10/23/2013

With Scott back from his 2-week hiatus is Italy, Deadstein was back to its 2-drummer roots. At least for half the night. It may take Scott a week or two to get his Deadstein legs under him once again as he spent much of the second set checking out the lumbar support of the couches in the lobby of Carroll's. Not a big worry, because Lee is in tip-top shape after drumming solo for the previous 2 weeks. In addition, I picked up Scott's sticks for two songs toward the end of the night (Stop That Train and Come Together) to join Lee in the rhythmic duties. That was a lot of fun from my perspective, but it did leave a gaping hole in the guitar lead position on the recordings. Donna, had to catch up on paper-work during this jam and was unable to join us.

I had initially crafted a setlist days prior to this jam in an effort to capture several songs I have yet to capture in my recent mult-track recording mode that I have been in. We pretty much stuck to the setlist but did omit the Tomorrow is Forever as Donna was not there to sing the duet with Rich. Likewise, we finished the songs of the first set about 30 minutes quicker than anticipated, so the first set was modified and expanded to fit into the time allotted at the time. As such, we aborted the playing of the Midnight Hour to close the first set, that one was intended to be played with Donna's help, and instead, played a Victim or the Crime in its place. This was a pretty cool Victim for Us as I learned a couple of Jerry parts to the song, which were new to me and therefore Deadstein. We threw in a late first set Baby Blue to setup the Weather Report Suite to close the first set. The first half of the Weather Report Suite was a disaster but with the help of modern mixing and editing techniques, I was able to patch something together that was at least listenable. The same couldn't be said of the Come A Time which we tried to play two or three time but which came tumbling down like a house of cards. In finishing up on comments on the first set, I thought several of the short songs were well done, including the opener of Operator. Ballad of Casey Jones was surprisingly requested by Stagger Lee and it was a really nice rendition. The Sailor Saint was also one of our better ones as we keep getting closer and closer to its heart and sole. This week we used the 4-6-82 Philadelphia Spectrum version as a template to get us going in a bouncy manner with out all the mud and drudge of the tempos we typically start on our own. The quick tempo quickly turning into a correct, and easy to play, tempo. I think referencing the beats of songs before we start is a big help.

The second set was more about survival than recording so we kept playing songs that kept most of us going. Scott was the only casualty but it didn't mean other were teetering and about to fall. Actually, with this stated, the When I Paint My Masterpiece, a Deadstein A-List tune, was really nice and solid. Mr. Charlie had its moments on both ends of the Spectrum and the Thin Man was pretty good except for the fact that I skipped over the 3rd verse, but I don't think anyone noticed. Maybe Scott Bayer, out only guest of the night, who I dedicated the Ballad of Thin Man to. After leaving the drum throne we finished with a Mason's Children which was pretty good and closed with a Day Job which was just okay at best. nevertheless and good thought and a good way to end another night of Deadstein. Just to note, Kevin brought in his Carlos Robelli hollow body electric to show off this week.

Until we freak again, Freak Out!