April 30, 2009
I was just updating the calendar section: somehow, gigs seems to be popping up like prairie dogs these days. We're currently booked into August, when we're planning a micro tour of the northeast U.S. (Why tour? Why not?)
I didn't have much of a plan when I put this band together. I had a few songs that I wanted to hear in a band context, and I thought it'd be a kick to play out a little bit. I figured we'd break up in a few months (like most bands). I didn't really imagine we'd be going so strong almost two years after our inception.
It makes me wonder why. And it makes me wonder if we should be cashing in on some unseen leverage we have in the musical universe.
But mostly, it's still all about putting together a few songs, and playing 'em for a few folks.
See you out there,
andre
March 16, 2009
Even though it's been rainy and gray for what seems like years, spring's gonna come. (Really. No, seriously.) And with spring comes Greenbelt's annual
Crazy Quilt Festival. We're signed up to play for the second year in a row, and can't wait!
More spring/summer dates on the calendar page, and our demo at
Whose Woods Studio is maybe 70% done! We should have "product" to hawk soon!
Toodles to the poodles ...
andre
February 05, 2009
OK, I need to know: how did Maryland get so COLD?! It's like NEBRASKA out there. (Though my friend from Nebraska says, "No: it's really nothing like Nebraska.")
Heedless of the impending Ice Age, the Able Birds are plowing ahead:
- As a sequel to our enormously successful "Three the Hard Way" show back in September, we'll be back at the New Deal Cafe in the Greenbelt on Valentine's Day (February 14). This show is entitled "Our Chiaroscuro Hearts," and we'll be joined by Mary Battiata and Little Pink, plus longtime local faves ilyAMIY.
If you don't know already, these are two VERY well-loved area bands, and we expect a standing-room-only crowd, and we'll be charging a modest, 5 dollar cover to help compensate these hard-working musicians. Come show your love for local music and local dining!
- We've also begun a demo (long-time readers will realize I've said this before, but this time: REALLY). We're working with the wonderful Bryin at Whose Woods Studio, in the District. So far, so good - we'll have something new to listen to this spring.
Until next time ...
andre
- - - - -
December 08, 2008
So ... the frosty, busy time of year. The Able Birds are as caught up in the commotion as everyone, and we're paring back our shows accordingly. But here are a couple upcoming dates to whet your appetite for local music:
- The Greenbelt Arts department discovered us a few months back, and tapped us to play the Greenbelt New Year's Eve show. This is a family-friendly (read "no booze") event. Join us for Able Birds originals plus a handful of covers!
- As a sequel to our enormously successful "Three the Hard Way" show back in September, we'll be back at the New Deal Cafe in the Greenbelt on Valentine's Day (February 14). Joining us again will be Mary Battiata and Little Pink, plus longtime local faves ilyAMIY.
If you don't know already, these are two VERY well-loved area bands, and we expect a standing-room-only crowd, and we'll be charging a modest, 5 dollar cover to help compensate these hard-working musicians. Come show your love for local music and local dining!
Stay warm,
andre
- - - - -
October 08, 2008
September was sort-of a blur.
But a happy blur. :^)
The "Three the Hard Way" show was an unqualified success. The audience enjoyed the bands, the bands enjoyed the venue, the venue enjoyed the audience ... pretty much a big love fest. We have an offer to put on a similar event this spring - tune in to this channel for updates.
And, as predicted in my last update, we did, in fact go home TEN DOLLARS EACH in our pocketses. Actually it was TWELVE! Big time, here we come.
We also just finished a show w/ the inestimable
Kid Goat at the
Quarry House. Great band, and a fun venue: we hope to team up again in the future.
Lates,
andre
- - - - -
August 26, 2008
I'm delighted to announce that we're (once again) a quintet. College Park/Eastern Shore local Taylor Jones has joined us, playing various 5-, 6-, and 8-stringed instruments and bringing his expertise in lasers and astronauts (no, I'm not kidding) to our little sonic party.
I'm also stoked to report that we have bookings through the end of '08, with more offers coming in regularly. Soon ... very soon ... we shall begin demanding financial compensation for our artistic services. Yes, soon, we'll be going home with up to TEN DOLLARS EACH in our pocketses. Which will just about cover the bar tab.
In other news, expect a gentle barrage of email about our upcoming show with
John Bolten and
Mary Battiata (LITTLE PINK). This one really is special, folks - we have control over the venue, the sound system, and the booking, and Mary and John are both terrific artists.
We expect a packed house, so plan now to come out to the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, on Saturday, September 27, from 8 - 11 pm.
Love and kisses,
Andre
- - - - -
July 23, 2008
Lots of news:
- Show at Dahlak Restaurant on Thursday, July 24 - 8 p.m.
- Another show at Dahlak, this one a shared bill with Ash Lovely. Saturday, August 16, beginning at 10 p.m.
- A multi-band show in Greenbelt, September 27, 8-11. Featuring John Bolten, Mary Battiata (LITTLE PINK), a special mystery guest, and your favorite competent avians.
Besides the usual, we've had some personnel shifts. Lost a keyboard player. Gained a keyboard player. Gained a guitar/mandolin/banjo player. Holding auditions for tuba ... that kinda thing. I'll change the "official" lineup on the myspace page once things are, well, "official." Very excited about the new additions, though - if I had my way, we'd be a small orchestra.
Still writing songs, oddly enough. If you haven't heard us in awhile, come check out some of the fledgling tunes.
Lates,
Andre
- - - - -
June 5, 2008
Wow. Busy, busy, busy. Just *bananas.*
But we're getting back to making music. Dave (our guitar/banjo/mandolin player) left us to hike around the world w/ his fabulous wife - we'll miss him a lot, but so it goes. On the plus side, we've roped in a new keyboard player - Jay.
Come see us in our new, Transformers™-like incarnation when we play a new venue next month:
The Open Mic Mouth at Dahlak Restaurant. We'll be appearing as the "featured" band!
Toodles ...
Andre
- - - - -
April 7, 2008
April rushed in fast. It was hot today, so it made me look to the future of the season. The Crazy Quilt
Festival, in Greenbelt, is coming up on April 19th.
I made a website for them with the full schedule of bands and other information about the day:
www.CrazyQuiltFestival.com
I really hope that you can make it. Our playmate,
Parthenon Huxley, performs at 4:00, so come early to
see him, and stay to see us (and the other great acts of the evening)!
See you there,
Allison
- - - - -
March 11, 2008
Ok, I never really liked Lennon's solo stuff. But "instant karma" seemed like the perfect way to describe what's been happening over the last couple days.
Unfortunately, the "Tuesday Troubador" series at the Rockville Austin Grill was scrubbed. Which left us without one of our April gigs. So I started poking around, to see what venues other people were playing. One of the people I stumbled upon was
Sarah Fridrich.
I know Sarah's been playing the scene for awhile, 'cause her name keeps popping up on venue calendars. I've always enjoyed her stuff - it's different from the usual "guy/gal with a guitar" stuff. It's clear she puts a lot of thought into her art, and I really appreciate that.
Anyrate, because I have no tact whatsoever, I emailed Sarah about a potentially doing a show in my hometown, Greenbelt. No promises -- I'm not the booking agent for this event -- but I wanted to try to get her on the bill. After chatting a little bit, Sarah graciously offered US a spot at one of HER shows!
I'll tell ya folks - it's
hard to get booked if you're doing original, soft-ish music. I was pretty blown away with Sarah's offer.
The happy ending is, we lost Rockville, but gained
Silver Spring. Thank you, Sarah. :^)
- - - - -
February 22, 2008
Believe it or not, I don't make my living doing music. Which explains why I'm still alive.
My "real" job has some busy times, and March is one of the busiest. What's this mean for The Able Birds? NO SHOWS IN MARCH. (We are doing some guerrila recording, and hope to have that demo we've been talking about for months available ... uh ... soon.)
There ARE a couple friends I know that DO make their living solely from their art. Rob Hinkal and his band
ILYAIMY are fairly huge in the local folk-derived music scene. Still, I understand they're just scraping by, so why not throw 'em some love, financial or otherwise, today? Buy a CD, hit their Paypal donation button, send 'em a drawing your kid did ...
