Bryan J. Howard Newsblog

Hello All,
I thought I would check in and let you know what is going on in my world. I have been busy lately dealing with HEAP business. We have several shows coming up.
Thursday night we will be playing a club in Loganville, GA called “Atmosphere”. I was turned on to the place by a co-worker of mine and his band will be sharing the bill. This place looks interesting. I am no stranger to this type of venue but I have not experienced this particular one yet. I am looking forward to it. It is far enough to feel like an “out-of-town” gig but close enough to drive home the same night.
Friday we will be playing a benefit at Nuci’s Space here in Athens. To say that Nuci’s Space does great things for the community would be an egregious understatement. They actually save lives and I have been looking forward to doing a show for them for some time now. Please come and check it out if you are in Athens this Friday night (4-17-09)
Well, that is what I have going on through the end of the week. I will be updating again next week and will fill you in on what is going on with The HEAP Deluxe P-Funk Cover Band.

Hello All,
I knew I had not written anything in a while but I didn’t realize that my last post was in 2007! So, let me see if I can adequately play catch-up.

When I last posted I was preparing for a European tour with Luaka Bop artist, Jim White. Jim is a very intelligent man who worked extremely hard navigating motorways and handling all the things a tour manager would do as well as his bandleader role. He works hard! With guitarist, Patrick Hargon we made our way across Europe and survived to tell the tale.

Shortly before leaving for the tour, I had formed a band with some good friends and after a few name changes we have settled on the name, The HEAP. We have been working on defining our own sound and trying to find our niche here in Athens, GA.

April 19th is the official release date for our debut CD, “Deluxe”. We recorded the basic tracks over a three day period at Andy Baker’s studio with Bill Doss (Apples in Stereo) turning the knobs. After some overdubs at Bill’s house, we left it in the hands of Matt Yelton for mixing. Rodney Mills mastered the disc and we are thrilled with the results. I can honestly say from the music to the artwork and packaging, this is the greatest CD I have ever been a part of creating. Advance copies are now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/theheap and on iTunes.

So with a CD recorded and the departure of our original keyboard player, Paul Kim, it was time to consolidate the lineup. We have found a new keyboardist, Jack Stirling (formerly of Orlando, FL’s “Legendary J.C.’s”) and baritone saxophone player, Kate Mikulka. I am truly thrilled with this lineup. I am hoping to get this band on the road as soon as possible.

On top of our regular HEAP duties, I thought it would fun to do some P-Funk cover shows. This required adding an additional six players to our lineup which is already nine strong. Yes, fifteen people on stage in costumes playing P-Funk songs. This was a long time dream fulfilled. You can see a youtube video of our March 26th Georgia Theatre performance here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB0K_rP_V1o

Of course I am still playing bass for Kevn Kinney whenever he calls and Jackpot City who have taken on the new moniker, Heavy Feather.

So things are going well and I am sure if I continue to work hard, the sky is the limit. I hope you will pick up a copy of the new HEAP CD and please let me know what you think. Also check back here often as I will be updating much more frequently.

Thanks for stopping by,
Bryan J. Howard

P.S. Here are some shows that are coming up:
April 2nd The HEAP at The Melting Point in Athens, GA opening for Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
April 10th Heavy Feather at The Melting Point in Athens Georgia with special guest Todd Nance on drums
April 16th The HEAP at Atmosphere in Loganville, GA
April 24th The HEAP at Farm 255 in Athens, GA

Hello All,
I wanted to let you know that the H.E.A.P. Project is changing its name to The HEAP. This has gone beyond the project phase and is now a truly unstoppable force! Check out a bit of our soundcheck from 12-13-07 at the Max Canada here in Athens, GA

Hello All,
Continuing my bass video of the week series, here is a great clip of John "The Ox" Entwistle playing Baba O'Reilly with the bass track isolated:

This week, the legendary Willie Dixon:

Hello All,
I am sorry that I have not posted anything about the European tour with Jim White earlier but I figured instead of writing about it, I would just show it. The following is the first video I have put together that focuses on the aspect of riding in the van. There will be more to follow soon!

This week I have chosen this clip of Willie Weeks playing with Eric Clapton and Steve Jordan!