Thoughts from The Townedger-September Edition

Greetings.  It was 30 years ago, that I released Wapsipinicon Dreaming.  It had a flood of hits so to speak.   This is the Wapsi with a 24 foot crest at Paris this week.  The floods have been a big story.  The Cedar River in town managed to creep up to almost 22 feet.  Lot of people went out of their way to sandbag and move their things to higher ground.  Wasn't as bad as the 2008 one (and I hope we never see that much water again) but the floods did put a stop to the Rumor's Popcorn Jam on Sunday and the Parlor City Tuesday Night Blues Jam.  BTW, I didn't take this picture up above, but Lisa Stick did while scoping out the floods along the Wapsi.   I should point out that this is the first time in the fall ever, that we got this much rain from up north to play havoc down here.  Climate change is not fun.   Usually on a decent day, Sutton Road, where the Paris bridge lies at is always seem have lots of water around all year around.  I noticed the musty moldy smell of mud river is always in the air down there.  But The Paris Bridge is a beautiful bridge.  Below is how it looks when the river is in it's banks.

I think originally the cover art of Wapsi Dreaming was supposed to have the Red Bridge but we never got around taking any pictures of it back in 1986.  Brian Mullahan had a cabin next to the river that we recorded some of the songs at, but a couple years later it got flooded out.  We trying to get a vibe like playing out by the river and I think we almost had it right.  Alas, the recorder we used sped things up so when it was time to overdub, each playback the songs slowed down.  CD technology managed to correct that to somewhat better effect but the WOW and FLUTTER ratio was real bad.  Like most of the early stuff, there are great songs and there are good songs and there's a couple that didn't turned out as planned.   I thought about doing a new album of Wapsi Dreaming Revisited but there is a couple songs I really don't want to redo.  They should remain in music history.  The below picture with the band in front of the bridge would have worked wonders.

I didn't do much popcorn jamming this month, outside of the 2 Beatles songs that I did with Tommy Bruner, Craig Erickson and Dan Johnson.  Smokin Guns hosted one jam and they had electric drums and I passed.  I like jamming with John Shaw but the drummer didn't want anybody playing his real drums so he bought his electric drums instead.  Or maybe Herm did.  By the time I got there, the songs I knew they already did and Herm got called back up stage a second time.   Too nice of a day to waste so I went elsewhere.

I did get a used Tama Rockstar set for 200 dollars for jamming purposes or getting gigs around town.  As of the moment, there's been no real offers to get into a new band.  Best case scenario would be with my best friend Russ again.  I did run into Wiley Kat at the Parlor City Blues jam on a rare Tuesday Night off and he and Ben, the bass player are in the Kirkwood Jazz Band.  We had a cordial chat but didn't jam together.  By the time I got up there, he was long gone.

October will find The Townedgers working on a new album.  Working title still remains KROD and still going through the archives to see what song we can improve upon. Over 200 songs to choose from and only 12 spots open on the CD.    It will be a push to complete it before the year is out.  But I've done it before in time.

I love Brook Hoover and his song selections.  He plays with the Flaming Camaros and the Surf Zombies to go with his solo career.  He's a very eccentric and quirky guitar player somewhat like Geoff Redding. With two bands and a solo acoustic career I don't know if he'll have the time to do any projects with me.  I think my evening job has killed off a few chances of playing live but I have to follow the money.  I love playing live and jamming with the folk but it just doesn't pay the bills as well.  That said, I can forsee doing something with Brook if the stars align just right.

Julie And The Mad Dogs are getting back around the bar circuit.  They will be down in Anamosa at Knuckleheads on Halloween weekend (Friday), and then will figure into the Popcorn Jam that Sunday on the one year passing of Kyle Oyloe.  I'd love to sit in with them once again.

