Hey, y'all -- this is Andrew Chaikin, aka Kid Beyond.

I'm leaving NYC Tuesday morning, but I've got
a cool gig tonight (Monday) in midtown. (For those
of you who don't live in New York, my apologies
for the irrelevant message.)

There's a fantastic a cappella group called Toxic
Audio, who have an off-Broadway show called
Loudmouth. The show is awesome mix of music
and comedy: really tight, fun covers with a full,
powerful sound (including great beatboxing), and
witty, slapstick, non-cheesy comedy.

Toxic's show lasts for about 90 minutes, then after
a 15-minute intermission, I'll be doing a 40-minute
set of beatboxing and live-looping. I did it tonight;
it was fresh. The theatre has 280 seats, and the
sound system is BUMPIN.

Tickets are normally $50, but if you show up
tonight and mention Kid Beyond, they're only $20!
How's that for a deal?

The info:

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MON, APR 26 -- 8pm
Toxic Audio's "Loudmouth"
John Houseman Theatre
450 W. 42nd (bt. 9th & 10th), NY NY
$20 at the door, if you mention Kid Beyond
http://www.toxicaudio.com
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Hope to see you there.


Peace,

Andrew Chaikin, aka Kid Beyond
andrew@...
(415) 929-8822

http://biggerbread.com | http://kidbeyond.com

Howdy all -- Andrew Chaikin here, aka Kid Beyond.

My sincerest apologies for the short notice, but...
I'm coming to NYC this weekend, to do a bunch
of small performances -- the World Beatboxing
Convention, and the Collegiate A Cappella Finals.
Currently confirmed appearances are:

FRI, APR 23 -- 10pm-4am
   World Beatboxing Convention: Beatbox Jam Session
   Bowery Poetry Club -- 308 Bowery at 1st
   60 Beatboxers x 10 minutes each = 6 hours! Yikes!
   10 of those minutes will be mine. I have no idea
   when. I'll probably just beatbox, not live-loop.

SAT, APR 24
   World Beatboxing Convention: Panels
   CBGB 313 Gallery -- 313 Bowery
   I'm speaking on two panels: Beatboxing with Effects
   at 4pm, and Organizing a Live Show at 6pm. I'll be
   doing one or two songs of live-looping at the 4pm.

SUN, APR 25 -- 2pm
   Int'l Championship of Collegiate A Cappella: Finals
   Town Hall -- 123 W. 43rd
   I'll be doing 10 minutes (beatboxing + live-looping)
   towards the end of the show.

MON, APR 26 -- Wanna get me a gig?
   My Monday night gig fell through, so I'm looking for
   a place where I can do 20 to 40 minutes of my
   live-looping. Some NYC industry folks wanna see it,
   and I wanna show 'em. I'm not picky -- tiny cafe,
   poetry slam, dimly-lit bar, opening act at Madison
   Square Garden -- I'll take anything. Wanna book me?
   Call me on my cel phone ASAP at (415) 929-8822.

For more info on the above shows, see my Website:
http://www.biggerbread.com

- - - - -

What is this live-looping thing? Basically, I use a
smattering of onstage machinery to record, loop, and
multitrack my voice live -- singing, throat singing,
beatboxing, scratching, vocal guitarsviolinsharmonicas,
etc. As the East Bay Express (a newspaper out here
in the San Francisco area) wrote:

   Watching him one-man-vocal-percussionist-band
   his way through Portishead's "Wandering Star" is
   truly mesmerizing. "That's the best live thing I've
   ever seen," the dude behind me pants when it's over.

Or you can just take my word for it -- it kicks butt.

- - - - -

See you in NYC!


Peace,

Andrew Chaikin, aka Kid Beyond
andrew@...
(415) 929-8822

http://biggerbread.com | http://kidbeyond.com

Howdy! Andrew Chaikin here.

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WATCH ME ON TV!
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Wed, Aug 21 -- 8pm (7pm Central)
30 SECONDS TO FAME
Fox TV show

So I'm going to be on national TV on Wednesday.

