Monday, November 29, 2010

Phanphest.com Presents "Asbury Rising" Rock Groove: Aeria Records End Of The Decade Party
featuring Colie Brice/ Brian Amsterdam/ F. / Michael Scotto (from Agency) and special guests
at The Saint Asbury Park, NJ
Thursday December 30, 2010 8:00 PM EST
ADMISSION $8.00

WOW. A whole freakin' decade has passed? REALLY? The 00's?

Seems like yesterday when I bumped into a young Brian Saint at the Daily Grind in Ocean Grove and somehow stumbled in a band with Brian, Ben Feld, Sarah Tomek, and Rob Shuman. We performed every Thursday at the Moon Rock (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/live-at-the-moon-rock/id152816936)

Its been an amazing decade of creating, playing, listening to and enjoying music for me. Brief highlights include:

* Moving to Hollywood (Fall 200) and met the love of my life Manuela and we had our son Elijah (2002) and adopted Happy the Wonder Dog (R.I.P. 2009)(http://top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=11972&string=Vanilla) I worked as the marketing director for Classic Records and the TheMusic.com a new media start up.

* Northern California where the peace and tranquility of the redwoods informed some of my recordings and I enjoyed a dream gig as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, the leading audiophile label.

* Back to Jersey to helm AERIA Records.. My baby and a dream come true with a major label P&D deal through Universal Music Group's Fontana Distribution. After 20+ years in the music biz I was finally getting my chance to call the shots and sign bands to my own label. My heart has always been in the Asbury Park music scene and I had envisioned a small home town label with a pipeline into the mainstream market place. Sadly just as we were ramping up, the music biz as I knew was crumbling all around me. It was the right place at the wrong time, though we did manage (THANKS to STEVE DUNDAS & CHRIS VIDAL) to squeeze out a little catalog and help some local artists further their cause a wee bit. (Brian Amsterdam, St. Christopher, Agency, JUGGLING SUNS, Rick Barry, James Dalton, Metamorphosis, Joe Harvard, Last Perfect Thing, Lost In Society, to name a select few..)

Ironically, despite my company and my day job falling apart around me, my love for music only increased and I kept fighting to keep the label alive through grassroots promotion like podcasting, youtube, and other viral friendly outlets. SO WAS EVERYONE ELSE as we began the social media era of everyone's almost famous :) AERIA, like the rest of us got lost in the crowd.

Throughout all of this I had continued to be a prolific home recording enthusiast and started publishing my work on iTunes via CD Baby. Just about ALL of it.. I called this the "Luna Muse" or crazy inspiration principle. The intention was just to let it all out there and see what grew wings. Consequently, I have found that human beings have absurdly eclectic tastes and most can't tell the difference (or care about) between a cheap home recording or a superbly produced, professional production - at least the handful of strange folks who dig my stuff.

So I continued to record and release material throughout the decade. On that note, last week I released my 16th solo album entitled: Autumn Chronicle, Vol. II (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/coliebrice3). It consitutes the latest chapter and archival release in an ongoing Jersey Shore saga featuring the unique persona's of myself, Alan Gowa, Matt Lott. Jay Walker, and Joe Savio, otherwise known as the New Age Blues Experience (NABE).

Like my other solo releases, Autumn Chronicle Volume II is my latest batch of demos, live recordings, improvisations, serious goofing, and other aural oddities appealing to discerning audiophiles, lo fi hipsters, and other folks who don't get out much.. They 're not really albums per se, just anthologies or musical blogs of that particular stretch of time. Comprised of some things I am fiercely proud of, and other stuff perhaps taking up too much bandwidth to truly justify their existence, but then again, as a parent, you gotta love all your children:)

In 2007 I left Mobile Fidelity and started working for Asbury Media. Around the same time I sat in with and joined a band called Geena and Dragster. What a fucked up, extremely talented, screwy, lovable, idiotic group of dysfunctional mutants! As you can imagine, I fit right in and a new musical home was found :) With Geena and Dragster, I was gifted with the opportunity to to start earning some self respect as a live player (THANK YOU GEENA). Little by little I came out of my shell and started sitting in with other bands and experiencing the healing joy of playing live again. I started exploring live improvisational situations and gradually forged a band I truly love. I got to be a kid again and play music all over town with Lunar Ensemble, joining Capt. James and the PAIN,sitting in with Tony Tedesco, Agency, Mike Black, Joe Harvard, Turtle Soup, Dub Proof, Wakah Chan and so, so many others. Time and time again I've fed my spirit and creativity through fellowship with and generosity of so many great local talents.

These experiences inspire me and bring an extraordinary dimension of satisfaction in my life. As the decade comes to a close I feel a deep sense of gratitude and love.

If you haven't heard us in a while, I implore you to Come out to the Saint on 12/30, it's gonna be an amazing night. Brian Amsterdam, Asbury Park's prodigal son, is coming home for one local show with his buddy F., and Michael Scotto, primarily known around here as the brilliant guitarist of AGENCY will be making his solo debut. I've been rehearsing with Mike and will be backing him up on keys that night. Let me tell you! The guy kicks ass! Heartfelt, graceful, yet forceful and tasty are just a few of the descriptors that come to mind.

Its also our first show for Phanphest and we're hoping to pack the house and earn a coveted slot at Phanphest 2011.

Anyway, thanks for reading this whole damn thing,

Colie