Jam – 2012-05-21 – Carroll’s

28 May 2012 Leave a comment

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

 In a rare occurrence for this time of year, we got all six guys together for the week’s jam.  Being a Monday night, it should have meant that we are all refreshed and ready from the weekend.  This was not the case with me as I didn’t have a setlist selected nor did I have a theme to play.  Then it came to us that with the passing of Robin Gibb this week we decided to open with the Grateful Dead’s homage to the Bee Gee, and the Disco era; Shakedown Street.  This got us going down the road and and we never turned back.  We played the Far From Me the previous week and I wanted to try to keep it fresh but it was one of the low points of the night as it was a tough one for us.   With respect to the Birdsong we made a concerted effort not to fall into the Other One trap and it made for a much more interesting Birdsong for it.  Much like the Far From Me the Saint Stephen was tough in that it was rutier than I had suspected and I traded in my WD-40 for some duct tape and got stuck.  I think the looseness of the subsequent Woman Are Smarted got us going again.  We tried the late Morning Dew and as usual it was a disaster as we don’t have the patience and fortitude to play the song, but this is true with most of our songs.  Settling in, getting comfortable and saving something for the end of the song when it really counts is not our forte and a major weakness of us and it rears its ugly head most obviously during what should be a simple and enjoyable Morning Dew.  After that Dew we were Don’t and the rest was grizzle.

Next week we play the Tuesday after Memorial Day.  With Scottie Boy in Sedona getting sucked up into the cosmic vortex greased by Patron, we will be playing with Stagger solo; first time since he joined us a couple of months ago.  We have a special setlist prepared for that night so freak out and enjoy the ensuing summer.

To hear what we played go to the MP3 links below:

http://deadstein.com/audio/05-21-12/

Jam – 2012-05-16 – Carroll’s

18 May 2012 1 Comment

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

With Rich and Alan both out of town we had to scramble a bit to get the week’s jam together.  Kevin and I were in for sure and the Rhythm Doodles, Scott and Lee, were in but we were missing a piano player as well as another guitarist.  A keyboardist we never found, but we called Larry Brent in to fill the other empty slot.  He showed up a little late with the night’s only guest Craigy.  We got a quick Gomorrah in while waiting for them to arrive.  There was a lot of traffic getting into the city with the Rangers playing game 2 against the Devils in the Eastern Conference finals at the Garden that evening.  They happened to lose that game 3-2.

As far as the night’s jam goes, I selected to play 5-16-80, the Go to Nassau show that was well know to me.  So well know apparently that the setlist I selected wasn’t that night’s show but a compilation that made up the CD, or at least the second set was.  I didn’t find out about this until the middle of the second set and the value of doing the proposed setlist lost it all, but we finished as planned anyway.  I am still not sure what the 1st set from 5-16-80 was.  In any case, the setlist I had selected was huge and was going to be a challenge to play and complete.  In consideration of the the proposed set list’s length, it is impressive we were  able to play it all with and extra song both at the start and at the end.  Over 20 songs for the week is a big week of music and quite a work out.

The first set is filled with a slew of big songs.  Lazy Lightning is never a good one for us, but the double drummer combo helped us stay in 7-time.  The first set’s Far From me was a Deadstein 1st, so that was pretty cool and we made it through that difficult adventure.  We played pretty loud and hard for the set and got through it nicely.

For the second set we had the challenge of several combos starting with a Stranger Althea.  This went into a Sailor Saint, which we got through okay.  The stand along Alabama Getaway that followed was a great example of the drummers sticking to a pocket that provided a comfortable place in which to play.  I think we were beginning to lose a little energy for the Playing Uncle Johns as the night grew long and all the songs we played were taking their toll.  Some how the drum solo had some energy and kind of boosted us through the finish which is pretty easy for us to play.  The Weight encore, with Larry leading it was a Deadstein best in that it maintained our structure.

Let’s hope the Ranger find a way to beat the Devils in this series and continue onto the Stanley Cup finals.  Much like this week, it looks like we will be playing once again during the game next Monday.  It appears as if we should Rich and Alan back for that jam, so get ready for some more Full-Band Deadstein.

To hear what we played, listen to the MP3s below.  Typically, Rich records us, but I was able to borrow an MP3 recorder from work and got the night fully recorded.

http://deadstein.com/audio/05-16-12/

Jam – 2012-05-07 – Carroll’s

16 May 2012 Leave a comment

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

20120516-172702.jpg

This Monday night jam was like the tale of 2 jams, and both tales were good stories. This week we were scheduled to have everyone back in the studio with the addition of Andy Trister for the first set. For the second set we jumped right in and played a pretty second setty type of first set. I think we were on for the most part and had a very good jam with Andy. While writing this about a week after the jam I do not recall too much about the night except the Music Never Stopped was a killer version and a great way to end our set with Andy. The typical Brokedown to end his segment of the night was all he wrote and he was out of there.We took a little break and and embarked upon our much different feeling and sounding second set. Before we get into it, we only had Stevie as a guest for the night, leaving his entourage behind to miss out of the goodness they we provided. Scott Bayer also showed up for the end of the second set. Lee asked for a little playing of the Truckin’ style jamming for the second set and that got us going down a road that led us to a hot second set and a complete evening of music.

