Chords for Cures is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that books concerts, with all proceeds benefiting children's charities in and around the Philadelphia area.
Charles Ramsey - Love Don't Have To Feel So Foreign
I recently teamed up with fellow State College/Penn State transplant Charles Ramsey for his latest album, Love Don't Have To Feel So Foreign. Charles is a talented singer/songwriter currently living in New York City, where he's been sharing the stage with the likes of William Gruff. The record caught the attention of The Big Takeover's Mark Suppanz, who put it at #7 in his top ten during the summer of 2012:
It’s a follow-up to his mellifluous 2009 debut LP Good Morning & Good Night, and it again shows off his keen melodic sense and lovingly-crafted pop. Each full-bodied composition evokes a different feel; see the country-flecked “Architects in Love,” the Beatles-esque “Carmen,” or the melancholy “On Your Own Time,” to name the first three. It’s very nice!
I contributed drums to two of his tunes, the aforementioned "On Your Own Time" as well as "My Guardian Angel".
Listen | Buy on iTunes
Brittany Opperman - Brittany Opperman
I recorded drums for Brittany's debut release back in 2012.
Debut recording from the talented Country singer/songwriter. In early 2012, a producer from Philly's Studio A asked me to track drums to some acoustic guitar demos from Harrisburg. Some time later, Brittany's record was released - and it sounds great!
Mia Johnson and the Jawnsons [COMING SOON]
In this video I tell you about the recording set-up for the first session to record four of my new original songs (more about the songs in the next Vlog) at Buckeye Studios with my band, The Jawnsons on 10-28-12!
Johnny Showcase - Sensual, Parts 1&2
Dig the new video from Johnny Showcase! Directed by Rachel Gordon, and filmed in Philadelphia. It's already been enjoyed by some of Philly's top reviewers:
“Sensual, Parts 1 & 2″ is tacky and more than a little ridiculous…but one also gets the sense that these folks in the technicolor suit jackets and swarthy shades are 100% serious. I mean, the song is a stone groove with a catchy refrain... to play the funk this believably, you’ve got to mean it...
-WXPN's The Key
"Bravo to all who were involved! You just made the world a little more enjoyable."
-The Deli Philadelphia
"I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that this group is using their talents to make things as ridiculous as this."
-What's Protocol?
Check out the articles from The Key, The Deli, and What's Protocol?, and enjoy the video. Stay smarmy!
Visit www.johnnyshowcase.com for more info
![Help fund the new Johnny Showcase record! [Updated]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5159a2fde4b01288f25138bb/1444672505770-E3YWBTV7PCKV9B1Y4I25/image-asset.jpeg)
Alex Radus - Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat
I played on Alex Radus's contribution to this great compilation. 13 Philadelphia bands take on a Bob Dylan tune in tribute to his septuagenarianism. Take it from Lance Davis, the producer that put this project together:
2011 was a special year for songwriting legend Bob Dylan. It not only marked the year of his 70th birthday but it was also the 50 year anniversary of his first recording. Being a huge fan of his work, and a singer/songwriter myself, I was really inspired to put together and produce a tribute compilation featuring Philadelphia Artists. In 2009 I met a group of engineers from Racetrack Studios out of Gettysburg PA that had just opened a new facility in the old Indre studio space in South Philadelphia, and in 2010 I decided to partner up with them and record it there.
We tracked a great trio version of Dylan's classic "Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat" from Blonde on Blonde. Featuring Alex Radus on guitars and vocals, and Dan Manchester on bass.
Alex Radus - Hustle and a Bustle
The single release of an original holiday tune, featuring the Alex Radus Trio: Alex Radus - guitar and vocals; Dan Manchester - bass; Charlie Heim - drums. Written by Charles Ramsey and Basia Grocholski, Produced by Lance Davis.
William Gruff - William Gruff
Click to listen to the full album online
The debut album from William Gruff. Featuring many songs previously heard from Philadelphia's Mountain Man, this sprawling album hits all the right spots.
Jump with Jill - Goin' on a Journey: Songs for Every Body
Featuring some inventive bucket-drumming, this tune is part of the recent record Goin' on a Journey from Rockstar Nutritionist Jill Jayne. It was a great time making a racket, thanks in no small part to the percussion mastery of Spencer Inch.
From Jump with Jill's website: Goin on a Journey: Songs for Every Body was released in 2010 as the follow-up to Get Me Goin, this time for preschool-aged kids. It was considered for a 2012 Grammy nomination for Best Children's Album. The Journey travels to healthy choruses about fueling your choo choo train with healthy foods, giving new foods a second try, doing jumping jacks like Jill, dancing The Water Polka, wearing sunscreen when you're having fun in the sun, getting your bubbles on at bath time, brushing your teeth before bedtime, and dreaming about doing it all again tomorrow. The 15-track CD comes in a recycled digipak that includes the lyrics on a 10-panel fold out poster.
Megalodon - Summer Sessions
The water's safe...
An unreleased set of untreated studio cuts, replete with unfettered ferocity.
A prehistoric beast of a band, featuring Greg Johnson on saxophone and EWI, Scott Kruser on guitars, Erek Kapusta on keyboards, Mike Dougherty on bass, and myself hitting things.
Formed in 2007, played some shows around Pennsylvania.
Released debut album, Edible , in 2009.
