Secret Society

Road Shots Part One - May 27-28

According to the official itinerary (painstakingly prepared by the band's very own tour manager, yrs trly), our first-ever European tour officially commenced on May 27 with a 9 AM rehearsal in New York. After that, we reconvened at JFK for a 5:45 PM Air Berlin flight to Düsseldorf. A huge shout-out to Air Berlin for not only being cool about all the instruments we brought aboard, but also arranging things so that all of the unbooked seats on the flight were in our section -- just in case anyone's instrument didn't fit in the overhead bin! (They did, of course, but airlines never believe you when you tell them this.)

We had been scheduled to arrive in Düsseldorf at 7:10 AM the next morning, but the flight was a titch late and we didn't really get rolling until 8:30 AM.  As promised, our rental bass was already on the bus, which was also equipped with an on-board coffeemaker and a fridge stocked with Kronenbourg, sold on the honor system. (I still don't fully understand why a German bus company had French beer in the fridge, but hey.) Our awesome driver, Nazim, got us to our Amsterdam hotel around 11:30 AM, and those who could sleep, slept -- for a few hours at least. We had a 4:00 PM lobby call and then Nazim dropped us off at the Bimhuis for our soundcheck.

After a spectacular meal -- the Bimhuis chef pulled out all the stops for us -- the downbeat for our first set at the Bim came just after 8:30 PM. At this point we had been up for basically 34 hours. It's all a bit of a blur but I think we did okay. We played until about 11 PM and the post-show buzz was enough to extend the hang well into the wee hours. A handful of lunatics got up the next morning to go running before our 11:30 AM lobby call for the bus to Dortmund.

To be continued... photos below the fold.

Please read the letter, I pinned it to your door

The Society has a new News-Letter. It is conveyed directly to your electro-courier's In-Box and looks like this. It will be distributed approximately once a month, or whenever there is Important News to Convey. If you are not yet subscribed, you can do so here. 

We recommend you opt for the HTML version, as the plain text option looks Very Bad Indeed. We are awfully sorry about this -- we have a sentimental fondness for plain text emails ourselves. But you know, "Kids Today and their Damnable Desire for the 'Bling'..." what can be done?

Speaking of Important News to Convey, we have just now added another NYC performance to our schedule -- Secret Society will return to the Jazz Gallery on September 18. More information will be forthcoming... all in due time, comrades.

Tomorrow we embark for Europe. Tourblogging (and tourtweeting, most like) will ensue, assuming there is Wireless "Fi" to be had.

P.S. Infinite Summer. Oh, yes.

I'd rather be a tortoise from Galapagos

(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein)

SECRET SOCIETY
INFERNAL MACHINES RECORD LAUNCH
UNDISCOVERED ISLANDS
GALAPAGOS ARTS SPACE
BROOKLYN NY
08 MAY 2009

SETLIST (click to listen; right-click/ctrl-click to download)
1) MP3: Phobos (partial)
Solos: Jon Wikan, cajon; Mark Small, tenor sax

2) MP3: Zeno
Solo: Ryan Keberle, trombone

3) MP3: Transit
Solo: Ingrid Jensen, trumpet

4) MP3: Redeye
Solo: Sebastian Noelle, guitar

5) MP3: Jacobin Club
Solo: Sam Sadigursky, tenor sax & Mike Fahie, trombone

6) MP3: Habeas Corpus
Solo: James Hirschfeld, trombone

7) MP3: Obsidian Flow
Solo: Erica vonKleist, alto sax

DOWNLOAD ALL (ZIP ARCHIVE)

I am truly stunned -- in a warm and fuzzy but nonetheless bug-eyed way -- by all of the attention Infernal Machines has attracted. As regular readers of this blog know, I am a deep believer in striving for art that is intelligent and well-crafted and deeply personal, but also presented in a way that actually resonates with other contemporary humans. I am gratified beyond words that this music has struck a chord with so many of you. I am especially grateful to those who have followed and supported the band since our first raggedy-ass gig at CBGB almost four years ago. (And people say there's no such thing as progress... )

The live audio from our CD launch gig at Galapagos (linked above) actually turned out amazingly well. I don't pretend to understand the voodoo involved in getting these "field recordings" -- made with a digital recorder, a pair of binaural capsule mics, and a prayer -- to sound good, but for whatever reason, I seem to have accidentally hit upon a sweet spot with mic placement and levels, so this live representation is better than most. This is somewhat mystifying since the onstage sound at Galapagos was tough on us -- but from all reports, it sounded good in the room. For this I give mad props to Paul Cox, lead recording co-conspirator on Infernal Machines. He was also aboard assisting with live sound at Galapagos, thank the FSM. I only regret that I forgot to start the recorder until the middle of "Phobos" -- so I am afraid the recording of that tune begins in medias res.

