Benjie Messer

Well, the big news is that One Light Music is finally feeling the results of the recession, which means that my full-time professional musician day job as a composer/arranger is being cut to part-time, and I’m in the market for work. I’ve had a great two years at OLM and learned a lot, and I’m happy to stick around for a while, but it’s definitely time to find something new. I’ll let you know what I find- right now, the sky’s the limit!

I finished writing music for episodes 4 and 5 of Stand-Up Guy, which may be the end of my involvement with that series. I’ve put all non-paying projects on hold until my schedule and budget become more predictable. My friend Ryan Pierson (of At Best Derivative) asked me to write music for his upcoming short noir film “Of Blood and Gin”, so hopefully I’ll have time to fit that in.

Bad Cactus Brass Band continues to stay busy. We have lots of exciting shows coming up (see the calendar in the upper right), and are still finalizing plans to record our first album at a live show in the next few months. We’d love to see you at a show sometime!

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.

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!

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 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.”

We have a lot of musicals in the office this month- one for Desert Stages here in Scottsdale, another for Children’s Musical Theaterworks in Fresno, Cali., mastering The Wizard of Oz and Little Shop of Horrors albums for Stage Stars, and David’s orchestrating an original Gerry Cullity musical for Desert Stages- all due in the next two weeks. I also fit in some karaoke arrangements of patriotic songs for Spiritrax, just in time for July 4th events, and they’ve been selling well.

In the composing department, I’m finishing a 5-minute comedy for SCC senior Chris Redish, entitled “Got Milk?” I’ve also been offered the next episode of the web comedy series Stand-Up Guy by local producer Carol Benwell, so that’s next in line. And Ryan and Jeremy (of At Best Derivative-fame) are starting pre-production for their next movie, a historical Western about Arizona lawman Commodore Perry Owens. I’m super-excited to do another feature- but I’m also glad I have another year or so before it takes over my life. Speaking of, the DVD of ABD has finally been released- it’s at the Friar’s Lantern store.

The Bad Cactus Brass Band has had a promising first month. We’ve recorded a solid demo, which is up at badcactusbrassband.com, and band photos and gigs are in the works. Our first show is on July 8, opening for the Sugarthieves at the Sail Inn.

I’ve also been practicing trombone every morning before work. Besides Bad Cactus, I’ve played this month with Renee Patrick, the Sugarthieves, the Jazz Alliance, and David Bernstein, as well as at the jam sessions at Pita Jungle and 98 South in Chandler.