Having Fun and Doing Good

There's never enough time to keep up with ourselves these days. We're coming off an incredible night at Hotel Utah with our friends Con Brio, just finished the second in a series of live webcasts, and are cranking out new songs weekly, including originals and some really fun covers. Our rehearsals continue to be filled with improvisational journeys, minor revelations, and lots of growth. In short: we're really psyched about making the music we're making, and can't wait to share it.

February is rolling in, and there's no sign of slowing down. We're scheduled for another live webcast in the middle of the month, and more importantly, we'll be back in the studio, recording the second half of our debut album on February 6 and 7.

More importantly, though, we're very excited to be playing a two set show at the end of the month! It would be enough to say that this is our first unsupported two set show, but there's more to it than that. Our show on February 27 will be raising money for the Tutorpedia Foundation, a Bay Area nonprofit that is providing free tutoring and academic support to students who desperately need it but can not afford it. Both David and Taylor are urban high school teachers by profession and training, so this important cause is near and dear to our hearts.

Here is the info:

Benefit for the Tutorpedia Foundation, featuring Guella
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The Connecticut Yankee - San Francisco, CA
$10 Donation at the door - All proceeds go towards providing tutoring for low-income students!

The benefit starts at 8:00pm. Come early for dinner, drinks, and an amazing silent auction. Guella will start playing around 10:00pm, and will play two sets.

We're really looking forward to this show - it's a great night out and a chance to do some good for disadvantaged youth all at once.

Ever onward,
Guella

We Only Float to Keep it Clear

Here's a video of "Spacemen" from our live webcast. Enjoy, and we'll see everyone on Friday at Hotel Utah!

Happy New Year from Guella!

First off, happy holidays to one and all!  We hope you're finding time this season to connect with what matters to you most.

Secondly, A quick heads-up about our upcoming show at Hotel Utah on January 15: the advance ticket link is now live!  Purchase tickets here ($6) and save $2 off the door price.  We highly recommend getting tickets in advance.  For one, you won't have to worry about the show selling out, and for another, you'll have a little extra cash in your pocket to buy a beverage for that special someone (or perhaps a Guella sticker and CD).  We're very, very excited for this show- Con Brio and Peck  ake fantastic music.  It's going to be one incredible night.  For real.

Buy Tickets Here

And the show info:

Guella, Con Brio, and Peck The Town Crier
Hotel Utah Saloon
500 4th St, San Francisco, CA, 94107
Friday, Jan 15 2010 | San Francisco, CA US
Doors at 8:00pm

Thirdly, we will be performing for a live video webcast on Sunday, January 10, at 8:30pm.  You can tune in and see us live here:

And lastly, a little reminder that up until January 15, you can download our studio EP for FREE!  Check it out at www.reverbnation.com/guella.

All the best in 2010. We'll see you in January.

-Adam, David, Jeff, and Taylor

Spent the Night in Utah

An enormous THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Hotel Utah on October 23! The turnout was astounding and we had an amazing time playing music and sharing the night with you. If you want to listen to some cuts from the evening, we posted recordings of "The Corner" and "Promised Land" on our website: http://www.guellamusic.com/shows.html We are planning on a return to the Utah some time in December or January. Stay tuned for more.

In other news, Guella will be going back into the Ex'pression soundbooth on November 14 for a live webcast! Tune in live at http://mediasource.expression.edu/liveCast.htm, or if you can't be by a computer then, check back with us for video from the event.

We're working on (yet another) batch of new songs that we're very excited about. We're also dreaming up some new cover material. If you have any songs you think Guella should play, email us at band (at) guellamusic.com and let us know. Either way, expect new material at upcoming shows.

Be seeing you soon,
Guella

Silence is Golden

Last weekend's live webcast at Ex'pression Studios was a first. Usually when we play there is some sort of ambient noise - people at the bar, street traffic, the band in the rehearsal space down the hall - but this was the first time we took the stage to complete silence. That sort of space is ostensibly every musician's dream, but we found that when we had such a space we didn't quite know how to react.

