Updated 6 Jan 01

Happy New Year

The LA trip for Dennis Elliot was a great one. Playing with Dennis (guitar) and Danny Hernandez (bass) was a lot of fun, something Dennis and I have been talking about for years. The evening finished up with a great sushi dinner with Simon Phillips, then the red eye back to the city and right into another session Huw Gower the next day and a live gig with Bob Pressner. After the holidays it was straight into Chung King Studios to start tracking with Deni Bonet. With Stephen Haigler (Fuel/Oleander/The Pixies) producing, Deni (REM/Robyn Hitchcock) on violin and vocals, Tony Shanahan (Patti Smith) on bass, Dave Patterson (Shawn Mullins) on Guitar and myself on kit and percussion.

 

Updated 9 Feb 01

Well, believe it or not, einstein too has finally arrived!!! My apologies once again to all of you who have been so patiently waiting for it. I promise that the 'one man show' is over, regarding trying to do everything on my own. It takes too long and requires too much energy... In the mean time, jump on over to the einstein page or click here to order.

The rest of January turned out to be quite busy. Got into the studio with producer/bassist Keith Lentin, to start a co-production for German singer Karmen. Worked up the compositions and arrangements and will be laying down tracks later this month. Then it was into the studio to play on a few tracks for a great new up and coming artist named Holly Miranda.

Construction finally completed, the Neve VR60 has arrived at the studio and just in time for producer Jeffrey Lesser (The Chieftans/Barbara Streisand/Pat Travers) to start working on Bob Pressner's new CD. Jeffrey and I are sharing the production duties and along with myself, the recording includes Al Pitrelli (Megadeath) & John Putnam (Madonna/Cher) on guitars, Lee Matheson on bass, Paul Morris (Rainbow) on keys and of course, Bob P on acoustic guitar, vocals and the bar tab...!

A quick trip to London was next for a two day seminar of teaching at Colin Woolway's Drumsense in West Croyden. First day was a private masterclass for many of Colin's students, followed by a day of extensive one on one lessons. Wish I had a bit more free time to enjoy the city and meet up with some old friends, but it was straight back to NY and into the studio for the second round of tracking for Bob P.

 

Updated 25 Feb, 01

In from London and just in time to catch Dave Mattacks playing down town in the East Village with Dennis Brennan. Needless to say, Dave was absolutely fantastic, as was the entire band. After a few more days with Bob P back in Skyline, it was over to S.A.E. Studios to track the final song to complete the new Melodica CD, which is made up of Austrian guitarist Gerhard Pichler and American singer Ted Poley (Danger Danger). Also on the session were Levi Springer on bass and Paul Morris on keys.

Paul, JM, Levi & Gerhard

Next it was back to Skyline to lay down the drum tracks for euro singer Karmen, with Keith Lentin co-producing and playing bass & guitar.

6 March, 01

Finished up mixing Huw Gower's new cd. Should be mastered and out sometime soon. Then it was an afternoon in the studio with Mark Mangold (Drive She Said/The Sign) to lay down drum tracks for his new solo cd. Kenny Aronoff and I will be sharing this one 50/50. Also on the record are Mark (vocals/keys), guitarists Al Fritsche (Drive She Said) & Tony Bruno (Billy Joel/Joan Jett)...

26 March, 01

Started pre-production for the next Broken Poets (f.k.a.Tim McDonald) recording coming up soon. Rehearsals for the new material went so well, we decided to showcase it all with a live gig at Arlene Grocery.

Benny Landa, Tim McDonald & Keith Lentin	Benny Landa, Tim McDonald & JM

Back over to S.A.E. Studios last weekend to track a song for the Jason Becker Tribute CD. The song chosen was the David Lee Roth title "Drop In The Bucket". The line up was a very comedic one that included engineer/producer John Pace (Hall & Oates/Sting/Herbie Hancock), Gerhard Pichler (guitar) Ted Poley (ld.vox), Machan Taylor (b.vox), Kenny Aaronson & John Balsamo (basses), Mark Mangold & Paul Morris (keys), with me on kit and Shakes The Clown on moral support....the dolphins are in the jaccuzzi....

(don't ask!)

23 Apr 01

Super busy and very much in need of a vacation!!! In the studio mixing Enter Venus down from Boston, Ma. Next up was a percussion session over at S.A.E. Studios with Gerhard Pichler to put the finishing touches on the Melodica CD. The last two weeks were spent in Skyline playing and working with Danish vocalist, Alice Sondergaard working on her new solo CD . Producer/keyboardist Delmar Brown (Gil Evans/Miles Davis) was at the board with engineer Eyal Midyan and the band consisted of Hiram Bullock (Blues Brothers/Jaco Pastorius/David Sanborn) on guitar, Lew Soloff (Barbara Streisand/Steely Dan/George Benson) on horn, Norman Headman (Earth, Wind & Fire) on percussion, Kenwood Dennard (Gil Evans/Manhattan Transfer/Dizzy Gillespie) and myself on drums. In the studio at the moment mixing the new Local H CD is producer Jack Douglas (John Lennon/Aerosmith/Lou Reed/Cheap Trick), along with engineer Jay Messina (Kiss/Supertramp/Three Dog Night/J. Geils).

