Mushroom Stamp Productions is a music production company headed by composer/multi-instrumentalist Danny T. Levin (aka Baby Neddy).

Am in LA for the weekend after a week in New York with Lenka playing showcases for VH1, Entertainment Weekly and the chairman of Sony/BMG worldwide, Rob Stringer. We did a show at Dylan's Candy Bar which got some coverage in 21-7 Magazine. Below is a clip of me and Lenka performing her song "Don't Let Me Fall"

Monday and Tuesday we are in SF doing another showcase for Itunes. Then it's back to LA to try and finish up these Ventriloquists tracks and get our stuff together for the show on September 11th as well as setting up for the new school year at Brentwood School and Brawerman.

Speaking of Lenka, I've got clips of The Show being used in a promo for Ugly Betty and an Old Navy commercial that has been airing during the olympics. The Old Navy spot features my horn parts pretty prominently, including the first instance of my ancient B&H slide trombone making it onto a record since I picked it up off of EBay 4 years ago (and only for one slide - all the rest of the trombone on the track was done with my trusty King 3B valve bone).

Just found out I'm doing another show with Pierre De Reeder, this time September 2 at the Hotel Cafe. Then two days later is the first one of Lenka's 4 residency shows. The following week is my birthday and the Lenka/Ventriloquists Hotel Cafe extravaganza. One more the next week, then the Mercury Lounge in NYC and Conan and the final one the following week. To say that I'm excited about all of this would be a serious understatement. To quote bassist Kaveh Rastegar, "9 means no and yes means c."

Musical Services I Offer:

Horns For Your Tracks

Composition Services

Music Instruction

My Musical Projects:

Amanitas

The Double D Horns

Phorest Creaturz

The Ventriloquists

The Whitebelts

Shows:

Thursdays in LA - Whitebelts at Social in Hollywood

Thursdays in September - Lenka @ The Hotel Cafe in LA

9/2/08 - Pierre De Reeder at @ The Hotel Cafe in LA

9/11/08 - Danny's Birthday - Lenka, The Ventriloquists @ The Hotel Cafe in LA

9/23/08 - Lenka at the Mercury Lounge, NYC

9/24/08 - Lenka on Conan O'Brien

Just got back from NYC and Boulder Colorado doing the showcase thing with Lenka and band. We got the chance to play a bunch of cool little shows for industry insiders and then also record a broadcast for WCBO. Speaking of recorded broadcasts, I've got a link for the KCRW show we played last week.

New York was of course fun as always. Caught up with friends and family and got a chance to meet some of the other musicians and label people involved with the record too. The Dizzler came out and we stomped through the city.

This weekend I'm meeting up with Pierre De Reeder to appear in his video for the song The Way That It Was that I played on, and then heading over to Koreatown to go record with Mike Bloom and Dave Moyer on Bloom's record.

Then Monday night I'm playing with Pierre at his CD release show at the Echo in Echo Park. At least I think it's a CD release show as the CD drops on August 12.

Then it's back to New York with Lenka for a couple more showcases including one for VH1 at a candy store. Back in LA on the 16 and 17th and then off to SF to do a showcase for I-Tunes on the 18, 19, and 20th. Lenka and Meg are heading out on a promo tour after that, while the rest of the band heads back to LA. I'm going to do a promo gig with Lenka and Meg for the online website Habbo where we are getting animated and then a promotional showcase for Clear Channel online.

Lenka and the band are going to be performing at the Hotel Cafe every Thursday night in September and on my birthday, September 11, The Ventriloquists are going to be playing too. Needless to say I'm super excited about this one and really hope that anyone reading this is able to come out. We are also playing the Mercury Lounge on September 23rd, the day before we play Conan on the 24th.

At some point along the way the Robin Thicke record that me and Moyer played on is coming out. Check that piece out as apparently we are in the company of some pretty heavy horn players according to Rolling Stone's sneak peak.

In the meantime, enjoy this picture of me and the Dizzler at Ventriloquists rehearsal the other day, courtesy of Ian Souter. You can download the other pics in the series (featuring Moyer, Jolly and Levi) at the Ventriloquists myspace. Do you hear my creamy tone through this picture? Edy does...

