trisloth's blog

I'm trying out Blog It, the new service from Six Apart that updates multiple blogs at once. If this works, it should update my Facebook, Vox, Livejournal, Twitter, WordPress, and Facebook Musician Page Notes all at once...

Long live the Internet!

Cal Robbins has just celebrated his second birthday.  For a kid with Type I Spinal Muscular Atrophy, that is a huge accomplishment.  In honor of this milestone, a bunch of musicians are holding a series of auctions to benefit this son of Jawbox frontman J. Robbins.

I've joined the fray and will auction off a cello arrangement of the song of the winner's choice.  The auction ends in four days, so hop to it!

Also, I have a show that is almost confirmed for Sunday, February 17, at The Lab in Alexandria, VA.  Several other talented local cellists will join for this concert... more information soon.

The album is out! It is available through iTunes, eMusic, Napster, and others... and if you prefer a physical CD, you can order one through PayPal as well by visiting my MySpace page.

Here are the links to download:

The Boston Phoenix gave the album a mention in their news roundup, and music blog loud.robot gave it 4/5 stars in a wonderfully well-written review.

This blog will likely move to gordonwithers.com once the domain transfer is complete.

The album will be officially available on Tuesday, December 18.  I'm still waiting to see exactly which online retailers will carry it -- so far, eMusic is definitely on board.  In the meantime, you can download or order a CD from the MySpace page.

The PR campaign is also in full swing.  My favorite music magazine, The Big Takeover, got a copy several months ago, so they are the first to review it.  The following review is published in Big Takeover's issue #61, which comes out this week:

"If New Jersey’s Nutley Brass can give The Ramones and Misfits the horns & brass treatment, and if U2 hits can be “lullabized,” why not compose a cello album comprised of… Jawbox songs? Enter Withers (AKA Trisloth). A few years ago, a smattering of his cello-jacked Jawbox covers made the rounds on the Internet. At the beginning of 2007, Withers re-cut many of the tracks for this collection as a benefit release for Jawbox frontman, J. Robbins, whose infant son Cal was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Even for the most ardent aficionado of classical and/or chamber music, familiarity with the original Jawbox incarnations of these 12 songs (which by the way, span the group’s four albums) is a prerequisite for any genuine appreciation. That aside, this thoughtfully crafted, D.C. punk-related oddity is ultimately for a good cause."

(Definitely check out The Big Takeover -- it's the only magazine I subscribe to and has hundreds of informative reviews and stories in every issue)

Also, look for mini-interviews coming soon in the Washington City Paper, the Boston Phoenix, and BostonNow.

The show at Brooklyn's Union Pool on November 2nd was a blast.  It was the first time i had ever played any of the Jawbox cello arrangements with other cellists.  Somehow, through the Cello Mafia Grapevine^TM, I was hooked up with Brooklynites Isabel Castellvi and Seth Woods, and I also recruited old friend (and former roommate) Jonah Sacks (Chris Brokaw, Dresden Dolls, etc) for the fourth slot.  I spent countless nights struggling with Finale music software, and finally sent everyone parts for seven songs at nearly the last minute.

It actually was the last minute when we all met up at Isabel's apartment for the one and only rehearsal.  Due entirely to the amazing musicianship and awesome attitudes of my fellow cellists, everything came together perfectly.  At Union Pool itself, we were blessed with The Best (and most accommodating) Soundman Ever, who ran around for 45 minutes straight to ensure that four cellists, each with a different amplification style, all sounded great in the small rock club.

The show itself was awesome, and the crowd's response was incredible, especially considering we were the opening act.  There is nothing quite like the sound of a live cello ensemble -- so much power and soul all at once.  I can't wait to do it again.

The stage was really small, but we all fit!  (Photo by J. Nordberg)

l to r: jonah sacks, isabel castellvi, seth woods, gordon withers

Hey all, I will be performing some of the Jawbox cello tracks this Friday at Union Pool in Brookly, NY:

11/02/2007 08:30 PM - Union Pool
484 Union Ave
Brooklyn, New York 11211
US
$7.00

Union Pool, not to be confused with Union Hall, is quite the hipster joint in Williamsburg. The Jawbox Cello Ensemble (featuring Jonah Sacks, Isabel Castellvi, and Seth Woods) will be opening for longtime pal Rotary Club’s CD release party. Also joining Rotary Club on the bill will be Marcellus Hall (formerly of Railroad Jerk)

Copies of Jawbox on Cello: A Benefit for Cal Robbins, can now be ordered via Paypal by either going here:

http://www.myspace.com/threetoedmusic and clicking "Add to Cart" in the "About" section, or by going here:

http://trisloth.livejournal.com/profile and clicking the "Add to Cart" button in the middle of the page.

Please let me know if you have any problems with ordering.  It should be configured so that you are required to enter a shipping address.  You should also be able to order multiple copies in one transaction.

Thanks!

- Gordon

[For a chronicle of the last two benefit shows (and a link to Paul Roub's photos), see yesterday's post]

Much thanks go to Cathy Seeley for these photos:

Alex Nelson of Frenjen:

The Fantastic 5:

Paul Roub:

playing with Frenjen/F5:

This past weekend I played a second benefit show for Cal Robbins, and I just realized I never posted pictures from the first one.

The Funky Buddha Lounge in Boca Raton was gracious enough to host both shows, and both were a blast.  The first show was held on June 16, and five acts played -- we raised over $500 to split between the SMA Foundation and Cal's fund.  The CD's arrived the day before, and we sold a bunch -- however, there was a misprint -- a photo of Cal underneath the CD tray was partially obscured, so I haven't been selling the CD's except at the two shows.  As soon as the sleeve reprints arrive (hopefully today!) I will put up a Paypal page for ordering copies.

Here is Paul Roub's photoset from June 16: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulroub/sets/72157600382862890/ (let me know if the guest pass expires).  Paul came all the way down from Melbourne to play a set, and we ended up pulling off an impromptu version of Jawbox's "Cooling Card" after rehearsing it once before the show.  I also joined Alex's band Frenjen for their entire set.  Since three other cellists weren't readily available to instantly memorize parts to 8 Jawbox songs, I finished the night playing a set of tracks from the CD against a backing tape (with the "vocal" tracks removed). It ended up working a lot better than I expected.  Alex went above and beyond the call of duty again at the end of the night, when we pulled out a surprise encore of Metallica's "One" -- the Apocalyptica version rearranged for cello and acoustic guitar.  THERE WILL BE A VIDEO OF THIS posted soon, I promise!!!

The Funky Buddha asked me back for a second show, so last friday (July 6th) I played two solo sets of mostly classical music, with the Jawbox stuff at the end.  It was strange playing two Bach suites, Hindemith, Cassado, and a Harold Meltzer piece at a bar, but it worked (sort of).  People seemed to enjoy it -- at one point, a crazy, immaculately dressed Italian guy bought ten CD's and handed them out to random people, while demanding that I play The Godfather Theme.  In between sets a friend downloaded a midi version of it to his phone, which I learned and played on the spot (to the guy's delight).

More pictures from both shows to come soon!