Jim Boggia

Vinyl is Final

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Wed, 4 Mar 2009 13:38:00 -0500

I know, I know . . . Jim does another blog post about some review slathering praise on 'Misadventures in Stereo' . . . we GET IT already.

Yeah, I hear you, but THIS ONE is the very first review of the MONO VINYL LP version.

All the praise is in MONO.

Thanks to musicangle.com for the review and Micah Sheveloff for getting the vinyl out to them.

They are a Magnet, and I am?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:17:00 -0500

Magnet Magazine is celebrating their 15th Anniversary of spreading the word about good music. Their based in Philly and so they decided to spotlight "15 in Philly" and I am very honored to have been selected as one.

Hobart Rowland write the piece. He also wrote the very first piece published about me after I started doing music full time. That piece, first published in 1937 is only available on microfiche found in the National Archives, but Hobart has been a great supporter over the years and we've gotten to know each other personally.

Which may explain why he seems a bit concerned for me in this article. "Well-crafted suicide note" is one of the more remarkable things to have appeared in print about one of my records; I'm supposed to be the happy-go-lucky pop guy. Still, now I feel like I have loads of artistic cred - I'm depressed, I'm deep, I'm like Morrissey!

I probably could've done without the comment about me and the cats. I go from being Morrissey to being Morrissey's 78 year old great aunt that never married.

Oh well - I love you, Hobart.

Check it:

Magnet

Crazy I Forgot

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:56:00 -0500

Oops, just found this last stray article from 2008. It was posted on September 17th, I'm sure I was thinking of something else that day.

Anyway, a quick interview but one of my favorites that appeared on:

My Crazy Music Blog

Read all about it.

2008 Wrap Up

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:34:00 -0500

Happy New Year everybody. How were your holidays? Now that we find ourselves on the other side and have a moment to catch our breath, I thought I'd wrap up the unfinished business from 2008.

I somehow wound up on quite a few 'Best of' lists. Very flattered. Here's a quick link roundup. A lot of these are just lists, but you know they love it when you click through and get even more excited if you leave them a comment.

I made not one, but two critics' (critics's? How are we dealing with plural possessives in a post-Strunk and White world?) lists at Twangville:

This guy likes me.

This guy likes me, too.

Not to be outdone, Absolute Powerpop were kind enough to place me on both their Best Albums and Best Songs lists.

Pop Syndicate gave 'Misadventures in Stereo' a fine review when it came out and apparently still liked it at the end of the year. Okay, New Kids on the Block are also on the list, but maybe it's a "different music for different moods" kinda thing.

At least a dollar's worth of praise from A Penny's Worth.

While not a 'Best of' per se, The Time Machine - a fantastic pop radio show carried on a bunch of stations in Hawaii (yes, apparently great weather and beautiful surroundings aren't enough, you also get fab radio in Hawaii. Um, maybe spread the wealth guys) - named me as one of the most played artists of 2008. This is either praise or an indication they have a small budget for music purchases.

I am barely fluent in English, so who knows what these actually say, but it appears as though I may have had a good year in Brazil and Spain. When's the tour?

I also want to thank the rather astounding number of people on the Audities List who placed 'Misadventures in Stereo' in their personal top album picks. Audities is one of those old-fashioned, turn-of-the-century email list deals populated by persons passionate about unpopular pop made by folks like me. It means a heaping helping to me that the folks on that list enjoyed the record so much.

Finally, lost in the fray of the mistletoe and holly was my mentioning Part 2 of the interview I did with the kind folks at Hopelessly Pop. Delve deeper into my mind.

Whew! Still with me? Time to look ahead to the music and memories of 2009. Hope to share some with you soon.

Still Hopeless

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:34:00 -0500

Hopelessly Pop, those kind folks who gave 'Misadventures' such a sweet review last month, just used up more of their disk space to run an interview with me. You can . . .

Read It Here.

This is Part 1, which means that they're foolish enough to put up even more later in the week. I'll keep you posted and thanks to thew Hopelessly Pop crew.

'Misadventures' Makes the (Un)cut

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 21:34:00 -0500

Well, the good folks over in the UK at Uncut Magazine that were kind enough to ask me to record a Faces tune for their March 2008 issue just got kinder with this review in their November 2008 issue.

