Sorry Friends.....

Hello Everybody-

It's been far, far too long and I must apologize to you all! Life has a way of taking charge and making it difficult to keep my own promises. I am finally updating this blog after 6 months!! Anyhow.....

I will be hosting a benefit at The Underpass on (R)October 15th. Scheduled artists include: Eyes From The Ashes, Josh Rifkin Band, Evan Toth, Matty Z, Mike Pek, Carrie Engdahl. All monies will go to the Red Cross to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Hope to see you all there!

I also recently completed production work on Mike Pek's second release, Second Thoughts. A release party should be taking place shortly. We are both really proud of this record and I hope you all get a chance to hear it soon!

On September 10th I got engaged to my long time girlfriend Melissa.

That's about all for now. Prayers to all those affected by Katrina and Rita. Good thoughts!

Brian

The Whiskey Bar, Cambridge, and Outer Space

Hello Everybody-

It's been a while....

The Whiskey Bar show was a great time! Best gig we've played in a long while. Great crowd, Great sound, Great night! Thanks to everyone who came out. There sure were a lot of you! Thanks as well to The Other Half and Eyes From The Ashes for sharing the show with us.

Ed, Matt, & Myself (along with Matty's Wife Alyce) than headed up to Cambridge. We played a set at the legendary Club Passim. Being that this was our first time there, We were surprised by the response we received. It was nice to hear such generous applause.

I also recently joined MySpace.com. It seems like a cool idea and I have been hearing about it for a while. If you are unfamiliar with it, drop by and become a member. Don't forget to look me up!

Tickets are still available for the Tsunami Benefit we are doing at The Crossroads in Garwood on March 12th. For more information visit: www.xxroads.com.

That's about it for now. Hope to see you all soon!

Brian

Sounds For Tsunami Relief

I wanted to tell you all about a benefit I will be involved in:

Of course with all the devestation caused by the recent Tsunami, there are many benefits taking place all around the globe. I am glad to do my part and participate in a benefit with several great local bands: Echofission & Souls Release. It will take place at a club called The Crossroads in Garwood, NJ on Saturday March 12th. You can buy tickets ahead of time (encouraged) by following this link: http://echofission.com/ There are only 250 tickets available and this show will definitely sell out. I will be performing an hour long acoustic set with some friends sitting in here and there. It should be a great show and a great time.

The one consistent thing about tragedy is that it brings people together. Hopefully it gives you a deeper appreciation for your own life and the lives of those around you. It is often hard to contemplate that which once seemed stable can all disappear within a few short seconds. Most people don't like to consider thoughts like these, but I actually try and focus on that reality for 15 minutes or so at the beginning of each day. I think the more you understand your place in this universe, the better you utilize your time. It has a way of adding perspective and appreciation. Forcing you to understand what's important. Denying you the ability to be egotistical. An unnegotiable humility. Anyway....enough of that!

I have been listening to the Roger Waters album "Amused to Death" with almost a religious zealotry as of late. How does this guy get it right every time? Incredible! Most artists sing at you, Roger sings from above you. He sits at the very top of your head and whispers words into your ears. He has a way of conveying emotions on tape like a great painter. Really astounding! This album (yes, I still call them that) comes from somewhere else, not here, it couldn't possibly come from here!

Anyway....

Hope y'all are doing well. Call an old friend today!

Brian

The Fireside

Had a good time at The Fireside Inn this past Saturday. The room was packed, the sound on stage was good and the owner, Scott, is by far one of my favorite club owners. He's very easy going and is a firm believer in original music.

Matty Z joined me on mandolin for the final four tunes. This was his first time joining me on an acoustic set and he passed the initiation with flying colors.

Here is the setlist from the other night:

1. Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero)*
2. Feeling Alright Today
3. Further Down The Line
4. Sweet Maria#
5. Cross That Line#
6. Incidental#
7. A Wall I Must Climb#+

*Neil Young Cover
#Matty Z on Mandolin
+Michael McDermott Cover

I look forward to returning to The Fireside soon and bringing the whole band along next time.

I will be playing a benefit for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation this sunday at The Luna Stage Theatre in Montclair, NJ. The show is a Songwriters in the Round format and will feature Mike Pek, Rich DeCicco, and Myself exchanging numbers. The show starts at 5:00PM and is BYOB. Come down, bring a bottle, enjoy some tunes and help a worthy cause all at the same time.

Hope to see y'all there!

Brian

Long time.....

Hello Everybody-

Been a while since my last post. My apologies.

Myself and the Band will be ringing in the New Year at everybody's favorite venue, The Underpass in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. Starting off the Evening's Festivities will be Singer/Songwriter Dave Trause followed by The Josh Rifkin Band. The boys and I will be taking the stage shortly after midnight to start the New Year off with a bang. Looking forward to this show. It will only be a $5 cover charge. There will be free Jello shots and plenty of surprises. Come on down and join us for the cheapest New Year's Party in the Tri-State area.

We have recently made an addition to the band line-up. Matty Z, a friend and member of Evan Toth and The Excuses, will soon be joining us on Mandolin, Guitar, and Backup Vocals. He has been working away at learning the songs and should be all set to make his debut with us at The Whiskey Bar show on February 16th. He sat in with us for one song, Thinking, at the last Underpass show and needless to say he passed the audition.

