Monday, June 25, 2012

Last Saint Show 6/14/12 Audio Available via BlowUpRadio.com

http://blowupradio.tripod.com/mp3s/colie.html

Monday, June 11, 2012

Final Gig at the Saint

I played the Stone Pony for the first time in 1987 after our band Gemini won a popularity contest hosted by Uncle Floyd and Chris Barry (R.I.P.). I was 19 and my twin sister Collette had to join the band on backing vocals that night just to be allowed to stay in the club. Asbury Park was a dark, mystical, foreboding, yet artistically alluring place back then. A sleeping giant getting some seriously needed beauty rest. 25 years later after countless gigs with countless musicians, special events, festivals, fund raisers, open mics, new clubs, old club, veterans, up and comers, etc., I now must face my last gig in Asbury Park - at least as a fellow shore resident and full time community member. A new chapter beckons.. Leaving NJ will be tough on our family. We have very deep roots and connections on so many levels here, but every once in a while, changes whispers to your soul and you know that personal growth and aspiration pushes you to explore a new trail.. . Words can not convey the love I feel for what I consider my extended dysfunctional family - the musicians of the Jersey Shore music scene. To some I have been a Father and a mentor, to others I have been a son, sideman, and humble servant. It's all the same.. You just try to apply your speck of talent towards a bigger picture. I've never been a pedigree or virtuoso, I'm just another alley cat tradesman/lineman throwing in for the cause, yet some of the moments I've shared here have been spectacular realizations beyond compare - and I'm really gonna miss that.. There is nothing like the rush of performing live music here. Sadly, on Thursday, I will play my last gig at the Saint for the foreseeable future. I'll try to comfort myself with the thought that I'll be back frequently for gigs, but I suspect the 1200 mile round trip commute will get fatiguing at some point :) Anybody want to meet for a gig in Portland? In any case, our band the New Age Blues Experience featuring Prof. Alan Gowa, the stoic and heroic Joe Savio, and the utterly inimitable Jay Walker is going on early - 8:30 and then around 11 or so I'll play my last set with Geena and Dragster - reunited once more featuring Lioness fury and songwriting genius of Geena, an Asbury Park icon if ever there was one.. Featuring me and Jay, also back in the fold is band leader Marcus Croan on drums. Will Ben Feld be there? If I don't see you on Thursday, let me say good bye and thank you now. This has been an incredible time in my life and artistically productive. I've recorded a lot of stuff. A few things I would consider "master' quality aural paintings, and a ton of stuff more like loose sketches done in the moment. I know most recording artists agonize over their releases and strive to "get it right", but I tend to just hit the record button and let it flow in that moment.. Sometimes it's grade A amber, plenty of times it is not.. Somewhere along the line I figured that life was fragile and short and that I just wanted to release what I recorded for better or worse and let time and circumstance determine which ones were the "keepers". Turns out that every music fan I ever met has varying opinions on that subject. So, thank you to everyone I've shared this part of life's journey with. You are all loved and will be sorely, sorely missed. Special thanks to Asbury Media for a killer day job and my sister and brother and law for renting us an incredible little home so close to the beach. Through their kind generosity we were able to buy our home in Eastport, Maine and words can never express enough gratitude. Colie

Friday, June 08, 2012

New Live Recording!