Rich | my Steal Your Space book

Jam 2008-10-22 at Carroll’s

22 Oct 2008 1 Comment

by deadstein in Jams Tags: Jam, Jason, Kevin, Larry, Rich, Scott

You have to go to every show.

It’s getting into late October and it is no longer as nice as it has been and the days are getting shorter. Not that all is lost because through it all Deadstein shall play. Tonight it appears as if it is going to be Kevin, Rich, Scott and I with Jason on the lead. I’m not sure if anyone else is going to show up but it wouldn’t shock me if Scott Bayer was there for a song and a photo-op.

I sent Jason a copy of the Deadbook a couple of weeks ago and just last night Jason sent me a bunch of corrections via email that got me working on updating the book. Some were things I didn’t know about, the Emaj7 in Jack Straw as opposed to the G# and the Cdim7 in Looks Like Rain as opposed to the G# once again. Actually, anywhere where I have a G# I should investigate it because it is probably some other passing chord. Then there were other corrections that I knew how to play and never really looked at the book to realize the book was wrong. There was one of these in the Dire Wolf. Finally, I had the opportunity to redo the entire transcription of Sugar Magnolia so that enjoyed a nice improvement. In addition to learning to play these songs correctly, hopefully this little session will get me to eventually publish the next edition of the songbook. It has gotten me in the right direction be establishing a new file called Deadbook2009.doc. Let’s see if I can follow through on the endeavor and get something out in early 2009.

Another great autumn moment captured on my bike ride home. Speedwell Lake, Morristown, NJ

Scott Bayers unsolvavble quadratic equation.

Scott warned us that there is a show at Terminal 55 so parking may be a hassle. I’ll try to get there early and claim my spot. If I miss out I will be counting my blessings that I have a rack unit that is on wheels. Can’t wait to jam. As an after thought. Friday after the jam I was speaking to someone at work who was mentioning how she was allowing her 16 year old son to see some band 3 night in a row in NYC, and it happened to be the band Scott told us about playing at Terminal 55. It may be Terminal 5 for all I know.

The Band 10-22-2008

Chris mnages Carrolls and keeps Deadstein in good shape.

Chris manages to keep Deadstein in good shape.

So I’m driving up the West Side Highway, watching the Lou Dobbs Show on CNN through my Sllingbox on my cell phone in the car and I’m in my own world looking forward to getting there and I see this giant Lincoln SUV honking me and lo-and-behold, it is Rich and Scott racing to 5th Street. I told them I would race them but I lost once again getting lost in Lou’s diatribe. When I got to 55th street I discovered I was screwed that there were no parking spots due to the show at Terminal 55. I saw Scott in the giant Lincoln waitng in front of the door at Carroll’s parked illegally in the construction zone and I pulled up behind. Scott was looking for affirmation to park illegally, for which I could not provide, and therefore we decided to find parking somewhere else. I took and conservative approached and parked atleastone and a half blocks further than I had to. Thank G-d for the rollers on my rack unit. Kev gave me a ride back there at the end of the night.

Smarties on the Piano

Kev plays a big amp and a colorful bass.

We all arrived around the same time and got going in good order. We started with a Getaway and Jason was out for vengence playing with a very high level of distortion. I picked an Esau next and we were off to the races. I introduced the changes to the Sugar Mag, Dire Wolf, Looks Like Rain and Jack Straw on paper and we took to them and played all of them through the night and in each case, the versions showed significant improvements.

Scott Bayer showed up in the middle of the night for 2 songs and I don’t recall that we played to Carol over the cell phone. This may have broke a streak unless Rich can confirm that we played for her. Kev had a different bass rig, some giant one piece thing but it sounded good. We had the cheap Berhinger mics which didn’t help anything, but by the end of the night it sounded okay. We had a few nice long combos like an Other One Smokestack Wheel Miracle Me and My Uncle. The we ended with a big Estimated Eyes Dew. I was amazed Scott made it through it all but he hung in there, good for him and good for us. It was a fun night and I can’t wait to do it again. It looks like Wednesday. Maybe I could have a new improved song or two for then.

It is no longer summer as the coats on the wall inidcate

Jam 2008-10-14 at Carroll’s

15 Oct 2008 6 Comments

by deadstein in Jams Tags: Deadstein, Jam, Jason, Kevin, Larry, Rich, Scott

10-Year Anniversay Skull

It was October 9, 1990that was the first time Deadstein got together and jammed. While it was only Kevin and I from the current line-up that was there that night, yet it started something special that would touch hundreds of musicians, guests and friends over the years. Tonight being October 14, 2008 we are celebrating our 18th anniversary as we embark in our 19th year of Deadstein. Deadstein’s perseverance is no Little Feet but more like the Grateful Dead where we let our free-loving attitude guide us through a long strange trip.

