Aubriot, Dustin Edge, and Outer Body Llamas @ Wonderland Ballroom in DC

This has been a busy busy weekend. Shows, gigs, rehearsals, and recording all involved! Oh yeah, and a hurricane. It all started on Wednesday night at Wonderland Ballroom (www.thewonderlandballroom.com) in Columbia Heights DC...

My good friend Matt Connelly was in a band called Aubriot ( I say was because they played their last show as a band last night...). Aubriot kicked off the night around 9 and totally rocked out. Lead singer Cate can really belt it over Matt's distortion-laced, delayed guitar chords and melodies. The rhythm section is so solid with Steve Jordan (not that one...) on the drums and Ari on the bass. If you gotta go out, Aubriot did it right. We will miss them. For a look back check out www.aubriotband.com

After Aubriot, solo acoustic guitar and harmonicaist Dustin Edge took the stage. He is a beast. From Boulder, Colorado, Dustin is on a regional tour here on the East Coast with stops in NC, VA, GA, FL, TN, and moving more west... KY, IL, IA, and NE.  What stood out most to me about Dustin's performance was the raw passion in every single song. He took us from melodic sweet sadness to explosive fiery anger; from Bob Dylan to DMB to Dashboard. And you could feel it. You have to check out Dustin's site and get his new record. Go here: www.dustinedge.com 

Finally to end the night was Outer Body Llama. These guys are it. Seasoned professionals with a killer 90's and a hint of 60's sound. Eduardo Llanes sang most of the lead vocals and switched off between keys and guitar. His disposition on and off stage is very easy, a very engaging performance. Enrique Llanes took some of the lead vox, as well as ripping some amazing guitar solos. Rich Bindell holding down on bass plus some smooth vox back up harmonies, and Andrew Keener keeping a solid groove on the drums. OBL has been playing around DC since '93 and you could definitely tell. They had a great presence on stage and put on an energetic show. I enjoyed every bit of it. Outer Body Llama is playing again this Saturday September 3rd at Molly Malone's in DC. They have a new album in the works so look out for it!  For all their info and music go to http://outerbodyllama.synthasite.com/  or their Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/pages/OUTER-BODY-LLAMA/379205065310

It was a great night of music at a great venue. Seriously, check out these bands.

As for me, Crooked Tree (www.crookedtreemusic.com) is playing at Epicure (http://epicurepizzafairfax.com/) in Fairfax, VA this Friday Sept 2. We are bringing it down a bit since Im gonna be on snare and hand drum rather than full kit. Should be a good time.  Thanks for reading!    

Jonny Grave and company at Bella Cafe, DC - 8/14/2011

I played an awesome show the other night at Bella Cafe in DC with Jonny Grave headlining, my band (Crooked Tree), and SweetBread Jim's.

SweetBread Jim's kicked off the full band sounds with a bang! Linsay's vocals were powerful and she has amazing stage presence. The sounds that were coming from SBJ were huge and loaded with energy, especially considering they are just a three piece (Linsay Deming on vox and  guitar - John Lanou on Bass - Jon Lewis on Drums). The set ended with some impressive drum chops from Jon Lewis. You have to check out SweetBread Jim's: www.sweetbreadjims.com

Crooked Tree came on next. I have to thank Nate from the Tombstones for letting me play his drums, which was a beautiful kit with some enormous drums! A 26" kick! We played a good set to a decent size audience, especially considering it was Sunday night...thanks to everyone who came out! Crooked Tree is at www.crookedtreemusic.com

Finally, Jonny Grave and the Tombstones took the stage.  First I owe them a huge thanks for organizing the entire night from booking to collecting door to running sound. Second, they totally blew me away. I have not heard that kind of gritty, raw sounding blues live in a long time. Jonny's energy is contagious. You could definitely tell he was feeling it and his Tombstones are all amazing musicians. This is Jonny's site: www.jonnygrave.com

It was a great night with great music. I'm looking forward to playing again with SweetBread Jim's and Jonny Grave and the Tombstones in the future!

Thanks for reading!