I’ve been on medical leave for several months, but am coming back strong, with several projects in the hopper!

I snuck in another class with improvisation guru and neighbor Jim Grantham, and finally brought my vision for JS Bach’s Prelude to Cello Suite No. 1 before the public at a benefit in Berkeley, along with free improvisations with Ron Heglin and my cello sensei, Gael Alcock. And I’m working on a cello part for a recording by South Bay rock band Souljourn44, with heavy R&B influence and gorgeous female vocals.

And for Oakland Art Murmur “First Friday” this week I’ll be rocking out at Swarm Gallery, a contemporary art gallery located in the Ironworks district near Jack London Square. While you enjoy exhibits by Terry Furry, Jordan Essoe, Cleo Vilett, Masako Miyazaki, etc., I’ll be joined by longtime collaborator Matt Boston, who will lay down a driving bassline and sing while I improvise cello accompaniment for tunes by the likes of Tom Waits, The Doors, and The Police, etc. We may be joined by a special bonus vocalist, and will also perform one or two free improvisations – far-out!

We're planning to start around 6:45pm, and go for about an hour (followed by Jordan Essoe's performance art). Please join us!

(21+, $6 Cover) Happy new year! Startin' it off right with Blue Rabbit, rockin' the Red Devil Lounge (Yelp) again. (Does that make purple nurples?!) Anyway, what a kickin' Nob Hill venue this is - I highly recommend you turn out for an evening of devilry in eager anticipation of the Year of the Rabbit!

Doors at 8pm, then we're opening at 9pm, followed by two great bands I'm super-excited to experience live: deliciously lush audiafauna, and headliners, Sioux City Kid - I totally dig their rootsy sound, obviously influenced by Tom Waits.

After a bit of a summer lull, things are picking up again in Rocktober, so be sure to check out my gigs page - I'll be playing with the Darkades ("whirled" music jam band) at a music festival way down at a ranch in the eastern foothills of the Sierras on Saturday, October 2, and with Blue Rabbit (indie/alternative rock) at Red Devil Lounge back in San Francisco on Thursday, October 7.

Meanwhile, Zach Heffner of Verdict Photography is building his portfolio and business, and I agreed to suit up and improvise for a while at Oakland's old 16th Street Station for a sunset photo shoot earlier this month - a budding modeling career? ;-)

Mr. Heffner and his team were easy, professional, and a lot of fun to work with. (Hehe, I've always hoped I'd be able to say that!) Apparently, a number of hip-hop music videos have been shot out there, but Zach's idea was to contrast the urban decay with the more traditional, "uptown" look of a cellist in a tux. Check out some the excellent results on my photos page and on his site under the artists portfolio.

After the adventure, I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote this renga (ancestor of haiku):

the drone of traffic
on the overpass, joined now
by an ice cream truck
playing 'turkey in the straw'
in a sunset serenade
for the ghost below:
a train station abandoned
after the last quake,
lovelier now than ever
with the ravages of time.

I've got several fun gigs coming up in April - check 'em out on my gigs page:

* a Sunday afternoon gig with Blue Rabbit in Burlingame - an uncommonly convenient one for families with small children,

* a multi-media extravaganza ushering in Earth Day with AmesEla at Crocker Galleria in SF, and

* another with Blue Rabbit at a battle of the bands at a high school in Vallejo!

Recently I was mis-billed at a gig as "Hugh Jackson" - hehe. I wonder if the person responsible might've secretly been hoping Hugh Jackman would show up and start playing the cello? I guess cello playing isn't the first career path that comes to mind when I examine those adamantium-infused claws, but far be it from me to discourage anyone's dreams.

Just had a couple very fun, rockin' gigs with Blue Rabbit at Café du Nord, then the Make-Out Room. I've got a couple gigs coming up in December: my first solo performance in a while, for the "Oakland Under $100: Local Affordable Art" show at Temescal Arts Center, and then another Blue Rabbit gig, this time at Bottom of the Hill - and since we're opening this time, it's a good opportunity to see us a little earlier in the evening than usual.

As far as that solo show goes, I'm still not sure just what's gonna come out. I've been writing down some ideas I had recently that sound like accompaniment to a circus tightrope act, and I may try to play some of that - mwahaha-haha-haaa! But most of it will be completely and freely improvisational, which tends to be fairly brooding, autumnal ambient music with a lot of Irish influence - probably nothing danceable, no Brick House, sorry. I'm gonna try to incorporate this loop sequencer I've been learning to use lately - we'll see how that goes. Hopefully I can get one or two decent recordings and post them to the site next week.

When not listening to my brooding, autumnal cello music, I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, safe holiday season!