With parts of Cedar Rapids underwater, (the Bo Town area), there's talk about doing a benefit for the folks at Tornados and Kick Stand and Mad Art Gallery who got left out of the HESCO Barriers when the Cedar River spilled over.  Kinda of a sore subject but knowing how Ron Corbett and the CR City council works, I think they been trying to buy the land off the owners.  I did put in a word to help out anybody looking for a drummer for a makeshift band but I am not holding my breath at all if I will participate.  Even in the flood years of 1993 (when it was Kacers (sic)) and 2008 that area always gets flooded.  Once the Cedar recedes, something will come of it for a concert and proceeds helping out the businesses affected by the flood.  In the old Ma's building, they have been refinishing it and I heard it's supposed to be a pizza place.  In my time down at New Bo/Bo Town, I never ate at Tornados, but I promise next time they open I'll try out their burgers.  But by then, they should be hopping with people too.

I know Martin and Geoff have said that I've taken record collecting more seriously then The Townedgers and of course I've seen Martin roll his eyes at some of the 45s I bought, but I always said that record collecting has been my favorite hobby and perhaps if I had played drums like I collect records, I'd be in the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.  Sad to say it don't work like that.  I'll continue to play my usual Keith Moon type of drumming and hope people enjoy it.  So far they have. But in reality, The Townedgers don't sell a lot of music and originals don't go over very well with the bar crowds wanting to hear Free Bird.

Did somebody mention Stone City?  They got flooded too, although the General Store made out okay. The Wapsi only made it just under the first floor.  I'm guessing the basement got a bit of water though.  The TEs have covered Stone City Rock And Roll, originally done by Billy Janey, but we threw a couple of lyrics to make it rocking.  Billy wasn't impressed.

If they didn't have 10 other bands to contend with, I would ask Tommy Bruner and Dan Johnson to form some sort of a band collective and Brook Hoover too.  I betcha we would stump each other with all the music that we know.   That probably won't happen either.

Losing Bruce Stanley hasn't totality sunk in yet.  I always keep thinking that I will see him at the pawnshop and we can talk of tunes and bullshit a while.  I also know I'll run into Tim Hotz at Half Priced Books soon.  I usually do.  It was nice to run into Jerry Scott at Bruce's funeral and I did give him my phone number if The Merles 2, his band was looking for a drummer.  Heard that story a couple times. Don't forsee it but it could happen.  Heard his son is a guitar wizard.

Unlucky in love, yes I am.  Out of all the ones that I dated, Nicole helped me write a couple songs.  I did credit Amy for Moonlight And You on Town's Edge Rock since she was the inspiration for said song but she didn't write the words.  Nicole helped on Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever and Place And Time.  Clarise liked the albums that I did when we were together.  The rest washed their hands of the band.

That's it for now.  Stay dry everybody.

The Townedger Final Thoughts On Bruce Stanley and Popcorn Jam 9-11

Funny how the skies are so perfectly blue this time of year.

Today I paid my final respects to Bruce Stanley, who died last Thursday at age 57, at the Hall Of Memories at Cedar Memorial.  There was so many people there, including a couple of classmates that didn't talk to me, or knew I was there, one of them unfriended me a while ago.   I think wearing sunglasses may have kept my I.D. secret, but I do admit I didn't go out of my way to say hi to either of them.

Bruce's casket was there but it was closed and probably better for that way.  I saw of the more metallic rockers out there crying.  Tim Hotz, my record and CD collecting buddy from many years ago, who I would stumbled upon going to Half Priced Books was pallbearer, he was quite shaken by Bruce's passing.  I thought I would humor him for a bit by telling the new Descendants album rocks. We hugged each other, something I thought would never happen.  And for the first time in many years I got to say hi to Jerry Scott, the original Relics Records owner as well as Carol Becker.  She's always been very emotional and we also said hi and hugged each other too.

I guess there was more to Bruce than what I knew about.  He was a St Louis Cardinals fan but he never mentioned it much around me, since I rooted for the Chicago Cubs.  I looked at him as one of my top five friends but I was never asked to be pallbearer, Tim was one, Troy Mitchell was another and even Barb Myers was one.  Barb was a lot closer to Bruce than I was, perhaps some day I'll have to quiz her on about Bruce and of his life and times.  I would have loved to get to know the man better, but I never did find out where he lived at, nor ever been there.  I only knew him from my times at the pawnshop, at Relics, at 16th Avenue Music.  And sometimes going to a concert at Gabe's or CSPS.

