IO Awards/Return to Oregon

Hardcoretet has received news that our album “Experiments in Vibe” is nominated for Best Mixed Genre Album in the Inside Out Awards!

Presented by Lucid Jazz Lounge, and taking place for the very first time on Monday, May 31st at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall, The I/O Jazz Awards show will consist of honoring musicians for achievement in Seattle’s jazz community, and we are honored to be considered for an award. You can see all of the nominees and place your votes here.  We could not have been able to throw our hat in the ring without your support, so thank you for all of the positive reactions to the album!

Speaking of positive reactions, Hardcoretet was also able to head down once more to Oregon several weeks ago.  Our first stop was in Portland where we met up with Arick Gouwerok, a bass player and friend of mine and Tarik’s from the UW days.  Arick collaborated with me on my Senior recital, and I have missed his playing ever since he moved to Beaverton after graduation, so needless to say it was a joyous occasion to hang out with his wife Janie and him for a day.  We played that night at the White Eagle Saloon with Trio Subtonic, a really talented Portland-based band (check them out here).  Unfortunately, the mood was not ideal; the city seemed to take the Trailblazers’ NBA playoff loss pretty hard that night, but we did what we could to bring some energy.  Regardless, it was great to try a new venue, and Trio Subtonic had some awesome tunes, as well as a collection of Radiohead arrangements they were working on for an upcoming show (very cool), and they seemed to dig our sound too.  We’re excited to host them May 22nd here in Seattle at the Seamonster Lounge.

From there, it was down to Eugene to spend the day exploring the University of Oregon and the night performing at the Jazz Station, where we played on our CD release tour.  Several people who had seen us then returned to check out the show, so it was fun to reconnect and talk to them about the last couple of months, as well as see what they thought about new material, which went over well.  A guitarist playing a rock show across the street even came over to listen from outside!

All in all, it was good to tighten up our music for these shows, and the trip gave us time to talk about music, our sound, and what’s next for the band.  Roll through the Seamonster on May 22nd to see both Hardcoretet and Trio Subtonic and hear for yourself what we’ve been working on!