The Truckin’, He’s Gone, Other One was a very natural feeling lineup but the surprise trip into the Dark Star was probably a stunner to most and was the first Dark Star we have played with Lee drumming with us. This led us into some other surprising choices including the Death Don’t Have No Mercy and quick Me and My Uncle and back into the Other One. The transitions were so fast during this part of the night, no one had a chance to complain about the Me and My Uncle. Whart Rat and Sugar Magnolia were fitting closers to the set that provided us the energy to finish strong. Even the encore of Werewolves of London felt good.

While the entire night had a bifurcated feel to it, the entirety of it all was a complete feeling of satisfaction that drive you to showing up once more time. Can’t wait to do it oe more time and freak out.

If you want to hear the music from last week feel free to click on links to the MP3s uploaded by Rich.

http://deadstein.com/audio/05-07-12/

Jam – 2012-05-01 – Carroll’s

03 May 2012 Leave a comment

by lgindoff in Jams Tags: , , , , , , ,

With Rich out of town, this Tuesday night was highlighted by the presence of Bill Siegel playing the keys and the singing lots of the songs for the night. Having Bill is a nice bonus in and of itself but the sounds of the keyboard in addition to piano sounds are a real nice addition to Deadstein sound. Coupled with not needing to amplify an acoustic piano through the PA system gave us a pretty open sound for the night.

The night started really open because as we started late, around 8:25, with Lee still AWOL. I called him and found out he thought we were playing on Wednesday night, not Tuesday. Clutch as he was, he popped into his car and raced to join us and made it before the end of the first set. In the end, Lee only missed 5 or 6 songs.

We were located in the big studio at Carroll’s as the others studios were filled with Carnegie Hall wanabies and a big group of serious Klemzer musicians. Deadstein fit right in. Rob and Miriam showed up with a big bag of leftover Baja no-so- Fresh catered Mexican food for all of us to munch into. I tried a bite and it was a distraction to me. A great thought though. Also in the room were Stevie and Lindsey as well and Ryan who sat in on the drums for a song or two. Meg was nowhere to be found.

We never really had a distinction between sets as we began a Big River without Kevin and Bill also jammed a Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out without several of us. We then went into the second set and finished strong right at 12:00pm.

We didn’t have a setlist planned and we only used the Randomizer to select the Bertha opener, nevertheless we kept the songs moving and ended playing a healthy 20 songs or so. Without Rich being there we didn’t have a good way to record the night’s music. I got a few moments on my iPhone, but whether it is usable or not, I will have to check out.

The songs played in approximate order are as follows:

  1. Bertha
  2. Dear Prudence
  3. Feel Like a Stranger
  4. Mississippi Halfstep
  5. Looks Like Rain
  6. Come Together
  7. Loser
  8. One More Saturday Night
  9. Bottle of Red Wine
  10. Shakedown Street
  11. West LA Fadeaway
  12. Harder They Come
  1. Big River
  2. Minglewood Blues
  3. Glass Onion
  4. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
  5. Ship of Fools
  6. Promised Land
  7. New Speedway Boogie
  8. Throwing Stones
  9. Not Fade Away

 

Jam – 2012-04-23 – Carroll’s

29 Apr 2012 2 Comments

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

This was a difficult week to organize a jam with changing and conflicting schedules keeping us all on our toes.  Alan was scheduled to be away and Trister was to fill in for him.  All was a go until Monday when Andy bailed on our jam.  This left me alone as the only guitarist.  Andy had asked me to bring a guitar to lend him for the night so I was to bring my black Epiphone Les Paul for him.  Since I had just changed string on the guitar for him the day before, I decided I might as well play the black Les Paul.  While I was never really comfortable with the powerful mix of the Les Paul and the Fuchs-modded Fender Twin Reverb, it was pretty good for what t was to me.  My missing the subtleties of my Strat grew as the night waned.

From a drum perspective, Scott and Lee we to be our drummers for the night, by Scott called in sick.  This provided Ryan, of Meg Ryan, an opportunity to sit in for a song or two, but it was nice that Bill Sloan was able to accompany Stagger Lee to do some of the rhythmic heavy lifting for the night.

Since there was only one guitarist in the room, we started with some Jerry Garcia Band to get us acclimated to each other.  It worked pretty well and the difficult to open with Cats Down Under the Stars got us to proverbially jump into the waters and get used to the cold.

As far as guests we has a few, besides Ryan we had Meg (Maggie), Stevie and Lindsey and a few more that I don’t know their names.  By set #2, only Scott Bayer was to wander in and Bill and Lee remained for all the drumming duties.

