Last Call Honors the Atlanta Knights at Coldbrews

Had spoken briefly with David and the gang in Last Call about trying to play some shows this summer.  It was up in the air with respect to everybody's schedules and vacation plans.  Somehow or another, it materialized into a couple of events of sizable proportions.  Friday the 14th morphed into a celebration of the Atlanta Junior Knights, our local area hockey organization.  David is very involved with these guys, perhaps through his past involvement with his own sons.  We rehearsed only once prior to the show.  It was relaxing and wide open; a lot of new song suggestions and few tunes we hadn't played much before that were already on the list.  David knew some of the folks who were going to be there - some big Springsteen fans.  We worked up that live version of Jimmy Cliff's Trapped that I've heard on the radio since the eighties.  Worked up a few others as well, but I think that in the quick time that this gig came about, we stuck to a tried and true running order that didn't allow for much deviation from earlier performances.  No worries.  The night belonged to the Knights!  We had some good energy and that is what this band requires.  I think the last time here I was run down.  Much better to deliver the goods.  I suppose I've lived with these tunes a bit more now, so they are just in my head a bit more.  Perhaps a good thing to do for us would be to simply reverse the set lists - play the 3rd set first!  It could be a simple method of varying up the pace.  The crowd is big at the beginning of the night, and the faithful partiers will hang through and enjoy the songs intended for earlier at any rate.

Karl stepped up quite a bit and played on more than half of the tunes.  I think our first gig together he was featured on 7 songs.  He really sounded good too.  Interesting how a violin can be such icing on the cake without overwhelming the audio with patches and clusters.  It really fits in so well in this guitar driven context.  I switched to my Jazz bass for the 2nd set and David was loving the beefier tone from it.  The NS/Stick has a hi-fi tone that can be great in many instances, but perhaps not snotty enough for others.  I think I have issues with it as far as fine tuning the action for tapping vs. plucking.  It needs to be low for tapping, yet not too low that it incurs excessive fret buzz.  Fret buzz is a tone thief!  Plucking needs to be done close to the bridge, which gives a Jaco-esque midrange sound.  I compensate by adding some lows, which then can thin out the fundamental signal.  Hard to explain.  People identify with a Fender bass, since it has a rich midrange sound that lets the ear discern the note.  Must work on it more.  Ira was rock solid.  Again, we are getting better at playing together.  The tempos were so steady, it's like we were playing to a click.  He sang The Wallflowers' One Headlight and it was a highlight!  Very cool laid back groove, with a loping bass rhythm that can be elusive - reminds me of Sly's Everyday People, with the long vs. short notes alternating.  All of the vocals were good and clear as well.  It would not be a complete review here if I didn't mention David's contributions on his Rickenbacker 12-string.  John Lennon would be proud!  It fills out the sound so nicely on so many of the tunes we play.  He commands the extra tonality without hesitation.  Accentuate the jangle, I say!  It's a fun little party band that plays music that no other band tries to.  Nice to hear some alternative pop and classic rock from a different angle these days.

Marital Bliss at The Wimbish House

I've played here a few times now.  It's just not the place that characteristically holds a large crowd on the dance floor; that may be a coincidental occurrence.  The fact that it has multiple levels allows for more mingling; the cake cutting and speeches tend to occur on the middle floor.  The band is implored to use the service elevator and not share the stairs with the guests.  We are sequestered to a small room on the top floor that lacks what many green rooms provide: a table, chairs, drinks, ice, separate bathrooms for men and women.  When you're a member of a 8-piece band + an audio/lighting tech, these are considerations.  Actually, we were a 7-piece this evening, with Virginia out and Dianna filling in - Kevin was on it even though the itinerary stated otherwise.  A tall, well-dressed man in white running shoes kept a close eye on all of us "vendors."  He appeared as I pulled into the driveway to unload.  He made certain that I knew I couldn't park there for very long.  I unloaded and pulled my gear down the driveway.  I went against my typical policy to avoid paying for parking by opting for the lot next to the venue, rather than moving to Colony Square which would have been comped to the band.  The traffic was a bit heavy, and at 11:30 or so at night it would certainly be quite congested.

