honored and excited to be back at the Outpost Perforrmance Space, Kicking off their 18th Annual Summer Thursday Jazz Nights series!

We're prepping a fast paced, continuous set - a few crowd favorites and all of the new tunes we tracked last month for the CD - and one thats even newer than that!

Show will be well documented with vid and pics, so  we can update the pics form alst year ( also taken at the Outpost show last year)..

Lisa Lopez/Manteca follows for the second set.

Pray For Brain and Lisa Lopez / Manteca
Thursday, June 20th 7:30 p.m.
$15/$10 Outpost Members & Students (available at Outpost , 268-0044)
Outpost Performance Space
210 Yale Boulevard SE

From Christine, Jefferson and myself, I'd like to thank all of you for making this project a go!

The Kickstarter project was successfully funded Thursday,  so we are on.

Much love back to everyone who supported , shared, believed.

whats next: 
I detailed some of the steps ahead  here , so that now begins in earnest. I'm going into the studio Monday to retrack  some oud parts, and  head engineer David McRae at the studio has some preliminary mix ideas he'll share with me too. To that end , i need to give him legible edit notes! I made good ones, but they're not typed up, so I'll be doing that this weekend. Notes etc for  the special edition CD are being done in tandem  throughout the whole process. That CD  will have a documentary  aspect to it, chronicling  how the project evolves., so we'll be making real time notes and other assets as that evolution progresses.

I'll be posting here at least once a week, but if you're interested in more detailed or real time info, you can follow us on Twitter @Pray4Brain  or Facebook:. We're most active on FB.

thanks again -- we're blessed to have you be a part  of us!

love,

msd

I've always felt that the ability to offer music carries a responsibility to use it well, to put it in service. I view our job is to leave our listeners a little happier, a little more transported and ideally moved after intaking a CD or performance than they were before it. Altered states, even if just a little bit.

My father had mixed feelings about a music path, wondered why I bothered. I once showed him a postcard I received after a concert I did in Germany:"Your music changed my life.," the young concert goer wrote me.

I was so humbled and and honored by that experience, and I understand I'm responsible for none of it. I'm just part of the path.

Then Dad got it.

That postcard confirmed to me the duty of music, inspired me to try and make that happen, even in small momentary levels, with every note we put out.

It's about activating hearts, one heart a time, one note at a time. Making your day a little better.

We feel very honored and humbled when we're able to make that happen. That's our job. And based on the feedback we get from gigs and listeners, for some folk, we do our job right.

"Sure as shootin' chimes that will set your chakras wheeling," writes one fan. "Simultaneously lyrical, exploratory, and transformative in carrying me into many other lands and cultures," wrote another.

This drive, then, wasn't about selling CDs or getting famous, etc. It's simply about our desire to share what we do at a wider level -- to activate more hearts.

I believe in what we do, but also in how we do it.

Pray For Brain is true transcultural mashup, rendered by a gender and faith diverse band. We think that may mean something in and of itself in these times.

Music for us has to have a sense of fearlessness, of absolute conviction and integrity, an undying, unyielding connection to its own truth. It can be dense or spare, high energy or quiet, simple or elaborate , deep or unassuming, fun -- but the one thing music can never be for us is lazy or complacent.

Play every note like it was both the first and last of your precious divine all-too-short life on this plane.

We try to do that, too.

Thanks for your support and interest to help  us do what we do a little more,  so we can do our job for more people.

Carry joy,  build hope, offer love.
msd

Thanks everyone who contributed this week on our Kickstarter! We had a couple of amazing groundswell days...  We're honored by  and deeply appreciative of all of  you. 

With the new tracks edited (see the previous update for all the links to those clips) , I'm starting to circle back and  edit the retakes of 'Leo" and "Sufisurf". I added some oud  to the latter track -- both in the middle section, and two takes of a solo intro -- but there's a little noise in the signal path. I'm not sure if it was in the DI box, or perhaps a squeaky chair, so I'm arranging a time  to go back and redo that.

After that,  I need to revisit last years tracks. Some of them  -- most of the samples  showcased in the Kickstarter main article, for example -- already have the edits done, though I don't have as detailed a log sheet from last year (we were under deadline to  get some pieces out  as samples for Radio Luxembourg).  I'll need to  go back and recreate a log sheet for those pieces. There are some tracks that haven't been edited yet, so I'll need to tackle those, too.

As I go through this process, I'm also starting to curate  and make notes for the special edition CD of alternate takes, rehearsals and unreleased tracks with audio commentary,  a Kickstarter exclusive for $50.00 backers and above. More than a dump of outtakes, this will be curated and presented to give some insight into the band's process and how the music evolves. It will be  a unique behind the scenes look at how we arrived at the final CD to share with you.  Plans are to include interviews with studio head David McRae, extensive liner notes, log sheets, and more. 

Over the years , I've taught myself good audio editing skills -- how to choose  or merge the best moments of various takes, etc. It saves time and money, because then I can go back into the studio with those decisions already made and mapped out, along with a reference copy of that new construction. those new reference copies are the versions that I've been posting.

Those are the next  immediate phases,  but one thing I've decided to offer for all Kickstarter backers -- a chance to help us name  the untitled songs! :) We often have code names  that  originate  in rehearsal, but that aren't compelling or  don't make much sense for a "real" title, so we'll  be ask for your help in naming a few! We may also seek your input into the final sequencing of the CD if we're stymied.

As I mentioned previously , I'm very interested in building an engaged community here -- connections,  the sharing  of this music with you, having you involved in with us and buliding something around it, you and I -- not just sales.  And I really feel that community  starts with  each of you who care enough to support this Kickstarter drive. So even after   the project closes, we'll be in touch  so you can help craft the final product with us.

We are at 47% funded, with 4 days to go. The goal is within striking distance. Like Ebay, folks tend to wait till the end:) . Please share now with your networks and friends ibefore Thursday and help us close the gap. I imagine that whatever it is you like about Pray For Brain, you know others who think and feel along similar lines... please send them an email or a tweet or a Facebook message about what we do.

Each of you who have supported this are the early champions and advocates -the pioneers, if you will. Share the discovery!.

The sale prices will remain for the rest of the project, btw::four ringtones for a $1 , + digital download for $10, + CD for $15, + signed poster for $25 , + alt takes CD for $50, plus T shirt for $75. Kickstarter  doesnt allow  for re-edits of  the pledge rewards descriptions, but choose the holiday  ones, they will be honored!