After the Garcia Band opened, we slowly faded into more of a Grateful Dead pattern which didn’t have much of a pattern to it.  The one song it did have in it was The Weight, which we never do well and this was one of our more coherent versions.  With the passing of Levon Helm this week, it was the least we could do as his life and music were on our minds.

Looks like the Alan and Scott should be back for next week while Rich will be away.  On schedule to fill in for Rich is Bill Siegel, so that is something to look forward to as he hasn’t played with us in years.

In the world, mourning continued for Levon this week as well as for the Ottawa Senators who the Rangers beat in game 7 at the Garden to advance to round 2 of the play-off.  The Rangers now play the Capitals which pushed me to begin a flaming-war on the “80’s Tour Veterans Group” on which is better, the Cap Center or the Garden.  The typical comment about the Cap Center defending it was that it was okay because it was the scene of someone’s first show in 1991, not a convincing argument compared to the greatness the Garden imparted upon us all.  Go Rangers!

To hear what we did for the week, go to the MP3 links below:

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/04-23-12/

Jam – 2012-04-17 – Carroll’s

21 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

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

It being April 17, it was the anniversary of several Dead shows that Deadstein could have tried to attempt.  There was the classic from the Byrne with Stephen Still and Love the One You’re With.  There is the 4-17-84 show fromNiagraFalls.  There is even the famous Tivoli Theater who show video from 4-17-72 that we could have attempted.  I decided to go even older and try thePrincetonshow from 4-17-71 as our course for the night.

We had been doing more newer Grateful Dead recently and I wanted a shot to get back at some of those old Pigpen songs; including doing things like a Good Lovin and a Lovelight in the old Pig Pen style.

The set list isn’t enormous, like others we have completed, so finishing the show wasn’t the challenge.  I think the real challenge was to try to provide it a 1971 patina while not lopping on any of the shiny gloss learned later in the Grateful Dead experience.

There were a few repeats from recent weeks including the Truckin.   With this being more familiar to our fingers than usual as well as being the first song for the night gave it the opportunity to shine; and it did.  The Truckin’ was one of Deadstein best feeling version that I recall.  It has always been a challenge to get that groove but I think we got it to open the night.  I think the Big Railroad, Big Boss Man and Birdsong, what were they caught in the “B” section of their play book, got us to certain a comfort level and were sounding good.  For the Birdsong and the Playing in the Band we stayed from the authentic 1971 of playing them.  We played Birdsong in the key of “E” as opposed to “D” which is what they did in 1971.  Additionally, we added a small jam to the Playing in the Band which was not in the song in April 1971.  I’m glad we did because the jam was fun.

As far a guests for the night we had DonnaD, the relatively shy, demur, school teachers who took the opportunity that Deadstein presented her and grabbed the microphone to belt out the Hard To Handle.  She said she hadn’t done anything like this since she was 12 and all the pent up energy and aggression came out in this Hard To Handle.  It was much different than a Rich version but still I think we all knew where we had to be on it.  Additional guests include Stevie and Lindsey, a couple of additional friends of Rich and of course Scott Bayer came strolling in at the end of the night.

We finished up the first set, which felt good and too short, and rested for the more imposing 2nd set.  At least I had given many of the songs for the night a good listen and practice before we played so Rich asked me to try the PigPen story in the middle of the Good Lovin.  With all our guests ready for a rocking 2nd set, Rich quickly sang the first couple of verse to Good Lovin, we did a quick drum solo and we were back into the Good Lovin jamming on a nice 1971 style Good Lovin.  Already this was our most authentic Pigpen style Good Lovin but when it came time to do the Pig-Rap I was nervous in front of everyone.  I started scatting a bit trying to tell the story Pig did 41 years ago and did a better job than I could have expected.  I think I almost mentioned everything with the exception of the selling of theBrooklynBridge.  While a great part of Pig’s story, I didn’t want to potentially lose our momentum to tell that part of the story.

We were pretty solid for the next few songs including the rarely performed King Bee which had a really good flavor to it.  The Sing Me Back Home is where our trouble began as people had trouble counting the time and having the patience the song requires to play it correctly.  Too bad, because we started correctly and then just could keep it together for whatever reason.  This was a downward slope that continued through the Lovelight.  Nevertheless, for the first three quarters we were right on target with what we were shooting at.  Finishing up a few minutes early gave us the opportunity to play the encore the Grateful Dead didn’t play inPrinceton. We chose Scott singing the Box of Rain to close and we were out of there.

In the world, we learned of the passing of the Band’s Levon Helm this week and we may have to play a song or two in memory of the great songs that he left us with; ss Scott stated, “Levon, say hello to Jerry for us.”

Use the links below to listen to the MP3s from the night.

http://www.deadstein.com/audio/04-17-12/

 

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries