So Twelve Bridges is currently recording music for a forthcoming album. Here is just a taste. We recorded this at Soundscape Studios in Royal Oak and this is our first draft mix. I hope you like it! More music is on the way.

A lot. As always, I have a lot of things going and just got off a run of four gigs, with four different acts, in five days. This comes at the end of a productive period where I’ve written and recorded new music with Twelve Bridges (and played the Hamtramck Music Festival), done some choice gigs with my duo partner Chrissy Morgan, and got through a busy St. Patrick’s season with Madigan’s Attic. I’ve also been sitting in with my friends McSpillin here and there, and playing solo shows when I can.

So it’s been busy.

What’s on tap? Well, more gigs, including another Twelve Bridges show at The Cadieux Cafe on June 29. And definitely more recording. We definitely have an album’s worth of music ready to record, we’re just deciding how we want to approach that process and who should be involved. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are some pics from the first half of 2019, in no particular order.

Phote by Michelle Cote

Photo by Mark Allen

Photo by Ashley Harwood

Photo by Patricia Newport

Photo by Glenn Kujansuu

Photo by Christopher Morgan

Photo by Christopher Morgan

Photo by Emma Doppel

Photo by Erick Kozlowski

Photo by Eric Kozlowski

Photo by Eric Kozlowski

Photo by Eric Kozlowski

Photo by Eric Zozlowski

Our debut show was a blast. The Cadieux is one of my favorite places to play, the room was crowded all night, and good vibes were in good supply. My cover band Brothers, Inc opened the show with a fun set (or seemed so). They were followed by one of my favorite local bands, Sold Only as Curio. And they mesmerized the room with their own brand of pop/funk/world music.

Our set kicked of at just over midnight and went pretty smoothly. I felt like my voice was ready to go, but I made it until the end and left the stage proud of what we accompished within a few short months. I can’t wait to write some more music and then hit the studio with this group.

Twelve Bridges debut show at the Cadieux Cafe. Photo by Jessica Bissa

And a bit of video from the show. The mix is pretty off because of where the camera is placed, but you get the idea (I hope).

Twelve Bridges is making it’s debut on Friday, Jan 4 at the Cadieux Cafe in Detroit. It has been great to see things come together in just a few months. We have written and arranged fives new songs from scratch. We’ve adapted a few others songs I’ve written for our band. And we’ve pulled together some very select covers to round out the set for now. And we’re ready to rock.

Stay tuned.

Mark December 29 on your calendars. I’ll be debuting a new band, Twelve Bridges, at the Cadiuex Cafe in Detroit. We’ll be joined by Sold Only as Curio and my cover band Brothers Inc. for the show.

So what kind of band is Twelve Bridges? It’s comprised of me (lead vocals and guitar), Julia Hickling (vocals), Jamie Gawecki (drums), Mark Newport (bass), and Josh Shaughnessy (guitar). We will be playing a few tunes from my solo EP and we’re writing new music to debut at the Cadieux show. The songs are some rock. Some Americana. Some places in between. Jamie and Mark lay down the groove, Julia and I harmonize, and Josh adds that sweet sugar on top.

Stay tuned!

Update: Our show has been pushed back to January 4–the first show under the new ownership.

August 11 was the final gig for my band, Six and the Sevens and also the final Bennyfit for Ben’s Encore–a charity I’m involved with. It was a special night for a lot of reasons–one I’ll never forget. I love every one of those guys. Here is a taste.

You can now purchase North & 32. Obviously you can pick it up at any of my shows, but you can also support my music via the Internet.

To purchase on iTunes, click here.
To purchase on Amazon, click here.

It’s finally time to release my EP, North & 32. I recorded it late last year with Bryan Akcasu but delayed the release while I took care of a pile of other things. Full details and links will be released soon. The release party will be June 1 at my  favorite little Brewery, North Center Brewing Company. I’ll be joined by Chrissy Morgan and perhaps a few other guests. Stay tuned.

Here is the track listing:

1. Summer Morn
2. Sweet Maria
3. Green
4. The MTN Song
5. Don’t Run Away
6. Wonder

Edit: I made a last minute call and decided not to release “Nothing to Say.” The more I listened to it, the less I liked how it fit the rest of the songs on this CD. I replaced it with an instrumental called “Wonder.” I wrote it recently and couldn’t stop playing it. So I recorded it, sent it out to Bryan for some production love, and it will round out the EP.

It has been too long.

Chrissy and I were hitting the local breweries/wineries with what must be one of the most eclectic setlists in town. From the Gin Blossoms to Etta James to Gnarls Barkley to Hank Williams to the Cure to… well, we cover a lot of territory. But last summer she was confronted with some health issues that she needed to address.

And now she’s back! We played our first show together last night at Rochester Mills and we hit the ground running. Look out for more Bruce and Chrissy shows soon!

I now have the final six tracks for my first solo EP, North & 32. The EP will have four originals and two covers and was recorded and mixed with the intention to keep things simple. These are all songs I play when I do solo shows and I only wanted to add relatively subtle things that genuinely enhanced the songs. The songs were produced by the uber-talented Bryan Akcasu from Two Cheers. He was invaluable in making these songs what they are.

Sweet Maria, written by Bruce Farrell and Doug Thomson

Don’t Run Away, written by Bruce Farrell

Now I’m working on CD art and deciding how to distribute the package. Stay tuned!