This section will be updated once I find out any information on Nate's future career.
6/26-It seems as though Nate Wood is no longer listed as a member of Alec Bridges' band, so although it would be worth seeing Alec's band live, Nate Wood will not be playing.
In touring news...Nate will be playing on Damon Zick on August 23rd at Club Tropical. Here is the information: Damon Zick and Friends Damon Zick - Saxophone Tim Albright - Trombone Adam Benjamin - Rhodes Evan Conway - Bass Nate Wood - Drums Monday August 23, 2004 8:30 PM Club Tropical 8641 W.Washington Blvd. Culver City 90232 $5 entrace fee
6/3-Nate received a very sweet Thank You from the Laguna Beach Chapter:
BENEFIT CONCERT - May 2, 2004 The Laguna Chapter would like to say THANK YOU to the following groups for a very successful benefit concert at the Ocean Ave Brewery to support Surfrider Laguna Beach Chapter and Laguna Beach High School Surfrider Club. Host Venue + Donation: Ocean Avenue Brewery Musicians: Chris Wissler Alex Bridges Nate Wood Brian Rabben Ken Garcia Band The Blues Offenders
5/21-Listen to "Deep Sleep" by Sasha Laen Smith with Nate Wood: Drums, Evan Collins Conway: Bass, Zak Scott: Rhythm Guitar on the Garage Band site. "the song deep sleep was recorded in nate's living room in a couple hours one hot afternoon last summer. we didn't have too many mics so we did all the instrumentals live altogether and then did the vocal last. can't wait to get back to recording. sasha" I just finished listening to the song myself and really enjoyed it.Deep Sleep on GarageBand
If you enjoy it, you can listen to 3 other songs on Sasha's site:Sasha Smith
In other news...there is another date added to Alec Bridges site:
Alec Bridges Band August, 26 2004 at JCC 1 Federation, Irvine, CA 92603 members - $10, non members - $15 GAP Concert Under the Stars Graduates and Young Professionals Thursday, August 26th @ 8pm Concert under the stars by candle-lit pool Members: $10, Non-Members: $15 Open Bar! WOOO HOOO!
Lucky Californians get all the shows.
5/15-"Wendel"(Adam Benjamin - Rhodes, Kaveh Rastegar - Bass, Ben Wendel - Saxophone, Nate Wood - Drums) is performing at Club Tropical on June 7th and July 12th:
Club Tropical 8641 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 310-559-1127
June 7th Admission is $5, concert starts at 8:30 PM, they are performing with Cadiz Composers' Ensemble
July 12th Admission is $5 (concert time is not posted)
5/14-Kneebody received a very nice review in All About Jazz's May edition:
You may have heard trumpeter Shane Endsley with Mike McGinnis's excellent group Between Green, or on recordings by such far-flung artists as Steve Coleman and Ani DeFranco. But if you haven't heard Endsley's freakishly talented quintet KneeBody, that needs to change. These geographically separated, mainly LA-based Eastman alums play in this area only about once a year. The Jazz Gallery was kind enough to host this year's show on a Sunday (April 11), when the space is normally dark. This amusing yet rigorous venture, which used to be known as the Wendel-Endsley Group, features Endsley with Ben Wendel on tenor sax, Adam Benjamin on piano and Rhodes, Kaveh Rastegar on electric bass and Nate Wood (of the rock band The Calling) on drums. All members write, and what they write is impossibly intricate, often through-composed, epic and funky, emphasizing the written detail over the extended solo. Only none of KneeBody's material is ever written down. Every tune sounds impeccably rehearsed, and yet the band rarely rehearses. The solo sections, when they do crop up, are not enviable things to blow over. Dousing the listener in a flood of sonic and metric contrasts, pounding, infectious grooves and turn-on-a-dime endings, KneeBody announces itself as a jazz/rock chamber group of the oddest sort. ~ David Adler
There are 2 band and 1 solo (Alec) upcoming concert dates in California..check them out if you can:
May, 14 2004 at Amsterdam Coffee 27221 La Pa Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 FREE
May, 22 2004 at The Congregational Church, Laguna Beach , CA 92651 Benefit Concert - donation only Alec will be playing a solo acoustic performance at 'A Concert For Conscious Living'.....also playing are Chris Wissler, Alec Marken, Krista Herring and a few others.
