Team Demon/Dingus

Close Enough for Jazz

The first TD/D gig is still a ways away, but I am happy to announce the next performance of Kevin McNerney and Friends, next Friday, October 6 at the Broadway Bistro in Carrollton. It'll feature Steven and Colin from TD/D and a few other folks that we're lining up as we speak. I hope you can make it out there, because if we draw a big crowd, it can lead to other gigs. And stay tuned for the next TD/D gig once the October madness is over.

posted by Kev @ 8:43 AM 0 comments

Two NIghts, Two Gigs

We're still a few weeks away from the Triumphant Return of TD/D, but several of us are involved in some things this weekend:

• Tonight, it's the debut performance of the EMANON Jazz Orchestra, a new big band for high school and college students of which I'm a founding co-director (in fact, I'll be in front of the band all night this time, as my colleague will be holding down the lead trumpet chair). Aaron is on lead alto and Steven is on lead trombone, so the TD/D horns will all be there in one way, shape or form. It's at 7:30 at Molina High School, 2355 Duncanville Rd. in Dallas.


• And tomorrow, I'm filling in for a cancelled band at the Broadway Bistro in Carrollton, a place at which I've played several times before, from 7:30-10:30. It looks as though it'll be all the TD/D horns with a different rhythm section, so we're billing it once again as Kevin McNerney and Friends; we hope that a true TD/D gig will materialze sometime within the next month.

I hope you can make it to one of these gigs if you're in the area.

(Cross-posted in slightly different form at The Musings of Kev)

posted by Kev @ 12:38 PM 0 comments

Out of Hibernation

Something amazing happened tonight; we had a TD/D horn rehearsal. (To put things in perspective, a baby that was conceived the last time TD/D performed under that name--not counting a few Kev and Friends gigs in late fall and early spring--would likely be a month old now.) We pretty much spent the time getting our new alto player, Aaron, integrated into the process and tightening up a lot of the harmonies and the more complicated charts. We're hoping to play somewhere soon, using an even more amazing rhythm section than in the past.

It's also quite possible that this site may morph into a MySpace at some point; that way, we won't feel like slackers when we go several months without updating, and we can post tunes up there once we record a proper demo. At any rate, it's great to be doing things under the TD/D name again.

posted by Kev @ 9:35 PM 0 comments

We're Still Here...

...we're just trying to find a time to be in the same place at the same time, and a place to play. Steven has arranged three new charts for us, so we will be back at some point; I'm shooting for early summer, personally. Hang in there!

posted by Kev @ 1:18 PM 0 comments

On the DL for the Moment

In this case, "DL" doesn't mean down-low but rather disabled list, as we wait for Steven to return from the injuries he suffered in his recent wreck. March is a pretty crazy month, but with any luck, we'll return to playing somewhere in April. As always, we thank you for your patience...

posted by Kev @ 7:28 PM 0 comments

Good Gig

The gig at the Bistro went well last night. It wasn't quite as crowded as last time, but we were guessing that it probably would be harder to get people out to a crowded part of town on a Friday night than it had been on a Saturday.

Overall, we were very happy with how everything went; for the most part, things were very tight, even without a chance to rehearse yet again (people being on vacation and the various colleges we're associating with not being open contributed to it this time). Having a previous gig under everyone's belt made the rhythm section gel much better than before, and of course Steven returned to the horn section in seamless fashion. It's good to know that we have the flexibility of doing either alto-tenor-trombone or trumpet-alto-tenor, and other combinations would probably also work well with the things in our book.

Since Steven and I were both on board last night, it raised the question of when the gig is "Kev and Friends" (or possibly some better name) and when it will be TD/D again. We're pretty much of the mind that whenever three TD/D members are on the gig, it can go under that name, but in the meantime, the stuff we've played as Kev and Friends is virtually indistinguishable from the TD/D book. I'd like to get some of our trademark tunes going again, like In Case You Missed It and Foosball, so that's my goal for the next gig, at the Bistro or otherwise.

In the meantime, I'll use this blog as a clearinghouse for news of the group under either name, so stay tuned for the next one.

posted by Kev @ 4:14 PM 0 comments

Back at the Bistro

I've been booked once again at the Broadway Bistro in Carrollton, this time for Friday, January 6. Whether this is full-blown TD/D or "Kev and Friends" depends on whether or not a couple of different people will be playing, but there's a lot of crossover between the two bands anyway, and Steven is definitely on board for this one.

In the meantime, feel free to email me (address on the sidebar) if you have a holiday party or what-not for which you think we'd be a good fit.

posted by Kev @ 9:29 PM 0 comments