Andrew Boscardin: Composer & Guitarist

Did I mention how much fun it was to play the Sounds Outside festival this year? Well, it was loads of fun. It was a perfect day, a great crowd and we got to be on a bill with some of the best groups from in town (and out).

I finally got to catch my friends in the Seattle Jazz Composers Ensemble and I loved their set, which seamlessly moved from organized free improv to densely layered through-composed pieces and back again. It was especially fun to hear the personalities of the different composers shine through in each piece. My only complaint about their set was the length - too darn short!

I was also blown away by New York's Father Figures. These guys are on the forefront of something amazing - I'm still not sure what, but I think you should check them out if you like new and adventurous jazz. Their set was like Cecil Taylor meets '74 King Crimson, only in a time machine built by Hot Chip.

In case you couldn't make it, here are some photos from our set, taken by Jim Levitt (photo above is by Jim as well).

And here's a video of the soon-to-be-actually-named Z30, crudely edited to avoid some NSFW action.

And we got some nice mentions in the press.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2012368246_sounds16...
http://thesunbreak.com/2010/07/16/artsy-stuff-to-do-this-weekend
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/07/tonight_brite_futures_at_n...

What a great day - thanks so much to Monktail Creative Music Concern for having us along!

Yeah, I'm asking for money again.

It is Day 5 of the Zubatto Syndicate Capital Campaign, and we're already at 46% of our goal, which is just amazing when you think about it. I'm not going to write more about why we need the money or why we need your help to make this happen. I think I've got it covered over here:

http://kck.st/dcZ7N9

I'm also not going to go into why I think it is important for everyone to support their favorite artists this way, and why this model is a serious and practical part of the future of independent music. It's been laid out a million ways, but these are some of the best summaries:

http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/200582690/why-i-am-not-afraid-to-take-...
http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/800421265/a-talk-i-gave-domestic-parad...
http://oneworkingmusician.com/toward-a-patronage-society-amanda-palmer-h...

What I would like to talk about is the remaining 54% and how exactly I'd most like to see that goal reached. We hit 46% based on the generous pledges of 16 people, which is, again, just amazing. I am grateful to my family and friends for their large contributions and I don't doubt for a second that this project can only happen through their support. I'm hopeful that once we crest over 50%, it will be a steady push to the funding goal and maybe beyond. Knock on internet wood.

My dream for the second half of the funds is for a flood of small contributions: $10 download pledges, $20 CD pledges, even $1 liner notes pledges. I'd love to finish this thing out with one-hundred $20 pledges. That would mean 100 copies of the final product would go directly to stake-holding fans, interested, engaged listeners. I'm also hoping for pledges from people I don't know at all. I like the idea of someone being curious enough about the finished record to pledge $20, or being inspired by the video to agree to give a single dollar. Maybe they just love the surprise appearance of Clementine.

That's probably the single biggest reason I'm using Kickstarter for this project as opposed to another self-run CD Club - the increased possibility of discovery by fans-to-be. So small contributors and people I don't know - consider signing up to support our project. I think you'll be happy you did.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I'll be sad if someone decides to go for the house party package. You know. If you are on the fence about it.

Shortly after 9pm tonight, I sent the following to the members of the Nickel & Brass Debut CD Club, whose support helped make "Four-Color Heroes!" a reality:

I'm writing to you today because I want you to be the first to know about my
next big project, which is to bring a Zubatto Syndicate record into the
world. If you haven't gotten a chance to hear Zubatto yet, we're a 12-piece
group that combines big band with contemporary grooves and textures. This is
a bigger, bolder and more ambitious project than anything I've ever done, and
by no coincidence at all, I think it is my best work ever. I'm really excited
about this band, this music and what I think will be a killer record.

Recording a 12-piece is a massive and mildly insane undertaking, and once
again I'm looking for help to make it happen.

This time out, I'll be using the micropatronage website Kickstarter, which is
sort of like the CD Club, only on extra Flintstone vitamins. You can pledge
as much or as little as you want, and if I meet the fundraising goal by the
deadline, you make your contribution, we make a record, and you get a cool
reward package. There's everything from the basic "name in the liner notes"
to a full scale private house concert, depending on your pledge level.

So please go check out the Kickstarter page, watch the video, check out what
I've been up to, and (if you are so inclined) pick a level of support that
works for you. Every dollar helps. So tell everyone you know.

Visit the Kickstarter Project Page:

Thanks again for all of your support and I look forward to sharing the new
music with you as soon as possible!

Please consider making a pledge towards our project. We need all of the support we can get!

Hi friends,

Just one last reminder that Zubatto Syndicate - my 12-piece band that combines modern grooves with extra woodwinds - will be playing at the Sounds Outside music festival this Saturday, July 17th. The music starts at 1pm and we go on at 4pm. The whole day is free so come hear some great music!

It's looking like Saturday will be a beautiful day in Seattle, so grab your families, picnic baskets, sunscreen, frisbee and whatever else you need to enjoy the Sun, and come hang out at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill for the afternoon.

More info on Sounds Outside can be found here.

