’s a clip of the band playing “Sugar”.

Ween is one of my favorite bands ever. I’ve seen them in concert more than any other band, and I’m always impressed by their ever-morphing sound, DIY attitude, local roots, and no frills stage persona. Ween’s new album "La Cucaracha" is a nice gem in my book. If you bought the "Friends" EP this past summer and hated it, "La Cucaracha" will cure your Ween fix. Here’s a breakdown of the songs: 1. Fiesta The instrumental opening song sounds like a Spanish game show theme song and you’re next contestant. Very exciting. 2. Blue Balloon Fun chill ode to a mysterious blue balloon. Farty keyboard sounds never sounded so good with Gener’s voice of helium effects. 3. Friends Didn’t get enough of the EP released this summer? Here is a completely different version of the techno song, but more organic and with uglier keyboards. Still just as good. As goofy as this song is, it’s so damn catchy. 4. Object "Your just a piece of meat…And I’m the butcher…" Sincerely sung vocals letting a girl know her place in a relationship, I guess. Dark song with a funny ending. 5. Learnin’ to Love A nice barnyard stomp, but this song drives me nuts. Just kind’ve annoying to me, but very well done. 6. With My Own Bare Hands The roughest song on the album with the dirtiest lyrics, possibly the dirtiest ever by Ween. This song sounds like 4 shots of Jack Daniels. Gener boasts some of the many great things he can do with his own bare hands. 7. Fruit Man Ween has previously done some reggae in the past with "Nicole" and "Mango Woman", and this is a serious step up. They do it well, with dark dank dub overtones. Gener does some nice voice variations of the song’s characters. 8. Spirit Walker A percussion-free song with great use of vocal effects. Very trippy. Start your daily affirmation with this piece, or cure your hangover. 9. Shamemaker Is this an English accent Gener is doing or what? Very cool, nonetheless. The lyrics don’t sink in for me with this one, but the rhythm and guitar effects are dope. 10. Sweetheart I believe this is Deaner doing the vocals. This song has got some killer 70s strings and is ridiculously happy. Your girlfriend will love this song. 11. Lullaby Piano ballad with some harp and smooth pad synth. The most serious song on the album, I’d say. 12. Woman and Man The longest song of the album. If you don’t dig the loose biblical opening, just hang in there. It takes off on a Led Zeppelin-esque powerhorse out of nowhere. Deaner’s long guitar solo makes this song his spotlight, and is done with the feel of a live performance of "Voodoo Lady". 13. Your Party David Sanborn adds some sweet tenor saxaphone throughout the song. Great lyrics about an inspirational party. Check out a bunch of the tracks on the Ween MySpace Page.