Join me for a Live Radio Broadcast – live performance!

I hope you’re doing great. I had to let you now that a radio station in Portsmouth NH has invited us to the studio for 90 minute live broadcast on Monday May 23. The broadcast is at 12:30 pm US Eastern Time. Please check it out on the web at http://portsmouthcommunityradio.org/listen or if you happen to be in the Portsmouth, NH area, dial your radio in to 106.1 FM.

I hope you get a chance to listen. Be well.

Here are the show details:
Monday, May 23, 12:30 pm EST
http://portsmouthcommunityradio.org/listen
if you happen to be in the Portsmouth, NH area, dial your radio in to 106.1 FM

This is a live broadcast of the band performing our latest music.

Thanks and I hope to see you real soon. Be well.

PLEASE: If you get a chance please check out our page (that means hit the like button!) on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bill-Champitto-the-band/271945160480. Thanks for your support!

join me on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/billchampitto

Gig Update, News

First I want to apologize. I put my bag of ice melt away and that is obviously the root cause of this snow today. Sorry. I do hope you are doing well in spite of the storm.

I had some details wrong in my last email about next Thursday’s gig at Ryles. It starts at 8:30 (not 9:00) and tickets are $8.00 (not $10). Also, I have a radio appearance (can I call it an “appearance” if it’s on the radio?) on “Kickin’ Back with Kathleen” which airs at 8:00 on April 1. And on April 8, I will be performing solo for Photographer John Munson at his new studio (Beacon Photography) in Winthrop, MA.

Here are the venue details for the upcoming gigs:
Thursday, Mar 31, 8:30 pm
Ryles Jazz Club
212 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
http://www.rylesjazz.com/
Tickets: http://ryles.interticket.com/arrivalorder.php?eid=2223&aid=4&vid=4
(617) 876-9330

Friday, Apr 1, at 8:00 pm
Kickin’ Back with Kathleen
WNBP Radio – The Legends; 1450 AM, Newburyport, MA
also broadcasting on the web at www.wnbp.com

Friday April 8, at 8:30pm (solo performance)
Beacon Photography
185 Winthrop Street, Winthrop, MA 02152
Phone: (617) 848-8299
http://beaconphotos.com/

Friday April 22, at 9:00pm
Cuban Revolution Restaurant & Bar
60 Valley St Providence, RI 02909
http://thecubanrevolution.com/locations/60-valley-street-providence-ri/
401-632-0649

Thanks and I hope to see you real soon. Be well.

Jimmy Stafford; An inspiring performance.

Last night Michelle and I had the pleasure to be at this small restaurant in Worcester, MA for a very intimate after party for the WXLO Acoustic Christmas Party. A few of the artists showed up at the after party and a couple of them made it to the stage.

This type of intimate get together is always an opportunity for some great moments and I want to share what was the great moment for me. Not to play down what a treat it was to watch Steven Page (former lead singer of Bare Naked Ladies) playfully take on everyone from Michael Jackson, George Michael, Tom Petty, and of course his own book of songs from BNL, I have to make special mention of another performer.

Jimmy Stafford, guitarist for Train, came to the stage, took hold of the host’s Ukulele and along with a local singer performed Soul Sister. Now the Uke isn’t one of those instruments that lets a guitarist shine. And it was late. The audience in this tiny club couldn’t have been bigger than maybe 30 – 35 people. But this guy who tours the world and just performed with his Grammy nominated band in a huge stadium in front of 10’s of thousands of fans grabbed the moment.

I’ve seen club performers nearly fall to sleep in front of audiences twice this size, just snoozing their way through song after song. I always find this to be both insulting to the audience and disrespectful to the art. I always felt that if even there is only one person listening, your end of the deal is to give your best. I also don’t think you should be performing music if you don’t love what you’re doing.

