JOHN SULLIVAN BRIGADE: News Update

As SULLY'S MUSIC VIEW (the Brigade's five-year weekly news blog) shut down as Sully prepares the Brigaders for the BIG project, he wanted to update everyone here on plans for JSB3 in 2010.

The JSB plans on recording and mixing the project this summer and releasing the two-CD record in late October (around NYC's CMJ Music Festival in New York City) with the current five-man lineup with some possible added musical guests. A special release event will hopefully be held in December.

If all goes according to plan, the JSB will then support their new release by kicking it off at SXSW 2011 in Austin, Texas in late March 2011, followed later on with several weekend East Coast dates beginning in April 2011 and running throughout the 2011 summer and early fall seasons.

There may be some special private JSB-related events happening, but this is the extent of the JSB news for 2010. Feel free to drop Sully a line via the Contact section for further questions.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing and hearing from you later this year!

all the best,
Sully, Glover, Russ, Marsh, Brian

The JSB finally returns to quintet form as Brian Caltabiano joins the Brigaders. He got our playbook and discs and likes what he hears. Brian's a music teacher and will be alternating between bass and acoustic guitar duties as well as providing backing vocals. Just in time for 2010!

The JSB is making it onto the big screen, as a film documentary crew interviewed the band and filmed down in "The Barracks" during rehearsal for an upcoming 2010 summer film about the local music scene. And....ACTION!

Our new digital single "I'm With Everyone At Christmas" is NOW available on www.CDBaby.com. Go check it out!!!

Another first for the Long Island rockers, as the band records its first-ever Christmas song over at Sabella Studios. Entitled "I'm With Everyone At Christmas", the JSB will be distributing a limited amount of CDs as gifts to selected fans and radio stations that play Christmas music beginning in November into December 25.

Doug Kwartler, at whose Hollow Body Studios we worked on our second record, will assist the JSB in backing vocals duties for the upcoming JSB3 project. We are also planning on doing the vocal tracks there as well. Doug did backing vocals on "This Is My Time" on the last CD and it went effortlessly, so we're hoping he will enhance the work that Sully and Russ will be doing on JSB3.

After some discussion and exploration, a 25th and final tune will now be included in the John Sullivan Brigade's upcoming JSB3 'concept album. It has not been performed live.

In addition, the two instrumental songs that start off each act on JSB3 (and originally slated as solo performances by Sully) are now in rehearsal/rearranging mode with the entire band. These songs will be 'recorded introductions' for future live performances.

On July 9 at Mirelle's on Long Island, the John Sullivan Brigade gave the JSB3 2010 concept album a two-set, 22 song 'test run' at Mirelle's on July 9. Making his live debut with the JSB was our new sax player Steve Marsh. All the bells and whistles were present, including mandolin, pedal steel and even some 'a cappella' vocal work. The entire performance was videotaped and recorded separately. We'll let you know what it sounded like.

It is our distinct pleasure to welcome into BrigadeLand our new sax player Steve Marsh. Steve's a music teacher in our neck of the woods and will fulfill our needs on a weekly basis for rehearsals and any live shows...he's already working on our upcoming project down in "The Barracks"...so welcome!!

Long Island's music magazine Good Times put the Brigaders' photo on their April 28-May 11 cover, which also included an inside story update along with another photo to boot. Free band advertising is the best!

Yes, the music press is supporting the Brigaders' efforts as Newsday puts us on their list of "Local Live" recommendations alongside music pros Aretha Franklin, Missing Persons, Shadows Fall and Zebra. The JSB will be doing 1/3 old JSB stuff, 1/3 inventive covers and 1/3 from the upcoming JSB3 concept album.

The John Sullivan Brigade has snagged NYC area rock music producer Rob "Void" Caprio to develop JSB3, its two-disc, rock concept album. Void is a two-decade engineer and producer who's worked on major artists' projects (Carly Simon, Peter Gabriel, Live, Megadeth) as well as L.I.'s hottest band last year, Push Play.

Void's first project has been the successful conversion of the Brigade's 20th century rehearsal space into a 21st century recording studio (the "Barracks"), complete with the Zoom 16 hard disk multitrack digital recorder for the JSB's pre-production efforts.

In keeping with one of Sully's music New Year's resolutions, the band's website look has changed while carrying over its previous content. Hope you like it!

Newsday, in their Local Live music section that runs every Tuesday, shocked the JSB as they listed us as "THE JOHN SULLIVAN BRIGADE; Long Island's own bar-band legends" as we did our best-sounding gig yet at Mirelle's in Westbury.

Drummer Steve joined Sully on vocals and guitar/piano at 2008's CD co-producer Doug Kwartler's studio for some "unofficial" demos of JSB3.

Contact Sully on HOW to make donations to the band!

At The Great South Bay Music Festival's three-day, 40 band event, the JSB fulfilled a goal of playing an outdoor summer festival with other musical acts such as hard rockers Blue Oyster Cult, folk & spiritual singing legend Odetta, and the jam sounds of the Mickey Hart (of Grateful Dead fame) Band. Good times!!

The JSB brought the neighborhood locals together for music and laughs (except for one cranky old witch who called the cops twice!) at the 2nd annual Brigade Backyard Bash on the creepy Friday the 13th (of June). We caught all 17 songs on tape and video (including the debut of one song from the JSB3 project) with hopes of doing something with this material in the future.

The summer edition of Long Island PULSE Magazine has editor Steve Matteo saying that the JSB is "one of the best bands on Long Island"...read the entire review in our PRESS section!

Sully has been slowly unloading to the Brigaders a few samples of the new songs slated for the next project. The goal will be to have the band's demo recording sessions for JSB3.

The John Sullivan Brigade continued their performances on the big, loud stage gig at The Nutty Irishman and the small, acoustic set at Pisces Cafe -- all videotaped and ready for a future project!

As part of promoting Sully's second rock novel, OPPORTUNITY ROCKING, the frontman (courtesy of Newsday's article about the event -- SEE our Press & Lyrics section) gave a short talk and Q&A at Long Island's largest indie book store Book Revue -- followed by the John Sullivan Brigade performing a FULL BAND acoustic version of "Shouldn't Be This Way" for the crowd.

Sully, George and Russ had some fun out at an open mic show, playing one acoustic song on acoustic guitar, fretless bass and mandolin (Shouldn't Be This Way) for an attentive but rain-drenched crowd in Suffolk County at Deepwells. Nice!

On short notice, The John Sullivan Brigade was asked to play at the reopened Munchaba Lounge on Long Island and made the most of a one-set show!

The John Sullivan Brigade brought their gear into a nearby school and shot their first-ever video. Featuring the song, "In Control", the band has released it into the ever-popular YouTube video web service.