Everyone You Need To Know

First Friday of the month this time… like a good piece of music, there needs to be some variety, am I right?

My sax man Sam says these cats are the cows meow: Angela Hamilton, Nat Cassidy, and Left Circles. They are combining forces to pleasure us this Friday and I for one am looking forward to a raucous night of fun and music.

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I’m feeling super loose this week. I think I might just let it all hang out. Hell yeah. Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium is the name, hello honey. Hot tamale.

Bubble maker in action? - yeah boy. Something you’ve never heard? - yep. Me and my peeps on our funny game? - You knows it girl.

New “Everyone You Need to Know” format - one opener and then Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium. Less rushing, more awesome.

Kicking things off within this new experimental format, American Idol contestant Stephanie White and the Philth Harmonic.

This group delivers a tight, funky-fresh live show with carefully orchestrated instrumentation that will loosen your shoulders without even trying. Lead singer Stephanie White sounds like Adele and will surely pierce your soul with a voice that simply needs to be heard.

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Featuring a bunch of new material and a couple of unexpected covers, Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium is set for the best “Everyone You Need to Know” Showcase to date and we are going to blow your minds. Hot off of shows in Boston and New York, we have tightened our act and even have a few new tricks up our sleeve.

Check out this new drawing of Sam.

No promises but there might be a cardboard bass in action for this show. I think we might take it out to Union Square to hand out fliers before hand. Let me know if you wanna help.

By chance, it happens that the two acts playing before us at the next “Everyone You Need to Know” showcase are from far away lands.

From Russia we welcome Tatiana Kochkareva.

A singer/songwriter who wrote a new song just for this showcase that I get to play piano on. I hope I’m not ruining it if I mention that it’s awesome.

When Tatiana and I were talking about the show, I mentioned that I encourage the acts to be upbeat and funny… she responded by saying that she was Russian and therefor she was unable to be funny. Ha.

Having studied mostly Jazz in school but having an ability to compose and play in a number of genres, her style reflects the educated, passionate person behind the music.

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Playing second is a woman from Northern Ireland who really needs no introduction but, what the heck, meet Susan Enan.

I guess it would be foolish for me to try and say what Rolling Stone Magazine has already said:

“Her forlorn, hyperromantic lyrics are what you’d expect from a girl who reads Shakespeare”
-Rolling Stone (October 2006)

Susan is going to warm our souls with beautiful music right before my band and I take the stage to make fart jokes and loud noises… what could be better?

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Drawing from our entire catalog, we aim to compliment the other performing acts with songs that carry you between delicate psychological mental states. Prepare to have your brain massaged all over. That sounds bad… or perhaps really good.

And stick around - after Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium play the closing set, we all sing along with the three night’s acts leading the charge to “Somewhere Under the Ocean”, you remember don’t you?

Man is this show going to rock socks. I am so honored to be bringing to the stage one of the best classical guitarists/singers/composers in New York City. I saw this guy at the legendary Sidewalk Cafe open mic and subsequently checked out all of his youtube videos. He is stunningly good and one of the most captivating live performers I have seen… ever. You will be tickled with joy by the magic this man brings to the stage and I can’t wait.

Without further adu, allow me to introduce youtube sensation Chris “Isto” White.

And I can’t wait to see what he does with our closer, “Somewhere Deep in the Ocean”. Check out his version of the original, “Over the Rainbow”:

And opening things up for the night is a friend of mine from school named Mark Loria who can only be described as pure genius. Don’t believe me? - Believe me. He’s the real deal. One of the best piano players I have ever seen… and I see me play all the time. (Hehe) Seriously though, this soft-spoken young man will blow your mind with a selection of God knows what. Maybe jazzy, maybe classical, certainly mind altering… in a good way. When he was a freshman he orchestrated an entire musical I’d written in about a month.

If I were you I would become his facebook friend stat.

As far as Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium are concerned, we’ve got a couple of tricks up our sleeve as well. New songs, classics, stories, the usual bubbles and most importantly the return of our drummer, the freakin’ amazing, Spencer Cohen, who is just getting back from a tour with another band (he’s in high demand.)