Here are some of the results. Check out more videos from our live webcast, and get ready for something considerably more noisy: Hotel Utah next Friday!

Turn it up,
Guella

The Great Fall

It's been a long summer for the Guella Faithful, a summer speculating just what the band has been up to, just how far they boys have stretched in their many attempts to capture moments of aural magic, just what sort of musical alchemy has been brewing in the band's closed rehearsal sessions. Rest assured, Guella Faithful, that wondrous events have been taking place. And it's almost time to let such wonders see the light of day...

After a summer dedicated to recording, writing, polishing, and fine-tuning, Guella is poised to amaze and astound this fall. We have worked up a set of new original compositions and picked and learned some choice covers. We (very soon) will have a whole mess of merchandise, including sampler CDs from our first self-produced EP, stickers, and more. We have unearthed some live tracks from the vaults for you to download and listen to for FREE. And most importantly, we've got some concert dates we'd like to share.

Guella returns for the Fall season on October 8 at the Red Devil Lounge, and on October 23 at Hotel Utah. The band will also be recording a live show at Ex'pression studios in Emeryville on October 10 - there is a very limited guest list for this special event, so please get in touch if you want to attend.

Details and more dates will be announced shortly. Meantime, rest assured. Guella is back for the fall.

Making Hits

After spending two days in the studio tracking, overdubbing, punching in, and singing over, we're in full post-production mode. Our first trip to a professional recording studio was an incredible thrill and success (Taylor loved playing the 1886 Steinway Grand Piano), and most importantly, the recordings sound amazing. We're currently putting in some late nights at Guella HQ, working our auditory magic over the recording session, doing some mixing and mastering, and getting ever closer to releasing our first official album! Stay tuned for more...the Guella album is about to drop.

Pedal Powered at the Maker Faire!

With a summer filled with studio time looming ahead, we thought we were going to take a short break from the stage. Then our good friends at Rock The Bike gave us a call, and all of a sudden Guella's spring run of shows stretches a bit farther into the summer. We're not complaining, far from it. We'll take any and all opportunity to go off the grid and rock hard to pedal power.

Thanks to Rock The Bike's revamped and modified bicycle powered stage, Guella will be performing at this year's Maker Faire on Saturday, May 30, 2009. We'll take the stage at 4:00 PM, and will be joined by other amazing local bands such as Antioquia, Justin Ancheta, Shake Your Peace, Fossil Fool, Cello Joe, and Oona Garthwaite. All pedal powered, all positive. We hope you'll make it down to the San Mateo County Expo Center this weekend for a full day of innovative inventions and inspiring music.

Taking It Out, Making It Funky

Much is in motion at Guella HQ, and we've recently been dedicating much of our rehearsal time to extended open-ended improvisation. We really like what's been coming out, and are very excited to make some of these soundsculpting experiments a little more public. As a result, our next show, coming up this Thursday, May 14 at Cafe Royale, will be unlike any other show we've previously done.

One set of this FREE two set show will feature the Guella that you have come to know and love. The other set, however, will be quite a different experience. We will be jumping off from what's known and rehearsed, stretching out into previously uncharted musical territory, exploring rhythms, grooves, textures, and gestures that have never or will never exist again oustide the moment it happens. If our studio sessions have been any indication, this more cerebral side of Guella will run the range of all dynamics, genres, and emotions, and is best suited for careful listening.

Two very distinct and inventive free sets from Guella for the last show of our spring schedule - it's really the best of both worlds. We hope you'll join us for this experimental and unique musical experience.

Return of The Carpenter

We're very excited for our upcoming show this Friday at Ireland's 32 with The American Economy! Festivities start off around 8:30 pm, and the evening will feature extended sets from both bands. This gig promises to be extraordinary, as we've got a boatload of new developments that we're eager to share, including new songs and a tenor saxophone that will join us for a portion of the evening. Most of all, though, we're very excited to have our old friend and longtime collaborator Jeff Hunt (Papaskew) sit in with us on bass for the show!

