I'm playing a solo show at Quenchers 12/26 with the Sooper Swag Project and Ratboys! Check it out here.

Options' newest LP, What You Want, will be out on 1/14 via Paco Tapes. Check out a video of the band playing Horizon, a tune from the album. I mixed this track, as well.

Coaster finished recording our EP. Off to mixing! We've been recording this since October... feels really good to have it finished. We'll also be playing the Beat Kitchen 1/9 with Rat Hammer. RSVP here.

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya's new album Despondent is out now. I recorded it with Adam Salsberg and mixed it solo. Have yourself a listen!




In more very exciting weird-music news, About a Million's new album that Anthony and I worked on for the last two years is finally finished being mixed! It was just sent off for mastering and release details are being worked out right now. It feels good to have all this stuff I've been working so hard on finally seeing the light of day. ONWARD.

Coaster has finished tracking instrumentals for our EP. Matt and I are halfway through vocals now, and should be finishing up next week. It sounds seriously crispy.

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya will be releasing a new EP called Despondent on 12/1. Keep updated via facebook. Me and Adam Salsberg (Cage Match, Oshwa, My Dad) recorded it together this summer, and I finished mixing it this fall.

I've been recording on an 8 track reel-to-reel machine at The Owlery, demoing new songs for a couple new bands. The first thing I did on it was an old Options tune from 2010. I put it up on my soundcloud.

I've got a couple really great projects coming up, but I don't wanna spill the beans too early.

I finished mixing Nnamdi Ogbonnaya's new EP, and he should be sending it off for mastering soon. We recorded the instrumentals in 11 hours over two days this summer, and he tracked most of the vocals at his house. Here's a song that Adam Salsberg and I recorded for Space Jam's compilation album:



I've been recording tracks for Mike Walker's new You Me & the People album, and they sound great so far. Mike's an excellent musician and you should definitely check out his work. Here's his track Adam and I recorded for the Space Jam compilation:




Dave Hennessy and I have been making steady progress on his debut full length, which is shaping up to be refreshingly varied and thought-out collection of sweet pop songs he loves to craft. Check out the final track from the last project we worked on together:



Exactly one week ago, Coaster began tracking our first EP. Drums are done, and everything else is in the works.

Cage Match finally posted two new songs, and will be playing our last show for a long while this Saturday, 9/14, at the Flowershop in Humboldt Park, Chicago.

Well, it took quite a long while, but I finally got around to redesigning my site! I'll be updating it much more regularly than I have been, and I hope you'll have a look around to see what's new. So anyway, here's what I've been up to:

 - Just got back from an almost-3-week-tour with Coaster. We released a new tour demo that I recorded and mixed as well, with the intent of working towards an EP in the very near future.

- Lots of Options shows coming up, as well as recording for a couple new releases that should be out this fall/winter.

-  About A Million's LP that Anthony and I have been working on for the last two years is nearly complete and will hopefully be released within the next month.

- Cage Match finished basic tracking for an LP. We're playing our last show for a whiiiile at The Flowershop.

- I've been recording and producing lots of music for other people! Lately, I've been working with the likes of Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, You Me & the People, Dave Hennessy, and many more. If you're interested in recording with me, please get in touch!

YO! I'm on tour with Coaster. Check out our dates and catch us while we're on the road!

We just put up a tour demo. Have a listen!

I did audio for a live session with Emil Landman last Sunday, and it turned out really really awesome! Here's the first song that's been released from it.

On Wednesday, July 24th, I am playing my excellent friend Michael Byrnes' senior recital. We'll be playing our debut show with Bathing Resorts (I play guitar, Michael plays bass, and Brendan Smyth from Waterhouse/Nervous Passenger/Freudian Slip plays drums). Michael's friend Emil Landman is in from Europe and will be playing second, and I'll also be playing guitar with Coaster, who'll be finishing out the night. The show is free, so there is no real reason not to come.

What You Want, the second Options full length is out 7/11 at 12:00am. You can get it via Bandcamp.

Options and Mitar's KONYOLO 2013 tour begins next weekend! We are super stoked to see the East Coast and hang out with awesome humans along the way. There are still a few holes in our route, so if you can help, it'd be much appreciated! You can see our dates on the live page of this website.

I am playing guitar in a new band called Coaster and we just put out our first release - a single called Fetch. It was produced and mixed by yours truly, and my friend Mike Nardone and I recorded it at The Owlery.

