Hey all, I am excited to share an early listen to a song from the new album.
Tahoma Hauptman Quintet, album as of yet still untitled.
Personell: Tenor/Soprano-Chris Bacas, Baritone-Tina Richerson, Vibes-Chris Dingman, Bass-Ratzo B. Harris, Drums-Tahoma Hauptman
Song: In Blue
My friend Craig pointed me to this. Sounds cool, thought I would share.
I am in the surreal aftermath of my recording session, listening to the roughs over and over saying to my self something like ” I can’t believe I wrote that, or played it or that it’s real!?” I start to mix tomorrow with Michael Gittleman. I have set a loose deadline of two to three weeks to have the album mixed and mastered. Can’t wait to share this album, called, uhmm, iduknow maybe Tahoma Hauptman Quintet if I can’t think of anything better.
Over all this has been….. is an amazing experience but everything can’t be perfect, boo hoo. It would be to easy to to dwell in perceived negatives and loose the momentum of the moment, so I must push past such a possibility. To stay focused on the positive and use the inertia of this experience I have started writing again, and something altogether different to boot! Always more to do, more to learn.
I am filled with all kinds of feelings, not the least of which is amazement that I have come this far. Through intense self inflicted stress and doubt, countless rewrites and revisions, subbing out a chair with only two rehearsals left, continuing to work my day job and some of the hottest days of the year. This is all happening while house sitting in Queens which means running back and forth between Brooklyn and Queens trying not to forget anything important in either of the places I’m sleeping. Through all, time has done it’s thing again, tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow we go to the studio and record the album. All I can do now is try to rest and try to clear my head.
Well shoot, this was my first rehearsal. Horns Tina and Chris Bacas, did a little horn get together last month, which is totally cool. Andrew, Dingman and myself had yet to play, and with the first real, or full rehearsal coming up, I was desperate to get a tittle catch up. Tonight was definitely eye opening as far as what we are capable, and what or how much has to happen. I am not despondent now, but maybe more nervous? Not just nervous, also excited!
I am as the post title indicates, both nervous and excited. This month July of 2010 I begin rehearsing a band, I guess it’s my band, to play arrangements of original music I have written. Due to my high standards and essential ignorance of proper composition techniques, it has been a slow doubt filled writing process that has taken almost three years. This process has also of course been incredibly educational, exciting and empowering. It makes it sound easy to say I have gathered musicians, set a rehearsal schedule and booked a studio. Maybe it is that easy, but to say so ignores the the growing feeling in my stomach, like attending my own funeral and birth at the same time. We will be rehearsing at Electroluxe studios in Brooklyn and recording at Benett studio in Jersey. I looked at a bunch of studios, Water also in Jersey, Bushwick studio, the bunker, Grand street, Dubway and several others all with there own merits. My biggest fear is probably that I will be the guy who won’t be able to cut his parts on the music that he wrote. This is my worst inner voice however and if being able to hear it meant I couldn’t move forward, well…. I wouldn’t be where I am now. After the doubt, fear and silliness, there is still joy, from doing things I like, coordinating, organizing and very high on the list, bringing to tangibility something esoteric, making something people can touch see, and hear, where before there was only fantasy and imagination. I look forward to sharing this project with everyone as soon as I can! Yeah, I don’t even know what to call it either!? So much to do still!
I think it was 2008, (my memory is a bit foggy), that saw me helping build a recording studio in Wiliamsburg Brooklyn. It was a slow project with plenty of frustrations, but man I learned a ton! It has been amazing to have a place to work. I have had the opportunity to do some stuff, some demos, I got to produce a couple of albums, my first in fact. Here is a client list for 2008/2009.
Tina Richerson (Album) http://therichersonic.com/
Kris Kelly (Album) http://www.myspace.com/kristopherkelly
Daya’s Rayez (Voiceover)
Freedom Haters (Music)
Jason Little (Music)
Chicken Truck Productions (Voice Over)
Lafayette (Demo)
Melinda Sharretts (Demo)
Sean Hagerty (Music)
Gian Luigi Diana (Music)
Medicine Woman (Demo)
Andrew Livingstone (music)
Chris Stewart (Music)
2010 Laura Bone (Demo)
Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center (Film)
Jen Painter (Dance)
I also had the chances to assist Michael Gittleman on recordings by: Michael Blake, Killing time, Neel Murgai, Vin Scialla, and Snehasish Mozumde.
It’s pretty cool to be able to look at this document and see, hey, I actually did some shit! It’s easy to feel like nothing is happening but a little perspective can be nice.
2009
Where to even begin!?
Up till starting this project I didn’t know of Don Van Vliet AKA Captain Beefheart. My friend Michael told me well over a year ago about this genius, masochistic, musician friend of his, named Wade, who was attempting to transcribe some difficult and fascinating music so they could play it…. Little did I know I would be drafted, and what an education! I was challenged, grew as a musician and developed new relationships. To: John French, Don and everyone who played this music, “I tip my hat you you sirs!” To: Wade the genius without whom this would have been impossible, “stay away from me.”
2007-2009
Wow! Getting to post this is a pleasure! It’s been a long time coming. The music on this first album is primarily Chris’s. This band has existed prior my involvement, Andrew and Chris have played together in other iterations of Polaroy. I’s crazy that we started tracking in April 2007 and the album wasn’t out till 2009, but it’s here now! There are other songs on the MySpace, but these are my favorites.
http://www.myspace.com/polaroy
Tracked at Electroluxe studio. http://www.electroluxestudio.com
Evil Dead Band 2005
Conceived of and led by Johnathan Hurley the band borrowed their name from the cult classic of the same title. It was the bands one function to watch a re-edited Evil Dead and write an original score. We met weekly for a year to do this. However the You Tube video is no longer available as Starz Media LLC has blocked the content on copyright grounds.Here is a little taste of the sounds but not of the sights.