The Spirit Foundation Battles Cervical Cancer and Last Call Lends Our Support

Last Call (as in, we hung in there untill...): John, Ira, Karl, and David
Photo by Mrs. Falkenstein

Had my debut performance with local retro-hipsters Last Call last night at Meehan's Public House at Atlantic Station.  The event was a silent auction held in conjunction with Spirit Foundation's "Walk For Hope", benefiting cervical cancer research.  The band is the vision of singer/guitarist David Falkenstein, along with Ira Kramer on e-drums and Karl Rosenblum on e-violin.  They specialize in classic rock from a slightly alternative angle.  Deep cuts that don't get played too often.  It makes for an interesting bar-band show, in my opinion.  I got involved through J.T. and his fine Gong Crazy Productions contacts.  I brought my NS/Stick over to the Tuesday night rehearsal and it seems that it could be a good fit.  In a power-trio format, the NS can help contribute some comping and perhaps even some melodic passages.  I'm going to try to work on it when the next time comes around.  This time around, I was just getting ready for the hit.  I was afforded the luxury of cherry-picking the setlist.  I did, but then realized I really didn't know the tunes as well as I had thought.  Here is the setlist:

We also added Run by Collective Soul.  I used Audacity to transpose the keys of my mp3's so that I could practice the tunes in the altered keys.  That is a revelation for me.  It really makes a difference, as certain fingerings need to be worked out in advance on the bass. I ended up singing lead on Big Me, "Heroes", The Kids Are Alright, & Shambala.  I think that's the most I've sang in a long, long time.  It was a lot of fun.  Meehan's has a decent stage that is raised up and roomy.  It was also the first time I can think of that I didn't play through an amp.  We all went direct into the mixing board.  David used a Vox pedalboard for his tones, along with a crafty "harmonizing" pedal for the vocals.  Gotta love that!  Ira played a set of Alesis electronic drums.  Electric violin added some really nice passages as well.  No stage volume!  We monitored with ear buds.

My 8-string NS/Stick appears to have a custom headstock!

My setup was similar to what I used recently in Savannah with Square One: my bass pedalboard in conjunction with a Boss GT-8 for the "guitar" portion of the NS/Stick.  These two signals were mixed together with the Boss LS-2 pedal that I normally use as a simple A/B switch.  The issue with this setup is that it takes up twice as much floor space.  Perhaps one day I can streamline it.  Had always heard about how the Line 6 Pod XT Live and later models have the capability of processing 2 signals at once.  Perhaps that could be in my future?  The NS sounded great, with a pick, my fingers, and tapping.  Funny how the volume felt consistent.  I compressed it, as I always do.  I had raised the action a bit and I think that helped get a bit more tone from the tapping and less fret buzz with the plucking.  Was it too much?  Perhaps I need to check the neck relief and readjust the string height.  I play it fingerstyle more than tapping, but that's the beauty of this instrument: you can change your technique on the fly and it works for all of them - even slap if you're careful.  I received some nice compliments on my tone from the guys in the headlining band BackFlash.  Lead singer and front-person-extraordinaire Karen Tortoriello and her group put on a great, high energy show after ours, with some choice covers: The James Gang's Walk Away, The Motels' Only The Lonely, and the Clash's Brand New Cadillac.  It was nice to unwind with a few pints of Guiness and savor our triumph.  We made it happen!

I worked on the solo for Baby Blue, using right hand tapping.  In a perfect world I would have gone for it.  Not this time!  Maybe next.  I did get a half decent leslie vibe for some neo-organ tones in No Matter What and the Petty tunes.  Mostly, I just tried to remember everything I had just learned the last couple of nights!  We made it through roughly 20 songs in 90 minutes.  Highlights not already mentioned: a fun romp through the Raspberries' Go All The Way and enough energy left for some vintage Who a la The Kids Are Alright.  I like how that middle section after the bridge has an uncertain feel about it.  I enjoy singing that one - it doesn't get very high and no big Roger Daltrey screams.  If we have fun, the audience will have fun watching us.  All in all, it was a good night of music for a very worthy cause.

