Kirk Franklin’s Gospel Brunch
This is the second time in two weeks that I’ve jammed out on this main stage. The mega Ampeg stack was provided again and again I brought out the 635.
Playing alongside keyboardist Daniel Porter, drummer Brandon Thomas, and guitarist Jacob Minter we delivered music for singers as Kai Hicks, Sqeaukie, Tremaine Hawkins, Ahmad Davis the performance was bound to be on point.
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The C.I.T.Y. takes the party downtown to Athens Lounge (5/16)
Taylor swift at the Toyota Center. Mingo Fishtrap and Tony Scalzo at Discovery Green…..and THE C.I.T.Y. staked their claim to bringing life to downtown last night!!!!
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http://heartofthecitylive.com/ http://www.soNtune.com http://www.youtube.com/getntunetv http://www.youtube.com/user/09TheCITY #wedontperformwePARTY
Bandtasticfour jams out at Zanzibar Houston (5/15)
Yep. It seems as if I’m becoming a regular at this establishment lol.
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The C.I.T.Y. brings the party back to Zanzibar (5/4)
On the same night as the entertaining Mayweather fight we still brought the party to the bare club. Whether two hundred or twenty we gave those few a show worthy for the masses to witness and the reception was likewise! We had them grooving in their seats, up dancing and singing-that’s dedication of a hungry audience!
http://heartofthecitylive.com/ http://www.soNtune.com http://www.youtube.com/getntunetv http://www.youtube.com/user/09TheCITY #wedontperformwePARTY
The C.I.T.Y. takes the party to TSU (5/3)
Friday afternoon around 4pm the CITY brought the party to the yards of TSU to entertain some music students, staff and faculty. They brought the barbecue and we obliged with the energy to party ad boy did they do so! Young and old, plate full of food or none many crowded before the CITY to enjoy the tunes and danced themselves into a tired stupor! Seriously we brought high energy to the gathering to the end and most who started dancing with us couldn’t hang (yeah that barbecue got em!). Good tunes. Good food. Good times.
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http://heartofthecitylive.com/ http://www.soNtune.com http://www.youtube.com/getntunetv http://www.youtube.com/user/09TheCITY #wedontperformwePARTY
The CITY shoots music videos
A MUST SEE!!!! FRESH OFF THE PRESS!!!!!
April 12. Rock Center. H-town. USA two music videos were captured. The C.I.T.Y.’s very own “Superbad” (will be released momentarily) and Chris Brown’s Fine China. Enjoy
RoCenter Sessions: “Fine China” performed by @_theCITY
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http://heartofthecitylive.com/ http://www.soNtune.com http://www.youtube.com/getntunetv http://www.youtube.com/user/09TheCITY #wedontperformwePARTY
The C.I.T.Y. comes to Zanzibar to party
The C.I.T.Y. left ATX to return home and party at Zanzibar Houston. Though the crowd wasn’t visually receptive as Austin’s free crowd but we left the set with them jumping and gyrating and wanting more. Hopefully the Houston crowds can be more open to groove during the set. Just saying.
We refreshed the set already blazing set with Bruno Mars’ “Locked out of Heaven” and continued to bring the energy til midnight when we were forced to acquiesce our space to the DJ’s reign for the night AWWWW SUCH TORTURE!!! It’s undeniable that we killed our set and plenty of peeps weren’t ready to dance to the DJ yet…you should’ve seen them sitting there and a few asked me “how long is your break?” PROOF that they appreciated our music and show…they just …didn’t…show it like the amazing cool folks in ATX…not to knock our H-TOWN folks but dance and show us some love rather than the emotionless Stepford wives facial expressions….yeah…expressionless, right?
Rihanna-Pour it up
Bruno Mars-Locked out of Heaven
http://heartofthecitylive.com/ www.soNtune.com http://www.youtube.com/getntunetv http://www.youtube.com/user/09TheCITY
#wedontperformwePARTY
SXSW invasion with The C.I.T.Y.
