New Annalee Single “Same Girl” and Balcony Improv Session #2

I have close to 1 hour of new music for you today.

On Friday, Annalee released her amazing single, “Same Girl”. I was fortunate to co-produce, mix and master this one. Anna is a former student who went to NYC and finished her Masters at Columbia. She had started this beautiful song and asked if I could help finish it. We had a lot of fun with this one and I’m blown away by her artistry and vision on this one. You can listen here:

I did a second round of a live improv looping session on the balcony. This time around I decided to pick random sounds that I never use from the synths and just roll with whatever happened. Sometimes I would pick a sound that was not quite appropriate for the vibe, but I wanted to challenge myself to adjust on the fly and see what would happen.

Here’s yesterday’s improvisation:

Live Looper Improv on the Balcony

I brought a couple of synths out on the balcony to try out this new software-based looper I’ve been customizing. I wanted to go very minimal with the setup and only used a Nord Lead 2 and Moog Mother 32 for the layers.

Maybe I’ll try some more of these. But it was a fun challenge to keep the music and sounds simple while I tried to hold it together for a whole improvised set. None of the sounds or music was planned ahead of time. I was just winging it the whole time.


“Lapses” – New Improvised Piece – Video and Free Download

Today I released a new improvised piece called “Lapses”. This is a moody journey that relies on sonic development and manipulation to create a “scene”. Sometimes when improvising with these instruments it feels like I’m on a ride – this was certainly the case for this one. Headphones or good speakers are highly recommended for this one. I hope you like it!

You can download the recording for free here:

The sounds used on this piece were created by the Moog Mother-32, Nord Lead2 and Fender Rhodes.

Obsintha – Improvisation with Nord Lead 2, Rhodes, Moog Mother-32

Today I was improvising with three of my old inanimate friends and thought I would share the result. The red keyboard on the top is called a Nord Lead 2 and I’ve probably had it since the year 2000. The little black synth sitting on top of that is called a Moog Mother-32 and I used it for the bass sounds by playing the keyboard in the middle. The bottom instrument is an 88-key Fender Rhodes.

I hope you like it!

Show Announcement – July 3rd (Early Show)

On Wednesday at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles, we’ll be doing our second installment of new music. This show will feature two of the most impressive vocalists around.

The show will be from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. It’s 21+. Gold Diggers is located at 5632 Santa Monica Blvd. This is a free show – no cover.

Loren Battley will be debuting her new original music project. She is currently on tour with Michael Bublé and has performed vocals with groups such as Pomplamoose, Low Leaf, Knower and many more.

Here is Loren performing with Michael Bublé on Good Morning America earlier this year…

Blake Lewis is an innovative force as a vocalist and beat boxer. He launched to stardom after finishing 2nd place on American Idol in 2007. His originality made him stand out and he has since continued to perform his solo material as well as collaborative projects. Here is his incredibly original performance from American Idol…

Blake will be doing an improv set with KJ Sawka and I. It should be fun to make music with these creative forces. Here’s a little clip of KJ Sawka doing combining drum acrobatics and electronics on a radio show…

If you are getting this via email and can’t see the videos or links, click here.

Live Clips with KJ Sawka and Tim Lefebvre

A few moments from last week’s show were captured and I thought I would share them here. It was a true honor to perform and improvise along with these two legends. I’m thankful to everyone who filled the room and made it a special night.

Here are the clips (you may need headphones or good speakers to feel the bass properly)…

Reggie Watts, Louis Cole & Michael Stegner Trio Monday at Zebulon

I wanted to post a reminder about Monday’s show at Zebulon. I’m very excited and honored to be playing with these geniuses.

You can order your tickets here: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1677226

The Facebook even page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/756192954571352/

Here’s a little promo video with sounds from the last show…

If you are getting this via email and can’t watch the video, click here.

April 16th at Zebulon – Reggie Watts, Louis Cole and Michael Stegner Trio

Reggie Watts, Louis Cole and I will be playing another improvised show on April 16. Novena Carmel will be kicking the night off with a DJ set.

The doors are at 8:30 pm. The cover is $10 (order in advance as the last two have sold out).

Order tickets here: https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1677226?utm_medium=bks

Facebook even page is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/756192954571352/

Here is a sample of what the last show sounded like (click here if you cant see the video):

Here is our bio in case you want to learn more about the project:

Fate would have it that Reggie Watts, Louis Cole and Michael Stegner all happened to have flat tires simultaneously in a small town in Idaho last September. After meeting in the local tire shop lobby, they struck up a friendly conversation and realized that they each had an affinity for handmade vegetable dumplings. This was the beginning of a musical relationship that has seen them perform in 251 countries and seven states in January alone. Their emotional performances innovate while drawing from their no-wave, shoe-gazing electro and ambient trip-hop heroes.

One guy who saw them in Bulgaria last week said it was the best show he’d ever seen.

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