Getting Ready For "Walk For Hope" and Generating More Hope

Not much to report during this typically vapid month of January.  Hey, it's a test to see if we can all hang in there.  A few family birthdays, Becca and Steve, and even a date night for the Mrs. and myself.  Watched one of my favorite movies with Jack, The Game, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn.  What a story that one turned out to be.  Jack really liked it.  Good to see him put his PSV down for 2 hours.  Rehearsed with Platinum and worked on Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars, including some dance moves for all of us.  I need to practice those, come to think of it.  Also rehearsed for a short hit this Saturday with some guys to whom J.T. from Running With Desire referred me.  They are called Last Call and the event is this Saturday evening (7:00 - 8:30 pm) at Meehan's Irish Pub in Atlantic Station.  The show is after Spirit Foundation's 5K "Walk For Hope", which is a benefit for cervical cancer research.  Check out the details for the walk here.  We play the hits after the walk.  Hoping for decent weather after this cold rain blows through on Friday.  Should be a good, family oriented show with some fun, seldom heard covers a la R.E.M., Badfinger, The Kinks, and Bowie.  I'll even be singing some leads and playing my NS/Stick.

Just learned of some terrible news from a friend; a loss in his family.  It is so devastatingly sad that I can't begin to wrap my head around it.  My thoughts are with you and your family.  Time cannot heal these monumental twists in our existence.  We learn to accept and eventually deal with the vacuum that is left around us.  I can't think of any relief from your pain.  Please be strong and try to find the pleasure in the mundane.  There's still much to be thankful for, even if it doesn't present itself with the same vibrant colors it once shared.  Give someone a hug today for these good people.

Platinum Performs at Gainesville's Newly Opened Robson Event Center

It's that good, people.  I think the L-shaped area makes for a fine acoustic space.  Remember, take the L out of Lover and it's over!  For a "loud" room of brick and steel and no carpeting or curtains, the place held it's own as far as soaking up the sound.  Some folks decided they couldn't hang.  Those that did were treated to some unabashed sets cherry-picked from Platinum's extensive list, with a slight emphasis on country. traditional and neo.  No, we didn't do Dixieland Delight, but come to think of it, we oughta.  This band could almost pull it off, save for the fiddle.

I worked on some of the charts, as they were first dances and my charts were made a long time ago, when I first started in the band.  I didn't subscribe to the sense of detail that I might these days.  It turned out to be a good thing that I did give a hard listen.  I had some of the changes simply incorrect.  I also went over the last song of the night, the Dirty Dancing theme (I've Had) The Time of My Life, which of course, has that octave-based funk-esque line, not to mention that cool diminished-sounding horn hit after the sax solo.  I decided to learn it since we do it with out a horn and need to get that strong.  It came out good on the gig.  Nice.  Sound check went well.  Interesting to note that Derek had some issues with a connection to his amp.  Then I had a bad cable from my acoustic guitar to my DI.  Then during the first set, Glen lost the sound from his keyboard.  That turned out to be an issue with the keyboard and the wedge of David's that had developed a short of some kind.  Weird that that is the only sound source for Glen's keys.  He got it back as we launched into I'll Be, my lone guitar feature.  As I stayed on bass, not knowing his situation was getting remedied but still requiring his focus, I did not play it.  It turns out I certainly am more comfortable with the guitar part than the bass part!