And all this in our favorite neighborhood spot! We always have amazing times at Ireland's, and really can’t think of a better way to usher in the weekend than a night of music with all of you. Grab a friend or two, come on down, congregate, and celebrate. Guella is on the rise.

Cataloging

We had an excellent and very successful weekend full of shows, and over the course of two nights had the opportunity to play all the songs in our catalog live. We're really pleased with where things are at, and are making plans to get into the studio before summer in order to document our progress. Thanks to everyone who made it out to one of our shows this past weekend, and thanks for the continued support.

This weekend saw the debut of two new tunes, "Fog Collects" and "Regina Carter," the latter of which featured Wes on Alto Sax. We've played six shows in the past two months, and we have already managed to work out enough material to cover two full shows, but we're poised to add eight new original songs and a handful of covers to our catalog. We'll be spending the next couple weeks rehearsing some original tunes that have yet to be heard by public ears. Our next show, which is Friday, April 24 at Ireland's 32 will most definitely feature at least one original debut.

Thanks for listening, and as always, stay tuned for more...

Free Downloads!

Guella HQ has been buzzing in the wake of our Earth Hour celebration, and in anticipation of a string of weekend dates coming up on our calendar we felt the need to do something special. Many people have been asking where they could download some Guella to put on their iPod or their home computer. In response, we've decided to open up the vaults and make our first EP available for FREE download. Check out our page on ReverbNation, and download our EP (in MP3 format) for free! This free download will only be available for a limited time, so please take advantage of it in while you can.

Recordings are good, but live music is better...and Guella is getting better and better with every show. We hope you'll join us for one of our upcoming weekend shows, starting with an under-the-radar show on Friday night, and a much-anticipated Saturday night set at Beale Street Bar and Grill this weekend!

Be it live or recorded, many thanks for putting Guella into your ears. Be seeing you real soon.

Earth Hour Video

Shots from the crowd: Guella plays "Gato Negro" as the lights go out at Earth Hour.

Newsworthy

We knew our outdoor bike-powered set at San Francisco's Earth Hour celebration would be amazing, but we didn't know exactly how amazing until we actually found ourselves in the middle of it. Between the incredible efforts made by our friends at Rock The Bike, the community of pedalers that kept power going to the stage throughout the night, the bartender mixing drinks on a bike-powered blender, the city's lights going out as we fell out of the bridge to "Gato Negro," and Mayor Gavin Newsom giving an impromptu speech in the middle of our set, the night continued to top all of our best expectations. We were excited to have been a part of the couple hundred souls who found themselves reveling in the dark at the Ferry Building last Saturday night, and moreover, we are honored to have provided the soundtrack.

Some of our friends took photos of the night's proceedings, some of which are located here, others of which are located here. And if photos weren't enough, Guella was featured on the 11 O'Clock News on Saturday Night! In terms of airtime, Guella got more press than the Pyramids in Giza, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sydney Opera House. It was a pretty good set, after all.

Earth Hour may be over, but there is plenty on the horizon. We are looking forward to a string of weekend gigs in the next month or two, and would love nothing better than to share our music with you. Until then, keep pedaling.

-Guella

Off The Grid

Thanks to all our friends that came out to Ireland's 32 this past Wednesday. We had a blast playing with The Fireflies, and management at Ireland's has invited us back to play again! Specific dates will be announced shortly. We have our fans and friends to thank for this, so thanks to everyone who showed up for making the effort and supporting live music on a Wednesday night. Your presence is more than meaningful; it actually is the thing that lets us do what we love to do most.

If you took pictures or video at the show, we'd love it if you posted it on our Facebook page. For our part, we've posted our setlist and a couple choice audio samples from the show here. Enjoy!

Big goings-on this weekend: at 7pm on Saturday, Guella goes off the grid for a 100% pollution free performance in Downtown San Francisco. We've just received word that there is a slight change of venue, though: The SF Earth Hour Celebration featuring Guella, Justin Anchera Band, and Fossil Fool is now taking place across the street from Justin Herman Plaza, at Market Bar in the Ferry Building. Still free, still outside, still 100% pedal powered. We are very, very excited for this unique event and look forward to sharing it with everyone.

