We had a really good practice last night. Every time we get together, it seems that I appreciate something else. For me last night, it was the background vocals. It seems like it’s coming together really well. And despite the heat, the AC was working like a champ and we all stayed cool enough to wax nostalgic and tell drinking stories from when we were very young and stupid. Most of us are no longer that young.
I started out the evening by getting PJ’s help in disassembling the windscreen device for my microphone. Diagnosis: it’s hosed. The good news is the mic still works fine, so it’s only a minor glitch.
Dave was a little bit late to arrive, so PJ, Rodney and I warmed up with “Baker Street.” Let me tell you, trying to play a song like that without a drummer sure makes you appreciate having one. Fortunately Dave arrived and we moved on to “Fooled Around And Fell In Love.” Wes reminded us that it truly is a waltz tempo, which helps with the beat. That song is coming right along – it sounded really good. Dave really did some awesome drums on that one and PJ did a really sweet solo. Then we played our new song, “Signs.” We liked it so much we played it three times.
We decided to play “Baker Street” again since we had a full complement on board and I’m really glad we did. Dave’s drums kept us in line and Wes’s guitar really fills out the sound. Rodney’s bass was really sounding good and you know I love the extended solos on that one. Sadly, the next song was not so successful. The song was “Can’t Find My Way Home” and it was decided that I really need to take that down an octave. The singer needs to practice that one a bit. Next it was time for the obligatory “Crossroads” jam, followed by “Dancing In The Moonlight” which was transposed down a bit for the guitarists. The background vocals on that one were very nice. The trouble with that song is that the ending is hard to find. It’s a perpetual loop. PJ will have to work some of his timing magic and orchestrate us a nice ending. Of course, this will require some counting. Dave.
There seemed to lots of things flying through the air this night. There was a CD toss, which, while delivered nicely, was sadly dropped. The best cymbal shot of the night was from Wes’s cigarette pack. But, greatest of all the flung objects, the best panty toss of the night belongs to Dave. No, I will not elucidate, elaborate, or explain.
We played “Drift Away” which sounded really nice. We need to work on the ending for that one too. We played “Help Me Make It Through The Night” and “I Touch Myself” where I was instructed to wait on Dave. Hmmm. I have to wait on Dave before “I Touch Myself.” It was just that kind of night.
Then we played “Lookin’ For Love”, which sounded great and had a fabulous ending. There’s no way I would have believed you if you would have told me that I was going to really love singing that song. We played “Radioactive” very fast! Then we played it again and it was much better and the ending was perfect. Then we played “Smoke From a Distant Fire” a song I really like but one that I was ready to kick to the curb. But Wes and PJ insist that I actually do have the range for that one, so I will bow to their wisdom and practice it some more. Hopefully I can get to the point where we can do that song without the need for chicken wire in front of us.
Next we played “Stuck In The Middle With You.” I really like that song and there’s something about Rodney’s bass on that song that really pulls my trigger. That song had a good full sound and we did a really good ending. Then we played “There She Goes,” another serious sack squeezin’ song, but I think we can pull this one off if we practice it enough. Again, this song relies heavily on background vocals and they were there!
We rounded out the evening with “What’s Up,” and then a very fast strange jam. We played “All Along The Watchtower” with a nice extended jam at the end and ended the evening with “Secret Agent Man.”
There were, as usual, many fine and memorable quotes. And as far as the “secret word” goes, I am fairly certain the word is “moist,” thus, the wet beaver.
“That’s because I was wishing it into your forehead!” ~Rodney
“The Dukes of Saskatchewan!” ~JD
“That’s coming from a man with a shirt that says ‘jebus’!” ~Dave
“It came de-velcroed.” ~Wes
“Elephant feet and olive juice.” (or something like that) ~Dave
“It’s good when everybody ends on a different chord.” ~PJ
“I was singing!” ~Wes
“I was watching!” ~Rodney
“Which is why I dropped out of the Tour de France.” ~PJ
“You like working under the table, dontcha’?” ~Wes
“Shut the fuck up, Kettle!” ~Rodney
“I’m doing it, honest!” ~Dave
“Blame Rodney. It’s his fault.” ~JD
“Not until the paper is signed!” ~Wes
“That just ain’t right.” ~Rodney
“Dave just cleaned this place up a month and a half ago.” ~PJ
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