30 Seconds To Fame is somewhere between
Star Search and the Gong Show. 25 acts each
get 30 seconds to do whatever they want.
Whoever the studio audience likes best wins
the big prize -- $25,000.

So you'll see at least 30 seconds of me vocal-
percussing, and maybe more (I'm not allowed to
tell you how I did).

Many of the acts will be on the weird side --
folks lighting themselves on fire and such --
but friends of mine who've been watching the
show say it's surprisingly compelling and
(unsurprisingly) brisk. So even if I don't win,
the half-hour won't be a total loss.

http://www.fox.com/30secondstofame/


Demisemifamously,

Andrew Chaikin
andrew@...

http://www.biggerbread.com
http://www.playhogwash.com

Howdy all, Andrew Chaikin here.

In this issue:
- This Tuesday: me and Austin in LA
- Vocal percussion classes
- My 30 Seconds of Fame


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HEY ALL YOU L.A. FOLKS
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Tue, Jul 23 -- 9 pm
THE DERBY
with Austin Willacy

4500 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles CA
(323) 663-8979

   Austin and me and the rest of the band
   are goin' down to LA. (We heard a rumor
   that there a few record companies down
   there.) We want to play in LA more
   often, so call all your friends down
   there and tell them to come, mkay?

   Rumor has it that STEWART COPELAND
   (you know, from the Police!) and the
   drummer from TOOL will be audience
   checking us out. But those are just
   rumors, of course.

   For those unfamiliar with Austin's music,
   think Lenny Kravitz meets Dave Matthews.

   This is a full-band show (Kenan on
   guitar, Spencer on bass, Samantha on
   cello, and me mouth-drumming). $5 cover.

   http://www.the-derby.com


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VOCAL PERCUSSION CLASSES
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I'm giving some more vocal percussion
classes in Berkeley in early August.
The first one is for complete beginners;
then, if you like what you learned, you
can come back a week later and go deeper.

The Beginner class (Aug 4) is open to all.
The Intermediate class (Aug 11) will be
limited to 10 students only. If you're
interested in the Intermediate class,
email or call me (415-929-8822) to let
me know.

For all the info on the classes, see:
http://www.biggerbread.com/shows.htm


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MY 30 SECONDS OF FAME
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I just got back from Los Angeles, where
I vocal-percussed on a wacky Fox TV show
called 30 Seconds To Fame. It's sort of
a cross between Star Search and the Gong
Show. 25 people each get to do 30 seconds
of whatever their freakish talent is. The
one the audience likes best gets $25,000.

I'd love to tell you how I did, but I
signed a piece of paper saying I wouldn't.
You'll just have to watch. My episode
will air sometime in the next 4 to 8
weeks. I'll let you know.


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More info on the above is at my site:
http://www.biggerbread.com


Be excellent to each other,

Andrew Chaikin
andrew@...
http://www.biggerbread.com
http://www.playhogwash.com

Howdy, all! In this issue:

  - Hear me on NPR this week
  - Two new album releases


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HEAR ME ON NPR THIS WEEK
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You can hear me this week on the nationally
syndicated NPR show Echoes, which showcases
ambient music.

I'm backing up guitar wizard Danny Heines,
who uses the two-handed tapping techniques
pioneered by Stanley Jordan and Michael Hedges.

Echoes recorded a live concert in Danny's living
room, featuring vocalists Artemis Robison and
Irina Mikhailova (Lumin, Kitka, etc.), bass god
Michael Manring (Michael Hedges), and me on
vocal percussion.

Depending on your area, the show could be
airing as early as today (Mon Jun 3), or later
this week. For days and times in your area, see:
http://www.echoes.org/stattime.html

The players' sites:
http://www.dannyguitar.com
http://www.bassically.net/featured_artists/michael_manring/
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/121/irina.html


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I WRITE THE SONGS... UM, SONG
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My friend Sean Altman, the former frontman
of Rockapella (those guys on Carmen Sandiego,
remember?) has released his second solo album,
alt.mania. It's not a cappella; quite the contrary.
It's wry, Beatlesque power-pop in full
instrumental glory.

