Musician By Night

Monday, June 16, 2014

MUSICIAN by Night debut with recording artists “PLAYGROUND ETIQUETTE” . . .

On Saturday June 7th, in the Highland Town neighborhood of Baltimore, MD local recording artists, “Playground Etiquette” took the stage at the GREEK FESTVAL on a sunny, hot & humid afternoon. Not didn’t hold back, they kicked off the event with a bang and started rockin’ the stage with some of their own music which is out of this world.

MBN with PE 6-7-14 030

Athena Hiotis rocks the stage with her Custom Fender Telecaster

Athena Hiotis, the lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboard player and co-writer of their music is an absolute musical genius. Together with her childhood friend, Nicholas (Nik) Kosmas, bass player, vocalist and musical engineer of the band, co-wrote the songs on their new album "La Marionnette" just recently released.

They have a unique musical relationship that makes their band very hot ! They also have a young lady who sings and plays a mean electric violin. Her name is Lisa Christine. That day, their regular drummer and lead guitarist were no able to make the gig so they had a friend of theirs sit in on drums and he was great. I wish I would had gotten his name because it’s always good to have great musicians contact info at your fingertips.

That day, Nik and Athena asked me (MUSICIAN by Night) to sit-in with them on a blues number so I took them up on their offer and grabbed by go-to axe, my 2004 Gibson Les Paul Standard and plugged into their Fender Deluxe amp and I was off and ready to rock n’ roll.

“Playground Etiquette” and my new band “Remains Nameless” is planning a weekend Blues Rock & Classic Rock Festival in the Metro DC market. Stay tuned for more information as it develops. We are looking forward to that event . . .

We are still looking for the perfect name for our band so if you have any good suggestions, please send them in to BJanicki57@hotmail.com and if your suggestion is chosen for our official band name, we will post it on our FACEBOOK page and I’ll do the same on my MUSICIAN by Night FB page. Until then . . .

Until next time, remember to help “SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC” . . .

Local recording artist,

Chris Hauska debuting his first single on iTunes called . . .

‘Hey Maaya (Just Say Yes)’

MUSICIAN by Night

GOD Save “The Blues”

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Gotta’ LOVE that Ole’ Classic Rock . . .

This past Memorial Day Weekend turned out to be a real ass-kickin’ time for our opening gig as “Remains Nameless” (at least until we finally pick a name for our band) LOL. On Saturday evening, May 24th, we had the opportunity to break free from the basement walls that bound us while rehearsing for the past several weeks.

At first it was a bit intimidating since it had been many years since I had been on stage but once we got to playing that good ole’ time rock n’ roll music, it all came together naturally. They all made me feel right at home once we got into the swing of things, then after a while, I began to fill in, a chord at a time until I felt comfortable enough to play right along with each song.

MUSICIAN by Night rocks the stage playing his 2004 Gibson Les Paul Standard with a set of Seymour Duncan 11102-89 SH-18 Whole Lotta Humbucker Pickups

Our lead singer, Ken Smith definitely reminds me of “The BOSS” (Bruce Springsteen) as he takes control of the stage with a microphone in one hand and a blues harmonica in his other. While filling in with sweet blues harmonica licks when not whaling away with his vocals, he is also jamming along with his classic acoustic rhythm guitar by “Martin”. Oh yes !! What a great front man for our band. Couldn’t have asked for anyone better. Great voice, great harmonica player and guitarist; WOW !!!

Erik Kaniecki on bass guitar

Eric Schultz, our drummer and Erik Kaniecki our bass player are the heart-beat of our music and that night, they were incredible. They were in unison from the beginning of our first song, all thru the night. Erik happens to be a good friend of mine who I actually met in the construction business where we’ve completed some projects together. Erik is the most unassuming bass guitarist you’ll ever meet. He gives Stanley Clarke a run for his money on that bass as he runs his fingers up and down the neck both slapping and popping those strings to create some of the hottest bass lines I’ve ever heard or better yet, played along with. I suggest you keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground and very soon you’ll be hearing the slapping & thumping sounds of Erik Kaniecki on that bass on a regular basis in the Frederick / Baltimore / Annapolis bar scene.

Eric Schultz on Drums / MUSICIAN by Night on rhythm/lead guitar with Ken Smith, our lead vocalist.

Ronnie Barrett on lead guitar and vocals . . .

Ronnie Barrett on lead guitar, WOW ! what more can I say !!! He came out of the box like a raging stallion; one of the finest guitarists I’ve ever had the pleasure to gig with. Boy, all that we need now is a catchy name for our band and we’ll be off and running . . .

Help us name our band by sending in suggestions of your own and we’ll recognize you at our next performance if we choose the name you submitted. Thank You !!

Until next time, remember to help “SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC” . . .

Chris Hauska debuting his single on iTunes called . . . ‘Hey Maaya (Just Say Yes)’

MUSICIAN by Night

GOD Save “The Blues”

Friday, May 23, 2014

Exciting News in “MY WORLD of MUSIC” . . .

This Memorial Day Weekend will be one to remember for me for sure. After nearly 30 years since last playing live with a band other than a few Polka Bands that I played with in the 80’s doing weddings to make extra money for the overall family income, I am very excited to tell you that I am now playing in a Classic / Southern Rock Band that will be kicking off our first gig together on Saturday evening in Frederick, Maryland.

It is a Memorial Day / Picnic-Party that is being sponsored by one of the local Frederick neighborhoods. This event will allow us to get a better handle on our sound levels when playing outdoors and just see how we feel playing together ‘LIVE’ outside of the basement environment where we practice each week.

I consider myself extremely lucky to be playing with the likes of the musicians in our band. They are as follows;

1. Ronnie Barrett on Lead Guitar and Vocals (Lead & Back-Up). Ronnie is a infamous shredder by the definition itself. He lets his fingers do the walkin’ and the talkin’ as they say !! You just have to hear him play.

2. Ken Smith on Acoustic (Martin) rhythm guitar, Harmonica & Lead Vocalist. Ken is Da’ Man !! His stage presence is like lightning and his voice is right on key. He plays a mean Harmonica and makes his Martin sing whenever he strums that thing.

3. Erik Kaniecki is our infamous Bass Player that also sings Back-Up. He is a Rocker from the 80’s and makes his axe sound however we need it to sound from song to song. Very versatile !! He has a surprise for us coming up soon, he purchased a 5-string Bass by ESP that is currently being set-up with his signature GHS strings. That bass will add another dimension to his playing for sure.

4. Eric Schultz is on drums (percussion) and lays out one hell of a rock-steady beat for Erik and the rest of us to follow. Eric is not a fancy drummer, doing tricks, spinning his sticks, etc. Eric believes in being and staying on beat and keep the rest of us there with him. He also is our resident sound engineer who sets-up and is responsible for our sound system. He really knows what he’s doing with that equipment; I’ll give that !!

5. Bob Janicki is playing Rhythm & Lead Guitar and Back-Up Vocals. I’ve been going under the name “MUSICIAN by Night” for the past 3-4 years now, doing nothing but recordings in my home studio and lots and lots of practicing with hopes of joining a band like this some day and that day has come !!

We’ll be making a final decision on the name for our band in tonight's rehearsal so I will make that announcement in my next post. If all goes well, we hope to be ready to start booking gigs in June. Keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll soon hear all about us.