My fretless got a nice feature on Mercy Mercy Mercy.  I probably over-played, but then again, that's the only time I get to blow.  Hey, time to rise up!  A la the Falcons!  Also, is it bad news to delve back into earlier tunes late in the evening, for instance, Brown Eyed Girl?  If it gets a fickle crowd off of their feet, I guess there are no rules.  They really seemed to enjoy us, but it's hard to tell in the moment.  A dance band thrives on dancing fools; without a packed floor, we feel we are not a success.  Sometimes people are just content to sit there and watch.  Before long, it was the bouquet toss (another victim of a low hanging chandelier) and the garter snatch (snicker).  Then we honored their request for Free, a Zac Brown Band tune we've played once before.  I like the version that SWJ did that mashed with Into The Mystic.  Kevin did a great job on this and the dances earlier, not to mention the evening closer of that Dirty Dancing toe tapper.  Had a nice groove and we nailed the horn lick!  Much better for me to hit it with the others than to just ride the D like I used to back when McDougal was with us.  Check him out here - he's a great singer, guitarist, piano man, and our tax preparer (for 3 years now, going on 4).  He helped me out quite a bit in my first year with this band.

The Billy Batts Ensemble Begins a New Year With Grand Designs

Many times we are blessed to have that cavalier attitude of holding down a regular gig.  It's hard to not take the easy way out and just do the bare minimum.  After all, you already have the gig.  It's not like you have to impress anybody.  I'm guilty of it, but less so than I could imagine.  I am always trying to make something happen, musically speaking.  I at least have a drive to produce a chart or two, which can be good but it could be a false sense of security.  At any rate, it's important to keep looking forward as far as new material, new ideas, a continued sense of progress as far as addressing weaknesses of which one is made aware.  Yeah come on!  So, all of that said, I was up late this past week practicing and making a chart or two for the little combo known as BBE.  The only time it can happen around here is in the late evening, after work, kids, dinner, cleanup, baths, trash, discussions, you name it.  When the business of the house shuts down, that's my time to make it happen.  Yawn.  Finale had kicked my butt all around.  I finally (finale-y ha-ha!) got around to mastering the concept of staffs (staves, actually) and how to size and position them above and below each other.  It was a small nightmare, as the panic sets in around 11:30 on Wednesday night after dealing with it Monday and Tuesday nights already.  The worst!  I got it done and then worked on singing said songs: Home at Last and Hello It's Me.

I'm glad to be asked back to play in this fine quartet.  Walt Austin effectively leads us through a series of tunes culled from American songbooks we all love but are sometimes afraid to consider.  We play a fair amount of trad jazz, a bit of Miles,  some blues, a bit of modern folk, some rock, really, whatever floats our boat.  A great freedom to enjoy at our monthly appearance downtown at ye olde Capital City Club.  Ran through some tunes I was suggesting: that great Steely Dan tune, the old Todd Rundgren classic, and With A Little Help From My Friends.  I sang for the first time in a while.  Felt good.  We were gelling for the first set.  Mark Letalien, fresh off his Abbey Road Live gigs, was the best I've ever heard from him.  Super relaxed and rock solid.  We were a bit too on top of the beat during the second set, but the first was off the chain!  Must attain to that sense of groove next time out.  Walt was impeccable as always.  Brian fits in like a glove. It's like we had just rehearsed.  My new-ish chart for Just Friends had just the right changes.  Come Together and All Blues (going into a set closing Boogie On Reggae Woman) had the best grooves I've ever felt in this band.  A real pleasure to lay back and feel it from within.

The Starfish Ball at St. Regis Enjoys A Class Act

Taken from Southern Seasons Magazine:

STARFISH BALL Jan. 5 Atlanta’s most festive Mardi Gras celebration at The St. Regis Atlanta includes a formal dinner and silent auction. The benefit supports the nsoro Foundation and its student scholarship. A nsoro scholar who grew up in foster care, graduated high school, and currently maintains a GPA of 3.5 at college will be honored. $500. Patron sponsorships begin at $2,500. Call 404/574-6763 or visit thenf.org.

That gives you an idea of the crowd here.  No punches were pulled.  There was a DJ set up outside of the ballroom.  After we finsihed, an R&B trio (keys, bass, drums) played more music for the wee hours party people.