Other Cool Stuff:

Camp Monkey Muffin

Crazy Talk

Crushed By Inertia

Hip Hop Core

Invengo Records

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem

Kingsize Soundlabs

L A Moishe House

Lasrever Entertainment

Life On Wax

Metasonix

Pig and Horse Guitars

Rock Insider

Selfish Entertainment

You Set The Scene

Artists I Support (A-K):

Jenni Alpert

American Music Club

Babystone

Greg Berhendt and The Reigning Monarchs

Mike Bloom

Built To Spill

Busdriva

Ceschi

Create (!)

Justin Dean

Pierre De Reeder

Raheem DeVaughn

The Elected

The Electric Lights

Intronaut

Jolly

Albert Khasky

Thursday night I'm playing with Lenka at a showcase at Boardners, but this isn't going to be open to the public to my knowledge. That being said if you want to hear what all we sound like, tune in to KCRW on Friday morning as we are going to be performing live on Morning Becomes Eclectic with Nic Harcourt. The show is being simulcast from The Village studios in West LA which will be my first opportunity to play there. Have heard many good things about that studio, and of course MBE speaks for itself.

On Saturday night the Ventriloquists are going to be playing a fundraiser for Kamay At Puso at the M Bar in Hollywood. It should be a great night of music as Kevin Kanner, Melissa Morgan and Fahiano Do Nascimiento are going to be on the bill as well. All for a good cause too - check out www.kamayatpuso.org for more information.

Then on Sunday I leave for NYC with Lenka and the rest of her band. We are going to be playing at Pianos in New York on the 4th of August and probably mostly doing promotional stuff during the rest of the time we are out there. Then to Boulder on the 6th for an AAA radio conference, and then back in LA on the 8th. Probably have some more updates for y'all right around then...

Artists I Support (L-Z)

Lady D

Lenka

Jenny Lewis

Eleni Mandell

David Moyer

Edy Pickens

Rilo Kiley

Joshua Radin

David Ramos

Mike Rofe

Chris Schlarb

The Spinto Band

Ian Souter

TOCA

Tommy V

The Translucent Ham Sandwich Band

2Mex

Xololanxinxo

Today there are two things on the schedule for me. First off to go be an extra in Lenka's first video. Costume designer says to wear something thuggish. This will be the third consecutive year of appearing in someone elses music video - 2006 I was playing keyboards in the video for TOCA for the song Liar, which I didn't play anything on. In 2007 I was a guest at Blake and Jenny's faux wedding for Rilo Kiley's Silver Lining video (there is a breif shot of me sitting next to Mike The Caveman Bloom. This year it's Lenka and this the first one of the lot where I actually played on the track the video is for.

The second thing happening today is that The Ventriloquists new drummer Levi Felix is gonna come by and jam out at 1342 Yale. David Timnick, the man who manned the drums for us for the last year and a half or so is going to tour the country/world as a member of Intronaut. We all wish David the best of luck and encourage anyone reading this to pick up their new record when it comes out (fall 08), not to mention go see them when they come into your town (which considering their plan is to tour for the next as long as possible,will likely happen sooner or later).

You can hear David killing some drum tracks at The Ventriloquists myspace - he's the one playing on Patterns, Big Machine and most spectacularly, Gomorrah. Also Circuits, which should be finished and uploaded soon, features some of David's most scrotal of malfeasances on the drums.

As for Levi, we are excited to have him on board and we encourage you to check out our show on August 2nd at the M Bar to hear his debut with the band. Not to mention there are going to be some killing jazz groups playing on the bill as well and it's a charity benefit show so your money is being put to use for a good cause.

Speaking of Blake from Rilo, I went by his house after Lenka's Hotel Cafe show the other night to put down some euphonium on a soundtrack he is working on for this movie he directed called Water Pills. I watched it and I was really impressed with the quality of the acting. Of course when you can get Winona Ryder to star in your short film you generally don't have to worry so much about the quality of the acting. That being said I think Blake did an excellent job of writing and directing, which did not particularly suprise me given his skills as a producer/composer/songwriter - the musical equivalent of being a writer/director.

Also from what I could it see it definitely looks like him and Mike Bloom are in the middle of some serious shit. I didn't get to hear any of it yet, but just from the content of the whiteboard in the studio it looks like an epic MB record is in the works.

Back to Lenka and that Hotel Cafe show the other night - I had a lot of fun. Good clean fun. It's nice to be doing something that I can in good conscience turn younger students on to and not have to worry about their parents calling me up and saying "why does my son keep saying Bukkake and what does it mean?"

