There are several things for you to go read right now. Well, if you consider “two” the same as “several.”

- Weekly Dig article about the Somerville Armory Songwriter Residency

- New Dear Boogie about moustaches

Happy Cinco De Mayo Reading! Because that’s what this holiday is known for – reading.

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!

You may recognize Mike Mirabella from seeing him behind the drumkit of the bands Scamper, The Brendan Boogie Band, or currently The Rationales and The Future Everybody. (Or maybe you don’t. I mean, who pays attention to the drummer?)  Besides banging on things loudly, Mike is a songwriter in his own right. Did you know it was actually Mike who penned the Scamper hit “Wait Wait”? True story. 

Mike and I have been playing music together for many years.  When I was offered this residency at the Somerville Armory a few months back, Mike happened to be standing next to me and also happened to be drunk. He asked me to book him for his solo debut show and I (who was equally drunk) agreed.

After a very fun (and shockingly drunken) songwriting session, I chatted with Mike about the experience:

Mike: Once we settled in things started to go real smooth real fast. Did you go into this with any plan? Song Title perhaps?

Brendan: No, nothing at all. I thought of an idea beforehand about everyone thinking we’re brothers, but we ended up not using that. I was surprised the direction the song went in. Not at all like anything we’ve played in bands together before. Were you surprised by the process at all?

Mike: Honestly, I was a bit nervous. When I write songs on my own its very easy to “ignore the rules” and just write what I want. The idea of writing with someone else had me worried that I might be called out as a fraud…so to speak. Instead, as ideas started popping up, we started heading in all of the directions I hoped we would.

Brendan: So you didn’t mind when I pointed and yelled “Fraud!” at you for twenty minutes?

Mike: I would have but it was only minutes later that you accepted one of my lyrical ideas so I figured it was worth the ridicule.

Brendan: It’s funny – we’ve been in bands together for over 5 years now and we’ve never really written a song together. We’ve done so many other things together.

Mike: So, so many other things… In all honesty it is pretty surprising that we’ve never written together before. I’ve always wanted to write like that, a couple of guitars and notebooks bouncing ideas off each other. I am so happy with the results.

Brendan: Yeah, it’s not a bad little tune. Definitely not like anything we did in Scamper. It’s nice to write without those assholes Keith and Nate around to fuck up the awesome sauce.

Mike: Wow! So all this time it was them holding us back. It’s all coming clear now. Hey Brendan – remember that time we almost wrote a hair metal song about being brothers but then came to our senses?

Brendan: We really dodged a bullet on that one. So how are you feeling about your first solo show?

Mike: Nervous, excited, hungry?

Brendan: What’s your worst case scenario of what will happen on May 6?

Mike: I don’t get a record deal. I’m really going for the gold on this one. I feel no one has really ever cornered the market on playing power chords on acoustic guitar and singing about girls who went away and/or are in the process of going away.

Brendan: Well, the good news is there is now beer available for sale at the Somerville Armory. How much political lobbying did you do to make this happen?

Mike: I filled out the form, I posted the link in my profile. Thank heavens, it was enough to keep the beer flowing. I am going to need to have a beer or two to get up there. I hope the good people enjoy a few and get in a FRIENDLY mood before I play.

Brendan: Well, just to let you know – I have no faith in you whatsoever.

Mike: That’s what keeps me going. Keep doubting and I will get up there and (most likely) prove you right. Over all, I’m pretty excited. A few months ago I had one of those drunken moments, demanding that I must play a solo show, you booked me and you’re holding me to it. So thanks for that D-bag!

Brendan: No problem. Brendan Boogie makes performance anxiety nightmares come true!

Mike: There is a good chance that I’ll get up there, freeze up and start playing air drums while shouting out the chorus to “Two Princes.”

Come on by the Somerville Armory this Thursday to support your pal Mike in his solo debut. 8pm doors.

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.

As promised, here’s more info on the Brendan Boogie Songwriter Residency, every Thursday in May at the Somerville Armory.

When I had the idea to put this residency together, I just wanted to make music with my friends.  I was all about the collaboration.  So I decided to ask each of my guests if they’d be willing to write a song with me to perform that night.  Much to my pleasure (and surprise) they all said yes.

Of course now comes the daunting task of scheduling songwriting sessions with 8 busy musicians.  It has been, in a word, a giant clusterfuck.  Nothing like trying to squeeze creativity into 2-hour windows.

Still, things are going swimmingly so far.  As the songwriting processes progress, I’ll post some thoughts and notes about the songs, the collaborations, and thoughts from some of my collaborators right here on this very website!  So stay tuned!