2008-10-14 Brotpen Live From Hells Kitchen

Put the puns and play on words aside, Deadstein and a place to jam the music you love on a regular basis is worth the far more than the price of admission. I’m sure for many that a have been a part of our family and left for whatever reasons, there comes a feeling on a Tuesday night that they wonder what if I was there playing guitar, hanging with the guys and living the Grateful Dead in my conciousness for a few more beloved moments. Deadstein brings you there and it’s a great place to be. You can buy that type of fun at Best Buy, no matter how many reward points they give you. It has been quite a trip through the years. A journey which had a beginning is bound to have and end but right now we are in the middle of the trek. I knew Brotpen from the Dead Batteries, a band I played in with him as well as Larry Menaker another Deadstein original, in the late 80’s but he didn’t arrive back into Deadstein for 4-5 years after we started.

Larry gets his recycling stickers installed at Carrolls

We played with a variety of Keyboardists in the early days, trying them out to see if they would survive. Craig Jackers (sp?) a friend of Larry Brent’s from SUNY Albany played keyboards on the first few jams but he was the first leave and we really haven’t heard from him since. We got so desperate we even put advertisements in the Village Voice seeking keyboardists and tried out a few from that endeavor. We found Jeremy that way who quickly found out the rule that if you pass out during a Deadstein jam, don’t count on us to stop for you. It was a hot night in a claustrophobic Stickworks studio and we were playing for a good 30 minutes without break and during the Other One, Jeremy was resting his head on his Keyboard and then resting on the floor. We looked and went on. Eventually we found Brotpen who had a much stronger inner drive and was able to trip and then get up. He needed no help from any one else.

Larry takes a great autumn photo on his bike ride home from work prior to the jam.

Scott Bayer proves Deadstein has not lost its knack to attract freaks.

Well there is so much to write about and so little time to write about it all. Thankfully, Deadstein and company was one of the early bloggers in the world of the Internet and much of our collective experience is on http://www.Deadstein.com for all to read and for some to reminisce to. Enjoy it and remark about it, because no matter how crappy our music may be, and it isn’t all that bad, the journey has been remarkable and I expect the next 19 years to continue to be a journey though likely to be less remarkable. After all, there are no more jams that will take place during Dead tours, there are likely to be no more midgets, it’s not even politically correct to call them midgets anymore, and there will be nothing like Dennis again.

Larry and Scott Biking on the GWB on Columbus Day 2008

Scott setting up for the night

The last few days have been gorgeous here in the New York City area and Scott and I took advantage of the first Deadstein healthy related activity I could think of by taking a bike ride from his house to NJ and back. I played tennis with LLB once and he kicked my ass, but that is the only other sporting activity I recall with band members. So it was beautiful on Sunday and we cruised 25 miles up and down the Island. A geat day. Take a look at the composite picture above from the Geaorge Washington Bridge. Kathy and Andy Klein joined us on the ride. We rode right past Carroll’s. Maybe we should form a Deadstein basketball team. Who play’s center?

Andy Harcup wishes us peace

I got there expecting to see Kevin’s friend Ken Levine there to celebrate his 56th birthday but instead and in lieu we had Deadstein’s own little runaway, Andy Harcup. He came with his Hagstrom es-335esque guitar and his exhuberant attitude and he was ready to go.

Jason was on lead for the night and I think we are breaking him down a bit and getting him to play some J-Garband songs. Let us not forget that Scott Bayer who showed up for a song or two and we once again we played to Carol over the cell phone. Not much talk of the anniversary but there ususally isn’t too much talk on anything.

Another closeup from the Piano

We played a lot of songs for the night. I started it all off by wrestling a bluesy intro jam in E into a Wang Dang Doodle. Wasn’t the best thing in the world, but it wasn’t the worst. If you want to hear the jam it is available at the link below:

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/10-14-08/

We actually have 20 MP3s provided at this link. While there were a few small quickies, there were other double combos, and with the presences of Andy, we had some first timers. It was over 20 songs. That is a lot for us.

Jam 2008-10-06 at Carroll’s

07 Oct 2008 13 Comments

by deadstein in Jams Tags: Al D, Jam, Jason, JB, Kevin, Larry, Rich, Scott

Kevin strung out by his bass 10-6-2008

It’s a Monday night jam which tends to be our least favorite of day of the week to play but even an undesirable Moday is better than noday so Monday it is. It seems like Bayside Al will be playing the lead role for the early portion of the night but it may be core four thereafter.