There will be a Christmas Party taking place at The Underpass tomorrow featuring Mike June & The Dirty Doves along with special guests. The doors open at 2:00. For those of you who are unaware Jay plays guitar with Mike & The Doves and Richie will be sitting in on drums tomorrow. Should be a good time.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Brian

Reunions & Reviews

Hello Everybody-

Returned from Boston late last night and had a really good time. Although travelling alone is often times a drag, I think the solitude did me good. Allowed me to think about some things and clear my head.

Quick story:

Art Solari (Drummer on State of Grace) and Brian Csencsits (Engineer on When I Bleed) are two of my oldest and closest friends. We've all known each other since we were 10 or 11 years old.

My very first band consisted of Myself on Guitar and Vocals, Brian on Bass Guitar, Art on Drums, and another friend named Dave Meyer on Guitar . We practiced in Art's basement throughout our high school years, played many a gig, and learned many a hard lesson. Our band name was Charisma (lame name I know, but what do you want?? We were 11 years old when we started for chissakes!) It was my introduction to music, and it obviously changed my life.

Last Saturday night Art's Parents celebrated there 25th wedding anniversary with an event at a local Banquet Hall. Myself, along with Brian and Rich DeCicco were all invited. There was a Band there to provide some entertainment. After several hours the band took a break and we found ourselves being asked for an inpromptu reunion of sorts. I guess everyone had enough drinks in them that it sounded like a good idea.

I picked up the guitar players axe and was pretty much a nervous wreck. Art hopped behind the drumkit and Brian picked up the bass. Rich and another friend, Matt Jacobs, hopped behind the percussion setups and off we went. We played three songs: I Can't Explain, Knocking on Heavens Door, and You Really Got Me. We blew the room apart! It was really a great moment! Emotions ran high along with the alcohol intake.

Afterwards people were coming up and complementing us on how well we played. It had been 14 years since we last played together! When I started off the opening chords to I Can't Explain I had butterflies in my stomach. As soon as everyone kicked in, everything just gelled! It felt like yesterday that we had played our last gig.

I compare it to walking down the bread isle of a grocery store. Whenever I walk down a bread isle and smell the bread, memories just flood my brain. Mental pictures from when I was just a child in my Mother's shopping cart. It's really an incredible thing. The same thing happened when we played together the other night. Every gig, every song, every moment, just flashed before my eyes...really incredible!!

They always say "you can't go home again", well that's pretty much bullsh*t, because the other night we went home!

In other news.....

My friend Mil was kind enough to put up a review page on The Luna Stage show. We are working on getting her a permanant home on my website, but until that happens you can read the review here: http://artistinsane.com/luna_stage_9-25-04.htm Please check out the rest of her site while you are there. She's a great writer and there is a lot of interesting stuff on her site.

Thanks for reading everybody and be safe!

Brian

Boston, Benefits, & Big Ideas

Myself & The Band will be performing at the annual Underpass Benefit Show. I figured I would allow Christine (Co-Owner of the Underpass) to give y'all a little background info on the nature of the benefit show. I copied this from a post off of The Underpass website:

This post goes out to Pop who asked the question about the benefit (and for anyone else who is new to us). My brother-in-law had the original vision for this bar and opened the doors 7 years ago. Sadly, he passed away 4 years ago however Ken and I, with alot of help from the amazing Joe Beets have kept the bar running. The $10 cover charge at the door is for Tommorrow Children's Fund. It is the organization that we had donations sent to when Paul passed away. It is a very worthy organization. The benefit is alot of fun so you should check it out. I'm glad to hear that there are new friends coming into our bar and we hope you and your friends continue to support us. Look forward to seeing you all at the benefit!!!

This year the benefit will take place on Sunday, November 21st. We perform at around 5PM, however, there are some great bands playing throughout the day so be sure to get there early!

Heading up to Boston next week to open a couple of shows for my friend and fellow songwriter James O'Brien (www.jamesobrien.cc). Some of you may remember James, as he opened up The Luna Stage gig for me back in October. Now I am heading up to return the favor. Just found out that after this stint I will return to Boston in February (22nd to be exact) to play Club Passim. Passim is a legendary venue, and it is certainly a thrill to be offered the gig.

I played the GEMS Music Conference this past Sunday. Playing music conferences is always a little odd because your performing mainly for other musicians. I did have a pretty good time playing, but I had a much better time hanging out in the back room. Myself, Jay, Alisa, George and friend Matty Z basically hijacked a room and spent the majority of our time laughing about different things. Guess you kinda had to be there. Anyway, there are a couple of very exciting things in the works as a result of the conference, so we'll have to see what happens!

Still getting lots of great response to the new album. Thank you all very much! Hey, if you get a chance and your so inclined, could you write a review of Further Down The Line at this website: http://cdbaby.com/cd/fitzpb4 Just scroll to the bottom of the page and post your thoughts, positive or negative. I would appreciate it very much, as it definitely helps to sell discs if there are some reviews on the page. And if you think a friend might be interested in my tunes, send 'em in the right direction for me. I want to be able to keep writing and recording songs for you all, but unfortunately it costs money, so it's important that I move as much product as possible. We've come this far together!

Thanks Everybody, and look forward to seeing you all real soon!

I am always appreciative!

Brian