My P-bass sounded good - no buzzing no unwanted noises.  It just doesn't like certain grounding situations.  I was driving the bus of a nice, large band - keys, guitar, drums, sax, trumpet, and 2 vocalists.  Like I said, they didn't spare any expense!  A great group it was: Judy Boehm on keys, Ed Sanker on guitar & vocals, Brent Whiten on drums, trumpet, & vocals, Verna Law on vocals, Kirk (didn't get his last name!) on vocals & dancing, Ed Blake on tenor saxophone, and Melvin Jones on trumpet.  I had heard of Melvin before;  he keeps good company with Tyler Perry and Patti LaBelle, to name a few, along with many of Atlanta's finest jazz musicians.  Check out his web site here.

Melvin Jones has his own logo.  Tasteful.

We had some nice jams: Route 66 gave me a chance to play in-the-pocket swing-blues.  That is important on a bandstand where I'm meeting half of the band for the first time.  I want them to relax and trust that I'm going to groove and not make it an ugly event.  Jr. Walker's Shotgun is a simple riff-tune that got quite a nice response.  It sounded like we were playing Mustang Sally at first.  Then I realized we just hang on the "one".  We did eventually get to Mustang Sally, with a special guest appearance.  Also played Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, down a half-step and no modulation up a minor third.  Mr. Sanker does a great job with this one.  What party is complete without Play That Funky Music?  I gave 'em that Dazz (Brick) riff during the solo.  The horns turned around but I'm not sure if they liked it or not.  I filled in for Judy's husband Jim, who preferred to not take part in the playing but perform equally important roles on the side.  He was the principle videographer and worked in conjunction with the front-of-house (side-of-house) audio technician.  Speaking of whom, he controlled his setting via his iPad.  Pretty cool for a cover band!  He later came over to me to explain that the XLR cable has an on/off switch - a red ring that can be rotated.  Mine was set to "off".  No wonder I couldn't hear myself!  It was just in time, as the next song was my vocal feature of Love Shack.  As a singer, I've often striven to emulate Fred Schneider.  Judy kept it going non-stop.  A glorious celebration in song and dance, and all for a good cause.

New Year's Eve in Johns Creek

My New Year's Eve was with Platinum, a quintet version of the larger ensemble.  Back where we were one year ago, at Atlanta Athletic Club.  It was quite similar to last year.  An older crowd, for sure.  My playlist on my iPod was unwittingly tailor-made for the mature patrons.  They seemed to enjoy our soundcheck from earlier in the evening, as we ran down Last Dance, Call Me Maybe, and Firework.  As it goes, we didn't play those during the main sets.  Isn't that the typical situation?  I have Last Dance completely memorized, save for that pesky semi-early bridge where it goes to the | Cm  | Bb  | Ab  | Ab Bb  | vamp.  Got to be more careful there!  Dianna made me smile when she went into Love To Love You Baby during that part.  That was a nice mini-mash-up.

We did get to enjoy a hot meal of stuffed chicken, broccoli, potatoes, rolls, and a salad as well.  It made for a decent start to the evening.  We began our set after the customary firework display.  I didn't even go outside.  It was cold but not unbearable.  Then, after many second guesses, we started up with, drum roll please, Little Sunflower?  A wonderful standard, but not for this crowd.  Traditional post-bop with older folks, younger parents, and excitable children.  Not a great fit.  I think we went into Mr. Magic after that, which at least was funky.  Both were cut short.  Hey, one cool thing we broke out, and we should keep, was a decent James Brown segue: I Got You (I Feel Good) --> Sex Machine.  I know, probably his two biggest hits, so not so adventurous.  They worked well together and nice to play something besides the overdone first tune.  Thanks to G-Clef for the tightening up on the hits.  Glen later took us to Waffle House during the Isley Brothers' Shout!  As the evening wore on, especially after midnight, we ended up easing down to stuff like What A Wonderful World.  All in all, it was rather uneventful.  I was thinking to myself that the Underground Peach Drop scene was probably a quite different affair.  Done at 1 a.m., then home safe.  No problems there on a night that nobody particularly likes to drive.  A to-go box of wings was my tip.