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Latest News
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]| Brett opening up a set at World Cafe Live. [05.19.10]
Brett will be playing a rare opening set at The World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on June 12th at 8pm. Paul Ramsey will be joining him on drums.
World Cafe Live |
]| AirRadio.Net thinks the end is beautiful. [02.08.10]
From Tom:
"Echolyn has been picked up by AiiRadio.net where "The End is Beautiful" has quickly risen to #5 on the charts. Tune in and cast your vote!"AirRadio.Net |
]| Update from Brett: January 28, 2010. [01.28.10]
Happy New Year everyone!! Or as they say in south Philly and parts of Jersey "Happee Nu Years"!
Wow, did 2009 actually play out in its entirety?? Talk about riding the wave! it seems like i was just welcoming in 2009. Strange how time moves. This new year i enjoyed some good Czech and French Absinthe with friends. We shot some bottle rockets off at midnight and then things became a blur of faces, laughs, music and time. The next morning i was happy to find that reality can be put off a little longer with some mimosas, its the healthy cocktail!
How was everyone else's new year? Feel free to write us. love to hear about it.
Paul and i had a blast traveling and making music in the UK. We had a beautiful core of folks to be with.
Tom Brislin was brilliant as a musician and cabin mate. I listen in awe to his playing. i loved talking about music and odd bands from all eras with him. he's an encyclopedia of info when it comes to, well... just about anything. from cell phone network geek talk to who was in Miles Davis band in 1969, Tom is the dude! A natural.
Jamie Bishop likes to let everyone think he's laid back and just chillin' with the groove BUT he's very aware of what's going on around him. He's got a great ear with killer feel for the pocket. We spent many nights up (after long drives back from gigs in the wee hours of the morn) talking smack and sharing Fosters, Carlsberg or a bottle of wine. He's a very funny guy who can crystalize a a moment with comedic wit.
Dory Jackson is one of the best vocalists of worked with. she can mimic anyone in speech or melody! we busted out in tears when she would do a spot on impression of someone. she was my anchor on stage and kept me focused on vocal phrasing and timing. we had great talks and laughs at strange hours of the day and she was truly one of the guys. she's quite a musical soul. i found out her dad is David Jackson from Van der Graaf Generator. pretty cool.
Phil and Dom Beaumont ran the show and kept everyone sane. without them the tour would not have happened. when we met it was as if we knew each other already. they treated us like kings! the accommodations they got us were second to none. not a stuffy hotel room but a two beautiful cabins overlooking the Welsh countryside. It was a place we could call home.
I felt so lucky to be able to share this whole experience with Paul Ramsey. He and i have become traveling partners and there is no one i feel as comfortable with on the road. even when i needed some quality alone time i still wanted to hang with my old friend and find a quite pub for a pint. Paul and i learned so much on this tour about being a musician. the caliber of players was amazing and we really had to step up to the plate and be at our best all the time. we learned to listen in a whole new way.
Francis Dunnery was the reason we all were there. as i've said he is quite a force in many ways. music is his being and it pours out of him. music is serious shit with him, its not fun or blase. it is full of spirit and intent. we ALL had to climb aboard THAT proverbial bus or it wouldn't work. there were many nights when he would just play or sing something that would floor me. it could be in a single note that he'd hit with his guitar or voice. there was intent and purpose and our humanness in that moment. i've played with amazing musicians but never with someone that deep. Francis has become the older brother i never had. The great thing about him is that just when you think a situation is all serious and heavy he'll smile and say the most absurdist thing to lighten the mood. "when i cry cheese comes out of my eyes" or "i'd like to bum a gorilla from the front."
Oh, i almost forgot, a Scotsman named John Smith warmed up the crowd for us and helped keep the guitars in tune. He was also right besides us when loading and unloading the gear. John is wonderful guy, sharp as a razor and funny as shyte! He is releasing a new album on Aquarian Nation very soon. I've been given the opportunity to mix his music and look forward to being part of his amazingly insightful songs. I think we are kindred spirits in many ways... yet another person i feel i've know in a past life.
Damn i almost forgot the amazing Craig!! Drum expert, van packing soul mate, haggis aficionado, and funny bastard!! Craig we love you and missed you when you were not there!
The UK has an interesting energy to it. Old and visually green. worn from history but very vital. there is strength and determination on that island. a lot of the fortitude we as Americans have comes from that place. It comes from having to deal with thousands of years of violence. Roman invaders, Vikings, internal religious and economic strife that goes way beyond our Civil War, WWI AND WWII... bombings... sheesh! you can feel it when you are there... but at the same time,... OH the beauty of the land and its people!! I met so many brilliant people all over that island. I even got to make some music with a few. Steve Rothery from Marillion, Bernie Marsden (what a guitar player!), Luke Machin, and even Robert Plant from a little band call Led Zeppelin.
i know there is more to come with the Dunnery and The new Progressives. New music, US shows and back to the UK again! the US shows so far are Thursday the 25th of March at Club Cafe Live (Pittsburgh, PA) one in Harrisburg, PA on the 26th, one in NYC on the 27th and one in Philly at The World Cafe Live on the 28th.
