Tag Archives: Joe Doria

Abouzied Erskine Doria Balmer

On a chilly February Seattle weekend I gathered a handful of my favorite musicians for two of days of recording, the first of which featured Damian Erskine on bass, Dan Balmer on guitar, and my long-time McTuff pal Joe Doria on Hammond organ and Rhodes. Everyone brought in a tune, we rehearsed in the morning, and recorded after a break for some barbecue. 

Big thanks to Jason Gray and Nick Molenda for the engineering and camera work, and to Skerik for the space! Watch above, listen and purchase tracks below, and catch the band at Tula’s on Friday, May 18th!

Drums with McTuff

Got some new toys and brought them to Seamonster for a show with McTuff (Joe Doria – organ, Andy Coe – guitar). I have no idea what we’re playing in this clip. Got a Ludwig Black Beauty snare that plays beautifully with my DW maple drums, and a pile of new cymbals from the great folks at Sabian. On the stands are:

14″ HHX Evolution HH
19″ HHX Fierce Crash
22″ HH King Ride
16″ HHX Evolution O-Zone Crash

Staying Happy

2016_09_08_happyorchestra_cb_hs_044
Clowning with Tim Kennedy and Skerik on stage at Conor Byrne (Photo by Hanna Stevens)

My father passed away in June. At the time, I had planned to move to New York in the fall but, in the aftermath, decided to stay in Seattle to regain my bearings and keep making music with the incredible musicians I love and am lucky enough to work with. I played with Joe Doria and Dan Heck the night he died and was immediately reminded of the healing strength of what I get to do. Playing served as one of the few things that made me present and pulled me out of the darkness, helping to slowly rebuild the drive and energy I lost in the weeks afterwards.

So I want to thank Joe, Dan, Tim Kennedy, Andy Coe, Skerik, Ian Sheridan, Thomas Marriott, RL Heyer, Kate Olson, Neil Welch, Tim Carey, Brad Gibson, the many others I’ve played with since, and the wonderful women of The Tiptons who I’m about to tour with and know will leave me feeling warm and full. I’m going to stay in Seattle for now, play with my friends, work on the Happy Orchestra record that’s sounding SO good (see below), and stay happy.

Coming Up: Happy, KPLU, Bellevue Jazz Fest and More…

Click for full size

Some great shows are happening in the next few months that I wanted to highlight! Here’s what’s coming up:

– trio with Andy Coe and Delvon Lamarr on Wed, May 20
– an in-studio set with McTuff on KPLU Thurs, May 21
– a duo show with Earshot Jazz Hall of Famer Amy Denio at Olympia’s Washington Hall on Friday, May 21
– McTuff plays the Bellevue Jazz Festival on Wed, May 27
– Thomas Marriott’s Miles Tribute w/Skerik at Tula’s on Sat, May 30
– trio with Skerik and Joe Doria on Wed, June 10
– Happy Orchestra at Olympia’s Rhythm & Rye on Fri, June 19
– McTuff w/Skerik at the Fremont Fair on Sat, June 20
– McTuff plays with Living Daylights at Nectar on Fri, June 26
– McTuff opens for Allen Stone at Chinook Fest Summit on Sat, July 11

This is just a sampling of the incredible musicians I get to perform with. Thank you all for the support, check out the Performances page to see more, and I’ll see you at the shows!