The other chap that comes to mind is
William Schaff, a visual artist outside of Providence, RI. Will's stuff is challenging and strong, and he works ceaselessly. Even if you don't find a piece that floats your boat, a thoughtful email or small donation would be well-received.
Later gators ...
- - - - -
January 22, 2008
From time to time, my spouse and I make a "beer bet" (winner buys). My most shameful loss concerns the REM song "Rockville." As in "Don't go back to ..." You know it.
Any rate, my wife was pretty sure the Rockville in the song is Rockville, MD. I smuggly assured her it's not. I mean, why would Mike Mills write about Rockville, MARYLAND? There must be a Rockville in every state of the Union (like Springfield!). What are the odds?
Long story short, yes, it's THAT Rockville. Goddamn REM. Goddamn Mike Mills. Grrrr. Read more
here.
Mr. Mills' poor choices aside, there IS a reason to return to Rockville. (Or go there for the first time if you've never been!) The Able Birds will be sharing a stage at the Austin Grill with local muso
Bob Sima and his herd of
Tuesday Troubadors. See our
Calendar for details ...
- - - - -
January 7, 2008
Happy New Year! We've really enjoyed making music over the last six months or so, and plan to keep at it throughout the beginning of 2008. We'll be playing the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt in January - see our
Calendar for details!
- - - - -
October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
Just to reiterate, we'll be returning to the Potter's House on December 7, to do a benefit for the Capital Area Food Bank. The CAFB helps feed thousands of people in the DC Metro area: we're very proud to support their work.
See our
Calendar for more details on these upcoming shows.
- - - - -
October 10, 2007
Local music impresario Joel Pomerantz has invited us to play at the Songwriters Association of Washington Showcase. We're stoked to represent, and equally as excited to know we'll be sharing yet ANOTHER bill with
Parthenon Huxley! We just played with P. Hux up in Baltimore - he'll no doubt think we're stalking him :^).
We've also confirmed more of the details for our show at the Potter's House in December. We'll be doing a benefit show for the Capital Area Food Bank. Each year the CAFB distributes 20 million pounds of food, including 6 million pounds of fresh produce, through over 700 member agencies! We're very proud to support their work.
See our
Calendar for more details on these upcoming shows.
- - - - -
September 12, 2007
We are THRILLED to announce an appearance with
Parthenon Huxley! P. Hux is an internationally-acclaimed artist who's had four top-20 hits and received three separate Album of the Year nominations.
The Able Birds will be opening for P. Hux at our first house concert, in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore.
See our
Calendar for more details on this exciting show!
- - - - -
August 20, 2007
Lou Black, of
The Black Finks, has graciously invited us to open for his band at a benefit show for the
The Detention Watch Network. Hope to see you there!
WHEN: Friday, September 7th, starting at 7:30 pm
WHERE: The Potters House, Washington, DC [
map]
- - - - -
August 8, 2007
During our recent appearance at the WMUC radio, pictures were snapped and video was shot. You can see the results here (warning: we are a SERIOUS looking bunch):
- - - - -
July 15, 2007
The Able Birds will be on local radio at the end of the month! Tune in and enjoy some local music for FREE, from the comfort of your living room!
WHEN: Sunday, July 29th, from 6 - 9 pm
WHERE: WMUM FM/88.1 - tune in or listen on the web at
www.wmuc.umd.edu
- - - - -
July 10, 2007
We've played a few local open mics, coffee houses, and the like, and it's time to record a formal demo, so we're taking June and July to go into the "studio" (spare bedroom, actually).
Then, with CD and press kit in hand, we'll start beating down doors, hustling up some gigs. If you'd like us to play at your venue or event,
let us know.
The Able Birds create a musical stew reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens, Wilco, and Sam Beam (Iron and Wine). A quintet of seasoned musicians, the ‘Birds have performed at a number of local venues, as well as festivals and house concerts in DC and Baltimore. Coupling insightful lyrics, indy sensibilities and occasional twang, the group creates mournful sonic landscapes that leave listeners wistfully wishing for more.
