Pribek

“Well I’m goin’ insane, laughing at the frozen rain”. They do go insane at any threat of inclement weather here in the Ozarks. There is a front moving in tomorrow that may have freezing rain and/or snow. Wal-Mart is packed with people frantically buying space heaters and beer in anticipation. It is pretty hilly and the roads can get ugly.

Bonus points if you recognize the reference to the Steely Dan song “Bad Sneakers”. That’s a cool song with a neat guitar solo. I always thought Larry Carlton played it but I read somewhere that is was Walter Becker. They always have cool guitar stuff on their records but are not always forthcoming with info. I am real sure that Carlton plays the lead stuff on “Kid Charlemagne”. Steely Dan are the kings of smart ass, west coast pop.

Here is a cool site (The Steely Dan Dictionary) for anyone who ever listened to the Dan and wondered what the hell they were talking about. For instance…

bodhisattva “Bodhisattva / Would you take me by the hand”
Song: Bodhisattva Album: Countdown to Ecstasy

In Buddhism, a being who compassionately refrains from entering nirvana in order to save others and lead them to enlightenment. Bodhisattvas are themselves worshipped as deities in Mahayana Buddhism.

The famous marango (marengo?) is not listed. Is that the name of a real dance? I always thought that would be a good band name. “Ladies and gentlemen, The Famous Marango”.

“Five names that I can hardly stand to hear, including yours and mine and one more chick who isn’t here”. Who are the other two?

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I’m a little weary tonight, had our last rehearsal for these upcoming shows. Weary in a good way though with the feel of a task completed. There has been a lot of late nights and running lately. Paul Barrere of Little Feat once wrote, “It’s those rock and roll hours, early graves with no flowers, please, please darlin’ put my mind at rest”. The song is called “Skin It Back”, good song. Paul Barrere is an underrated guitar player, he and Lowell George had a unique approach to the two guitar thing, subtle funk. Back in the vinyl days, I had a Paul Barrere solo record, I think it was called “On My Own Two Feet”. Going from memory here, I think there was a song on there called “High Roller” that I liked.

Here is a kind of spooky link to an article about the Unabomber. They have released some case evidence including some detailed pictures of his cabin in Montana. I think it interests me because years ago I played gigs in that area. It is hard country up there.

I remember driving all night from, if my memory serves me well, Council Bluffs, Iowa to a roadhouse in central Montana and having no time to shower, unload the gear and hit the stage. The band that was there before us had been fired for some reason and they were in the parking lot eyeing us the whole time we were loading in.

We were there a couple of weeks and it never seemed like the crowd really liked what we were doing. One night we did an extended, impromptu jam on “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and “I’ll Fly Away” that had sort of an Allman Brothers vibe. It’s generally unwise to play gospel songs when people are drinking or long southern rock improv when people really would rather hear George Strait songs. I think we all sort of felt like they were tolerating us. Then on our last night, the club owner locked the doors and demanded that we party with the staff before we got paid. There was a lot of whiskey flowing and this guy kept encouraging the waitresses to dance on the bar for our entertainment. A couple of the women did so but seemed reluctant, like they were just trying to appease this guy. It’s pretty awkward watching someone bump and grind under duress.

This band was always ready for a party but that night we felt like we were being held captive. In the end we got the money and headed south with a vengence. All of this pre-dated any knowledge of Ted Kaczynski but we now refer to it as the gig in Unabomber country.

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It’s midnight here in fly over country. I just finished a rehearsal, it’s going well and we are having fun. It’s odd but there have been times when playing music was not much fun. It has taken some work to be comfortable with the three piece format but now we are playing with a little swagger. Some of the songs like “Salvation” and “Trouble Ain’t Over” were hard to envision with just three guys but we have found an angle, and a little different approach sometimes takes things to a different level.

Hurricane season officially ends in a couple of days. Even the Farmers Almanac got it wrong.

I am curious about this new Beatle record “Love”. I have only heard some snippets. I am wondering how far Sir George Martin went with the “remix” process. I read a few quotes from him and he sort of implies that there was some degree of sampling the guys and creating new parts from the samples. The ad I heard called it the new C.D. “from” the Beatles which kind of weirds me out a little but I am a big fan of George Martin so I will check it out. By the way, when are we going to have Sir Ringo. Maybe we should start a petition for that.

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