We are also proud to announce that the mixing is done for our new album, the artwork looks incredible and will be done shortly and we’ve decided on a title . . . “Woman in Sin“.   There’s still time to help us pay for the enormous up front expenses by pre-ordering the CD.

And finally for now, check out this poster from our new promo pack made by our good friend Mike Huling of the incredible theatre group, Handsome Little Devils.  If you haven’t checked them out before, please do.  Their show is amazing!!!

From Promo Material

Here is the video of us performing at the LA County Holiday Celebration.   (Finally a good video of us on youtube)

We just finished up a whole month of touring that has been really fun and successful. The shows in Lancaster, PA, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara have been especially memorable.  And thanks for the free skiing at Northstar in Tahoe after rocking out the ice rink in sub-zero temperatures. We sold out half our shows this month and every show but one was packed (what’s up Philly??).  We even sold so many CDs that we ran out half way through the tour.

We want to thank everyone that came out to a show, bought a CD, hosted us at their house, etc.  Touring isn’t easy, and it means a lot to us to have such great, enthusiastic fans.

Special thanks to our friends from the band Luminescent Orchestrii from New York who put us up while we we’re there.  We always have a great time staying with them.  They are kindred spirits in Gypsy Music, if you haven’t heard them, please check them out.

Also, what you do think of the new website design??  A special thanks to Mark Thornton from the band ‘God of Shamisen‘ for continuing to do such a good job.   We are incredibly busy these days with touring, finishing our new album, and promoting it, so now would be a good time to sign up for the mailing list or subscribe to the RSS feed so you can stay up to date on all the Fishtank Ensemble news.   Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered our upcoming CD so far, and you if haven’t yet done so, please consider it.  It will definitely be our best yet, and you will be participating in manifestation of this album, which means a lot to us.

2010 will bring shows and more shows, a new CD, a limited edition LP, shirts, stickers, posters and much more, so stay tuned.

Check out this promo video made by the folks at the LA County Holiday Celebration that we recently played in.   (It has Fabrice’s brother, Roland on bass because Djordje was in Serbia at the time)

If you think about all that goes into producing and promoting a CD, it’s a wonder an independent band like ourselves manages to make it all happen. Here are some of the expenses associated with making this new CD happen: Recording studios, hiring a mixing and mastering engineer, graphic design, website implementation, CD manufacturing, promotion campaign, etc. We could go on and on but suffice it to say that the bills and debts pile up quick.

This is where you, our wonderful and supportive fans come in. By pre-ordering and/or donating to us, you are directing supporting and enabling our current and future endeavors. This also means you will be sharing in the creation of this work along with us. All pre-orders will also receive a special limited edition thank you gift to let you know how much we appreciate it.

If you choose to donate to us, please know that all money will go directly to production and promotion. When donating, please indicate if you would like to receive the special gift that comes along with your level of contribution by emailing us at fishtank@fishtankensemble.com.

We have a very busy 2010 planned so we hope to see you then!

Don’t forget to follow us on twitter at @ftensemble.

GERARDO BALESTRIERI will charm audiences with his unique blend of neapolitan, turkish, greek, french,and italian originals, with world music and jazz styles, sung in his deep resonating voice. His ensemble includes clarinet, accordion, baglaman, violin, percussions (cajon, dumbek) , guitar and upright bass.  The line-up for the tour is:

Gerardo Balestrieri – Vocals, Accordion, Keyboard, Clarinet

Fabrice Martinez (from Fishtank Ensemble) – Violin, Baglaman

Douglas ‘el douje’ Smolens (from Fishtank Ensemble) – Guitar

Sean Tergis – Cajon, Dumbek

Roland Martinez (yes, Fabrices brother from France) – Upright Bass

Here is a little taste of Gerardos music:

Check out our tour schedule and enjoy a wonderful and unique evening of sly world music and help us to welcome this artist to our country!

]]> http://www.fishtankensemble.com/newsitem.php?p=8 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:03:22 +0000 fishtank http://www.fishtankensemble.com/newsitem.php?p=8 It’s late October and Fishtank Ensemble has wrapped up 3 months of non-stop touring as well as recording our 3rd album.  We played all up and down the west coast, throughout the Southwest, and we we’re in the Mid-West for the first time.  We we’re really happy to see such great crowds everywhere we went.  We especially loved playing a week of shows with our good friends from New York Luminescent Orchestrii and our friends from San Francisco, Brass Menazerie.

In regards to our new album, we are very happy with the way it’s turning out.  Special Thanks to Samur from Seahorse Sound for his excellent engineering work.  The album, which is still untitled, should be ready sometime in early 2010.  Stay tuned for more information on this.

Here is a great looking video that was filmed when we played at the Sacramento World Music and Dance Festival

The resulting sound is consistently captivating, as if Gypsy swing continued to swirl around the world, picking up new inflections at every turn.

“We’ve got Balkan, Gypsy, klezmer, Japanese folk music, classical and Flamenco,” says guitarist Douglas ‘el douje‘ Smolens. “It’s a little difficult to say how it all comes together. The foundation of the band’s sound is Gypsy music in all its various forms, but we’re not Gypsies. We didn’t grow up in that culture, and it would be foolish to reproduce that music. We’re absorbing those influences and using our own creativity and experiences to make Gypsy-influenced music the best we can.”

The ensemble started taking shape when fiddler Fabrice Martinez came to the Bay Area to visit vocalist Ursula Knudson, a Sacramento native who graduated from St. Mary’s College in Moraga. They met the other Fishtank musicians at a jam session and were so pleased by their instant chemistry that they decided to form a band.  But the group didn’t get a chance to perform much at first because Martinez and Knudson moved to southeastern Italy to perform with Croque Mule, a band that toured in Gypsy wagons and busked on the streets.

When that band broke up, Martinez formed Opa Cupa, a wild 12-piece Balkan brass band. After he and Knudson got married and had a son, they decided to relocate to California and devote themselves to the Fishtank Ensemble.

With most of the players now based in Southern California, the group is building a following with regular performances up and down the West Coast and a thrilling new album, “Samurai Over Serbia,” that captures the band in all its eclectic glory. The title stems partly from Fishtank’s newest member, Serbian bassist Djordje Stijepovic, a charismatic player who grew up studying European classical music and playing in Gypsy bands, where he mastered a propulsive slap technique.

“We don’t have any drums, so the bass and guitar are really the rhythm section,” Smolens says. “You need a super-solid bass player as the foundation, and Djordje is just impeccable. He breathed new life into our songs with the power he projects. When he goes from plucking to slapping, he just elevates the music. There’s almost a sense of danger, as if everything could go spinning out of control into a train wreck. But we keep it together, usually.”

- Andrew Gilbert, 96Hours@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page G – 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Original article here