The trio (Glen Hall, Simeon Abbott and myself) went into the studio this past May23 and we got some really great stuff recorded. I’m excited to share it with you as it is the first official document of my new cc3 lineup, a lineup which I hope can continue working together for a while. I haven’t had a steady trio lineup since the days (years, actually, from 2004-2007) of myself, Mike Pelletier and Eric Boucher. That lineup was documented quite well on the 2007 album (pamplemousse), which is available at iTunes, emusic and elsewhere as a digital album. In the intervening period the trio featured lots of great players, but never settled back into a real “band”. The current lineup feels like a band, and we’re starting to play like one.
Also, the new record will feature my vocals, singing Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of Hollis Brown”. We’ve been doing at least one or two vocal tunes per set and I hope it will increase as my writing and confidence increase.
Speaking of Dylan, I’m working on a set of Dylan tunes for my solodrumming performances. Some of the tunes I’m working on right now in addition to the aforementioned “Hollis Brown” are “Masters of War” and “Isis” with more to come.
I’ve found that the Dylan tunes that are written over one-chord (such as Masters…) adapt very easily to the drums, but I’m working on establish a basic drum tuning that will help me approximate some simple chord progressions, but it means adding more drums to my usual 4 piece setup.
Anyway, back to the Trio record: the album will have two song performances and at least two “suites” of improvisation. We recorded about 45minutes worth of improvisations, which I’m editing into short sections and arranging into non-consecutive order. Our engineer, Brent Bodrug, got great sounds at his studio (Sli-Fi Chapel) in Trenton; the mixdown session is July 3, I’ll report back after we’re done. I’ll spend most of July doing the artwork and design, and then hopefully have a release prepared for August.
In terms of live work, the only cc3 date on the books right now is a set at the Trane Studio in Toronto on Sunday July 26; we’re double-billing with drummer Paul Fitterer’s group. The day before (July25) I’m doing a solo set opening for my friends from NYC, Prehistoric Horse (venue TBA) at their matinee gig. As is usual for my summers, I’m busy cranking out the hits with Hot Buttered Soul (http://hotbutteredsoul.blogspot.com) most weekends. Expect trio activity to increase in the fall as we promote the new album.
The album will be released digitally and on CD (to be sold at gigs). I’m going to offer a special bundle with the CD and include a re-release of my solodrumming DVD from 2005. My friend, percussionist Derek Thorne, once described this DVD as an “Al Quaeda ransom tape”; the picture quality and general videography is basic at best, but it has some good stuff on it.
Ok, till the next time…
-cc