And here comes Jimmy. He smiled infectiously from ear to ear the whole time, encouraged the local singer into a solid version of a hard song to sing and brought a ton of energy to this performance. It’s obvious he loves what he does and respects his audience. It was inspiring and shows how much of a professional and incredible performer this guy is.

It was self-affirming for me because I strive for that in my own performance. I’m sure I don’t always achieve it but whenever I hit the stage I attempt to do exactly what Jimmy did last night. And it felt great to witness Jimmy’s love for music and performing up close and personal. Thanks.

new life for my Hammond B-3 sounds…

This post could be a little too music equipment speak for some of you, but enough people comment on the old school Hammond sounds I use on my CD’s and gigs that you might just appreciate this. Besides – I am excited.

I know I have pretty decent organ sounds happening on my gigs. A few people have even commented how they loved that I used the B3 on my last cd (which I didn’t – I used synths and effects to get that sound). But anyone who ever spent time sitting next to a B3/Leslie rig or listening to bands that use this instrument would know the difference, probably right away.

I miss using the B-3 and the 122 Leslie (I don’t miss moving them but… ) that sound and feeling of playing that instrument is something I spend a lot of energy striving to recreate.  

Yesterday the box came to my house with something called the neo ventilator – an effect box made in Germany that Hammond B3 enthusiasts are beginning to get really excited about. My wife was laughing at me because I was like a little kid at Christmas. My keys were packed for a gig so I had to go break them out and set everything up. I was sure the unit was sound pretty good, but I couldn’t really hope it would really make me let go of that secret desire to strap the dolly around the B-3 and Leslie and haul them to my next show.

I would have written this yesterday but I couldn’t break away from this thing long enough to type. I just kept stripping effects off of every organ patch I could find and trying it out. I am floored.

Now I haven’t done any blindfold tests comparison against a live 122, but that feeling I would get on gigs where I missed having those big boxes (not the one that comes after moving them, the one that comes when your performing with them)… it has been replaced with more anticipation for a performance than I have had in a long time. I can’t wait to get this on stage! It’s inspiring. It’s engaging. It’s the best thing since sliced bread! (I actually slice my own bread but…) It really is a phenomenal effect.

Also, I want to thank Bruce at Ashby Solutions for the nice work he did on the footswitch and the stereo bypass upgrade, as well as the time he took to walk me through the options so I was confortable I was getting the right configuration. Simple stuff but sometimes I feel the days when customer service meant providing a service to your customer is gone. It is refreshing to do business with someone that takes pride in what they do and is committed to making sure the person they are doing business with walks away feeling great about the experience. Thanks Bruce.

So you’ll get a chance to hear this at the next show! And on the next CD. And for a long time to come should you stay interested.

The Stork Club, Boston… closed!

I just received notice that The Stork Club in Boston is shut down indefinitely. There is some kind of license issue with the club owners and the company who leases them the building and licenses. So the first thing to make note of is that there will be no shows as originally scheduled. This includes this Sat June 5 and next Sat June 12.

Not that the details of their business is a topic for online discussion but the five owners of the business were leasing the space and it’s liquor and entertainment license from the previous owner. Somewhere along the chain of licensing boards, apartment dwellers, building owners and associations this fantastic club has been shut down.

I almost wrote something about how much I enjoy this club but it seemed a little self-serving. So now here’s my list of why I love this place:

The Stork is a great music club. At 9:30 when the music starts, this little 88 seat club with the band right smack in the middle comes to life. If you’re there, you’re there for the music. So musicians, bring your A game because people are listening. So if you got it, they’ll let you know how much they appreciate your efforts.  Yes the food is good and I know a LOT of people go for dinner. The chef and kitchen are great. But at 9:30…

Everyone that works there is nice to you, responsive and friendly. I can’t count how many “clubs” in Boston have rude door men / bouncers with earphones and an attitude bigger than their necks, a wait staff that treat you like you’re interrupting their texting time, and bartenders who work very hard at ignoring you and mixing bad drinks in slow motion. From the door, to the staff to the owners, everyone was here to make sure you got what you needed and enjoyed yourself.

