Fall News and Notes!

Great news! We sold out of our first run of CDs!  We already have a new run ready to sell online and at shows.  We also got our first check from Apple iTunes so the system appears to be working.  People are buying our music all over the world!  We are also getting some play on Spotify which is great because it puts our music into more speakers, iPads  iPhones, iPods, and computers.  Of course we would prefer people take a moment to buy the tracks from CD Baby or Bandcamp because every dollar helps us fund another album and helps with tour expenses.  

We are so excited to perform our first big concert in Baltimore on Thursday Nov.6 @ Creative Alliance.  This is going to be our first live concert professionally filmed so that folks can enjoy the entire concert on You Tube and Vimeo.  Look out for that in the coming months.  

A couple cool upcoming shows:  Ultrafaux will be doing a Stephane Grappelli tribute concert under the name Hot Club of Baltimore with violinist Patrick McAvinue at Germano's Cabaret in Baltimore on Nov.21st.  Space fills up quick, so book your tickets soon.  Then Ultrafaux will be doing all original music at Kennedy Center on Tuesday Jan.6 for their Millennium Stage Series. By then we will be performing all new music to record our next album in January 2015, just one year after forming the group in 2014.  We are looking at possible radio features on WYPR, WPFW, and WTMD in preparation for the next chapter of Ultrafaux as we move closer to going to Holland, Ireland, England, & France in the summer. The amazing Olivier Kikteff from Les Doigts de l'Homme will also be here in January touring with the exciting Marian Badoit Trio.  I know I plan on coming up to NYC to see them perform at Joe's Pub on Tuesday Jan.13.  We are looking into sharing the stage with this awesome ensemble sometime in January after that show. Stay tuned!

Incidentally we will be in NYC during the big APAP conference, which is the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.  That will be a good opportunity for us to meet the folks really making a difference in concert venues all over the world!  

We hope to see you all at our upcoming shows! 

Ultrafaux - Michael, Sami, & Eddie 

Radio interviews! WTMD & WPFW

We had a blast recently with two different radio interviews and live performances.  The first was for WTMD 89.7, an amazing station here in Baltimore with Sam Sessa for Baltimore Hit Parade which aired Tuesday June 10 at 9PM and will air again Sunday June 15 (Fathers Day) at 4PM.  The show was edited to perfection and spaced over about an hour featuring 4 of our original tunes and lots of great interview material.    You can stream WTMD here

The second was for Tom Cole of WPFW which aired last Sunday June 8.  You can listen to the archived show by scrolling about 1:05 (an hour and 5 minutes) into the show.  Go to Tom Cole's G-Strings June 8.  That was so much fun!  We had a great response from fans who listened as well.  Tom is just awesome!   

CD's, LP's available!

So excited to finally release our CDs and LPs! Just go to our Bandcamp site to order yours today.    We did our vinyl LP duplication at an amazing facility in Ohio called GottaGroove Records.

Strongly recommend them because they have great attention to detail and they do not outsource their pressing to another country.  Its all made in USA baby!!  Lots of new shows are in the works so please "like" our Facebook page and join our mailing list.  Check our website for updates.  We will be looking for street team members in NC and SC during our mini tour in August.  Also look for us in NYC July 19-22.   Find us on our new Twitter Site and ArtistData.    

UltraFaux is becoming an UltraReality

The final mixes are finally done being mastered and they are sent now to duplication.  Finally time to book show dates at venues all over the east coast!   Here is the new artwork:

Pretty cool huh?  We had a contest on Facebook and these two won as final pieces to use for artwork.  The cover is by very talented Bmore artist Mandy Stafford and the back is by Tomas Drgon (a regular at our weekly Monday gypsy jazz jam session).  The entire layout was done by Saxman and graphic designer on the side, Matt Rippetoe  at Sideman Creative.  I highly recommend Matt for your CD or LP design needs.  

Oh yeah, did I mention we are releasing VINYL!!!!!!!!!  So excited.  I have been wanting to release a record since I listened to Zeppelin and AC/DC on vinyl back in my frustrated days as an adolescent.  The fine folks at GottaGroove Records are doing the duplication.  They are a small operation in Cleveland and everything is done in-house which is rare in that business.  Most places outsource to other countries.  Definitely check these guys out if you want to make vinyl.  They even do a shorter run of 100 which was great for us because we wanted to make it a very special limited edition for our fans.   

I think I am most excited about doing a big CD release party here in Baltimore on June 5 at a place that is near and dear to us, Bertha's Mussels.  They have been hosting jazz shows for over 30 years in Baltimore and they have a sweet upstairs room for private shows that we hope to pack it with family, fans, and friends.  Best part is we get to listen to Jeff Reed Trio afterwards downstairs.  Its like our own after party with one of our favorite musicians performing!  

Can I say enough about our new bassist Eddie Hrybyk!! Wow.  I never thought in a million years that anyone could fill Jake Leckie's shoes.  HUGE thanks to Irene Gonzalez for introducing me to Eddie.   

Speaking of Irene, she and her daughter Monica will be appearing in our upcoming video along with some select folks who donated extra generous amounts to our kick starter campaign and various fun friends plus a few dancers. Yes our secret music video will be shot at our not-so-secret favorite hang out by Baltimore's own world-traveling cinematographer John Benam!!  I am officially freaked out about this thing in a good way.  CANNOT WAIT!  

Also excited about playing in NYC for the amazing Gypsy Jazz lovers there.  We are working on a few different spots throughout the year.  And of course Django In June Festival in Massachusetts.  That will be an absolute blast and great opportunity to hone my skills rubbing shoulders with the best of the best in the world.  It will all culminate one of my favorite groups Le Doigts de l'Homme  performing the final big show.  This will be an ecstatic experience for sure, and one that I will carry with me as inspiration in shows to come!  

Bon voyage - Michael 

Bossalingo @ Germano's in Baltimore!

Bossalingo had such a fantastic time performing at Germano's for 50 attentive fans in Baltimore this past Friday.  Didier Prossaird was able to bring my compositions new depth with his heavily Cuban influenced approach to piano.  Jake Leckie was superb on acoustic bass as was Mike Kuhl on drums.  The sound was phenomenal there and the staff was very gracious.  We ended the night with a wonderful meal of various pasta dishes and red wine downstairs followed by house canoli.  It could not have been better!  Thanks to Cyd and everyone at Germano's of Little Italy!!

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.

Practice Practice Practice & T-Shirts!

Time to buckle down once again and work on the music.  The last few shows have gone well, but there still needs to be some changes made to the arrangements based on what I have learned about the music and how it behaves in a live setting.  I also have some ideas already emerging for new tunes.  I definitely want the group to be able to open up more and explore a more dynamic palette of possibility.  The Latin rhythms are amazing to interact with, but there is more on the horizon and we have only scratched the surface of what this band is capable of doing.  Oh by the way, the T-Shirts that Mike Clark made are awesome!  I cannot wait to sell these at the festival dates.  ~  Michael