- Have yourself a download - 

My senior recital is next week.

It's my first show with Lifted Bells, and Options is playing some material from my LP, which has a name which you will know soon. I've been fighting a sinus infection, but should return to recording vocals for that next week.

I've begun mixing the new About A Million LP and I'm excited about how it sounds. For something recorded sporadically over a year and a half, it's more cohesive than I thought it'd be.

Coaster recorded two songs last weekend and you can hear em on April 23rd at Columbia College's Biggest Mouth @ the Metro. It's free and we'll be giving out the two songs we recorded as well.

While I was working on some mixes in Philly, my dog came by the table where my laptop & external HD were and catapulted the HD off the table with his tail + the USB cable. Back to square one for the umpteenth time this year. Fuck.

I'm currently in Philadelphia on my last spring break ever, and I'm getting a buncha stuff accomplished!
- As I type this this, Me and my friend Anthony are finishing the About A Million record that we've been working on for the last year and a half. I'll be mixing it in the next month or two. Get ready, it's on fire. Haven't heard About A Million? Here's a great song to start you out with (and it sounds nothing like our record).
- Laying down scratch tracks for a little covers project I'm working on that is school-related/inspired. More to come on that later.
- Booking the short Options summer tour! 10 days at the end of June. East Coast, here we come!
- A whole bunch more. Hang tight.

A SIDE / B SIDE OUT NOW!

Have a free download of my new single via Bandcamp!

A SIDE / B SIDE

Show tonight / new single

Last minute reminder that Options the Band will be playing Quencher's tonight! $5, 8pm, be there! I'll be giving away my new single, A SIDE / B SIDE on CD-Rs tonight and it will be out digitally on tuesday, so if you want an early copy, come to the show.

xoxoxoxoxo
$$$$

Boy oh boy, have I been busy. I'm taking a quick break from mixing Great Deceivers' newest songs to write this blog and make some dinner. I finally had the opportunity to transfer the new Options LP into ProTools, which will hopefully prove to be less problematic. I'm working out some kinks in the vocals and am ready to start recording those any day now. A variant of the standard Chicago Options band and a new unnamed band are both planning separate tours for the summer as well. On 3/17 Options is playing with Nnamdi Ogbonnaya on drums filling in for Evan. Woah! Alright, back to work on these mixes.

Tomorrow, Options is playing Schubas with a new member! 8pm, $8, 21+. RSVP on Facebook if you're into that.

Bunch of shows coming up! This week, I've got Cage Match at Sub-T and Options at Café Mustache. Check the live page for more details.

Over the summer, I played drums on Julian Bell's new EP. It just came out today on Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon, and a bunch of other digital retailers. Have a listen below.

Alright, real progress! Fixed the Logic project file, finished all electric guitars (and marked down which tracks need revisions), and now i'm just working out acoustic guitar and vocal parts. It's starting to sound like a real album now.

I've got a bunch of really cool shows coming up, especially Options @ Schubas  on 2/13. Check out my "live" page for specifics!

Still battling the Logic Demons. I managed to get 12 songs done yesterday but I'm still having strange issues with Logic (saying that *# of audio files have changed in length - the number changes every time I open it) but the backup project files still work? I don't get it. Trying one more time to resolve it before I port the entire thing over to ProTools, which I may wind up doing anyway. But when I have actually been able to record, it's been going really well!
I just confirmed a session with a rad screamo band from Champaign, which will be my first non-self recording at The Owlery. Things are going pretty OK.

After spending most of last night trying to fix my Logic session, I thought I finally succeeded and went to bed. Woke up this morning and there were still a heap of issues, so instead of spending my day in the studio, I've been working on cleaning up and organizing the file so hopefully, recording will go smoothly from here on out. With any luck, I'll be recording by tomorrow.

I just got back from a two and a half week adventure in Southeast Asia, where I finally had time to think without interruption about this album (I know what I want the title to mean, just figuring out the best way to phrase it) and how I want to build it. I didn't listen to the sessions the entire time, so listening to them yesterday felt fresh and new again. Today, I finished all the electric guitar tracks for 3 songs and I'm starting to come up with ideas for how to track vocals. Tomorrow I'll probably work on some acoustic guitar tracks and Wednesday, I'll be back in the practice space tracking more loud guitars.