DAVE PAINCHAUD’S ‘TALES TOLD AND JOURNEYS IMAGINED”

CD and Digital Album Features 13 Original Songs

Los Angeles, California—February 2012—Multi-talented musician/composer Dave Painchaud is excited to announce his nomination as Best Jazz Artist in the 2012 Artists In Music Awards for his stellar work on “Tales Told And Journeys Imagined” the exciting and emotionally moving original CD.

Painchaud who has performed with Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors, Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, Macy Gray, The Temptations and the Philadelphia Funk Authority when that group opened up for Sir Elton John, is thrilled to be nominated and looking forward to the outcome of the awards show on February 10 at the Key Club in Los Angeles, though admits he’s “more of an electronic artist than Jazz.” Painchaud also works with George Hrab, a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who writes music about skepticism and critical thinking and has been featured as a sideman on Hrab’s releases “Trebuchet” and “Coelecanth” and is featured on Jeremiah Morelock’s Pretend Your Happy disc entitled “The Great Joyful Rebellion.” His CD is available through iTunes. For more on Painchaud please continue reading or check out www.mellobrass.com

About His Roots:

When Dave Painchaud (pay-show) was seven, his dad took the family to see the Stan Kenton Orchestra playing a ballroom (yes, a ballroom) in Portland, Maine. “Kenton’s groups were not your typical, schmaltzy big bands; the group that coined the term “progressive jazz” they were incredibly loud, present and often dissonant (which was what had made them famous and polarizing),” recalls Painchaud. Though the signature sound of the Kenton band was the trombone section, Painchaud says, “I fell in love with the blindingly powerful trumpet section. It was one of those “I want to do that” moments in one’s life.  The horn was electric.”

Even before this defining moment Painchaud knew he wanted to be a composer and attributes this desire to his surroundings. His recollection of the rugged coast of Maine, which he describes as a “remarkably beautiful place in the rough edginess of the natural settings,” set the tone. “The sense that you were at the border of something and that just around the corner it could get very dangerous very fast are still wonderful memories and inspirations. You always had a sense that there was something out there much bigger than yourself, totally indifferent to you and that had to be respected.”

He credits college at Berklee as providing the definitive breakthrough for his musical career because, “I was surrounded by tremendous talent, both my fellow students and the rather incredible faculty”. It was also there that he formed a lifelong love for the playing and moodiness of Miles Davis and the minimalist ambient music of Brian Eno—divergent influences that he felt presented him with a choice of direction—a fork in the road. Only later did he realize that he didn’t have to choose between these inspirations and that music as seemingly different as Miles and Eno were, in fact, different aspects of the same musical path.

When he decided to put together his studio, the Defiant Amoeba, it opened up both possibilities and barriers. By going it alone Painchaud freed himself of any self-imposed restrictions and availed himself to every advantage the studio could offer (and that he could afford). Synths, samplers, loops all became his friends. The only rule he imposed on himself was that if he liked it he would write it without concern for style, genre etc. “The restriction was that I had always written for small jazz groups, and now that was impossible.” Painchaud never attempts to aim his music at a particular demographic, saying, “It simply doesn’t work. I usually come up with a set of ten or twelve things that I’d like to hear somebody do, the “springboards.” They can be based on an emotional quality from a particular piece I like, the weather, a mathematical ratio (I have two pieces based on Fibonacci numbers)—anything, really. My only caveat in this process is that I don’t like to have too many in the same genre. I like to move around stylistically and I want my listeners to have the same experience.”

About His Gear:

Painchaud has a number of unusual brass instruments (and says, “Horn players talk about their axes the way James Bond discussed his Beretta or his Walther PPK”). His "A" horn is a Bach 37G (Elkhart) that has been overhauled and refitted by Chuck McAlexander at the Brass Lab in New York. Changes from the original are numerous and include a new leadpipe (by Charlie Melk of Charlie's Brass Works in Milwaukee), 1st and 3rd valve triggers etc. “It started out a very good stock horn and is now a custom instrument. I also enjoy playing my Flip Oakes “Wild Thing” and my vintage Martin Committee.” His Martin Committee is considered “vintage” because it is the same model trumpet that Miles Davis, Chet Baker and so many other jazz legends preferred. “The sound as produced by these instruments was, and is, iconic, but Martin made changes to the design of the instrument in the 1960's and frankly, the horn was never really the same again. So, if you can find a still functional instrument from before those changes took place—the same model as played by the immortals—it's a way to sort of connect with them.” He plays Stork mouthpieces for his trumpets and flugels.

“I have two flugelhorns that I adore.  I have a Yamaha 631—a fantastic horn for jazz, and a Courtois AC155—a perfect example of the French flugel with a tight bore and a tone like “buttuh.” He also plays the Kanstul Model 180 G mellophone—an instrument rarely played outside the subculture of drum and bugle corps. “Nobody plays the mellophone in a studio or concert situation because, like all G mellos, they can be impossible to keep in tune, but the instrument’s sound can be absolutely mesmerizing. Its sound lies somewhere between a flugelhorn and a French horn—a very subtle, big puffy clouds sort of instrument.” In order to keep the instrument as centered as possible he often uses the Curry T/F mouthpiece, but adds, “there is something special about the instrument’s response when using the definitive Mello 6.”

About the Artist:

Today, Painchaud—the scion of generations of French-Canadians that lived in Quebec, found that shivering constantly wasn’t a healthy lifestyle choice and thus moved to the “French-Canuck Riviera” aka Maine, spends his time composing and playing, keeping up with his beloved New York Mets, catching movies (if they’re geeky enough), spending time with his wife and taking care of his son and continuing his quest for discovering great sushi.

Media Contacts:

To request a review copy, an interview with Dave Painchaud or additional information contact:

Tailfish Publik Relations ~ 310.721.0877

Please click this link for a printable.pdf file of this EPK.