Shane Kirsch’s New CD
The Fuzzy Flow
Shane
Winter 2008
The Fuzzy Flow has bebop elements that mesh with jazzinfused electronica that’s heavy on the sax and draws on funk. Groovers will hear the influence from artists like Parliament/Funkadelic (better known as P-Funk); of early ’80s break-dance artists like Newcleus, Grandmaster Flash, and The Sugar Hill Gang; along with some of the more influential electronic musicians like The Art of Noise and Kraftwerk. “A few of the numbers are also reminiscent of artists like Zero 7, Beck, Deee-lite and other sounds and eras,” Shane said. “Big inspiration, though, came from the Brunswick kids I work with and their amazing musical talents. I wanted to give them an
‘Wick Snippets
Kirsch, Upper School music teacher, saxophonist and producer, has done a funky/jazzy thing with the release of his new CD, The Fuzzy Flow. “The album was an opportunity to bring some of my songs out to the public,” said Shane who, with the exception of a few collaborations, wrote, arranged, produced, and performs all of the songs. “Many of the compositions were instrumentals beforehand, and last year the lyrics started to come together and fit into the tracks. I’m into simplicity and I like music that has a hook and grabs the listener.”
outlet for their work as well, so The Fuzzy Flow is also a big tribute to my students.” “When I began teaching at Brunswick, Andrew Hall, chairman of the arts department and Upper School art teacher, told me the sky was the limit with where I could take my classes,” Shane said. “This, paired with the School music curriculum, was an incredible opportunity and gave me the additional freedom to teach students how to compose with digital audio. It was inevitable that several of the works on the CD were derived from classroom work with the boys.” The song “Change,” for example, was inspired by Brunswick’s then-advanced jazz combo musicians Nick Chen (guitar), Chris Mahaney (sax), Terence Einhorn (bass and sax), Jose Fabre (trumpet), and Zach Ruchman (keyboard and sax). Brunswick faculty and staff also participated. Listen up for Jacques Bouffier, the Devo Divas (the folks in the Development Office), Andrew Hall, John McLane, Fiona Knight-Lucas, Seth Potter, Paul Raaen, and Larry Urbon. The Fuzzy Flow exemplifies Shane’s breadth and talent as a musician. As one iTunes 5-star review states, “ . . . [he] keeps his tunes upbeat and fun while interspersing some less traditional, darker numbers as well. There is clearly a great amount of collaboration that went into this album and it comes through in the music.” The Fuzzy Flow by (our very own) Shane Kirsch is available on iTunes and at CDBaby.com. r
31