Steps Beyond Video complete! NY shows on the horizon! More local music at clubs and cafes please!

Some exciting news to report!  My brilliant nephew Kendall has edited the Bossalingo Steps Beyond promo video with interview segments and footage from our show at Blues Alley!  Kendall has been making films for a few years now and he is only 17 years old!  He is so talented as a drummer and songwriter too.  I went to his studio in Virginia Tuesday to do a final viewing and put the finishing touches on it.  This is going to be so helpful for our promo efforts.  There is simply nothing better than a video to show total strangers what I do.  It has always been difficult explaining the music to others in order to get gigs.  Way easier just to send a link and say "hey check this video out and then we can talk."

In all our years as a band, we have had virtually no video footage or information out on the internet about us.  We have been a collective of performers playing show after show in various places almost inconspicuously as far as the internet world goes.  Crowds have been treated to some pretty awesome moments during our live shows, but nothing has really ever been videotaped.

I was never much for video documentation and still to this day tend to not take photos or record anything other than bits and pieces of musical ideas for song writing.  I am often amazed at how helpful this process can be when I unearth an old long forgotten idea which completes a puzzle piece for a song that has been trying to be born.  I am also thankful I took photos of my daughter because now I can look at how she has progressed through the years.  Still, I favor the present moment and resist this urge to keep track of anything on video or by taking pictures.  I guess its about time I get with the program!

We are looking at a few festivals in NY state and some club appearances in NYC with Arturo by late summer since he lives in Brooklyn (NY).   Right now we are working on a date with Arturo at the lovely Cordelia Street Cafe, which is supposed to be a wonderful place to perform and a great place to see a live show.  There is just nothing like playing original music in New York City on a decent stage with lights and a good sound system.  What a pleasure!

I wish more live venues invested in stage, lighting, and sound.  More cafes and restaurants should favor local or original artists as a standard.  So many places here in Baltimore would benefit from the wealth of talent if they took a stand for original local music.  While there does seem to be a movement in the visual arts (you can see local art posted on many cafe walls, restaurants, and galleries) most bars and clubs tend to cave into the mundane when it comes to music.  There may be a jukebox with all the same old classic rock and rap, a bunch of TV's for sports games and a lousy stage for the occasional cover band that plays on the weekends.  I would really love to see more Baltimore places, particularly in Fells Point and Federal Hill, take a stand, not only for live local music, but for locally recorded original music by filling their jukeboxes and playlists with local artists.  Its almost to the point where we all need to boycott popular music in order to take a stand for art.  Wouldn't it be amazing to walk into a cafe where they only played local Baltimore music??  I think it would make a huge statement and be extremely good for everyone.