28 April 01

In for a couple of days at Skyline was Milos Dolezal to record the bass tracks for his new CD. Drums were done at his own Studio Hacienda in Zirovnice, Czech Rep. last winter while I was in Europe for some clinics and sessions. Bassists Chris Miles (Michael Sweet), Joe Blair Mudarri (Joe Blair Project), John Patitucci (Chick Corea/Lee Ritenour/Roger Waters) and Doug Wimbish (Living Color/Jeff Beck/Rolling Stones) were all in to lend a helping hand, and a few fingers. Milos is already on his way home to put the finishing touches on and hopes to have it out later this summer.

John Patitucci, Milos and JM

 

In the studio now working with engineer Ron Allaire (Bo Diddley/Grover Washington Jr.) is NY's own Gaggle Of Cock.

 

9 May 01

Recording is done for the Tim MacDonald/Broken Poets session. Can't begin to say how incredible the drum sound was, tracking my new Pearl Masterworks Mahoganies with a 26" kick!!! Just finished mixing at Skyline was engineer Dragan 'Chach' Cacinovic with Priority Record's artist Danja. Now working in the studio on overdubs for their new CD is They Might Be Giants, with engineer Pat Dillett.

Mid-West Mars Music Clinic Run

20 May 01	Mars Music @ 3:00 pm	Toledo, OH
21 May 01	Mars Music @ 7:00 pm	Cincinnatti, OH
22 May 01	Mars Music @ 7:00 pm	Indianapolis, IN
23 May 01	Mars Music @ 7:00 pm	Nashville, TN
24 May 01	Mars Music @ 7:00 pm	Bridgeton, MO (St. Louis)

21 May 01

A quick update from the road. All locked out and busy at the studio these past two weeks. After helping out with a bit of work on a live version of China Grove by the Doobie Brothers, I hit the road for the Mid West and left Skyline in the hands of producer Frank Fernandez, engineer Johnny Wydrycs and asst. engineer TJ Doherty to do mixes for Sting, Santana, The Go-Go's, Toni Braxton, Harry Connick Jr., N'Sync, Paul Simon, The Corrs, K.D. Lang and The Doobie Bros. so far. Upon returning, I'll find out the rest and then get myself in to mix Tim McDonald/Broken Poets.

14 June 01

Add Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, Faith Hill, Enrique Iglesias, 98 Degrees, Robert Palmer and Rick Sprinfield to the list of clients just mixed at Skyline by Frank, Johnny and TJ. As for me, Got in to finish the mixes for Tim McDonald/Broken Poets, which came out great. Hope to get some sound clips up soon. Next was a drum tracking session for singer/songwriter Andre Fratto. Andre is working on his first CD here at Skyline at the moment and should be ready to mix by months end. Sound clips to be posted as well. Found some time away from the studio for some live gigs with Sean Fleming (at Irish weekend/Cape May, NJ), Broken Poets (at Arlene Grocery NYC) and two great shows at the Bottom Line with Chad. Chad will be in Skyline next week with producer engineer John Alagia (U2) to record vocals and more drum tracks (me) for his new CD.

11 July 01

Back in at Skyline once again, we've got producer Frank Fernandez, engineer Johnny Wydrycs and asst. engineer TJ Doherty finishing up more NBC mixes for Trisha Yearwood, Robert Palmer, Marc Anthony and Blondie. Also back in Skyline was producer Jeffrey Lesser to finish the last mix for Bob Pressner 's new CD. As for me... finished all the tracking for Andre Fratto and now getting ready to mix. Was back in the studio working on new songs with Tim McDonald for the Broken Poets CD, as well as over at Rocket Music laying down drum tracks for the new Visa Card commercials.

