I’m typing in the rain about 40 minutes from Montreal – it’s a long story – but I wanted to make sure that you all know I’m touring with ProgJect this year, and actually it’s already started.
It’s a new lineup with Alessandro Del Vecchio on lead vocals (he’s amazing!), Pete Griffin on bass, Ryo Okumoto on keys, Jonathan Mover on drums, and me on guitar. A couple of nights ago we had an outrageous show in Quebec City, and tomorrow (June 26) we’re in Montreal at Théâtre Fairmount. This first run is just a little eight-show jaunt in the U.S. and Canada, with UK/Europe and more North American dates coming later in the year.
The band sounds just incredible and the Quebec show was my favorite show ProgJect has ever done. This band feels really special right now and I just wanted to honor it on the website here, and encourage you to come see us if we’re near you. The info about the shows on this first run is on the Live Dates page (thank you Antal!) and when the later shows are announced, you’ll find out about them on the Live Dates page as well.
Links to Nonkertompf Live go live at 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday night, May 2! If you’ve got an itchy clicker finger, go here for all the other available MK titles…
For this month’s Bandcamp Friday (which is the last Bandcamp Friday until September – BC Friday being that glorious occasional Friday when all financial proceeds are given to artists/labels without Bandcamp itself taking its customary cut), we are premiering Nonkertompf Live – Groningen, The Netherlands October 19, 2001.
This album documents an evening when I, along with ten other trusted musical compatriots (and the music-preparing assistance of equally-trusted Exowax confidante Chris Opperman), offered a special live performance of music from the Nonkertompf album. That instrumental album had been played in the studio by me alone, so the music underwent significant transitions in order to be played live by this sizable ensemble.
For this special festival event, the band were:
Me on guitar and a little piano and very little vocal
Rick Musallam on guitar and equally little vocal
Nick D’Virgilio on drums and just as little vocal
Bryan Beller on bass
Tricia Williams on vibes and percussion
Evan Francis on alto sax and flute
Marc Ziegenhagen on keyboards
Bart van Lier on trombone
Jan Willem van der Ham on bassoon and alto sax
Oene van Geel on violin
Ruben van Roon on electronics and samples
The event was produced by Pieter van Hoogdalem and Co de Kloet, and Scott Chatfield was charged with keeping us all in line and ready to play.
This was my first experience crafting charts for a relatively large group (I consider more than ten musicians to be relatively large – the Dancing charts were for a mere eight players), and a crucial step on the journey that eventually led to The Universe Will Provide.
In early 2002, Co de Kloet asked me and Scott to prepare a special edit of the concert for an NPS Radio promotional CD to be distributed at a convention in The Netherlands, and that edit is what you’ll find on Bandcamp.
Apart from that one convention, it’s never been distributed or presented in any form. The quality of the recording and mixing is absolutely top-notch and everyone put all of their hearts into the gig.
Included in the download is a ginchy booklet with the complete story of the project, lots of photos, art from the concert program, and the original score from “Hum,” one of the Nonkersongs souped up just for this one-off performance. (Li’l sampler above.)
It’s a real pleasure to finally welcome Nonkertompf Live, an official edit of a one-time-only performance, to the Exowax catalogue. We hope you enjoy it tremendously!
THE NEWEST KENEALLY/RADULOVICH COLLAB, WEDNESDAY
Marcelo and I continue our series of day-of-the-week instrumental releases with a new installment, Wednesday. I’ve loved them all, but this one feels really special to me. It’s completely impossible for me to describe it, but I’m hopeful that you’ll give it a listen – maybe you can describe it to me?
You can find the four albums we’ve done so far, along with the rest of Marcelo’s remarkable catalogue of recordings, here.
I’M GUESTING WITH THE FLORENCE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FOR FSO ROCKS 2024
I’m honored to be guesting as guitar soloist (along with a little bit of piano and vocal) with the Florence Symphony Orchestra for FSO Rocks 2024 at the FMU Performing Arts Center in Florence, SC, a beautiful venue.
Last year’s special guest at this event was the transcendent Andy Timmons, so I’m pretty floored to be the guest this time around, unleashing fusillades on classic rock tunes we all know and love. You can see some of the artists whose music will be played if you visit this ticket link. It’s a long time since I’ve played with an orchestra, and I’m eager to get onstage with this wonderful ensemble.
PROGJECT ARE GOING BACK ON THE ROAD
We are excited to welcome Alessandro Del Vecchio, a brilliant and powerful lead vocalist, into the ProgJect lineup for our 2024 gigs (Jonathan Mover, Ryo Okomuto, Pete Griffin and I will also be there). The first batch of shows have been announced – we’ll be in Chicago, Hamilton/Toronto, Quebec, New York City and Glenside, PA. Many more shows will be coming in 2024.
I’m especially jazzed for this first bunch of shows for two reasons: these will be our first gigs in Canada, and the NYC and Glenside show will have a very special opening act: Bill Bruford will be interviewed live onstage by Innerviews’ Anil Prasad. Bill doesn’t set foot on very many stages nowadays, and although he won’t be playing, he will still be hugely entertaining, and any opportunity to see him in person is one to be treasured.
Ticket links are not yet live for these shows, but I wanted to give you a heads-up in case you need to make travel plans. This will be me, Joe Travers, Rick Musallam and Pete Griffin.
We obviously love to play this room, it’s so intimate and completely focused on the music, and I consider myself really fortunate that this venerable institution has been so welcoming to me over the years. It’s always over the top and intense and hilariously fun and fiercely musical in there, so I hope you can join us.
Thank you so much for reading this! You’re great! Bye bye!
Links to Nonkertompf Live go live at 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday night, May 2!
Heya, fellow humans! How’s it going? I aim love at you!
Links to You Must Be This Tall go live at 11:59 p.m. PST Thursday night, February 29!
You Must Be This Tall from 2013 is probably one of the less-discussed titles in my album catalogue, but I think it’s really nifty.
I’ve been thinking more about this album since the BFD gigs at the Baked Potato a few weeks ago, during which the song “Cornbread Crumb” was featured pretty heavily (as it will be again at our upcoming gigs at Alvas). The album is an eclectic collection of mostly instrumental material (although there are four vocal tracks, including “The Rider” which is one of my most classic-rock-type tunes), largely played by me, and I think it makes for a very involving listen.
The CD has been out of print for a while, so when Scott Chatfield proposed it as the newest addition to our Bandcamp roster for this week’s Bandcamp Friday, I metaphorically leapt to my feet, and literally said “yes!” with great enthusiasm.
Fortifying this Bandcamp release is the addition of three bonus tracks: “Pitch Pipe (Vocal Version)” (which is completely bonkers), “The Upkeep of My Volcano” (a radical reinvention of the song “Kidzapunk”), and “Popes Instrumental Mix” (which is just groovy as heck). Plus some additional artwork and promo ephemera which come to you alongside the complete original artwork in digital format. It’s a neat package of neat stuff.
Just in case you never got this album when it first came out, this might be a nice opportunity for you to invite it into your life. And even if you do have it already, perhaps the bonus enticements will, er, entice you.
It premieres on our Bandcamp page THIS FRIDAY, March 1, aka Bandcamp Friday. Yes! (And as yet another enticement, the artists get every cent o’ the dough you spend on Bandcamp Friday!)
NEW KENEALLY/RADULOVICH COLLABORATION: it’s called TUESDAY
Marcelo Radulovich and I released two albums last year, called Monday and Bask – now comes the sequel to the first one, the all-instrumental Tuesday (do you sense the beginning of a trend?).
This ongoing series of albums can be viewed as an episodic examination of Marcelo’s and my friendship and musical collaboration, which has gone on for decades now. Or can just be viewed as a bunch of really unusual and hopefully interesting music.
Tuesday has got a lot more of me on guitar than Monday did, but it’s a minimalistic approach compared to my usual playing, and almost cinematic at times in its vibe. Marcelo’s arrangements, production choices and multi-instrumental contributions remain as vibrant and unique as ever.
Please investigate Tuesday, which premieres on Bandcamp Friday, along with our other two collaborations and Marcelo’s many other stellar projects here.
GIGS A-COMIN’: BFD at ALVAS, and ONE SHOT DEAL at THE GRAPE and CAMPUS JAX
Gonna sneak in a few gigs in March –
Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins (me, Rick Musallam, Pete Griffin and Joe Travers) will be appearing at Alvas in San Pedro on March 29 and 30, 8pm each night. These gigs are going to be absurd, I can tell already. You should be there.
Alvas is at 1417 W. 8th Street, San Pedro, California 90732. I love it there and I love this band.
And I will twice again be guesting with Joe Travers’ scintillating Zappa band, One Shot Deal… first at The Grape in Ventura on March 9 (link here, click the purple button that says “8:00 PM show”)…