This is in an actual, physical MAGAZINE (remember those?) and I can not find it online anywhere (if you do, please let me know in the comments). So, at the risk of my head exploding, here it is:

JIM BOGGIA
Misadventures in Stereo

Thoughtful, hooky retro-pop with panache

On his breakthrough third album, Philadelphian Jim Boggia comes on like a muted power-pop shaman, channeling myriad melodic styles (cf. Rubber Soul-era Beatles, Matthew Sweet) into a cosy little world of sad reverie and eight-track stereo memories. Guitarist Al Anderson and Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher chip in, but Boggia's pithy vision, leaning on his warm tenor, carries the day. On the album's quieter first half, especially the soul-searching "Nothing's Changed," Boggia channels a bit of Aimee Mann-ish rumination, while the endearingly catchy "8Track" raves like a vintage Redd Kross rocker. - Luke Torn

Very cool. Thanks to Luke and Uncut.

Having Somebody to Love Voted Essential

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:57:00 -0400

WXPN just tabulated and played their 885 Essential Songs which was voted on by tens of thousands of folks and I'm very flattered that my version of Queen's 'Somebody to Love' came in at number 310.

Thanks to everybody who voted. Freddie thanks you, too.

This Week at The Living Room: Requests, Ringo and a Rutle

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:11:00 -0400

Monday was the second week of the Monday night October residency at the Living Room.

It's always hard to play 4 weeks in a row in one room without the shows getting a bit stale, so I decided I would have themes for each night to break it up a bit.

Last week I played 'Misadventures in Stereo' solo acoustic from beginning to end, which I'd never done before (I'd never played 'Chalk One Up for Albert's Side' solo EVER, for that matter).

This week it seemed like the right crowd to do an all-request show, which I thought worked out really well. It's always interesting for me to hear which tunes people call out for, and I was surprised to have 'So Full' and 'Shine' requested right off the bat. Sometimes I really like a song but have convinced myself it's not necessarily a crowd favorite, so it was a pleasant surprise to have those come up.

I did give myself the choice of the last song of the night, which was 'Photograph' by Ringo Starr. I essentially pulled this one out of thin air, having just seen Ringo's bizarre "No more fan mail, no more signing stuff. Peace and Love, Peace and Love" video he posted that day on his website. I wonder if anybody around him could have told him what a huge PR disaster that was going to be. And unnecessary - does anyone REALLY think Ringo is reading and responding to every piece of fan mail he gets? Are there folks who took that episode of 'The Simpsons' literally? Love ya Rich, but really bad move.

But, as they say, "one door closes, another opens". I was talking with Joy Askew outside after the show (Joy, btw, will be part of next Monday's theme: Special Guests) and she casually mentions "Oh, it's Ricky Fataar".

Now, Ricky Fataar has had a long and distinguished career - he was even a Beach Boy for a while in the early '70s - but to me there is one magical thing about him: HE'S STIG O'HARA FROM THE RUTLES!! I have now met a Rutle and my life, as they say, will never be the same. I realise some of you may not know of the Rutles. Google them. They will change your life.

I'm going to suggest the next tribute night we do at the Living Room is The Rutles. I mentioned this to Stig and his response was "Why?". I now have a Rutle anecdote.

Lots of Love at the Lizard

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:43:00 -0400

What a difference a day makes.

When I last left you, dear blog reader, I was about to get out of the car in Cambridge, MA, after not getting paid in CT the previous night. I de-carred (hey, if it's called de-planing . . .) into a warm, sunshine-filled Autumn afternoon.

Marykate grew up in the area and so she took us around to a couple nice guitar shops. Despite some weak moments, I managed to escape with the same number of guitars and dollars as I went in with.

We then ran into Audrey Ryan, who was also playing, and went out to lunch together (check out my Facebook Mobile Uploads album for the fab ice cream sandwhich thing I had for desert). When they ran into each other both Audrey and Marykate were wearing black and white horizontal striped shirts (I believe you ladies may call them "tops"). It was only the quick thinking of Marykate who put on a sweater that saved our meal from an embarassing indie rock chick faux pax. After lunch, Audrey (who was a pleasure at lunch and played an amazing set) went home and changed shirts. In the immortal words of Bob Weir: "Tragedy narrowly averted."
When we got back to the club I had the opportunity to meet a couple fans, Stephen and his friend Melissa. They drove down from Maine to see the show, which was amazing enough, but also volunteered to sell cds (what we in the business call "doing merch") for everybody (and got the numbers and money right to boot!).

