11/10/09

bye bye fall!

Hello friends, are we ready for the snow? In some strange way, I'm looking forward to it. It probably has something to do with the fact that some friends of mine are living up in VT near my favorite ski mountain and now I have a good excuse to go snowboarding!

Last week I was at the Slaughterhouse Studio with my long time friend and fellow drummer Jeff Sarri. Jeff was recording the audio and video portion of his DVD project which focuses on poly rhythms and practical uses for the working drummer. The DVD is geared towards intermediate players and was really interesting to be a part of. Special thanks to Mark at Slaughterhouse, Jeff and valley go-to bass man, John OBoyle for a great job!

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of joining many of the valley's finest musicians as we played for a cancer awareness benefit. It was a wonderful time filled with incredible music and great friends. Thanks again to all who attended.

I'm excited to be working with Ryan Hommel and Alex Chakour again while Ryan is on a break from some lengthy touring with Seth Glier. We have been working on new original material in preparation for a new record.

I'm also pleased to be preparing for Alex Bartletts CD Release show which is coming up on November 20th at P.A.C.E. in Easthampton. The band consists of Anand Nayak (guitar) Paul Kochanski (Bass) Rob and Damia Stewart (vocals) and myself (on drums of course!). If you like really unique arrangements and beautiful singing, this is not to be missed.

Hope to see you around the neighborhood and thanks for checking in!

-Sturgis

07.08.09

Hello Friends,

So I never thought I would live in the rain forest but the weather around New England is giving me a taste of what it might be like.

I recently had the pleasure of playing the first official gig with Ryan Ordway and The Full Band in Wolfeboro NH for 4th of July weekend. The crowd seemed to really connect with Ordway's catchy originals. We also played a handful of classic tunes by the Beatles, the Band and Tom Petty to name a few. Ordway, a New Hampshire native assembled the band with help from guitarist Ryan Hommel, my close friend and musical soul brother from Amherst Mass. Hommel and I work together on lots of other projects including backing Seth Glier. Alex Chakour holds down the bottom end with his classic P-Bass and completes the Full Band. We are excited for the next string of shows and will be going into the studio to track the new material that we are co-writing with Ord sometime in late August. Check the calendar for upcoming dates!

In other news I've been recruited to drum with a high energy rock outfit named Auto Climax Control. Featuring the valley's own Chris Croteau: Lead vox and rhythm guitar, Kurt Fedora: thunderous bass, and Joe Boyle: face melting lead guitar. I've been really wishing for a solid riff-tastic band over the years and I'm glad to have gotten the call. We are currently rehearsing the material and working on arranging some new tunes as well. A.C.C. will be booking the late summer and into the fall.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you at the shows!

-Sturgis

12/16/08

Well, I made it home. It doesn't even feel like I'm here. In fact I was driving the last shift last night and I didn't even notice that we had crossed into Mass. I was so used to driving for hours and hours, listening for Rosie (the GPS robot) to instruct me. Usually we were just looking for a fuel station or a Waffle House. Well, there are no Waffle Houses in New England and as I drove past the Basketball Hall of Fame I suddenly felt it sink in a little. I have to say, it was strange to suddenly see things I recognized.


Now that I'm home, I've discovered that I've managed to loose both cell phone chargers and my phone has died. The cat that we adopted off the street has grown very large and fluffy and doesn't really recognize me. My bed feels AMAZING and I can't wait to see my family and friends. Oh and we are getting snow in a few hours. Not too shabby, really.

I'm filled with a sense of home and am happy to have made it safely with the unique bunch of friends I gathered on this tour. Happy Holidays everyone. Here is a link to the video blog for NERDCORE RISING which chronicles the early part of the tour including the trailer accident. Hope you enjoy it!

-Sturgis

12-11-08

Hello Friends,

We are in the final week of the Nerdcore Hip Hop Tour 08 and I am certainly ready to be home. Played last night to a great audience in Baltimore with a day off today. Tomorrow is Philadelphia, with Pittsburgh the day after and the final show is in New Jersey. It has been a really incredible tour with lots of memories and stories. Thanks to all for making it so special. Its kind of hard to believe that I will be waking up in my own bed in just a few days!!! Here is a link to the latest video blog installment from Nerdcore Rising's own Negin Farsad. Enjoy!

-Sturgis

12-2-08

Wow, I can't believe its December all ready! Things on the road have been going pretty smoothly. Lets recap a bit...

We spent Thanksgiving in Austin with some friends of Damian's. Although I missed my family, our hosts provided great company and an incredible spread. The whole day really kept with the spirit of the holiday. The next morning we went into town to hit some thrift stores and such. I particularly enjoyed this nice vintage shop called Flashback. I bought a x-mas gift--the only one so far... That night the show was completely sold out and there was a line all the way down the street and around the corner. It was a nice follow up to the few days we had off for the holiday.

Dallas was the next night and again we had a great audience. Played this cool little rock club called The Double Wide. Met some very cool folks and finally had some fun in Dallas.

I drove us from Dallas to Houston the next day and encountered some of the worst driving I had ever seen. The highway was very busy with people returning from the holiday weekend and it was nearly unbearable. We made it though... The venue was this incredible dive but they did have an old piano in the corner so we made the most of it and closed the show with a honky-tonk style "gather-round". It was a highlight for me personally.

Last night we played this famous old venue called the Howlin Wolf in New Orleans. Nice big room with good sound and a real nice audience. Also had a chance to grab some AMAZING catfish and collards. Unfortunately we had to drive out right after the show to put a few hours behind us so we couldn't stay and enjoy the town. Until next time, New Orleans!

Tonight we played another little rock club in Jacksonville FL called Jack Rabbits. The show was very spirited and both the crowd and the folks working seemed to really enjoy the show. It was better than I expected.

Well, after waiting for our food for about an hour at the Waffle House down the street, I'm ready to call it a night. Thanks for checking in. Orlando is tomorrow. Oh, or rather, today. Goodnight.

-Sturgis

11/19/08

Hello Friends,

Lets get you up to speed on the turn of events since the accident. Late in the evening on the night of the accident, the keyboard player decides that winter touring is too dangerous and hops a cab back to NY, leaving the band and the tour permanently. Front, YTC, Lars and Negin fly to Denver to do solo shows to avoid any further cancellations. I remain in MN to meet Brandon at the airport on his return from NY after dealing with a family emergency. We drive all day and stay with friends in Lincoln NE. We leave early the next morning and make it to Colorado Springs right on time for load in and sound check. This will be our first show without keyboards. The performance is loose but very spirited and the group gains strength in overcoming yet another obstacle

11-13-08 We leave early in the morning to start our 2 day drive to Portland (crappy routing). We stop in Denver for lunch and some fuel and we get a flat tire on our crappy rental trailer. We wait for the replacement in parking lot for 2 hours . Once new tire is installed, we slowly weave North through the mountain passes in the snow driving about 10 hours and eventually stopping in Bringham City UT . Up at 7am and back on the road.

We manage to arrive at the Portland venue even a bit earlier than planned and were promptly joined by our new keyboard player, James Walton who flew in on short notice from NYC. James jumped in and rocked the first show with no fear and we were all relieved by his professionalism and musicianship. Thanks James!! I also had the pleasure of seeing my former band mates Jesse and Kjell from Patiokings and their wonderful lady friends, Hillary and Layla. So nice to see all of you! You really made my stay very special. Thank you!

We had a leisurely breakfast the next morning and hit the road for Seattle. The 3 hour drive seemed like a hop, skip and jump compared to the 10+ hours we had been driving. Had a great turnout in Seattle and got to see Kris and Aaron my pals from Western Ma who moved west last year. Thanks to them for making the show! I only wish there was more time to catch up. I hope to see them during the holidays. Also huge thanks to Andy formerly of Optimus Rhyme for putting us up. Thanks to his wife as well for putting up with 6 stinky band boys rolling in at midnight.

Early the next morning, we decided to drive straight to the Bay Area in one shot, to make the most of our free time. At about 7pm heading south on I-5 an adult deer ran into the road and struck our trailer, badly caving in the fender which was then rubbing on one of the tires. We pulled over and using a hammer and a tire iron managed to bend the fender back into place. Damian did a great job of avoiding a more serious collision--great driving D! The band is getting really good at dealing with emergency situations.

We arrived in Berkeley CA at around 3:30am and have been enjoying a couple leisurely days. Last night there was a screening of NerdCore Rising. Front and I did and acapella version of one of the songs for the audience (which was kind of embarrassing). After, Front, James, and I enjoyed a night out in San Fran. Today is another rehearsal day with a show in Oakland tonight.
Maybe tomorrow I can mail some of these post cards that have been accumulating. Thanks for reading.

-Sturgis

11-13-08

Ok, so I have learned that van touring with a trailer in November through the mid-west is potentially very dangerous. Early yesterday morning on our way south to Lincoln Nebraska we lost control of the van and the trailer broke free, tumbling end over end into the median. It smashed and bashed into bits leaving all of our merchandise, personal luggage and musical equipment strewn about the highway. Thankfully no other cars or people were involved with the mishap and nobody was hurt. We are all very lucky and thankful. We spent the rest of the day into the early hours of this morning sorting our broken belongings, renting another trailer and gathering the courage to forge on. Or apologies to the fine folks of Lincoln and surrounding areas for having to cancel. We hope to see you all the next time around. Maybe in the summer, when it is not freezing rain and really slippery. :) Looking forward to Colorado Springs tomorrow.

Here is a photo of the accident:

http://mclars.com/images/photo.jpg

-Sturgis