At any rate, if you like your bigband raw instead of cooked -- or if you merely want a different perspective on the music from Infernal Machines -- we offer you the live tracks from this show gratis, as is our custom. Don't get me wrong, donations are always appreciated -- as are CD and T-Shirt sales, naturally -- but these live tracks are yours to share, burn, abuse, etc.

There are two more nights of Undiscovered Islands left at Galapagos and I hope you will come out to support the brilliant young artists involved in this festival -- this Friday, May 22, Signal performs Sarah Kirkland Snider's Penelope, and May 29 marks the premiere of Missy Mazzoli's Songs From The Uproar and a preview of William Brittelle's Television Landscape.

CO-CONSPIRATORS

WINDS
Erica vonKelist
Rob Wilkerson
Sam Sadigursky
Mark Small
Josh Sinton

TRUMPETS
Seneca Black
Tom Goehring
Matt Holman
Nadje Noordhuis
Ingrid Jensen

TROMBONES
Mike Fahie
Ryan Keberle
James Hirschfeld
Jennifer Wharton

RHYTHM
Sebastian Noelle, guitar
Gordon Webster, piano & electric piano
Ike Sturm, contrabass & electric bass
Jon Wikan, drum set & cajon

National Jazz Awards postscript

Photo: Ian Chandler -- thanks, Ian!

Thanks to all who came out to the National Jazz Awards last night. I was presented with the SOCAN/CAJE Phil Nimmons Emerging Composer Award by Phil Nimmons himself. This was a kick because Phil -- a few days shy of 86 years old -- remains one of the hippest figures in Canadian jazz. With the help of the SOCAN/CAJE Jazz Orchestra, assembled by Darcy Hepner, we premiered "Hard Up On The Down Low," an anthem of global economic collapse featuring Ingrid Jensen on electronically manipulated trumpet. (Ingrid got show off her brand new Line 6 mega-rig.)

It was a real honor to perform at this event, which featured great performances by Mario Allard's band, a very good bigband made up of local student players, and closed with Joel Miller's smoking arrangement of Gil's "Time of the Barracudas," played with the assistance of the Jensen sisters and Alex Dean's killing house band.

However, I was disappointed to learn that the names of the musicians did not appear in the program. Perhaps there was not time to include them. But the players in the SOCAN/CAJE band include some of Toronto's finest musicians, and they worked their asses off to learn "Hard Up On The Down Low," which is not at all an easy thing to put together in a short period of time! They deserve serious props and I am very grateful to all of them:

WINDS
Darcy Hepner
Toby Stewart
Michael Stuart
Alex Dean
Mike Filice

TRUMPETS
Jason Logue
Dave Dunlop
Jon Challoner
Bruce Cassidy
Ingrid Jensen (solo)

TROMBONES
William Carn
Rob Sommerville
Phil Gray
Bob Hamper

RHYTHM
Joey Goldstein, guitar
Adrean Farrugia, piano
George Koller, bass
Joel Haynes, drums

More photos -- courtesy of the amazing and amazingly generous Ian Chandler -- below the fold...

Secret Society @ Le Poisson Rouge, 15 July 2009

Our next NYC hit will take place on Wednesday, 15 July at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets here. More info soon.

What people are saying about Infernal Machines

"[A] fresh jolt of discovery [...] a potent debut [...] the weight of its achievement feels properly definitive."
— Nate Chinen, New York Times

"For a wholly original take on big band's past, present and future, look to Darcy James Argue."
— Seth Colter Walls, Newsweek

"It's maximalist music of impressive complexity and immense entertainment value, in your face and then in your head."
— Richard Gehr, Village Voice

"[A] seven-track marvel of imagination."
— David Adler, Time Out New York

 "Infernal Machines stands defiant, updating the big band tradition for the new millennium while presenting exciting possibilities for the future."
— Troy Collins, All About Jazz

"[A] wonderful combination of sounds, styles, moods and messages"
— Richard Kamins, Hartford Courant

"[T]his is a seriously great record, one of the finest examples of new jazz I’ve heard in the past decade, one of the finest big band records ever made, one of the finest jazz records I’ve truly ever heard."
— George Grella, The Big City

"Among the young turks, Darcy James Argue has the most heat."
— Trevor Hunter, NewMusicBox

"An exciting stylist with an abundance of ideas, Argue deserves his place alongside Schneider, Hollenbeck and other contemporary big band arrangers who are looking beyond traditional notions of what a large jazz orchestra should, and can, sound like."
— James Hale, Jazz Chronicles

Incriminating Evidence 2009.05.08

Erica vonKleist
(Photo: Lindsay Beyerstein)

More photos from our CD launch hit at Galapagos are available here, courtesy of official Society photographer/consort Lindsay Beyerstein.