They brought with them a General Electric kids' record player to use as a display. This thing was cool - it pretty much looked like the plastic Fisher-Price model, but had ALL FOUR SPEEDS (16, 33&1/3, 45 and 78) which kicks the Fisher-Price's ass. They also had some 45s with them, including "I'm A Believer / Stepping Stone" by the Monkees, and when I mentioned that Marykate was a huge Monkees fan (she idolizes them) they insisted that she take it. Unbelievably sweet. Top this off with a huge pile of homemade baked goods Melissa made and Stephen asking if he could hug me and it was obvious these were some incredible music-loving folks. Thank you both so much.

Then came the show and it turned out that all those folks asking for a Boston area show for so long really did come out. The room was filled for the whole night and this was even with a Red Sox playoff game going on (sorry about how that turned out, Boston. I am pulling for you, at least until you face the Phillies in the World Series).

Everybody on the bill played terrific sets and when I came on after Marykate (who killed) to close the night I was a little afraid the room would empty out (it was late) or it would become "have a beer and talk during this poor sap's acoustic set" time (did I mention it was late?), but the whole room was into it and I got a great response.

Setting aside my record release shows, I haven't felt so positively about every aspect of a gig in a really long time, so thank you Boston, Lizard Lounge, Marykate and the rest of the musicians.

I'm almost to NYC as I write this. I hope tonight at The Living Room comes close to Saturday - it will be hard to live up to.

Cramming In the Tour Cliches

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:40:00 -0400

How do you make a quick couple of days out feel like an actual tour? By packing the days chock-full of rock tour cliches like:

* The club last night refusing to pay any of the acts on the bill.

This is a time honored classic that never gets old. I somehow can't seem to resist the urge to mention that the people who own and operate the club are born-again Christians. I guess we should've been on guard when we walked in and saw them all wearing t-shirts that said "WWJS?". We didn't figure out until it was too late that this stood for "Who would Jesus stiff?".

After THAT classic tour experience we of course went out drinking, which led to rock tour cliche number two:

* As our troop is comprised of a group of middle-aged indie rock musicians and not, for example, youthful heavy metallers, the drinking we do tends to be on the tamer, more civilized side - some people even drank wine. Still, this didn't prevent one of the band members from "decorating the inside of the car" on the drive home.

Strictly speaking, getting violently ill on the first night of a tour is considered bad form, but since this technically is not a tour, we all decided to allow it and pulled over to the side of the road.

We're just pulling into Cambridge now. We'll see what other things we can check off the list in the next 18 hours.

Tonight's show is at a regular club run by the usual godless communist pagans, so we should at least get paid.

I Realized This Afternoon While on a Train to Connecticut

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:35:00 -0400

Well first off, this is a bit of a test to see if:

A) I have the technological capability to do blog posting from the road and to see which of the many places my blog resides I can actually post to and

B) To see if anyone is interested in this type of blow-by-blow. .

So, ready? Let's begin.

I'm off for a couple quick days of shows in the New England area and according to plan I SHOULD be writing this to you from the passenger seat of one of Marykate O'Neil's (who I'm sharing the bills with) bandmates's car.. Instead, I'm ensconsed in Coach Class on the cheapest Amtrak train to New Haven, CT that I could find, having missed hooking up (notin that way) with Marykate and band last night in Philly when MK played with Jill Sobule at World Cafe Live.

The plan was to have some of the band stay at my place and then head up together this morning. This all went to hell somehow when Marykate didn't get a meesage about me getting to WCL by 11:30 (because I was otherwise engaged cheering on The PHILLIES as they won the first game of the NL Playoofs). So when I arrived at 11:15, I was not prepared to find out everyone had left for New Haven without me at 11.

No problem. Thought I, I'd catch an affordable Bolt Bus in the AM and all would be right with the world. However, Affordable=Popular and all the buses were sold out

And so it was this course of events that has placed me here, spending more than I will probably make on these shows to have the joy of sitting in front of a woman who seems very truly to have tuburculosous, she is coughing that much and that non-stop.

If you live in CT or know some folks there, please send them out. I'll be at The Space in Hamden tonight at 8p.

More later if I can get this to post.

Attack of the Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:57:00 -0400

There's been a rash of reviews in the blogosphere. You know what FDR said: "There's nothing to blogosphere but blogosphere itself."

Here's a quick rundown:

I'm one of the albums of the month at Twangville:

Twangville

A nice write-up at BlogCritics Magazine (I particularly love that they mention the bit about sticking in background vocals from another album. That means they read the liner notes. That you, BlogCritics):

BlogCritics Magazine

The power pop kids still seem to like me. I love the line "a male Aimee Mann": Male. Mann.:

Powerpopaholic

And even guys who don't normally listen to pop like it. You're either on the bus or off the bus, I always say. Glad this guy has taken me aboard:

Old Blue Bus

As always, please leave some comments on these sites if you go. Comments are like a nice warm hug to a blogger.

"Hopelessly" devoted to 'Misadventures in Stereo'

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 19:40:00 -0400

Is it even conceivable that a blog called 'Hopelessly Pop' that features a picture of the Beatles on its masthead would hate my album and write a scathing review of 'Misadventures in Stereo'?

Apparently not.

Some very kind words indeed and I particularly appreciate the nod to the SONGS as well as the arrangements.

Anyway, check it out for yourself if you're not completely fed up with reading about the album here:

Hopelessly Pop

ONE IMPORTANT NOTE: If you click the above link, check out the "Digg It" box on the right hand side. Digg is a site where people make suggestions to each other of interesting things on the web to check out by "Digging" them. What this can do is help spread the word a lot faster than if people are just poking around the web on their own. If you Digg, or if this sounds like an interesting idea to you, please consider clicking that link and helping to get the word out.

Dig(g).

Oh, and I'm really sorry about the bad Olivia Newton-John reference in the subject line.

Paste Magazine September 2008 CD Sampler

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:39:00 -0400

Apparently, I am featured on the CD Sampler included in the September issue of Paste Magazine. It seems this is their 'Best of What's Next' issue. I am soon to be a thing of the future.

'Amplifier' Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:05:00 -0400

This will show you how my mind works.

I'm sent these reviews and press pieces from the PR company the label hired to do the publicity for the album. They usually come with a brief sentence or two along the lines of "Great review from such and such" before the link.

When this review in 'Amplifier' came, it just said "for clip file." I immediately thought "okay, they've crucified me" and then debated for an hour whether I should click the link and read the review or not.

Turns out they were just busy at the PR company that day. It's another really nice review:

"For Clip File"

A Few Words in Defense of My Album

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:27:00 -0400

No, my album is not being attacked by Communist forces and, yes, I am basically ripping off my subject line from the title of a great Randy Newman song but that's the title I used a few months ago when I was asked to write up short descriptions of each song on the album for radio and press folk.

Having just come across this again I thought: "Why should only radio and press folk experience the joy of reading what I have to say about my own songs?"

Since I couldn't really come up with a compelling reason, you are no longer spared the following:

A Few Words in Defense of My Album

Side One: My Misadventures

Johnnie's Going Down

It's always fun to watch the mighty fall, particularly when they don't see it coming. The instrumental section tries to bring back some of that Tijuana Brass sound that accompanied so many of our parent's "key parties" in basement dens across early '70s America.

To and Fro

A musical melodrama around the theme: You're either on the bus or off the bus, but don't make me sit here with the door open. Features lots of over the top piano runs and the first appearance of castanets in a pop tune since the Phil Spector trial.

No Way Out

If you're going to throw your life away you might as well have a good time doing it. Written drunk, recorded drunk, I'm not going to tell you how to listen to music but I'm just saying I'm buying the next round. By the third drink you'll begin to notice that the chord progression isn't as close to that other song's as you thought it was back when you were sober.

So

People leave. You don't have to hate them for it. If you really want to know what this one's about, listen to Mike Frank's piano part - says it all.

Nothing's Changed

Sometimes it's hard to get out of bed in the morning. But usually only Mondays through Fridays, and then also on the weekends. Once you get past that it's usually . . . oh wait, never mind.

Even though this is a song-by-song blow-by-blow, I feel like I gotta tell ya I made this to be listened to like an album. That means sitting down and taking in all of either side one or side two. Side one is done, so if you wanna take a little break now and come back later for side two, I'm cool with that.

Side Two: Other People's Misadventures

8Track

The guy singing this song has really great childhood memories singing songs with his sister while listening to 8Tracks. The fact that he isn't old enough to have actually been around when 8Tracks were doesn't seem to bother him. Neither does the fact that he doesn't even have a sister. A great memory is a great memory. It doesn't have to be YOUR memory.

