Photo Of The Week 3

This is a shot I took a while ago of John Mayer while he was doing a clinic at Berklee College of Music...right after I jammed with him. :-)

Getting close...

Hey, everyone!

Sooo...we are getting close to the big recording! 3 more weeks and we'll be in Avatar Studios, recording our CD and DVD...I don't know about you all, but I'm very excited! Everything is moving according to plan, and we are almost ready. Jon Hsu, our video producer and director, is in charge of the whole pre-production and it's details.

This coming week he is going to hire our camera operators, and get all the equipment ready for pickup on the weekend of April 10th. We've got all our details sorted out and are already doing a lot of preparation jams, me, Pablo, Josh and guest bass players. So far we've jammed with Matias Alvear (you can check out that Jam HERE) and Brock Pollock. It's been nice to get our vibe more in tune, but it's still not the whole crew...our French pal is missing! Laurent is coming to the US on Friday, April 3rd, and from then on, it's going to be at least one jam a day!

Now, something I'd like to ask of you readers...in order to get you the music you want to listen to. Go to our website and listen to the music we have there. There are three parts of the same tune, "Floyd Mood". I want you to come back here and write a comment telling us what are your favorite parts, what you would like to hear more of, mood-wise, so we can develop our jams in that direction. Our music will be free and completely improvised, but we want to make sure we are aware of the direction you guys want us to take...suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!

Peace!

Photo Of The Week 2

...for sale, this MusicMan Stingray 5 String Bass:

I LOVE Boston!

Hey, folks!

Today is Sunday, beginning of Spring Break, it is currently 10 degrees outside (50 Fahrenheit, for the US readers), and I just came back from a lovely lunch at PhoBasil, on Mass. Ave. I have decided I really love Boston. I love living here.

This is the first time I've ever lived outside of my country, and my city of origin, São Paulo, Brazil. I've been living here for the past 2 years and 4 months, and this city has become a second home for me. The main big thing here, especially in comparison to Brazil, is the weather. A lot of people can't take it and would not like to live in a place that gets so cold for so many months out of the year. But I actually don't mind the cold. Of course, some times it really gets to be TOO MUCH, but most of the time it's just nice to be able to drink hot chocolate, stay under the blankets, light up the fireplace and watch a movie. Of course, the fact I have a working fireplace in my apartment may help me accept the cold, lol.

Another very different thing is how the Seasons are very unique and defined. Summer, Spring, Winter and Fall, with their very specific temperatures and characteristics, making you feel like you live in 4 different cities, since Boston becomes a completely new place with every passing season. By the end of winter, you can't remember how it is when it's summer, and vice-versa, which is very nice...if you like change. And I love change!

The fact you can walk everywhere here is a big change for me too, back in São Paulo we need to have a car, it's kind of like LA, everything is very spread out and far away. Also, living so close to Berklee and to all my friends, everything and everyone is so close, a couple of blocks away at the most, and we're always going to different parties and visiting friends and being visited by them, which is something I personally like very much. The food aspect, however, is hard to ignore...compared to back home, the food here really sucks, lol. Unless you cook yourself, the restaurants are usually either "ok" or very overpriced for what they offer. If you go to places like the North End or some restaurants in Somerville or Allston, you can find very good food, but usually expensive, so out of reach for normal student budgets.

But the truth is, after showing the city to so many visitors, family and friends that have come to spend some time with us here in Boston, after going so many times to the North End for dinner, Mike's Pastry for deserts, walks in the Commons and the Public Garden, the South End, Beacon Hill, shows in Allston and Cambridge, visits to the Museum of Fine Arts, the New England Aquarium, clubs in the Theater district, soccer at MIT every Saturday, trips to the New England Six Flags, I've come to love it as home. Plus, being here in 2008 and seeing the Celtics and the Red Sox be champions, and the Patriots get to Super Bowl, was AWESOME!

I just wanted to share that with everyone...for those who also live here, do you share this passion for the Hub? For those who don't but have been here, have you been properly introduced? If you've never been, consider this a formal invitation, this city has a LOT to offer to anyone with a good pair of legs and willingness to explore!

Until next time...

Al

Spring Break!!

Hey, everyone!

First of all, let me congratulate our dear Amy Mantis, the winner of the competition! As promised, she will be getting her own free and signed copies of both the CD and DVD of Project K-Paz once they are released! Also, Lucas, the second to answer, will get a free copy of the CD! Thanks to both for reading and for making the comments! Keep it up!

Now, the news!

Last week, we had Jon Hsu come and make videos of our jams here at Berklee! It's me on guitar and Pablo on Drums. Laurent is still in France, so we had a Matias Alvear, a friend, play the bass. Josh was recording in Pittsburg, so he couldn't make it either. Here is a little piece of the jam, fresh for the BLOG readers:

MOCKUP JAM SESSION!

Let us know what you think of the footage, it is just a mockup, but a little taste of what's to come!

Now, this following week is our Spring Break, so we are out of town for a while, but the project is still moving. We have made progress in the DVD front after some great meetings with Jon while he was in Boston, and we're also just waiting to hear from Avatar to confirm our session booking.  But don't worry, we'll keep you posted.

Rock on!

Al

ConTEST...

Soooo...I want to check how many people are actually following the BLOG. I propose a Contest which is also a test. The first person who replies to this post will receive a free signed copy of the CD and the DVD once their are ready. Let's see who is the big winner!

P.S.: Others who reply later will also get free stuff...

Photo Of The Week 1

Today I'd like to start a new thing: Photo Of The Week. I am very much into photography and have taken thousands of photos of jams, rehearsals, parties, Boston, Brazil, New York, Chile, among other things...soooo, I'll be posting one every week here, so you guys can check them out and hopefully reply if you like it or not...hehe.

This week: my Telecaster

Test Shooting at Berklee!

Hey, everyone!

This weekend, Jon Hsu is coming to Boston to make videos of us jamming and get some "test shots" and footage to start planning for the actual shooting of our DVD. Very exciting! Be on the lookout for the footage from these jams...we will post them here and on Youtube for sure!

On other news, there is a chance we may be getting funding from Berklee to help out with the project!! Kevin Johnson, from the Office of Cultural Diversity, showed a lot of interest in the project and recommended that we applied for a grant with the department. So we did and are waiting on a response very shortly! Let's all keep our fingers crossed, this could really help us a LOT!!

Also, I would like to add that a new addition has been made to the Project K-Paz tem: Jack Shenker! This very good friend of ours will be the person making all the interviews for the DVD, since he has one of the most fabulous accents ever (New Zealand, of course...), is one of the most intelligent guys we know, and an awesome sense of humor, which always helps! Welcome, Jack!

Well, today I'll be recording guitars for a soudalike Chris is producing of the song "Killing In The Name Of" by Rage Against The Machine, VERY intense, for those who know it, and tomorrow we'll have the "mock shooting", so this will be a very exciting weekend. Stay tuned for all the footage and material from that, and always for more updates!

Groove will guide us!

Al