Sound X 9

March 29 2008
Slow dog on the sound board helping John Ellis with the mix


I went into the session a bit under the weather with the flu and some seriously aching muscles, but what we came out with was a good dose of medicine. The days jam consisted of Rob Daulphena space bass,
Rich McGhee horns and flutes, Eric Simonsen jamming lead guitar, Bruce Nelson a.k.a pro drummer, Sarah Smith vocals , Pete Onofrio didgeridoo, flutes and vocals and John Ellis on the sound board.



Eric came down again from Albany for his second sound X and was ready to let it loose and he did. The guitar sounds rivaled an upstate NY outside summer concert that had a touch of Government Mule and a dash of Dave Mathews in the cake mix.
But adding the didge and flutes with some Coltrain-esque horns and some Trent Resner bass effects thanks to Pappa Scorpio and the afternoon took on a seriously cool vibe. It was good to shake out the cold and the last of winter with some fun sounds, thanks you guys. This video clip is kind of funny, Pappa Scorpio was tuning my bass guitar which is a left hander. So notice the think is upside down, still sounded great! The camera floats over to John who drove down from West Hartford and was still pulling his chops together for the jam and we catch him in a yawn. Great time either way!

Sound X 8
March 1 2008

February is in the rear view and here comes spring! This was an epic gathering for many reasons. First of all we were blessed with the very talented and very beautiful Margaux Hayes, vocalist and percussionist from Harford. This was a welcome back to Margauxs home base here at blue star with some new people and a fresh gathering to greet her. This was her first sound X session and she brought all the vocals and more from the MaGeePa project with some new twists as well. She also made her killer guacamole for the table and we all know this is really why pro drummer comes to the gigs.

Colin Benn brought his infamous viola groove educed trance with his classically trained ear add his trade mark wa-wa peddle to stir it up a bit and step back Knitting Factory!
The structure that Colin brings to session is a crucial bonding element that I feel helps “gel” the room and musicians.

Together with Rich McGhee’s decades of experience, powerful bass tenor infusion and groovy sounds capes, the group took off in a MaGeePa direction but with a completely different rhythm feel. This in part thanks to John O’Reilly and Bruce a.k.a “Pro Drummer’s” impeccable and smooth beat foundations. O’Reilly even mixed it up a bit this time to keep the rest of us on our toes listening for the key changes. Adding the Didgeridoo created even more of that good vibration, helping to fill up and lift the room to higher and at the same time deeper, levels of musical focus.

As the sun was setting we all gathered for one last jam before a light snack and a cold Guiness. Attempting to make this piece about six minutes, alas it followed the same path all the songs from this session did, which was over twenty minutes long! A real String Cheese barnburner, wow! We even had Sarah Smith, my partner and soon to be wife; join us for some vocal highs that really added an angelic feel to a few of the pieces. Thanks Sarah I never knew!


I had a lot of fun with this group today and enjoyed the magic as it rolled from our voices and instruments Slow Dog isa true test if the music is good, if it is, he will quickly fall asleep at our feet as we play, today was a good indication!
. Thank you to all who participated and look for the sound clips soon! Please add your comments to this wonderful day and if anyone out there would like a free CD of this session all you need to do is send us an e-mail. Thank you again, Pete