After playing in the 6-pieces folk outfit, Of the North, for the last year and a half, the band is disbanding. I joined a band at a time when they were getting a bit bored with their material and added my cello to help change things up. As Nate, the bandleader and songwriter, started working on new material, it started to head down a pretty different path than the previous material. The new material is smaller and more intimate, and works better with a smaller, more melodic ensemble. Therefore, the band is reforming as Whiskey Doubles, keeping Nate as the singer/songwriter, me on cello and percussion, Nate’s wife Kristen continuing backup vocals, ukulele, and percussion, and adding my wife, Ellie, on banjolele, vocals, flute, and percussion. Kristen will also bring out her clarinet for the first time with the group, so we are expecting a lot of small chamber orchestra instrumentation.
We’re practicing hard, working on recording, and have already begun setting up a website. Read more about Whiskey Doubles on our website, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates!
I spent about 30 minutes late on a Sunday night learning to play spoons. I picked it up fairly quickly and was able to play through one Of the North song. I still have a lot of work to do to first get my grip to be more solid and consistent, and then to add some more tricks.
This last New Year’s Eve Eve Of the North played a gig at Tonic Tavern with Pay the Devil. The show was absolutely amazing with a great turnout, a receptive audience, and a really fun opening act. This was my first show with the full band and it couldn’t have gone any better. Read the rest of this entry »
I caught Allen Russel, a multi-instrumentalist and composer I know from UWM, playing violin with the Milwaukee Hot Club on Saturday night. Allen played mandolin on one of my pieces during school, Irresolution. The show was great overall, and this tunes was one of the highlights of the night.
