Jam – 2013-03-07 – Carroll’s

07 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

by deadstein in Jams Tags: , , , , , , ,

ds130307Deadstein got back into its hunker-down mentality on this Thursday night as it was just the six of us ready to deliver a good meaty night of music.  I think we succeeded for the most part, providing a real legitimate first and second set.  It was a good feeling week of security compared to the pandemonium that was presented to us the week before.  Not that Deadstein isn’t nimble on its feet and doesn’t enjoy a little surprise every no and then, but this week felt comfortable in the lack of having to care about anything else but ourselves.

I think Ryan and Maggie were our only guests for the night, so we had no but ourselves to blame if things didn’t work out. There was the threat of snow, nor-Easter in in the air but the few flurries that impacted us were only for the good.  It got us off the mark with a default Cold Rain and Snow and that just led to better and better things as the night progressed.

The China Rider was a powerful one for us to close the first set.  While the botched opening of the Saint Stephen for the second set could have spelled doom, it was the only downer of the second set as the rest felt pretty good.  The Scarlet Fire following the Stephen got us right back on track and brought us right back to the station at 12 midnight to end the evening.  Another great night of music, which I look forward to giving a listen.  Freakin’ woo.

The audio files are provided in the following folder:
http://deadstein.com/audio/03-07-13

Jam – 2013-02-28 – Carroll’s

28 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by deadstein in Jams Tags: , , , , , , , ,

ds130228It was a little more “Wow” that “Woo” in the wacky, wide, woo of freak that is Deadstein. Alan called out sick earlier in the morning so Scott’s friend, who was scheduled to make his Deadstein debut that night on guitar for a few songs, was called in for the long haul. Not everyone, not even Scott on most nights, can survive a full night of Deadstein, let’s see how he would fare.

As an Albany Alum, like several of us, he fit in with the music pretty well as he was doing a admirable job of recalling how to jam these songs from his time of playing in bands in Albany in the mid-1970’s. He came with a nice Gibson with a whammy bar and a big bottle of Irish whiskey. The whammy bar provide a nice subtle touch while the Irish whiskey delivered the knock-out blow just after 11pm. All that was left by the end of the jam was an ever expanding ring around the collar passed out in a chair. Not a pretty sight. Somehow Scott had to scoop his fat a$$ out of Carroll’s and get him back home. For all I know he is still passed out in Studio 3.

With all that going on, we still had music to play and Donna was there to see the good, the bad and she left before the real ugly. We therefore got some good stuff in with her. The I Shall Be Released, Jack Straw, Tomorrow is Forever was probably the highlight of the first set as Donna is getting more and more comfortable with singing with us. Jack Straw is almost second nature so we are getting more familiar with each other with each passing jam.

Speaking of familiar with each other, just after Donna left and as we were about to embark on second set of the night, getting a sense of where the rest of the night was heading, a Playing in the Band was just called for. We were getting the 10-count in and then to the surprise of everyone, in comes Mini-T giant Kiss boot and all.

During a jam, Kevin called her two weeks ago on a lark to see if she was around, and two week later she shows up. I guess Terez responds to phone messages in the two ways I respond to email, either in two seconds or two weeks. In any case it was a great surprise, giving us a great boost for the second set which otherwise, was destined for a great fall.

In lieu of the Playing in the Band, Terez insisted she was ready to go, so she grabbed the microphone as soon as her coat came off and lead us into a Tore-Up. Thereafter we ripped through 10 Mini-T songs in a row with some good momentum and sound. It carried us forward with a take no prisoner’s attitude and we only left one behind, oh well. It was a lot of fun and such a ying to the yang that was there in the second set. Always great to have the ying counter the yang. From the looks of it all you would not think the ying could counter-balance the yang but in the game of ying-yang, it is all about where you place the fulcrum.

The second set was long and tough, but with the revitalizing energy of Mini-T we made some good of it. Ryan jumped in a for a couple of songs for both Scott and Lee and Ryan and Steve were our only guests until a few others showed up late night to enjoy the sultry sounds of Deadstein. As the night ended we played a real nice, under control Sitting Here in Limbo that ended at 12-midnight. Thinking we didn’t want to end on the Sitting Here in Limbo we played a Deal to close, but it was pretty ugly as we obviously overstayed our welcome. All there was to do was to haul yang into the elevator and get home and get set whatever may be next on the Deadstein’ freakin’ horizon. Whoa! Time to get back to the mighty “Woo.”

To hear what we did, go to the MP3links below:

http://deadstein.com/audio/02-28-13/

Set 1

Set 2

Jam – 2013-02-19 – Carroll’s

19 Feb 2013 4 Comments

by deadstein in Jams Tags: , , , , , , , ,

ds130219After a week on the road and with Rich sick, it was great to have us all back together again in good health and back in our comfortable Studio 2 at Carroll’s. We had no agenda for the night, but Donna was there with us for the first set and we had several big songs on tap to perform with her.