One of the album's 15 pop gems is "Unworthy,"
a song he and I wrote together. So go make a
Real Songwriter out of me by buying it at:
http://www.seanaltman.com/altmania.shtml


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SUPPORT ADULT LITERACY -- BUY THIS CD
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Songs Inspired by Literature is a new CD from
the SIBL Project, a non-profit that promotes
and supports adult literacy programs.

The CD features tracks by 16 artists, known
and unknown -- including Bruce Springsteen,
Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega, Grace Slick and
Ray Manzarek. Each of the songs was inspired
by a book, poem or play.

I provided the vocal percussion for "7th Step,"
the contribution from SIBL founder Deborah
Pardes, who was inspired by Frank McCourt's
Angela's Ashes. You can hear the track on my
Web site.

Here's how you can support the SIBL Project:

   - BUY the CD online at CDBaby.
     http://www.cdbaby.com/sibl

   - SELL the CD at your place of work.
     http://www.siblproject.org/cd.html

   - DONATE to SIBL and get the CD as a gift.
     http://www.siblproject.org/donate.html

Over 44 million American adults can't read
above the 5th grade level -- they can't read
to their children, fill out a job application,
or pass a written driver's test.

All proceeds from the CD benefit adult literacy
programs. So what are you waiting for?

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More info on all of the above is on my site:
http://www.biggerbread.com


See you soon,

Andrew Chaikin
andrew@...
http://www.biggerbread.com
http://www.playhogwash.com

In this issue:

  - Vocal percussion master class
  - L.A. show with Austin Willacy
  - Sylvan spots running nationally
  - Dilemma CD released
  - New Web site!

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VOCAL PERCUSSION MASTER CLASS
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On March 3, I will be giving a vocal
percussion master class at the Jazzschool
in Berkeley CA. This class isn't for beginners;
it's for folks who already have a working
grasp of the basics of vocal percussion,
and want to delve deeper into technique.

Class size will be limited to 10 students,
to ensure personal attention for everyone.
If you are interested in the class, go to
http://www.biggerbread.com/classes.htm
for more information on the audition process.

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L.A. SHOW WITH AUSTIN WILLACY
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I have a show in Los Angeles this Wednesday,
Feb 13. I'll be vocal-percussing with my
friend Austin Willacy's band. His music is sort
of like Lenny Kravitz meets Dave Matthews.
The band consists of two guitars, bass, and
me on mouth drums. Trust me, it slams.
The info:

    Wed Feb 13 -- 9pm
    Austin Willacy at The Mint
    6010 West Pico Blvd., LA CA 90035
    (323) 954-9630
    http://www.theminthollywood.com/

I'd love to see some of you SoCal folk there.

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SYLVAN SPOTS RUNNING NATIONWIDE
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These days I make most of my living talking
and singing on commercials, cartoons, video
games, and so on. Towards the end of last
year I landed a plum gig as the voice of
Sylvan Learning Centers, and now those
TV and radio spots are running nationwide.

I'm the one warmly intoning, "This moment
brought to you by Sylvan Learning Center.
If your child is struggling in school..." etc.
If you happen to catch it, drop me a line.

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DILEMMA CD RELEASED
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The female a cappella quintet Dilemma has
just released their first CD, called Dilemma.
I provided the funky-azz vocal percussion
on two tracks: "Can't Get Next To You" and
"Don't Leave Me This Way." To purchase
the CD online, visit one of the following:

   http://www.a-cappella.com
   http://www.dilemma-rocks.com

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NEW WEB SITE!
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I've just unveiled my brand-spankingly-new
Web site, where you can check out many of
the various things I've been up to lately --
including my musical activities, voiceover and
naming work, games and puzzles, poetry of
questionable merit, and so on. Lots and lots
of soundclippings of vocal-percussings,
singings, and crazy speakings. Check it out at:

    http://www.biggerbread.com

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Well, that's probably enough for now.
I hope this message finds you well.
See you soon.


Cheers,

Andrew Chaikin
andrew@...
http://www.biggerbread.com