Comfortable, no pretense, nice people (in the club), no problems or fights, actual tables and chairs, oh what else…

It’s been my experience that most clubs attract a fairly narrow demographic, in age, race and even job sector.  It seems to be the nature of things. There are college clubs, clubs for 50 year olds, all white or all black (or choose your race), all seven figure professionals or all blue collar, gay or straight, a meat market or a couple bar. But like the South End in general, the best word I can use to describe the mix of people at The Stork on a Saturday night is eclectic. With absolutely no pretense this was one of the few places I’ve performed where you would truly see the breadth of our wonderful city represented.

I hope that this club reopens soon, either at the current location or at bigger one, although I think it should stay in the South End somewhere.

Feature on a new music site, the Stork Club

Bill C Live at The Stork

I can’t thank everyone enough for all of the support with our newest and now favorite venue – The Stork Club, Boston. Also, for those of you who participated in our Haiti releif efforts (along with all the other appeals you get daily) thanks again. All of the supplies we collected for Partners in Development have been brought to Port au Prince and already been used to treat people. Don’t hesitate to throw your support their way in the future (http://www.pidonline.org).  

I am being featured a new music site on the web this month called NewGrooveMusic.com (http://www.newgroovemusic.com). The site is sponsor supported meaning that it is free for you to download. We get paid for the downloads so it would be great for you to go and pick up downloads of my CD “Bounce” for free (and any other band you happen to like). Feel free to spread the word.

New Groove Music is also putting together a compilation of their favorite artists which will include one of my songs. This compilation will be distrubuted at two huge music conferences/festivals – SXSW (South by South West in case you didn’t know) and The Red Gorilla Music Festival. I am going to try to score a few of them for myself so maybe I can share a couple.

Also, for those of you near Boston, MA things have been heating up with the Stork Club and they have invited us back for two dates in February. We will be there on Friday, Feb 12 (Valentines Day weekend – if you dare to celebrate early) and Friday Feb 26. If you haven’t been there yet you MUST come and check out this place. If you make reservations for dinner you can reserve a good table. If you’ve been there already I know you’ll be back.  

Ciao’
Bill Champitto
Soul, Funkified Jazz
www.billchampitto.com
follow me me on twitter: twitter.com/billcbos
become a fan on www.facebook.com/billchampitto

Friday, Feb 12 and Friday, Feb 26 9:30 pm. start
The Stork Club http://www.storkclubboston.com604
Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118
This is a “free” show – no tickets/cover; our version of a stimulus package. You can make reservations in advance by calling (617) 391-0256. 

A show and a chance for real impact in Haiti

This week I connected through my friends at Delta with Gail Hull from Partners in Development in Ipswich, MA. Her group has been doing work in the developing countries near our borders since 1990. Gail is headed to Haiti on Saturday to check on her team that was in Haiti during the quake, and over the next few weeks various medical teams and supplies will be heading to Haiti as well. And for this real world commitment and giving, they need medical supplies and airline miles.

Saturday night we will be joined by some Delta Airline employees (present and past) who will, we know from past experience, be donating their own passes to get people that can really make a difference into Haiti. Anyone who can join us for this show is encouraged to bring medical supplies (the list is below) and also vouchers for your frequent flier miles that we can give to Gail for her teams to get back and forth.

I know you’ve had plenty of exposure and opportunity to provide support to Haiti. In fact, I need to thank everyone who joined us for our group text at last week’s show. We all text-ed “Haiti” to 90999 together. Each text donated $10 to the Red Cross. And this is a unique opportunity to do something that will have an immediate and lasting impact on peoples lives and enable Gail to do the work we all wish we could do.

Even if you can’t make our show (BUT YOU SHOULD!)… please check out this wonderful organization at http://www.pidonline.org and see if there is something you can do to help.