It Comes Around

First and foremost, we want to take a minute to appreciate everyone who came out to support us on March 10th in North Beach. The crowd of Guella faithful assembled was astounding, espeically for an early show on a Tuesday. Like many things we encounter in our lives, the night didn't come together exactly as expected or planned, but we feel good about making the best of a tough situation. Thanks for being there with us.

Things have been quite busy at Guella HQ as of late. We know this is short notice, but we'd like to invite everyone to enjoy a little of what you might have missed in North Beach: Guella will be taking the stage for a FREE two set show at Ireland's 32 this Wednesaday, March 25. We have played this venue before and love the relaxed and music-focused vibe here. We hope you can join us- check out the shows page for more info.

One night of Guella on such short notice would be enough, but as we've said, things have been busy. This isn't 100% confirmed yet, but we hope you can mark your calendars for this Saturday night, March 28. As some of you know, the world will turn off its lights at 8:30pm to mark Earth Hour, and our lovely home town of San Francisco will be throwing a big party for the event at the Embarcadero. We can't say too much right now, but we can hint that potentialities for the official San Francisco Earth Hour party will involve live music, speakers, a bicycle powered stage, starlight, and a band called Guella. We're very, very excited about this one, and are almost finished putting the pieces together. We will keep you updated as we know more.

Thanks for listening. See everyone at Ireland's 32 on Wednesday!

Nothing Was The Way It Once Was

An enormous, heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who made it out to Beale Street last night for our debut. We were flattered and touched to see so many of people turn out for the gig, and were even happier to be able to share our music with you. The venue thought enough of the event to ask us back for a Saturday night slot! So, Guella faithful, mark your calendars: Guella returns to Beale Street on Saturday, April 11.

Before that, though, we hope you'll join us at Grant and Green in North Beach on Tuesday, March 10. We are playing an early set, which will feature some previously unreleased songs, new covers, and instrumental surprises. This is a FREE SHOW, so there's really no excuse not to. Guella hits the stage at 8:15pm sharp for an extended 90 minute set.

Music samples and photos from Beale Street are up as well...as always, stay tuned for more.

Thanks again, and be seeing you-
Guella

Liftoff

Guella's public debut is three short days away! If you are anywhere near San Francisco this Thursday, make your way down to Beale Street Bar and Grill for an extraordinary night of music. We will be sharing the stage with our friends Dana Carmel and Whiskey Tango.

The show will feature all of us on vocals. For some reason we haven't yet called into question, we thought it would be a good idea to give Wes and Adam microphones. So now all four of us are singing, sometimes all at the same time. It's pretty awesome. Guella in four part harmony...this you will have to hear for yourself.

See everyone at Beale Street on February 26th! Doors are at 8pm, cover is a measly $5. A small price to pay for so much happiness.

You Are Cordially Invited...

Fine Tuning

The Guella PR machine is in full swing. We've given our website some tweaks towards the positive, and we are in the mdidle of locking down our first show dates for 2009. We should have some to announce very soon. Meanwhile, at Guella HQ, Taylor, Adam, Wes, and David are cooking up some new sounds (and smoothing out some old ones). What we've got is sure to please, and will be set loose upon the Bay Area some time very, very soon...

Happy New Year from Guella

Happy New Year from Guella! We're very excited for 2009 and will have some winter concert dates to announce some time very soon. After taking some time off to be with our families and loved ones over the holidays, we have been in the studio working on some new tunes and some interesting covers that will debut at upcoming shows. We will keep you posted as we know more.

Until then, check us out on Myspace, Facebook, ReverbNation, Last.fm, and JamBase. We'd love it if you linked to us. Don't be shy. We won't turn you down.

Let's all have a rocking January.
-Guella

Welcome to guellamusic.com!

We've finally got our website up and running, and we're excited to share it with you. It's not complete by any means, but the basics are in place. Check back soon for more, but in the meantime, dig into some tracks from our new EP!

more soon...
-Guella