Tag Archives: The Tiptons

Updates

Staying Happy

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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.

Updates

Winter: Happy, McTuff, & The Tiptons

Winter
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The past few months have been full of incredible shows with equally incredible musicians, including performances in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, and New York. McTuff toured the west and played to packed houses at The Crocodile and Neumo’s, the second incarnation of Happy Orchestra performed to a sold out room at Nectar along with special guests Skerik (Critter’s Buggin) and Barrett Martin (Tuatara), and The Tiptons made their way up and down the west coast and to NYC to audition for the State Department’s American Voices Abroad program.

As for what’s next, I’ll be flying to Japan for a week of wandering and music making, the Happy small group shows featuring incredible Seattle players continue, McTuff will visit MT and CA again in April, and I’ve applied for 4Culture’s 2015 Arts Projects grant to fund writing and recording a full-length Happy Orchestra record.

Good things are happening, thank you all for the support!