Bryan J. Howard Newsblog

What's New

2009-04-15T10:30:00.001-04:00

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.

Has It Really Been That Long?

2009-03-31T13:27:00.001-04:00

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

The HEAP news

2007-12-14T12:10:00.000-05:00

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

Bass Video of the Week

2007-12-11T12:29:00.000-05:00

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:

Bass Video Of the Week!

2007-12-04T10:11:00.000-05:00

This week, the legendary Willie Dixon:

European tour blog

2007-11-19T10:11:00.000-05:00

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!

Bass Video of the Week

2007-10-02T11:47:00.001-04:00

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

Last Night

2007-09-26T10:16:00.000-04:00

Hello All,

I wanted to let you know about what I did last night. Tuesday night is H.E.A.P. practice and that went very well. We worked on some new stuff which is always nice. Expect a lot more from the H.E.A.P. when I return from Europe in November. Ordinarily after a practice, I would just go home and hang out with my wife and the cats but last night was different.

After work yesterday, Pam and I ran into a co-worker of mine, Bill Doss who has been on tour with The Apples in Stereo. Bill is a great guy and we have been doing some work together off and on lately. So I decided that I needed to go to see the show. I had a GREAT time! Not only did the band sound great, they are some of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet. Bill is not the only person in the band that I know; in fact, the bass player Eric Allen and I went to high school together back in Alexandria, VA. We even tried to start a band back then. It is always a cool thing to see someone you know from "back-in-the-day" doing well. Eric and I even play the same model bass...coincidence......absolutely but still cool!

I would highly encourage you to check out the band when they roll through your town!

Here is their video for the tune, "Energy"

Please visit them online:

http://applesinstereo.com/

Bass Video of the Week

2007-09-25T14:14:00.000-04:00

Bass Video of the Week Hello All,This is the second installment of my "Bass Video of the Week" and this week I am featuring one of my all-time favorites, Ms. Carol Kaye! You may not have heard of her but you certainly have heard her. As part of the session players in LA that some have referred to as the "Wrecking Crew", Ms. Kaye has played on TONS of hits as well as TV show & Movie themes/soundtracks. I was excited to find this video of her playing with Brian Wilson. Here is some information about the video directly from Ms. Kaye including specifics about the gear used:

"David Leaf had called me up a few years ago saying that Brian was a little nervous about going on his up-coming (now-famous) Smile tour to England, would I come down as a favor to help Brian on this film interview etc. The interview and music cut was filmed at Western Studio 3, the studio mainly used by Brian for his productions with us studio musicians for the Beach Boys hits.I'm using a newer-built Fender Precision Lite bass with a Seymour Duncan pickup, Thomastik Jazz Flats strings, and Polytone MiniBrute Bass amp at that time but I only use the Ibanez SRX700 bass and GK amps now."

Truly one of the greatest ever, Ms. Kaye is still playing and teaching in the LA area. She has written a series of bass Tutors that I have found to be fantastic! Please visit her website http://www.carolkaye.com/

It was 20 years ago today

2007-09-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

Twenty years ago today, the world lost one of the greatest musicians that ever lived, John Francis Anthony Pastorius. Most serious musicians would know him simply as "Jaco". Jaco changed the perception of the electric bass. He took the bass from a background rhythmic instrument to the forefront and showed the potential for melody and chordal playing that had not been seen prior. If you are a bass player you certainly have heard the name. You may have even de-fretted your Fender Jazz Bass and slapped on some Rotosound RoundWound strings in an attempt to recreate that "Jaco" sound. Often emulated but never duplicated Jaco changed the way the world looks at the electric bass. This is why he is the subject of legend and mythology in the musical world. He may not have invented every technique he used but he wove them together in a way that had NEVER been heard before.
It is a shame that his life was cut so short so tragically but today, let us appreciate a light that was snuffed out too early but burned as brightly as it did! So I hope you will check out these videos and think of the greatest bass player who ever lived, The one and only Jaco Pastorius.

