Mikeypedia

Last night, I had more fun than I’ve had in a very long time! I got to play with the wondrous women of Missing Mandy – a raucous cover band version of hONEyhoUSe, one of the very best bands in the Southwest. In addition to the regular line up (Hillary Smith on vocals, Yvonne Perea on guitar & vocals, Dianne De Leon on drums, and Danielle Andrade on bass), we had a special guest sit in with us: Hillary’s daughter, the incomparable Lyric Urzetta – who recently graduated from LSU with a degree in opera!

We played at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center’s Pueblo Harvest Cafe. There aren’t many venues in the Southwest that treat musicians better than the folks at IPCC, and it is always a joy to perform there!

Last night was no exception! The place was packed with people who continually filled the dance floor, and who sang along beautifully with every song! Any time I get to play with these ladies, it’s a magical time… and last night was particularly amazing! The groove was strong with us!!

Can’t wait for the next time I get to perform with this exceptional band!!

I’ve been a professional musician for decades, and during that time I’ve lived in several different cities. I started in Dallas, and over time I’ve lived in Denton, Keller, Grapevine, Denver, and Colorado Springs. In each of these cities, I was involved – to some extent – in the music scene, both recording and performing live.

Now I live in Albuquerque, and I have to say, it’s a completely different feeling. The cities I mentioned above all have fairly robust music scenes, but there’s something about the scene here in Albuquerque that seems to fit me perfectly. ABQ is one of those interesting medium-sized towns with a broad and eclectic scene – at any given time, you can find rock, metal, country, EDM, party bands, singer/songwriters, jazz, and, of course, blues.

The blues scene in particular has already been very good to me. There are so many world-class blues musicians in this town, and I got to meet a lot of them just as soon as I moved here. Immediately, my wife and I went to see a lot of shows, and before long I was asked to sit in as a sub for several of them. But then we came across something that I haven’t been able to experience in any of my previous cities: organized blues jams.

The blues community here in town is very tight-knit, and any time these musicians aren’t playing, they’re at shows supporting other musicians. And any time one of them has a need, the others jump in. In the almost 3 years since I’ve been here, I’ve played in several big blues jams that were set up to benefit someone who had a real need. It’s an amazing family – and I’m extremely happy to be even a small part of it!

So this past weekend, I got to be a Deltone again, playing with the incomparable Delphia. It was my first gig with them at the Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque. I’ve played there many times, but never with Delphia – and it was a bit different for me. I’ve played to a packed house there before, but I’ve mostly played there with Hillary Smith and/or Missing Mandy – and I know all of those fans. I still don’t know all of Delphia’s fans – so it was a packed house of folks I don’t really know yet… and that’s a fun dynamic.

Something fun happened that helped solidify in my mind the fact that I’m in the right band. We introduced a brand new song that Delphia had just written, called “Lovely Surprise.” Now when I say a ‘brand new song,’ I don’t mean one that we’ve worked on but never performed. This was the very first time we had ever played it at all. You got it – no rehearsals, no run-throughs, no nothing… this was the inaugural performance of this song. And I think it turned out pretty dang good! As a rhythm section, we were in sync – and it sounded great.

I’ve put up a video that our manager shot so you can see/hear for yourself… Imagine how good it’ll be once we’ve rehearsed it a few times!

Enjoy!

I found my next toy!

For the last couple of years, I’ve been playing the Hammond SK2. It’s a fantastic instrument! It has two manuals, so I can easily have two different sounds going, without having to worry about splitting the keyboard. It only weighs around 35 pounds, so it’s easy to carry to/from gigs. It has some great sounds on it – in particular, the acoustic and electric piano and clav sounds are excellent… and, of course, it has spectacular Hammond organ sounds! For me, there just isn’t a more soulful, expressive instrument – I love that classic B3 sound!

Hammond just released the newest version. Introducing the SKX:

The new model has 3 sets of drawbars, so I can adjust the settings of each manual without a lot of extra work. It also has some updated sounds – all the best sounds for a gigging keyboardist. And now these sounds can be layered and combined, and the mix volume can be adjusted with a simple twist of a knob.

Where the SK2 had a single bank that would make 10 favorite voices available at the touch of a button, the SKX allows for multiple banks of favorites – so I’ll never have to hunt through a deep menu again. The other cool new feature is that this instrument comes with the traditional 11-pin Leslie jack, in case I want to run it through a Leslie speaker cabinet. It does still have the internal Leslie simulator – which sounds great – but if I want to get the real thing, I can.

I don’t have this beauty yet, but it’s on my list. I can’t wait to play it! Hey, maybe it’s time I pursued an artist endorsement from Hammond! You can be sure – as soon as I get it, I’ll let you know so you can come hear this fantastic instrument for yourself!

I got a gig!!

In the 2 years since I’ve been in ABQ, I’ve gotten to play with some amazing folks. I’ve been blessed by the opportunity to sit in on several big blues jams. Most notably, I got to play at the Peace Jam and the Jam for Malé, both at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and at last year’s GatoFest at the Marble Brewery downtown. Thanks to the wondrous Hillary Smith, I’ve been able to sit in with several of her bands, including Soul Kitchen, Hill and the Brethren, and Chillhouse. Before they committed to the ‘all-girl’ format, I got to play with hONEyhoUSE, and I’m a kind of permanent special guest with Missing Mandy. These are all incredibly special opportunities, and I relish them.

But now, I’ve actually joined a band! I’m a Deltone!

Delphia has one of the most dramatic and soulful voices I’ve ever heard, and she writes some amazing, emotionally stirring music. Alongside her voice and piano, her Deltones bring it! The Deltones are: Douglas Caldwell on drums, Stephen Dewave Peace on bass, and Delmone Taylor on sax… and now there’s me, hanging out on the electric piano and – of course! – the Hammond organ.

Tonight is my first time to perform with them. We’re performing for the New Mexico Philharmonic Gala at the Las Puertas Event Center. It’s going to be a great fundraiser to support one of New Mexico’s key artistic entities – and I get to be a part of it.

It’s been a couple of years since I was actually in a band – and I’ve missed it! The guys are all great, and Delphia is spectacular. It’s gonna be a fun ride!