October 16, 2002 - WAMC- Albany, NY
KEN: but it's all right (all right) once you get past the pain late night. should be sleeping. computer zone-out. lyric grabbing. preparation. twix & snickers fun size. sore throat. say it isn't so. dry eye bags. great evening of music! thanks, tao & mammals: the radio show show ran like clockwork (literally) and everyone was so nice. thirteen non-performers in the audience, one of whom presented the musicians with cookies after the show went off the air. good cookies! tough but yummy chocolate chip. upon arrival at the hallowed linda norris auditorium (oh how many times have i heard that building's name uttered on WAMC? brian? see, we are avid listeners), i walk in and who's there but the (for all you "wkrp" fans) Big Guy of wamc, DR. alan chartock. but nervous fumbly me, i say "hello MR. chartock, nice to meet you." almost immediately i felt like i'd made a deadly embarrassing faux pas. he smiled and shook my hand and said something like, "and who are you?" i imagined that he'd hear my name and file it under "the guy that called me MR... who is he, eddie haskell?" met the other musicians (all good and friendly acoustic artists: kim & reggie harris, and rachel bissex), sound check was non-stressful, sushi arrived, followed by mike and ruth, and finally max and his cool "dating game flower" handbag. and then the audience trickled in. the gang's all here. the mammals and WAMC, as always, are pros, and the show moved quickly and seamlessly. tao gave us all a locker room pep talk and informational summit and explained how the evening would go, segment by segment. SFTD was the third act on. we played three songs in the first half of the show (tony will list 'em, but they were "uncomfortable," "pick a gripe," "ayla") and, thanks to the lightning-quick stage turnover, we had time for three more songs in the second half ("the new you," "one lady dancing," "the wichita train whistle sings"). though i was too shy to look up, i heard reggie harris near the front of the auditorium laugh heartily during "one lady," and especially when we went to the second key change at the end of "wichita." thank you for the support, mr. harris! ...um, DR. harris. the sound on stage, for me, anyway, was weird. it was an echoey room, and i could hardly hear tony or the vocals. i heard fuzzy empty mush. but i put on the headphones and i could hear lots of vocals, but not much keyboard. YES i could have told the nice and very-willing-to-help soundman to add more of this and that, but all our headphone levels were the same, and everyone else seemed fine with the mix. so during our sets i kept yanking the headphones on and off, unable to decide which was better. i, like henning and probably everyone else, am excited to hear the CD copy of the show, which the ever-proactive 'AMC will send momentarily to our mailboxes. during "wichita," two ladies got up and danced wildly around the side of the room. people clapped along (arrhythmically) during "one lady" (henning told me later all he could think while he was singing was "just find the snare drum. where is the snare drum??"). i had a great, great time, and also got to play along with the mammals -- and rachel bissex, too. and the closing gospel all-band jam was really fun...the hammond-y sound i used seemed to work, and i was slapping percussively at the lower keys like terry adams. which felt good at the time...i hope it came out ok on the CD. mike was fighting an oncoming cold but held out until the end of the show, at which time he looked ex-freaking-zawsted. brian shared the farmer's almanyac secret about putting a clove of garlic between your teeth and gums, and we all stood around trying to decide what we thought about that, asked him lots of specific questions. i ate three cookies. COO-KIE, AHHRMMM AHRM ARRRM ARM-- *gulp* AHHH after the other two cars in the SFTD caravan left, henning and i took some candid snaps and hoofed it over to subway to have a non-turnpike-mcdonald's meal. a guy at the counter said to henning, "hey, you look like john lennon." (but i SWEAR i thought i heard him say, "hey, you look like john denver." and i thought, "cool! young people of today still know who john denver is!" oh well.) ning 'n' i talked all the way home, about recording, touring, the sad demise of the once-brilliant mommyheads, halloween costumes, slowly sinking microphones, and more. i told him about a frank black interview i read in the new magnet magazine (which includes a short but full-page profile on liz sharp! it was great to see her in glossy radiance (no pun intended, it's a great photo). frank black said he was happy to be touring, it reminded him of being a kid going on trips with his family. they'd drive, and when they got tired, they'd just pull over and have a snack. which is exactly what he and his band do now, except then they also get to play their music/art for people!! what a good job/life to have. what is it about turnpike rest areas that's so pleasant? even when they're unpleasant (after the brooklyn mammals gig, mike