Thoughts From The Townedger-August

And just like that, August is gone. My Gawd the time has flown this summer.  That's not exactly a good thing.  Winter will be here in another three months and they're predicting it to be very snowy and very cold.  Not looking forward to it.

It's been a fun time during the Popcorn jams and there have been highs and there's been lows.  I think last Sunday's jam ranks with the best.  I'm trying to once again play with a more restrained sound and not go balls out. I want it to be fun and not to the point that I scare people off after playing Rocky Mountain Way.  I don't forsee another go at it, but I did really enjoy jamming with Rick Clay on Dreams I'll Never See Again.  Terry McDowell told me he's never played that before with Rick.  I'm sure he will in the near future, we can bet on that.  I also was glad to play the more slower songs with Belinda Christensen-James on Fever.   Then the best were on stage, Dan Johnson playing bass and Tommy Bruner on guitar, the perfect duo to play that song.  I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Tommy can play anything, so can Dan.  Their music knowledge is vast.  And Dan while being on stage is also a good teacher and motivator, the man has played with the likes of Bob Dorr, Men Rockin, Dennis McMurrin and many many others, Tommy likewise.  Does playing as a solo artist or part of being with The Townedgers account for anything?  In order to be better known I don't recommend banishing yourself to the local garage or music room to provide 30 years of original music, once in a while venturing out in playing in one off bands.  Years of stage fright and lack of confidence really did waste me away for a good 2 decades and even there are times I have to push myself to even get to the popcorn jam.  Sometimes I go through the motions, sometimes I go all out, and once in a while I might get involved in something special.   Last week's pairings were special.

The question of having other musicians playing my drums at Popcorn Jams has come up. The DW set is one of the top of the line drumsets for 2005 but if I was to host a jam, I think I'd be more inclined to pick up a used and cheaper drum set just in case but I don't see myself hosting for a while, if ever. I guess the drummer from Smokin Guns, which band is hosting a future jam doesn't want to have anybody pound on his drumset and I guess that's his choice. I could volunteer to sat in with Smokin Guns on a last moment notice but only if I get to do the hour set with the band.  Rocky Smith who hosts next weekend will have his set up there and it's quite nice.  But I have other commitments and won't be able to show up, but wish them well.  I would love to jam with John Shaw when he plays later on.   If in case, I do have plenty of cymbals of choice, I'd rather not have Trevor pounding my K's into oblivion, he would get the Rudes for that sort of playing.  Trevor Worcel is a very good drummer, but he really hits those drums hard.  I could swear when he was hitting the snare, that thing was jumping off the snare stand. I don't think he has a real drumset, but he does have an electric drumset.  Not the same thing at all.

40 years ago, I made KROD, the first echophonic album, which was recorded on reel to reel tape and mostly just one take scream a thons and pounding coffee cans and a homemade cymbal.  Not exactly the way to go in order to make music but it was all I had and my folks were not going to buy any more toy drum sets that wouldn't last more than a month. Three and half years later I would finally get a real drumset.  Then I had to learn how to play it.  That took a while too but eventually I did managed to keep a beat and smash cymbals at the same time. Overall KROD isn't worth a listen but I did take For A While and turned it into a decent song 10 years later.   Forty summers ago, these Freshmen girls would make my Sophomore year in high school total chaos.  Too bad I didn't know how to play guitar and drums back then.   Surprisingly I still have their Valentine's Day card that they gave me.  One of them even had a Ramones album they played in the background one night they called me up.  I know Sue and Janice got me to go on one of those spinning tilt a whirls, back when Marion had a fair on the square in the summertime of 1977. Guess it wasn't that bad of times, despite it all.  In the photo, Janice Tyggerson, Sue Boyd, Sue Barker, Jenny Hensen, Martha Balster left to right.  These gals really made a shambles of my Sophmore year, but looking back perhaps I should have been more nicer to them.

