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Post your old band recordings!
- Thread starter hieronymous
- Start date
Sorry for the delay, I disappeared to the beach for a few days.
So a couple things on the "guitarist". We actually had two, both played lead, swapping roles as needed. Typically we used the rule of "if you wrote the song, you get the lead role" and it worked really well. For a few songs, this one included, they both swapped lead back and forth and even trading off during the "main solo". The two guitarists were "Dave" and "Kevin" -
Kevin was a self taught, gritty, street style player with no formal training at all. Everything he learned, he learned from ear and just trying stuff.
Dave was literally formally trained with a degree in music theory, could play keys, guitar and bass.
The contrast between their playing styles was amazing and it created something I'll always love.
In the main solo, Kevin starts it off and then Dave takes over, then Kevin comes back in, then Dave finishes it off. If you listen closely you can hear a change in the tone of the guitar, that's the swap.
This was recorded at "Star Lake Studios" in Federal Way, Washington. Pretty sure that studio is long gone now, but back in the 80s-90s it was a popular place. Funny story, during our recording session Sir Mix-A-Lot walked in the booth (he was friends with the studio owner), sat down at the board and listened to us record for a while. He was super cool, was bobbing his head to the music and stayed for an hour or so. So, it's quite possible that Sir Mix-A-Lot actually had some input on the mix, who knows.
Regarding the "mellow intros", we certainly had a writing style and I think as a band we eventually found our sound/style. Sadly this was at a time when Grunge was just breaking and our sound was definitely on the way out. We also struggled to get on the radio because they wanted songs that were 3 minutes tops and most of our stuff was at least 5 minutes due to the "mellow intros", extended guitar solos and outro parts.
The band just sort of fell apart around 1992-93, mostly just due to Grunge taking over our local scene and nobody wanting to book us. The singer went to a band called "Mr. Grinch" for a while before reuniting with Kevin and our drummer Jason. The three of them went through about 4 different iterations of that band before Nick (the singer) suddenly passed away to a brain tumor. Kevin stopped playing at that point, Jason is still drumming for local bands, currently playing in "Baby & the Nobodies" (you can find them on the Youtubes). Dave had a bout with drugs for a while, finally got his life back together and is just doing the "everyday working man" life now, rarely picks up his guitar anymore and certainly isn't interested in the "band life" now that he is clean and sober. Myself, I totally get where he is, I stepped away from the band life when the band fell apart to get myself sober and have never returned to actively playing. So yeah, in the end neither guitarist is playing anymore, the singer is no longer with us and I don't actively play either. The only member of the band that is still active is the drummer. It's kind of sad really. I do still talk to them and often think about reuniting, if even just to jam in the garage. But it's been so long, I don't even remember how to play those songs anymore.
That's awesome - thank you so much for the backstory! I like reading books about music, whether musician (auto)biographies or stuff from producers about recording, like Ken Scott's Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust. So this was perfect.
I played relatively actively from 1989-1995. I stopped because being in the band wasn't doing it for me anymore and other things had captured my interest so I moved away. I ended up moving back home in 2002 after both my parents died, and got into it again briefly, but then left again. It was interesting to see who was still playing and how they were managing it. I think that's one of the biggest challenges - how to keep playing actively? - when it's not your main thing. I kept up playing and recording on my own after 2002. I got a laptop with ProTools, got into Moog synths, and had a friend back home with a studio where I'd occasionally hook up with my old drummer and we'd record, then I'd take that stuff and work with it on my own on the computer. I know other people that had day jobs but kept plugging away - pretty amazing, some of them are still playing 25 years later, though the pandemic changed everything again of course.
You were at an interesting time - I can see how the onset of grunge could change things. I was lucky - we managed to be riding the growing tide of jam band music at just the right time - in fact, my band kept playing after I left, released a couple of albums and toured way more than when I was in the band. You guys should definitely get together and jam - I bet the songs would come back to you pretty quick! If you've kept up with this thread, I've been revisiting recordings and live footage of my old band - some of the live stuff had songs that I had completely forgotten! But I've been playing along with them and having a great time.