I learned Whitney's I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) for the occasion.  Dianna likes to sing it.  I was hoping to really nail it, to give Lady Di something to think about, since Platinum Soul plays it as well.  Well, I knew it well for soundcheck.  On the gig, I started in Ab rather than Gb.  I don't know why I think of it as a "flat" key, I just do.  It got to me, apparently.  Glen corrected me as quickly as he could.  God bless his golden ears.  So much for making an impression.  I like the bass line, as it is a synth bass, tracked, I believe, by Randy Jackson - yes, that Randy Jackson.  A little more work and we could really nail it.  All's well.

Postscript:  Finally posting this writing and see that we're due to play the Whitney tune for a couple's first dance this Saturday at the Capital City Club.  Guess a quick review is in order!  BTW, here is a link to a video of a great player who showed me the ropes.  His embellishments and well-articulated slides actually improved upon the original, in my opinion.  And a very nice Mike Lull J-style axe with block inlays and matching headstock.  Thank you Rino!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4ojKZlX0Q

It made me seek out an Akai Deep Impact pedal until I learned that it has long been discontinued and fetches as much as $800 on ebay.  The SB-1 was a more professional alternative to the Boss SYB-3 or SYB-5 that I am more familiar with.  The Deep Impact gives a juicy if not downright wet tone, unlike my Boss counterpart, that leans towards more of a sawtooth nasty edge.  It seems that the essence of it is still an analog-generated octave lower than the original signal that gives a nice round tone, perfect for emulating a synth-bass track.  Thus, the whole bass line must be played an octave higher than what would be considered normal.  I can get an octave to track down to B (2nd fret on the A string) if I'm careful; C is a safer bet.  Who needs a 5-string when technology can be implemented?

"Absynthe Makes The Art Garfunkel" Opens Up the "B4th Bash Fundraiser" at the Moonshadow Tavern

You'd think I could come up with a witty title for this one.  I had a few:

Tom and Jerry Get Busy For a Worthy Cause
The Second Act Is The Prelude
So Glad I'm Not The Soundman This Time
Hey, Where Are The Horns Gonna Stand?
Go Ahead And Take My Microphone - Oh Wait, You Already Did!
There Goes Rhymin' Fritz!
Richie Jones Had a Party

Give me enough time and I'll come up with even more.  Glad to play with this incredible ensemble once again.  These guys really know their music.  I'm proud to be up there trying to keep up.  It's a lesson in singer/songwriter/harmony/accompaniment.  Bass can take the back seat, but every so often it becomes the extreme focal point.  Paul (and Artie) sure worked with some fine talent in their recordings.  For my money, it doesn't get much more challenging than channeling these terrific parts.  We all had a fine time up on stage that afternoon.  With just an hour to throw down, we were able to cherry pick the set to highlight the core 6-piece group this time out.  It felt a bit slanted towards the solo years.  If it had been up to me, I would have (perhaps wrongly) picked a few more obscure ones to toss out to the appreciative crowd.  Still, a decent chunk of the gig was on my list if the truth were told.  There are certain songs that demand to be played by this conglomerate.

Once again we were blessed to be entertained by Matthew Smith on acoustic & electric guitars & lead vocals, J.T. Alessi on acoustic guitar, electric ukulele, & lead vocals, Jeff Fritz on keyboards, acoustic guitar, & lead vocals, Adrian Ash on drums & vocals, Don Whitaker on percussion, and myself on bass guitar.  Highlights were certainly The Only Living Boy In New York, Graceland, Kodachrome, Late in the Evening, and a fine jam on You Can Call Me Al.  That little bass solo is so unabashedly fleeting and unforgiving, but I did receive some sincere compliments.  I know where it starts to fall apart, but by then it's time to jump back into the groove anyways.  What a quick eight beats to have to contemplate!  The vocal mix was a terrific blend, and yes, I was extremely grateful to not have to set up and mix the front of house sound.  We had an odd long delay in the monitors - probably the mains as well - but it didn't hamper us.  A great crowd on a fine sunny Saturday made for a most awesome celebratory gig with some great musical compadres.  This band needs to share its embarrassment of riches with a greater group of audients.

Have Running With Desire Entertain at Your Birthday Party!