What else, hmmmm. Echolyn got together this past weekend and had a killer time recording new material for our next release!! We captured two of them. one is called '"Moments Without Sound" and the other is "Hey Headright", the later we wrote from scratch in an hour and 10 minutes. we have a lot of good energy on this project and are having so much fun working things through. with that said it is a lot of work because this is serious shyte and we all want to capture a newness and take a big step forward rather than remain stagnant. the openness to ideas amongst the band is what keeps me coming back. everyone is really pushing themselves. people grow and we want that growth to be reflected in our music. we are filming as much as we can and will try to keep everyone posted. feel free to write anytime to see what's up.
b |
]| Paul & Brett on Tour w/the New Progressives. [10.07.09]
From Brett....
"Hey all!
Paul and I will be touring The UK in October and November with Francis Dunnery in his band, the New Progressives. Evil Knievil ain't got nothin' on us! Come on out and see the greatest show since The Grateful Dead played the Winterland!
Show and ticket info at http://www.francisdunnery.com/tour.html
We just finished the new DOUBLE album which features Tom Brislin on keys, Dorie Jackson on backing vocals, Jamie Bishop on bass and Paul Ramsey on drums. I somehow even managed to play some guitar on a couple songs which is pretty tough to do considering the talents of Francis.
The album is available at http://www.francisdunnery.com/shop.html
The Album, "There's A Whole New World Out There" is one of the best I've been involved with. The SOUND is deep and wide and high and low. It washes over you and pulls you in like a Saturday night bath. Tracks like Staring At The Whitewash" could go on forever as far as I'm concerned. I'd like to fall asleep to it then wake up to the same progression in the morning (or in the middle of the night when I take a leak).
What this album has, is a rare "deepening" of an artist’s songs. Rare because most of the time, when an artists attempts to re record their songs, they usually come up with a flat, half assed version of the original. I promise this is not the case with this record. When Francis started sending me the original versions of the songs we were going to record by his old band It Bites I thought like most songs from the eighties that they did not travel well through time. Most songs recorded in the eighties were heavily time stamped. I was not familiar with the band It Bites yet after listening more to the songs rather than the production I found that there was plenty of melody and also a good lyric.... it was just bludgeoned to death by the sounds of bad technology and overplaying. I KNOW what that's about because I've done the exact same thing!
Francis is not trying to reclaim It Bites and the past, nor is he trying to bring his songs into the future and onward. To make something Present is to make it timeless and real. It's what every great artist strives for. To give a song a soul and breath in the NOW is magic. Listen to Joni Mitchell's Travelogue.
God knows I've seen a thousand bands playing their hits, doing the circuit and pandering to the sentiment of the collective past of the audience. Being progressive in music/art has nothing to do with that in my opinion. This album is part of something that is daring, and not chained to the past or concerned with the future. Francis has accomplished the rare feat of stripping away the fat, bringing to light the heart of the song AND at the same time, shattering singer/songwriter pretension and platitudes. These songs are in focus now and truly timeless in their delivery.
The recording we did is simple and pure. Real musicians singing and playing instruments mostly live in a room together. Mistakes, magic and the moment are on this recording. Its "high class" as Francis would say and not "RAAACK" music. I've learned many things during this process. Things about feel, time, sound and soul. I've learned about " The Land", "Riding The Bus", "Blaggin' it", and what my porn name would be, (Lady Flourtown).
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do ;-)
Hope to see you at one or all of the shows this Fall!!!
sincerely
bwk"Francus Dunnery's Website |
]| Brittany live at the North Star. [06.09.09]
Hey all,
Click here to download a Quicktime file of Brittany live from the North Star in Philadelphia. Recorded on April 26th in support of "The Syn", the band is in top gear as they play one of their favorites.
Please note, however, that the file is 63MB so it may take a minute or two to download. :) |
]| Brett & Paul become New Progressives. [05.22.09]
We've hderd from various reports (okay, from Brett and Paul), it’s official – they’ve joined forces with Francis Dunnery (ex-It Bites) to form “The New Progressives.” Joining them is Tom Brislin (ex-Yes, Spiraling) on keyboards and Jamie Bishop (ex-Syn) on bass. Not much is known about this project yet but Brett & Paul seem to be excited about it. More info can be found on Francis’ website!Francis Dunnery's official website |
]| Just Annouced: Echolyn w/Francis Dunnery & The Syn! [02.11.09]
Hey all,
Just got this in from Brett - Echolyn will be suppoting The Syn (which has, among others, Brett, Paul and Francis Dunnery) on April 26th at the North Star Bar in Philadelphia. It's going to be a great night for sure. The boys might even be able to play a new song....
Click here to order your tickets!The North Star Bar |
]| Your Christmas Goodies are going to be a litte late.... [12.12.08]
Due to a manufacturing delay, beyond echolyn's control, the date for the re-release of "Cowboy Poems Free" and Brett's second solo album "The Last of the Curlews" has been pushed back to Friday, December 26, 2008.
Due to the delay we are extending the pre-order deadline 1 week ~ until Friday, December 19 for check/mailed orders and Sunday, December 21 for paypal transactions.
As soon as all the pre-order copies are signed they will be mailed.
For those who have pre-ordered, THANK YOU! - for those who have yet to order, you now have an additional week to place your order!
Thanks, in advance, for understanding a manufacturing delay beyond our control. Happy Holidays to all! |
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