The celebration of life was like any funeral you go to.  There were hymms, there were prayers and there was some laughs.  Billy Heller did an acoustic version of Amazing Grace and then they did a version of Hallelujah, the Leonard Cohen song that John Cale's version became the better known, never mind Jeff Buckley's version. Thankfully the organ hymns were absent.  But still there were plenty of tears, plenty of sadness but for myself, I kept it deep inside, basically I did my crying the Friday Night of the previous week.  After all death is not the end but a new beginning.  And somewhere Bruce is now pain free and jamming with the boys in the great beyond.

I heard he could do it all,  Like me, he started out playing 45s and then taking up the drums and then guitar, only difference was that he caught on playing drums and guitar a lot sooner than I ever did. He had the right guitar riff for the right song, or the right drum fill.  Even in the days of 16th Avenue Music little did I know that Bruce kicked ass as drummer and while I was messing around the DW set hooked up in the studio at 16th Avenue Music, that he was playing double and triple time drum rolls and not missing a beat.  He could go places where I can dream about.  Being his friend Bruce did go out of his way to chat with me awhile and I loved him like a brother, still I always looked at myself as the outsider looking in, even with the major musician friends that he knew and jammed around town.  I got to the party too late.

Before the funeral started, I stood at Bruce's casket and place my hand on it to say goodbye one last time.  It wasn't what I wanted to witness, I wanted to visit him at the pawnshop last week but got caught up in errands and other assorted things.  Later on, before I said goodbye to Jerry, he mentioned that his band might be looking for a drummer for a jam or two, and I did give my number.  Jerry son's play alongside him in the newer version of The Merles, the band that Bruce used to play in before Bruce departed.  I'm not certain that I'll be a part of Jerry's band, I inquired about playing for them 2 decades ago but they had Bill Neff playing drums and he was once part of the Bent Scepters and nothing came of it or fell on deaf ears.  It is a step up from The Wiley Kats and it is a cool thought that maybe we could play in the near future.

But for the moment while I sat thinking about this scenario, the funeral wagon left for Fairfield and Bruce's final resting place and I'll have to look him up in the future.  But Bruce will always be a part of me, especially when I play the acoustic guitar or the Les Paul Gibson that he sold me years ago. His memory will stay alive when I create new music from them.

Goodbye Bruce.  Wished I knew you better than I did but I'll always cherish the memories of the times we shared together at the pawnshop or music stores.

Love
The Townedger

(Photo Credit: Barb Myers.  L+R  Terry McDowell, Jeremy Jacobs, Craig Erickson, Tommy Bruner, Rob Haskill, Dan Johnson)

Popcorn Jam 9-11-16 Lineup

Steve Bray-Vocals
Craig Erickson-Guitar
Tommy Bruner-Guitar
Dan Johnson-Bass
R.Smith-Drums

Songs of the Beatles;  Ticket To Ride and  Revolution Blues. 


I don't think I was on stage but for about 5 minutes, tackling a couple of Beatles songs.  Jeremy Jacobs is Barb Myers' son and he tore up some excellent leads with Craig Erickson on Red House Blues, Voodoo Chile and All Along The Watchtower, with OTT  drummer Trevor pounding on the   drums.  That might be a good name for Trevor.  Trevor OTT as in Over The Top.  Blame it on the youth.  Rob and Craig have played together and Rob plays it super cool and not over the top.   I was paired with my good friend Steve Bray on the two Beatles numbers, I always enjoy sharing the stage with him, which we did earlier in the year.    With 8 drummers showing up, the chances to do songs didn't extend past two songs which everybody got.  Herm got paired with Belinda on Fever and really it wasn't the same as the way we did it a couple weeks ago. Herm has a much different style than mine, more straight forwarded although the finger pops at the beginning with an interesting choice.  But since working with Belinda on that song a couple times there's more of an inner groove interplay between me and D.J and Tommy.  Certainly Herm is a professional enough to adapt to the song, perhaps the next time it might go better. A good effort but wasn't much chemistry this time out.   Barb Myers closed the jam with Mercedes Benz, to which she dedicated to Bruce.  She did a great job.