Truly the best thing about any live music is the chance to see and hear people enjoying themselves in a performance, and I feel like this incarnation of the band, featuring Meg Toohey on guitar/keys, Eric Kertes on bass and Matt Mayhall on drums in addition to myself and Lenka really has that going for it. It's a bunch of people that really like to play music. The atmosphere onstage is casual and friendly and welcoming so I can only imagine that must project well into the audience.

We are off to Ojai on Monday and then Hollywood next Thursday, and then New York the following week where we have a show scheduled at Pianos on August 4th. We then go to a radio conference in Colorado on August 6th. We've got some shows in SF and possibly others in NY to round out the month. Then in September when the record drops (Sept. 23) things are gonna get a little crazier as I believe we have the weekly Hotel Cafe residency and are confirmed to play on the Conan O'Brien show on September 24th. Sweet!

Yesterday I did a session with producer Marc Jordan for a record he's doing with Las Vegas recording artist Stephen Wesley. The tracks were mainly in the funk/pop world and they already had some nice string arrangements happening on them by the time I got there. I'm really curious to hear what the end result sounds like once it's all mixed down and polished up, but for you gearheads reading this, a Royer ribbon into a Manley VoxBox sounds pretty stellar on brass from jump.

Lenka's song The Show (featuring yours truly on horns) made it's I-Tunes debut today, so do yourself a favor and buy it now so that you can begin the process of listening to the song enough times that it stops getting stuck in your head. And come out to Lenka's show on the 23rd at the Hotel Cafe, featuring a five piece band that includes me on horns and keys:

Just got word from Lenka that The Show was featured on a promo for the TV show Ugly Betty. This now makes 2 indirect connections to the show as my trumpet playing friend Mike Gorham's brother Christopher Gorham is one of the featured actors on that program.

Looks like there are going to be some more shows with Lenka coming up as well including New York City, Colorado, Ojai, Hollywood and more. I'll put up info on them as I get them.

Dizzler came over today to track some vocals on The Ventriloquists song Circuits (more childrens choir a la Big Machine) and Ian is on his way over right now to work on some further mixing. Looks like we are getting very close to having our EP finished. Yaaaay!

Just got back from spending a week in Hawaii with the family and the Dizzler. Was very relaxing and a much needed break from the everyday hustle and flow of LA and I returned on Sunday night very refreshed and ready to hit the ground running.

I checked out the John Daversa big band at the Santa Monica Airport on Monday night. They were killing it - Gene Coye was on the drums and he just absolutely slayed the charts, all written with Daversa's unique rhythmic and harmonic approach. The only bummer was that John didn't play any trumpet during the time I was there. That being said they did play the song Camels, which is one of my favorites.

Yesterday I did a session with Chris Schlarb for a video game he is writing the score for. We laid down some euphonium and cornet, and I think the game is going to be really cool. I don't know the name of it (or if it even has one right now) but it's basically a side scrolling puzzle game with really cool graphics and thanks to Chris, really cool music to go along with it.

Greg Berhendt and the Reigning Monarchs just put up a new song called Cowboy Shirt on their myspace page. I'm not playing on this one (I think it's Lee Thornburg on the brass) but having played the song live I can vouch for it's swashbuckling epic-ness.

I finally got my hands on a copy of David Ramos' new disc and anyone who is a fan of TOCA should really check it out. Really interesting arrangments and lots of cool textural stuff happening. Also spoke to Ceschi recently and it looks like he's working on a new solo disc as well.

Today I picked up a Chandler Germanium Preamp and have to say I am very pleased with it thus far. Josh Rumer came by tonight to lay down some horn tracks for a song he's producing for an artist named Dune Tran that he is working with. We put down euphonium and trumpet and they both benefitted substantially from the smooth creamy distortion of the Germ. Do you hear my tone!?!?!?!?

Seriously though, there has been much music making as of late. Ian Souter came over the other night to work on mixing the Ventriloquists song Circuits, and Josh is doing some level adjustments on the same tune as I type this. I expect our EP will be done in the next few weeks, at which point we'll probably do a CD-R release of the tunes we've got finished thus far.

Today I talked to Chris Schlarb of Sounds Are Active records and it looks like a session I did with him many moons ago called Comma is going to be released on a 12" at some point in the near future. I think we are going to be getting together in the next few weeks to collaborate on some other things, which should be a good time. I used to play in a band called Create (!) with Chris and Ian back in the day.

