This past year has been a gas, with some amazing players coming through ol’ Django’s studio. We’ve had ourselves a fine time making this new CD for you, so the title says it all. We’ve been previewing some of these tunes on a few select internet radio outlets, and response has been great!
One of the big differences between this record and the last one is that we took these tunes out to some audiences while we were writing and creating them, so you all can take a little credit if you like. Joe Cunningham, Tom Donald and Terry Reed brought some great ideas to the table, and we feasted like kings on those as well as some sturdy, dependable fare, like Monk’s “Round Midnight”.
“Sweet Life” will be available soon at all the major i-retailers (you know how to search, don’t you?), but you can pre-order now by clicking here. And check back here again soon, ’cause we’ve got some other fine treats in the works for you.
Hey, Flash here on the job! I finally got the call back. It seems Django Mack is gonna start rollin’ out some shows again. But I suppose that deserves an explanation after such a long absence. Fortune has an odd way of manifesting itself. In my case, it felt odd that Django dropped everything in the middle of his tour, but good to his word, he set the crew up with gigs helping a few of his friends who were touring these last several months.
In Django’s case, he had a change of fortune, or so goes the story he told us at the first gathering we had when the entire crew and band reassembled,
Many months ago, Django took off unexpectedly for a few days. We heard after the fact that he was scouting locations for a video shoot for a new track, but apparently he found more than he bargained for. He was unusually quiet about all this, but after a fair amount of libation, we finally plied the entire story out of him.
He says he got lost at a crossroads in New Orleans and wandered into the shop of a Fortune Teller who told him about a lot of mistakes he already knew he had made in his life. He reiterated again and again, how “spot on” she was. She proceeded to tell him he needed to stop everything he was doing and record new music, music that spoke even more in his own voice, original songs from his own path of broken hearts and crooked trails. That was when he let us know he was cancelling his tour to go back into the studio. After that, he worked feverishly on new material. He said he even assembled a film crew to go shoot a video for one of the tracks; (And here’s the spooky part)…He said he went back to the crossroads where he met that fortune teller, but she was not there. The building she was in was now a weathered, untended, abandoned old Voodoo shop. The neighbors said no one had occupied that building for many years, not since that woman who ran it died.
Anyway, that’s the story Django swears by. Now, I’ve been out with Django a time or two, and it makes me wonder if he just couldn’t manage to find his way back to the right corner;)
But I’m betting he believes it, judging from all the new music he’s been workin’ on! All I know is I’m glad to be back and glad we’ll be doing a show September 12th at the MILK BAR on Haight St.
Great news, Django Mack fans! We’ve spent the last 6 months working on a new record for you, taking a number of the new songs we wrote last year and bringing them to life in the studio. Big thanks to the crew who put countless hours into refining the parts and performances to make this record rock! Steve Mathews, Roy Felley, Joe Cunningham, Dave Weedon, Steve Leeds, Laurie Amat, Tom Donald, Tom Disher, John Herbst, Tommy Dunbar, Ed Carden, Rush Dance… every one contributing their absolute best work, to make this a truly memorable set of tunes.
Of course, the way this works, we can’t promise you a copy of the new goods quite yet. There’s still mixing to do, mastering, publishing contracts and all the other technical mumbo-jumbo that makes this stuff take forever… not to mention finishing up some music videos and getting the whole ball of wax ready to make a nice presentation. But…
The good news is that we can get out and do some shows again! The next dates involve a couple of private events, but keep your eyes peeled for some upcoming gig announcements as we work through some of the offers that are coming in, and we’ll look forward to seeing you real soon!
So much has been going on behind the scenes here that I’ve had a hard time keeping up.
Django Mack has shifted focus yet again, from continuing this tour, to crafting a new album! Yup (I know it seems like just yesterday, he released “The Alcohol of Fame” album”, but a strange turn in New Orleans put a bug in his craw to write a new album featuring all new original music by Django Mack! Apparently some “Voodoo Woman” down there told him he should!
But more on that and catching up on many other strange tales in 2013!
