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Category Archives: twitter

Internet Jazzers make Collaborative EP: Building the “LegoLand Empire”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again–my favorite use of the internet is collaborating with people you otherwise would probably not have even met.

Case-in-point is a new 4-song Electronic/Funk/ Jazz EP called “Guard the Point” organized by Allen Wentz. Allen masterminded this project and invited me and two other top-shelf musicians, Neil Alexander on keys and Trip Wamsley on bass to play. He even invited my favorite graphic artist Linda Palmer into the fray who always over-delivers: she produced different artwork for each song.

Trip and I have recorded together before and Neil has been on my short list of guys I wanted to do some playing with for some time.

It was great fun to get a new audio file from Allen every couple of weeks and see where I might fit into the musical landscape. It was pretty easy as all these players are super sharp, tasteful and generous.

So, here is the debut release from the LegoLand Empire “Guard the Point.” Please let us know what you think, share it on your favorite social network and buy it you’re so inclined–the whole EP is just $1.00.

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New Video: Twitter-fueled SSIJ Jazz Band (LIVE)

by Rob Michael

It’s been a couple of weeks now since the SSIJ (Secret Society of Internet Jazzers) played the Beta Lounge in Berkeley, CA.

We enjoyed an enthusiastic audience both in the room and on Ustream. The club was very dark so our Ustream crew was treated to primarily audio feed. Fortunately, we had a couple of other cameras that were able to catch a enough visual data for me to provide you this glimpse of the show.

The main thing that struck me from this show was the musical strength and depth with which these musicians play. Who knew a pick-up band from Twitter would be so burning!

Thanks again to my compadres Jason Parker, Steve Uccello, Darin Wilson, Dave Hoffman and Joe Shotwell.

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My upcoming gig with the”Secret Society of Internet Jazzers”

by Rob Michael

There are several different reasons that I employ the various Social Media tools available to us from around the web. One is connect with people who may never have heard my music and I can reach out to them, and them to me, and we connect. Another might be to keep a dialog open with industry people: Product manufacturers, other blogs etc. Yet another is to reach out to discover and get to know other musicians.

I’ve had the good fortune to get to know a good many wonderful artists all over the planet and this Tues, Sept. 7th, I’ll be celebrating with five people I’m lucky enough to count as friends.

The”Secret Society of Internet Jazzers” (#SSIJ) is a collaborative gig with musos from up and down the Pacific Northwest at the Beta Lounge in Dowtown Berkeley, CA.

This show features myself and my first-call drummer Joe Shotwell from the Atmos Trio, dual trumpet duties from Seattle’s Jason Parker and Seaside CA’s Dave Hoffman, Santa Cruz bassist Steve Uccello and Oakland’s Darin Wilson on piano.

This particular group has never played together before so this provides a unique opportunity to witness/ participate in a Realtime Jazz experience. Dig it!

Not in the area? You can still join us! This concert will be LIVE VIDEO STREAMED.

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Amazing Music video for Led Zeppelin’s Rain Song

by Rob Michael

A few days ago I made my jazzified version of Led Zeppelin’s Rain Song available to my twitter followers in exchange for a tweet. I was thrilled by the number of downloads and positive reactions I received. You can still get the track for a tweet.

My biggest surprise came from Mike Conaty who, upon hearing the track, was inspired to film, edit and post this gorgeous video. It really captures the vibe of the tune. Thanks Mike!!

I always love it when these spontaneous collaborations occur. I hope to see much more of this in the future.

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Love You to Hear This Song & All it Costs is a Tweet…

by Rob Michael

I’ve been working away in my studio with some new toys and thought I would share some results. It’s my gift to you, and all I request in return is a tweet.

This is my favorite Led Zeppelin tune The Rain Song. It features me playing guitars (Acoustic steel-string, hollowbody & my trusty Strat), bass guitar and some software synths. I thought I had nailed some super-great electronic percussion when my favorite drummer, Atmos’ Joe Shotwell came to the studio and blew my work away with his perfect and effortless playing.

So, please enjoy today’s musical offering with my compliments. If you have any questions or comments, I would love to know what you think!

Special thanks to @CashMusic for the clever twitter tools.

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New album “LIVE STREAM JAZZ” w/ Steve Uccello

by Rob Michael

On February 5th, 2010, Steve Uccello & I performed an impromptu concert to an internet audience on my ongoing Ustream Concert Series. This collection of tunes documents that performance. This album is available exclusively here, at AtmosMusic.com and at our Bandcamp store.

Album artwork by Linda Palmer (www.ponor.info)

Steve and I met on twitter last spring. We organized and performed together at the Atmos Trio “Twitter House Concert.” Once he expressed interest in playing on my Ustream show, I didn’t waste any time arranging to make it happen.

The Ustream gigs have been the surprise of the year for me. From my home studio, I performed several solo guitar shows, and played host to special guests Damian Erskine, Todd Johnson and even broadcast some gigs from my group, The Atmos Trio.

Due to the regularity of the show, an audience from all over the world routinely returned, show-after-show. Among them is artist extraordinaire Linda Palmer. I had seen here wonderful artwork and I was thrilled when she agreed to contribute the album cover. She actually contributed many pieces, all of which are great. Please take in some of her fine work while you listen.

Here is a brief song-by-song reflection for those who were not present during the broadcast.

Song for Stasia: Originally recorded by Anna Maria Jopek and Pat Metheny, this Marcin Kydryński composition served as a beautiful vehicle for our musical simpatico. I put this chart in front of Steve and he’s sight-reading here.

Minor Matter: A completely improvised tune based on a minor blues form.

Alright Right Now: One of Steve Uccello’s composition. This is what I sounded like sight-reading Steve’s tune on this day.

Travels: A classic country jazz ballad by Pat Metheny. We tried to make this sound like we’ve been playing together for a long time–even though this session marked only the second time Steve and I had played together.

Autumn Leaves: A “Jazz 101″ type tune. All jazzers know this song. We called a tune and counted it off…

Tenor Madness: Contemplating Sonny Rollins on his blues classic.

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May I share some of my new LIVE STREAM JAZZ album with you?

by Rob Michael

On Friday, February 5th, Steve Uccello played bass with me during an impromptu Ustream concert.

As always, the show was super fun. Steve and I met when we organized and performed together last spring at the Atmos Trio “Twitter House Concert.”

We got together in my studio to play some tunes. I employed my Ustream rig which consists of the iSight cam on my MacBook which receives a nice audio mix from studio’s mixing board. I had also just received another HD camera as a gift so I had a 2nd video feed destined for YouTube. I also made a multi track recording of the show.

Upon reviewing what we had captured to disk, the music was deemed worthy to share. Just goes to show that a good sounding record doesn’t need to take a pile of cash and months to make. Just a couple of musos and healthy does of simpatico.

Please be sure to share this music with a friend.

If you would like to hear the rest of the album sooner rather than later, simply fill-out the mailing list form in the sidebar and you’ll be linked to an Exclusive Advanced Access Listener’s page.

Enjoy!

Album artwork by Linda Palmer.

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