The good was that the rain stopped just in time for our July gig at Beto's Comida Latina. Yay! The bad was that when the rain went away, the heat came back. There was no ugly, of course; instead, there was music, and food, and dancing children and visits with friends old and new.
It was in the high 90s when we set up on Beto's patio. Steve had steeled himself for a first set with the sun in his eyes, and we were debuting FOUR news songs -- two of them four-parters -- an ambitious self-imposed task for certain. But, as it turned out the sun remained mostly behind clouds early on, and there was a good, strong breeze. And all four new tunes went off without any injuries.
Steve and I both had "our moments" -- something we now chuckle about and move on. Early in the first set, Steve began the guitar intro for "Everything I Own." He played it well, as usual. The problem is that the song we were singing was "Everything I Do." Later, when we played "Everything I Own" as a request, I suddenly forgot how to play two or three chords right in the middle of the song.
The four new songs went down well. The Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" featured Steve and Mary Lou sharing the leads, with Kathy and me putting in harmonies here and there. Steve has some nice guitar licks on this one. "Hotel California" is a song we've had requested from time to time, and we've taken our time getting it into the mix. Neither of us is Joe Walsh, so there's no guitar pyrotechnics with this version. Instead, we rely on the mix of voices to make the song work. There's a running bass line throughout the song that always fascinated me, and Steve uses that line to end the song using vocal harmony for four voices instead of three guitars.
We also debuted another Tim and Bob original, the last of our compositions to get a live audience before it goes onto our CD. The song is "Sweet Music Man," a tune Steve and I wrote for Mary Lou. There's still some rough edges there, but it sounded good, and we hope to get it recorded in a few days. The last song was CCR's "Who'll Stop the Rain." We now have two CCR songs in the repertoire -- both about rain.
Although there wasn't a soul on the patio when we got there, plenty of folks showed up to enjoy the evening. The crowd was very generous with their attention and appreciation. Veteran Tim and Bob Nationals Hillary, Marcelo, Bethany, Matt, and John-Michael were there, and we made many new friends as well including Caroline, George, Elizabeth, Serena, Buck and Paul. Our favorite new friend of the night was the youngster Curtis, who made several trips to the bandstand to make requests. We were actually able to deliver on two of those requests. Curtis is almost five years old, and very charming. We're already talking about incorporating two of his requests-in-vain to our repertoire.
By the time the gig was over, we were happy and tired. We've got 12 hours of recording to do between Saturday morning and Monday night. It wears us down a bit, but hey, it's music! Life is good!
Tell us what YOU think!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
July Road Trip
This upside down summer continues to flummox us. Roasting in May, broiling in June, and not a drop of meaningful rain into the bargain, and then here comes July. Temperatures are no longer flirting with the century mark every day. Instead they’re in the low 90s and upper 80s. The reason? The rain has returned. This is good, right? Well, there are reasons to go against my native Texan nature and curse the rain, but that’s a matter for another blog. This entry is about our second foray into the wine country, Saturday, July 5, 2008.
Fifth of July is not just the name of an excellent play by Lanford Wilson, at our house it’s the day after the big BBQ/pool party marking mid-summer and our national birthday. It means moving slowly and groaning about our lack of restraint with a knife and fork [even the plastic kind], and how perhaps we should have reapplied that sun screen. We collectively waddle in front of our collective television sets and watch commercials exhorting us to “come on down for our 4th of July mattress event!” Mattress event? The mind races.
But there we were on the 5th, loading up Steve’s Mazda3 with portable chairs and softball gloves as well as Kathy’s picnic hauler loaded with fruit, hummus, prosciutto, cheese, and crackers of all sorts. We also took a map with the locations of three Hill Country Wineries. Why? Well, for one thing we needed a bottle of good wine to wash down all that picnic food. And, while it wasn’t like we didn’t have 50 or 60 bottles at both our houses, wine is always a healthy part of a Tim and Bob Show road trip.