Wishing you all of the best this Christmas, and have a wonderful New Year!
In the meantime if you need something for your Holiday viewing pleasure, here’s the last two music videos shot for Django Mack in 2012!
Apparently Django Mack just threw another concert on the calendar for Thursday November 29th 2012 at 8:30PM @50 Mason Social House in San Francisco. The last gig there was a lot of fun.
Despite having just released an album and two videos, Django Mack has had some twenty odd more songs in his sights for the live repertoire and upcoming recordings. He’s been putting the band through the hoops learning new covers and originals. It’s actually MORE work putting together the covers because doing songs (the Django way) is its own craft. When Django Mack is in rehearsal/writing mode, all nonessential personnel get to roam free. Those who got families get a chance to swing back round for a visit, those who don’t, recreate. Django seems to know someone almost everywhere we go, so finding rehearsal spaces, recording studios and hospitality along the road is usually not a problem. Right now, the band is still hanging around in San Francisco where they have access to a studio in the city.
The venue that Django Mack last played at ( 50 Mason Social House ) found out he was still in town recording for a while, so they asked him to come back and play again this month. Django took them up on it as a good chance to test drive some of the new material in front of a live audience. So, I guess that means the end of our downtime is in sight.
Before I sign out, on behalf of Django Mack , the entire band and crew, we all wanted to offer our thoughts and best wishes to our brothers and sisters impacted on the East Coast.
May you recover quickly and we hope to see ya soon!
For anyone who wants to donate to help the folks who have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy, you can do so at:
A lot of people think of a musician’s lifestyle as one set in a cornucopia of Girls, Rock & Roll and endless parties, and there is some truth in that, even for lowly “roadies” ( such as myself.) There are often fringe benefits, even for those of us who merely get to bask in the glow. Life on the road with Django can be awesome; He knows how to have a good time and he treats us like family…but like any family, someone’s gotta do the “chores”.
It is this far less romantic aspect of being a professional musician that is often forgotten …the tedious, tiring day in day out business of making this all happen.
Today that tedious chore is stuffing promotional packages and slapping postage stamps and mailing labels on hundreds yellow bubble mailers.
The new Alcohol of Fame CDs have all arrived, boxes and boxes of ‘em!
So, contrary to the general “Rock Star” image we all love to cherish, today’s Rock & Roll excitement begins and ends with a trip to the post office…and thanking God for self adhesive stamps!
The show at 50 Mason Social House in San Francisco was pretty awesome. The band brought some new material out and highlighted tunes from the new album “The Alcohol of Fame”.
Django Mack Live at 50 Mason – San Francisco 2012
Cocktails flowed and it felt like a much deserved party after a long stint of nervous thumb twiddling.
The time we had off waiting for Django to come back with the bus may have been time off, but it was no kind of fun “vacation”! We were stuck in the middle of nowhere with very little cash and, let’s face it, sitting on pins and needles hoping he would get back in time. But true to form, Django found access to some money… somewhere; somehow…maybe the label wired it to him. I’m not sure I want to know. In any event we went on a well deserved, real live vacation which of course included toolin’ around San Francisco, and a trip to wine country (while we were in the area).
Django in Wine Country
The bus seems to be screamin’ along after the repairs, no problems there. There are the times on the road that can be really awful, and then there are those times that are really grand that make it all worth it.
This would be one of those latter times!
Wine Country
So for now we are enjoying our free time, but this too shall pass.
I saw it through the motel window. At first we thought it was a mirage…but with a few blinks the unmistakable orange and yellow tour bus emerged from the dusty road.
Not only did Django get back (albeit with only about 3 hours till showtime and we still have to load the gear and drive to the venue), but when he got off the bus he had a crate of CDs with him! It seems the Fates may be on our side…this time.
Django Mack – “The Alcohol of Fame” CD Release
The new Django Mack album “The Alcohol of Fame” is done… And we got em in time to make this San Francisco gig our CD release party!
So come on down to 50 Mason Social House TONIGHT – Thurs. September 20th 2012!
Gotta run if we expect to be on the stage by 8:00 P.M.!