I got to play a couple of cool shows last week. The Whitebelts played at Social and then at Crosby Lytle and both shows were lots o fun. At Social we had a rhythm section of Gene Coye, Marcel Camargo and Andre DeSantana, and they absolutely killed it. Apparently the Socialites who populate the venue seemed to dig it so we will hopefully be returning there soon.

It was practically the same lineup at Crosby Lytle except Kevin Moore Jr. played the drums for us. We went some pretty cool places, jumping around from 60s soul jazz to 70s era Miles Davis esque freeform jazz rock to a smooth jazz version of the Yin Yang Twinz "Whisper Song" to a gutbucket version of Rilo Kiley's "With Arms Outstrecthed" to boogaloo and afro pop. Not bad for an hour and a half at one of Venice's coolest spots, the Red Garter.

The next night Babystone had their EP release show at the Temple Bar with Shinichi and like all Babystone shows at the Temple Bar, it was a funky good time. The EP features Sly Stone on a track and of course has a bevy of horns courtesy of the Double Ds. Check out some clips at their myspace page. Speaking of Babystone, Itai can be heard laying down some Sitar on the new Ventriloquists song Gomorrah at www.theventriloquists.com.

Lenka just informed me that we are going to be playing on July 23rd at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. Looks like there is also a tenative plan for every Thursday in September at the same venue. Lenka is in NY right now working on material for her upcoming record and doing the promo thing - photo shoots, videos, etc.

Expect to be hearing a lot of her very soon as her song "The Show" (featuring horns by yours truly) popped it's radio cherry last week on Mix941 in Las Vegas and it looks like her label is going to be making a really serious effort to get her music out to the people. Sweet.

The Ventriloquists have just uploaded a new song called Patterns to their myspace page. I'm stoked because we've been working on this track for a long time and I feel it's finally at a place where we are happy with how it is sounding.

The song was recorded at 7th Level and Invengo studios in Hollywood as well as at my studio in Culver City. It was produced by The Ventriloquists and Josh Rumer. Also we uploaded a new mix of our song If The Shoe Fits. Just one more song to go and the Albino Pomegranate EP will be complete!

Last weekend I scored a short film that Lasrever made for the 48 hour film festival. The movie is called "Brutal" and it think it's quite good considering it was made in 2 days. I'll put up a link here when they get it up on Lasrever's website. The screening, which I was unfortunately unable to attend, happened yesterday.

Just got word from Babystone that they are not playing the Long Beach Blues Festival due to a scheduling conflict. Too bad... They are playing Friday night at the Temple Bar for their EP release, so you should come check that out if you are in or around Santa Monica.

Tonight the Whitebelts are going to be rocking out at the Red Garter in Venice. There is no cover so you have no excuse not to come out and shake your ass to some funky tunes.

The Whitebelts are also going to be playing at Social Hollywood tonight. My guess is that we will be in the dining room or bar at around 8 or so (I think we play earlier for a private party).

Next Thursday night:

Whitebelts

Crosby Lytle

Juneteenth

Also got word from Lenka about a possible gig on July 16 at the Hotel Cafe. More details if and when.

There has been much activity as of late in Ventriloquists land. Ian came over a few nights ago and we did what we hope are the final series of tweaks to the song Patterns, which should be up on the Ventriloquists myspace page soon. I've also been working on trying to get Circuits into something that more closely resembles a finished product and I think it's coming along nicely. The Dizzler came by yesterday and tracked some Wurlizter that sounds very nice.

The Ventriloquists also just booked a show at the MBar on August 2. More details on this as they become available, but I believe this event is a re-scheduling of a benefit concert that was supposed to happen at the Edison last October.

Tomorrow I'm going into the studio with Mike Rofe to put down some horns on some tracks he's been working on.

The Whitebelts are playing a private event at Social Hollywood this weekend and it looks like we might be resuming our weekly gig there. Stay tuned for more info on that, and in the mean time come out to Crosby Lytle on the 19th of this month for some funky good times and dancing.

Speaking of funky good times and dancing, Babystone put up a new track called Can I Be on their myspace, just in time for the summer heat. This track features the Double D Horns on flugelhorn and flute. The CD release show is coming up at the Temple Bar and it promises to be dope.

Also Pierre De Reeder's new disc that I played on is coming out on August 12. In the meantime you can pick it up at the merch table at Rilo Kiley shows until June 18.

