Smash Studios A

8/4/2004

Back to Smash without Trister, but Alan was there early, Ken Levine in the middle and just the freak four at the end.

We this was a weird week from many perspectives.  First of all, being in the middle of a nomadic summer left us without playing for 23 days.  Unfortunately for us this may be a record.  Nevertheless we pulled a jam together thanks to the hard work and dedication of Rich and Kevin in getting it together.  Unfortunately, once again, the consequence was being back in Smash Studio A.  It was worse than ever.  The have nice lights but a snare that sounds like the crack of Mitch's ass.  There wasn't enough beans and coffee around to get a sound out of that thing.  Fuckin' Clay!  The Fender Twin is the terrible old beat up on, not the reissue.  Nevertheless (my favorite word), I think it had work done on it cause it sounded real good and it wasn't electrified when by lips hit the mic while using it.  The Eb on the Yamaha Piano sticks,  the PA exudes a 15K ring that makes a deaf dog crazy and the Hartke is Kevin's enemy.  Fuckin' Clay!  Boy am I hoping for a Pastrami Sandwich next week.  Fuckin' Clay.  Oh yeah, the "no smoking guy" Fuckin Clay.  

Putting Fuckin' Clay aside, it was an interesting week.  With the long layoff I was looking forward to playing and it was great to hear and see everyone again.   From the first notes of That's What Love Will Make You Do, we clicked and sounded real good, except for the thud from the terrible snare drum.  The No Smoking Guy was right on the case and it wasn't until probably half way through the night that the normal guy was there to fist get a much better sound out of it and then finally  came in with a better snare.  But boy did that snare thud instead of snap.  Fuckin' Clay.  So Alan was there for about five songs until he had to leave to do some job and it was too bad cause we sounded good.

I failed to mention that Ken Levine and Stu were our only guests for the night.  That's not true cause a friend of Mitch's and Alan's was there for at least on song, but I forgot his name.  So Ken Levine decide to rent a guitar, a nice looking, beat up old Tele from Smash and join us for a few songs. Smash actually had the nerve to charge $15 to rent it to him, that's $15 and hour.  After the inadequacy of the drums, as Coffee said they should have just given it to him.  Fuckin' Clay.  So Ken jammed with us for the better part of the rest of the night adding his own flavor to the mix and having a great time I hope.  Much like the Dead, you mix and match and do the best that you can do but at least you re there doing it.

Ken left about 10:30 leaving the four of us to finish out the night with a few songs until Coffee's drip came to a grinding halt at 11:00  Since we had the room till 12:00 Rich and I played a few nice Beatle numbers and then played his and Terez's original "Hopeless Love" or something of the sort.  A delightful number that has flowing changes much in the manner of Standing on the Moon.  Anyway we played that twice I could take no more come 11:30. I assume Rich hung around utilizing the full extent of the time up to midnight working on some of the details of the song.  So the night started strong and ended with Rich playing to himself his and Terez's original.  It was a night to make everyone happy and what is wrong with that?

I had a slice at the corner slice place and got a few soda's there.  I also go a slice on the way out.  That's living.  Still gonna be lots of vacations and difficulties in the up coming weeks in getting the jams together.  Let's work hard to get it done.  Till next when and where "to be determined."

Fuckin' Clay, it's just a saying, kind of like "That's What She Said."