So it would seem, despite all odds, that this may be the most amazing “Everyone You Need to Know” showcase to date, (and we’ve had some real steamers.) Don’t miss this one… most likely going to be the best live show you’ll ever see. But if you can’t make it, be sure to check out my new youtube video for a song I wrote using only cardboard instruments. You can download the song here if you’d like. Bye bye.

We are excited to be bringing to the stage some amazing NYC talent in this upcoming installment of “Everyone You Need To Know” and hope you enjoy some of the sneak peak media that has been so graciously rendered to us by the performing artists.

• Maddy Wyatt: singer/songwriter - guitar, mandolin

Maddy is no stranger to the stage, having performed at a number of respected venues in and around New York. I was first introduced to Maddy’s work through my saxophone player who met her while working at Limewire. She’s bringing a bassist, a drummer and a piano player to this show so you don’t want to miss it. Check out her video, “Man For Me (Ode to Barack)” below.

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• Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium: piano, vocals, saxophone, drums, host

Melody, harmony, good vibrations, a new song or two… we are going to bring it. I have a feeling you are going to get to know saxophonist, Mr. Sam Dingman quite well this show. Mmmmmmm.

Bring your friends, your ID (21+) enough money for a drink or two and your singing voices. It’s gonna get hot up in here.

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I’ll bring the bubbles.

Post Show Update: Maddy brought her whole band and blew the packed house away with a series of awesome tunes. My favorite; a duet with a friend from the audience about the NYC transit system… sooooo funny. My voice was on the way out but I managed to squeak out a passable (superb if I do say so myself) performance before going completely dumb (not like that you idiot) for the next two days.

This installment of “Everyone You Need To Know” featured three amazing female vocalists and another successful night of invisible happy juice.

• Fiona Landers: singer/songwriter - guitar, vocals

Fiona sounds like Zooey Dechanel and Regina Spektor and put on an awesome show featuring a hilarious song about a guy that was boring and one of my all time favorite songs “Harmonica,” which she let me accompany her on.

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• Lauren Ianuzzi: singer/songwriter - piano, vocals

As long as I have known her Lauren has always been a dynamite singer and piano player but she really knocked the crowd on their feet during her sassy set. My favorite of hers is “A Funk I Won’t Forget” and I was honored to debut a new duet we wrote called “It Won’t Be You.”

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• Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium - piano/vocals/sax/drums

Catherine really stole the show from the rest of the Pure Premium tonight. And when we implemented our new tradition of singing “Somewhere Under The Ocean” - an adaptation of the classic tune “Over The Rainbow” - at the end of the show with the entire audience and the other musicians, we nearly took the place down.

mp3: Blue Umbrella

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Towards the end of the night, a group of French tourists walked in just as Catherine began singing her French song “Camembert Shampooing” and of course they all began laughing at the coincidence… and the funny title.

The first ever “Everyone You Need To Know” showcase featured some amazing talent. I wish this site existed before the show went live but at least I can write fondly of the memories and amazing music from that night.

• Andrew Gregory: singer/songwriter - guitar, vocals

Andrew played a heart wrenching set that had the female contingent of the audience swooning and the male contingent jealously stewing in their seats. Pinned to his shirt, a red, felt heart (heart felt) reminded us that if he managed to melt our hearts, he had a spare to share.

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• Sarah Fullen: singer/songwriter - guitar, vocals

Sarah flat out melted everybody’s hearts, male and female, in the soulful recreations of her captivating melodies. The audience responded with appropriately dropped jaws. And then Sarah let me accompany her on one of her original tunes. So sweet.

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• Kerry Politzer - piano player/singer/songwriter -piano, vocals

Spicing things up with her seemingly effortless jazz piano (with occasional hints of Latin music) Kerry burned up the ivories with the ease of a seasoned pro. Having not rehearsed at all, Kerry and I sang a duet she wrote called “I Hate Everyone But You.” She played the piano and sang, I sang and goofed off. It was funny.

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• Joe Raciti and the Pure Premium - piano/vocals/sax/drums

As usual, my band and I closed out the night in style, playing originals and classics in a furious burst of music.

mp3: “Marry Me Mary”

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All in all it was a great night of music and bubble blowing and a wonderful start to a new tradition: “Everyone You Need To Know.”