Thursday, April 14, 2011

Building a City

As mentioned a couple posts back, I am now playing guitar in the band Citay. It's been going really well. After a few initial weeks of guitar rehearsals...



band leader Ezra Feinberg started full rehearsals with these fine folks...














(from left) Maxwell McDonald, Ezra Feinberg, Yours Truly, Noah Plotkin, Colby Cecca, Grant Schulte

We're starting to really solidify into a singular rawk machine and the psych jams are getting more magically celestial with each rehearsal.

The NYC incarnation of Citay will make its debut (of sorts, bassist Max McDonald will be on tour with Acrylics) on May 22 at the Bowery Ballroom. The show is actually a tribute bill to the now seminal historical account of 1980s indie rock, This Band Could Be Your Life. Acts on the bill (including St. Vincent, The Dirty Projectors, Ted Leo and Dan Deacon) will each cover a band profiled in the book. Citay will be covering Mission of Burma.

Two days later, we'll be heading out on a short Northeast tour:

Tuesday, May 24th - Cambridge, MA @ TT the Bear's Place w The Donkeys
Wednesday, May 25th - New Haven, CT @ BAR w The Donkeys
Thursday, May 26th - New York, NY @ Cake Shop w The Donkeys
Friday, May 27th - Hudson, NY @ The Spotty Dog w TBA
Saturday, May 28th - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w The Donkeys

So exciting things are ahead!

One wrinkle to the proceedings has been a pinched nerve/muscle spasm that put me out of commission for a few weeks, during which time I could not keep my left hand around the neck of a guitar. It's the cliche of a musician's worst nightmare, but when that shit is real, it definitely brings a lot of fears of career sustainability (I make a living playing guitar in schools) and life choices to the surface. Luckily, music production doesn't require two hands, so I have been able to keep busy writing some new music. And now the pain is starting to subside, so I am slowly bringing the 6-string back into the mix. At this rate, I will definitely be shred-ready by showtime.

And for the latest in the world of Evan Patrick, check out the new Bandcamp page.