Hats Off To The Band

As I prepare for my debut release as a solo artist I would like to stop and take a moment to give thanks to all the VIPs in my life that have helped me reach this exciting place in my life.  For the first time, and with the help of my team, I have written, produced recorded and released a complete intellectual six song body of work. Many of the tasks that are handled by Sean in The Seers had to be tended to and carefully thought about, such as logos, album cover design, and cost of CD production.  I am extremely grateful to Steven, Patrick and Cassie for their instrumental guidance and artistic ability in the visual presentation of this physical EP.

Today I am writing to extend my gratitude to the members of my team that transform me from a lone performer on a stage to a musical act with distinguished arrangements and full warm sound, the Brian David Collins band.  For the last six months the Brian David Collins band has essentially been a duo, consisting of myself and percussionist Tom Ditzler. You may have seen Tom perform locally with Thin Smoke and/or Left Lane Highway. Tom and I have been hard at the music, practicing each week at the Wednesday afternoon Club, the WAC.  The WAC is that special time of the week when Dana and I open our doors to friends who are free to come and go between the hours of 11 AM and 4 PM each Wednesday. Music is always a large part of this ritual. Most every week Tom brings his cajon and as we go through the Brian David Collins set we are cheered on by all our WACKY friends.

Now, at long last, we are assembling the four piece that will replicate the easy listening sounds of the More Than Shadows EP in a live setting.  The last two Brian David Collins practices have been with three of the four members, Tom Ditzler on percussion, Aaron Oberndorf on bass and myself on piano/vocals.  Aaron comes to practice equip with amp, electric bass, acoustic standup bass and plenty of notepad paper to turn my rambling teachings of the songs into intelligible notes.  Aaron has been quite the fortunate find. For the tunes that have more of a Tom Waits, rootsy blues piano influence, Oberndorf lends the group the rough yet well placed experimental sounds of his acoustic upright bass.  For the easy listening piano folk songs Oberndorf provides the rich, smooth and polished sounds of his electric bass. With little over a month to prepare for the release, Aaron Oberndorf has been a quick study, giving the Brian David Collins sound warmth and depth of character that has been well worth the wait.  You may have seen Aaron Oberndorf perform locally in recent months with The Kity Project.

Tom Aaron and I assemble at either Tom’s house or mine and have spirited afternoon practices.  Often times Tom waits patiently as Ehren and I talk over bass runs and song structure. His patience pays off when Ehren is able to add a nice low end to complement all of my carefully written piano bass runs.  When the three of us are able to hit all the stops we know that our time was well spent! We are excited to share his lineup with you all on Friday September 28. If you would like to hear what we have been up to please come check us out at the Fort Collins Downtown Artery from 5/8 PM.  Please come early to enjoy Brian Joehansen and Jin Jinny, and of course stick around for the BDC headliner starting at 7. We can’t wait to share the songs off More Than Shadows and some fresh new favorites with you, our favored and most trusted followers and friends.