and pierce and i stopped at a subterranean-lookin' dunkin' donuts, it was deserted, like that subway scene in "the wiz." four hungry/caffeine-starved customers were standing around groggy, confused -- there was no one behind the counter. for a good five minutes. then two women appeared, none too interested in taking anyone's orders. it was surreal.). anyway i agree with frank black, i like being on the road with a band. this band. good gig, everyone! so i had a cup of tea and a butter pie (a butter pie?!) MAX: Ancient Japanese proverb: When paid in sushi, it is acceptable to eat like there's no tomorrow. I could sense the tension rise in the room backstage last night when the Mammals came in from sound check and realized that much of the complimentary sushi had been consumed by the other acts. And I will sheepishly admit that many of the raw fishies went into my belly. And when round two of sushi arrived and we were encouraged to finish it off, I obliged. This was good sushi too, and the tuna was especially delicious. So I hereby apologize publicly to the other performers last night for my gluttony. Can the Fawns play there? I WANT MORE FREE SUSHI. The drive to Albany was generally unpleasant. I went alone, since I needed to work until 5, but generally don't mind spending time in a car by myself. The gutsy rain, pushy trucks, and general stress of trying to get to a gig on time wore me out though. On the way I was kept company by X, Tortoise and Kate Bush. The latter scared the crap out of me as I entered Albany. It's been a while since I listened, I mean *really* listened to Bush's The Dreaming. If you aren't familiar with that record, I highly recommend it. And I further highly recommend buying The Dreaming, finding a dark room (maybe your musty attic), turning the heat off and playing it really loud, so Kate's voice can really crawl under your skin. I'm not exaggerating. It made me pee my pants. I found the WAMC building with no trouble at all, and there was ample parking. Without much need to soundcheck or tweak the equipment I went straight for the sushi (see above). Pleasant company all around and I felt immediately welcome. I thought the show went very smoothly, and despite getting some stage jitters (maybe it was all the raw fish swimming around inside me) I thought we all played well. The Mammals were excellent. I'm really looking forward to our show together at the Horse. Everyone was positive and upbeat, and it felt like a nice little community. My parents tuned in from NH and said they were having flashbacks to '60s anti-war folkie stuff. The jam at the end was fun, even though I kept screwing up the chord changes. My heart was there, I tell ya. Continuing along the same vein, once in my car I randomly found a talk by Jello Biafra on a local college radio station. It was recent, dealing with all sorts of political issues (in typical Biafra style, he can cover an awful lot in a few minutes). His talk was refreshing and I was sad when I drove out of range. Then it was on to some good ol' AM radio, straight out of Cleveland, and then some nice jazz on WFCR. Brian and I took turns taking the lead, and he ended up pulling into Noho first. I let him win. Hey Brian, I'm up for a rematch any day of the week. You and me. Out on the blacktop. Chicken? Brok brok brok brok. TONY: Wedge was Luke Skywalker's co-pilot in the X-Wing in Star Wars movies. If I'm recalling correctly, he was introduced in Star Wars but perished at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back in the snow planet battle sequence. How's that for geekiness? And I'm not even that great a Star Wars fan. I just have a good memory. For instance, I haven't seen "My So-Called Life" since it was booted off the air eight years ago but I remember even the fringe characters' first and last names. The English teacher was Mr. Kotimsky, Angela's dad's business partner in the restaurant was Hallie Lowenthal, the neighborhood friend Angela grew away from over the years was Sharon Chersky, etc. That's one thing Shelly's grateful for- I always know when we go to the video store whether we've seen something or not. Usually I can recall which apartment we were living in at the time when we saw it too. Just don't ask me which chord starts the chorus in a School For The Dead song cause that I won't know. Especially if I'm playing live on the radio. Well, it wasn't really that bad but I didn't really play well either. I don't believe it was due to playing live over the air, though. For starters, I've never listened to WAMC (or really any radio station, for that matter- I'm down on radio and TV these days) so I don't know Alan Chertock from Anton Chekhov. I also had had no prior exposure to The Mammals. It was just an off-night for me musically. But let's start chronologically. All the other gig diary entries overlooked the huge geek factor in our drive to Albany, which was the presence of walkie-talkies in the two cars. "Did you check out the rack on that blonde in the Cabriolet?" etc. etc. And yes, the rain was bad but I