I ended up shooting about 3 minutes of video and below is a bit of it. Not much to see unless you are one of the ones to be seen. So look if you must but don’t expect much. Nevertheless, youtube makes looking at worthless stuff pleasure so take a look.

While it is fairly nice outisde, the chill to the air tells us the summer is over for sure and the winter is not far behind. Never-the-matter, I’m still wearing shorts and I am sure ther air conditioning will be cranked. I’m gonna bring the camera and the video so I hopefully be able to get some shot and footage posted.

Rich is passionate about something

So I got to Carroll’s pretty early, lucky to get a spot since there was a show at Teminal 51, and Kevin was at the computer by the soda machine looking up tabs for some Metal-Talica song. For the most part we aren’t metal heads or Talicas so it never materialized. What eventually materialized were Rich and Scott followed by Al D.and JB, they have a lot of initials at the Ludlow camp. The Ludlow campers were only available to 11:00 and somehow the starswere aligned and Jason showed as they were packing up their gear. We were able to get 5 to 6 songs with Jason before the midnight hour came upon us. Scott Bayer was there for a few songs and we did play over the cell phone to Carol.

JBs eyes match his guitar.

I think we played well and had a lot a good moments with Al and JB. We made it through a Cats Down Under the Stars pretty well and JB snag a Balland of a Thiun Man where I was able to pull off one of the better leads of my life, thanks to my effects rack and setting 151. When Jason showed up around 11:00 it gave us a bit more energy than we would typically have during the last hour of the night. That carried us throught 5 or six good songs including a Terraping, Saturday Night and a few others.

Rich, live from Hells Kitchen

Al and his SG

Als Effect Board

Inside the world of Kevin

Jam 2008-10-01 at Carroll’s

02 Oct 2008 1 Comment

by deadstein in Jams Tags: Jam, Jason, Kevin, Larry, Rich, Scott

What is This?

Deadstein October 10, 2008

With sundown today comes the end of Rosh Hashanah and the beginning of Deadstein’s jam. We are scheduled to play on a tight a tight schedule to make it just after the holiday and within the schedule to jam with some of our good friends. On my bike ride home a Hasidic guy in his mid 20’s with his 5-6 year old son stopped me on the bike path in the woods and asked me if I was Jewish and wanted to hear the Shofar. I obliged him and the 3 of us said a prayer and he blew the shofar for what seemed like a long time. In any case it scared all the deer away and gives me a very positive vibe from which to approach tonight’s jam.

Jasons skewed rig

Scott and Michael 10-1-2008

It’s the first day of October and it looks like it may rain but it was a pretty nice day today. In the world, this week the economy fell apart more so than last week but at least Deadstein goes on. If people would have invested in Deadstein instead of bad mortgages they would still be broke but at least they would be happy. While the market is a roller coaster you cannot count on, Deadstein is the Rock of Freakbralter which you can count on Long live Deadstein and Happy New Year. While the world around us is crumbling like a cheap house of cards, Deadstein’s strong foundation provides the stability to get many of us through these difficult times.

Dan-Dan the Van Man

So for a Wednesday night in the Fall, there was little traffic coming in. Although there was a show at the club down the street I was able to get a good spot and I moved into our favorite Studio 2. We were expecting a few guests including Alan D and JD so we had equipment and mics for them but they didn’t show. Who did show were Scott Bayer, Dan-Dan the Van Man and our brother in arms, Michael. It was great to see every one and we had a good night. It ended up being the 5 of us with Jason on lead and we played lots of good songs at sometimes in funky order.

[YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk1EQmO2m34]

Larry and Michael

I recall a first set Stella Blue, we closed with a Tennessee Jed, had an early Brokedown, and so on and so forth. We even pulled off the Music Sugaree Music 8-7-82 stlye and it was good. I think we blew Dan the Van Man away with that one. As well as the Stella Blue. He seemed to be a bit mesmerized by it all. And there’s a lot to be mesmerized by a Deadstein.

Yummy, Yummy. It was good when ti when down.

I brought in some junk food for all of us to enjoy and some how luckily out of my bag of tricks I found a fresh yummy peach for Michael. That was a nice movement. Speaking of which we once again played a song for Carroll over the cell phone and had that Mitzvah on our souls.

It will be great to listen to some of the highlights once Rich posts them. I alos have some video to process and post so look for that down below and stay tuned to Deadstein. I think we are playing Monday next week. Welcome to Fall. By the way you may enjoy Scrap’s agility trials from the past weekend with Kathy. Check them out.

Scott and Kev

How, how about posting a comment?

How about a hand for our taper!