Listening to NRBQ

Is this guy reminiscing about the fantastic, though criminally under-recognized, NRBQ, his old girlfriend, or just about a time when music was the center of everyone's lives? I don't know. I just know two things: First, Big Al Anderson from the legendary NRBQ plays electric guitar on this tune, sounding EXACTLY like Big Al Anderson (no mean feat) and secondly, it turns out Tricky Dick was wrong when he said "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore." I am happy about both.

Chalk One Up for Albert's Side

The guy in this song was an eye-witness to the pivotal moment in the life of a third grader, when the good guys actually won a round against the forces of evil. It was probably the last time in his life he saw anything like this. Written with Tony Asher, which still makes me think "Jesus Christ, are you kidding me, Tony Asher?" And then I check and it turns out no, Jesus Christ is NOT kidding me, it really was written with Tony Asher.

On Your Birthday

Why does this guy's ex-girlfriend's birthday still get to him? Why does he even remember her birthday? Is he still in love with her? You'll have have to ask David Poe, because he wrote the lyric to this one. Love that David Poe.

Three Weeks Shy

The guy in this song lost his brother in Iraq. There are over 4000 stories like this and counting. Please play this song in the months leading up to the election.

They won't shut up about 'Misadventures in Stereo'

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:56:00 -0400

A few more pieces of press praise floating around this week:

Lots of kindness from All Music Guide:
All Music Guide

USAToday Featured me earlier this week, calling 'Listening to NRBQ' "magical" (I thought it was pretty magical when Big Al showed up to take the solo as well):

USAToday

This one is from 'Jersey Beat' - which I can't figure out if it's just a website or has something to do with New Jersey newspapers. In either event, you should keep these three things in mind when reading this one:

I DON'T actually play most of the "instrumentals" myself. Most of the tunes are played live by the band with a few overdubs that also used multiple musicians.

Al Anderson from NRBQ does NOT play on '8Track'. He actually plays on (would you believe it?) 'Listening to NRBQ'.

While it is true that I DO often wear my influences on my sleeve ("good artists borrow, great artists steal") there is no way I was ever even remotely thinking about Crosby, Stills and Nash when doing the vocal harmonies for 'Chalk One Up for Albert's Side'. Beach Boys, yes. 'Ram'-era McCartney, yes. CSN . . . um, no.

Okay, now you can read it.

Some radio news to share with you soon and a request for some help spreading the word.

Thoughts on the Record Release Parties

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:13:00 -0400

Well, I'm exhausted.

Sitting in Rittenhouse Square the day after the record release party at Joe's Pub, feeling pretty good about how it all went both last night and last week in Philadelphia at World Cafe Live.

Just some random scattered thoughts, because I'm not capable of much else right now:

It was great seeing that we packed both rooms, that people afterwards really seemed to have enjoyed it and that so many folks I haven't seen for quite a while made it out to share the moment.

Goddam, I want me an 11 piece band for Christmas! I was so impressed by how well everybody played and how it all came together on very little rehearsal together (we cold only rehearse as a full band twice). Kind of scares me a little bit to think what we could do with some real time playing together. Also just incredibly grateful to all the musicians who really gave a lot for very little (and in a few cases, no) renumeration (that's money, folks).

I am so glad to have taken the extra time and expense to have had the WCL show recorded to multi-track by Chris Williams over at WXPN. I heard just a very rough mix of a couple of songs and already know that we captured something special.

On top of that, thanks to Russ Eisenlohr and his crew and John Anthony and Mary O'Neill for donating themselves and the cameras to film the show. We're going edit this video and sync it to the multi-track audio and have something incredible to show you soon.

It makes me happy that Ben Arnold was part of the evening with his band at the Philly show. Having good friends sharing the night was a real joy.

Ditto my happiness that most of the folks involved in making the record were on hand in one way or another at the shows. I definitely missed Adam Winokur, who sadly had a gig that night.

Just on a personal note, I was so happy to have found some settings on my Fender Deluxe that gave me a nice, crunchy electric guitar tone that made me love playing the electric tunes. Maybe I won't only play acoustic the rest of my life.

I think I've finally run out of thoughts on the subject. I am now going to let my central nervous system rest for a couple of days. Thanks to everybody who came out on either night and bonus points for those of you who made both. See you soon.