Hope to see you there!

WHAT: Zubatto Syndicate at Sounds Outside
WHEN: July 17th, 4pm
WHERE: Cal Anderson Park, Seattle
HOW MUCH: Free!

What's Summer without these guys?

Happy July, Newsies!

This month is going to be action-packed for Zubatto Syndicate. We'll be playing the first day of the Sounds Outside festival at Cal Anderson Park on July 17th. We go on at 4pm, but the whole day is free, so come down and hear some fantastic music. I'm thrilled to be a part of this festival and not just because I can walk to the gig. I've been a fan of the festival myself for years and have attended as often as possible. It's such a gift just to have live music in Cal Anderson during the Summer, and to have it be as adventurous and high-quality as the organizers have succeeded in presenting year after year is a real joy.

And did someone say "new song?" They probably did. New song.

You can see the whole line-up and schedule here: Sounds Outside

WHAT: Zubatto Syndicate at Sounds Outside
WHEN: July 17th, 4pm
WHERE: Cal Anderson Park, Seattle
HOW MUCH: Free!

Speaking of Sounds Outside, this is the 5th year for the festival and it has been growing each year by leaps and bounds. This year, the organizers have run into a tougher time raising funds in the current economic climate and some previous sponsors have been unable to come through. This festival depends solely on community support through grants and donations and they need your help!

If you can, please consider giving a few dollars to Sounds Outside. It's a truly good cause and goes right to making the performances possible.

You can donate here:Sounds Outside Online Benefit

** More news **

Due to some last-minute scheduling stuff, I've pushed back the dates for my Summer Composition Workshop to August 9th. There's still room, so if you're interested or know anyone interested, send them my way!

http://www.teachstreet.com/seattle-wa/music-composition/summer-workshop/cl-eliqpi4oyo

"Four-Color Heroes!" is now pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp! Download the album for any amount, ranging from free to more-than-free, whatever your conscience dictates. You can get the CD for anything from $1 up (plus shipping). Tell your friends.

Download it now on Bandcamp!

The last bit of July news is that more news is imminent, but not quite ready to be announced. Look for a big (12-piece big) announcement later in the month, probably right after the show on the 17th. Mystery and anticipation are good things, right? Right.

** Some quick hits from my blog **

* A Tee Party (sic) for 10 lucky Zubatto Syndicate fans.

* On the occasion of joining the local Musicians' Union.

* David Byrne, Zubatto and Writing Music for Specific Venues.

* Have you seen the T.A.M.I. Show? Well, go rent it. It's a legendary concert film from 1964 that lives up to its reputation in every way. Live performances from the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Rolling Stones, the Miracles and some guy in a cape named James Brown who has the ability to travel 46 years forward through time and make the hair on the back of your neck stand all the way UP. Also, ridiculous "teen" dancing from 1964.

More about the T.A.M.I. Show

That's it for July! Hope to see you at Sounds Outside in a couple of weeks!

The Hatter doesn't get one.

A few months ago, I created a Facebook page for Zubatto Syndicate in anticipation of the upcoming funding push for our first record and the eventual promotion of the final product, upcoming shows and all of that stuff. Mainly, I was looking for a way to get my friends and family excited about Zubatto even if there wasn't much yet by way of actual news to report.

At one point, the number of "fans" or "likes" (or whatever it is this week) was hovering a little under 100, and I thought I should give it a little push. I posted that I would give some sort of Zubatto-themed prize to the 100th fan, and then I extended it to the Top 5 to 100 (96 - 100). I didn't have much of an idea what the prize would be, but when has that ever stopped the Shameless Promotion Machine(tm).

Glyph Graphics Studio (which designed the packaging for Four-Color Heroes! and all of the Zubatto show posters) had done a couple of T-shirts featuring the Zubatto logo and they looked awesome. So I looked into ordering up a few more in a variety of sizes. By this time, the Zubatto page had crossed 100 easily and was close to 105, so I threw in 5 more prize winners for the heck of it. I contacted each of the 10 winners and mysteriously requested their shirt size and mailing address. Judging from the responses, I don't think anyone even saw my promise of bribery.

It took a few weeks to get the shirts printed and ready to ship. When they were ready to go, I included a letter to each of my friends, explaining the new addition to their wardrobe, and asking that they take a picture of themselves in their new duds and post it to the Facebook page (if they were willing, that is. Signing up for the Facebook page is already beyond the Call of Duty, as far as I'm concerned). The results have been coming in for the last few days and are awesome so far.

I've included a few of my favorites after the jump.

I have a couple of shirts left, and will probably bring them with me to the show on July 17. But if you really want one and will take a cool picture of yourself wearing it for the Zubatto Facebook page, I'll send you one. Just drop me a line!

This week, I finally got around to doing something that I've wanted to do for quite some time: I became a member of Local 76-493, the Musicians' Union. In Seattle, the Union isn't as strong or influential as in other cities, so joining up is partially a symbolic gesture. As bigger and bigger examples of corporate malfeasance splash across the headlines every day, joining a labor union for my livelihood seems more and more important. I know that many readers will quickly point to examples of corruption in organized labor, but labor unions have historically served an important role in protecting workers from exploitation and more. As they grow weaker over time, the scales have tipped radically in favor of big corporations and against workers for many years in this country, and the impact has been felt by millions.

A few weeks ago, I watched this classic advertisement for the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union (it's part of the original broadcast of the Star Wars Holiday Special). I was amazed by how much things have changed in the last 30 years. Not only does the idea of paid advertisements for a Workers' Union seem quaint and vaguely alien, so does the very notion of American-made clothes!

I would welcome a stronger musicians' union in Seattle, not only to ensure better wages for gigs, but also to foster better competition for those gigs. Venues and promoters get what they pay for, and if they are bringing in live music for free (or less than free in some cases), they're probably not getting the best music available, and neither is the audience.

The history of the Musicians' Union in Seattle is long and storied. Local 76 was originally chartered in 1898. At that time, the union was all-white, and African-American musicians were effectively (and completely) prohibited from performing within the limits of Downtown Seattle. Local 493, the Negro Musicians’ Union, was formed in 1913 and the two were finally combined in 1956.

For now, I'm looking forward to contributing what I can to Local 76-493, and taking advantage of its services to find more opportunities to perform. If you're looking for music for a party, wedding or any other event, you can book me through Local 76-493!

In a new TED talk, David Byrne talks about writing music for specific venues or rooms. This is an extremely interesting topic for me, and one that has been on my mind a great deal for the past year. When I began writing the music for Zubatto Syndicate, I went about it with a very specific sort of room - the medium-to-large rock club - in mind. Having a particular setting in mind absolutely influenced every choice I made in the music. For one, I wrote and arranged the instruments with microphones, amplification and sound reinforcement in mind. I tried to do things that would be totally unadvisable in a completely or even mostly acoustic setting - especially with the woodwinds. Musically, I wanted the group to be at home in a club setting as well, with driving rhythms, big sounds and hopefully memorable hooks and melodies.

As beautiful as it was to play in Town Hall for our first performance, it wasn't until our gig at The Crocodile in April that I was actually able to present (and hear) the music in the manner that it was intended. On of the continuing challenges of getting Zubatto off the ground has been convincing clubs and audiences to believe that this music belongs in these settings, as opposed to a dinner club or small jazz club.

As I begin planning to record Zubatto later this year, I'm thinking about where I want the recorded music to be played. Will it be in coffee shops, clubs, on college and "alternative" radio? Should it be recorded to be played out loud or mainly in headphones? These questions will determine how we go about recording the music and producing the final CD and vinyl. More on all of that soon!

David Byrne's talk is awesome and worth the 16 minutes. I'm a huge fan of his work, especially with Talking Heads and his record "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" with Brian Eno, both of which are huge influences for the music of Zubatto Syndicate. Here's David Byrne.

Happy June Everyone! Or (if you are in Seattle), Happy Junuary. Hopefully it will be Summer here before it is Winter again.

The big news is that I'm working on preparations for Zubatto Syndicate to go into the studio later this year and make our very first album. As you might imagine, coordinating such an endeavor with a 12-piece band is a little complicated. There will be much more about the recording process next month, but I'm really excited to get this music down and out there to all of you.

In the meantime, there is still plenty of excitement going on.

** Workshop! **
If you are in the Seattle area, I'm going to be giving a workshop on composing, harmony, theory, and who-knows-what-else. It's going to be very hands-on and interactive, with an emphasis on participants' own projects. If you are interested, or know someone who might want to further their musical craft, you can read more here:

http://www.teachstreet.com/seattle-wa/music-composition/summer-workshop/...

The day/time is not set in stone, so get in touch if you'd like to hear more but don't like the scheduling. If this works out, I'm hoping to do more of these, maybe online with Ustream or something similar.

** Zubatto in the Park (like Shakespeare, only louder) **
Also for Seattle folks: Zubatto will be playing on July 17th at Cal Anderson Park, as part of the Sounds Outside Festival. We play at 4pm, but there will be great music all day, so come check it out. I hear it might be sunny too.

** Zubatto Syndicate on Facebook **
Zubatto has a Facebook page which you can like or be a fan of or completely ignore. Right now, there isn't much happening, but it should be hopping soon. Jump on board.
http://www.facebook.com/zubattosyndicate

** Some quick hits **

* My thoughts on the late, great Ronnie James Dio.
http://www.boscology.com/d/node/612

* Did you miss our performance on Seattle Channel's Front Row? It's online here:
http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=6010916

That's it for June! See you back here next month.

best,
-andrew boscardin
http://www.boscology.com/d/

I was extremely sad to read that Ronnie James Dio passed away this morning, after a fight with cancer. Dio's music was an early staple in my life, and will always be a favorite and an important influence. I always enjoyed the unapologetic epic-ness of his lyrics and the booming power of his voice, which was all the more impressive coming from a sweet, thoughtful man of modest stature. There was a giant living inside of Ronnie Dio, which came out the moment the music started and he opened his mouth.