Dahmer's Breakfast, my crazy sister, and Sweet Home Chicago!

Jul 03, 2025

My next big show is with Dahmer’s Breakfast. Last year I decided it would be awesome if I had breakfast with the band Dahmer’s Breakfast. You can read the article I wrote at this link:

Breakfast with "Dahmer's Breakfast"

I was thinking of getting together with Art (Name change) to catch up, but then I thought—why not do a show together instead?

It’ll be just the two of us trading off songs. We’re very different but also very much the same. I think that’s the attraction to a show like this. There is a $10 cover but please don’t let that stop you. We’re players who want to play, and we need an audience!

I love small intimate concerts like this. They’re conversational, interactive, and a whole lot of fun. Hazel Perk Cafe serves ice cream, boba tea, coffee drinks, sandwiches, and alcohol for after hour shows. Who is coming out for this one?

Another show in July: I’ll be the featured artist at Hear.say Brewing in Ann Arbor for a 40-minute set July 27th.

Two reasons why this newsletter is a day late:

1.) My sister is in town from San Diego

2.) We moved our boys into an apartment in downtown Chicago.

Here I am with my sister outside Cafe Noir, a French inspired cafe just outside downtown Detroit. While there, I learned my sister lived in Paris for a month. What? How did I not know this?

Half of the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra arrived two weeks early for opera performances at the Theatre du Chatelet. My sister played French Horn in that. Next up: there were full orchestra performances for another two weeks. Wow! My sister’s way cooler than I thought, because I don’t know anyone who’s done that!

Above: In the studio with my sister and cousin—Evan Haywood

Do you remember Country Kid Nikko?

Love that guy! Nikko was a special guest at a show I did at the Ypsi Alehouse. We were making promotional videos when the kid asked me who inspired me as a musician. I stumbled on that one and had to think for a minute. My answer: my sister. She is the most disciplined person I know.

At Cafe Noir we were talking about how hard work can be at the beginning of your career since my boys are just starting out. In her first year at the L.A. Philharmonic, she had to learn 200 pieces for the summer season that she had never played. She practiced 5 hours a day to get through that.

Determination!

Good high school brass players can typically double tongue—a technique that involves alternating between two tongue positions, usually ta-ka or da-ga. Using the double tongue technique allows you to play faster, but most use this method over the same note. My sister had to learn a piece that required her to double tongue over different notes as in an ascending scale. This is very difficult.

Seven hours later (With breaks along the way) she had it down.

Here’s a cool link:

Listen to my sister play French horn!

The above piece is called “Joyful Theme and Variations” by Ingrid Chun. It features my sister on French horn.

I love her solo at 1:30 !!!!!

Note: Ingrid was my sister’s best friend in the orchestra. They always sat next to each other on the plane while on tour.

Recommendation: Visit Cafe Noir with a friend or sibling to learn things about them you never knew!