Remember how I said in the last post that nothing was happening in the world of Snarky Puppy at the moment? Well, I was right when I wrote that. Since then, stuff has gotten crazy. I’m'a hafta get numerical up on it.

1) We’ve been officially invited to perform at the following 2010 music festivals. And we’ve agreed to all of them – just working out the details at this point. Exact performance dates and times to come soon.

Levitt Performing Arts Concert Series
Sunday, June 20
Arlington, TX
8:00pm / FREE

Blackwater Music Festival
Live Oak, FL
August 27-28

Dallas International Jazz Festival
September 3-4
Dallas, TX

Kerrville Wine and Music Festival
September 3-5
Kerrville, TX

Bear Creek Music Festival
Live Oak, FL
November 12-14
check this lineup. whoo!

2) Author, freelance journalist (from the likes of Downbeat and beyond), and jazz educator Cicily Janus has written a very, very interesting sounding book called The New Face of Jazz. It will be officially released next month, and is comprised of interviews with folks like Nicholas Payton, Keith Carlock, Randy Brecker, George Benson, Jeff Coffin, Chris Cheek, Dave Douglas, George Duke, Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Hunter, Christian McBride, Marcus Strickland, Esperanza Spalding, etc. Want the full list? It’s pretty amazing. Anyway, Cic reserved a little place in the book for some Snarky Puppy love… she and I ended up talking about the Dallas music scene, jazz education, and church versus college. I’m really excited to see how the book turns out – it’s a really incredible thing to have the voices of all of these people, from very different generations, in the same book.

oooooooo!

You can buy an advance copy right the hell now. It’s on sale. Scoop it up!

3) I spoke with Andy from Ropeadope last week, and they’re ecstatic about releasing our new CD/DVD “Tell Your Friends” next month. He’s talking about maybe doing a bundle deal… CD, DVD, T-shirt, bumper sticker, etc. in one swipe of the card. For CHEAP. We’ll see what happens. Those guys are badasses, and I’d trust them with my first-born. Or, in this case, I guess I’m trusting them with my fourth-born. Keep your ears open – we’ll be making a lot of noise before the official release.

4) So, remember that time in March when we recorded new tunes with professional pimps John Ellis and Jason Marsalis? Those 3 tunes (2 previously unrecorded, 1 a redux of “Flood” from Tell Your Friends) will be available for free download on the Ropeadope site as well as this one. When, you ask? Damn soon. Just relax! Jeez. Here’s a little taste…

Flood feat. Jason Marsalis & John Ellis

John Ellis – tenor sax
Chris Bullock – tenor sax
Jay Jennings – trumpet
Mike Maher – trumpet
Bob Lanzetti – guitar
Justin Stanton – keyboards
Michael League – bass and Moog bass
Nate Werth – percussion
Jason Marsalis – drums

Recorded and mixed by big pimp Jake Dempsey at the Jefferson Center’s Music Lab in Roanoke, Virginia. March 2010. Full versions on the way.

Well, lots to come in SP-ville, so stay tuned. Mucho amor to you and yours.

-michael