I haven't heard anything about Julie And The Mad Dogs, other than with their commitments fulfilled, that they will change the name of the band since it was Julie and Kyle Oyloe's band and Kyle is no long around.  Mike still hangs with West 66 and I'm sure he'd love to see me to come up and watch him play and give him a extended break.  Once he's get settled into a new home I'll look him up and we can do some jamming, with Steve Lannon in tow.  Russ and I continue to talk and exchange song ideas. He can still play bass with the best of them, he simply doesn't like the overplayed classic rock stuff we did in Tyrus Paraphernalia.   I keep trying to get him to do more jams in town but I'm not going to kidnap him to get him to play.  I know he wants to keep a trio with me and Shawn McDonald, but I haven't heard Shawn play and rather not sing the balk of the songs.

It's bizarre, but when I lived in Cedar Rapids I'd spend more time out here in Stone City and Matsells. Now that I live out here, I'm spending more time in Cedar Rapids, mostly around New Bo  and Rumors.  If I could afford it, I could move back downtown but then again we'd have to contend with floods and rain and gangsta dipsticks.  Guess I'll hang here in Stone City since most of my crap is here.

Certainly I'd jump at the chance for a supergroup with Dan Johnson and Tommy Bruner, even play drums for Tommy if he wanted somebody on drums to promote his new album but I doubt that will happen.   Wishful thinking on my part.

The question remains if I will ever be part of the Iowa Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, as a solo artist or part of The Townedgers?  I doubt it.  I'm not well known, even though I have been part of the music scene for 35 years and have 33 years of original songs, working with the likes of Route 66, Townedgers, Paraphernalia Tyrus, Open Highway Band plus hanging with some of the legends that are in the IA RNRHOF.  I've seen some of the local bar bands making it to the Iowa rock hall. Let's face it, I'm not going to make any effort to change my style of playing or making music, but anybody who has put out 30 years of music surely could be considered for nomination.  I think Kyle Oyloe should be in the rock hall, he's been a legend with The Meekats and Surf Zombies and part of Julie And The Mad Dogs.   Looking back, when I did lived in Cedar Rapids at N St years ago, that would have the best time to get out into the jam scene.  Alas I got too lazy and lackadaisical in practicing on the drums, not doing that for weeks at a time.   I'm trying to correct that mistake by jamming now and see where things go from there.  Learning from the best and try to continue with my drums and guitar I hope will eventually pay off into some sort of satisfaction of playing live again.  I do think Forthcoming Trains and Town's Edge Rock as well as my 1990s and 2000's album have stood the test of time. But being an unknown for so long, only way I ever going to make it to Hall Of Fame is posthumously and being dead. And have a hell of an support group out there that would give a nod for myself.  As they say, that's not going to happen.  But I do take pride in the music that I have created over the years.  It shows that I did make a contribution to the CR Music scene, although in a closet cult artist sort of way.

I guess that's a wrap for the month.  And hope to see you soon Bruce Stanley in the great beyond.  BTW this is the acoustic guitar that Bruce sold me years ago.  It's my main instrument (as guitar that is).

Popcorn Jam 8-28-16 A Wide Variety Of Styles

Lineup:

Karl Hudson-Lead vocals, guitar (That Smell)
Greg Mein-Keyboards  (Dreams, Blue Bayou, Fever)
Rick Clay-Guitar (That Smell), lead vocal, lead guitar (Dreams)
Peter Cacioppo-Keyboards (That Smell)
Belinda Christensen-James-Vocals  (Blue Bayou, Fever)
Tommy Bruner-Guitar (Blue Bayou, Fever)
Dan Johnson-Bass (That Smell, Dreams, Blue Bayou, Fever)
Me-Drums (That Smell, Dreams, Blue Bayou, Fever)

Dreams is known as Dreams by the Allman Brothers or Dreams I'll Never See Again by Molly Hatchet

Musical guru: Terry McDowell

Photo: Brenda Snow (L-R: Peter Cacioppo, Karl Hudson, R.Smith, Dan Johnson, Rick Clay)

