The Blacklight Soul will be back in Southern California for 2 shows this weekend. The first is this Saturday (March 27th) at “The Vault Martini Bar” in Redlands, CA. The second will be at the University of Redlands Greek Amphitheatre with Girl Talk and Chiddy Bang. Weird, yes. Fun, yes. Tickets for this show are available HERE.
So if you are in the general area come on out! I promise they will be a lot of fun.
Here are 3 very different Blacklight Soul tracks from the album “After Tonight”.
enjoy
Last time I visited Minnesota I got copies of some random old videos from Walk’s porch. Here is an old video of The P. Lacquers song “Push It” from the album “Awkward Party”. The video was made in 2006 by Johnny, Graham, and Matty. If you’re interested in a copy of the CD contact lumpy@bryanhighhill.com for details
I’ll try and get some more videos up soon.
I’ve been randomly recording some reggae songs/demos and I’ve compiled them into “The Lumpy Reggae EP”. Grego Butera played guitars and fiddles on the track “Light Stole The Day”.
Enjoy
Lumpy - The Lumpy Reggae EP (2009/2010)
1. “Where’s The Money?”
2. “Drone Dub”
3. “Showers In The Dark”
4. “Honesty”
5. “Flugel Reggae”
6. “Light Stole The Day”
“LUMPY From Wilderness Cove (self-produced) More than a year in the making, this CD is the newest project from classically trained trumpeter Bryan Highhill, who plays with the popular Santa Fe Latin/funk/hip-hop collective Felonious Groove Foundation. Recorded at the College of Santa Fe, CalArts, Warehouse 21, and bedroom studios between October 2008 and December 2009, From Wilderness Cove is a glistening cherry atop an already generous sundae of great local talent. Highhill ditches the strict party vibe of his funkified Felonious self in favor something more personal, all the while channeling Weezer, Beat Happening, Daniel Johnston, Fishbone, Beirut, Bowling for Soup, and They Might Be Giants. But Highhill is no imitator - nor is he a one-horn wonder. Assuming roles throughout the album as a vocalist, percussionist, piano player, Rhodes keyboardist, fluegelhorn player, trumpeter, guitarist, and programmer (and mixer, and co-producer, along with Frogville Records engineer Matthew “Kabby” Kabakoff), Highhill comes into his own as a refreshingly original and honest lyricist with versatile instrumental chops. He’s not alone in the endeavor, enlisting the help of local guitarist Peter Williams (Love Gun, The Rev. Karol King Kong, W21’s School of Rock), drummer Tim Carr, and bassist Graham Chapman, to name a few. To purchase the album and hear samples of songs (as well as Lumpy covers of tunes by Jimmy Cliff and Sam Cooke), visit bryanhighhill.com.
-Rob DeWalt”
Here’s a music video for an abridged, acoustic, demo version of a song from a future release called “worn-down verbal storms”. To give you an idea of the sound, I also added a sound clip of the actual version without any vocals.
If you’re looking for the next best thing to getting everything you ever wanted, check out the newest studio album of brassman/troubadour/party-maker Bryan Highhill’s musical collective Lumpycoming out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The album is titled “From Wilderness Cove“.
From the first stretch of the first track, you know it is going to be all foolishness. Then you’re right, and my birds how delicious it is. There’s a swoony loony sort of urgency to this album, like a drunken elephant stumble-rumble-dancing around the rim of a volcano. At any given moment everything is about to collapse in on itself or burst. Hard to say which.
Take the fourth track on the album “Not The Same Man“. Thematically it’s almost embarrassingly super-pop, and you can’t help but feel like Bryan is making fun of you for being so into it. Nevertheless, into it you will be. That’s it. See your head, bopping up and down? It’s sexy and silly…now that’s an accomplishment.
My absolute favorite is the rocking, raucous “Southern Plantlife” (Track 6). This is one of those tracks that leaves you breathless, sweaty, and angry at your mom in a deliciously indulgent, adolescent sort of way. Play the track again, a second time, only louder. Maybe it’s not your mom after all, but who gives a damn. The point is that you’re half-hitting pitches, screaming words you don’t quite understand and driving too fast. It’s all the beauty of teenage angst that you were too “chill” to let out when you were younger. Go head. Do it again.