wasn't driving myself so I wasn't too focused on that. On our expeditions out of town, I usually end up chewing my driver's ears off (ooh, Brian, what a tasty lobe you have!) about various things, pontificating and whatnot. The gem in Brian's and my conversation that evening was learning something about Brian that makes me appreciate him so much I can't stand it. But maybe he doesn't want me to broadcast the story about his early dabblings with the piano- maybe it's a personal thing that he reserves just for close friends. All I feel safe to say is that if my own kid ever did something like he did with those records and the piano, I could just sit there for hours and listen to it. Just last night, I barely held back tears of delight when I could tell Hannah was trying desperately to jump in on the "e-i-e-i-o's" along with the big kids on the recording singing "Ol' MacDonald." She kept opening her lips at the right time but perhaps was too unsure how to make the correct succession of sounds. Like her dad stumbling through "Down By The Riverside!" We met the emcee upon arrival to the auditorium and immediately I liked Tao, since his appearance reminded me of our good friend Connolly Ryan (see the intro page to themammals.net to see what I mean) mixed with a dash of Andy Kaufman (another hero of mine) plus the height of our own Henning. Plus he was just as nice as all get-out. In fact, everyone was ridiculously nice there. And I think I have an understanding why. You see, I felt somehwat out of place in that I was a member of a rock band surrounded by folkies and professionals who play music for a living and tour for a lifestyle. So they themselves know what it's like to always be meeting new people, other fellow musicians, and so they know how to make others feel comfortable, probably because it makes them feel comfortable. We all had a nice bonding gobbling the sushi. Prior to the dinner, Reggie Harris and I just gabbed like old friends for 10 minutes about things we had in common- we've both spent time in the south, we both severely injured guitar-playing digits in baseball-related accidents (me, stickball; him softball)- on top of that, I saved his wife from an imminent accident by leaping across the room when I noticed the coatrack suddenly decided to give way and plummet straight for the couch where she was innocently sitting with her laptop. In fact, that's how we got on the subject of injuries. As for the performance itself, I decided in soundcheck to play sans headphones. I felt uncomfortable enough cramped in my corner onstage without being physically tied to a rope of sorts. Henning stood directly in front of me so I played in terror of him taking one careless step back too many and sending me tumbling off the back of the stage with only two amplifiers to break my fall. One step to the right and I would either be clipped by Brian's cymbal or Max's bass guitar neck (or Pierce's, who ably sat in on bass for our soundcheck). And then there was a boom mike directly in back of me for my amp that I often in fact did step into, earning me sudden shots of pain into my lower back. Plus a mike stand in front of me for my vocals and guitar pedals underfoot. So this is chiefly what I attribute my less-than-stellar playing to. At the time when were setting up onstage, I was concerned about our sound levels and such- from now on, I'll take care to also establish adequate personal space so I don't feel so boxed in as to not be able to play as well as I could. Rachel Bissex went on first and started out with a piece that was half-spoken word, half-song. The best part were the transitions between the two, which always played on the word "where," or a "w" sound. She also seemed completely in her element onstage. Just a pro. She used visuals for the audience and even was wearing makeup so I doubt that the huge listening audience bothered her much, especially impressive given that she was performing completely by herself. Reggie and Kim Harris kicked their set off with a rousing a capella "Get On Board, Children" that immediately endeared me to them. Reggie also proved to be a master guitarist, comfortable with jazz chords or just driving rhythms to underscore their wonderfully-blended vocals. Both of these acts work in the folk genre so my mind tended to wander once it grasped that the songs themselves were more about the messages inherent, not so much about intriguing chord changes and/or cool melodies. Ironic, yes? That's just me. The songs also ran long for my tastes (sorry again) and often were accompanied by spoken introductions that were just as crucial and rehearsed as the songs. As Mammals member Ruth pointed out later on, Reggie and Kim finished with a song about a girl being shot in her schoolyard, then Pierce did a spoken piece about guns and assassinations and then we went onstage- "Hi, wer'e SCHOOL for the DEAD. Here's our first song, UNCOMFORTABLE." Now there's a transition. I was all over the place in this song, trying to adjust to my space. The worst I've ever played this tune. I