Getting excited about Week #2 of the Songwriter Residency over at the Somerville Armory? No? You’re not? Well, how about this to whet your appeties…

Here is video of “First Saturday” written by Sarah Rabdau and myself:

And here is “Heart Unbroken” by Mike Mirabella and me:

Thanks a bunch to Sophia Cacciola for the video!

After all the preparation, frantic scheduling of songwriting sessions, and laundering of hot pink shirts, it was finally time last Thursday for the Songwriting Residency at the Somerville Armory to begin. Some highlights:

- We arrived at the venue for load-in only to find that the Armory parking lot was full. Why was it full? Because there was a yoga chanting event scheduled for the big room. Of course there was. That’s the thing about Somerville – maybe you can get a few folks out to a rock and roll show, but you’ll always sell a chanting event right the frig out.

- We also learned that although the Somerville Armory’s beer and wine license has been approved, it has not yet been issued. Furthermore, the approval of the license meant that the days of the temporary one-night licenses could no longer be obtained. So in a rare moment of actual irony, the Somerville Armory’s liquor license was preventing us from drinking.

- Before the show, I spent the majority of my non-drinking time chatting with Keith from Scamper’s 5-year old son Jason. The subject of the conversation was “What if everyone suddenly forgot how to do everything?” As it turns out, they’d just sit around and go “Duh…” That kid blew my fucking mind.

- On first was Mike Mirabella, drummer extraordinaire of The Rationales and The Future Everybody. And by the “first,” I literally mean first, as it was his first solo singing performance ever. And Mike was, shall we say, a little on the nervous side. When he found out that there was no beer on the premises, three of us had to hold him down so he didn’t go around the corner to buy some oxys just to take the edge off.

Mike Mirabella rocks the Armory

Once he got started, it turned out there was no need to fret. Mike gave the performance of a veteran. The songwriting was poptastic and his singing voice has never sounded better. He even managed to squeeze in a little banter in between racing through his songs.

When it was time for our song, Mike was good and warmed up. We played “Heart Unbroken,” the song we wrote only a few days before the performance. Our new song was warmly received by the crowd and I was very pleased with how it came out. Overall, I couldn’t have been prouder of Mike’s performance.

Just a couple of handsome dudes playing sad songs at an Armory

- When it was time for my set, I had realized that I had spent so much time working on the collaborations that I had neglected my own set. Luckily, I stumbled my way through a few pop songs, trying to drown out the chanting coming from the next room. When things got a little to zen for my liking, I told Buddha where to stick it. I’m a class act.

Bringing it

- After my set, I brought Sarah RabDAU up to perform our song, a heartbreak ballad entitled “First Saturday.” Playing music with Sarah was, as always a joy and a pleasure. She even wore pink patent leather shoes to match my stage outfit. What a sport!

Sarah and me emoting

- Sarah’s set was predictably terrific. She is such a monster talent that I have no idea how she writes songs in the way she does. She strikes that balance in which she is able to be musically artistic and risk-taking without coming off as pretentious or ironic. She’s the real deal, folks.

The lovely Sarah

Overall, a tremendous night of music and fun. But wait – there’s more! We’re going to do it again this Thursday with Jason Dunn of The Luxury and Magen Tracy of St. Helena.

[Photos by Gonzalo Plaza]

Here it is – Night 1 of my May residency. Here’s the info:

Somerville Armory
8pm $7 All ages
with Sarah Rabdau and Mike Mirabella (solo debut)

Drop on by! It promises to be a lot of fun.

You remember that time when Mr. T was at the mall and you kept saying “Mr. T will be at the mall all day, so I’ll go down later” and you kept putting it off and putting it off and when you finally went to the mall Mr. T was gone?  Remember how disappointed you were, Homer?

Don’t let that happen to you again, my friends. The Songwriter Residency at the Somerville Armory begins this Thursday night. Come on by for one of the more unique lineups in Boston music with the scintillating Sarah RabDAU, myself, and the solo debut of Mike Mirabella of The Future Everybody and The Rationales.

You will also hear the world premieres of both “First Saturday” by Sarah Rabdau and Brendan Boogie as well as “Heart Unbroken” by Mike Mirabella and Brendan Boogie. Two new songs, three full sets, lots of surprises – come on down to night 1 of my residency. I’ll be very excited to see you. I’ll probably say hi and maybe even hug you, depending upon how well we know each other. I’m not going to get too forward or anything. I promise the appropriate amount of body contact.

Come on by and check out some great music at this unique venue. Only $7. Doors at 8pm. And the Armory now has beer and wine! Hooray!

While the Brendan Boogie Songwriter Residency at the Somerville Armory doesn’t begin til next week (every Thursday in May as a matter of fact), the songwriting sessions have begun.  In order to bring you my lovelies into the process, I am going to do my best to document the stories behind the collaborations.  My first songwriting session was with the vivacious Sarah RabDAU.

I first met Sarah during last year’s WBCN Rock and Rumble.  As I stood at the back of the Middle East Upstairs and patiently listened to some mutual friends heap praise upon her band for advancing to the semi-finals, I said to her – who I had just met, mind you – “I heard your band was so bad that the CDC considered shutting the Middle East down entirely.”  Keep in mind – I hadn’t even seen her band’s performance.  I was just being a dick to a complete stranger.

Luckily, Sarah happens to be a very cool chick, so she got that I was just kidding and we spent the next few hours watching bands and busting each other’s balls.  (Don’t let the sweet smile fool you – girlfriend can go).  By the end of the night, there was no question:  Brendan Boogie and Sarah RabDAU – the music scene’s unlikeliest new best buddies.