June, 18 2004 at The Coach House San Juan Capistrano, CA $15.00 We are opening for the Ken Garcia band. You can get tickets at a discounted $10.00 if you buy them from the band....contact us @ alec1379@cox.net iy you want tickets.
5/10-Thank you so much Lindsay for finding the below picture of Nate:
5/8-The first of the brief West Coast tour dates for Kneebody has been posted:
05.24.04 9:00PM TEMPLE BAR • Santa Monica, CA 8:00PM Only local show! 21 and up Also on bill: ->JSUN ->CRASH DAVIS Contact: 310.393.6611 Cover: $5
5/6-Kneebody is going to have a brief West Coast tour from May 20th-May 24th...stay tuned for exact locations.
5/1-Ok, this is unconfirmed...but how many musicians named Nate Wood live in California??
Surfrider Foundation has benefit concert A benefit for the Laguna Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation will feature live music by the Blues Offenders, Ken Garcia and Chris Wissler. Alec Bridges, Nate Wood and Brian Rabben will perform for the first time in 10 years. The concert will be held at from 3 to 8 p.m. on May 2 at the Ocean Avenue Brewery, at237 Ocean Ave. A raffle will include prizes from Laguna restaurants and surf shops. Information: (949) 235-6079.
4/23-"Wendel"(Adam Benjamin - Rhodes, Kaveh Rastegar - Bass, Ben Wendel - Saxophone, Nate Wood - Drums) is performing at Club Tropical on May 3rd:
Club Tropical 8641 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 310-559-1127 Admission is $5, concert starts at 8:30 PM, they are performing with Cadiz Composers' Ensemble
4/13-$50-Bus Ticket, $24-Concert Tickets, $50-cabs...seeing Nate performing live with Kneebody...PRICELESS. The show in New York was simply amazing and Nate was brilliant on the drums. I did get to talk to Nate before the first set and briefly before the second set and this is what I can report: Nate promises to put the lyrics to his solo CD on his site (if you haven't checked it out yet..it's www.natewoodmusic.com), Kneebody is recording another CD, Nate absolutely loves New York City and would love to live there someday, Nate joined Ari Hest for a short tour and played guitar and some drums (link to Ari Hest's site is in the link page) and finally, we can look forward to another solo CD from Nate at some point (if you haven't bought his current solo CD Reliving..you can check out clips under the downloads page and purchase it via CDBaby). It was a memorable experience and I wish Nate, Adam, Ben, Shane and Kaveh all the best in their future.
4/3-Kneebody Upcoming show in New York
04.11.04 7:00PM THE JAZZ GALLERY • New York City, NY Early Show - 2 Sets 290 Hudson St. (at Spring St.) reservations and info->212.242-1063
4/2-As usual, I have missed capturing one of Nate's performance:
03/26/2004 - Friday KGB CD Release Party Marine Room 214 Ocean Avenue
The Ken Garcia Band with Art Hernandez on sax, Bobby B on keys, Nate Wood on guitar, Tim Day on drums, Brian Chapman on bass, Anthony Jasso on guitar and vocals and Ken Garcia on guitars and vocals with other special guests. $4 entry. Both the new CD's for Jasso & Garcia and The KennyGarcia Band will be available for purchase. www.kengarciaband.com.
3/23-Kneebody Colorado dates posted:
04.03.04 10:00PM DAZZLE • Denver, CO @ 930 Lincoln St. One Long Set. Contact: 303-839-5100 Cover: $7
04.04.04 6:00PM DAZZLE • Denver, CO @ 930 Lincoln St. Two Sets.Contact: 303-839-5100 Cover: $7
3/20-Found this piece of news on the Kneebody site:
Nate did a brief tour (on guitar and vocals) with Ari Hest - our former drummer Scott Seiver was on the gig.
To find out more about Ari Hest, check out his website:
3/12-I hope that some of you were able to catch Nate play yesterday with Damon Zick. You may notice there is a new picture on this page. I just discovered it on the Gretsch website.
Also, do not forget to see Nate playing with Damon Zick on March 11th. Scroll a little further down to find details.
