“I, Nefarious” CD available for Pre-Order

Fri, 1/08 *Sat, 1/09* |  8pm @ Audio For The Arts Studios

7 S Blair St, Madison, Wisconsin 53703

DOUBLE RELEASE SHOW

$10 admission gets free copy of Bell Monks “Big Bay” EP [Wren&Shark]
$5 for BRAIN GRIMMER “I, Nefarious”

NUDE HUMAN

BELL MONKS

WILLISGRIMMISWILLIMM DUO


 “I, Nefarious” CD compilation by BRAIN GRIMMER

Release Date Jan 8th 2016

on GrimmusiK & Mine All Mine Records

Drawing influences from Hip-Hop, Jazz, and World Music, this CD compilation features the producer heavily on cello & bass as well as Chinese zithers & lutes to create bizzaro covers and off kilter remixes.  Reserve your limited edition disc, co-release with Mine All Mine Records. Features collaborations with SiLas Be Ritchie, Brian Tairaku Ritchie, C.J. Boyd, Bashiri Asad, Nice Boy Vice, Rob Dixon, Justin Brewer, & Alan Watts

Pre-Order Today!


 

SiLas Be Ritchie & Brian Tairaku Ritchie: ‘Tea Life: Wabi Sabi Remixes’ Released!

Back in June, 2013 painter & musician SiLas Be Ritchie went in for a double lung transplant.  Silas had been ‘on call’ for a while & we all knew this could come at any time.  An unfathomable situation to me – you wait & wait, then out of the blue a phone rings, “hey, we’re ready to rip that giant organ out of your chest and replace it with a new set”…  I certainly didn’t imagine that I’d be out of town when the call came – in Indianapolis, performing the horror-score to NoExit Performance production of “This Is Not Shakespeare’s MACBETH“.  We had received the stems for this remix project prior to the surgery.  When I heard SiLas was going in, I went right to work on a BRAIN GRIMMER contribution ~ trying to send out sonic good-vibes to Si while he was in procedure & recovery.  We’re all grateful that he came out of surgery just fine and has been living his life full of breath!

Fast forward to November, 2014, the more recent good news is… the Tea Life: Wabi​-​Sabi Remixes album has finally dropped!  It has been well worth the wait to hear the wonderfully crafted and varied interpretations that have resulted in these remixes.  Kudos to Si for putting this together!


”  Wabi-Sabi is the second track off of Tea Life 2, the sophomore record by Silas Be and Brian Tairaku Ritchie (Shakuhachi master & bassist of Violent Femmes). The 4 stems of music that assemble the song (Drums, Flute, Bass, Chime samples) were sent to an array of musician friends. I asked my friends to create a new composition using any amount of the original music, except zero. What returned are these transmission. Enjoy.  

If you choose to pay $25 for the album, include your address in a message, and I will create and send to you an original Silas Be watercolor painting.

Album Cover Art: Silas Be

Track Art by: Andrew Jay (except “Ghost” by John Praw, Image by John Praw, and Wabi-Sabi art by Silas Be)  


The BRAIN GRIMMER contribution, ‘crop dance’, is one of my favorite tracks that I’ve worked on… it’s also been the most difficult to mix & master.  For the last 3 months I’ve been working on/off towards re-mastering the track.  I’ll be releasing a new BRAIN GRIMMER ep some time in early 2015, comprising of remixes, guest-producer features, and cover songs from the last 2 years.  More on that in the coming months!


August, you so crazy

We Brothers Grimm have finally settled into our new home, even closer to Lake Mendota than before! With the lake view and laid back, spacious vibe ~ it has been deemed The Beach House!  For our intermittent two weeks of homelessness, we were kindly put up at friends Sarah & Eric Lang’s house.  AJ works with both of the Langs at Bradbury’s coffee shop.  Not only are they excellent hosts, but Sarah is an exceptional photographer!  Take time out of your busy day and check out Lovely Ember photography.  (click on these photos to see more of her guqin pics!)

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For all of you who couldn’t make it to the 8/1 Lovely Socialite show on Lake Mendota Terrace ~ here is a clip of Shakuhachi master Brian Ritchie jamming out on Saucy Pat’s new tune Humus!!  What a blast, glad to have this one on video (thanks again Silas!)

Silas “Be” Ritchie (Brian’s son) visual artist, tea lover, and musician has recently released the second installment of his Tea Life series (feat. Brian Tairaku) ~ check it out ya’ll

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8/9 at Dobra was an evening of very special musical guests.  We were proud to welcome Thollem McDonas to the tearoom, he certainly helped us reach some new improvisational heights!  My dear composer/performer friend/former ensemble mate Zane Merritt was able to join us on classical guitar!  The classical guitar (Zane) & flamenco guitar (AJ) duo in the first hour was a highlight for everyone!  After two hours of mixing and matching with only two or three musicians playing at a time, we invited everyone up – including shakuhachi master Brian Tairaku Ritchie ~ forming a Tea-Allstars Septet.  Oh, and did we mention it was Watercourse Quartet’s last Madison performance (…till sometime this winter…. when we release our full length album!!)

[L to R] Brian Tairaku Ritchie, Ben Willis, Thollem McDonas, Saucy Pat Reinholz, AJ Huckleberry Grimm, Zane Merritt, BC Grimm

Here are some recordings, courtesy of Silas

More live recordings from Dobra Tea coming your way soon!!

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