Jam – 2009-07-22 – Carroll’s

IMG_0008_edited-1This was another crazy night and I am now relying on my new iPhone to post this night’s jam using a free WordPress app.  Well I typed the first sentence on it but went to my new Acer Aspire One mini netbook to complete it.  These are two new amazing pieces of gadgetry in my life and I found the iPhone distracting as I played since I was thinking about it all night.  I just picked it up at 5:00 just prior to the jam.

It wasn’t just the electronics that was distracting, we had a virtual full house with 5 guests in addition to the five of us including Jason.  As far as guests we had sock-hoppy and dangerous with an egg Rob and Miriam as well as Scott’s friend Phil the vet and his friend Ken.  Of course we had Deadstein crier Scott Bayer who also showed up.

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We got 4 and a half songs in before Jason joined us who came in like a storm and left within seconds for butts and coffee.  The he found his way back into the jam and played all the way through 11:52 at night where we ended with around and around.  I appreciate the fact he came directly from the airport to get to the jam.

Rob spilled G-d knows how many beers and it smelled like a college dorm by the end of the night.  Nevertheless, it looked like he was having the time of his life and how much more could we want from a Deadstein jam.

I recall some good moments in an interesting Dancing in the Streets jam.  We had mostly good moments and jams and enjoyed some explorations in jams including the Dacing, China Cat and I sure a few others.

If you want to hear the music it is here below:

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/07-21-09/

Jam – 2009-07-16 – Carrolls

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We were playing Wednesday night this week and were scheduled to Jam with Bayside Al, but a last minute remembrance meant he was out.  Jason was clutch enough to be available at the last moment, on a night that’s typically tough for him, and we were off to play.  Nothing new or special and the only guest we had was Scott “Live from Hell’s Kitchen” Bayer and the dozen donuts brought in by Jason.  Let’s us not forget the great big Smarties that Jason found somewhere.  Those were pretty darn good.

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DCC_0704_edited-1We got in a couple of songs while Jason was gettng ready including a How Sweet It Is followed by a Ramble on Rose.  Kevin’s been listening to Fox Theater 5-19-77 and was in the mood to play some ’77 Dead so the Ramble on Rose it was.  Jason strapped it on and we did the Cassidy that went places we’ve never gone before.  Really solid stuff.  We struggled and never made it through the Big River but the Looks Like Rain and Desolation Row were top notch for us.  We also ended the night with what is probably the best Don’t Ease Me In.   Overall we played pretty well this night and it was satisfying and not tiring.

If you want to give it a listen, the links to the MP3s are provided below.

Jam – 2009-07-06 – Carroll’s

Carolling From Carrolls to Carol

Carolling From Carrolls to Carol

It was a Monday night jam due to my first Tuesday of the month meeting but at least meant no traffic and easy parking.  It also meant Jason was available and there to play with us.  As far as guests that where there to join us, we had Robert Think Space, Miriam Welby, Scott Bayer and Leo Video Lawrence.  The first two boogied a bit to our Johnny Be Goode giving us a little inspiration to give it a little effort.  It was pretty exciting and in addition, thanks for the beer.  It was an Amstel. I got there early and met Kevin and we discussed my pursuit of a pickup truck to replace my aging VW Jetta which embarasses Kevin for me every time he sees it.

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We got one song in, Aiko-Aiko, as the Core-4 before Jason got there and that just got us warmed up enough to be ready to rock when he got there. I recall some really good stuff but I especially liked the sweetness of the sing me back home.  Kevin hit the end of the Sugar Magnolia perfectly for the first time since we restructured it 6 months ago.  That was nice to hear.  I think the PA sounded pretty good, not great this week, so hopefully the recording is also a little better.

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Thanks to Rich for recording the night and a link to the MP3s is provided below, or just listen to individual songs linked below.

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/07-06-09/

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Jam – 2009-06-30 – Carroll’s

IMG_3314_edited-1This was the last week in June and we were playing Tuesday which meant we were able to get Jason to play and sing lead.  We got one song in prior to his arrival, Let the Good Times Roll, with just the four of us.  That was good and it lead to another 7-8 solid songs following there after.  We opened the slot with the Mama Tried which was nice and slow which felt good.

