new music, stuff I've been up to

the usual stuff I tell you about here

Here again to write about music and people I adore.

First: a very happy release day to my bud Nathan Tucker. Nathan’s got a new band called Pontiac Flare and today you can listen to their very first album, The Blueprint. Last year (I think?) we spent an afternoon recording piano for a couple tracks. That’s me on the opener “After Yesterday” — I remember I spent a week working on the song on my own before we tracked because I am not that good at piano and I wanted to sound like someone who knows what they’re doing. Let it be known that I will play piano on your record if you want that “guitar player attempting to play piano” sound!

Nathan is one of the best songwriters and record-makers I know. For the uninitiated, we’ve been making music together for about eleven years (!) now in various projects and bands. I hope you dig the album, it’s great! If I had to pick favorites: “You Remind Me of Everything”, “New Sam”, “Couldn’t Be Falling Faster”.

Speaking of Nathan, QUICK SESSION WORK ROUND-UP: a few days ago I played some banjo on a forthcoming First Rodeo album (that’s another one of Nathan’s bands, with our friend Tim Howe). And a little over a month ago I tracked some acoustic guitar for my friend Rebecca El-Saleh’s next album as Kitba. Shouts out to Zubin Hensler for beautiful engineering and production and encouragement and getting me involved! (Incidentally, got to sit in with Kitba a couple weeks back at The Owl in Brooklyn, alongside now-in-real-life homie Dan Knishkowy and the incredibly talented Winston Cook-Wilson, what a freaky-ass blessing!! Music is crazy. Thanks Rebecca.)

Oh, and did I mention that I finally did an Audiotree? Will share that here when the time comes…

---

Tour with Another Michael and Tenci was a fucking blast. I don’t want to overwrite or overshare about it, suffice it to say that it was one of the best tours I’ve ever been on in every regard. Getting to see Jess play, first solo and then with their band for the last few shows, was such an embarrassment of riches and really just a recurring masterclass in singing and being freaky and loose and fun on stage. So shouts out to Jess, Curt, Izzy, Manae and Henry. And sharing the stage with Michael, Nick and Al night after night was a deep honor and joy — do y’all know that Michael has written at least a few of my favorite songs ever? If you haven’t listened to the new album yet you’re really missing out, it’s some of the band’s best work yet, don’t sleep! I’ll be onstage again with them later this year at some point, will share more about that at a later date.

---

And another one!! I’m going out on tour in September playing guitar with Sinai Vessel. This band blew me away last year in Philly and Caleb is a wonderful soul and friend, getting asked to do this has me positively chuffed.

New song and video out today, peep that shit:

Here’s where I’ll be with them:

---

OK, that’s it for now on the updates-and-announcements tip. Secret things will be made not-secret soon and I’ll get back to more personal writing here again at some point. Been settling into my new living situation and generally having a ball and working a ton.

One more thing below for paid subscribers…