If you’re reading this, then you (probably) have an interest in the musical activities of one Andre LaFosse*.
If so, THANK YOU. Seriously – I don’t take anyone’s listening time or attention for granted, and I truly appreciate it.
Things that are going on with me:
1) A NEW RECORDING IS OUT
Selective Sync Conflict is composer and multi-instrumentalist Ross Garren (aka Taggart) taking Echoplex live looping performances of mine, and building pieces on top of them using everything from prepared piano to harmonica to digital synthesizers. Stylistically, it’s a collection of ambient meditations, blues-rock stompers, cosmic jazz, and glitchy funk – sometimes, all in the same song. It’s the first Echoplex-based studio work I’ve released in half a decade, and I’m hugely proud to have been involved in the creation of this stuff.
Stream it for free, or download it for a few bucks, at https://taggartmusic.bandcamp.com/album/selective-sync-conflict
My deep thanks to Thomas Mathie at the mighty Headphonaught for this review of the EP: http://www.headphonaught.co.uk/2015/06/082100-selective-sync-conflict-by.html
2) MY BAND IS ABOUT TO RECORD
Epically Cracked is the instrumental funky/jazzy/improv-y/electronic-tinged quartet I’ve been playing with since late 2013. Later this month, we’re going into the studio to record. There will probably be some kind of pre-order/passing of the hat funding thing in the near future to help us pay for it.
In the meantime, here’s a full live set of ours from last year:
And here’s an interview the band did with radio host Jessica Burks, where we talk about everything from life as a musician in LA to the value of practicing with a metronome: http://www.kruufm.com/node/19127
3) I TEACH ONLINE
It’s been about a year since I started offering music lessons via Skype/Google Hangouts/(your video chat service of choice), and I’ve been enjoying it tremendously. I’m very happy to cover most any musical subject I can speak meaningfully about, and you definitely do NOT have to be a live looping geek, avant-guitarist, etc. (A lot of my livelihood over the last decade has come from teaching beginning guitar, so there are no prerequisites here.)
I offer a free hour-long trial lesson, no strings attached, so we can both make sure that I know what I’m talking about. If you’re interested, please drop me a line at andreteaches [at] gmail [dot] com.
4) MEET MY FABULOUS NEW WIFE
On May 15th of this year, I married Jody Beth Rosen, who now goes by Jody Beth LaFosse. I could go on for a very long time singing her praises, but in the context of a music blog update, let me direct you to some of her own creative work:
Jody as electronic/noise/musique concrete composer and producer: https://grannykart.bandcamp.com/album/grannykarts-own-thing
Jody as music and culture writer and critic: http://jodybethlafosse.com/
Jody as freelance transcriber, proof-reader, and editor: http://jodybeth.wix.com/jbl-word-services
5) MORE TO COME
Lots of stuff is brewing, and I might even get my act together and tell the rest of the world about it once in a while.
Until then, and as always: thank you for listening.
(*I share a name with a trombone performer and instructor. For a while in the 2000’s, and in spite of the fact that this gentleman died the year after I was born, I would get sporadic emails inquiring about trombone pedagogy…)