I don't know if I can ever find a happy medium of playing drums.  There's always the guy that wants to play true to the beat, and then there's my Keith Moon side of bash and crash but I'm getting a bit burned out playing the latter.    In my regular practices, I continue to try to play the songs out in my head and hum along to the bass line.   Since Martin Daniels has other things to do, and Russ not exactly a big fan of classic rock standards, I'm pretty much on my own to improvise in the best way possible.  I like to go over certain songs just in case I get called into playing them.  Fever has always been one of the more coolest songs to play be it Little Willie John or Peggy Lee. It does help to have a woman singer on the latter version, Julie Gordon has on occasion played it with the Mad Dogs and Belinda has also done this before, mostly at acoustic jams on the weeknights.  I have done the song with her earlier in the year, which turned out fairly good, but when you work with somebody before, chances are the next version will be better and a bit more polished, even if it's a jam session.

Out of all the popcorn jams, this was the most players that I shared the stage with and I don't think it was planned that way.  The original intention was to help out Belinda with her songs with Tommy and Dan, then do a couple songs with Karl Hudson, who had recently moved back from Florida.  Why anybody wants to move back here, even before winter comes I don't know, but Karl Hudson has played in some of the better bands here of the 1990s and 2000s. Justin Case was that band.  He tend came back to visit sometime in May around the time that Tim Duffy was leaving and there was a jam session at the Chrome Horse that was packed and I didn't stay very long, but that may have planted a thought that maybe with such a supporting cast, that Karl would then decide to return here.  Peter Cacioppo, who was the host keyboardist played in some of Karl's bands.  Of course Tommy and Dan who be there as well.   Karl Hudson is more mellow classic rock than what Terry does, hard core grunge modern rock, but Terry adapted quite well to what Karl played.  And there wasn't really much dead time, Karl would move on to another song and kept things rolling along.

With this popcorn jams, there's always something coming up at the last minute, an extra jammer would pop up on stage and we'd go along with what they knew.  I was going to do one, maybe two songs at best with Karl and he decided on That Smell, the Lynyrd Skynyrd staple from Street Survivors, and I've never played that one before on stage or even practice.  The problem was trying to wing it and hope I can at least be in the vicinity of the cymbal breaks.  Artimus Pyle was expert at putting cymbal accents and exclamation cymbals hits on the chorus, but I think for a first time, it went fairly good.  Also at the last minute Rick Clay decided to join up to do That Smell since Tommy didn't know it, Rick is part of Four Day Creep.  Rick also plays the metallic lead on Cranberry Lane off the new Tommy Bruner album Camping With WiFi, a great album too. Rick is very fluent on Southern rock and roll, he can play just about any ZZ Top songs or Skynyrd.  But I know for a fact, that he knows Molly Hatchet's version of Dreams I'll Never See Again, a song that I really wanted The Townedger or for that matter I/O (the band that Russ and I did back in 2009) and I actually listened to that song on the way to the jam.  Usually that song is reserved for Terry to do, after all, when they do Comfortably Numb, he's playing it.  He swears he never played Dreams but I betcha after today, he'll be chomping at the bit to play it with Rick.  And he might want to play it double time like M.H. does.

Nevertheless, neither Karl or Pete knew Dreams, so Crazy Delicious keyboardist Greg Mein sat in on that number.  Like jamming The Twist with Ernest, I really wanted to do Dreams one time with Rick Clay playing guitar and I'm surprised I got to do that.  I think this is why I continue to do popcorn jams, the unpredictability of things, and players coming up to stage to play.  When you jam with an experienced musician such as Rick or Tommy or Dan or Karl, they know the song enough for me to be comfortable to play around with the beat, even if its a first time such as Dreams or That Smell, but I did keep the Keith Moon antics down to a bare minimal.  And I come to find that I don't need to pound the hell out of the snare or hit the cymbals harder to get a good groove.  I lost that during the past month of bash and crash and I was trying to get back into a more disciplined sound.  Having Dan Johnson playing bass helps, he's one of the best and he has a way to lasso me into hanging with the rhythm and not rush it too fast.  Dan  and Tommy Bruner has over 40 years of playing time in the CR music scene and can play just about anything.  And make me sound that much better.  But I like to shock people, that I can play just about anything, as long as I know how the song goes.  But nevertheless, for a first time run through I have to say that Dreams sounded pretty damn good.

