The Wapsipinicon Dreamers

So who are the Wapsipinicon Dreamers?

Are they a legit band to take over where the Townedgers left behind?

Or are they just a band covering songs that they want to play?

Originally, Chris Dutcher was slated to be the other important member of this band when he approached me on doing a side country project in 1992, to which he stayed around long enough to contribute Couldn't Tell You and then bugger off after disagreements of the direction of the band.  However, I kept the concept of the band going for the longest time, when I thought it would be the right time to do this project, I'd get cold feet and whatever got done became The Townedgers next album.  Long Time Forgotten was slated to be a W.D. project.

After recording Jubilee, I tend entertained the idea of doing a country project with simply cover versions of seldom heard songs.  Not that Dead Flowers is seldom heard, hell it's performed at every jam session out there.  But The Wapsipinicon Dreamers name is a play on the Ozark Mountain Daredevils name, while those fine folks came from around Kansas City or more like Springfield Missouri with the Ozark Mountains in mind, The Wapsi Dreamers is a play on the Wapsipinicon Dreaming album of 1986 but in essence taken from The Wapispinicon River, which flows through this area, (since I'm based out of Stone City, the river winds though town, as well as Matsell's area and Anamosa but the Wapispinicon River has been one of Iowa's most scenic rivers outside of flood season.

The intention was to deliver a country album of sorts but after hearing the results, it's basically The Townedgers's music and sound in a way to bullshit you into thinking it's a country album.  It's more garage rock if anything else.  Plus I wanted the songs to be under 3 minutes, people attention spans tend to wonder after 3 minutes it seems. Sessions started on December 16, 2016 and concluded ten days later, with drum tracking lasting three days.  Most of the songs came from ideas and off the wall discussions with  fellow musicians about playing at future jams and possible gigs at some hole in the wall bars around Anamosa and Cedar Rapids  but over all it was supposed to be a fun album to do.  Which it was till I started fighting with the guys on some songs.  Solitary Man, we did about 15 takes and said the hell with it.  Then did a different and much better version the next day.

The songs themselves:

Fly Away Home (Ozark Mountain Daredevils)  I worked up about 10 OMD songs before we settled upon Fly Away Home, over E E Larson (Too weird), Beauty In The River (too complicated), Standing On The Rock (Too simple), Look Away (didn't like the chords structure) and If You Wanna Get To Heaven (no Harmonica players in our band).  It's a simple folk number than be done as a bluegrass number.  It was done in two takes, which explains why my voice kinda gave out on the final chorus, plus this time of year, it's so dry and I was battling allergies.

If I Were A Carpenter (Tim Hardin/Bobby Darin)  It's easy to see the basic D C G chords and you can work 100's of songs using this chord structure. I would have opted for Bob Seger but that was too over the top and decided to go with the original version but changed the line of Would you have my baby to would you be my baby, since I thought the original line was puke inducing. Plus we took out a verse.

Oh Death (Traditional folk song, done by Camper Van Beethoven and the Kaleidoscope)  More the latter than the former but after knowing many many folks that passed away in 2016, I started singing this song off and on, in  a ominous vocals.  Thought there was more to the CVB version but upon hearing it, it really wasn't.  We all hope to be spared for another year but in reality there will be a time that none of us will be around.  We hope we have another year to live.

Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)  Another song picked out by blind association, I love Warren Zevon's music but didn't want to do Werewolves Of London and Turbulence had a Russian lyric that I couldn't sing, so I went wit the moody Splendid Isolation, which there was a slight change of place for Michael Jackson, going to Neverland on my version and somehow singing like Warren Zevon.  A dry house will do that to your voice.

Stranger To Himself (Traffic/Fairport Convention)  A blind arrangement of the Steve Winwood song done differently.  In fact, once we got done with this song, ours was not even close to the original song.  Originally, I wanted to write an original version of Stranger To Himself but Geoff Redding thought up different chords and the words fit and was improvised.   Done in two takes all total.

Spanish Harlem Incident (Byrds)  A note for note copy of the Byrds song.  Mel Strobie thought up that interesting Be My Baby type of guitar riff through the song.

The Life We Lead (The Townedgers)  Of course I'm going to cover my own song. Our third attempt and this is more leaner and meaner than the other two and done much faster.

Fox On The Run (Manfred Mann/Tom T Hall)  By the time we started work on this song it took about 12 takes and trying to put all four chords into order almost made me want to shelve this song.  And still in search to simplify this.  Although Manfred Mann had a small chart showing with this song, our arrangement is more toward the bluegrass version.  No, it's not The Sweet's version, that's a different monster upon itself.

Baby Wanna Dance (The Townedgers)  Another borrowing from the TE catalog and Town's Edge Rock, Geoff' gave a more laid back guitar riff then the garage rock version of said song.  And the reason why I did this song...I could remember the words without looking them up.

My Babe (Little Walter)  It's in F, but I capo the forth fret to finally be in the neighborhood of this song.  We couldn't figure out Walter's version and stumbled upon this arrangement.

Solitary Man (Neil Diamond/The Sidewinders)  I love Rich Hopkins and The Sand Rubies/Sidewinders band to the point that when we did this song, that we would do it like the Sidewinders version.  Again my voice wouldn't let me hit the higher notes on the chorus so I made ado with a mid range vocal.  The first version of this song took 15 takes and I still wasn't pleased with the result.  The Second version took about 5 takes and was good enough.

Diddy Wah Diddy (Bo Diddley/The Remains)  Bo Diddley is the best, but our version is more to the fast tempo of The Remains rather than the blues boogaloo of Captain Beefheart although I used his lyrics.

Let Your Love Flow (Bellamy Brothers)  My favorite song of 1976 and while playing The One That Know Me Best, Geoff remarked that the chords of that song would fit perfectly for Let Your Love Flow.  Once discovered he was right, I printed off the words and recorded it.  Took two takes to complete.

You Can't Touch This (M C Hammer)  Not the whole rap song mind you but rather playing a repetitive riff and say Can't Touch This when I felt like it.  We had about 2 minutes of recording tape and this got laid down quickly.  It's only 1:40 long.

Dead Flowers (New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Rolling Stones)  While listening to the outtakes that became 2009's Townedgers Country it was painfully noted that we played that song too damn fast and it needed a slower beat.  Plus I was singing it at the local jams and even in my time with I/O, the 2009 reunion with Russ Swearingen that eventually the wheels came off and the band broke up after the guitar player went elsewhere (forgot who his name was but he has played around the CR area from time to time) The W.D. version took about 10 takes and I was beginning more frustrated the more we worked on it.  We called it a day and then try again to record it, which after 6 more takes finally got the version that I was looking for.  In essence it's a demo and my reminder on how to play it at the local jam session when I get time off work.


So that's The Wapispinicon Dreamers.  A 25 year dream that became reality in 10 days and 15 songs totaling 42 minutes.