Last night Jolly and I were out at the Invengo studios with Josh Rumer putting the final touches on a myspace mix for our song Gomorrah, which is now up at the Ventriloquists myspace page. We've spent a long time on this one and it's evolved into quite a production, so go ahead and give it a listen and let us know what you think about it.

The session at Kingsize the night before last ended up being with singer/songwriter Adam Cohen. Me and David put down some Doulbe D hornage under the guidance of producer Dave Trumfio, Adam, and arranger Jason Borger (aka Gringo, Gringo, Gringo and Associates) and we worked til the wee small hours of the morning making sure every last detail was in the right place.

I also been working on a new arrangement of a Vampire Weekend song for the Whitebelts upcoming gig at Crosby Lytle. That promises to be a fun time as it looks like Kevin Moore Jr. from Babystone is going to be rocking drums with us again, so you know it's going to be funky.

Intronaut has finished up the majority of the tracking on their new record according to band member Dave Timnick (who also plays drums in The Ventriloquists). I gave a listen to a pre-mixed version the other night and it sounds epic. Particularly interesting is the 5 movement 11 minute extended instrumental composition about the reptillian brain.

A few days ago Jolly and I went over to Crown City Recording in Pasadena to have lunch with co-owner Eric Lilavois. This was my first time in the facility and I was duly impressed with the combination of good tracking space, gear and most importantly vibe - you really feel like you are in a positive working environment the second you step in the door. The place was clean without being sterile and there was a good amount of chill space - essential when you are spending hours waiting for someone else to track or edit or back up something.

I just checked out Lenka's myspace page and found this picture, which should give you a pretty good idea of what the vibe of our last show at the Hotel Cafe was like. Particularly important to said vibe is the white owl courtesy of artist James Gulliver Hancock. Also she has a new website at lenkamusic.net and on it you can hear the song "The Show" that I put horns on among other things.

Just got back from another session with Lenka, Stuart Brawley and Joe Corcoran at the Backyard Studios for Lenka's new record. We put various and assorted brass instruments on a song which at this point is being called "On The Wall." The song is rad and I can't wait to hear what gets done with all the parts we laid down today.

Tonight I'm headed out to Kingsize Soundlabs with David Moyer to lay down some Double D horns on a track with Dave Trumfio and Jason Borger. Will have more of a report on that after it happens, but as always I am stoked to track in the Kingsize A room.

Yesterday was Jolly's birthday and The Ventriloquists rocked a show at the Mint as part of the celebration. Many good people came out and helped Jolly say goodbye to his 20s in epic fashion, and The Ventriloquists ressurected a couple of older songs from back in the day.

The Whitebelts are going to be rocking Crosby Lytle at the Red Garter Lounge in Venice again on Thursday June 19. More info about that as it becomes available.

And happy birthday to my Dad who turned 65 today!

Babystone just confirmed a spot at the Long Beach Blues Festival on August 31 performing with Sly and The Family Stone. Also we have an EP that is coming out on June 20th, which is going to be celebrated with a show at the Temple Bar. These are going to be off the hook so mark your calendars now.

This Sunday! Jolly's Birthday! BBQ @ 1342 Yale at 2, Ventriloquists live @ the Mint at 9.

The Ventriloquists have been in the studio finishing up our songs Patterns and Gomorrah. We hope to have final mixes to be up in the next week or two.

I'm still offering my song Figure It Out as a free download, so take a second and check it out and let me know what you think.

Thanks to everyone that came out to see Lenka rock the Hotel Cafe last week. Ended up running into a lot of familiar faces and the show was a lot of fun. Got a chance to check out headliners My Brightest Diamond who were pretty sweet as well. Didn't get there in time to check out openers Pedestrian but I heard they were really good.

Speaking of fun shows, The Ventriloquists are going to be playing one at the Mint on June 1st. It's Jolly's birthday, so the we are going to start things off with a BBQ at Jolly and Ian's house (1342 Yale in Santa Monica) around 2 o'clock. Probably round 8 or so we are going to move the party eastward to The Mint where the band is going to rock a special birthday show (including some older tunes you probably haven't heard us play in a minute).

I'm putting up the newest mix of my song Figure It Out as a free download for you all to check out. I will have it up at myspace soon, but until then I wanted to give anyone who's been reading this a heads up sneak peak mp3 that you can throw in your ipod and without even having to steal it.