Saturday evening. ATX. aka Music Haven, TX. SXSW [south-by-south-west] has taken over ATX [austin, tx] every Spring Break that i can recall, and it’s been fun AND stressful being one of many Many MANY participants…to play in some venues planning comes in handy…PARKING can be a nightmare if you’re not sure of the location, timing, accessibility, etc….wow, i’ve just typed mad characters on a digression moment.
Soooooo, The C.I.T.Y. turned up Saturday night and turnedout the entire block, with devout C.I.T.Y.folk and newfound fans claiming to have witnessed one of the best shows out here this SXW…YES we came, we performed errrrrr PARTIED and conquered da block and left out like a couple of musical bandits.
Peep this article snippet from a pleased critic:
One band, The C.I.T.Y., who’s from Houston, TX and creating a buzz of their own around the city, shut down the whole block of Congress with their own performance segment in front of Ms. P’s Electric Cock at 1101 South Congress. With their tunes mixed with funk, soul, r&b, hip hop, and even a little rock, The C.I.T.Y. showed Austin they were a force to be reckoned with as a crowd gathered on the block of all ages ranging from little kids to older adults who were all jamming and partying to the tunes. “We don’t just perform, we party,” said RaShard, the lead singer of the band. And they definitely started a block party on the Congress strip.
Read the rest of the article here: City Girl Magazine/s SXSW Recap
Just a snippet of what happened last Saturday night in ATX…enjoy AND LEARN THE MOVES TO THE SONG!!!!
http://heartofthecitylive.com/ www.soNtune.com http://www.youtube.com/getntunetv http://www.youtube.com/user/09TheCITY
#wedontperformwePARTY
Stony & Hemp Reunion at The Continental
every Wednesday at the continental the paul ramirez band takes the stage and murders the set EACH AND EVERY TIME!!! An it’s such an opportunity to break the melodic slaying for a group affectionately called “me+him+him+him” to give them a break…TRUST try need it if you can attest. More so it’s a privilege to jump on stage and jam with these solid playing fellas.
boy what a day!!!
Like for many of you yesterday was a busy day. Add “lack of sleep” to the equation and understand how seriously busy it became. Other than struggling to stay awake so early in the AM til PM, gig rehearsal with Matthew Funches for some time (covering about 40 songs).
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Followed by another long rehearsal with bandtastic4 on the other side of town
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Upon leaving this rehearsal i stopped by The Renaissance Suite and immersed in the melodious scene. What a time!
The C.I.T.Y. Auditions on the Urban Television Network
Earlier today The C.I.T.Y. reconvened for a talent audition on the Urban Television Network (HOU:TX). Consisting of:
•Drums
•keys
•bass
•guitar
•trombone
•saxophone
•vocals (mics, speaker)
Our bodies and equipment occupied much of the tiny space allotted for this brief audition BUT being over prepared has its perks. The judges and company weren’t prepared for our artistic and physical capacity but were astounded by our performance and ease of adjustment. More to come in the future so stay tuned.
Check out some footage
First gig of 2013 with the C.I.T.Y.
Gig. friday. Which Friday? THIS FRIDAY.
1/11/13
COME SEE @_TheCITY
1ST FRIDAYS @ CLUB NEXT LEVEL 6305 ANTOINE DR
#OPENMIC
#LIVEBAND
&
MORE
Check out the pics from the show!!!
First Fridays with The C.I.T.Y.
Dulché Soul at Harlem Nights
Dulché Soul made it feel like the Cotton Club tonight! we balanced out the show with straight-ahead jazz and set the seductive atmosphere as people dressed the…especially the burlesque dancers. It was a great show!
On the Facebook fan page a fan even wrote:
Once again!!!! To show up and show out. You guys ate truly amazing. God blessed each one of u with a great talent and knowing a few of u and how humble u guys r states even more. Looking forward to seeing this group grow and prosper cause y’all r FIYAH!!!
13th annual Christmas Cantata
Held at Payne Cathedral African Methodist Episcopal Church, this fantastic event was no disappointment! 13-15 songs. 1.5 hr event. I sight read it all and it was a fun show…also, sight reading is fun too.
amp: Ampeg SVT-4 & 4×10
Axe: Fender Deluxe 24
Gig with The C.I.T.Y.
Goodbye Miami. Hello money. Within a day of returning to work I’ve jammed with The C.I.T.Y. We rehearsed on Thursday night from 10pm-midnight annnnnnd we rocked the show within the next next 18 hours. These guys are top notch performers. I’m glad I put in time on the beach to study the set list because everything went efficiently. Check out the footage below:
Merry Christmas Baby-live at Next Level Lounge
Axe: Fender 24 Deluxe
Rig: Ampeg BA-15
Jack Freeman at the Continental Club (HOU)
Tonight Jack Freeman opens up for Akina Adderley and the Vintage Playboys second album release.
Jack Freeman hit the stage hard with his crooner style swooning the ladies (and the fellas as good sports) for a solid 45 minutes.
[amp: MarkBass III head & 4×10 cab axe: Fender Deluxe 24]
Akina Adderley and the Vintage Playboys are playing from 10-midnight. Hailing from Austin, TX they’ve traveled “far” to bring some awesome music.
Backing up Akina is an 8 piece band with a tight sound:
•Brass (alto sax & trumpet)
•Guitars (rhythm & lead)
•Bass guitar
•Drums & percussion (bongos, tambourine, etc.)
•Keys (Nord board)
Tonight AAVP played hits off of their debut album as well as fresh cuts off of their recent album drop “Say Yes”
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Music therapy
What was a typical thanksgiving day for many was an atypical one for me to say the least. Wednesday night my father in law was rushed to the hospital and we witnessed his life diminish over the course of the American turkey day. Words, turkey nor dressing couldn’t soften the devastating blow I was experiencing…I guess it’s an inevitable first for me.
Today as I let tears flow I managed to pull out some axes and went shedding for relief. I gotta praise Him anyhow, right? So a 2 nonstop turned into an hour of praise and worship in the company of one. It was necessary. Anyways, some concepts have developed from this brief musical moment and eventually will be shared in a more polished package.
Morning Studio session
When-time: 10am.
When-day: Wednesday morning.
Where: Houston,TX.
Why am i waking up so early: Studio Session
Artist: Pierre Appata
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Artsy room treatment. Creativity doing double duty.
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Niño (the engineer) had to step to his next session And left the session in some reliable hands…yep it’s been a minute since I’ve been deep into performing but it’s a peace of cake 😉
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Pierre doing triple duty (vox/guitar/bongo)
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Niño, a world class engineer
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Taking time to set up drums
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Soundchecking the drums
Bandtasticfour: day 2 in the stu
Day 2 in the stu. Bandtasticfour. Trillmatic. Drum tracks were laid to rest today. Sweet crispy strokes could be heard a block away. TRUST: I know. I was a block away. And I heard them.
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Bandtasticfour cutting TRILLMATIC in the stu!!!!
Friday night. East of downtown. Which town? H-town. Loft studio. Nice pad/studio worth boasting about…anyways,@Bandtasticfour is in the stu ready to bring Trillmatic to the masses. Much preparation and creativity has went into this project thanks to the masterminds and in no time the project will be at your fingertips.
Paying homage to a legendary album (easy guess), Trillmatic is more than just a play on words and beats. Each track is handcrafted with organic musical elements and swift lyrical more that WILL keep you listening track after track after…yep you guessed it.
Tonight we’re cutting scratch tracks and tomorrow the drums will cut all tracks for the rest of us to build upon. Now that it’s been realized that I’m not needed beyond moral support I’m about to visit my ailing F-I-L. More to come. Peep some of these pics I managed to snap before my abrupt departure.
