Marc Urselli

Blog

  • about to hit the road (ie the air) with John Zorn and 50 reasons to come back to NYC

    In less than 5 hours I’ll be sitting in a big bird on my way to the old continent for a big John Zorn Masada Marathon festival. It’s going to be a phenomenal concert in Milan, with 12 bands in a row (Masada Quartet, Sylvie Curvosier & Mark Feldman duo, Cyro Baptista’s new band Banquet of the Spirits, the acappella quartet Mycale, Medeski Martin & Wood, Bar Kokhba, The Dreamers, Erik Friedlander solo, Bester Quartet, New Klezmer trio, Masada String Trio, Electric Masada).

    Doing Front of House sound for such a gigantic concert is obviously no easy task (12 bands, 15 minutes each, 11 quick stage changes, 60 channels of audio on the board) but I am really looking forward to doing it and I have a blast every time. Except for MMW and Bester Quartet I have done sound for all of these cats before so I know it’s gonna be a killer show.

    I love going on the road to do these shows but I love being in NYC as well and I love NYC with all my heart… If you love (or hate) NYC you should read this article I was just sent called “50 Reasons to Be Pretty Damn Euphoric You Live in New York City”. It’s pretty hilarious, let me know what you think: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2010/11/50_reasons_to_b.php

  • Pro Tools 9 is here

    Fellow geeks, unite and cheer. Freedom at last!

  • Michael Franti & the Spearheads at Soho’s Apple Store

    Earlier tonight I found myself at the Apple Store in Soho to get my iPhone replaced and, along with a new phone I also got a concert out of it. Franti’s in store performance was great, especially considering he spent the last two days in a hospital. The guy is really upbeat, positive, down to earth and smart. I had never seen him live but I had heard of him a lot so I was glad to catch his live performance. He’s got a new album out. Good vibes.

  • when it rains it pours…

    …and I’m not talking about that hail that came down in Brooklyn a week or two ago… I’m talking about work! Studio life is such that sometimes you have a week with no sessions and then there are weeks like this one where EVERYONE wants to record!!! What is it about the third week of October??? I had to turn down SO MUCH work this week, I hate turning down work! This week I’ve worked with 6 different clients, sometimes two in a day! Crazy.

  • Deerhunter live at Webster Hall a pleasant surprise

    I had never seen Deerhunter or even heard one of their records but I really enjoyed their powerful but dreamy and spacious sounds. Half of Williamsburg made the L train trek over to the island for this (I thought I was on Bedford Av) and the sold out show sure pleased everyone. The four Athens-originating Atlanta-based musicians had good stage presence and attitude and to me sounded a lot more interesting and original than a lot of other indie rock bands out there right now.

  • Amberside new website with two of my mixes

    My friend Robbie Angelucci (a great italian guitar player who moved to LA 15 or so years ago) has a band called Amberside and they finally launched their website, which has a player featuring two mixes I did for them (“Broken Paradigm” and “Don’t Hold Me Back”)… unfortunately it’s just compressed web-ready mp3s, but I remember being happy with those (uncompressed WAV) mixes and the band is rocking (if you like stuff like Incubus, you’ll dig Amberside!). Check out the songs and their new website at http://www.ambersidemusic.com

  • Michael Bisio, Stephen Gauci and Kris Davis aka SKM just released

    I just did an improv recording session with Michael Bisio today and he handed me a copy of his latest work by the three musicians SKM. I recorded this back in 2008 at EastSide Sound and my colleague Rueben Radding mixed it at Magma Studio. Came out on Trem Azul’s Portuguese label Clean Feed this year. At least three more records featuring ex-Seattle resident now NY-based bassist Bisio will be coming out soon (but there might be more that I haven’t recorded and I don’t know of) so keep an eye out for him and also Whit Dickey’s album (which I just tracked today).

  • Steve Grossman, Larry Lewis and other jazz greats at EastSide Sound

    If you are wondering whether the old-school jazz studio sessions of the past still exist… I can tell you they do because I just did one last weekend.
    NY-native now Bologna-based sax player Steve Grossman was in town and so Joe Berger and producer Nakamura put together a great cast of musicians (including the great Larry Lewis on piano) to play some jazz! All the elements of the good old studio gigs (except for maybe cocaine and analog tape) were there: great musicians, awesome musicianship, late hours, great jams… And you (that would me!) better be rolling all the time!
    This record might never see the light in the US but will be released in Japan on Nakamura’s label Cheetah (a subsidiary of the Tokyo based Pony Canyon).

  • Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney and April Centrone live at Zoraspace

    Just saw these incredibly talented musicians perform some traditional Persian material, some originals of theirs, some improv and some I Ching-based sound meditation triads at Zoraspace, a cute little known venue/bar/art gallery on 4th Av in Park Slope.
    Eyvind’s magnificent viola playing was complemented by some electronics and sampling/looping techniques as well as by his new found love for the two stringed microtonal setar (whose gracing-style of playing he compared to the ‘green flash’ of the sun). Jessika’s heavenly voice interpreted Persian traditional material in original language and translated, Latin poems of the Virgil era and pieces they wrote themselves. April sparsely accompanied them both with her Arabic hand drums.
    I have had/am having the pleasure to record this material at EastSide Sound over the past few months, whenever Eyvind is in town for something, and have a new session with them this week.
    If you can catch Eyvind playing with Laurie Anderson at BAM every day until October 3rd, if not definitely check them out online at http://www.myspace.com/eyvindkangeyvind

  • Recording Jessica Pavone’s Army of Strangers at EastSide Sound

    In the studio today recording with Jessica Pavone’s new distorted viola-driven rock group Army of Strangers… Session is goof great and the musicians are solid. Fun times.
    Most musicians I know usually lie down to take a break, she’s the first one who I see that stood up… flipped around!
    FYI I did ask her if I could post this picture on my blog