was conscious of this at the time and tried to maintain a low profile sonically. Gathered some semblance of comfort for Pick A Gripe, which sounded fine overall to these ears. And Ayla came off well, although for some reason, I kept clamming my harmony note on "woods," like I had no recollection of what it should be. I just hope I wasn't too loud in the mix. Our second set started with "The New You." Again, I had to re-assimilate myself into my cramped quarters and it took a toll on my performance. Hope that when I bumped into the microphone stand during this song it wasn't audible. I don't have many backup vocals in One Lady Dancing so I stepped over to the left side of the stage all by myself and felt much better. A bit distracted by the off-rhythm clapping in the front row and off-rhythm dancing offstage as well but this song grooves so nicely, I bet it sounded marvelous. And yeah, Ken, I too heard Reggie's whoops of delight in both this one and our final number, "Wichita Train Whistle Sings." A few guitar clams by me here as well- by this point, I was none too proud of my musicianship this evening so when we played "Down By The Riverside" and the stage was filled with people, I felt more dis-eased and cramped than ever. Also one other problem- Reggie showed me the chords he plays to this song before the show but somehow we played the song differently onstage. Maybe because Max wasn't there earlier to be debriefed on the song's chords but we ended up playing a simplified version. Which was better, of course, but everytime poor Max missed one of the changes, instead of helping him get back on track (and indeed he seemed to be checking what my fingers were doing), I would assume that I was in error and try to follow him! Regardless, I think both Max and I have enough on the ball that things never broke down or sounded plain bad but it was tense nonetheless. When Tao asked me if I wanted to solo, I begged off. I could've coughed something up but it would've just been riffs in that key, not really a nice musical solo. Not to mention the riffs I'd come up with would be a lot more Sterling Morrison or Keith Richards, not two guitarists that immediately come to mind when you think of gospel music. Ken made us proud, however, with an organ solo that both fit the style in the notes played and the sound he found for the keyboard. The accolades are always wonderful, dear friends, but I sure am looking forward to the day when I play an entire show and feel like I'm not up there simply just trying not to screw up all the time. Or screwing up! So thank you for letting me unload my own personal unpleasantries regarding this show. All in all, it truly was a positive experience. It just also served to point out to me several things I need to work on to be a better performer. Ahhhh.... I look forward to the familiarity of Harry's tonight. HENNING: Brian and I looked at our surroundings in the Linda Norris Auditorium and broke into an hour and a half long impromptu musical entitled, "In the Future, All the Banks Will Be Music Halls". The soundtrack was a cross between "Hair" and The Talking Heads album "Naked", there was a cast of thousands. Rachel Bissex, one of the performers that evening told Tao on the air that although it was raining during her long drive to Albany she enjoyed the changing of the leaves through the mist. During our drive, I was more concentrating on the changing of the lanes by the huge semis that spewed up solid white walls of water as the sped past. Not to say that I didn't enjoy the ride, I really did, but it paled in comparison to the ride home, during which the once cloudy sky was breaking open and revealing a starry splendor. The Linda Norris Auditorium is unassuming and easy to drive right past but, once inside, there is a real sense of calm. Because it was a bank maybe, it seems very sheltered from the outside world. There was one point where I heard a siren thorugh the thick walls but besides that, the outside world seemed like a distant memory. I knew it was raining out there on the roads and I new that the wind was blowing little cars all around the highway but that all had nothing to do with the safe room we were in. Actually, the green room literally is a converted safe and you pass through the three foot thick vault door to get in. The sushi was very secure. Yes, we were provided with a sushi dinner and I must confess I enjoyed it quite a bit. I have had samplings of the stuff here and there for years but I never ate a whole meal of it. It was pleasant and clean and yummy for the most part. It'll still be some time until I master the art of wasabi. I only ate one fish item (tuna) the rest were all veggie. I was delighted with it all but went at it slow and carefully. To this day I can't jump right into a pool or lake or river, I need to enter gradually and calmly and let my body get aquainted with the change. The German in me loved the way the show was being run. It was all based on the red LCD clocks that were all over the place..counting down the seconds. "The show