Went back into the studio in 2011, and tracked some new material. They're unfinished tracks - this is the band raw and unaffected. Featuring compositions from Greg Johnson, Scott Kruser, and Erek Kapusta.
Recorded with Dave Villani
Marigold Opera - Marigold Opera [EP]
Click to listen to the full EP online
A unique chamber group based in NYC.
This is a recording that I engineered, mixed and mastered in half a dozen rooms in Philadelphia and New York. Featuring original compositions by Matt Schlatter and Nathan Cooke.
Released in 2011, this recording features an NYC ensemble that combines the instrumentation of an eclectic classical-styled chamber group with the voice of a singer/songwriter.
Composed and Arranged by Matt Schlatter and Nathan Cooke
Engineered, Produced by Charlie Heim
Logo by Victoria Neiman
Nathan Cooke - vibes, Charlie Heim - drums, Matt Schlatter - voice and piano, Chris Loxley - cello, Mike Cemprola - reeds, Kiersten Cunningham - violin, and Bonnie Shappell - horn.
Charles Ramsey - Cashing in on Christmastime
The New Dimension - Cool Jazz: Music from Penn State
As part of an exhibit at the Palmer Museum of Art entitled "New York Cool", Penn State University broadcast this special from the Museum's lobby. Featuring classic standards and original compositions, The New Dimension performs a set inspired by the visual and performing art from this formative era of creativity.
Sure Happy It's Tuesday by Dan Yoder
Minor Swing by Django Reinhardt
Somewhere by Leonard Bernstein arr. Brubeck
Solstice by Steven Hopkins
Petite Fleur by Sidney Bechet
Strollin' by Horace Silver
Missing Tooth by Dan Yoder
There Is No Greater Love by Isham Jones
“Jazz combo featured on WPSU’s “Music from Penn State”
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (February 12, 2009) — Tune into WPSU-TV on Thursday for the start of another acclaimed season of “Music from Penn State.” The program features a variety of musical styles and “Dan Yoder and the New Dimension” kicks things off with an evening of “cool jazz” on Penn State Public Television. “Music from Penn State” airs at 9 p.m. Thursday and repeats at 7 p.m. Sunday on WPSU-TV.
The jazz combo is made up of Penn State faculty and graduate students, including Dan Yoder, director of Jazz Studies, on saxophone; Mac Himes on guitar; Adam Kurland at piano; Ron Lange on bass; and Charlie Heim on drums.
The “Music from Penn State” series, now entering its third season, showcases the musical talent of Penn State’s School of Music.”
Megalodon - Edible
The debut album from a Jazz/Fusion/Funk/Classical beast of a band.
Megalodon has been in gestation for years now, mostly through various groups I've been in with my good pal Greg Johnson. In the summer of 2009, the five members first convened: Greg Johnson, Saxophone; Scott Kruser, Guitar; Erek Kapusta, Keyboards; Michael Dougherty, Bass; Yours Truly, Drums. Armed with some fresh charts by Greg and Scott, we played our first show EVER at the Central PA Festival of the Arts in State College - on a sunny Friday afternoon at the Festival Shell. We performed around SC a few more times in the ensuing days, and then went our separate ways for a full year.
Our devotion to the prehistoric beast pulled us back together in the summer of 2010, but this time with an agenda: record an album, and get this thing going. In June, we did just that - spent a week rehearsing our faces off, and two days with Dave Villani in Altoona recording. The result is Edible, a record of epic proportions that we're quite proud of. We released it in October of 2010, and are currently hocking it at all of the finest retailers:
Big Band: The University of the Arts
A swingin' studio recording from the 2008 University of the Arts Big Band, featuring the music of Count Basie.
Dogfish Duo - Live at State College's Best Music Fest
The March Hare - Mister Nimbus
The debut album from Philadelphia's own progressive-agressive spazz-rock group. Yeah, oh yeah. Our first - and only - full length album. Recorded over the course of a couple years, this album was a labor of many things for The March Hare. Featuring:
Zack Guy-Frank - guitar, vocals
Jon Hafer - keyboards, guitar, vocals
Alicia Ritter - violin, vocals
Ryan Hyde - bass, vocals
Charlie Heim - drums, percussion
The March Hare wants to make you laugh, cry, dance, clap your hands, and occasionally sit back and say 'woah.' We're silly when we're sad, and crazy when we're on stage. We make our music with our hearts and our minds. We make music because we can't imagine not making music, because without it we'd burst at the seams with sorrow, rage, love, and limitless joy and awe at the living world. We are explorers, experimenters, gatherers of new influences, and we do not sit still. The March Hare of yesterday is not The March Hare of today, is not The March Hare of tomorrow. We will have failed only if we have ceased to grow. You have found The March Hare. If you like it, tell your friends. If you hate it, tell your enemies.
The band lived from 2004 till 2009, and culminated in the release of this album and its accompanying video:
ust cos you're a diehard fan, here's an EXCLUSIVE live recording from our CD release show on February 6, 2009. This is raw, unedited audio that captures the frenetic energy of a March Hare show.
Rumor has it there might even be a newer recording in the ether...
Juno Day - Blue Milk [EP]
The debut recording from the Penn State/Philadelphia band. Listen
Josh Sager Quintet - Introducing...
A lively jazz recording from the South Jersey guitarist and his band.
Outgroove - Last Night in Pennsylvania