Deepest thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the impending release of Infernal Machines. We are, as always, honored and grateful for your support.

Infernal Machines CD launch TONIGHT @ Galapagos

Infernal Machines is almost upon us, and we are celebrating tonight at Galapagos Arts Space — 16 Front St. in DUMBO, Brooklyn:

View Larger Map

This also the opening night of New Amsterdam's Undiscovered Islands. NewAm is hosting a pre-party at reBar (just around the corner) beginning 7 PM.

Lots of people have been asking about where they can buy the album. It is not out yet! But the release date is just a few days away —Tuesday, May 12. On that date, CDs and digital downloads will be available here. I am sorry there is no way to preorder -- believe me, that is something I wanted very much. But kindly be patient for just a few more days and on Tuesday you'll be able to get your fix.

Or if you can't wait for May 12, come to the Galapagos hit tonight! Advance copies of Infernal Machines will be available at the show.

More press:

• New York Times pick (Nate Chinen)
• The Making of Darcy James Argue's Infernal Machines -- Eric Benson, All About Jazz. Today they are also hosting a free download of "Zeno."
• Interview in mental_floss magazine.
• Trevor Hunter gives "Phobos" a spin for NewMusicBox's Sounds Heard.
• Composer Kelly Fenton gives us a very kind shout-out at her blog, Bottomless Cup.

Full court press, hands in your chest

On the home stretch (I hope) of a new piece, but I remain slack-jawed and goggle-eyed at all the recent attention. In the event you are not yet sick of hearing about me:

• Darcy James Argue's Metal Machine Music — Richard Gehr, Village Voice — nice to see fellow travelers J.C. Sanford and Chris Jentsch mentioned as well.
• My interview/listening session with Josh Jackson on The Checkout -- both the broadcast version and the Extended Directors Cut.
• David Adler reviews Infernal Machines for Time Out New York.
• George Grella reviews Infernal Machines for his blog, The Big City. 

Also, if you are looking for somewhere to hang before our 10 PM hit at Galapagos on Friday, New Amsterdam is hosting a special pre-party from 7:00-9:30 PM at Rebar (147 Front St, just down the block from Galapagos). Food, drink, and merriment are all to be had in abundance.

But my time here is brief

Completely consumed with preparations for our CD launch hit at Galapagos this Friday, but I thought you should know:

• Infernal Machines is now streaming in its entirety.
• On May 12 (and thereafter), you will be able to purchase the album (CD+immediate download, or download only) directly from New Amsterdam Records.
• Tonight at 6:30 PM Eastern I will be a guest on WBGO's The Checkout. Yes, there are streaming/download/podcast options as well.
• Infernal Machines is a Soundcheck CD Pick of the Week.
• More reviews: Troy Collins in All About Jazz and Richard Kamins in the Hartford Courant blog.
• We have been nominated in the 13th Annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, in the categories Up and Coming Artist of the Year, Large Ensemble of the Year, and Blog of the Year. People, this is insane. Have you seen the other nominees? Ulp. "It's a honor just to be nominated" is so pitiably inadequate it's not even funny.

Cardboard materials and carbon-monoxide wallpaper

Oh god this is hilarious. Someone actually wrote a story about the "jazz flophouses" on Ocean Avenue. In the New York Times!

Check out Deborah Baldwin's piece:

CARMEN STAAF, a 28-year-old New England Conservatory-trained jazz pianist, does what she has to do to make ends meet. Last year, she played accordion in a musical about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, starring puppets. More recently, she played ragtime piano with a xylophone band — in a dog costume.

But those gigs were nothing compared with talking her way into a $920-a-month studio apartment big enough for a bed and a baby grand. “I kept pestering the landlords,” said Ms. Staaf, a finalist in a jazz competition this month at the Kennedy Center in Washington. “I sent them a list of friends who lived in the building. I sent them my CD. It was like I was auditioning.”

Wait — her CD?

Read the rest.

I went to school with Carmen (she is a great musician), and like, half the people mentioned in the story. NEC and McGill represent on Ocean Ave!

Society co-conspirator Mark Small gets a shout-out too.