We got a little later start than I thought we would. Although Steve and Kathy stayed the night in Casa de Smoked Ribs, Steve had a few errands to run before we left. But it was still the right side of noon when we set off. We took advantage of the lack of holiday traffic to connect to US281 and head north towards Lake Buchanan. There, near a little village called Tow, we found Fall Creek Wineries. It’s within sight of Lake Buchanan and, as a matter of fact, we could have taken our freshly purchased Viognier to a picnic table overlooking the lake had we preferred. However, there was a band playing the blues, and we just can’t resist live music. So we found ourselves an empty table, destroyed some tasty groceries – and all of the wine – while tapping our toes to the band, at least two members of which (as Steve delighted in telling me) were even older than me. This being a holiday weekend, all the Hill Country wineries had some sort of event going, and the tasting rooms were very busy. While we had a great lunch and tasted some swell wines, we didn’t get a chance to talk to the owner or manager or person who books the music. We left our promo-pak with Wanda and retraced our steps to Johnson City.
Being well-fed and with the taste of good Texas grape on our lips, we piled back into the Mazda and did a little re-tracing of steps. The second leg was easier on us. This could be because we weren’t torturing ourselves with the NY Times Crossword Puzzle Book, or it could be because we were enjoying the tunes on KITY as we drove, or it could be because it was a shorter trip. In any event, it didn’t take long to locate Texas Hill Country Vineyards in Johnson City. Texas Hill Country’s tasting room was being run by two hard-working and cheerful young ladies. Not only did they hook us up with some good tasting material, but one of them even left her post for a minute to locate Gary, the co-owner. As we were paying the tab for some Due Blanco and Kick Butt Cab, we chatted with Gary about the possibility of entertaining his clientele sometime in the future. Gary is a convivial sort and showed us most of the property including the performance space. He said he’d check us out on our website and we said we’d love to hear from him. Leaving another promo-pak behind, we drove off estimating the amount of time it would take some of the more adventurous Tim and Bob Nationals to get to Johnson City for a gig. We’re looking forward to hearing from Gary.
The last stop was Dry Comal Creek in New Braunfels. We continued on down US281 until we turned east on Texas 46. Once there, all we needed to do was look for Herbelin Rd, and there it was. Once again, the tasting room was hopping. It was after 4:30 by this time, and there were mini-buses bringing folks from the surrounding big cities. I managed to taste two wines, but I’m afraid that the rigor of the 4th and the wine of the 5th got the better of my old carcass, and I left the rest of the tasting/purchasing to “the younger members of the band.” As they tasted and sounded out the management about the possibility of gigs, I found myself a comfortable chair on their expansive porch. It was partly cloudy, and this made the blue of the South Texas sky stand out even more brilliantly. There was a nice cooling breeze, and my eyes might have even closed from time to time.
And then it was back into the car to talk about the adventures of the day, and to speculate about the possibility of new venues and new audiences. We also took the time to think about the birthday of the nation, and about how we’re luckier than most – playing music, meeting new people, eating good food, drinking good wine, and hanging out with our friends. Life is good.
Fifth of July is not just the name of an excellent play by Lanford Wilson, at our house it’s the day after the big BBQ/pool party marking mid-summer and our national birthday. It means moving slowly and groaning about our lack of restraint with a knife and fork [even the plastic kind], and how perhaps we should have reapplied that sun screen. We collectively waddle in front of our collective television sets and watch commercials exhorting us to “come on down for our 4th of July mattress event!” Mattress event? The mind races.
But there we were on the 5th, loading up Steve’s Mazda3 with portable chairs and softball gloves as well as Kathy’s picnic hauler loaded with fruit, hummus, prosciutto, cheese, and crackers of all sorts. We also took a map with the locations of three Hill Country Wineries. Why? Well, for one thing we needed a bottle of good wine to wash down all that picnic food. And, while it wasn’t like we didn’t have 50 or 60 bottles at both our houses, wine is always a healthy part of a Tim and Bob Show road trip.