(photo: Julie Gordon. picture of Belinda Christensen-James with The  AcoustaKitties Sanity Room 8-26-16)

By then it was time for a change of pace and Belinda took her spot in front of the stage and we slowed things down with Blue Bayou.  You can't beat the shit out of the drums for this number, it's a quiet little ballad, and Belinda has a nice voice for this song.  She's a very good singer, although I don't think she plays in a working band but she does make her way around the jam and karaoke circuit.   I remembered her from May, when Terry paired me up with her, thinking that who was available at the time were too rock and roll and metal for her songs, probably not Mike who was more rock, and certainly not Trevor.  Trevor is a good drummer but he plays 10 times louder than I do and really wails on the power crashes,  I think he made Karl and Peter deaf for the rest of the night.  She's a good singer and it really didn't take much for me to agree on it.

The major difference was that Dan Johnson was playing bass and not Tim Duffy, to which on that night in May was Duffy's last performance and I got to share that on stage with him. And Dan is a walking metronome, all I had to do was keep within his bass riffs.   But I do think the highlight was an extended version of Fever, the Peggy Lee version. And Belinda did nailed it.  It sounded like Peggy Lee was behind the mic.  Tommy Bruner really did a wonderful lead guitar, Dan, again first rate on the bass riffs and all I had to do was keep it simple, with a few rolls thrown in for fun.   I really didn't need to become Crabby Speedbeats this time out and for that matter I enjoyed this a lot better than I did last week.

I was surprised to see my co worker Jenna B pop in with a friend of her and it was nice to see them. Next week the guys from Kick It will be hosting the jam but I got other plans in store. I think in the end I was kinda proud of the way that I played today, even with the first time of playing Dreams and That Smell, it worked for a change.  But then again I had some of the best players in town on stage doing those songs.  And a good large crowd for support too.

Even if Trevor was giving everybody a headache with his drumming.  (He must be in a metal or punk band).

Popcorn Jam 8/21/16 Crabby Speedbeats

Personnel:

Tommy Bruner-Guitar and vocals (I hear you knocking, You Can't Do That)
Tim Canfield-Bass and vocals (Get Together)
Peter Stark-Electric Drums
Crabby Speedbeats-The other drummer

Music director: Terry McDowell

For the first ever, I managed to share the stage with another drummer, in this case Peter Stark of The Dunshee Moon played on the electric drums.  My choice was regular unplugged drums.  I have entertained thoughts of sharing the stage with another drummer in my bands but Terry had the idea of doing dueling drummers for the first time at the popcorn jam.

My thoughts are mixed; another drummer keeping beat allows you to do other things or vice versa does provide relief, plus it keeps you grounded.  Again the usual problem of me when I get too involved with the songs, I tend to play faster than normal, which came true during Get Together when somebody yelled "YOU ARE PLAYING TOO FAST" and yes I did and tried to pull back into the song.  I enjoyed having Peter playing drums to provide counterpoint but if I played too fast, there were times he was dragging behind the beat.  Which is going to happen on blind drum duets, the key is to try to work together and not apart.   Outside of that, I think we did well, although I eventually conceded and let him do the main drum rolls and cymbal hits. 

I may have to start working better with another bass player to keep things more into the beat and not speed up, or "gasp" try the metronome method.  When you in jams with other folks, if you haven't jammed with them, you really don't how they play or their methods, some are set in their ways. Get a drummer wild with a job that sucks and too much pop and they're not used to speed metal.  Not that I playing Get Together that fast, but I did up the tempo on the chorus to go into some sort of drum roll that might work. After that, I lost focus and just kept the beat.

