Hello friends,
I hope this message finds you enjoying the waning summer. I feel like September has flown by, and I'm doing my best to appreciate what's left of it.
I'd like to tell you about some exciting things coming up this fall. First of all, I'll be playing trombone and euphonium with Charlie Painter and Friends at the UW Memorial Union Terrace this Friday, September 25. It's for the "Behind the Beat" jazz series, and we're happy to be a part of it. The show goes from 5 to 7 pm. Come kick it on the terrace while it's still nice out!
On Friday, October 2, I will be playing an acoustic set at Wild Hog in the Woods with Jason Moon at 8:00 pm. Jason and I met about a year ago, and he's been gracious enough to invite me to participate in this gig. We'll be debuting a couple songs that we wrote together, as well as playing a bit on each other's songs. The event is at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center.
The Big Payback is thrilled to be playing a very special installment of MadCity Sessions on Thursday, October 8 at 6:00 pm in the Overture Center lobby. The event is called "Give the Drummer Some," a tribute to local legend Clyde Stubblefield. Clyde is best known as the original "funky drummer" in many of James Brown's hit songs. We will have the honor of performing with James Brown alums Fred Wesley, Jabo Starks, and Fred Thomas, as well as the funky drummer himself. Like all MadCity Sessions, this is a free performance!
I will be participating in a panel discussion for Writer's Life at Madison Area Technical College's downtown campus on Thursday, November 5. This particular discussion will focus on the music careers and writing processes of local songwriters. The event runs from 7 to 8 pm.
Saturday, November 14 is another big day for me. As I've mentioned in a few blog posts on my website, I've been commissioned to compose a piece for jazz big band in honor of World Diabetes Day. The piece is called "Diabetes and Me- Light Our Village in Blue," and it will be premiered on November 14 by the Madison College big band. We had our first rehearsal on it last week, and it went well! The November 14 concert is free, and it takes place at the Waunakee High School's Performing Arts Center at 7 pm. Pre-concert activities start at 6. I've put a ton of work into this thing, and I'm very excited for its world premiere!
On top of all of this, The Big Payback is finishing up tracking for our second album. We will enter the mixing phase very soon, and we hope for a release in early 2016. I contributed all the music this time around, and so far everything is sounding really good. I also continue to write material for an eventual full-length solo acoustic album. I can't wait to share all this stuff with you!
Whew- that's it for now. Catch ya further on down the trail.
Kyle