Popcorn Jam 7/24/16 Jamming With Hostage

The Lineup:

Steve Lawrence-Vocals and Guitar
Doug Bright-Guitar
Kenny Webb-Bass

with

Bart Carfizzi-Keyboards

and ME.

Music Director: Kenny Webb/Terry McDowell

Songs:

Rocky Mountain Way
I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You
Ramblin Man


Terry had everybody standing on edge since he didn't finalize the lineup of jammers till Saturday until Steve Lawrence got back to him giving the go ahead to participate.  Despite having Billy Davis popping up from Florida to play with the Funk Daddies at Parlor City and Michael Williams having the Cooters jam, there was a better than average crowd on Sunday.   For good reason.  Hostage has been one of the longest lasting bands around the Cedar Rapids area, playing together for 30 plus years and many lineups have come and gone but Steve Lawrence has been one of the mainstays of this band.    I have been kinda burned out of late, working overtime at work and now I got word that I will not be let go this year (yay).  With this Tennessee emergency bailout, it means that I won't have time off to partake on week night jams like I have last year.  So basically I'm picking and choosing what I can and cannot do.  This would have ended any tenure with The Wiley Kats by now had I chose to stick it out with them.

But to have a chance to jam with the guys in Hostage, I didn't want to pass that up.  I may have to wait a while to get my turn in.  Troy Mitchell, like Terry McDowell is one of the best drummers in town and he didn't disappoint.  He was throwing a quadruple bass drum beat on Tie Your Mother Down.  Outside of him, Terry and Mike Lint plus myself (Peter Stark and D J Hovenstout showed for musician support)  only four drummers did take the stage.  Thankfully, I wasn't paired up with Russ on his usual Bad Company numbers, perhaps Terry didn't want to deal with those songs this week so he basically told Russ to take a hike. Besides, I missed out jamming with Craig Erickson last week  

Unlike last week, I didn't do a power walk around town.  That figured greatly into me not much into jamming, the humidity last week was terrible.  The front went through Sunday Afternoon so I figured afterwards I could do my walking before going home.    This time out, I was drinking sugary drinks on an empty stomach and it did make me play drums a lot faster than usual.  In fact, the speed I started out on Ramblin Man was too fast.  It's been ages since I did that song (A speed metal version of it with Dan Hartman so to speak last year at Wrigleyville), so Kenny had to walk me down slower on the beat.  The Keith Moon Syndrome was taking over me and a good bass player has to settle down the wild and crazy drummer.  The beginning of the song we got the breaks right and then I started into that undisciplined fast beat, way too fast, way too reckless.  Thankfully with Steve and Ken being very patient they managed to get me to a more steadfast gallop tempo.   But the guitar interplay between Steve and Doug was unbelievable, it was almost like the record.  For the first time all of us playing it together, we managed to pull it out with plenty of applause from the folks.

I guess leading off with Rocky Mountain Way, it has become more evident that when that song comes up, Terry has me playing that song.  Hell, I've been bashing and crashing on that song since 1982 and I don't think I did anything special really.  Terry doesn't have the cymbals that I have to do the song so I add more hi hat accents, rather than crashing the cymbals after certain lyrics come up.  But I did get a kick out of Kenny really getting into the music with his bass playing.  I had more fun watching him than actually playing it.  There's parts I don't remember doing,  I know I did some cymbal chokes at the last guitar break before going into the crash and bash of the coda.  Afterward, Steve Lawrence said that was one of the most intense versions of that song he ever did, Doug agreed with that.  I just smiled and winked at Kenny.  It really says a lot when you have one of the best musicians in town  saying how intense a song can be.  I might have destroyed Terry's drums in the process  (I have to give him a extra of sticks next time, since I may have split one of his sticks) and having patrons looking at me wide eyed  (I recall glancing at Barb Myers and she had that deer in the headlights look) but I do believe this is the way that I used to play when at my best for Tyrus years ago.  The finesse and swinging style last year when I frequent Wrigleyville's jam session has been replaced by a much more powerful drumming that does recall more Keith Moon than anybody else.  Perhaps Kim Beam may have witness this when I was whopping his cymbals a few months ago.  Back in the old days I call this drumming style "Rude Tenacity".   And as I gotten more confident in my playing the past few months, I have also gotten much louder in pounding the drums.  This style was evident when I sat in with Julie And The Mad Dogs.   Not playing by the record but by sheer emotion, my drum playing is like watching two runaway trains on a collusion course.  I think Kenny saw this recklessness on stage and managed to get me back into playing a slower and manageable beat, such as on Ramblin Man.   He's very good at what he does.  I might have more intense beats on past previous covers of R.M.W. but I do say that this song is in the top five all time of in your face intense rock and roll.

Certainly there are more disciplined and better drummers in town, and that's okay, but when it comes to pure intense drummers out there;  I remain at the top of the mountain.  Nobody can touch this sort of playing that I do.  I suppose some day I will end up paying for this wild sort of playing.  Keith Moon has taught me well.  Hell, even I managed to do a quadruple bass roll at the end of R.M.W.   To which I blame too many root beers.  Hopefully next time, I'll be a bit more mellow, but the chance of playing alongside the guys in Hostage on drums had gotten me on a highest of highs too.  

And of course, the encouragement from Big Mack too.  I'll leave him my DW drums when I'm dead and gone. 

Another great and memorable jam once again.