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.

Thoughts From The Townedger-July Edition

This is the end
Beautiful friend

The End-The Doors

It's been a very sad ending to this month.  What started out to be a promising year celebration of me playing drums in various jams, the highs of sitting in with Julie And The Mad Dogs and West 66 and with Hostage, came crumbling down, with my boss being let go, along with 10 other comrades and now me having to go to days.  Out of all the bosses that I have been under in 30 plus years of working at my place of employment, Ellen was the most fun who somehow managed to get me to feel better about myself and not get so angry over the little things.  I've known her since 1985 and she came to my rescue and got me into her department for three years.  It has been a sad day, and I don't think I cried so much about the loss of her and Kay and Jean.  Not since Dennis Pusateri's passing have I been this down in the dumps.

If anything Ellen cared about each and every one of us and till the end kept our spirits up despite the odds.  It feel like my heart and soul got ripped off from these layoffs. But I did talk to her this afternoon and she seems to be quite happy now and don't have to worry about the long drive up to work anymore, nor Kay for that matter.  Or Jean.  Sure I butted heads with Kay and Jean but in the end they were family as well.  I'll miss all of them but most of all Ellen.  Nobody can ever replace her.

So I'm at the crossroads of life once again and wondering how long I can last there.  2nd shift has been the best spot for me, but 2nd shift made it impossible for me to consider joining bands and I have had offers about getting bands started with some of the finer musicians in town.  Going to 1st shift will enable me to jam more often on week nights, maybe hit a acoustic jam at Checkers, or the blues jam at Parlor City on Tuesday Nights.  Hell, I don't sleep nights anymore so getting up at 5:30 won't be a problem.   I'm not liking changes but all I can do is roll with them.

I don't play drums, I assault them.  That has been known from the past few popcorn jam sessions.  But it also ushers in the fact that I am back to how I play during the glory years of the 1980s with Open Highway/Tyrus/Paraphernalia.  It's a very self destructive style of playing, and nobody around here can play that way like me.  Pat Geisland comes close.  However, I do know that if and when I get into a band full time that I must confine myself to the way the song is played, and I do tend to play a bit faster than what the record is, be it Dreams (Fleetwood Mac) or Ramblin Man.  An undisciplined style doesn't fit very well for the type of rock and roll I play, unless I get into a Who Tribute band Live At Leeds style.  Then the inner Keith Moon would feel at home then.  Where Rod Smith fits in remains to be seen.

Terry McDowell has done a fine job with the popcorn jam but his band Threshold have managed to score some cool opening spots for playing music. They're opening up for The Bulletboys in Moline  July 28th.

When I see Tiffany Zweibohmer play drums on stage, I can see a lot if me in her playing. Like Mike Serbousek, Tiffany is a attack drummer, not subtle but driving the band in the way that she plays.  Like Mike and Terry McDowell, Tiffany is a better disciplined drummer than me, more toward how the record goes.  Myself I improvise all over the place and throwing odd drum roll and cymbals crashes, just like the good old days.  I try my best to see her band when she is in town.  Her band 50 Shades Of Rock played North Liberty and I managed to hang with Julie Gordon and Craig  who hangs out at Checker's Tavern.  Julie sang What's Up for a special guest star, she sang it well.   50 Shades does play the standard bar band classic rock hits and I know y'all don't care about Free Bird but I'm telling you Tiffany nailed the whole 10 minute song all the way to the drum and cymbal boasts on the jam part and even the Bolero beat coda at the end.  Most drummers stumble all over the place on that damn song (I know too well about that myself), but she played it just like the record. She may be living up in LaCrosse now, but once in the while she'll pop in with her band just to let us all know she still kicks ass and remains one of the best drummers I ever heard, male or female. 

I don't think I'll return to the desert this year or anytime soon. Since they're closing all the Hastings stores down there, I won't be able to find very many cheap music anymore.  At least they still have Half Priced Books, but so do we.  Ours is closer.  And I'm not a fan of flying, especially dealing with TSA and their body searches.  Allegiant  Airlines is non stop, but they nickle and dollar you at every GD thing, (seat locations, early boarding, carry on baggage etc). I love the desert but the only time I'll go back there is when I move out there or rent a car and drive out there.

I will not comment on the President race.  Don't like either the piss poor reality crap star nor the other one.  If people want to vote for Bernie or a 3rd party candidate, then they better vote in droves. I'm sick of voting for the lesser of the evils.   Sure in the hell ain't voting for Chuck Grassley either, he's out of touch  and been in office way too long.

The Townedgers is my collective and creative outlet but in order to play around here, I have to resort of playing bar band classic rock songs.  Which I don't mind, to an extent.  I don't have problems playing Mustang Sally nor do I have problems playing Skynyrd but I grew up with 60s garage rock, soul music and 80s garage and alternative rock and not hair metal. Which means it would be what Paraphernalia Tyrus did for main songs, their set list and whatever covers The Townedgers do.  But as I explain to Russ or Duwayne that if and when we want to do something on the side, it will fall under another name.  The best case would be the return of Open Highway.   Or I could follow Dan Johnson muse and go more into blues type of music, although I'm not a fan of that Texas shuffle.  I send song selections to Russ, and he sends some back, I'm sure both or our reactions to song submissions are WTF?!

No setlist on this weeks' popcorn jam, it was all hard rock and metal and I was dealing with carpel tunnel issues so I sat this one out but did show up  supporting the local musicians.  Ernest The Soul Man wanted to get up on stage and do The Twist song with me on drums but since most of the musicians were hard rockers and metal heads we couldn't find a suitable guitar player and I'm sure Rick Clay didn't want to play bass to that.  Had Tommy Bruner or Dan Johnson hosted this week's jam, we would have played it, me with bad wrists and all.  With the likes of Karie Skogman, Stu Fondle, Rick Clay and Terry McDowell it was going to be more loud rock and roll.  No shortage of power drummers too, Dawn Sedlacek even played drums for three songs, Pat Giesland damn near destroyed Terry's drums, Troy Mitchell better suited to Bonham songs than myself.  There was six drummers out there that took the stage.   Peter Stark didn't get up on stage, nor did I.

Perhaps if there's a storm cloud to the jam it was an half hour break that probably would have gotten more folks up on stage.  With 8 drummers, even that would have been impossible.  I know Terry does the best he can during these jam sessions, but Tim Duffy is missed.  I think Duffy's hosting the sessions, there seems to be a bit more variety of music going around.  The hard rock and metal does bring out the hardcore rock and rollers and that's fine with me.  But if we have this many drummers turning out, I might consider seeing what Parlor City has for a Sunday Afternoon jam, or even Cooters.   I'm sure Terry loves to end the whole shebang with Comfortably Numb, but it's getting late in the year and we're losing daylight, and I tend to enjoy my exercise.   And I must get that in before the snows fly.  

Not sure who would get my DW set when I'm dead and gone but  Mike Serbousek would get my Paiste cymbals.  Tiffany Zweibohmer would get my old Zildjians. Rod Albaugh would have my Guild Acoustic guitar.  Not sure what I would give Russ, probably my Fender guitars.  I also wish not to return back to Lincoln Illinois, just cremate me and sprinkle my ashes at around the Chain Of Rocks Bridge, or have somebody take them to Crookton Pass outside of Sleigman, or Kingman Arizona.  I still think I'll end up having a heart attack playing on stage.  That'll be a nice way to go don't ya think?

That's all for now.

notable quote

  I kind-of always associated you with Keith Moon. I always thought you two were more similar than anything. With all the egos running wild in the Who, he had to play the way he did. When he died, so to did the Who. Tyrus, in it's hay day was always driven by you. The rest of us jut jumped on the train and held on tightly-Russ Swearingen