For more information on Jaco Pastorius:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaco_Pastorius

My Wife Says: "This is the beginning of the end"

2007-09-20T09:03:00.000-04:00

Last night my wife and I were watching TV and we came across a show on CBS called "Kid Nation" after watching for a while, my wife looked at me and said "this a turning point for this country, it is all downhill from here". I have been thinking about that and I believe that she may be correct. It is not so much the fact that it is a "reality" show starring kids but more about how we put our children into situation that I feel is far too sophisticated for our entertainment. It seems to me that children are being made to grow up too quickly.
I need to make it known that my wife and I do not have any children so we do not claim to be parenting experts; however, some things just require common sense. I am somewhat embarassed to admit that I found the show entertaining and was suprised at some of the decisions that the children made. My issue is how these kids are expected to act in an adult fashion. I think that kids need time to just be kids. I am sure that there has to be plenty of adult supervision behind the scenes and that none of the kids are being abused physically. I do wonder about how they will be effected in the long run. Take a look at the following scene:

I think as a society we should treasure our children and protect them and allow them to be children. I think my wife may be right, this might mark the beginning of the end......

Young DJs

2007-09-19T15:06:00.000-04:00

I saw this video today and thought I would share it.

Bass Video of the Week

2007-09-18T10:54:00.000-04:00

Hello All,
I am planning on posting a cool bass video every Tuesday. So, for the first video I thought it appropriate to spotlight one of the greatest of all time, the late, great Mr. James Jamerson

New Begining and a new Website!

2007-09-17T10:05:00.001-04:00

Hello All,
It has been quite a while since I last updated this blog but that will be changing. My good friend, Andy Stitt has been kind enough to create a new website for me http://www.bryanjhoward.com I am excited to have my own piece of cyber-space surreal estate. This site is a place where you can hire me for sessions, listen to some MP3's or watch some videos. We plan on updating it regularly so please visit frequently.
I wanted to let you know exciting things have been happening for me lately. Many of you may know that I have recently started playing out in Athens, GA with my new band, The H.E.A.P. project. This band is a dream come true. Since I posted those photos from the Melting Point show, we have added 2 new members, Chris Costigan on alto sax and Paul Kim on Keys. This means that the H.E.A.P. is now running 8 deep! If you have not seen them yet, there are videos on youtube from our very first show at the Melting Point from May 25th of this year.

Thank you, King Rhoton for filming this!
You can hear our second show from the 40watt at Sloan Simpson's Southern Shelter website:
http://www.southernshelter.com
**Note, I am also playing with Jackpot City on the Gimme Shelter show on the same southernshelter site. Just scroll down to the Gimme Shelter Benefit and you can hear our take on 4 Neil Young tunes**

The H.E.A.P. Project will be going in to begin working on recording as soon as I get back from my October tour. This brings me to the next thing I wanted to mention.
I am pleased to announce that I will be touring Europe next month with Jim White. I guess Jim's music is best described as "Southern Gothic" with a twist. He is on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label and a very interesting individual. We have been rehearsing and gearing up for the tour which will begin October 10 in Liverpool. Of course, I plan on making a pilgrimage to the Cavern Club if time allows. here is a sample of Jim's work:

There will be more tour dates posted soon!
Another thing I wanted to mention was that my friend Johnny Irion has released his second solo CD, "Ex Tempore" and I am on two tracks. I play bass on the tunes, "Madrid" & "Brush You Teeth Blues #56". I went to see his show in Athens the other night and he and the band sounded great. You should check him out when he rolls through your town.
http://www.johnnyirion.net/johnny
I will still be playing with my good friend Kevn Kinney and I will post the S.T.A.R. dates as they come in.
Thanks for checking out the site and if you have any photos/MP3's I might want to add please send them to bjh@bryanjhoward.com. I am especially trying to find some photos or recordings from my short tour with the Violent Femmes.
Again, thanks for visiting and I hope you visit often.

Photos from the first H.E.A.P. Project show!

2007-06-08T11:02:00.000-04:00

Hello All,
I wanted to say thnk you to those who were able to be there on May 25th for the first H.E.A.P. Project show. We had a great time. Here are some photos from that evening.
The line up of the band is as follows:

Bryan J. Howard - Bass & Vocals
Jeff Rieter - Bass
Marcus Gilley - Sax
Jeff Crouch - Trumpet
Diego Catalan - Percussion
Ian Werden - Drums

We hope to see you at future shows http://www.myspace.com/gaheap

All photos are by Cary Whitley
http://www.worldlooksred.com/

The Raw Beef

2007-06-08T10:41:00.000-04:00

We should have known better. This is what it looked like.

Netherlands Part I

2007-04-26T06:36:00.000-04:00

I will expand on some of these things later but here are some things that come to mind when I think about the first third of this tour:

Two great days in Amsterdam. We were very lost at one point and walked for over 8 hours. Watch out for the traffic in Amsterdam lots of trams, buses, cars & bikes.

