April 14. 2009 by Mike.

Alright, I get it!… I’ll update my website! Until then, keep I’ll keep you updated via my blog.

Sunday April 26th is the CD Release Event for the Fredonia Jazz Ensemble….big news!

I promise, I’ll update again…soon.

Mike

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November 4. 2008 by Mike.

Hello World…

Sorry I haven’t updated in many months! I have been really busy to say the least.

This past week Groove Factory had a Halloween Eve Gig at EBC. Amazing turn out…and a good time.

This semester I’m co-directing the Fredonia Jazz Ensemble. We are gearing up for a concert this weekend 11/9 8pm Rosch Recital Hall with Mike Dubaniewicz. I was sort of thrust into this spot, as well as the lead alto spot at the beginning of the semester. I have grown leaps and bounds as I learn to manager peers and do behind the scenes music business stuff. We plan to record and release a cd for national distribution sometime in February. Big things are on the horizon. If anything, these experiences should be fruitful when I start teaching in the future.

I’m also the treasurer of MENC….Music Educators National Conference. I’m handling the money for our annual NYSSMA-All-state trip in Rochester. 110+ people with hotels, conference fees, fundraisers and in-house workshops have been keeping me really busy as well.

To top it all off…my senior graduation recital is Sun Nov 16th 1pm in Diers.

I’ll try to keep this blog more updated in the future. The next thing on my agenda is to update the rest of my site, but that could take a while. 

GET OUT AND VOTE!

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April 27. 2008 by Mike.

This semester is rapidly coming to a close.

Groove Factory has enjoyed a lot of success this semester and has garnered a large following. Unfortunately, we will be taking the summer off and coming back together in the fall with a few new members. Future plans include increasing our song book, local and regional shows as well as possible cruise ship shows by next summer.

I’ll be available to teach privately starting Mid-May.

Hopefully I’ll be teaching, gigging with Nik and working at Target this summer.

Tonight is my semester ending Latin Jazz Concert. It should be “spicy.”

- MC

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March 9. 2008 by Mike.

Thursday 3/6 Groove Factory played their first gig, it went awesome. We opened up for a band called Endive (who were also great.) We played about an hour and people dug what we played. We covered songs by Michael Jackson and Earth Wind and Fire, among others.Overall, Everything went great. We are currently preparing for our special St. Patrick’s Day show on Monday 3/17. Details to come in the next few days.We are auditioning a few additional vocalists to help cover some of our songs. With a songbook as diverse as ours, we need a few people who can cover a lot of stuff.

Thanks for all the support everyone has given me!

Mike 

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March 2. 2008 by Mike.

March is a crazy month for me. So far everything has been going smoothly. I’m positive this month will be a little more stressful but it should be managible. This week is a little busy with tests and performances. On March 4th @ 8pm in King Concert Hall is the ACB performance. March 6th @10pm the Groove Factory is opening up for Endive at BJ’s. It should be a blast

 The direction of the G Factory is moving away from the smooth jazz (although we are working on smooth jazz for our own enjoyment.) Instead this is turning into a project “for the people.” Basically we are going to do covers of popular music. Honestly, no one is really looking to book jazz acts in Fredonia since they don’t draw enough. How many bars have jazz? Bars and Jazz in the same sentence is an oxymoron by itself.

March will come in like a Lion and out like Lamb….since March ends with spring break/Easter!

That’s all I’ve got for you now folks. I’ll update after the show this week

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February 25. 2008 by Mike.

A few updates

- I am no longer part of a project many of you have all heard about involving a musician from Niagara Falls. For professional reasons, I won’t comment on this. The positives of this are that I made a few good contacts.

- March 6 Groove Factory is splitting a bill at BJ’s with the group Endive

- March 17- St. Patrick’s Day at EBC w/ Groove Factory….ignore the Pope and his concern for keeping holy week holy and come groove with the band.

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February 8. 2008 by Mike.

Last night we had a 3 hour rehearsal for the hottest funk/fusion/RnB band in Fredonia. The name is Groove Factory. I haven’t heard or played music like this ever. It is going to be awesome. Update: Dates keep getting changed…first gig is soon…TBA\

Grove Factory Poster

- Mike Casey

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February 3. 2008 by Mike.

I just completed the first week of the spring semester without a hitch. For those of you who don’t know, I transfered schools and switched majors from BioEngineering into Music after completing a full year. It has been a whirlwind of sorts since I made the big change. I have decided to try to be positive about this semester, more so than some of my previous ones.

A couple things could turn into really good opportunities this semester.

First Off…My jazz instructor/mentor Bruce Johnstone is giving me the chance to work with his curricular jazz ensemble. Bruce is an accomplished (to say the least) bari saxophonist who has toured with the likes of Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson. He has such a positive outlook on music. The groups he conducts are always real positive in nature. He eliminates all the petty interpersonal competition that tends to bring groups down by giving positive feedback about each players personal performance. On Wednesdays I’ll be doing some sectionals and conducting work with the band

Next…I’m playing soprano saxophone in the Latin Jazz Ensemble. It is rare to find a group that utilizes the soprano regularly. I started to fall in love with Latin jazz music when I was at Binghamton University. Mike Carbone (director) brought in some jazzers who were living the life as Latin jazz musicians. Latin music is all about the energy. I really have a lot of fun playing with this group. We have a concert this Monday!

Lastly, I am part of a start-up jazz/funk/RnB group. Our first gig is Feb 22 at Ellicotville Brewing Company on Main St. in Fredonia. If all goes well, this group could become a mainstay until I graduate.

Of course I have a couple Nik shows but that is more of a summer time job for me. It is tough to travel during the school year. Plus, I have limited time because of my own practicing,etc.

I’ll try to write in this blog… at the least weekly…so check back often!

Musically,

Mike

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February 1. 2008 by Mike.

Hi Folks! This is my first attempt at “blogging.” I want to use this blog to update everyone on my day to day/week to week activities. I also want to put in some cool saxophone info/tips as I go along. Everything is fair game here. However, I will not tolerate any negativity.

So ends my first blog….check back often for updates!

Mike

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