Hi everyone -
welcome back to my newsletter (finally!)
First, let me
apologize for how long it has been since the last edition,
but there is good reason. Actually...there are many! They
are (in no particular order): work, work, and more work!
Anyway, a lot
has changed since the last time I checked in...
First, there’s my new Web site, designed and constructed by
my marketing genius, Steve Orkin, the guy behind the scenes,
that handles so many things for me, including getting this
newsletter out to all of you! Many fans have written to me
over the past few years to express their concern that the
(old) site was difficult to navigate. I agreed - and that's
why we have a much simpler site up now that I hope to keep
updated with all the latest news moving forward.
That includes
publishing this newsletter a little more frequently! I want
to thank Steve personally for doing so much, and doing it so
well!
Speaking of the Internet, you may have also noticed that I
have a MySpace page up now at
www.myspace.com/daveweckl . The page features a mix
of
older and newer music, and we plan on updating the songs
soon. Also, you'll find some interesting videos - including
some DWB footage and some older Akoustic Band
stuff. I hope you enjoy the page - and please take a moment
to sign up as a friend.
My band saw some changes in 2006 with Steve Weingart moving
on to pursue other projects right after our Australian tour.
It was a no-brainer as to who to call for the North American
dates, and I was very fortunate that Mr. Jay Oliver, after a
7 year absence, said "yes."
I can't tell you how many people commented on Jay's
wonderful playing, his great feel, and overall musical
approach he added to the band during the remainder of the
touring season. He's a one-of-a-kind musician and a lot of
fun to have around. He really bailed us out for the rest of
the year, and I thank him so dearly for being there for us.
Jay, you da man!!!!!!
The band had some great times playing at the incredible Yoshi's
in Oakland, CA, and many other venues in California, the
Midwest, and East Coast. The fans were amazing as usual, and
the band had a lot of fun pulling out some old tunes and
trying a couple of new ones.
I was able to record some audio and video footage of a few
shows and hope to get that up on the Web site/MySpace page
at some point. No promises for anything soon, but I will add
it to the ever-growing "to do" list.
Not much else to report on the DWB right now. We’re sort of
taking a bit of a break the first half of this year while I
gear up for another CD later in 2007. The break from the
band has given me the opportunity to wear the "sideman hat"
a bit more and play with some other groups and some
fantastic musicians.
In 2006, I joined Brian Bromberg (bass), Jeff Lorber
(piano), Gary Meek (sax), and Rick Braun (trumpet) in Japan.
In March, I joined Brian, Jeff, Gary, and Randy Brecker on
a short East coast tour (following a couple of concerts in Jakarta,
Indonesia, at the end of February). Then, less than a week
later, I was all over Japan with Mike Stern for a
couple weeks. Click
here
to open the media page, where you can find some video
footage of the band (scroll to the bottom).
Keep an eye on
the tour
page for the latest updates to my schedule.
 This past January, I played with Bill Evans' Soulgrass
"Special Edition" for a week of gigs at the Blue Note in
New York City. This was a great experience - playing with
the likes of Bill (saxophone), Richard Bona (bass/vocals),
Sam Bush (mandolin), Tony Trischka (banjo), and Christian
Howes (fiddle). It seemed like every set was packed and, as
always, it was great to get back to NYC.
This gig was a
blast, and as you can see from the line up, the
instrumentation was a bit, well, different…I didn’t know
what to expect, actually, but it really came off well, with
all of us having a great time playing together.
Click the mp3 logo on the right to hear a clip of me
soloing to "Celtic Junction."
Just a few weeks
ago, I traveled to Lakewood, New Jersey, to join the
Lakewood Jazz Ensemble at their 20th Annual Music
Spectacular as a guest performer and teacher. This was a
great
event.
I really enjoyed
playing with the big band and working with students during
the day. The event director, Wilbur Whittmann, does a great
job with this event and it is great to see big band alive in
the schools.
While home, I’m finding myself wearing the "producer/mixing
engineer hat" and really enjoying that aspect of the
business as well. I’ve just finished mixing a project for
the great Cuban drummer Raul Pineda, with Jesus Diaz on
percussion and Gustavo Ramierez on keys, also with bass and
guitar, and the great Bob Mintzer on saxophone on a few
cuts.
I also mixed a few songs for the young drumming
sensation, Tito Pascoal, a 12-year-old from Missouri! (Bob’s
on some of that too!) It’s always so inspiring to experience
young talent, and Tito is a very special example of that.
You can check him out at:
www.myspace.com/titopascoalband .
I’m also doing quite a bit of ‘tracks by mail’ for artists
all over the world while off the road in my home studio.
Orhan Osman, living in Turkey, is a fantastic musician whose
main instrument is the Buzuki. He’s written a few
challenging pieces that I’ve enjoyed recording on.
He
doesn’t seem to have a Web site, but a Google search will
yield lots of info about him, as there’s plenty out there….
Great stuff… I’m also currently working on a CD by Jon Reshard, a very young, talented composer and bass player.
Visit his Web site at:
www.jonreshard.com.
Greg Howe will
also appear on this CD, and I’m having fun tracking Jon’s
songs thus far. He’s really a great talent and a heck of a
nice guy! Finally, I’ve started also tracking for an
adventurous project by T. Lavitz (keyboardist for the Dixie
Dregs and many others!) on which my Elektric Band buddies,
John Patitucci and Frank Gambale, will appear. Cool music!
So, a little break from wearing the "leader hat" has a been
a good thing. I have had the chance to play with and record many different
styles with many different artists and it feels good. I look
forward to doing more of this in '07.
A cool development...
Coming up in August, I will be taking part in "DrumFantasy.07."
As the name suggests, it's a fantasy camp for
drummers!
The camp will be educationally-driven, with clinics and the
option of signing up for intimate master classes. But at
night, campers will be treated to great concerts featuring
the all-star staff, and get the chance to jam with the pros.
So far, Steve
Smith and Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez are on board, with
one more drummer to be named. Campers will have access to
everyone while there - to learn, hang, and talk drums. It's
really a unique experience.
If you're interested, try to register as soon as possible.
Some packages have limited space and are filling up rather
quickly. Just go to
www.drumfantasycamp.com . Hope to see many of you
there!
I want to thank Dennis Moody for his contribution to this
edition of the newsletter. Dennis does a great job on the
road for me and in the studio as well for many top artists. I
hope his information is helpful to all you drummers out
there.
That's about it for now. Enjoy all the news and photos, and
I promise to try to get something out to you again soon.
But...you know how that goes.
Keep it real (and musical!),
-
Dave
-- Go to page 2 -- |