I decided to go into an Uncle John’s opener to try to get us into a bit of a jamming mode considering we had lots of normal songs to play later on. This was good, it was a great way to start, from there I got us into the Hey Pockey Way in pretty good fashion and we were off to the races. We then proceeded with some good Donna songs including several Bobby/Donna Duets and several forays into the Graband. I think this is where Donna really shined as her Brothers and Sisters, Love Each Other and Like a Road with us gave a a great boost in the legitimacy realm.

We got an ample 15-songs first set in with Donna, ending on the Tangled Up in Blue to close her night. It was an excellent 1st set. I don’t know where the concept of opening the second set with the Come Together came from but we did it and felt pretty good. Kevin the suggested out of the blue that we go A-Z in order in the Beatles section. That’s not the type of thing he suggests but we did end up staying with the Beatles stuff for the rest of the night, often playing songs we rarely had done previously. I thought it was fun and a nice opportunity to do some new things.

As far as guests, I don’t recall any, but I assume Steve was there. I appreciate the work Rich does on posting these recordings, so you might want to give them a listen. Then again, I couldn’t blame you if you didn’t, nevertheless, they are listed below:

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/02-19-13/

Set 1

Set 2

Jam – 2013-02-12 – Smash Studios

12 Feb 2013 5 Comments

by deadstein in Jams Tags: , , , , , , ,

ds130212With Carroll’s booked for whatever day our schedules were synchronized, we were on our own to find a home away from home for the week.  We found our home and now we to find our way back.  Having two drummers presents a problems for most normal rehearsal studios, and as such, it lead us back to our own stomping grounds, Smash Studios on 36th street.  G-d help us! It was their Studio A where they were able to accommodate Deadstein with most of our needs.

Smash Studios was our regular jamming location for a while in the Terez days back at the beginning of the millennium when we reluctantly resort to it when needed.  This week we had such a need.  It’s not that the place is awful. I happened to find free parking on the street, getting there was quick this evening and the room was fairly spacious and sounded OK.  In many respects, with its deadness, Smash Studios sounds better than Carroll’s, but the vibe and the instruments just don’t hold up to what Carroll’s offers us.

Actually, I had a pretty good, brown-faced Twin reverb which suited my needs just fine.  I was still playing my Made in America Roland Ready Start, but this week without all the MIDI stuff.  The sound of that guitar is a bit sterile compared to my ’79-Strat, so it was tough for me to lay any blame on the amp versus my guitar.  In most respects, my setup was about as good as it gets.  I do appreciate Alan making the sacrifice and leaving me the lone Twin while he had to struggle with the Ampeg amp he used all night.  Kevin had this big rig which I assume he didn’t like but I thought I sounded pretty good, maybe a bit too tinny.

We will never know about the sound because the recording of the night onto Smash’s provided CD recorder was an abject failure. While sound came out of the CDs it was with constant jitter and was unlistenable.  It was probably a good thing because from what I could gather through the jitter, it sounded like the CD would have primarily vocals as it recorded the mix of the soundboard with the addition of one ambient mic in the room.  Probably overall, a good thing that the music isn’t available.  Nevertheless, I was able to coax a setlist from the rubble so the setlist provided is probably pretty accurate.

It’s not that we played too badly.  I think the drummers had a pretty good sound going through the night and Marty on keys was able to find balance at certain times during the night, though he had struggles with it early on in the night.   Rich was a late cancellation, coming down with the flu and Marty was right there when called upon.  This time sans-zip drive.  Finally, the PA seemed dull and flat for the first song or two but after a little adjustment we got it sounding good enough for us.

We were able to get Donna to join in effectively with us providing the good background vocals until she had to leave at 11pm to catch a train back to Brooklyn,  I didn’t provide a practice setlist earlier so she was on her own and having to latch onto a few songs she never heard before.  It’s good practice for the reality which is Deadstein and Donna’s a good sport about going with the flow, ebb and tide of Deadstein.

With the change in location we had no guests and very little to do but play our merry hearts out.  While it is good to be on the road and explore different places, “NOT”, it will be tremendous to be back in the warm comforting environment of Carroll’s.  Can’t freakin’ wait to be there, I just hope we can find our way back home.

We don’t have music to listen to, but this is what was played.

Set 1

  1. Aiko-Aiko
  2. It’s All Over Now
  3. Like a Road
  4. Casey Jones
  5. Gomorrah
  6. Althea
  7. Cassidy
  8. Ramble on Rose
  9. Samson and Delilah
  10. Harder They Come
  11. Brokedown Palace
  12. Dont Let Go
  13. SugarMagnolia

Set 2

  1. Built To Last
  2. Wang Dang Doodle
  3. Black Peter
  4. Music Never Stopped

Jam – 2013-02-06 – Carroll’s

06 Feb 2013 5 Comments

by deadstein in Jams Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

ds130206It was another “Woo-sday” (Wednesday) night for Deadstein and we were all looking forward to the jam leading up to the 8pm start-time.  We were scheduled to have the whole band their in addition to Donna.  As such, I prepared a 1st set that would take advantage of the time we had with Donna and circulated to the band members during the week

I decided to work on a Built To Last during the week, I grew tired of always declining to play it, claiming I couldn’t do it, so I grabbed the song by the horns and learned it.  During my listening to it, I remembered Jerry would often use his MIDI trumpet sounds during, so I decided to emulated Jerry.  I took out my Roland-ready MIDI guitar setup out of storage in my basement, changed strings and practiced and with it on the Built To Last.  I incorporated all the MIDI equipment in my gig-bag and I was ready to go.

Below is a link to an article discussing MIDI turning 30 this past January.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20425376

We were in the big room in Carroll’s and when I got there I got Jules to get me a Roland keyboard amp, this coupled with my Fuchs Twin Reverb, I was wired and ready to go.  With all this craps at my right foot, I decided to place Donna to my left, which Kevin mocked me for, but it did work out well for me during the jam.

Just as we were about to embark on the evening and begin the Feel Like a Stranger in came the big surprise for the night, Andy Trister.  We almost waited for him to begin, which delayed us a good 20 minutes or so.  Delay-Schlemay, the Stranger really smoked.  The serendipity of Trister showing up and me having my MIDI setup was a big bonus for the night since it meant I would play more organ sounds and no interfere with both Andy and Alan on the guitar sounds.  I guess I can spew out the canned cheese for one night and not only not get to bored by it, but enjoy the mix.  There were moments during the What a Wonderful World and the Midnight Moonlight where I felt the MIDI keyboard sounds were right on.

After the Feel Like a Stranger opener I decided to modify the planned setlist a bit to accommodate Trister’s unanticipated presence and some potential synergies with Donna.  I therefore threw an I Shall be Released gauntlet for Trister to sing leads on.  When Donna came in on the background vocals on that it proved to be pretty special and that GarBand stuff really works with her.

Donna and I also continue to work on some of our Bob/Donna duets and they showed some nice improvements including the Passenger and Beat It On Down the Line.  We also tried to work on a Looks Like Rain during a min-break but the whole band ended up joining in by the end of the song.

Donna had to leave by around 10:30 and Andy by around 11:00.  Our close with Andy included an excellent What a Wonderful World and Midnight Moonlight.   It was a really good Trister set.  After another little break we started the final part of the night.  I wanted to play some of the songs we skipped in the planned first set. We did the Next Time You See Me and I got to do the Built to Last.  It was pretty good, but that late in the night, the focusability of my eyes on the fine print of that song is questionable.  I kept it together.

We then tries to accomplish Saint Stephen into Hard to Handle and we had issues but we also showed some promise.  I think our Stephen has improved quite a bit.  With about 5 minutes before the 12 o’clock quitting time, we decided to go big and long with a Terrapin.  I thought it had a good groove and we executed it well with the exception of the major collapse in the middle.  It was a great way to end a great evening.  Oops, almost forgot, Steve was our only guest for the night.

To listen to what we did, go to the files below.

http://deadstein.com/audio/02-06-13

Jam – 2013-01-30 – Carroll’s

30 Jan 2013 1 Comment

by deadstein in Jams Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

ds013013Wednesday night, or “Woo’sday” night as we have been euphemistically calling it, and the entire band was back together, including Donna D. for a portion of the first set.  I we were there early and ready to jam.  Kevin was itching to go by 7:40 and Lee had gotten to Carroll’s hours earlier so no one wanted to wait for 8:00 pm to start.   It should be noted that Lee came toting a giant frozen apple pie which we began to woof-down by halftime.

Lee suggested a Halfstep. He kind of was challenging me saying I really didn’t like to play it; he’s right you know, so we played it and it was really strong.  From the first few notes we knew it was going to be a pretty good jam. The sound was good in the room and this lead to some well played music.  The Halfstep had a good long powerful Rio Grande-O lead and felt good.  We then went to a 2nd set mode in the first with an Estimated –> Eyes with the whole 1974 Eyes ending.  That was pretty good.  Sure there were rough spots, but there were comforting sweet spots.  The Eyes jam ends in Dm and naturally segued us into a Shakedown Street.  At the close of the Shakedown, Donna came in and we went into a nice set working with her until the end of the first set.  We did some songs she really didn’t know but easy ones to try to jump in on the harmonies.  Row Jimmy was a good example of such a song as was the Forever Young. I think we did pretty well  on that one.

We took a standard halftime break, saying good-bye to Donna, eating the apple pie, making our obligatory phone calls,etc.  Then we got going again shortly after 10:30  For the second set Ryan jumped in and sat in for Lee and Scott for a song a piece, so we got some of that going with the Candyman and something else.  As a matter of fact, Ryan was our only guest, with the exception of Scott Bayer who came in later on in the night and video taped a song or two?

Midnight hit us pretty quickly as the passage of time cannot be stopped, either in music or life.  We were about to leave at the last song and Ryan goaded us into playing one last song,  You can say an encore and we gave him a Quin the Eskimo to go home with.

I look forward to being able to listen to it, until then all we can do is smile, smile, smile.

Now we have it, listen the the MP3s below:

http://deadstein.com/audio/01-30-13

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries