2015 was full of awesome and beautiful things! Here are the highlights:
- We opened for our swing heroes Big Bad Voodoo Daddy! It was AMAZING!!
- We headlined our first college show. WOO HOO!!
- We played a ton of corporate events for everyone from Google to DemandBase, Blue Shield to Forgerock. Pretty fancy :)
- We opened SFO's New Terminal 3 Concourse and rocked SFO's "You are Hear" series. I have to admit, playing at an airport was pretty cool.
- We played the reception for Mark Cantor's "Giants of Jazz" series at the JCC. I worked 3 years for this gig!
- We began a new residency @ Le Colonial, "The Lounge Project". Not only have I always wanted to play this joint, but now I get to do it and play all kinds of crazy tunes. I describe it as Casablanca meets Prince.
- We recorded an instrumental album, "Cool and Blue"! It was about 100 degrees inside that studio, but the musicians are the ones who really brought the heat.
In between all of this we did a ton of weddings, parties, swing dances and non-profit events. Memories that will stick with me:
- watching a groom cry tears of joy as his new wife and her friends performed a surprise dance while we played our hearts out;
- walking through the AIDs Memorial Grove the night before World AIDs Day, seeing the names of the departed, then playing a reception ending with a raucous "When the Saints Go Marching In" while the crowd danced, laughed, and cried tears of hope;
- setting up for the Big A** Swing Party on the top floor of the University Club before the dancers arrived and taking a slow dance with my wife to "La Vie en Rose" with no one but the San Francisco skyline as our witness.
Running a band is a ton of work. But the gift of making and giving music is worth every late night, every weekend sacrificed, every hour of preparation. We've already got so many exciting things planned for 2016. But before the year turns, I take this moment, right here, right now, to humbly thank the universe, my musicians, and every one of you who has loved us for a minute, a day, or a year. You don't just make this all possible, you make this beautiful. Much love to you and Happy New Year! xo Josh