Amazing food! I bought a wedge of cheese in Deventer which tasted great but made my room smell like a sewer. Stinky, stinky cheese

Great tour manager, Karen. She has been fantastic.

Aaron has been blending in very well. Played the first show with him ever in Hoorn.

Everyone has been very kind and generous.

My wife and I bought what we thought was red pepper paste for bread. We knew something was wrong right away. The tour manager later informed us what we had eaten was ground raw beef. I wish I could read Dutch!

We played in an old monastery after the Flamenco dancers finished upstairs. Interesting place.

The clock I bought is consistently 1 hour fast no matter how many times I set it. I really wish I could read Dutch!

Kevn is sounding great and the band has been having a blast.

I will reveal more after Queensday in Amsterdam.

BJH

Big Announcement!

2006-11-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hello All,
For some time now I have had folks asking me when I am going to record a solo CD. Well, the time is here. Yesterday was a very special day for me as the recording sessions began. The CD is actually not a solo effort but will the first collection of songs from my brand new band, "Heap". I have the core group of musicians that will make up "Heap" and we have a few more spots to fill but I am extremely excited. Of course I have called on Ian Werden (Slackdaddy, Vinyl Strangers, Jackpot City) to fill the drummer spot and one of my favorite bass players here in Athens, Jeff Reiter (Diet RockStar, Baghouse, Hey Revolution, Count Kellam) to play bass. I will be playing a variety of instruments including but not limited to bass, saxophone, guitar and singing. I am very pleased and feel lucky to say that Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control, Sunshine Fix, Apples in Stereo) will be engineering and co-producing. I am hoping the CD will be out sometime this summer but I am not going to rush things
I also want to let you know that I am looking for horn players and a keyboard player. If you are in the Athens, GA area and are interested in joining Heap, please contact me by email slackdaddybj@yahoo.com. If you want to hear what direction the band will be taking, you can hear my very rough demo on my myspace page http://www.myspace.com/bryanjhoward
This is the beginning of a new era for me and I hope you all come along for the ride!
Thanks for your time and have a great day and prepare yourself for "Heap"!
Bryan J. Howard

A Great Time on the Road

2006-09-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

My recent trip with the Violent Femmes was a big success. I had a great time. We did three shows. Started off in Kansas City, MO and then moved on to Council Bluffs, IA and ended with a sold-out show at the Blue Note in Columbia, MO. I really did have a good time hanging out with everyone. It was nice to meet their fans as well. The Violent Femmes were very influential to me (though you may not necessarily hear it in my playing). I discovered that record right after receiving my first electric bass (a white "P-Bass" copy made by a company called Bradley but more about that in a future blog) in 1986. My first band, The Morrish Idylls, which eventually became Slackdaddy, used to play a number of tunes by the Femmes; in fact, I heard a cassette recording of the Moorish Idylls playing some Femmes tunes at a house party (must have been recorded around 1989 or 1990). It was a great surprise to me that on mour way to my first show with Kevn that he told me Brian Ritchie was a friend of his from high school. So this was yet another opportunity for which I have Mr. Kinney to thank.

Doing some work with the Violent Femmes

2006-09-18T10:35:00.000-04:00

Hello All,
It has been a while since I have written in here. I will try to "blog" more often. I wanted to let all of you know that I will be out on the road with the Violent Femmes this week. I am extremely excited about this. I have been a fan of theirs for over 20 years and it is truly an honor to do some traveling and shows with them. I will be with them the 21, 22 and 23 of this month. I will let you all know how things go. Wish me luck!

Found it!

2006-08-23T13:49:00.000-04:00

Found my camera. I am no longer in the doghouse.

Smith's Olde Bar

2006-08-21T16:08:00.000-04:00

I hope you all had a great time the other night. Saw a lot of folks I had not seen in a while and met some cool new people. Unfortunately it looks like my camera is missing. I thought I would check and see if anyone found a canon digital camera there. I will be in the doghouse until I find that camera. Once again thanks to those who were able to make it the other night.

Hello!

2006-08-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

Hello All,
Welcome to the new site. We hope you enjoy some of the new features. We want your input as well as your videos/pictures/live recordings/drawings or whatever, so please check out the contact page and send any contributions to the link that is up there. Please check back regularly and let us know what you think
Keep your lamplight trimmed and burning,
Bryan J. Howard