Pheroze

Dang, we doin’ it up right.

Just a bit over half-way done recording guitars for my next album. Things are sounding great! We wrapped up the drums two weeks ago and started the guitars earlier this week.

10 songs total for this album. And we are giving the utmost care to these songs – making sure the tones and performances are just right. Each song has a unique vibe so each song gets a unique sound. Clay Holley’s been working the board and making everything sound just right. He’s also been great and coaxing exceptional performances out of me. So it’s been a pleasure working on this so far.

We’ll wrap up the guitars this week, then we’ll fly Shane in to lay down some bass next weekend (or maybe he’ll just drive over). After that, it’s time for vocals. Then we’ll sit back and see if we need to add anything else – like sousaphone, saxophone, telephone, gramophone. Then das mix. Then das remix. Then das mastering. Then das remastering. Then das boot.

I took some time this year to explore what’s out there in the rock scene and listen to albums, see some bands, pay attention to what people are doing. I didn’t like much of what I heard. Bands have gotten fucking lazy. Song-writing, tone, performance – it’s by the numbers and it seems people pay absolutely no heed to the actual creation of music. I have made it a point to stay out of the music scenes for a long time now. Scenes never seemed to be about music – just about being part of something. I’m confident enough in my “belonging” that I’d rather just make music.

Everyone is an amateur musician these days – I don’t mean amateur as in “indie” or “undiscovered”; I mean amateur in terms of musicianship and attitude. Fuck these amateurs. Time for the real deal.

I am going to enjoy changing that mindset over the course of my career. Let’s bring it back to the music.

Don’t forget the Oil Spill Benefit show next week.

love

-pheroze

A benefit show for the Gulf Oil Spill featuring some amazing bands! Don’t miss this!

Pay what you want for donation at the door, all proceeds go to Oceana to help clean up the gulf.

I’m doing double duty with a set of my solo material and a set with Swear On Your Life.

11:00 – Swear On Your Life

10:00 – Pheroze

9:00 – New West

8:00 – Dell Wells

At Bar Matchless, 557 Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222-3919

RSVP to the Facebook event

Don’t miss this!

A solo gig at Arlene’s Grocery on Thursday, July 29th!

Join me as I take a break from recording my next album to test out some of the new material live. It’s also the live debut of the new bass player, Shane! And it’s a week before my birthday! So c’mon down to get the fuck down!

Set time is at 8PM

Cover is $8

Arlene’s Grocery is at 95 Stanton St. New York, NY

It’s been a whirlwind my friends-  a jumbo kong-sized cyclone of frenzied EVERYTHING! I’ve been working, writing, smiling, moping, playing, obsessing and dismissing.
That said, I’m so sorry to have ignored you for over a month. You see, I’m starting to record my next album at the end of this month.
And I am super mega fucking HAPPY to announce that the writing is (pretty much) done. All songs are written, demoed and I’m almost done with pre-production.
It’s also been a reflective period for me. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever had a surplus of songs and ideas to choose from. When I recorded “Driftwood” it was like I was exorcising my evolutionary demons. Purging and expelling the material I had carried with me through previous bands, old journals, demolished 4-tracks- all that kept me in a certain time and space. “Driftwood” was a labor of love and letting go. I wanted to escape my past with that album- the limitations in expression, the lack of joy I experienced in trying to drag people up to meet my vision, the cliche’s and trappings of all the previous bands I was in. I wanted it out. And I set it free with “Driftwood”; an album written and produced solely by faith in myself and wanting to hear my older material played the way I desired.
I had the luxury of starting from scratch with this album. No older songs. No baggage. In fact I had about 30 new songs and ideas to work with, so I’ve challenged myself to focus and create the album that hones right in on where I am right now. And it’s beautiful.
About 4 years ago, when I started to work on my solo music career, I had nothing but the wreckage of the past. A good friend of mine asked me what kind of music I wanted to make. Being the arrogant bastard I am, all I said is that it not only needs to be the music I want to hear – but it needs to change people’s lives. It needs to be pivotal.
I think I’m about to record that pivotal album. And I have you to thank for it. I look forward to sharing it with you this fall.
More news coming soon – very soon.
with love
-pheroze

Thank you all for coming out to Fontana’s last week to preview some of the tracks off of my next solo album! I had a blast playing them for you – and I’m looking forward to getting in the studio next month and then back out on stage so I can nuzzle your ears even more!