If you’re not in love with Lumpy yet, pump Track 10 “Owls” through your speakers and take a little vacation. The entire Lumpy collective shines, reminiscent of The Polyphonic Spree or some epic Sufjan Stevens composition.
Whether it is the stomp-your-feet determinism of “Tell You So” (such fun!) or the pulsing party sing-along “I’ll Bring You Down“, you can’t deny that the feverish horn lines carry this music. As a classically trained trumpet player, Highhill really lets the instrument serve as the mouthpiece of the album, even though the tracks all have vocals. Bryan is playing his own percussion as well, which really serves as a rhythmic interpreter of your heartbeat, doing all the things your organ cannot. Don’t put this album on and expect to do something else. It is all very noisy and distracting and Bryan’s signature voice is one you can’t ignore. But- if you’re ready to give yourself to one man, now is your chance.
You can preview the entire album here at bryanhighhill.com but I’m warning you now that the 20 second taste-bytes won’t scratch the itch. You might as well buy the whole damn album now. Listen to it twice. The rest is history.
from the horses mouth: “Tracking was started in October of 2008. Most of the tracking was done at the College of Santa Fe recording studio using pro-tools. But some was also done in my bedroom. Everything was done one instrument at a time and some of the parts and structure were improvised during the recording process. The mixing was done with Apple Logic and the project was completed December of 2009. ” - B.H.
(Now just in time for Valentines Day. Nothing says I love you more than sweat & ecstasy.)
I’ve been engineering a 4-part comedy special for the radio station that I work at. It’s called “Seriously Funny” and it’s written by tv/comedy playwright Ron Bloomberg. I’ve also created some original music for the series. The first episode will initially air this Saturday Feb. 6th at 8:30 am (MT) on KSFR Santa Fe Public Radio . There was an interview today on our morning show “The Santa Fe Radio Cafe” to help promote this new comedy special. There were some nice words said about me and some of my music was featured at the end. It was a very good interview. Check it out!
The Santa Fe Radio Cafe - Seriously Funny Interview
And here’s the official write-up about the show: SERIOUSLY FUNNY! - KSFR 101.1FM Public Radio is pleased to present an entertainment series created by Ron Bloomberg, premiering Saturday, Feb. 6th at 8:30am, rebroadcast on Wed., Feb. 10th at 6:30pm and Fri., Feb. 12th at 1:00pm. SERIOUSLY FUNNY! the story of William T. Tuttle, a modern day Don Quixote driving a worn out Chevy Camaro. Set in Santa Fe, we follow William in his travels where he will meet a myriad of colorful and interesting characters.
William is a prototype of so many of us living lives of not so quiet desperation in 2010. He’s been in and out of jobs and relationships, but romantic sparks fly when he meets Blue Pearl - a waitress/performance artist with a rather dark past.
The various story lines come together at Gus’ piano bar where our regulars interact and where Blue Pearl sings a devastatingly witty Rogers and Hart song, “To Keep My Love Alive.”
The Cast features a number of Santa Fe’s finest actors:
Liam Lockhart, Genia Michaela, Alaina Zachary, Tom Romero, Robyn Reede, William Verderber, Tom Woodward, Ron Bloomberg. And as Gus the Piano Player . . . . . . David Geist Funny, musical, stylish . . . And a welcome addition to KSFR 101.1FM Public Radio!
So my cover of the song “Red Rubber Ball” has just been featured over at http://coverfreak.com this week. Check it out!
I’ve also been uploading more videos. You can check them all out at http://www.youtube.com/lumpyrecordings, or linked in the video section to the right.
The picture is from last Friday’s full-moon. I took it at 1 am from the driveway.
I’ve finally finished uploading The P. Lacquers New Years Eve performance from 2004/2005. The show took place at the Twin Cities Underground in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It’s old and funny
Enjoy!
Below is the opening song “And Then She Came” from the 2004 release Welcome to the World of Music. To see the whole show go HERE: www.youtube.com/lumpyrecordings
I’ve been randomly recording some reggae songs/demos and I’ve compiled them into “The Lumpy Reggae EP”. Grego Butera played guitars and fiddles on the track “Light Stole The Day”.
