Ben Davis and I do some serious self-examination as we discuss Cuddle Magic.
Check out this video interview with the free radicals.
Cuddle Magic is camped out at Old Soul Studios with toy piano master Phyllis Chen, stylin’ engineer Kenny Siegal, and two (2) Akitas. We’re putting down lots of new music (by Phyllis, Ben Davis, Kristin Slipp, Wes Matthews, and me) to 2 inch tape before the year ends.
And then, we’ll commence this ambitious wintertime touring schedule:
Friday, January 6th, New York, NY at Pianos, 9 PM
Monday, January 9th, New York, NY at The Living Room, 7 PM – APAP Showcase
Saturday, January 14th, Albany, NY at Upstate Artists Guild, 8 PM
Sunday, January 15th, Kittery, ME at Buoy Gallery, 9 PM
Tuesday, January 17th, Rochester, NY at Bug Jar, 8 PM
[cancelled - sorry] Thursday, January 19th, Harrisburg, PA
Thursday, February 2nd, Brooklyn, NY at Rock Shop, 8 PM
Friday, February 3rd, Cambridge, MA at Club Passim, 8 PM
Saturday, February 4th, Baltimore, MD at Wind-Up Space, 10 PM
Monday, February 6th, Knoxville, TN at The Pilot Light
Tuesday, February 7th, Nashville, TN at The 5 Spot, 9 PM
Friday, February 10th, Frankfort, KY at Kentucky Coffeetree Café, 8 PM
Saturday, February 11th, Columbus, OH at Monster House, 9 PM
More shows to be announced soon as we fill in the holes.
i was so happy to play music this past friday night: first a duo set with lefteris kordis, and then a jaunt through the compositions of gill aharon.
there was beer. there was wine. the lily pad on a friday night is a place that happens.
claudette gardel took some nice photos
Lefteris Kordis
Maestro Gill Aharon on Bass
At the end of this week, Cuddle Magic heads to Old Soul Studio, in Catskill, NY, where we’ll spend 4 days documenting the music we’ve developed with toy pianist Phyllis Chen.
Catch us a few nights later, playing NYE at the Lizard Lounge with the David Wax Museum, and you’ll see us much more relaxed.
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Cuddle Magic is about to get busier than it’s ever been.
We’ll be embarking on a very extensive tour this fall – dates are below.
We’ll be releasing our third album, “Info Nympho”, engineered and mixed by Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Antony & the Johnsons, Akron Family).
And in December, we’ll be entering the studio with Phyllis Chen to record the music, revised and expanded, that we premiered with her last May.
Catch us on tour:
Sep. 28 – Cambridge, MA, “Resonate” at the Oberon Theater
Sep. 29 – Portland, ME, Port City Music Hall
Sep. 30 – Buoy Gallery, Kittery, ME
Oct. 3 – Manhattan – Rockwood Music Hall 1
Oct. 6 – Annandale-on-Hudson, NY – Bard Hall, Bard College
Oct. 7 – Albany, NY – Upstate Artists Guild
Oct. 8 – Pawtuckaway, NH – Pawtuckaway Music Festival
Oct. 9 – Upper Jay, NY – Recovery Lounge
Oct. 11 – Philadelphia – Johnny Brenda’s
Oct. 18 – Brooklyn – Sycamore
Oct. 20 – Baltimore, MD – Bohemian Coffee House
Oct. 21 – Harrisburg – Midtown Scholar
Oct. 22 – Frederick, MD – Cafe NOLA
Oct. 23 – Thomas, WV – Purple Fiddle
Oct. 24 – Knoxville – Relix Variety Theater
Oct. 25 – Lexington, KY
Oct. 26 – Louisville, KY – Derby City Espresso
Oct. 27 – Bloomington, IN
Oct. 28 – Chicago, IL – Elastic Gallery
Oct. 30 – Ann Arbor, MI – Sava’s
Nov. 3 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Cafe
Nov. 4 – State College, PA – Chronictown
Nov. 5 – Rochester, NY – Lovin’ Cup
Nov. 6 – Hudson, NY – Spotty Dog
Nov. 7 – Portsmouth, NH – Red Door
Nov. 8 – Portland, ME
Nov. 9 – Cambridge, MA – Lizard Lounge
Nov. 10 – Johnson State College, Johnson, VT
Nov. 11 – Keene, NH – Starving Artist
Nov. 12 – Manhattan – The Living Room
Nov. 14 – Purchase, NY – SUNY Purchase
Baby States, in case you do not know, is Ben Davis, Jeremy Gustin, and myself doing crazy/funny/beautiful things with old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes and murder ballads. Baby States is West African guitar, Uncle Dave Macon, and Nirvana … together … at last.
We will be, on the following dates, in the following places:
9/2 – Brooklyn, NY – Cafe Orwell
9/3 – Hudson, NY – The Spotty Dog
9/4 – Becket, MA – Dream Away Lodge
9/5 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Race Track
9/6 – Winooski, VT – Radio Bean
9/7 – Amherst, MA – Mt. Pollux
9/8 – Cambridge, MA – Atwoods Tavern
We are so hip that we have a very minimal web presence: only this, arguably outdated, myspace page.
Here is a video of a monumental backstage jam at the Newport Folk Festival. The Low Anthem, The Decemberists, Gillian Welch, Pokey LaFarge, and the David Wax Museum are among the participants; John McCauley leads the assembled in a furry bear suit; I play an enthusiastic solo on Goodnight Irene; David Rawlings sports a very impressive hat; and everyone loves La Bamba!
You can tune into NPR at noon and hear me with the David Wax Museum live at the Newport Folk Festival.
or go to their website
Say, for instance, you’re a creatively minded, independent band. You have no record label, no management, no publicity firm, no radio play, and not a single song on “Friday Night Lights”. But, you DO have, an enthusiastic fan-base, in love with new sounds and smart, poignant lyrics.
Well … maybe you could offer that fan-base the opportunity to pre-order a copy of said record …
here is another, very nice, review, from skope.
and, as a reminder … here is where you can click to download the album
1) Not everything is available on the internet: Larry Cosentino wrote a very nice review of “Bebop Trio” in his column in Signal to Noise. You must find a hard copy of the magazine.
2) Cuddle Magic plays two shows this coming week. On Friday, July 1 at the Oak & Ax in Biddeford, ME, sharing a bill with the Deadly Gentleman (led by the deadliest of banjo players, Dr. Gregory Liszt), the Patter Cubs, and Greg Jamie (of O’Death relative-fame.) On Saturday, July 2, we return to Club Passim, with an opening set by the Capitalist Youth.
3) Then, on July 4th, I fly off and join The David Wax Museum on a tour of Canadian festivals and the American North. The “American North” may not be a recognized region warranting capitalization. But it should be. Consider this a coinage.