Saturday night is looking like it will be an exciting evening, with great music, great people and the opportunity to do something exceptional. I hope you can make it. The show details and the list of supplies that will help PID in their mission are listed below. Be well.

Bill C

Saturday, Jan 23, 2010
9:30 pm.
The Stork Club
http://www.storkclubboston.com
604 Columbus Ave
Boston, MA 02118

This is a “free” show – no tickets/cover; our version of a stimulus package. You can make reservations in advance by calling (617) 391-0256. 

Supplies needed include:
bandages
gauze
splits
casting supplies
antibiotic creams
hydrocortizone cream
alcohol prep pads
topical pain relief creams
antibiotics
pain relief (Tylenol/ibuprophen, adults and children)
cough medicine
eye wash
Visine
vitamins
Ciao’ Bill Champitto
Soul, Funkified Jazz
www.billchampitto.com
follow me on twitter: twitter.com/billcbos
 
become a fan on www.facebook.com/billchampitto  

pictures from last night’s show at Toad…

I am not very good at pulling pictures together from shows – I wish I had more… but a good friend, Jeff Fullerton was there last night and took these great shots… I thought I would share them. This link should get you to all of the pictures, both of my band and of Max Klau’s band (and yes I was playing keys for Max’s show) … http://www.flickr.com/photos/8587491@N02/

some updates on the CD release

It has only been a couple of weeks since the first copies of “Bounce” arrived and starting making their way to the media, but I want to share with you some of the things that have been going on….

  • I had an interview today with the North Shore news papers for a story that should run this week.
  • On Friday night (actually Saturday morning) at 12:45 I will be a guest on Al Davis’ Jazz Gallery on WGBH FM (89.7).
  • On Saturday night (ok, Sunday morning) I will be a guest on Sherry Smith’s show ‘Round Midnight on WATD FM (95.9).
  • Then I might be heard on WFNX RM (101.7) Sunday morning Jazz Brunch with Jeff Turton (still being confirmed).
  • On Monday I will be a guest on WICN FM 90.5 with Tyra Penn at 1:00 pm.
  • Of course Tuesday night is the big release party (I already told you about that and if you didn’t get your tickets yet you really should) The show is at 8:00 at Scullers in Boston (the Doubletree Hotel on Storrow Drive… 400 Soldiers Field Road) … you can get your tickets now at http://web.me.com/sueauclair/Bill_Champitto_At_Scullers/May_12_09.html, www.ticketweb.com, or call Scullers directly at 617-562-4111. Tickets are $20.
  • Then later that week I will be a guest on WEIB FM (106.3) on their morning show. We will be announcing a performance in western MA that WEIB will be hosting. 

Just writing all of this stuff out is overwhelming. The response from this CD has been fantastic and I didn’t even mention the coolest thing of all… I am in negotiation with a publicist who has a Canadian artist that wants to record some of my music on his upCD Cover fo Bouncecoming CD. He is a well known recording artist in Canada who has spent time in the states on Broadway and on some impressive sets in Hollywood. Wish me luck…

Well that’s the update for the past two weeks…. and I can only hope there’s more to come. In the meantime, if you are able to make it to Scullers I want to thank you for taking part in the fun. The show starts at 8:00 so you’ll be home at a reasonable time – unless you want to join us later on Newbury Street for the after party! If you can’t make it you can order a CD or download for your MP3 player at http://www.billchampitto.com/downloads.html. I hope we can catch up real soon. Be well.  

Ciao’
Bill C

Bill Champitto
Soul, Funkified Jazz
cell (617) 320-4136 – land (617) 314-6503

http://www.billchampitto.com/
www.myspace.com/billchampitto

Video of Bill performing live at Scullers, Boston

This video includes a live performance of two of Bill’s songs, “A Better Way” and “You Know Me”. It features Bill on piano and vocals, Keita Ogawa on percussion and Keith Kirkpatrick on bass. It was shot during a live performance at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, MA.

video of Bill performing at Scullers, Boston