2/15/04-New Kneebody date for California:
03.01.04 9:00PM TEMPLE BAR • Santa Monica, CA Also on the bill: Dogfish @ 10:30pm 1026 Wilshire Blvd Santa Monica, CA Contact: 310.393.6611 Cover: $7
2/14/04-This isn't exactly "new"...but my friend Luisa Codega did an awesome review of Nate's solo CD "Reliving". To read her review (and visit the rest of her site)..go here:
**Note: I tried to click the button to purchase the disc...but it doesn't appear to be available yet.**
2/5/04-March 11th, 2004 8PM: Damon Zick and Friends @ Cryptonight
what is CryptoNight? A new music series featuring jazz and improvised music from Los Angeles and beyond, every Thursday night at 8:00 P.M. CryptoNight is held at: Club Tropical 8641 Washington Blvd. Culver City [map] club info: 310-559-1127 show info: 310-287-1918 www.cryptonight.com $10 / $5 with student ID / all ages great Salvadoran food / full bar safe neighborhood / free night parking
Damon Zick and Friends play their own unique brand of original jazz emphasizing melody, groove and communication. Damon's compositions provide an eclectic wealth of departure points for some top-notch improvisation. The band formed ten years ago while members were attending the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. While there they had the opportunity to study and perform with such artists as Bob Brookmeyer, Bill Holman, Benny Carter, Eliane Elias, Steve Vai, Benny Golson, Mike Cain, Ralph Alessi and many others. Since then they have gone on to perform concerts and master classes across the United States. Members have performed and/or recorded with Ravi Coltrane, Joe LaBarbera, Vinny Golia, Bob Mintzer, Kneebody, the New World Symphony, the Brian Setzer Orchestra and many others. Their follow up CD to “The Outing” is due out in March 2004. For more information and song samples visit www.zick.net.
Damon Zick - Saxophone Jason Thor - Trombone Adam Benjamin - Rhodes Evan Collins-Conway - Bass Nate Wood - Drums
2/3/04-New Kneebody CD is released!! Click the link below to purchase "KneebodyLive Fall Tour 2003 Sampler":
New from his site, Nate is currently working with Sasha Smith and Evan Collins - Conway on Sasha's new album. To read more about Sasha Smith, visit his site at:
1/16/04-Jan. 31 at the Laguna Beach High School, See Steve Wood, Beth Wood, and Nate Wood, and Richard Stekol at the John Heussenstamm Blues Concert. One of the coolest venues around!
Yes...Steve and Beth are related to Nate...they are his parents.
BLUES & JAZZ FESTIVAL: Saturday, Jan. 31st marks the 10th anniversary of the annual Blues and Jazz Festival, which benefits the Laguna Beach High School Music Department. This year’s concert headliner is Local Talent featuring Laguna Beach vocalist Beth Wood and keyboardist Steve Wood, and Richard Stekol, Billy Mohler and Nate Wood. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the high school’s Artists’ Theatre. Tickets are $25 for reserved seating, $15 general and $10 students with ID. Tickets are available at the theater box office. For reservations, call 497-9779.
1/10/04-Belated Happy New Year. If you live in California, do not miss seeing Nate perform with Damon Zick on February 3rd
Tuesday February 3rd, 2004 8:30PM w/ Damon Zick and Friends Damon Zick, Adam Benjamin, Evan Collins-Conway, Nate Wood Cafe' Club Fais Do Do 5257 West Adams Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90016 323-954-8080
This section is reserved for any updates on the dispute between Nate Wood/Billy Mohler and Alex Band/Aaron Kamin:
8/4-Earlier this year, they were sued by their former bassist, Billy Mohler, and drummer Nate Wood. They claimed that they were owed significant song royalties and merchandise percentage. The Calling maintained that the two were never part of the band but hired only to tour with them.The Calling was formed by Band and Kamin who met in their teens and played guitar together.'Everything's been resolved but I personally don't speak to them anymore,' says Band of Mohler and Wood.The two have been replaced by long-time friend and drummer Justin Meyers and a bassist who goes by the name of V.'This time around, it's really clear that Aaron and I are the main act,' says Band, sounding relieved.-Interview with Alex Band on The Straits Times
6/30-But some bands, like The Calling, who made it big with "Where Ever You Will Go," don't share the credit equally. Last year, The Calling's ex-bassist Billy Moeler and ex-drummer Nate Wood slapped singer Alex Band and guitarist Aaron Kamin with a lawsuit, after Moeler and Wood claimed they were not being compensated fairly for their work on The Calling's 2002 tour.-Posted on Celebrity Justice
6/26-Call my lawyers: They named the album II because, as Alex says, "it's our second record, and also to restate the fact that there are two people in the band and we write/do the music." There's a reason why Alex and Aaron harp on about being a duo and not a quartet or a six-piece. A couple of years ago, the pair were sued by bassist Billy Mohler and drummer Nate Wood, who apparently were under the impression that they were full members of The Calling and not, as Band and Kamin averred, simply hired hands. The disgruntled ex-members claimed they were owed royalties for performing on the debut album, and payments for a two-year tour which grossed more than $1m. Band and Kamin have since hired some new guns, and this time they're making it crystal clear who's the boss(es).