MartaY checks out the birthday cake

J.T.'s Gong Crazy Productions scored Running With Desire a nice little sports bar gig: a birthday party celebration.  It took place a Jeffrey's in Alpharetta on Friday the 14th of June.  Good stuff.  Logistically for me, Fridays are great and not so great.  Work sure gets in the way of other facets of life.  I worked until 4, and luckily not much past.  Spencer was being taken care of, Sabina was downtown and hoping to not work past her normal 5:30, which left me having to deal with letting the dogs out.  I raced home - if circumventing the hellish Friday afternoon rush hour traffic can entail racing - to procure a quick shower, wardrobe check, dog tending and feeding, and instrument gathering.  My rig was already loaded.  This was the day after some major storms came through the area and freed multiple branches from our neighbors' trees.  I saw Steven across the street with his chainsaw and felt a bit guilty that I simply did not have a minute to offer for help.  I headed North to 400 and Jeffrey's on Jones Bridge Road.  The fellas were already there, getting set up and checking some sounds: J.T. on lead vocals, MartaY on lead guitar, Sammy Owens on the drums, and myself on bass guitar.  I brought both SWR cabinets for volume, headroom, and the look.  The look is very important when it comes to emulating these masters of Sunset Strip rock.  I occasionally have had both cabs but only connect the top one; closer to ear level and not as boomy.  We had a fine front-of-house engineer who has mixed us before.  He worked with us to help bring the stage volume down a bit.  It's always a concern when the band thinks the stage and room are larger than in fact they are.

Really, we have never sounded better.  I could hear my vocals well and the energy was good.  We had a whole bunch of dirty dancers - hey, this is Van Halen music.  What would you expect?  We also did a set of party hits to extend the night further, selected by the birthday celebrity.  Crazy incident alert - at some point before midnight, the power went out and we lost all of our volume.  Never really got an answer one way or another as to what had happened.  Oddly enough, I learned that we were done.  What a way to say goodnight!  Strange indeed.  Can't say that's ever happened before.  Everybody had a great time, so I could only guess that the party burned brightly and everyone was as tired as I was.  We packed up and loaded out, including all of J.T.'s cool extras and accessories.  With Gong Crazy, you know there will indeed be a gong onstage...  It was indeed awesome, yo.

A Pirate Looks at Fifty in Lake Lanier's Peachtree Pointe

This now legendary event came to fruition on Saturday, June 1, my sister's birthday.  She celebrated and I worked.  Work is play in this case.  I was with Platinum.  In my head, it was all backwards.  I figured the wedding was inside and the band would play outside.  Silly.  I had played down there by the water just a few months ago on St. Patrick's Day.  This time, we were indeed inside.  With the doors open, there was a breeze, but it sure didn't hit us on the stage.  Hey, I was glad to have my GK Fusion 550 back in service.  It really makes a difference, knowing that I have that delicious headroom and hairy tone.  I also brought out my  acoustic guitar, an Ovation Celebrity CC245 12-string acoustic/electric.  Used, but new to me.  It's a beautiful instrument.  I've always wanted a 12-string, and I've always wanted an Ovation.  They are bright sounding, but that can be a plus with a 12-string.  I'm using it on I'll Be, of course.  I'm supposed to play it on Landslide if we end up trying that with more instrumentation.  Travis picking is hard enough; try it on a 12-string.  The good news, of course, is that the neck is nice and straight and the guitar is like new.  Came with a very nice SKB hardshell case as well.  Poor Derek had forgot his acoustic and was supposed to play some jazzy guitar for the cocktail hour.  He ended up playing electric and sounded great at it, of course.

Ate our dinner of burgers 'n fries outside; much better setup than inside near the bathrooms.  I procured a big bag of ice so that we could have some cold drinks.  Hey, it's my style.  Ya gotta live a little.  As hot as it was, we were in need of some cold refreshment.  After that, the whole night was seamless.  As I recall, we broke out Rock With You with Marguerita singing it.  Sounded good.  What else?  Virginia got us a round of drinks and the band toasted me with a Happy Birthday - nice and thank you all for the birthday well wishes!