I liked the sound of the PA from the singing perspective but it was possessed when it came to the piano.  It had a mid-range umph that wasn’t good, picked up cricket noises from Scott Bayer’s phone and then occasionally would squeal a 10K whistle that was really terrible.  It also seemed as if the PZM, went in and out at times or was hitting the wood or something.  I still like the sound of the condenser to mic the piano rather than the PZM, but I digress.

IMG_3315_edited-1So we only had one guest, Scott Bayer and his harmonica.  He called Carol on the cell phone who really seemed to enjoy the Way You Do the Things You Do and the Beat It On Down the Line.  We did a really tight Tennessee Jed, Cassidy was hot and spacey.  We ended the solidity of the song selection as I decided to do the Weather Report Suite but it was good nevertheless.  We spent some time in the middle of it practicing the “Winter’s Grey and Falling Rain” part for a while before continuing with the rest of the Let it Grow.  This transitioned nicely into a Spoonful which was sultry.

Jason left at about 10:45 leaving us Core-4 for some personal music toward the end of the night.  This included a Box of Rain that Scott sang and we had used no drums.  We did the Sailor Saint to end the night which was pretty good for t his combo.  We started this whole end of the night segment with a good Race is On.  We also did a real comfortable and enjoyable Shady Grove, of all things.

Below is the setlist and MP3 listening links from the night which are available at the following.  We hnak Rich and his recorder gfor this music.

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/06-30-09/

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It was a fun night filled with candy and nuts and we can’t wait to do it again, starting now in July.  In the world Billy Mays (Oxi-Clean info-commercial guy) died suddenly and Al Fraken was declared winner in the challenged Minnesota Senatorial race. Enjoy Independence Day, because the way things are going in our county, we are soon going to have to declare November 4, 2008 “Dependence Day.”

Jam – 2009-06-24 – Carroll’s

Band of ConeFreaks

Band of ConeFreaks

We were playing Wednesday this week which meant we had access to both Andy and Coffee so we were able to enjoy their company for a little while.   Being they live the furthest and don’t have the stamina of the rest of use meant the two of them were out of there shortly after 10:00 leaving Kevin, Scott, Rich and I to finish out the night in classic Core-4 fashion.  No big deal, that’s what we do, but Scott did go down quickly by 11:30.  It was a a fun Deadstein night though, as most are.

IMG_3251_edited-1When we arrived at 55th Street the club next door was having and show which meant parking was more difficult that usual.  I parked a block away, but on 55th. Kevin parked in the newly illegal spot across the street but got by.  Kevin was the first on there  and the rest of us arrived simultaneously to great Kevin who was hanging out with Chris the cool Carroll’s manager.

From second one you could tell this was going to be a loud night and the PA and the PZM in the piano was having trouble dealing with it.  The othernon-PZM piano microphone is definately better in both feedback rejection and lack of “uch”.  I was also rationing the access to the PA by only having the mics that were to be used in that song on.  This helped a lot  and enabled me to boost the channel of the primary singer.

IMG_3240_edited-1With respect to guests, Stu was there looking dapper in his lawyer outfit and he was cool to take pictures of us in action.  Check out his cool pose to the right. Ken Levine was there still buzzing from the excitement of last week.  Finally, Scott Bayer also showed, blowing his harmonica, getting us to call Carol to play to her over the cell phone and asking Stu for civil law advice while Stu claimed ignorance to knowing there were actually laws that controlled the civil world.  Nevertheless, talking to Scott Bayer is always an adventure.

A day later, trying to remeber songs is tough but I’ll try.  I recall a Brown-Eyed Women, Big Boss Man, we didn’t play Lied and Cheated.  Trister ended his night with a Brokedown played a full step higher than we traditionally play it (eighties style) and that f-up Kevy a bit.   End of the night Core-4 included Run for the Roses, Simple Twist of Fate, Harder They Come.

Below is the setlist from thenight as well as the links to the MP3 recordings thanks to the fforts of Rich and his recorder.

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/06-24-09/

In the world Ed McMann died, Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson all just died. There were beautiful rain clouds and splatters of sunshine all over on the way in though it never rained on me.

Jam – 2009-06-17 – Carroll’s

DCC_8896_edited-1It was a week of getting back to basics with Kevin and Jason rejoining us for a full night of Deadstein freakiness.  The type of freakiness that just pop in the room like Ken Levine with his roving band of drunken, merry pranksters. Doooh!  as Kevin says. There is lots of stuff to try to recall and write about so let’s se what I can remember one day after.

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We were in our cozy studio #2 and Scott was forgetful on the way to the jam.  He forgot his nephew’s guitar he was dropping off for Jason to work on and had to go home to pick it up, then he forgot some check he had to give Kevin and also had to go home.  DCC_8879_edited-1Molly was tired of meeting him at the curb.  Finally, he either forgot or chose not to bring his standard 6 shots of espresso.  By the 3rd song he was scheming on how to get coffee delivered to Studio #2.  He worked with generic studio guy to get a delivery of 8 large coffees that were terrible, black and without condiments.  What a disappointment.  It was good for nothing but for Ken Levine to knock over as soon as he got into the studio.  Additional, the total sloshed lady, I’ll call her Dolly because I never asked her what her name was, accidently kicked out Jason’s power strip when she staggered across the room late in the evening.  We we not setup for this type of experience.

DCC_8875_edited-1The evening started like most Deadstein nights with the core-4 of us standing around the piano discussing the past week of life and what-nots.  We got going with 3 or 4 Garband songs until Jason arrived.  There were some good moments in there.  We also did a Black Throated Wind during this introductory segment.  The coffee arrived, then did Scott Bayer and his harmonica. Jason next arrived and away we went.  Scott Bayer left us and then Ken Levine came in with a blackchick named Regina, the Real Estate Dude, Dolly the sloshed blonde and Ken himself looking dapper.  She came in dancing and having the time of her life 3 sheets to the wind while Ken spilled the coffee but the band kept playing on.

DCC_8893_edited-1We fulfilled a few requests like Dolly’s Deal that sent her back to an old fashion flashback.  We really rocked her world, but in her state it wasn’t a tremendous accomplishment.  Actually we played well at times but also had major brain farts at other times, but the band keeps playing on.

Eventually two more of Ken Levine’s buddies come skipping in, Fred and Jo.  They were celebrating Ken and Fred’s 40-year anniversary when they enjoyed some great Grateful Dead trip 40 years ago when they first met.  Something like that.  It was also Fred’s one-year annivesary of seeing Deadstein and he was sharing that with us also.  I guess Fred is into the whole anniversary thing and we should expect to see him some  time again in mid-June 2010.  DCC_8890_edited-1Fred and JoAnn also both became mesmerized by the Deadstein vortex.  I think everyone left in a stooper thrusted upon them by the Deadstein musical vortex.  The Real Estate dude and Regina were the first to leave.  Then went Ken and Dolly. Finally Fred and Jo left and we couldn’t say good bye to them enough and vice-versa.  What a freak show.  And the band keeps playing on.  And we did do the Music Never Stopped. I eventually drove everyone out with my rendition of One More Saturday Night.  “I turn on Channel 6 the pretender comes on the news . . .”

DCC_8871_edited-1It was eventually the five of use remaining.  I broke out the big bag our Sour Patch Kids and they were devoured in about 60 seconds.  We did the entire Weater Report Suite.  I had finally learned most of it during the the week but was disappointed in my execution of it when it came to brass tacks.  Oh well, the bands keeps playing on.  We transitioned the Let it Grow into a Me and My Uncle that was for the most part a train wreck and that was the end of the night.  Jason bolted on the first elevator down and the rest of us followed shortly thereafter.

A night to remember more for the experience than the music.  Who knows, maybe the recording will show us something different, but I’m not expecting it.  Till we do it again.

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