I played relatively actively from 1989-1995. I stopped because being in the band wasn't doing it for me anymore and other things had captured my interest so I moved away. I ended up moving back home in 2002 after both my parents died, and got into it again briefly, but then left again. It was interesting to see who was still playing and how they were managing it. I think that's one of the biggest challenges - how to keep playing actively? - when it's not your main thing. I kept up playing and recording on my own after 2002. I got a laptop with ProTools, got into Moog synths, and had a friend back home with a studio where I'd occasionally hook up with my old drummer and we'd record, then I'd take that stuff and work with it on my own on the computer. I know other people that had day jobs but kept plugging away - pretty amazing, some of them are still playing 25 years later, though the pandemic changed everything again of course.
You were at an interesting time - I can see how the onset of grunge could change things. I was lucky - we managed to be riding the growing tide of jam band music at just the right time - in fact, my band kept playing after I left, released a couple of albums and toured way more than when I was in the band. You guys should definitely get together and jam - I bet the songs would come back to you pretty quick! If you've kept up with this thread, I've been revisiting recordings and live footage of my old band - some of the live stuff had songs that I had completely forgotten! But I've been playing along with them and having a great time.
Here is a song snipped out of an hour long program that Rare Blend did for a live broadcast on WRUW in August '07.
This is with my old April '98 4001V63 with TI Jazz Rounds on it. I ran through a small pedal board that had a EB VPJr, Sansamp VT Bass, and a 4-knob Voodoo Lab Tremolo.
This is with my old April '98 4001V63 with TI Jazz Rounds on it. I ran through a small pedal board that had a EB VPJr, Sansamp VT Bass, and a 4-knob Voodoo Lab Tremolo.
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1995 band practice recording that I don't remember happening. I do remember my Reebok Pump sneakers though. 
Benjamin Button Experiment - all hosted on Soundclick
Short Love Stories
Death of Me
Abstract Memories
Short Love Stories
Death of Me
Abstract Memories
From 1987 to 1991 I was a sound engineer in a new wave band called "The Lost World". Here are some songs, recorded in home studio and recovered from tape 20 years later.
And here's me playing bass in Norwegian amateur orchestra, almost 10 years ago.
https://cloud.degoo.com/share/ZMM78TJ2VepQ1k
And here's me playing bass in Norwegian amateur orchestra, almost 10 years ago.
https://cloud.degoo.com/share/ZMM78TJ2VepQ1k
I came across this recording earlier this evening, more of "Illegal Aliens" from the "TV show" we did in 2008 (the date posted on youtube is incorrect).
This is cool - do you have it posted anywhere like Soundcloud?
Here's one that proves I played the 4005WB at dive bars(this was one of those bars).
Too short! I enjoyed it though! Did you keep the bass in the case during set breaks?
No Soundcloud, just whatever recording/videos that Bobbi and Vic have.This is cool - do you have it posted anywhere like Soundcloud?
Too short! I enjoyed it though! Did you keep the bass in the case during set breaks?
As the where the bass was kept during breaks? See that shiny vertical thing in the middle of this screenshot?
No Soundcloud, just whatever recording/videos that Bobbi and Vic have.
As the where the bass was kept during breaks? See that shiny vertical thing in the middle of this screenshot?
View attachment 4088763
Brave... Not that I wouldn't do the same.
Did the band ever do any studio recording?
We did a lot of studio recording. Vic & Bobbi made a CD as a duo before I met them, then we did four CDs together, although the last one is really culled from gigs and jams.
I believe it is/was available on CD Baby, and if it's still up, the Rare Blend site.
The ones I was involved with are Infinity, Evolution Theory, Stops Along The Way, and Sessions.
The ones I was involved with are Infinity, Evolution Theory, Stops Along The Way, and Sessions.
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This is cool - do you have it posted anywhere like Soundcloud?
Too short! I enjoyed it though! Did you keep the bass in the case during set breaks?
don't have it anywhere but TB.
LOL i kept it with me in a gigbag or let the guitar player watch it if necessary.
There is a story behind this video. We were not a band. We were all coworkers who played in other bands that got talked into playing at an impromptu company Christmas party. We didn't even have a single practice together. We just discussed what we all knew, mostly, during load in and winged it.
This is late in the evening, everyone is pretty much in the tank, and I'm singing. It was recorded with a digital hand held camcorder by my wife, who was also drunk.
This is late in the evening, everyone is pretty much in the tank, and I'm singing. It was recorded with a digital hand held camcorder by my wife, who was also drunk.