For the first time also, I got to share the stage with Tim Canfield, who is an Iowa Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Legend, one of all time best bass players ever.  Tim took the place of John Hernandez who decided to take a break.  Again, 8 drummers showed up, but Steve and Captain Kirk were here last Sunday but I didn't play when they did.  Later Buddy and Dakota McWhorter showed up and they jammed the last two numbers with Terry back and drums and Mike Lint.  Mike did the most work, playing on 6 songs, Herm Sarduy did five,  DJ Hovenstot figured on a few numbers too.

One drummer Kevin Faulkner, amazed me with his stickwork, he doesn't use the Grip method but rather the traditional way of holding the drums sticks and the guy must have played in jazz bands.  On his Moondance number he quoted Art Blakey's snaretaps. and he had a very light touch to his drumming.  The guy was a far cry from the smash and crash of my playing, and for my money he was the best of the lot today.

For the songs we did, I don't think Peter knew You Can't Do That, he was pinpointing the drum accents of the recording more different than I did, and Tommy did a straight blues 4/4 of I Hear You Knocking.  Tommy also makes Crossroads sound like total blues.   Unlike me, Peter is more straight to the beat and not as chaotic  Plus he's plays more leisurely.  The one thing about drum intensity of mine is that I have play things more faster than usual.  Peter does hit the cymbals a bit harder or he has a way of hitting that makes them sound louder.  Granted with the pairings I was better suited for Peter rather than Herm or Mike, I would have been more at home with DJ or Terry but I don't think Terry likes electric drums either.

And so it goes.  I chatted with Jim Reisner for a while.  His band Flawed Logic played the Iowa State Fair this afternoon and he just back into town and didn't feel like playing the jam.  And Tommy, gave me an advance copy of his new album which sounds very good.  I thought about convincing Tommy to at least do one song or two from his original albums.  They would go over very well.

So anyway, this popcorn jam featured the debut of one Crabbapple Speedbeat, the guest drummer that tended to play the song much faster than one could keep up.  He's not real famous, but has played in Route 66, Open Highway, F.O.A.D., The Living End and guest drum on local bands around the area. Try to keep up with him if and when he is behind the drums. 

Photo: Brenda Snow (L to R: Tim Canfield, Peter Stark, Crabby Speedbeats, Tommy Bruner) 

Popcorn Jam 8/14/16 In The Key Of L

LINEUP

Captain Kirk-Guitar
Steve Black Wolf-lead vocal on Can't You See, Why Don't We Get Drunk And Screw
Dewayne Schminkey-Vocals and guitar (Oh Boy, We Belong Together)
Kenny Webb-Bass
Crabby Crabapple-Drums

Music Director: Terry (Big Beats) McDowell  (Justin Rouse: Photo)

While I was out and about and checking out bands, it's becoming discouraging to me that it seems like every band in town, is like the classic rock stations here, they play the same songs over and over again.  I checked out the new band Shadow at Rumors Friday Night, the new band project of Bart Carfizzi and Tommy Bruner with John Stepanek and Joe Hutchcroft rounding out the band and they did a excellent job with their takes of We're An American Band and so on. At least Joe can do the intro drum boasting at the beginning.    Saturday, I burned myself out going to three different places to watch bands play and then come home and crash.  And then back to Rumors for the Sunday Jam.

There's hasn't been much of me playing drums the past couple weeks, Rocky Mountain Way last week and sat out on the Metal jam.   I know Terry loves those sort of jams where they can crank it up high, but I'm old school classic rock and originals.   With the days becoming shorter, I'll pass on the next metalfest and hit the walking trails.

I haven't been much in a jamming mood anyway.  With the job layoffs to key people, I think I would have been happier just going on furlough and take it EZ at home.  Last week, Russ was wanting to get together and we traded song ideas but nothing has come of it.  I keep telling him to show up at a jam and have fun with it but it hasn't been high on his list of things to do and it's still golfing season for him.  Or pick songs from our set list last time we got together.