We got a little later start than I thought we would. Although Steve and Kathy stayed the night in Casa de Smoked Ribs, Steve had a few errands to run before we left. But it was still the right side of noon when we set off. We took advantage of the lack of holiday traffic to connect to US281 and head north towards Lake Buchanan. There, near a little village called Tow, we found Fall Creek Wineries. It’s within sight of Lake Buchanan and, as a matter of fact, we could have taken our freshly purchased Viognier to a picnic table overlooking the lake had we preferred. However, there was a band playing the blues, and we just can’t resist live music. So we found ourselves an empty table, destroyed some tasty groceries – and all of the wine – while tapping our toes to the band, at least two members of which (as Steve delighted in telling me) were even older than me. This being a holiday weekend, all the Hill Country wineries had some sort of event going, and the tasting rooms were very busy. While we had a great lunch and tasted some swell wines, we didn’t get a chance to talk to the owner or manager or person who books the music. We left our promo-pak with Wanda and retraced our steps to Johnson City.
Being well-fed and with the taste of good Texas grape on our lips, we piled back into the Mazda and did a little re-tracing of steps. The second leg was easier on us. This could be because we weren’t torturing ourselves with the NY Times Crossword Puzzle Book, or it could be because we were enjoying the tunes on KITY as we drove, or it could be because it was a shorter trip. In any event, it didn’t take long to locate Texas Hill Country Vineyards in Johnson City. Texas Hill Country’s tasting room was being run by two hard-working and cheerful young ladies. Not only did they hook us up with some good tasting material, but one of them even left her post for a minute to locate Gary, the co-owner. As we were paying the tab for some Due Blanco and Kick Butt Cab, we chatted with Gary about the possibility of entertaining his clientele sometime in the future. Gary is a convivial sort and showed us most of the property including the performance space. He said he’d check us out on our website and we said we’d love to hear from him. Leaving another promo-pak behind, we drove off estimating the amount of time it would take some of the more adventurous Tim and Bob Nationals to get to Johnson City for a gig. We’re looking forward to hearing from Gary.
The last stop was Dry Comal Creek in New Braunfels. We continued on down US281 until we turned east on Texas 46. Once there, all we needed to do was look for Herbelin Rd, and there it was. Once again, the tasting room was hopping. It was after 4:30 by this time, and there were mini-buses bringing folks from the surrounding big cities. I managed to taste two wines, but I’m afraid that the rigor of the 4th and the wine of the 5th got the better of my old carcass, and I left the rest of the tasting/purchasing to “the younger members of the band.” As they tasted and sounded out the management about the possibility of gigs, I found myself a comfortable chair on their expansive porch. It was partly cloudy, and this made the blue of the South Texas sky stand out even more brilliantly. There was a nice cooling breeze, and my eyes might have even closed from time to time.
And then it was back into the car to talk about the adventures of the day, and to speculate about the possibility of new venues and new audiences. We also took the time to think about the birthday of the nation, and about how we’re luckier than most – playing music, meeting new people, eating good food, drinking good wine, and hanging out with our friends. Life is good.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Seafood and Sounds
The Tim and Bob Show finished a very busy month of June with our monthly Saturday night gig at Water Street Oyster Bar. We had a great time and enjoyed applause not only from those seated in the loft with us, but those downstairs as well.
We debuted two songs -- a rendition of "Annie's Song" that features Kathy's lead vocals, my harmony, and Steve's finger picking -- and the Tim and Bob original "It Ends; It Begins." This song gives Kathy the opportunity to go "front and center" with the group. We think it's going to be a fan favorite on our fall-release CD. Steve also took advantage of the expanded performing space at Water Street to bring his Taylor koa guitar in addition to his usual Taylor axe. He broke it out for Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" -- performed with Kathy -- and it was a highlight of the show.
Well, June is almost history, and a July that includes two weekend road trips, three gigs, and FIVE recording sessions is about to begin. Where are we playing and when? Check your in-box for "gig-alert emails." Don't get them? Then sign up at our guestbook, or just click here. And, as always, let us know what you think!
We debuted two songs -- a rendition of "Annie's Song" that features Kathy's lead vocals, my harmony, and Steve's finger picking -- and the Tim and Bob original "It Ends; It Begins." This song gives Kathy the opportunity to go "front and center" with the group. We think it's going to be a fan favorite on our fall-release CD. Steve also took advantage of the expanded performing space at Water Street to bring his Taylor koa guitar in addition to his usual Taylor axe. He broke it out for Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" -- performed with Kathy -- and it was a highlight of the show.
Well, June is almost history, and a July that includes two weekend road trips, three gigs, and FIVE recording sessions is about to begin. Where are we playing and when? Check your in-box for "gig-alert emails." Don't get them? Then sign up at our guestbook, or just click here. And, as always, let us know what you think!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Indoors! Outdoors! Who Cares?
Indeed, who cares? The band is all back together. Yes, for the first time in a few months, The (Whole) Tim and Bob Show was back performing for San Antonio audiences at Order Up at the Colonnade [indoors] and at Fralo's Art of Pizza [outdoors]. We had a great time, and so did the folks who showed up.
Friday night at Order Up at the Colonnade started off at a little less than full strength, however, as Steve discovered that his music, his tuner, and his guitar strap were all still sitting in a bag in their house. Kathy took off for home to retrieve the bag while Steve and I decided to do a quick change of playing order. Steve rummaged through my music book and retrieved a half-dozen songs he could do without page print. He was right, also. All the errors made on The Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" were committed by the guy with the lyrics and chords right in front of him – me! Kathy soon returned and we leapt into our regular gig featuring FIVE four-part and two three-part songs. It was great to hear our full sound again.
There were several Tim and Bob Nationals who showed up for the gig, including Bill and Mary, Pam, Casey, The Other Don, Sarah, Peggy, Benji (and friend), and a new addition [courtesy of the FulhamUSA website] Matt, and his parents Frank and Nancy. They all seemed to have a good time, along with other patrons. I know we did too.
And then, on Sunday, it was time to go outdoors again to the place where all this insanity began – Fralo's Art of Pizza. It was hot and humid, but still cooler then pretty much any place else in the county, and we played for all we were worth. We began the gig around 7 with an original song that was inspired by Fralo's: "South Texas Saturday Night" [yes, we know it was Sunday], and finished up around 9:30 30 - but not before we brought a little stage choreography to our performance. We were just finishing up "Raccoon Rumble-seat" and, for some reason, my foot kept missing the pedal I needed to step on in order to amplify my short almost-end-of-song riff. I had completely given up on locating it, when I noticed Steve scuttling sideways across the stage like a mad grinning land crab. He stepped on my pedal for me and then zipped back into his position for his last scorching lead solo. As amazing as it was from my perspective, it must have looked stunning from the patio!
Tim and Bob-ites Hillary, Marcelo, Bethany, Matt, Karen, and Sam were there, and we met some new folks – including a couple of lively ladies (Jo and her sister) who invited us out to play in the Hill Country NEXT summer. We hope we'll all be able to do that. In the meantime, look for our next gigs elsewhere on this site, or sign up for automated gig alerts.
See you soon and TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
Friday night at Order Up at the Colonnade started off at a little less than full strength, however, as Steve discovered that his music, his tuner, and his guitar strap were all still sitting in a bag in their house. Kathy took off for home to retrieve the bag while Steve and I decided to do a quick change of playing order. Steve rummaged through my music book and retrieved a half-dozen songs he could do without page print. He was right, also. All the errors made on The Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling" were committed by the guy with the lyrics and chords right in front of him – me! Kathy soon returned and we leapt into our regular gig featuring FIVE four-part and two three-part songs. It was great to hear our full sound again.
There were several Tim and Bob Nationals who showed up for the gig, including Bill and Mary, Pam, Casey, The Other Don, Sarah, Peggy, Benji (and friend), and a new addition [courtesy of the FulhamUSA website] Matt, and his parents Frank and Nancy. They all seemed to have a good time, along with other patrons. I know we did too.
And then, on Sunday, it was time to go outdoors again to the place where all this insanity began – Fralo's Art of Pizza. It was hot and humid, but still cooler then pretty much any place else in the county, and we played for all we were worth. We began the gig around 7 with an original song that was inspired by Fralo's: "South Texas Saturday Night" [yes, we know it was Sunday], and finished up around 9:30 30 - but not before we brought a little stage choreography to our performance. We were just finishing up "Raccoon Rumble-seat" and, for some reason, my foot kept missing the pedal I needed to step on in order to amplify my short almost-end-of-song riff. I had completely given up on locating it, when I noticed Steve scuttling sideways across the stage like a mad grinning land crab. He stepped on my pedal for me and then zipped back into his position for his last scorching lead solo. As amazing as it was from my perspective, it must have looked stunning from the patio!
Tim and Bob-ites Hillary, Marcelo, Bethany, Matt, Karen, and Sam were there, and we met some new folks – including a couple of lively ladies (Jo and her sister) who invited us out to play in the Hill Country NEXT summer. We hope we'll all be able to do that. In the meantime, look for our next gigs elsewhere on this site, or sign up for automated gig alerts.
See you soon and TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday the 13th -- The Gig!
Well, it was yet another sweltering evening in South Texas last night, but The Tim and Bob Show -- or what was left of us -- were at Beto's Comida Latina doing our best to make everyone's dinner time just a little more pleasurable.
When Steve and I got there to set up, there was no-one on the patio. There were also few folks in the restaurant proper. By the time we started, though, there were several tables filled and, throughout the night, we had a nice responsive [and generous] group to play for. We even did a couple of requests from the audience.
Tim and Bob Nationals Ellen and Deedy were there, along with Deedy's friend Paige. We met some new friends also, most notably Anita and Scott. We passed out a few cards and chatted about our website, but we really missed the networking that "the girls" do at our gigs. We also missed their voices, percussion, and, uh, THEM!
With BOTH Mary Lou and Kathy out of town, Steve and I had to draw on some of our solo material to provide the listeners with as much variety as possible while still giving us an opportunity to sit down now and again. We finally scratched an itch and, with the exception of one "Steve Alone" song, and an audience request, the title of every song in the second set began with the letter "L."
The biggest hit of the night was our latest rocker, "South Texas Saturday Night." We've only been playing this in public for about a month now, but we really appreciate the response we've been getting. We should get it recorded soon along with the other songs that will be featured on our CD.
Did you miss the gig? Well, no problemo. The Tim and Bob Show continues to gig all over San Antonio. We still have gigs scheduled for the 20th, 22nd, and 28th. If you'd like to get a personal invitation to those gigs and all the others, motorate over to our guestbook page and sign up for our gig alerts!
See you around SA!
When Steve and I got there to set up, there was no-one on the patio. There were also few folks in the restaurant proper. By the time we started, though, there were several tables filled and, throughout the night, we had a nice responsive [and generous] group to play for. We even did a couple of requests from the audience.
Tim and Bob Nationals Ellen and Deedy were there, along with Deedy's friend Paige. We met some new friends also, most notably Anita and Scott. We passed out a few cards and chatted about our website, but we really missed the networking that "the girls" do at our gigs. We also missed their voices, percussion, and, uh, THEM!
With BOTH Mary Lou and Kathy out of town, Steve and I had to draw on some of our solo material to provide the listeners with as much variety as possible while still giving us an opportunity to sit down now and again. We finally scratched an itch and, with the exception of one "Steve Alone" song, and an audience request, the title of every song in the second set began with the letter "L."
The biggest hit of the night was our latest rocker, "South Texas Saturday Night." We've only been playing this in public for about a month now, but we really appreciate the response we've been getting. We should get it recorded soon along with the other songs that will be featured on our CD.
Did you miss the gig? Well, no problemo. The Tim and Bob Show continues to gig all over San Antonio. We still have gigs scheduled for the 20th, 22nd, and 28th. If you'd like to get a personal invitation to those gigs and all the others, motorate over to our guestbook page and sign up for our gig alerts!
See you around SA!
Friday, June 13, 2008
FOURTH SESSION, June 12, 2008
Well, after twelve hours in the Mandala Music studios, you’d figure that Steve and I were getting halfway good at the routine – standing there while Bett and Jöel set up mikes and boards, turn the air conditioning on and off, work alone while wearing headsets – good enough to be able to do it on our own without Kathy or Mary Lou’s help. I guess you’d be right, but it sure was different for the two of us last night – hopefully the LAST time we’ll have to go into the studio alone.
It continues to be hot here in South Texas – triple-digit highs coming to visit on Saturday and, like a quirky aunt you’d rather talk to on the phone than in person, staying around for days on end. The fairly constant breeze of the last week or so keeps the air a bit cleaner, but also keeps everything hot and dry. As I followed Steve down IH10 in the blazing sunshine, I was looking forward to the cool, cave-like atmosphere of the studio.
Since it was to be the just two of us, Steve and I decided to record two songs that feature only our voices. We chose “Decisions” – the second song we wrote together – and “Looking Back.” Both songs are somewhat reflective in nature, and each tells a bit of a story. “Decisions” is all about someone for whom life is a sort of movie to be observed rather than a play in which he has a part. Rather than trying to understand what is happening around him and what he should do about it, the singer’s only dilemma is “which guitar should I play.” The song changes tempo at several places. This isn’t unusual for songs performed by The Tim and Bob Show. What IS unusual is that, this time, it’s by design!
Steve laid down the base guitar track on the koa. This was the first song in which he strummed this particular guitar, and Jöel will have some fun emphasizing the sound of this amazing instrument on the finger-picking while tamping it down during the strumming. As we’ve mentioned before the deep full sound of the koa fills the room. I followed with my own guitar track and then we did the vocals. Steve has the lead on this song and, while singing along, I discovered that I had no idea of the vocal rhythm he uses on those lines in which I don’t sing. Oh well, we’ve only been performing this for about 18 months! Several false starts and “cleanups” later, and we had the song done except for the possibility of a bit of guitar "dressing". It took only about 95 minutes from first note to last.
Next up was “Looking Back.” Like “Decisions” this was a song in which Steve wrote the melody to lyrics I had already delivered to him. This is the opposite to songs like “It Ends; It Begins” and “Light In the Night” in which I wrote lyrics to fit a melody Steve had written earlier. “Looking Back” is also introspective in nature, and deals with a mature man who is living a comfortable, happy life, but can’t quite get over the difference between his present reality and the way he envisioned his life turning out when he was young. The danger in this sort of self-reflection is summed up in the song’s punch line, “you can’t see where you’re going / when you’re looking back.” As is the case with “Decisions,” we don’t expect that this will be anyone’s first-time favorite recording on the CD. We do, however, think that both these songs will resonate with listeners on their fourth or fifth playing – especially those listeners who are “mature.”
Steve had a new idea about recording this song, dealing with the way the first two lines of the chorus begin. This idea was so new that he didn’t mention it to me two hours earlier when we were having dinner! It took a good 10 minutes for him to explain what he had in mind so that my feeble brain could grasp it. No surprise to me that it was a great idea. Steve switched to his “strumming and lead” Taylor 814ce that he plays during our gigs. Once again, Steve has the lead vocals on this song, so we did the same sequence of Steve’s guitar followed by mine, and Steve’s vocals followed by mine. Although there’ll be some “dressing” to come on this one before it becomes “ready for prime time,” it is finished for a time.
LESSONS LEARNED: Man, it is LONELY in there when you’re not the one on the mike! Thank goodness Steve and Kathy’s daughter Bethany dropped by for a short visit. Steve and I are confident that we did a good job, but we missed the input from Kathy and continue to miss ML’s contributions. This should be the LAST time any of us has to miss a recording session. Speaking of which, we don’t go back into the studio again until the 24th of June. We have four sessions scheduled for July, and it’s our hope to have everything recorded and almost ready for pressing by then. We’re also working on ancillary issues – distribution, CD art, pressing, publicity, tax issues, and finding a venue for a CD release party – not to mention a full range of gigs every month through the end of November.
Man, this is tiring stuff; but boy is it FUN!
It continues to be hot here in South Texas – triple-digit highs coming to visit on Saturday and, like a quirky aunt you’d rather talk to on the phone than in person, staying around for days on end. The fairly constant breeze of the last week or so keeps the air a bit cleaner, but also keeps everything hot and dry. As I followed Steve down IH10 in the blazing sunshine, I was looking forward to the cool, cave-like atmosphere of the studio.
Since it was to be the just two of us, Steve and I decided to record two songs that feature only our voices. We chose “Decisions” – the second song we wrote together – and “Looking Back.” Both songs are somewhat reflective in nature, and each tells a bit of a story. “Decisions” is all about someone for whom life is a sort of movie to be observed rather than a play in which he has a part. Rather than trying to understand what is happening around him and what he should do about it, the singer’s only dilemma is “which guitar should I play.” The song changes tempo at several places. This isn’t unusual for songs performed by The Tim and Bob Show. What IS unusual is that, this time, it’s by design!
Steve laid down the base guitar track on the koa. This was the first song in which he strummed this particular guitar, and Jöel will have some fun emphasizing the sound of this amazing instrument on the finger-picking while tamping it down during the strumming. As we’ve mentioned before the deep full sound of the koa fills the room. I followed with my own guitar track and then we did the vocals. Steve has the lead on this song and, while singing along, I discovered that I had no idea of the vocal rhythm he uses on those lines in which I don’t sing. Oh well, we’ve only been performing this for about 18 months! Several false starts and “cleanups” later, and we had the song done except for the possibility of a bit of guitar "dressing". It took only about 95 minutes from first note to last.
Next up was “Looking Back.” Like “Decisions” this was a song in which Steve wrote the melody to lyrics I had already delivered to him. This is the opposite to songs like “It Ends; It Begins” and “Light In the Night” in which I wrote lyrics to fit a melody Steve had written earlier. “Looking Back” is also introspective in nature, and deals with a mature man who is living a comfortable, happy life, but can’t quite get over the difference between his present reality and the way he envisioned his life turning out when he was young. The danger in this sort of self-reflection is summed up in the song’s punch line, “you can’t see where you’re going / when you’re looking back.” As is the case with “Decisions,” we don’t expect that this will be anyone’s first-time favorite recording on the CD. We do, however, think that both these songs will resonate with listeners on their fourth or fifth playing – especially those listeners who are “mature.”
Steve had a new idea about recording this song, dealing with the way the first two lines of the chorus begin. This idea was so new that he didn’t mention it to me two hours earlier when we were having dinner! It took a good 10 minutes for him to explain what he had in mind so that my feeble brain could grasp it. No surprise to me that it was a great idea. Steve switched to his “strumming and lead” Taylor 814ce that he plays during our gigs. Once again, Steve has the lead vocals on this song, so we did the same sequence of Steve’s guitar followed by mine, and Steve’s vocals followed by mine. Although there’ll be some “dressing” to come on this one before it becomes “ready for prime time,” it is finished for a time.
LESSONS LEARNED: Man, it is LONELY in there when you’re not the one on the mike! Thank goodness Steve and Kathy’s daughter Bethany dropped by for a short visit. Steve and I are confident that we did a good job, but we missed the input from Kathy and continue to miss ML’s contributions. This should be the LAST time any of us has to miss a recording session. Speaking of which, we don’t go back into the studio again until the 24th of June. We have four sessions scheduled for July, and it’s our hope to have everything recorded and almost ready for pressing by then. We’re also working on ancillary issues – distribution, CD art, pressing, publicity, tax issues, and finding a venue for a CD release party – not to mention a full range of gigs every month through the end of November.
Man, this is tiring stuff; but boy is it FUN!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A Mini-Road Trip -- with CRAWFISH!!
The Tim and Bob Show celebrated a rare gig-less weekend by driving from San Antonio to Houston Saturday morning to attend the almost annual Acoustic Guitar Forum Guitar Show, Jam Session, and food fest at the Lake Houston Marina. This get-together is a very important event for The Tim and Bob Show and we hate to miss it. Somehow, though, we've not made it to Houston yet with the full group. This time, Mary Lou was missing [in California still]. Next time, darn it, it'll be all of us.
We (Don [aka DonBob], Steve [aka phuufme], and Steve's wife Kathy) set off a little after 0900 to the rare accompaniment of a light drizzle -- we haven't had any real rain since mid-May! The high gasoline prices and the hour of the day allowed for relatively light traffic as we cruised east on IH10 listening to the radio and doing the NYT Sunday crossword! With a brief stop at Columbus for the most expensive gasoline we saw all day [$3.99 for regular unleaded], we got to the Marina fairly close to 1 o'clock. Mr. & Mrs. Guitarman [also known as Joe and Vicky] were already there along with Mo's Art [Mo] and Antonio Salieri [Chris]. Larry H from Houston [uh, Larry H from Houston] arrived shortly afterwards. Joe Gallego and Joe and Vicky's son Shaun-Bob [it's a long story] were also there along with some friends of theirs whose names escape me.
The cooking was well underway when we unloaded our car and helped get the patio is shape for the more than 30 people who said they hoped to attend. Several guitars were lined up in their cases, but nothing was ready to be played until everything was squared away. The corn-on the cob, potatoes [spicy and regular], crawfish, and BBQ chicken were already well on their way to ready before the first guitar cases were opened.
Mo's music stand was already set up, when Kathy, Steve, and I started setting ours up. Joe had provided two microphones and two speakers with a primo mixing board. As was the case last year, he asked Steve and I to get the ball rolling on the PA and we agreed. After playing a couple of songs, one of the listeners on the non-AGF side of the marina came over and dropped $10 on Kathy. Later on, obviously still pleased by the music we were making, he brought us some hot dogs!
As was the case last year, there was absolutely nothing in the way of a rush to replace us on "the bandstand," even though Kathy joined us for a couple of numbers. Soon, we abandoned the microphones to take part in the real fun of the day. Mo had brought several guitars and generously let me play her Taylor 414 [what a sweet, true high-to-low sound that guitar makes], as well as her Alvarez 12-string and its 6-string twin brother. Steve, meanwhile, introduced Mo to his koa. I think there was some love there. Mo used the koa to play and sing a song that's a long-time favorite of mine, "Streets of London." Unable to resist, I hopped over and provided her a harmony that I hoped she enjoyed.
By this time, a friendly looking gentleman dropped by, guitar in hand. He introduced himself as Hondo [Rob] and we all nearly fainted. Hondo is the AGF's version of Godot. At most of these get-togethers we all look for him and some folks even doubt his existence. Well, I'm here to tell you that he's here, he can play more than a little bit, and he's got a great voice. The jam had begun, and even slopped over into the microphones again where we got Larry H and Mo to join us for some tunes.
And then the food was ready. Man, what a feast!
After we'd all stuffed ourselves pretty good for about 45 minutes or so, we assembled ourselves in sort of a lumpy circle. In the absence of other songbooks, Steve and I took out our Tim and Bob repertoire and hunted for rockers. Shortly after we started, Kego [Keith] and his lovely lady Lrgo [Lisa] showed up. Shortly after he sat down Kego blew everyone away with some of the cleanest, smoothest, and most economical leads anyone has heard for a long time, played first on a beautiful Martin and later on his #48!. Lrgo brought her bag of acoustic percussion instruments to join those that Kathy brought from San Antonio, and each song was "everyone participate."
My fingers gave out first, and finally we started to realize that we had a long drive back to SA, and that none of us is as young as we like to act. So, around a quarter to six, we said our good-byes to all the pickers and singers and cooks and percussionists and eaters, loaded up Steve's Mazda 3, and headed back to San Antonio.
It was a little before 10 when we arrived back at Steve and Kathy's, and everyone was wiped out. It was a great day, though, and the soreness in my four left fingertips as I type this is proof enough that I had a ball. If there's a better way to spend a late Spring afternoon than playing guitars with new friends and old, I haven't heard of it. Thanks to our gracious hosts. Thanks to our fellow pickers. Thanks for the memory of great food, great music, great conversation, and great good will.
Take a look at the pics HERE.
We hope to see y'all next year!
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