In other news , Life On Wax just published an interview with David Ramos for you to read wherein he discussses Anonymous Inc., his new record This Up Here and his take on what happened with the TOCA project.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Ventriloquists show at the M Bar last Friday - it was a good time as always and although we got a little bit of a late start I think we were able to sufficiently bring the rock. Unfortunately I didn't make it to homie Nate's birthday party at the Moishe House, but I heard it went off and everyone had a blast.

This weekend I have been rehearsing with Lenka for her show at the Hotel Cafe and I'm getting excited about it. The band features Lenka singing and playing keyboards, Kaveh Rastegar on bass, Stella Mozgawa on drums and myself on horns, keys and guitar. The band has a really nice vibe and the music has come together very quickly.

Speaking of which, I want to thank Kaveh, Stella and Lenka for turning me on to the "shreds" series of videos on Youtube. Oh god, the creamy tube distortion! Do you hear my tone???!?!?

Did a session today for singer/songwriter Joshua Radin at Sunset Sound Sound Factory with producer Rob Schnapf and arranger Jason Borger. First time in that studio and I have to say it's got pretty epic vibe (not to mention gear and rooms). I think the song is called Brand New Day and I'm guessing it's slated for his next release on Columbia Records.

It was interesting how the producer and engineers chose to mic the trumpet. Usually producers seem to prefer putting the mic right in front of the horn, maybe 2 to 3 feet away. In this session it was probably 4 to 5 feet away and maybe six inches above where my cornet and trombone were pointing. I was expecting a much more distant and washed out sound from that configuration than what I ended up hearing the headphones.

I guess that extra distance adds to the magic of the track instead of the noise floor when you've got a combination of room and gear and engineers like that. It's great when you can put that kind of depth of field into a recording without sacrificing clarity or tone on any of the parts.

In other news, The Ventriloquists got a shoutout on Metasonix website for being proud owners of a TM-7 Scrotum Smasher.

While I've found many different uses for the Scrotum Smasher, it's biggest benefit to the Ventriloquists and my studio in general is it's uncanny ability to impart scrotal malfeasance into any type of recording situation. Besides, as Metasonix founder Eric Barbour says "Gee, it's fun to say 'scrotum' over and over again."

David Moyer came over tonight to record some final keyboard punch ins for the song Gomorrah as well laying down an organ track for the song Silverpeak, both slated for the new Ventriloquists record. Me and Jolly did another session at Invengo a few days ago which got the song within spitting distance of a final mix. Once we drop in the keys we did tonight I think we are going to be damn near done with this track. Speaking of which, you should all come out to our show next Friday:

Also, Lenka has a new track up at her website which features some horns by myself. It's called The Show and it was produced by Stuart Brawley. You can also hear a few other new ones there too. We are playing at the Hotel Cafe on the 20th of this month, so come check that out:

Brentwood School had their annual Spring Concert last Tuesday as well. It went off really well and I got to conduct an arangement I wrote that combined Thus Spake Zarathustra, Surrender and Umbrella. I have to say this was one of the most talented bunch of kids I've ever worked with, particularly in the brass section.

Last night I went over to the Invengo studios to work on the Ventriloquists song Gomorrah with Josh Rumer and Jolly again. We are getting very close to a final mix on that song and it's starting to get epic. Obviously this is taking longer than we expected, but we think the attention to detail we've put into it is going to be worth it. Much creamy tube distortion for everyone.

In other news Lenka just booked a show at the Hotel Cafe on Tuesday May 20 and I'll be playing with her at it. Promises to be a fun time.

I've just recieved word that Alan Semerdjian, has finished his record. It's coproduced by Mike Bloom and features myself and David Moyer doing some horn things. Haven't heard the final product yet, but from what I remember there were some really nice songs with subtle tasteful production.

Speaking of Mike Bloom, it looks like he is doing a west coast tour from May 20 through May 28. I would encourage anyone who likes good singer/songwriter/guitarists to go check out one of his shows if he's playing in your area. Show dates are listed on his myspace page.

Also The Dizzler is having another Camp Monkey Muffin session soon, so check out her website to see about enrollment for that. If you have a kid that is into art and likes working with materials that you don't usually get to use in school (ie graffiti, airbrush, etc.) then you should definitely sign them up. I'm also available to teach music lessons during these camps if any of the campers so desire.

Electric Lights Music, the label run by Anna Ehl and Josh Loar (both formerly of Amanitas and Friends, a previous incarnation of The Ventriloquists), just released Surprise Attacks, the new and first album by the band Ribbons, which was produced, recorded, and mixed by Anna and Josh in their own studio. It's available on Amazon.com right now and will be available on itunes soon.

Circle into Square has David's album This Up Here, which features horns that I recorded at my studio. One track also features me and Ian on various trumpets. It's only 7 dollars and you get 4 free bonus remixes by Cars and Trains, Ernest Gonzales, Scubacop and Omid! iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, Napster and other digital stores also have the album, which was put out by Fake Four and Grimm Image.

The Ventriloquists are going to be playing MBar in Hollywood (at the corner of Vine and Fountain) on Friday, May 16. The band is going on at 10:30 and you should come expecting a party. The last two shows we did there were off the hook, so you should come out if you find yourself in need of musical release. This one is being put on by our friend Mike Rofe of My Name Is Mike Promotions.

The band has also just booked a show at the Mint on Sunday June 1st with 387 Entertainment. This is going to be Jolly's birthday party, so it's going to start earlier in the day with a BBQ at 1342 Yale, followed by a trek eastward to rock the show of life at one of our favorite venues. Expect to hear some tunes we haven't done in a while, including tunes off of Safety Meeting.

Was up late last night at the Invengo studios with Jolly and Josh Rumer working on a mix for the Ventriloquists song Gomorrah. I think we should have something substantial by the end of the weekend, and hopefully we'll have it up on the myspace by then.

Just did another session today with Lenka for her upcoming record, this time with producer Stuart Brawley at his Backyard Studios. The song is called The Show and it's been stuck in my head all day.

I've been driving myself crazy trying to get this track into some sort of shape for the last week or two. That being said I'm finally starting to get the song into a place where I like the direction it's going and lyrics are starting to fall out of the sky, which means it might be done sooner than I think. Which means I'll put it up here or on the myspace page for y'all to listen to as soon as I got something....

I'm particularly excited about this one because I think it's going to be the final piece that's missing from the record I've been trying to finish for the last 3 years or so. The name of the project is Amanitas (also a psuedonym I sometimes employ) and for now at least the record is called 'I Create Stereos Of The Symphonic Type.' The song doesn't yet have a name, but that should be coming soon.

Amanitas is basically my solo project as I've done most of playing, writing, producing and singing, however there are also contributions from David Moyer, Edy Pickens, Ian Souter, Josh Rumer and Tommy V sprinkled throughout.

Anyone who has been to a Ventriloquists show recently will probalby recognize some of the songs - Circuits, Big Machine, Silverpeak, and Figure It Out all began their life as Amanitas songs before being adopted by The Ventriloquists. Some might call it lazy but I call it getting mileage out of my ideas - if Miles Davis and Aaron Copland can reuse thematic material and rearrange/repurpose their songs then dammit so can I.

This Saturday Night, 4/26/08, J.Rocc and Artdontsleep are putting on a concert featuring the legendary drummer James Gadson and The Breakestra in a tribute to James Brown at the Echoplex in Echo Park. David Moyer of the Ventriloquists and the Whitebelts will be playing sax and flute with the Breakestra and this show should be off the chain.

Rilo Kiley is going on a headlining tour all over the US that starts tomorrow with a show at The Glasshouse in Pomona. I won't be touring with them this go around however having played with and/or seen them many times by now, you should definitely go see them if they are playing anywhere near you. In the meantime, meet other RK fans (and general indie rock types) at their fansite.

In tangentially related news, Nate Greely of Arlo and The Elected will be playing a solo acoustic show as part of Jonathan Rice's Monday night residency at Spaceland. I toured with Nate in 2006 as part of the Elected's Sun Sun Sun tour and know him to be a good singer/songwriter in addition to laying down some solid bass. Nate doesn't play solo shows like this very often so you should take the opportuntity to check it out. He'll be playing bass in Jonathan's band later in the evening as well.

Just got home from performing at Largo with The Reigning Monarchs, and it was a hell of a show tonight. For starters it was probably the best set yet by the Monarchs, which benefited from the contributions of 2 new members, pianist Eddie Wiernik and drummer Eric Gardner. The rest of the rhythm section - Dan Petty on bass, Mike Eisenstein and Greg Berhendt on guitar- have started to gel into some kind of fierce unit and the arrangements are starting to really come to life. Me and David did our usual thing and the crowd response seemed overall very positive considering they were watching an instrumental ska band.