So I really didn't plan to spent much time at Rumors, since Mom was making supper and it was her birthday.  She just turned 72 and it's still great to have Mom around.  But I made it there and my Open Highway bandmate from long ago DeWayne shows up.  I love playing on stage with Tommy Bruner.  But if a bandmate from Open Highway or Paraphernalia shows up, I cannot pass that chance up to jam with them.  And I have jammed with DeWayne twice this year at Rumors, I have yet to jam with Russ this year.   I know Russ cannot tolerate the usual bar band songs, but the way things go, nobody wants to dance to Spirit Of The Radio or La Villa Strangelo but if you play the opening chords to Cocaine or (gawd) Free Bird, people will dance to it.  In the aural of band playing  Free Bird is a plus if you know it.

I think the jammers who played Free Bird played it in the key of L.  It sounded like L. John Hernandez, who plays in Full Circle usually sits the jams out, he'll come and support but only will play at gunpoint or if Ken Webb needs a smoke break. But even when one guitar player is playing in a different chord and the other guitar player trying to find the right chord and plays something else and John looking like he'd rather be some place else, it got about three couples out on the dance floor. Mike Lint playing drums too.  It likes watching two trains on the same track going different directions and it's going to be a wreck in the making.  Kind of like our version of Free Bird when we attempted it at the OK Lounge years ago.  It actually sounded pretty good considering we never played it before and Shawn Ster sprang it out when he guest star in the band.

I know Dewayne would never take the stage if I wasn't there.  Again, like me, he has to know somebody to get comfortable with to jump on stage.  In my case last year, I didn't know nobody and took a while to finally connect with the musicians in town and since then, I have done fairly well jamming with folk, considering that I'm very shy and still hides in the corner.  But when DeWayne shows up, I become his father figure getting to the stage.  He also tends to do some outrageous things. Like Sunday when he managed to tell that gawd awful Antiques joke and the reaction from the crowd was scary.  There was some gasps, there were groans and a few boos.  To which I quipped to the crowd, "that joke was bought to you by the letter L.  That joke sounded like L.

I think I need to work with Dewayne on some songs for the next time he shows up at the jam.  We dusted off Can't You See simply of the fact that Dewayne played it in the Open Highway days and then Oh Boy and a rough go through on We Belong Together.   This the first time I jammed with Captain Kirk (Terry didn't know his last name so he and I decided to go with Captain Kirk) and a guy named Steve sang Can't You See.  He also did Why Don't We Get Drunk And Screw, the Jimmy Buffet song. I basically didn't know it and kept time.  There was plenty of dead time between songs so Kenny Webb started up Jeff Beck's Freeway Jam and he caught me off guard.  I didn't know the version at all.  So he turned me  to check out this version and perhaps we will attempt it next time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfN-APKK4tg

Troy Harper canceled out at the last minute so Kenny came in to play bass for the second straight week in a row.  As I said before, it's fun to jam with Kenny, the guy gets into the music.  This time out, I did play on four actual songs and we goofed off on two others.  I would have loved to stayed longer and chat with Dewayne but I had to get my Mom's to celebrate her birthday and I was already an hour late, so I had to keep it short and leave everybody hanging.   I'm not sure about jamming next week, Bluesfest is going on that Sunday and I'll probably spend most of the day there or maybe the Kernels baseball team.  The minor league season is winding down and I would like to catch another game or two since both the Kernels and QC River Bandits have terrible teams and won't make the playoffs.   Also, Mike Serbousek and his band West 66 is playing this Friday Night but chances are I won't make that, since we are busy at work.  And if Russ could stomach playing those bar band songs, he could host as a bass player and get paid 50 dollars for his trouble.  That's about 18 dollars more than he made from our OK Lounge gig many moons ago.  I wouldn't mind spell Terry and hosting one show but I doubt that will happen.

For a milestone, it has been one year since me and Russ shared the stage together. Dewayne and I have jammed three times already.  I wouldn't say that our Sunday get together is memorable, but I think Dewayne had a good time.  And I'm certain that I'll be jamming on stage Dewayne again before with Russ.  And that's the way things go anymore.

You take what you can get.