Billy Batts Ensemble Gets Outside Inside Once Again

This once-a-month Friday has become my only chance to play with these guys anymore.  Thankful for the chance to stretch out, play a little jazz, groove to some 12 bar blues, and ponder a Steely Dan tune here and there.  We didn't dive into anything new this time, which was odd.  It seemed like more of the same.  No worries there, as we have plenty to pull from.  Without a master list in front of us, we tend to grab the same ones over and over.  We played a reverent Stella By Starlight.  I need to come up with some good reharminizations for that one; I always liked playing the tritone Db9 under the G7+5 in the bridge.  I'm certain there are some hipper ones that are more desirable.  The opening chord sequence of Em7(b5) to A7(b9) can be thought of from a melodic perspective as a D minor scale (even harmonic minor to include the C#) leading to Eb7 (the tritone of A7) - that's a nice jumping point for the first 2 bars...

Here's a link to a John Scofield article I found while poking around - from one blogger to another, right?  He gives some good ideas about simply running scales and later arpeggios over the changes in order to really learn a tune.  Then he explains that this is simply a way to memorize or get the tune in your head; real players don't simply run scales during their solos.  It's a nice approach.  As I get older and hopefully wiser, I find that I need to make the most of what time I do have to play.  This is a good method to consider, provided the faithful reader has many of the correct tools at one's disposal.  Check it out.

http://somuchsound.blogspot.com/2012/02/sco-how-to-practice-tune.html

Two Fridays in a Row With Third Party at Pastis in Roswell

Always an honor to get the call from Glen when Fuji can't make their regular Friday night gig.  Pastis is always a great scene and Third Party is a stellar band.  With Glen Perdew on keys and vocals, Derek McCoy assuming guitar duties, Randy Hutchinson skillfully laying down the tightest grooves ever, and myself  stepping up to the plate, there are some big ears on stage.  There are big ears in the crowd too.  I know Fuji is simply one of the tastiest, in-the-pocket, and downright hippest players to ever grace an Atlanta stage.  Her little shoes are big ones for me to fill.  The regulars, and there are quite a few of regulars, let me know.  They tell me I'm doing alright, which is nice to hear.

The first week was fairly straightforward.  No Always and Forever and no Groove Line.  I guess they do mix it up, which only makes sense.  The second Friday Glen played a rehearsal dinner for the reception Platinum was to play the following night at Peachree Pointe in Lake Lanier.  To fill Glen's position, he needs 2 guys: front-person/bandleader supreme Tyron "Bogey" Thornton (from Bogey and the Viceroy) on vocals and the ever-melodic and funky Mike Bielenberg on keyboards and vocals.  Bogey made up a list with a few choices I wondered about (like Dock of the Bay, for instance - great song, but in a night club setting?  I wasn't so sure).  Turned out that we followed that list almost to a T and the crowd went for it.  It just goes to show you, a cliché tune, albeit a time-tested Stax/Motown/Atlantic R&B bonafide smash hit, can still be very effective in a club as long as it's done right.

Consolation Prize at the Hudson Grille

Well friends, the moral of this story is to get booked with the gig as soon as you can.  I had waited and somehow thought I was booked.  Sometimes communication lines get crossed.  Messages were sent, from my records a good month in advance.  For whatever reason, other plans were made and I wasn't figuring into those plans.  I had a backup, which was an offer that I had turned down to take the other gig.  When I had lost that, I asked about the one I had turned down.  It was still available!  Very nice.  Oh wait, as it turns out, now the person who wasn't going to play it wanted in again.  Well, as the expression goes, that's par for the course.  If I really wanted a gig that night, a third opportunity came along that I had to accept.  It was with Martay at the Hudson Grille.  Easy breezy.  Really good that Reece was on the drums.  Always good to reconnect with Weezy!  We had a lot of fun.  Lots of girls out at this one, as the Brookhaven Beer Festival had taken place earlier.  One girl, who we monikered as "Hula Girl", was front center and ended up singing with us.  She was good, and helped to break the ice as far as crowd control went.  Martay was determined to rock the crowd and wasted no time in diving into many Van Halen numbers.  Reece held his own and rocked along with us.  Drunk Dave was there and sat in on Round and Round and a few others.  Our last song - a surprise: Tom Sawyer!  Well!  The drums were solid.  I think Reece does this with another band, so he is well practiced on it.  Great to hang with those guys for a fun night of suburban rock.