begins at 8:06" we were told, and that's exactly what it did. We all stood on the stage waiting for the On Air sign to light up and there was a real sense of excitement in the air, like the curtain was about to go up, like the plane was about to take off. The crowd was thin and strange in this lovely auditorium but Michael had reminded us the show is less for the people present, as it is for the 6 to 10 thousand listeners out there in radio land. This was something to keep in mind while playing, don't worry about doing anything visually entertaining if it might distract from the audible performance. I stood without a leash in front of two microphones, my guitar not plugged in, just open to the air. Tony stood behind me with his amp at a lovingly quiet volume, Max was positioned slightly in front of Tony and Ken and Brian were pressed as far over as possible to the edge of the stage. We stood in a square, taking up only one half of the stage, with Max in the middle and the rest of us as corners. It was a close but interesting set-up. We were given headphones with monitor mixes in them by the soundguy, Mike. Mike was a cross between John (They Might Be Giants) Flansburgh and a 1950's radio engineer. He peered at us from his perch behind a window high up on the wall and barked commands into the speakers. The headphones made everything easier to hear but they created a strange seperation from the rest of the band. I ended up having one ear with and one ear without (especially during our second set when Max's bass was suddenly superloud and distorted in the phones.) I think we played well. I'm excited and nervous to hear the recording. At the end of the show all the musicians took the stage and did a long, long version of "Down By The Riverside". It was fun and funny, not the kind of thing we are so used to doing, especially when we know people are listening and recording. Max quickly offered his bass to Pierce, which Pierce declined. Tao turned to Tony and asked if wanted to take a solo, Tony shook his head, Tao turned to me and asked if I wanted to sing a verse and I declined in terror. Everybody else there had lovely, lovely voices AND knew the song. Ken did take a solo and Brian, of course, held everything together. I stood in the back and played my guitar looking up at the beaming faces all around me on the stage. "Where's Clapton?" I wondered. On the way home on one of the many things Ken and I discussed was vans. Does anybody have one that I can buy? Or even better, that they want to donate to the band? BRIAN: I spent some time in Amherst Center today, and it's just about the best time of year for that locale. I know, Ken, you're there every day. But you werent there today at 4:15!! I checked!! So I went in the OTHER record shops. Didn't get nothin', just pokin' 'round. Popping into work today, I received some nice compliments from headquarters on the radio show. One person interrupted her Star Trek ritual to tune in. No one mentioned, Rachel Bissex is the sister of Paul, who did the Sourpuss 7' cover for mine and Ken's old band. Small world. On the way there, Tony and I listened to the Os Mutantes CD Ken had compiled for me, but it was mostly in the background as we talked about things like the acceptable emotions folks of various occupations and sexual orientations can display in public. Extreme sadness or joy in the straight business world? No. But in the sports world? Sure. At a gay bar? Sure. Anger in the sports or business world? Yes. Lots of it. But who in our music scene wants to see anyone truly angry? No one. Afterall, we're playing music to keep the wolves form the door. Lion's share, shut the door, electricity comes from other planets. We spent a good deal discussing sexual orientation. I feel, as a musician, I can court my feminine side all I want--all I have to do is go on stage and it all makes sense. On the way home, we talked about childhood social traumas and how they express themselves in adulthood. If you're a sensitive kid, it just takes being laughed at by a whole classroom once in 3rd grade, and bang, a lifetime of underacheivement (with occasional interruptions, like playing for thousands of people on the radio). Things like that. Now that Tony's a Dad, these things are relevant and not just bad attempts at therapy. You never know what you're gonna get into, talking with Tony. Well, I can't really add much to the story. I agree with everything everyone said. Tao invited us back, so, Max, there's your wish. Those Mammals are nice folks. Reggie and Kim were delightful company. It was cool hearing these folk road warriors exchanging road stories. I was in the "safe" hanging with Reggie and Kim and Tony, when I heard someone playing the drums--Ken had answered the call when Rachel asked for the SFTD drummer. He did a great job, and especially good on the Mammals stuff. And, I like pulling over for snacks too, but Frank Black, it seems, has pulled over for too many snacks.	Uncomfortable Pick A Gripe Ayla The New You One Lady Dancing The Wichita Train Whistle Sings