Since Largo is moving to a new location soon, this show had some special significance as one of the last in their Fairfax location. I had a discussion with some of the other musicians in the band and every one has had an experience wherein the proprietor has almost expelled them from the venue for opening up a cell phone, even just to text message. But that's what is so key about Largo's appeal - it's all about the vibe, and the vibe is in the details. A couple square inches of harsh digital backlighting can ruin the intimacy of a dark room, and having a proprietor who cares about these kinds of details is intrinsic to their success.

Greg did some standup after our show which was hilarious before introducing the first special guest of the evening, Flight of The Conchords, who performed a short set of acoustic funk guitar, drum machine and keytar. In fact, they went so far as to have a Marilyn Monroe happy birthday mr. president keytar solo where Brett McKenzie actually gyrated on an unsuspecting audience member, pretend sodomizing him with his Yamaha.

The crowd, who had no idea they would be performing, went absolutely bonkers. It's pretty amazing how popular these guys are, especially amongst the segment of Angelenos that hang out at Largo. So it was a best thing ever situation for a lot of people.

Except lo and behold who walks in the door during their set but Janeane Garofalo. So she gets up on stage and makes a lot of those same people's best ever situation get even more best ever-er.

Then Patton Oswalt came in and proceeded to lay waste to the entire room with one of the funniest comedy sets I've ever heard him do. Greg introduced him by saying "when ever people ask me who my favorite comic is, I always say Patton Oswalt" and I can see why. He's got impeccable timing, especially with regard to pacing his material and knowing how long to riff on a topic before taking it someplace else, and his energy is infectious. Also he happened to be dressed in very similar outfit to what Jolly is wearing in this picture (minus the visor).

All in all, good night, good venue, good times...Oh yeah, and Brian Putnam was there again, which means he's probably going to have pictures up on his flickr soon. Also Monarchs should have some new music on their myspace page.

Lady D has settled back into life on the Westside after a breif stint living the rock and roll life in New York City. I just hit her up with some new beats tonight, so there should be some new tracks happening soon. In the meantime, check out this excerpt from our collaboration Syringes By The Pool.

The band has been in the studio laying down tracks for their upcoming record, collaborating with producer Joshua Rumer of Invengo Records as well as drummer Josh Loar of The Electric Lights and multi-instrumentalist Itai Shapira of Babystone and Elevaters.

Most recently the band has been putting finishing touches on the song Gomorrah, which should be up on the band's myspace page soon. This number, which was mainly written by Jeff Glassberg, has been quite a production, encompassing everything from 80s glam rock to goth metal to world music and beyond. We've been busy adding things like electric fiddle, trumpets, sitar, klezmer clarinet, and some pretty epic gang vocals, including a multi-tracked choir of Jeff doing some Hebraic incantations.

I played with Lenka, a cool singer songwriter from Australia that I met through producer Mike Elizondo, at the Hotel Cafe last Wednesday night. Lenka was filling in for a last minute cancellation so we were doing the show on pretty short notice. That being said it ended up being a cool.

Turns out that Buddy was also playing that night, a singer songwriter who is coincidentally good friends with Greg Berhendt from the Reigning Monarchs. He played a very precious indie folk version of ZZ Top's Legs on acoustic guitar with Jon Brion at the piano during the last RM show at Largo (both musicians also joined the Monarchs on stage for some jams as well). On Wednesday I only heard the last song of his set from the dressing room but it sounded like an epic jam out.

After he played, this indie rock duo called Georgie James went up. Nice songwriting with a very mellow 70s kind of vibe to it - acoustic guitar and keyboards with a guy and and a girl taking turns singing lead. They were both good singers, but their harmonies together were great - a truly special blend that was like a 3rd chordal instrument in their set. Talked to them a bit after the show and turns out they are both from DC.

Anyway, Lenka just finished her record, and the tracks I've heard are definitely on the catchy side of ear candy. Super hooky songwriting with really stellar production and a great voice - ethereal sparkly singing with great pitch. Live her vocals were even more effective as there was an added emotional element to the delivery. Surrounding us on stage were a bunch of awesome red cutout owls that were done by artist James Gulliver Hancock, and they definitely helped maintain the mellow 70s vibe.

Hey everyone. I've decided to update the site in order to streamline things. Hope you like the new layout.