Jam 2008-09-24 at Carroll’s

24 Sep 2008 4 Comments

by deadstein in Jams Tags: Al D, Jam, Kevin, Larry, Rich, Scott

The spider I should charge rent for living in my front door.

The lineup at Carroll

So, it’s another week and I hear Al D is the lead-du-jour. Good to see him, maybe we’ll get some of that Bayside entourage going with Al. It’s always a bit freakier every time he shows up. While the jam hasn’t happened yet, get a load of the pictures of the spider that spins webs in my front door every day that I walk through every morning. I would kill it if it wasn’t so photogenic.

Halftime here at the jam eating bugles as Kevin is vending like a madman. Great stuff to post at halftime. Alan showed up with Alan on harmonica and Coffee Boy also showed. Super big sound in the room. A bit out of control.

Mitch with the blue Maple Sparkling kit

Made it home nicely. I was able to score 3 bags of primo coffee, so I’m all excited about that. Was great to see Coffee and play with him. The same will bayside Al who always kicks up the freak level a notch and then let us not forget Harmonica Al who played rhythm harmonica throughout the evening, with me trying to remember to call out the keys for him.

Scott Bayer was there for a song or two, asking us about short films. We played a China-Rider over the cell phone to Carol. We played, we hing and we ate lots of vending food. All and all a fun night a raucus activity. You knew the energy level was going to be pretty high when we opened with a lengthy Other One. There wasn’t much that was slow and easy. The Masterpiece that I atempted may have been the lowest we got.

Al posing for the shot

Harmonica Al wetting his lips

Nothing left of the jam but an empty bag of Crunch and Munch.

Jam 2008-09-18 at Carroll’s

19 Sep 2008 4 Comments

by deadstein in Jams Tags: Bruce, Jason, Kevin, Larry, Rich, Scott

Core 4 Deadstein 9-18-2008

This week we had trouble coordinating anight togethera and in addition, Carroll’s is pretty booked. As such we will be playing from 9-12 instead of the typical 8-12. Not that this is too big of a deal since Kevin works late on Thursday nights and usually cannot get there until 8:30 or so. Jason has some type of gig so he plans on joining us for the last hour and for the first two it seems as if we will have Bruce again. This time I know who he is.

While it is a beautiful day outside as the last gasp of summer pricks my finger, the outside world is falling apart. All the banks and insurance companies are going belly up as the stock market is tumbling into freefall. Good thing I don’t have much to lose, so I feel relatively richer this week. The more that you gather, it’s just more that you can lose.

Bruce and his Paul Reed Smith

It worked out to be a nice evening starting at the late hour of 9:00pm and all. I was first to arrive, then Kevin and we watched the variety of young Asian women vacate the studio we were soon to occupy. They were done about 20 minutes earlier than planned so the bearded Carroll’s tech guy, Mr. Knoer and his bald buddy, could get the room set for some Deadstein freakiness. They prepared the room earlier for us by having the equipment ready so setup, with Kevin and my help, was quick and easy. We had the good PA this week, although with tiny speakers, and Rich had the good Yamaha Piano. Scott, Rich and Bruce Tanis arrived just around 9:00 together and away we went. Scott had a nice new red set of Yamaha drums. The rest of us had our typical Fender twin reverb reissue amps.

I started the festivities with the Brothers and Sisters and then we played the Let It Rock. We had difficult getting away from playing 1-4-5 in A and it seemed like every song was in that vein. It was a bluesy night in middle-September as Bruce has a tendency toward the blues and with Rich by his side; it was to be a blue filled night.

Bruce and Jason playing the blues 9-18-2008

Jason, showed up, wearing a sports coat and Brooklyn T-shirt about half way through the night, and that brought the energy to a different level. We played several songs that were “Tits” including the ever-so uplifting Death Don’t Have no Mercy. Just kidding, it was a moving rendition. I started a ‘79 version of Good Loving at some point late in the night, I think it was following the Going Down the Road where we ended going E to D over and over again and ended up in C, but Jason ended the Good Loving with a 68 version so it stopped there. That was too bad because it was the Good Lovin’ that was our song we were transmitting via the cellular network to Carol. This was just after Scott Bayer arrived for his 2 songs, but he was looking freakier than usual and hopefully I got a good picture of him to show him in all his freakiness.

Scott Bayer in all his glory

Scott, sign the CD and give it to me already.

Rich also had us all sign his new CD compilation which were songs that we have transmitted via cell phone to Carol over the previous year. See the previous post for more information about this CD.

We ended the night with the long and slow Lucky ol Sun into something pretty quick. I don’t remember now and may have to wait until I see the set list that Rich posts. I had a lot of Smartees for everyone to gobble on and that is about it.