This Land Is Your Land – Vintage Dead and Lobos
Jumpin’ back to 1989, here’s Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir singing “This Land is Your Land” with the boys from a band I get more and more obsessed with by the day: David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, and Steve Berlin from Los Lobos…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM18HENqNbk 336 278]
The Ickmusic Tapes – Ratdog, 1995
Once again, I have to thank my 18 month old for pulling a great cassette out of the box that I thought was so securely closed (you know, the four flap clockwise fold – there’s probably a name for it, like Boy Scout knots).
Between 94 and 97, I taped just about every Grateful Dead Hour off a local radio station (KZON, then KDKB). In late ’95, they played what was then an early Ratdog show from the Warfield in San Francisco – it was September 2nd, short of a month after Jerry Garcia’s death.
I’ve always loved this particular version of “Heaven Help the Fool”. And “Throwing Stones” was always one of my favorites. This early version of Ratdog included Rob Wasserman on bass (Weir and Wasserman performed together for years prior to that), and former Primus member Jay Lane on drums. In this particular show, though, former Tubes-man Prairie Prince is pounding the skins.
Check out this nice mini-set.
Ratdog
September 2, 1995
The Warfield, San FranciscoHeaven Help the Fool
Drums
Bass Solo (Wasserman)
Victim or the Crime
Throwing StonesHappy Birthday Steve Kimock!
My man north of the border, Cam, is back for another post…. – Pete
Oct 5 – If you’re anywhere near Teaneck, New Jersey, head over to Mexicali Blues to catch Steve Kimock, George Porter Jr., Robert Walter, and John Morgan Kimock and celebrate Steve Kimock’s birthday.
Steve Kimock is one of the more versatile guitarists I’m familiar with. His long and ever evolving career has now spanned over three decades, and he has shared the stage with many “big names” as well as showing up to guest with lesser known entities.
Kimock grew up in the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania region and moved to the Bay Area in the 1970s. After playing with folk-rock band the Goodman Brothers and several other bands, Steve co-founded Zero in 1984. The band had a lifespan of 16 years and played its brand of rock to both San Francisco and national audiences. Kimock was also the leader of the critically acclaimed band KVHW, featuring Steve on guitar, Zero band mate Bobby Vega on bass, Frank Zappa alumnus Ray White on 2nd guitar and vocals, and drummer Alan Hertz, more recently with Garaj Mahal.
More recently Steve has led the Steve Kimock Band (SKB), which, when not on hiatus, plays primarily original instrumental compositions in styles ranging from jazz to prog-rock. The only permanent musician in SKB, apart from Steve himself, is ex-Santana drummer extraordinaire Rodney Holmes.
Since 2006 the SKB has been on a hiatus which has allowed Steve to sit in with many bands spanning a range of genres, including Banyan, Everyone Orchestra, the Allman Brothers, Porter Baptiste and Stoltz, Dark Star Orchestra, Zilla, and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey – to name just a few.
A check today reveals that Steve will be touring with Ratdog later this month on a 14 show, 12-city tour including a date on Halloween. A typical Kimock performance, whether in one of his bands or sitting in with others, involves multiple guitars. Sometimes Steve will play one of his many electric guitars or dazzle fans with his slide work on his Lap Steel. The different guitars provide different sound and textures that vary the music. Steve is a huge “gearhead” and provides detailed answers to various questions from fans on the ‘Gear’ section of his website.
During his Bay Area years, Kimock periodically played with Grateful Dead related bands (even earning him the title of “… the best guitarist nobody ever heard of” from Jerry Garcia). Despite the fact that he rarely plays Dead material in his own band (in part to not to be viewed as derivative of the Dead scene) his career and persona have been intertwined with Grateful Dead related music – he has performed with Phil & Friends, The Other Ones, the aforementioned Rat Dog, and Dark Star Orchestra to name a few.
Music, tour dates, and the all-important page dedicated to Steve’s gear can be found at www.kimock.com.
Special thanks to my good friend Azer for his contribution to this post.
Zero –
Gregg’s Eggs(mp3) – 8/10/2007 at Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport, CTBanyan – Full Show stream from 8/4/07 – Cervante’s Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver (Kimock on Guitar)
Check out the Steve Kimock Band’s latest, Eudemonic…
SK’s Official Site | MySpace
The Gourds go Gyroscopic – it’s Austin time
I ask you, what’s not to like about a band with a member named Shinyribs Russell? It’s the Gourds out of Austin, Texas. You may have heard a funny bluegrass version of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” several years back (in the free Napster-era when we were all pinching ourselves – “holy shit, I can find any song I want!”). Many folks wrongly tagged the song as coming from Phish, but nope, it was the Gourds.
They released their latest, Noble Creatures, back in July. I just picked it up on eMusic after hearing “The Gyroscopic” on Sirius. Nice earthy feel. I recommend.
The Gourds –
The Gyroscopic(mp3)Buy Noble Creatures: Amazon
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Linkage: Official Site | MySpace
Deep in the Heaaart of Texaaas…. And so listening to an Austin band segues quite conveniently into my much anticipated maiden voyage to Austin for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. For those that can’t make it, you can check out a live webcast all weekend at the AT&T Blue Room. See y’all on the other side!!
My 1990 Halloween with Phish
Thanks to my college cohort Jason, I now have a living breathing document of our early Phish experience. It was Halloween 1990. That night, Phish would play our college’s 740 seat theater, Armstrong Hall. Judging by my first Phish show in April of that year, I knew we were in for something special. Costumes were required for this performance. So I dug up a poncho, a cowboy hat and a water pistol and called myself Josey Wales. Jason got a little more creative, and dressed up like a droog from A Clockwork Orange.
That night, we filed into Armstrong Hall and had our minds blown by these four strange fellows from Vermont. Page seemed the most normal of the bunch, nestled behind his keyboard. Mike was a cartoonish figure with his moppy hair and deadpan expression as he laid down those great bass lines. Fishman was a fascinating sight on drums, dressed in his standard attire of goggles and a dress. I had never heard / seen such drumming live before. The rhythms he banged out had me wondering how one person could muster up all of those sounds.
And then there was Trey: red hair, red beard, and his perma-grin throughout the show. With his stack of amps and electronic equipment blipping and flickering behind him, Trey was a veritable guitar god that night (and every other time I saw him).
Phish obviously evolved into a phenomenon, selling out tours for years with minimal album sales & radio play. In 1997, when Phish was playing America West Arena here in Phoenix, I scored a backstage pass and got a chance to introduce myself to Trey. I reminded him of this night in 1990, when he and his buddies from Vermont took the stage at a small auditorium in Colorado Springs, and did proceed to tear the roof off the mother (not to mention my brain).
*Embellishment follows* As a distant neon sign flickered in Trey’s eyes, he began to nod emphatically and hoarsely whispered, “Hey! Weren’t you dressed like Josey Wales?” A tear fell from my eye, and we embraced like two long lost brothers, as we shared the common bong bond of a simpler time. A salivating silver and black dragon then burst through the ground beneath, swallowing us both whole. *End of embellishment*
Phish
Armstrong Hall
Colorado College
October 31st, 19901: (Buried Alive -> Possum, The Squirming Coil, Lizards, Stash, Bouncing Around the Room, You Enjoy Myself, The Asse Festival, My Sweet One, Cavern, Run Like an Antelope
2: The Landlady, Reba, Runaway Jim, Foam, Tweezer, Fee, Oh Kee Pa Ceremony -> Suzy Greenberg, HYHU -> Love You -> HYHU, Mike’s Song -> I Am Hydrogen -> Weekapaug Groove
E: Uncle Pen, Big Black Furry Creature From Mars
Set 2 preceded by costume contest. *Vocal jam included “A Night in Tunisia” (Dizzy Gillespie).
Have you ever had a Garage a Trois?
Howzabout a little Garage a Trois to end the weekend / kick off the week? What we have is a side project of Charlie Hunter on his 8-string guitar, Galactic’s Stanton Moore on drums, and Skerik on sax. On this 2003 release, Emphasizer, they had Mike Dillon help out on percussion and vibraphone.
Laid back acid jazz/funk comin’ your way.
Garage a Trois –
Hard Headed Rio aka Rio Cuca Dura(mp3)Buy Emphasizer:
Garage a Trois’ Official Site.
Listen to a whole GaT show on Archive.org: August 3rd, 2005 at the Fox Theater in Boulder. That’s my birthday, mark your calendars and save your money.
Dead: Eyes of the World, 1991
Thanks to my Canadian buddy Cam for the email full of tasty music recommendations and classic nuggets of goodness like this “Eyes of the World” from 6/17/1991 (an East Rutherford show that Cam attended). Check out Bruce Hornsby grinning and fawning over Jerry like a smitten schoolboy…
A week from now, I’ll be watching Jerry’s old bandmate Bob Weir jam it up live with Ratdog at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival.
Ear Fuzz Referral:Miles Davis at the Isle of Wight, 1970
This is way too cool not to share. For amazing video of Miles Davis and band at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, go to Ear Fuzz now and take some time to watch this incredible footage.
The lineup: Jack DeJohnette (drums), Dave Holland (bass), Airto Moriera (perc), Keith Jarrett (keys), Chick Corea (keys), Gary Bartz (sax), and of course Miles Davis.
Observe the Stage Presence of Miles. What a badass mother—er. RIP Miles.
Tony Allen and Ginger Baker Poundin the Skins
Kudos to Jefito for throwing a Fela Kuti / Ginger Baker tune on one of his Friday mix tapes a couple months back. It made me aware of Fela and the Africa 70’s “Live” album with Ginger Baker. It was originally released in 1971, but was reissued late last year with a 16 minute bonus track – a Ginger Baker / Tony Allen drum jam.
Tony Allen was Fela Kuti’s drummer for many many years, and is active today in The Good, the Bad, & the Queen, which also features former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, and former Clash – yes CLASH – bassist Paul Simonon. Hidden Track caught one of their shows over the weekend, and has some sweet pics posted in their photo review.
So I’m a percussion kind of guy, and can happily spend 16 minutes of my life listening to a fine Afrobeat / funkin’ drummin’ jam. Can you?
Ginger Baker & Tony Allen Drum Solo(mp3, 25mb) – Live at the 1978 Berlin Jazz FestivalBuy:
Jerry and Merl in San Anselmo, 1972
So what we have here is a vintage recording of Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders and friends (pre-Jerry Garcia Band). This is a soundboard recording zeroed right in on Jerry’s guitar. For those people who associate Garcia only with the Grateful Dead, they’re missing a whole lot of what made him the musician he was. Jerry was an amazing soloist in the Dead’s improv-jam milieu (damn, it’s been a while since I’ve pulled that word out – hello old friend). But with his work outside of the Dead, Jerry dove into bluegrass (his very first band was a jug band), R&B, Motown, early rock & roll, and others.
This is the first set from this night. The second set isn’t in circulation. But even these six songs take a trip through musical genres… Bob Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh…”; Gamble & Huff’s “Expressway (To Your Heart)”- a hit by the Soul Survivors; the gorgeous instrumental version of “Imagine” (only two months after John Lennon’s album had been released); “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s Alright Mama”- Elvis Presley’s breakout single; a Merl Saunders original, “Save Mother Earth”; and Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made to Love Her”.
All the while, Merl Saunders’ Hammond B3 churns away warmly in the background. Both “Imagine” and “Save Mother Earth” showed up on Saunders’ album ‘Heavy Turbulence’ later that year (an album that featured Garcia on guitar). John Kahn, the bass player in this show, also played on the album, and was the bass player in the Jerry Garcia Band from beginning (1975) until end (1995).
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Paul Butterfield, late master of the Chicago Blues harp, joins in on the last couple of songs.
But it’s Jerry’s guitar skills that take over this show. Prepare to be blown away…
Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and Friends
Jannuary 19th, 1972
The Lion’s Share
San Anselmo, CAIt Takes a Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry
Expressway To Your Heart
Imagine
That’s Alright Mama
Save Mother Earth*
I Was Made To Love Her** with Paul Butterfield on harmonica
Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
Merl Saunders – keyboards, vocals
John Kahn – bass
Bill Vitt – drums
Sarah Fulcher – vocals
Paul Butterfield – harmonica (Guest on tracks 5 & 6)BUY Rhino’s The Very Best of Jerry Garcia or preview it Rhino’s Listening Party.
