The Puppets are back!  And with new material!

On the 25th of June, we will be doing a full hour-long show of story-time featuring the Elephant’s Child, The Story of Heckedy Peg, as told by Karin Webb, and a new shadow puppet show based off of three Aesop’s Fables.  It’s going to be magical.  See press release for more details:

PRESS RELEASE

On Thursday, June 25th at 7:00pm, Brookline Music School Guitar Coordinator Brendan Burns and Friends perform a selection of bedtime stories with live music and original shadow puppets in Brookline Music School’s Bakalar Recital Hall. Stories include “Mice in Council”, “Mountain in Labor”, and “The Lion’s Paw” from Aesop’s Fables, “The Story of Heckedy Peg”, and Rudyard Kipling’s “The Elephant’s Child”. This is entertainment for the whole family!
The cast includes four musicians, five puppeteers and five voice actors. Musicians include Vessesla Stoyanva, MIDI Marimba, Cara Frankowicz, violin, and composers Brendan Burns, guitar and Valerie Thompson, cello. Puppeteers are Anne Marie Taylor, Molly Zenobia, Gonzalo Plaza, Mali Sastri, and Co-Director Dylan Gould. Voice actors are Dann Brown, Nate 
St. Laurent, Lainey Schulbaum, and Co-Directors Karin Webb and Jill Gibson.
New Exhibition Room’s Artistic Director Nora Long said, “It was magical! The music is astonishing and filled the story beautifully.  The actors provided excellent foils for one another, and the puppets were imaginative, interesting, and abstract without being obtuse.”
Story-Time at Brookline Music School is free and all ages are welcome. Come in pajamas if you wish to enjoy the evening’s bedtime stories from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. For more information contact Brookline Music School at 617-277-4593 or visit the website, www.bmsmusic.org.

Event Details:
Story-time with live music and puppets
Brookline Music School’s Bakalar Recital Hall
25 Kennard Road, Brookline, MA 02445
Thursday, June 25 at 7:00pm

Just like a master musician, Martin Luther King uses melodic, rhythmic, and dynamic tension to emphasize and captivate when he speaks. I will be showcasing Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech where he speaks tonally and with the influence of western harmony, blues & gospel music.

This presentation will include a transcription of Dr. Kings speech in musical notation, a performance of the entire speech on fretless guitar, and analysis of the speech’s key points. There will also be time for Q&A.

The class is open to the public, so bring yourself and a friend.

Brookline Music School 25 Kennard Road Brookline MA 02445

Dear Secret Agent 009,

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to come to the Lizard
Lounge in your best spy attire this Friday!
This message is to inform you of a convergence of fellow spies, secret
agents, femme fatals, covert operatives, holders of state secrets and
arch-nemesis at the above location Friday-May 8th!
This event is hosted by Fluttr Effect.

An infamous cast of musical performers has been assembled to entertain
you for the evening.
Starring (but not limited to*) Molly Zenobia as Golfinger, Mali Sastri
as Pussy Galore, Brendan Higgins as M, Gonzalo Plaza as Oddjob and
Goli as the Fembots!

The evening will feature (under) cover songs and the spy music of the
Covert Operation Chamber Orchestra!  (Fluttr Effect + friends!*)

The Details:
Lizard Lounge-www.lizardloungeclub.com
1667 Mass. Ave. (outside of Harvard Sq. below the Cambridge Common Restaurant)
Cambridge, MA
Doors at 9pm.  Show at 10pm.

21+ $10

*I’ll be covertly stting-in on a couple of tunes.

This post will self-destruct in 15 seconds.

I had a wonderful experience learning this music. It’s challening and beautiful. I’ll let you know when we get this up & running again.

Also, at the beginning of the year I spent some time in the studio recording for Brant Greishaber’s prog-fusion-classical-jazz explosion: The Ra Quintet.  I am featured on 6 tracks (using the Godin & Klein).  It is truly an incredible album and is now available on CDBaby.  Check it out.

Vessela had a beautiful idea to combine traditional Balkan music with western musicians.  The result is music that is charming, sophisticated and delightful to listen to.

I’ll be performing with Vessela on marimba, Valeire Thompson on cello, Matt Longbons on bass & John Maloney on drums.   I’m really looking forward to it.  If you have any peeps in the Chicago area, send them to the Uncommon Ground.  It’s going to be a blast!

Currently, I’m working on building a website for puppet promotions. Until then, I’m posting stuff here, because I love this project.

Also, here are some other photos from last year’s performances.

Elephant Child Trailer from Brendan Burns on Vimeo.

Molly Zenobia hosted her 2nd in a series of interactive shows at the Lily Pad last night.  She enlisted Vessela Stoyanva, Valerie Thompson, Nate Greenslit & myself to put together an art & music collaboration involving Silhouettes.  We all had such a wonderful time.  Thank you to everyone for coming out.  Here are couple of resource files from the evening:

Brendan’s Silhouette Leadsheet

Brendan’s Silhouette Demo

Slide show of all of our Silhouettes:

And a slide show of some highlights: