Happy 2015!

Wishing everyone a very happy, blessed, and prosperous New Year. Thank you so much for all of your support in 2014, and I hope that I can count on you in 2015. My eyes are set ahead with positive forward thinking; making plans to make this year better in all aspects than the last. God bless.

Peace

Baby it's Cold Outside

Yes, the weather outside is frightful, or at least darn right chilly. I guess I'm a temperate weather kind of guy.

So, I missed a post and calendar update last week. I didn't get to alert you of a gig we had yesterday. Yeah, so this is old news now. The DCQ performed out in Liberty Hill at Foundation Park for a Christmas Holiday community event. Outside. In the cold! But, it was great. There was a good crowd and lots of activities for the kids. We even pulled out our book of Christmas arrangements to heighten the holiday spirit. A great time was had by all!

Peace

Veterans Day

I am proud to say that I spent 10 years of my life in the U.S. Army, 1981-1991. If the circumstances were right, I'm sure I would have retired an Army Bandsman as many of the good friends I met along the way did. For the most part, it was a path worth traveling; so many valuable lessons learned. Though I know many of you say, "Sure, you were in the band, why wouldn't it be great." So, let me put the record straight. Bandsmen/women are soldiers, trained right alongside the Infantry, the Field Artillery, the Signal Corps, besides being outstanding musicians in the roles of ambassadors of peace and democracy, as well as training support for our fellow troops . Yes, we trained and prepared for the defense of this nation, as so many before us and since have done. I despise war; yet I am proud of all my fellow veterans that have given of themselves in both times of strife and peace for the good of us all.

With that said, let me invite you to the veteran owned Brass House this Veterans Day evening, Nov. 11th, 7pm to support Army Chaplain and author David W. Peters as he is interviewed by NPR's John Burnett in conjunction with The Front Porch on the release of his new book, Death Letter. While you're there, you'll be entertained by my very own Duane Carter Quartet (The DCQ). So, if you're in the Austin area, come on out!

Peace

Back to the Routine

Well, the Texas Jazz Festival is behind us now.  It was an awesome event with such an appreciative and enthusiastic audience.  We truly enjoyed it and we believe the crowd did as well.  I also got to meet up with my old friend Bill Churchville, L.A. studio session musician and former lead trumpeter with Tower of Power.  We last saw each other (FB not included) back in the mid '80s while playing in the Army Band stationed in Panama.  It was great to reconnect!

Now it's back to the normal routine: practicing, writing, and all those other -ings needed to better oneself.  Well, I should say sort of normal.  There are other projects looming, including the documentary my wife, Michelle Carter and I are working on in conjunction with Fito Kahn of the Austin Jazz Alliance.  It is the life story of Dr. Joe Bryant, an 87 year old WWII Veteran and still active jazz trumpet player.  We are currently in fundraising mode, so if you are so inclined drop by our Indiegogo page and help us make this a reality.

Peace

Keepin' it Fresh

Excited to be trying out some new music. From time to time I put down the horn and go into writer's mode. Such has been the case for the last few months. The results, a brand new batch of tunes. It's quite a thrill when the band starts working them out and you're hearing them come to life. And the band is doing a fantastic job of doing just that. Can't wait for you to come experience them with us!

Peace

Texas Jazz Festival

Just got news that we, The Duane Carter Band (DCB), will be performing at the Texas Jazz Festival in Corpus Christi this October. I'm excited to hear that since it's been a few years since we last performed there. Check my Calendar page for dates and times. Hope to see you there.

Peace

News page

Since the new year began, I've been thinking about redesigning the News portion of my website. I wanted to keep the current design of the site, while at the same time find a way to add an archive of old posts. Rather than disrupt the flow of the site, I decided to try out a blog page for this purpose. So, here it is! It's still a work in progress. This one should be a little easier to manage than the old one and it will allow me to archive posts. I'm just hoping that I will be able to bring over the posts from the last year. Fingers crossed.

Peace

Somethin' Old, Somethin' New

The first half of 2014 has been interesting. It's been a mixed bag for me. The performance end slowed down after the holidays, but creativity continues to drive forward. In fact, it has allowed me the space to work on some long left undone writing projects (and there are many). I'm also working on some film projects with my other half, cinematographer Michelle Carter. We have a couple of documentaries in pre-production; I'll keep you posted on those.

Peace