Watch in fascination, groove with definition.....

To my fellow lovers, livers and all who are generally engaged in  creating the stuff of life..... It's been such a fascinating journey  and I thank you for allowing me to share in yours. I hope your Equinox, or Passover, or Easter or jolly combination of the three and  then some were well spent with family and friends. I personally kind of had a horrific monster cold that I didn't wish to pass on to my mortal enemies, much less folks I care about, so I had to stay home, but thankfully my family sent on some ravioli with the Amoeba when he returned home. Fortunately I am over the cold, and ready for tomorrow's show, which I hope you can stop over to, if you are within  the realm of downtown Pittsburgh!

Tomorrow April 9, at 5 pm til 7 pm.
At the Backstage Bar, 655 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
Come enjoy an early evening to start your weekend with sweet Pittsburgh jazz with silky vocals by Phat Man Dee, the incomparable guitar musings of Colter Harper and the Afro Cuban melodic and entrancing drums of Miguel Sague III. Light bite and cocktails, no  cover!! Watch in fascination, groove with definition as bassist Tony DePaolis shakes your inner every with his very heavy....

Also, in the now, and for another 28 days, the cast of the opera I was in last fall, "How to Survive the Apocalypse, a Burning Opera" is engaged in a communal fundraiser. We are trying to raise about $8000 to complete the cast album. I sang on the record, and helped write the melody to my character's solo song! We did this all last fall, after our sold out run at Teatro Zinzanni in San Francisco, we caravaned together to my friends' Renfey and David Bergeaud's house in the Hollywood Hills to make the record, while it was fresh in our minds and bodies. Renfey was in the cast as the Fire Elemental, and her husband turned their palatial home into a giant recording studio. It was an incredible recording experience. The album and dvd from the live show will be great, but we need to complete them. We the cast, writers (Mark Nichols and Erik Davis) , producer , crew , band and David all made intensedonations of our time and talents but love and talent can only go so far, at some point we need to ask for a little help. I am not asking any one of you to give me $8000 to finish this work, in fact we already have over $5000 of the monies needed pledged already. But if you could think to put $30 or more towards our efforts, I would really thank you. Check it out online, you can see
teaser video from the show and get more info:



And while we are talking about fire and how to survive the apocalypse......
My friend Eroc moved back to town. It was such event, the paper wrote about it....
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10053/1037275-388.stm

Anyhoo, Eroc is a pretty fascinating guy, though he is from Pittsburgh, I met him in NYC with my art star freaks up there, he was a founder of their Madagascar Institute, and LEMUR (League of Musical
Electronic Robots) and he is now living in Squirrel Hill. And he's about to teach a course in building your own personal artistic flame thrower. I can't attend these classes because of gigs and commitments,
but I am hoping it goes well so I can study another time, I have been needing some fire sculpture (or at least some fire elements for my scooter, don't you think?) for a while now.... and it's not like
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts is offering these classes....yet......

For more info:

 http://www.hackpittsburgh.org/flame-cannon-clas 

So, as much as I would love to see your beautiful faces tomorrow, I understand that not all things can happen as I would order them, mayhap I can see you at a gig towards the end of the month?

Save some dates if you would:

Saturday April 24 at the Club Cafe! 21+ , $10. The Return of Yawp!

Carnevale Poetica! Featuring Salena Catalina, Bingo Quixote, Alexi Morrissey, ErinEvanErin, Kevin "the nerve' Wenner, Borderless Puzzle, Phat Man Dee, Dr. Awkward, Gary Musisko, Jim "DOG" Cvetic, Over Responding Monster, Leslie Ann McIlroy and more guests TBA... plus the return of yawp Magazine. Poetry/Performance/Music/Art!

Friday April 30 at Little E's Jazz Club
8 pm, no cover, $10 min food/drink, with Tony DePaolis, Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III

Saturday May 1 at Backstage Bar
5 - 7 pm, no cover, with Colter Harper and Miguel Sague III
Later that same evening, 8 pm at the Grey Box Theater for a benefit for the Spanish language grade school in Squirrel Hill

Sunday May 16 at Shadow Lounge
"Go Tell it On the Mountain" a benefit to send legal defense funds to Climate Ground Zero, as they fight the Massie Corporation from immoral and illegal mountaintop blast coal mining. With Phat Man Dee, Emay, Typewriter Girls and Mike Roselle of Climate Ground Zero, more info forthcoming. All $$ to benefit Climate Ground Zero.

And last but not least, please to enjoy some video I shot and edited of me singing with Genia of Machete and Carlos Pena at the Latin American Cultural Union's presentation during the Caribbean and Latin American Festival at the University of Pittsburgh. I am hoping to start a trio with her and Cha of Guaracha Latin Dance Band, maybe called Trio Los Mereguitos.... Until I can announce our debut performance, I hope this video whets your appetite...