January 7, 2010 by benjie
It’s been a few months since I wrote- I’ve just been having too much fun with Bad Cactus Brass Band! We had a packed December, performing at the Desert Botanical Garden’s twenty Luminaria Nights, as well as various tree-lighting parties around town. In the spirit of New Years resolutions, we’re shooting to record our first album soon. We’ll be recording it at a live show sometime in the next few months- I’ll post more details when I know more. We’re also looking ahead to Mardi Gras in February, which should be our next really busy season.
I’ve had a nice break from composing, but it’s time to jump back in. This month I’ll be working on the latest episode of Carol Benwell’s “Stand Up Guy”, and writing music for a short film by the Rebel Filmmaker AZ Group titled “Of Blood and Gin.”
At One Light Music, we finally released the first-ever complete karaoke Messiah, which helped push Spiritrax through a great holiday season. We’ve done a few musicals for Desert Stages Theater and a Sondheim collection for Stage Stars Records. We’re also working on some extensive back-end changes to improve the functionality of Productiontrax and give it room to grow.
September 23, 2009 by benjie
The Bad Cactus Brass Band has been playing a ton of gigs, having a great time, and sounding awesome. Jim Phillips of the Arizona Classic Jazz Society came to our last show at the Lost Leaf, and described us excitedly as what it would have been like “if Bix Biederbecke had a garage band.” We have many more dates coming up, and it’s always a good time, so if you’re free, come by and say hi! I’ve also been sitting in a bit with the Digital Blues Band and the Sugarthieves, but most of my focus has been on Bad Cactus. The band knows 3-4 hours of material by now. We also have our first “spin-off” gig coming up, where we get to break out our polka and klezmer books- fun!
In composing, I finished the music for “Got Milk?”, a short comedy by Chris Redish. It’s included as a bonus on the DVD with his film “20% Off”, and it’ll be making the festival rounds over the next few months. It’s not available online- some of the festivals he’s entering it in won’t screen it if it’s been broadcast. I also wrote a theme for Carol Benwell’s web comedy series “Stand Up Guy”, and scored episode 3, “Good Cop Bad Cop”.
Work has been busy. We finished a huge musical for Desert Stages, and I’m doing a batch of miscellaneous tracks for Stage Stars Records, and then hopefully turning my attention to finishing the Messiah and bulking up the winter holiday content on Spiritrax. Productiontrax has been growing by leaps and bounds too, particularly the stock video section.
Some other news: At Best Derivative has been picked up for distribution! The entertainment company that bought the rights is aiming to re-release the 2-disc DVD nationwide on November 17th. I’ll be very curious to see where it ends up- if you see it at a video store, or on demand in a hotel or something, let me know!
July 29, 2009 by benjie
I’ve been lucky to get out of the Phoenix heat during part of July- a week in Boston and a weekend in Colorado. But I’m back and diving back into music. At work, I’m sequencing a musical for Desert Stages, as well as arranging some common hymns and continuing to plow through the Messiah for Spiritrax.
Bad Cactus Brass Band- photo by Stephen Messer
has had two successful gigs, and is booking events for the fall and 2010, as well as planning a record. I’ve also been playing with the
Sugarthieves most Wednesdays, and hitting jam sessions when I get the chance.
In composing, I’m finishing up “Got Milk?” with director Chris Redish, and looking forward to working on the new episode of “Stand Up Guy.”