So when I came up with the idea for this residency, Sarah was one of the first people I approached.  Our musical styles are drastically different, so I thought it would be a fun challenge for both of us to try to meld something together.  I wasn’t wrong – we had two songwriting sessions at her house and ended up not only having a blast, but coming up with a ballad of heartbreak and regret entitled “First Saturday.”

After the last session, I gchatted with Sarah about the project:

Brendan:  First off, I can’t believe you have never written a song with anyone before. I’m so honored you let me be your first.

Sarah: I write in fits of inspiration, so the idea has always frightened me.  But I knew you were a song machine so i thought ‘why not’?

Brendan:  Was it any different than you expected?

Sarah: Hmmmm. Yes and no.  I am familiar with your style and preferences in song structure, et.  But I was still surprised that people write songs in formulas. I know it happens, but I had never done it before. I found it terribly fascinating.

Brendan:  Oh yeah, I’m all about the formula.

Sarah: It’s really very interesting.

Brendan:  I was interested in how you work as well. I got the impression you cared a lot about point of view of the voice of the singer. You are very tuned in to how certain words and ideas sound coming from a woman’s voice.  That’s obviously something I don’t think about very much.

Sarah: I think that stems from a lot of different things. When I was a kid I was always encouraged to sing, but if you hear tapes back I was dreadful. I had decided that the only way I could deal with my voice is if I could define it by character.  To me a vocal performance has to be done in a character or it’s not believable.  It also probably comes from the fact that I have a rather ‘girlish’ voice and I love ballsy girl voices.

Brendan: I’ve been told I have a very ballsy girl voice.

Sarah: I was thinking the same thing.  A girlish voice can’t sing about the same things as a male can or a ballsy girl voice.  Lots of subjects can be heard as pathetic or sappy.

Brendan:  Like my heartbreak.

Sarah:  Yes, especially like your heartbreak.  I can sing about heartbreak, but the lyrics have to be fantastic and visual.

Brendan: So what do you think of the final product?

Sarah: I’m pleased with the product.  It’s outside my realm, it’s catchy, and it was insanely fun to make.  I would have loved to spend a few more months writing the lyrics, but alas…. I think too much.

Brendan: Writing on a deadline is really fun for me for that reason. You can’t spend endless hours tweaking every lyric.  It’s kind of like “Does it get the point across? Good. We’re moving on.”  Not that I do spend all that much time tweaking.  Songwriting is kind of a volume business for me.

Sarah: Ugh. That’s the part I hated. There are so many ways to say something, the key is coming up with the best option. The one phrase that can relate to people, seem so everyday, but is always overlooked.  I am definitely not about volume.

Brendan: I just get bored of what I’m doing so I want to finish it and move on to the next thing. I also get distracted easily by jangling keys.

Sarah:  Haha. I can stare out the window for hours.

Brendan:  The reason I knew I would enjoy songwriting with you is that you are a person that takes the music seriously but doesn’t take yourself seriously.

Sarah: That is definitely true. And I felt the same way, but without the part about you taking the music seriously.

Brendan: Ha ha.  I don’t take anything seriously.  Imagine how great I’d be if I actually tried!

Sarah: Galaxies would explode from awesome. You should stay the same way.

Brendan: True, I don’t want anyone to get hurt.  I think on May 6 we’re going to cement our legacy as Boston’s most lovable musical odd couple.

Sarah:  I would hope so. It would be nice to be appreciated for this most excellent talent we have. Oddness.

Brendan:  There was definitely some magic happening. Any chance of working with me again?

Sarah: Yes, of course. I’ll pull out all the stops next time.  I don’t know what that means.

Brendan:  Not ALL the stops. Leave a couple of stops in.

Sarah: Just you wait, Brendan. Our next song’s going to have, like, 6 chords in it, and be in 8/9.

Brendan: Will a few of the lyrics I wrote actually make the cut?

Sarah: Absolutely not.  Okay, maybe a few.  Just don’t make me play in 8/9. I don’t know how to do that.

Brendan: Yeah, me neither.

Sarah: How did this experience vary from person to person?

Brendan: Well, I’ve only written four out of the eight so far. It may be coincidence, but the two I’ve written with the two women (you and Magen Tracy) are about much more raw emotional content.  Whereas with the guys, the process seems to be more about being clever than evocative.

Sarah:  Hahaha. That’s a very boy thing to say.

Brendan:  Oh, Sarah – always falling back on gender stereotypes.

Sarah: I would also just like to point out that I wasn’t the one that came up with the subject matter. For the record.

Brendan:  I know. Maybe I feel more comfortable writing songs about heartbreak with women than with men.

Sarah: That may be true.

Brendan:  Although I haven’t written with Dan Nicklin or Tad McKitterick yet.  They’ve promised to help me write some great “getting dumped” songs.

Sarah: I’m sure they will write some amazing ones.

Brendan: Well, I want to thank you for doing this little project with me. I was in a horrible mood when I came over to your house to work on it and spending a few hours making music with you completely turned me around.  You, Sarah Rabdau, are a human antidepressant.

Sarah: That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.  I had an absolute blast being a part of it. I was honored to be asked.

What a nauseating lovefest, huh?  I promise to attempt to keep it in my proverbial pants on May 6 at the Somerville Armory.  Come on by to hear the debut of “First Saturday” as well as full solo acoustic sets by Sarah and me as well as Mike Mirabella of The Future Everybody.

You may be wondering what’s with the slow April in Boogieland.  When are the gigs, Brendo?  We’re tripping all over ourselves to see your music again, goddamn it!  Our lives are empty without you!

Rest easy, honkies.  Here’s the big announcement for which you’ve been waiting:  I’ll be playing every Thursday in May at the Somerville Armory.  What’s more – check out the great lineups I have uh… lined up: