*Greg Tannen*: News/Journal

Can it be? Yes, it can.

I’ve got my latest album, “Rocket”, sitting in front of me right now and I couldn’t be more psyched.

Quite a journey it’s been on. OK, so it took a little longer than I expected, but for something that I originally thought was going to be a solo acoustic album, it was worth it. I’ve got new tunes on there that most of you haven’t heard. Musicians that I’ve always wanted to have play on my stuff and, miraculously, I was able to get (plus my regular band of stellar players, of course). Some brilliant new engineers that lent their talents. I could go on, but I’ll leave it for the liner notes...

I’ll be posting a few of the new tunes on myspace for you to check out – but they’re not up there yet. I’ll let you know soon!

Album Update: I’ve been in the studio mixing, and the end is, amazingly, in sight. It sounds tremendous (lots of talented people working on it), and I’m excited to add a couple of very new tunes soon and see how they fit into the general feel of the record... I’ll probably post a new song or two on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/gregtannen soon just to let you all hear how it’s shaping up. The word of the day for the mixes has been: tasty.

Also, I’m gearing up for my first music video shoot! Yes, in mid-June I’ll be all over NYC pretending to sing in front of the cameras and not noticing people looking at me funny. We’ve been doing casting sessions this last week, which is something I have absolutely no skill at and am basically embarrassed to sit there and judge someone… Anyway, everyone’s been great and it’s pretty fun so far. It’s a great group doing the shoot, and you can see an example of their work here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=kNr4dJgbmK0

(yes, that’s an instrumental version of “In America” as the music, which was on “Coney Island”. Me on guitar, Andrew Sherman on piano, who also co-produced)

Oh – and go see my brother Robert’s first film! It’s called “Even Money”, stars Forest Whitaker, Kim Basinger, Danny Devito, and a ton of others. See a trailer here: http://www.yarifilmgroup.com/films/evenmoney/


There’s other stuff going on behind the scenes, I’ll touch base again soon!


GT.

So this is my favorite time of year in New York City. The end of summer/beginning of fall. Still sort of warm, the nights getting a little chilly. The tourists thinning out. Not so crazy or empty on the weekends (and it’s one or the other during summer). You can even see more than one star in the sky. Ahhh.

Oh yes. Music stuff.

Opening a few shows for Rosanne Cash was amazing. Not only is she great in concert, but she’s one of the coolest people around (Hi Rosanne!). The San Diego show in particular was fun, playing outdoors looking out on San Diego bay. Of course, the highlight for me was having Lucy, my almost 3-year old niece, shout out “Hi Uncle Greggie!” during the set, and watching hundreds of heads turn her way. I’ve never had an easier time winning over an audience in my life…I should always have a 3-year old on tour with me.

And, ok, the album. The immortal album. It’s been a lot of fun. It sounds great. Not as produced as Coney Island, not as acoustic as Roam. A wonderful, “live” feel with the band. BUT, I’m in a fund-raising mode right now to get the funds to finish it, so no more recording/mixing/mastering until I reach a certain goal. Want to help? Drop me a line. Really. I love you a lot.

There are a few shows between now and the end of the year, and of course I’m working on a lot of things behind the scenes. Stay tuned!

OK, it's becoming more like a yearly update, but hopefully I can muscle-up and start changing that. I am a writer by trade after all (music, film, non-fiction, love notes, rants to the editors at newspapers, world domination manifestos), so I really should be better at this.

Quick re-cap of the year: Played on various radio stations around the country. Yes, you really did hear instrumental versions of my music for the past year on the Weather Channel, of all places. Toured California and the West a few times. Also a bit of the Northeast and Southeast. Wonderful tours all around. Such amazing people everywhere! You are all invited to crash on my couch if you ever make it to New York.

Speaking of which - Spring is in full force here in NYC. It's no longer death-by-freezing-if-you-open-the-windows-in-a-taxi-to-escape-the un-identifiable-odors. It's pretty nice out. People are in good moods. Trees and flowers bloom (I live near Central Park). Allergies, of course, have therefore hit everyone like a brick helmet. But still. Plans are being laid for the summer (vacation houses that I'm invited to?? Hello??)

The new album. Yes, the new album. It really is being recorded, and I dance little spontaneous dances of joy when I listen back to some of the tracks. Still needs a bit of work, of course. But it's a blast and the band has never sounded better. Incredible musicians have lent their talent, for which I am eternally grateful.

Songs that may make it on the album (as long as everything goes smoothly and I don't decide to junk it and live out my days working on a charter sailboat in Australia…true story) : Something About October, Somebody True, Into The City, Things Don't Always Work Out, Beautiful Day, Hey Love, Save Us From The Light, The Big City, She's Still Asleep, Stuck In Reverse…and a couple of others that y'all don’t know.

I spoke to my 2 ½ year old niece on the phone the other day and she said in her cute little-girl voice, "Uncle Greg, when is the album going to be finished?" She was prompted by my brother, of course, but I think I started this one before she could even talk, so…sometime soon. Probably. I'm trying to get it right.


(And if anyone has ever dreamt about being a Patron-of-the-Arts...gimme a call. Really. What? I'm serious. Artists throughout the centuries have had Patrons.)

I keep meaning to update this journal.

OK, that’s not entirely true.

I completely space about the journal until someone emails and yells at me for not updating the journal.

Then I think about writing a journal entry, realizing they’re right, and muse about where to start. Then I get hungry, and since I obviously can’t write on an empty stomach, I make myself a sandwich. The phone rings, which somehow it does every single time I’m trying to eat, and I have the usual conversation consisting mostly of the other person saying “Are you eating? Did I interrupt you eating? Do you want to call me back when you’re not eating?” and then I hang up, content to eat my sandwich, and I go outside to meet a friend for lunch, where they are amazed at how little I eat, and then rush to band rehearsal for the show in NYC the next night, and we wait around for Andrew, which we always do, and then we do the gig, which goes swimmingly except that Richard once again plays a B# when he’s supposed to be playing a C, and then suddenly I’m on tour throughout the Southeast, and then over to the West Coast, and I end up on the set of my brother Bob’s new movie with all these movie stars who really are quite a bit shorter in real life, and summer is kind of dragging on by, and I just can't believe I’ve managed to get up to Vermont but not to the beach yet, and I wind up back in NYC with all these emails yelling at me for not updating the journal.

Anyway. Everything’s good with me. How are you?

(yes, I am working on the new album. Yes, it's taking too long.)

So I forgot to tell everyone that I fulfilled a life-long dream at Christmas.

I got to sing with a muppet.

Hey, some dreams are smaller than others.

A friend of mine, Ethan Eubanks, was putting on a charity event for the holidays and invited me to sing a Christmas tune (it was jazzy Christmas themed event). He always puts on a hell of a show, and it was for charity, and I was free, so of course I said yes. I love "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and told E I'd like to sing that one.

And then I remembered Rowlf.

Rowlf the dog from the Muppets, singing the best version of that song I have ever heard. A duet with John Denver. I tracked down a copy of it on Ebay, listened, and
fell in love with it all over again.

And got pretty damn excited about the idea of a duet.

You see, I know a guy who is a Muppeteer. The wonderfully talented Tyler Bunch.
Who just finished filming the next Muppet Movie.

He said he'd be psyched to do it.

Long story short - Tyler and Rowlf were a "surprise guest", and the crowd reacted like you think they would. Upstaged by a piece of felt, but who cares? Cloud 9,
baby.

Cloud 9 and nervous. This is why it was a dream come true: when I was growing up, the biggest show in the world for me was The Muppet Show. You could always tell who'd "made it" - if they got to be on the show, they obviously had.

So here I was on stage, and I looked over...and I'm singing with a MUPPET. Man.

It's the small moments that make life worthwhile.

(Check out a terrible picture on the Photo page. If anybody has better shots from that night - I'd love a copy!!)

There is absolutely no artic chill happening in New York. Everything you've heard on the news is false. It is warm and sunny and I am going to the beach just as soon as I find my suntan lotion and sandals and get a large lemonade to quench my thirst.

Man, it's cold.

The beginning of the year is starting slowwwly - planning the new album (finding cash is a tough job), planning a few tours (an even tougher job), and planning to move anywhere hot. The desert? Sounds like heaven.

** Still getting hilarious feedback from the Weather Channel using my music - who knew so many people watched that channel? I'm not sure how I feel about hearing my music as "muzak", but 90 million people is 90 million people.

** I will be the "voice" that sings the theme song to a hip new TV show on the ABC Family channel. It's called "Garden Of Love", and it's a documentary-style look at the busiest Las Vegas wedding chapel.

I've only seen the pilot, but it's remarkably addictive and watchable. I mean, these two people get married in a McDonald's with a hooker and a homeless guy as witnesses...

For the New Year, we decided on a New Look for the website!
(we'll continute updating the website in the next few weeks)
Greg will be on tour in 2005 - keep an eye out...

If you'd like to host a House Concert, or know of a venue in your home town you'd like Greg to play - please email us!
info @ gregtannen.com
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