More Opinions, Your Opinions

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Fri, 8 Aug 2008 11:16:00 -0400

A few more pieces of press to alert you to, and then a way to make YOUR voice heard.

First up, a very nice piece that ran in the Metro newspapers. I wish I always came across this eloquent in interviews. Obviously some good editing at the Metro!:

The Metro

Super short but very sweet. Mike Errico is a really fine singer-songwriter type himself who has crossed over to the other side, working for Blender online. I'm named as one of his favorite things here:

Mike Errico

Okay, I TOLD you I'd fess up to that first bad review. This may technically only be in the "not so good" category (and if you stop at the end of the first paragraph it's quite good!), but I'm counting it. The opinion of someone NOT convinced of my genius is a click away:

Blurt

Whoo! That knocked the wind out of me for a second, but I'm okay now. But more importantly, I want to know what YOU think. Here's a website called Download.com where you can, surprisingly enough, download (.com) a few tracks from the album and give your opinion. I'd love it if you would take the time to do so. Make your voice heard here:

Download.com

That's more than enough me for now.

Philadelphia Daily News

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 12:44:00 -0400

Another batch of very kind words, this time from the Philadelphia Daily News' Jonathan Takiff. I am particularly impressed that Mr. Takiff know a tarantella when he hears one.

You can help spread the word by clicking on all those "Save and Share" links on the page. I'd love it if you did.

Here's the news.

'Umm Drop' feature in Philadelphia Weekly

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:28:00 -0400

Don't worry - this onslaught of press attention won't last, but here's a nice piece the kind folks at Philadelphia Weekly just put out. This is also available in actual paper form in those yellow newspaper boxes in and around Philly.

The photo shows the OTHER wall of my music room than the one featured in the new album/press photo (the one with the piano), so you can almost imagine you're there.

Here it is.

More praise for 'Misadventures in Stereo'

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:56:00 -0400

Short, but sweet - the folks at Prefix Magazine heaped a helping of hosannas onto what they heard.

I have to say, I've never considered myself to be truly "Power Pop", but taking their extension of the term into consideration, I guess I'm in.

Read it here.

I SWEAR I'm not cherry-picking reviews. I'll post the inevitable bad ones as well. Well, at least the first one!

First Review (that I know of) - 'Misadventures in Stereo'

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:23:00 -0400

Well this is certainly a nice thing to wake up to on a Sunday morning. The first review I've seen of Misadventures in Stereo from Wildy's World:

Check it out.

I'll take the young Rod Stewart reference, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to being like a bird building a nest.

'Misadventures in Stereo' on the Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:14:00 -0400

The pursuit of America's airwaves has begun as 'Misadventures in Stereo' was released to radio stations this week. And no sooner than it was received, my good friends at WXPN in Philadelphia have given the album its first official radio add (that's the actual word add, not some sort of attention deficit condition your radio develops).

You should be hearing 'To and Fro' over the WXPN airwaves or online soon and, I hope, often.

Not soon or often enough for you? Well, you could request it online or call them at 215-573-WXPN or even email them at request@xpn.org.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Boggia) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:51:00 -0400

I kicked off WXPN's XPoNential Music Festival yesterday and had such a great time I thought Ikd dust off the old blog and ramble on a bit.

The big news is that this was the first time out for the 11 piece band I've put together for the upcoming record release shows. When I say first time out I'm not just whistling Dixie (it wasn't on the set list).

I had been doing individual rehearsals with the core 4 piece band, other rehearsals with the Voices of Reason (as I've dubbed the 3 backing vocalists) and still other rehearsals with the Hong Kong Cavellier Memorial Horns. But we never all played together until the day of the show

This was a little bit scary but it also made it really exciting as everyone was hearing each other and how everything fit together for the first time. The funny thing is that once we started the performance I was actually more relaxed than I usually am for band shows. I think being surrounded by that many good players gave me a sense of not having to carry everything myself and there were moments where I could almost be the audience for what was going on.

Couple all of that with the fact that XPN totally has it together with that festival in terms of the sound system and crew and backstage sitch PLUS some seriously gorgeous weather and it was just kinda everything you could ask for

Thanks to XPN for having me and to everybody who came out.
Sadly, this band WON'T be around forever. Get your tickets to the Record Release show NOW.