Benjie Messer

I took my Bad Cactus boys on tour last month, up to Utah and back, and it was a ton of fun! We’re definitely thinking about more doing a more extensive tour next summer, so let me know if you want us to come visit you! Our traditional album, Arizona Mardi Gras, is coming out in the fall, and we’ve been rehearsing a bunch of original tunes with a more modern influence, to bring the band into the 21st century. And we have a great new tuba player, so I’m back in the trombone section!

My Electronic Music I course at Phoenix College is going great. Students are learning about creating music on the computer, I’m learning about teaching, and we’re all having a good time. My home studio is mostly up and running now, though I still have a few more pieces to fit into place before it’s the equal of my studio at OLM. Also, I’m planning a trip to LA at the beginning of August to meet and talk with professional film composers, and particularly to attend Ron Jones’ Ravel Orchestration Study Group.

My latest arranging work is a collection of patriotic music for our new “Special Events” category at Spiritrax, just in time for July 4th. Click through to listen- I’m proud of these arrangements, and they’re selling quite well.

A month ago I wrote that I was being cut down to part-time at One Light Music, and hoping to use it as an opportunity to find something new, and to move my career forward. And it worked! I was just hired as an adjunct professor of electronic music at Phoenix College, the downtown campus of the Maricopa Community College System! My first Electronic Music I course will start on June 2 if enough students register- if not, I’ll start teaching in the fall. And work at OLM has been coming back too, so with those two part-time jobs, I should be quite busy enough.

Bad Cactus Brass Band seems to be avoiding Phoenix’s traditional summer slump. We’ve recorded two albums in the last month- a live traditional album, and a studio Christmas album. The live disc should be ready for release by the end of the summer, and the Christmas one will be ready by November. We also have a ton of interesting gigs coming up- see the calendar in the upper right.

I also got to arrange and transcribe horn parts this month for an upcoming Brit-pop album that’s being produced by veteran recording engineer Jack Howell at WilloDisc. That was a lot of fun- I’ll put up some audio demos soon. I haven’t done any composing this month, but I did finally buy all the software I need to produce music at home- Logic, Sibelius, and a bunch of great sample libraries. Hopefully when the next opportunity knocks, I’ll be ready to answer!