You guys rock!

I have more news coming soon – about the album, shows, band  – EVERYTHING! It’s all moving full steam ahead and, again, thanks for all your love and support.

Check out some sweet pics by Steve Celestin from the show on my Flickr page.

Friends-

I’m entering the studio at the end of July to start recording my next album. It will be the greatest thing you will ever hear ever in the history of recorded music (until either my next album or the release of “Sounds from the Monkey Cage vol. 3″). I’m in the process of writing and polishing up the songs that will comprise the album – so forgive me if I’ve been more reclusive than usual.

Want a sneak peek? Well I’ll be playing some of these new songs live this Friday, June 4 at Fontana’s in Manhattan. I have an 8PM set time and it’s an $8 cover – so just bring 8 of your friends and you’ll have a nice eight-fold path set up for you. See, I treat you nice baby. You still not satisfied? Want more? Well check out the info on the shows page.

I do hope you can make it – and remember, I have demo versions of two of the upcoming songs available for download. Just go to my music page and you can grab Kingdoms and Conversations With a Knife.

See you on Friday my little June Bugs.

-pheroze

The only thing that I “wrote” are the main melodic line and the simple thumping rhythm that make up the core of the song – Joe Renaud added his spice to the rhythm while keeping the simple pulsation cemented. We would play off of each other for the dynamics and the changes, and we would get fed the rest of the song from the audience at shows.

Hopefully, if you came to a show in 2008, you remember the song (for it had no name at the time). I’d start by asking the audience to think of one word or concept, and then tap into the collectively focused energy of the room and channel the lyrics and song structure from there. For me it was a public marriage of my spirit and music connections – and I’d like to think that for you it was, at the very least, moving.

In short, people loved it – and when it came time to record a demo of new songs last year, I really wanted to record this one. Capturing the same feel and intensity of a life improvisation, let alone one that was channeled through the audience’s energy, was a challenge to put together- and when the time came I just had to say “fuck it, it’s a demo”.

Well I think we fucking nailed it. And when I say we, I truly mean the big whole fat mass of collective “WE” (that includes you bucko). I’m just your medium on this one. It’s simple, haunting and beautiful.

If you came to a show in 2008, you wrote this with me. Your thoughts, energy, and feelings are in it. And for that I thank you. And, no, it doesn’t mean you’re getting any of the royalties so suck it.

Thanks again, and I’m looking forward to collaborating more with ya. Make sure to go to the music page to stream or download Conversations With A Knife, or just right click here and save it to your computer.

And better yet, you don’t even have to pretend to be friends with Microsoft to do so. Just go to my brand spanking new music page by clicking here. Find Kingdoms under the Downloads section, right-click and save it to your computer.

I’ll be putting out songs from this session over the next few weeks – so I’ll check in on you soon to make sure you’re listening and showering and brushing your tooth – yeah, I like to think my fans have one tooth they brush over and over again until it’s got more shine than a blood diamond.

see ya soon

-pheroze

In the summer of 2009, Pheroze went into the studio to record and flesh out 7 song ideas for his new album. This quick two day affair showcases the direction his new material is headed. Stay tuned to this space as he’ll unleash some of the tracks from this session periodically!

Engineering and mixing by Clay Holley

All songs written by Pheroze

Vocals and guitars – Pheroze

Drums – Joe Renaud

Bass – Joe Pepitone

Driftwood is Pheroze’s debut solo album.

Credits:

Voice, Guitar, Bass, Esraj, Gopichand, Dhol, Khartal, Chimta, Ghungharu, Khanjari, and Manjira performances on all tracks by Pheroze Karai

Drum performances on all tracks and Maracas and Tambourine on ‘Never Lie to The Pavement’ by Dante Renzi

Produced and Recorded by Pheroze Karai

Mixed and Recording consultancy by Nick Cohen at Studio 203 in Miami Beach, FL

Drums Tracked by Nick Cohen at The Shack in Yonkers, NY

Mastered by Tom Chianti of Alanatomic Productions at The Cube Studio, NY