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Rehearsing with J Davey and the truth
I absolutely enjoy sight reading! Preparing yourself for the unknown (lovely oxymoron), always expecting to sweat it out and plunge through the notes @ 180bpm with a high expectancy of error and slight chance of true success…and there’s conspicuous leniency for minor mess ups just because.
So far, auditioning and rehearsing with J Davey and the Truth has been all sight reading due to a copying/dissemination situation with super large manuscript paper…oh well, I’m quite pleased with executing my part on sheer faith and a serious case of BS…quite convincing.
Supposedly next week the issue should be rectified (I DO like to be prepared), but I’m down with a rehearsal session of sight reading.
Axe: MTD635hybrid
Rig: behringer head/GK cab
Jack Freeman at the M-Lounge
A nightmare of a case where my team brought our A game and the venue was nowhere near the stadium…two tumultuous hours of endurance. Battling the elements of
•faulty equipment
•incompetent employees/promoters (that widely displayed)
•inept business etiquette
Sound check’s at 8pm but the previous segment “poetry night” gladly ran over their allotted time. I believe soundcheck’s time was adjusted to 8:45 for a 9-11 set…and the poetry host tried to charge us up with “please respect the mic” as we were bringing in our gear BUUUUUUT
•there was no mic (faulty equipment prevails…once again)
•we’re on time for our segment
As we exhausted the condensed time for sound check the “breaker” tripped in our area…3 times if I recall. And the manager just said “too much power is being used”…well if this is a high maintenance establishment in terms of electricity usage that should NEVER be the problem eh? Well, it’s definitely a first.
In the middle of our quick set a manager and an underling comes on stage and the manager directs the underling where to place something. Of course that poor chap was misguided to have intruded the entertainment’s territory [ON STAGE] whilest performing (YES IN FRONT OF THE CROWD) to plug in two on stage fans BUT also careless enough as he unplugged me and Jack in the middle of a SONG [‘doing the butt’]! (this falls under work environment elements 2 & 3). When he was asked a few times in English then Spanish he just said that he was doing his job. Well he sure did NOT do such a good job!
Well, the deejay setup was MacGuyver’d to where the mic preamp toggle button was enabled…and had to be dealt with accordingly after every unplugging mishap and breaker trip. But as it was on the mic was going through what looked to be a decent setup YET some phantom limiter wouldn’t allow the volume knob to work on the mixer AND it sounded like he was singing an order at MacDonald’s….
Yes it was a brief nightmare but we did have a standing crowd through it all. I guess that’s all that counts. I’m not trying to send would be customers elsewhere because the party still went on throughout the expansive space.
axe: Fender Deluxe 24
Rig: Ampeg BA115
Akuma’s public debut
planned for the night were three engagements. First was a band audition out in “olde town” Spring that went well.
Amp: fender 15B
Axe:
Akuma and I passed through the Renaissance Suite (monthly musician’s jam last Tuesdays) at 4816 almeda. Experiencing the pure essence of lie music uncut, I pulled it out and it sang ever so sweetly…
Rig:
•ART effects processor (just EQ and noise gate enabled)
•Trace Elliott GP12 series 6 through GK 4×10 cab
Jack Freeman croons at Ovations
Setting: Ovations, Rice Village, Houston, TX. Saturday night 9/15/2012 around 9:45. One lead singer. Two backup singers (Lyndsay Freeman-_____ and a big bright tones gentleman). Four piece band: Cali on keys, Eggy on drums, Jimmy on guitar and me on bass.
Weapons of choice: condensed set with the best sound called for the gig.
•Ampeg 100 watt BA-15 combo
•Fender Jazz 4str
•Comfort Strapp
•Monster cable
@_jackfreeman swooned and crooned the feminine atmosphere with selections from his latest highly anticipated album Dark Liquoras well as known selections from his previous hit album.
This all woman audience clinger to their seats for some soft sensual vocal lines that their boyfriends envied. Vintage soul. It’s been a minute since I’ve played there…it’s still small and stuffy but the scenery was perfect for what they hoped for.
herbassfulness 