5/28-Yes, again..out of order date wise...but for good reason. I found this recent interview with Alex Band and had to include a piece of it here:
The Calling's gruelling schedule wasn't helped by a dispute with support musicians Nate Wood and Billy Mohler, who left after a "misunderstanding" regarding their relationship with the group. "The Calling started off - and always has been - just Aaron and me," explained Alex. "After we recorded our first album, we decided to hire people to play with us while we went on tour. "Naturally, after two years on the road, our fans took to Nate and Billy as if they were members of the band... they set up fan sites, got autographs and took pictures of them. "It soon became something that it wasn’t and we decided to separate and go our different ways. "Aaron and I don’t see the guys or talk to them anymore but the fact of the matter is that we always were a two-piece to begin with."
Yes...this would be one of those "fan sites". And just for the record...it was never made clear to this fan that Alex and Aaron were a duo (with touring musicians) until after Sean left.
5/6-Although this is again "old news"....I thought that Aaron's sentiments were very nice:
"We've gone through a lot of bands, a lot of different incarnations and all the while it's really just been Alex and I who started it and really were the reason for The Calling," Kamin, the guitarist, tells andPOP, on the line from his home recording studio in Los Angeles. "I think a lot of people with our last record didn't understand that." They didn't understand it because everything that the Calling did -- from interviews to appearances and even the record label-distributed photos -- featured five members. Their record label wanted the The Calling to be perceived as a 5-person band. In doing so, they may have also convinced bassist Billy Mohler and drummer Nate Wood that they were full members. In November of last year, they sued Band, Kamin and their management company, claming they were mismanaged and seeking some of the band's profits. "I was incredibly shocked," says Kamin, though he can't say much about the lawsuit since it has not yet been resolved. He did express hope that "everything works out for everyone."
1/28-Some may look at this and go...why is Jan. 28th so far down the page..isn't that out of order?? The answer is yes..the reason: Although this is news regarding Nate (the fact that he is mentioned)...it has to do with his former band The Calling and I do not believe it should be placed above all the exciting upcoming concerts.
Youthful grunge-lite band the Calling call their new album Two for two reasons. First, it's the group's second record. More important, singer Alex Band and guitarist Aaron Kamin want fans to know the Calling are now, and always have been, a two-man band.That point was questioned in November, when former bassist Billy Mohler and drummer Nate Wood sued the group and its manager for fraud and mismanagement. The pair claimed they were owed significant song royalties and a merchandise percentage, and that they were only paid $26,000 each for two years' touring, even though they'd been promised much more (see "The Calling Sued By Former Bandmates; Finish Second Album"). The Calling contend that Mohler and Wood were hired guns and therefore not entitled to royalties."The whole thing was dirty, and there was no reason for [the suit]," Band said. "Those guys were always well taken care of in every way. They were our side guys and we paid them well, even before Aaron and I made a dollar. It's a little sad. They were our friends and we spent a lot of time together."A longtime friend of Kamin, Justin Meyers, has replaced Wood. The band is still looking for a bassist. A variety of studio musicians helped record Two.When the full touring lineup is in place, the Calling will emphasize their duo status more carefully than before. "[Mohler and Wood] were in press photos and videos for the last record, mostly because that's what our label wanted," Band explained. "This time around we're not going to do that in order to avoid any confusion.""Our Lives," the first single from Two, will address the dangers of dissatisfaction. "A lot of people go through every step of life wanting the next thing and never stop to appreciate the things they take for granted each day," Band said.
I will simply say this...I continue to support Nate Wood in all his endevours.
Here is yet more information along the same lines: Two will mark the Calling's first album without bassist Billy Mohler and drummer Nate Wood, who left last year and are suing for additional royalties. Band, who insists Mohler and Wood were hired hands, has since found new musicians, who have been rehearsing with him and Kamin for summer and fall tours.
