There’s a reason Rough Congress front man, Brandon O’Neill hasn’t been around to direct the party lately.
Check out Brandon’s recent interview with Aladdin Musical Blog Spot to see what he’s been up to.
a Seven and Seven and 4 years ago
After a very busy hiatus with many changes for all, the boys of Rough Congress decided to get together on January 27th and 28th at Zola to re-live the “Sonic Domination” concert. It was our very first concert on January 26th, 2008 at the now defunct Prago Agentine Cafe. We were knee-deep in snow and elbow-deep in…So Anyway…Can you believe we’ve been ROUGHIN’ IT that long?? We’re throwing a party to celebrate 4 years of keeping a great band name alive and we’ll play some of RC’s trusted ass-shakin’ favorites as well as forgetting a ton of lyrics, botching musical transitions, and blaming the booze.
If you miss it, you’ll have missed something that was “not to be missed”. Now that’d suck, wouldn’t it?
Promo for March 19th Concert
Design by Tom Stover, graphic designer for the Pacific NW Inlander.
Update: Watch Chris’ film here!!
Here it is in all of it’s short film glory. Word has it that “Big $ayonara” is headed for a NYC premier this summer. Details to follow.
Bright lights, big city…update on Brandon
2010 is shaping up nicely.
On February 12 & 17th, Brandon shot his scene for a new shoot-em up movie called “Hit List” with Oscar award winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr., and TV star, Cole Hauser. O’Neill was cast as #3 (of 5) on the list, Dom Estacado,
a bookie, club owner and crime boss that Hauser’s character owes money. The dark, gritty scene of confrontation ends with Dom’s ultimate demise (killshot to the EYE??!!..We’ll see if the CG makes the budget). Even more surreal than standing toe to toe with Cuba and calling him “a Shaft wannabe” was being flown in to his home town of Spokane and put up in a hotel. With some 30+ family members living in town, it was a scenario he never imagined.
Directly after his 12 hour shoot day and still bloody, Brandon boarded a plane for Seattle to make his 9am meeting on February 18th with Marvin Hamlisch.
February 18th-21st, Brandon was one of 5 featured soloists with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in a Steven Sondheim tribute with conductor Marvin Hamlisch. Joining O’Neill were international singing and recording artist , Liz Callaway and 3 other Broadway veterans who also happen to be Seattle residents: Allen Fitzpatrick, Carol Swarbrick, and Patti Cohenhour.
A mere 2 hours of rehearsal with the orchestra left the cast and Maestro wondering how we could do justice to material as complex as Sondheim’s. Hamlisch used his vast experience to cut and paste together a working order that could be accomplished with such limited rehearsal time. The final incarnation would involve Hamlisch as accompanist on the grand piano for many of the more complex numbers involving vocalists while the overtures and medleys where accomplished with full orchestration.
“Having Marvin Hamlisch at the piano while I sang a song he considers his mantra (“Being Alive” from the show “Company”) will be one of the great thrills of my career” stated O’Neill.
While admittedly not very familiar with the classical music scene or gigs like the Symphony, O’Neill said, ”Singing inside Benaroya Hall is like singing inside of a Stradivarius. The notes are almost pulled out of you.” 
He also enjoyed meeting eyes with Marvin on the song “Franklin Shepard Inc.” (Merrily We Roll Along) , and pulling the Maestro into a world O’Neill is very comfortable with; acting. “If you remember that the person across from you is just that; another human being, then you can find honesty and connection in any situation.” Even in the presence of greatness.
Overall, the Symphony gig was a great success garnering a bit of excellent press for O’Neill.
February 27th- Brandon will fly out to New York City to reprise his role as Desi Arnaz
in a workshop of a new musical called “The Cuban and the Redhead“. Set prior to the debut of ”I Love Lucy”, the play is a revealing look at the couple’s tumultuous love life and attempts to save their wild careers and marriage. The workshop will take place on March 8th in Asbury Park, NJ with a subsequent showcase the following day in New York City.
O’Neill sings “Oh say…” for Seahawks
Get your pitch pipes and take off your hats. Brandon has been asked to sing the National Anthem at the Seattle Seahawks last game of the 09-10 season. You will not be able to see it on tv but we may try to sneak a video camera in for some youtube love.
Review of Reboot
Here’s a chunk of the the review from the 103.1 KCDA live music blog. KCDA is leading the way in the Spokane scene for promoting local music and getting radio airplay for local artists.
full tilt boogie: http://www.1031kcda.com/pages/livemusicblog.html
“ Brandon drips with soul and sweat; you won’t forget his stage presence. Guitarist Jamie Frost (a.k.a. Jamie Maker of The Makers) busted out tasty licks. Chris White jammed on a vintage 1973 Fender-Rhodes seventy-six electric piano. Jake Barr laid down the groove on the bass. Aaron Saye kept a steady funk hammer on the drums.”
Treason! Gibson meet Fender.
If you’ve witnessed Jamie Frost (aka Jamie Maker) a la Congress, you’ve probably seen him wailing on a black 1960′s Gibson SG and stomping on a 1970′s Big Muff or a vintage Vox wah. But lately Frost is pushing some new pedals. The pedal steel. Jamie recently found himself in-cahoots with long time friend Kevin Cameron and on a musical endeavor they are calling Silver Treason. (bad ass name, right?) For this project Jamie laid down the Gibson and picked up, or rather, sat down at the pedal steel.
Jamie shows us how guitar babies are made.
A group like Silver Treason doesn’t wander these parts much anymore. Rootin’, tootin’, six-gun shootin’ outlaws of country punk and purveyors of fine twangy ballads. The foursome of treasoneers are rounded out by members of another Frost project, Burns Like Hellfire. BLH front man, Brian Young is the ST bass player and Cameron Smith takes her throne at the drums.
If you miss Jamie in between Rough Congress gigs, you can buy him drinks at a ST show and he’ll have a built-in place to set them while he plays (yeah, right). Just don’t let the Gibson SG see you, she may get jealous.
Keep up with Jamie and Silver Treason via Facebook or MySpace.
Brandon performs for 2 great causes in December.
On December 5th, Brandon will be the featured vocalist at one of Seattle’s biggest night of giving. The Hutch Holiday Gala is one of the most lucrative fund-raising events in the country rivaled only by a few star-studded charity events in California. The Gala expects to raise nearly 10 million dollars this year for Cancer Research.
On December 28th, Brandon will lend his voice to another very worthy cause, introducing new music to the world. Back and better than ever, New Voices gives Seattle its first look at the future of musical theatre. An exciting blend of Sondheim and pop/rock, this next generation of composers is turning Broadway on its ear with musicals about ADD, grunge bands, red-heads, and Ritalin. Join us for an evening of show tunes your grandma would not approve of, performed by some of Seattle’s hottest talent. Some material may not be suitable for younger audiences.
Presented by The Central Heating Lab at ACT.
White to star in movie
Chris makes a living behind the scenes. Most days find him tirelessly working in his studio, House of Sound, making music for film,tv, & radio. However, lately we find Chris is spending more time in front of the camera. You might have seen him in the recent string of bailout era, Sterling Savings commercials. Chris’ hilarious “Office-esque”, improvised dialogue on the commercials garnered him enough back-pats to stop him from wearing acting bug-repellent. That lead to the inevitable bite. Flaunting his newly acquired puncture wounds, White dove into a new film project titled “The Big Sayonara”. The project is already proving adept at eating up Chris’ already paltry free time. The comedy stars White and is being co-written/produced by John Baechler, VP and Creative Director for Hanna Advertising. We’ll try to get our hands on a teaser soon!