26 August 01

My apologies for taking so long to update. What can I say, other than I NEED A VACATION!!! Where to start... Skyline news: Chicago, Jimmy Buffett, Sugar Ray, Mariah Carey, Tony Bennett and The Little River Band were the last of the bunch of mixes with Frank Fernandez & Johnny Wydrycs. The welcome mats were then laid out for Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, a.k.a Steely Dan, to come in and start working on their new cd with Roger Nichols engineering the tracking and Elliot Shiner taking care of the mixes. As for me... on stage once again at Arlene Grocery for a showcase with The Broken Poets, as well as my first gig with *Shimmerhead at the Knitting Factory, which by the way, was an unbelievable night! Also got in a couple of days to start mixing tracks for Andre Fratto. Then it was off to N. Brookfield, Mass. to one of my favorite studios in the world, Longview Farm, to track the drums for a great new band on MCA records called Swim. Working with Ken Lewis (producer) and Fran Flannery (engineer) once again, we tracked 16 songs in three sittings and I must say it's going to be a tough one deciding which are to be the singles, as there are way too many great tunes to choose from! The cd should be out just after X-Mas and my prediction is that it's going to be a big one... Now, back over to Skyline again to finish the tracking and start mixing Shimmerhead.* This is a project that I'm very excited about. Having seen the band strictly by accident one sunday afternoon last year at Brownies here in NYC. I was immediately convinced that this band was worth pursuing from a production point of view. I was then very pleased when the band later asked me to take over the drum position and give it a go. Some new tunes a couple of gigs later and here we are. The cd is being co-produced by Steven Haigler (Fuel/Oleander/Pixes/Local H) and myself.

Next stop... Buenos Aires and Parana, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uraguay for a few drum festivals with myself and Steve Ferrone.

17 Sept 01

I'm finally back in NYC, safe for the moment I guess... ?

My sympathy and condolences to all those directly touched by the events of last week.

I would also like to extend my love and thanks to all of my friends around the globe that e mailed and/or called many times over to check on myself and my family.

21 Oct 01

Just back from a quick hit in Europe. First stop was Paris to perform at the Le Bag festival at the Trianon Theatre along with Walfredo Reyes Jr., Robin Dimaggio and others. Then it was off to Nancy for two days of clinics at M.A.I. (Musicians Academy International). Back to Paris for three days and in bed with food poisoning, then a day of recording at Antenna Studios with composer Bernard Grimaldi for a single called I Believed In You. Once back on my feet, the last stop was Belgium to do a couple of clinics for A & M Music in Brussels and Liege. Thanks to Wim for the great hang!

Now back in the city and into Skyline to finish mixes for Shimmerhead and Andre Fratto. Off to Vancouver, Canada this weekend for another drum festival, then it's Skyline once again with recordings coming up for Mark Mangold and the new Drive She Said CD, Dennis Elliot and Pearl.

9 Nov 01

Vancouver was cold and rainy, but the people warmed everything up. Thank you very much to Mary Ann, Darry, Rene, Paul and all from Tom Lee Music for their help and hospitality. Busy at Skyline last week with Def Jam artists Infa-Red & Cross, with Chach Cacinovic engineering. Shimmerhead back in just after that to work on one more song, completeing the CD, due out next spring. Then it was a day of solo drums to record the new background drum track for the Pearl Drum Company phone system... in other words, when you call and get put on hold, that'll be me entertaining you. Off to Potomac Falls, VA. Tuesday for a clinic at Melodee Music.

Now for the big news!!!

After many years of passing on the many offers to 'join' various bands, I couldn't resist or possibly say no when the offer came recently from one of my childhood favorites, Happy The Man. For those of you (probably most) who are not familiar with HTM, they were one of the best progressive rock bands of the late 70's, with two incredible LPs out on a Arista Records, 'Happy The Man' & 'Crafty Hands', now available on CD through One Way. I got the call from a great friend and drummer (from Crafty Hands) Ron Riddle, with the news that his busy schedule composing and producing soundtracks was not allowing him the time to continue playing with them. I was honored when he told me that I was his only choice and recommendation to take over... Needless to say, we played together not long after and knew immediately that this was going to work just fine. The band is now made up of original members Frank Wyatt (keys/woodwinds), Stan Whitaker (guitars/vocals) and Rick Kennel (bass), along with new comer and keyboardist extraordinaire David Rosenthal (Billy Joel/Rainbow/Cindy Lauper) and myself, now known as the baby of the band! The new material is very much in the vein of traditional HTM, with heavy rhythms, multiple time signatures, complex arrangements and beautiful melodies, and boy can these guys play!!! Recording is planned for January-February 02 with the CD ready and out for next summer along with some live dates. I haven't been this excited in years...!

18 Dec 01

Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) finished up their latest round of sessions at Skyline, along with session aces Hugh McCracken, Gilbert Gottlieb, and John Herrington making appearences. They'll be back in for round two in early March. Pearl Drum Company was in recently to shoot Heracio 'El Negro' Hernandez and myself for a promotional video due out early next year. For myself...finally got around to start the final mixes for Shimmerhead, with Alex Olsson engineering. Worked on and finished the first six, then laid down the first two drum tracks for Happy The Man. Next it was in the studio with Mark Mangold once again, supplying drum tracks for a new project that he's producing called Mmmmm. This week it's back in to finish mixing the other five outstanding Shimmerhead tracks. And speaking of Shimmerhead, there'll be a live date at CBGB's 27 December. Gaggle of Cock returning to Skyline next week to finish another track to complete their debut CD.