Dreams I'll Never see by Molly Hatchet

I jammed for many years with some high school buddies of mine. We played at my high school and college graduations, my going-away party when I left Wisconsin for my Master's Degree and other events over the years. When I got back to Wisconsin we actually tried to be a band for a while (Bottom's Up). We played only a handful of gigs but they were very fun. One of the songs that we just nailed was Dreams I'll Never See by Molly Hatchet. I had never heard that song before the singer brought it up to play. His voice fit that southern rock vibe very well. The guitar player was a virtuoso and could play nearly anything (he especially like Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhodes) and played the guitar parts flawlessly. Although I had more fun playing Flirtin' With Disaster (which is STILL on of my all time favorite songs to play on the drums) I always felt Dreams was the best song we did. Everybody really got into it. Lyrically, I can relate a bit because I never was able to pursue music as much as I would have liked but I am not complaining in the least.

The song starts with some bass harmonics with the guitar riff joining in soon thereafter. After a few measures the drums kick and the song feels full and the vibe is great. The singers tone is a bit muted, as if the song is speaking directly to you – the listener. Along the way the song has some nice twists ant turns. The end of the lead is a fun bit to play and then there is a solid break, followed by the bass coming back in like the beginning of the song. Rinse and repeat a few verses and another lead to build up to the end. The song is relatively simple but really hits me every time I play it (which I don't don't do very often anymore since no of us see each other anymore).

Shout At The Devil by Motley Crue

 

Being that my wife and I are going to see Motley Crue here in Milwaukee for our anniversary (romantic, I know :), I thought I would discuss a few memories I have of Shout at the Devil by Motley Crue. I remember hearing this song right around the time it came out in 1983. I was hanging out with an older kid named Karl who had the tape. I would go over to his house and we played band. In a bit of foreshadowing for the future, I would play drums on some pillows to the song. I thought the drums were cool with the fast double hi-hats. Karl actually played drums so he had sticks for me to use. Man that was a long time ago.

Another memory I have of this song was going to Wilson Park for the 4^th of July fireworks. People got their early to grill out and play frisbee. This particular year there was a talent competition held in the park. I can't remember any of the other acts but there was an air band that played Shout at the Devil. They had the full dress with the leather pants and hair down perfectly. The drummer flailed around just like Tommy Lee with perfect timing for those said double hi-hat hits and all the stick twirling. That really stuck with me for some reason. Looking back over my childhood, there are so many events that should have told me that I would eventually play the drums.

I Just Don't Get It: Kiss

 OK, so I have been thinking about other types of posts that I could include on this blog and then Kiss came on the radio and the light bulb went off: I could talk about bands or artists that I just don't get why people seem to like them so much. I am sure these entries will insight a few opinions. I am very opinionated when it comes to music and although that is not the main theme of this blog, I thought it would be fun to stir the pot a bit. As always, if you have a band or artist that you don't understand their popularity, let me know and we can banter either for or against each other.

So Kiss is definitely one of those bands I just don't get. I a have several reasons for this as I will explain.

1. I was young when they were popular and my dad was not a fan so I did not hear them much. I do remember the cheesy show they did. I was scared of Gene Simmons the first time I saw him spit blood on stage. Kind of freaked me out.
2. While in high school (before I started playing music) I was a Zeppelin freak and had several arguments with this idiot who thought that Kiss was the biggest band ever because they dressed up on stage and might have made more money. But I kept on him saying, yeah , but what about the music. He tried in vain to convince me that Kiss had better songs. Like I said he was an idiot. I will bet money that if you asked any member of Kiss and ask them who has better music they would probably all say Led Zeppelin.
3. Once I did start playing drums, I never had the urge to play any Kiss. To me they were a basic rock band that was all about the show (which they did very well). I could appreciate a few of their songs (God of Thunder is cool), but for the most part I can't leave them on the radio to this day.
4. Another irritation I have about Kiss is the whole collectable crap. Don't get me wrong, I like band shirts, but Kiss caskets and Kiss condoms, really!? They are such money whores now that the music is an afterthought. My wife is amazed at the amount of collectables that she used to sell at her store (Spencer's).
5. Finally, the whole Kiss Army thing. Do you really need to name your fans? I liken this to Lady Gaga calling her fans her little monsters – lame.

So there you have it. Kiss isn't all bad, they do have a few good songs but for the most part I just don't get it. Do you?

Tom Sawyer by Rush

Now at first glance, this may seem like an obvious choice being that I am a drummer and such, but the story for Tom Sawyer by Rush goes back much further than that. So let's set the wayback machine to 1982-1983 or so and I was 10-11 years old. Back then I had a friend named Chris who loved just down the block. I used to go over to Chris's house all the time. He was one of the first people I knew that had a personal computer at home. A Commodore 64 I think it was(I would have to look that one up to see if the dates match, so don't hold me to that). So anyway, I used to listen to tapes in his house. I was around music all the time but he had a tape that was much different from the stuff I had heard at my house. This one song in particular had the most amazing beginning with some cool keyboard sounds. The song was talking about some Tom Sawyer person (who I did not know of yet), but the best thing of all was the spectacular drum rolls that filled the middle of the song. Even then, a full 7 years before I would ever pick up a drum stick, I was blown away by this song. I remember asking Chris to play that (and YYZ) over and over again.

Now fast forward to the point where I did start playing drums. I was really into Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and other bands but I never really listened to Rush (mainly because my dad did not like them). Then one day I heard Tom Sawyer on the radio and the light bulb went off, I the memory if that song came flooding in. I immediately went out searching for the album containing that song. When I saw the album cover I vaguely remembered it from when I was younger. The album from front to back is probably their best (I did not say MY favorite). It was then that I switched from a Bonham style of drums to a Neil Peart style and have never looked back.

As a side note, I have practiced the majority of that album (sans Witch Hunt) and to this day Tom Sawyer is still very difficult for me to plays (for the record Neil said it was a challenge for him as well). The constant eighth notes on the hi-hat are a real test of stamina. If I practice often enough (which doesn't happen much anymore), I can build up that stamina but my hand is usually dying by the end of the solo of the song.

Another side note, I was in Best Buy one day and they had Rock Band set up there with a drum set. So I set up Tom Sawyer on expert level and started playing it. By the time the solos came around (which are very hard to do on those little sets and without double-bass) I had pretty much nailed it to that point and had an audience of a few people. It was pretty cool and I got to puff my chest out a bit on that.

Do you have a story about this song? If so please share with me. Thanks.

Under a Glass Moon by Dream Theater

 
I have been extremely busy lately due to baseball games and my birthday :) So Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands in the world. Mike Portnoy (the recently departed drummer of 25 years) has been a huge influence on me. That being said I do have a story behind Under a Glass Moon from the Images and Words album. Many fans consider this their best album but I respectfully disagree but that is a who another discussion. When I was in college back in the early nineties, I was in a math class with this really long-haired guy (his name escapes me). Over the course of the semester we starting talking and I found out he was a death metal drummer for a local band. Once he took me to one of his band practices and I was blown away at what he could do. On the way to the practice he put in a tape of IAW and played me Under a Glass Moon. For those of you who are not drummers, the drum beat for this song is one of his more well known creations. I was immediately impressed. The double bass patterns in that song are cool as hell. Only later would I full grasp the technicality of the song in terms of the huge amount of odd time that is in the song as well. Several years later I bought IAW and liked it but I did not like the vocalist at first. Obviously I have changed my tune on him and now Jame LaBrie is one of my favorite. I guess he just had to grow on me (a lot of people say that about Geddy Lee from Rush as well).

Now fast forward a few weeks and I had invited him over to my house to check out my set and jam a bit. It was a cold rainy November day and we drove in his car. We got off the freeway to avoid the congestion and head up National Avenue. While heading towards home, a car pulled out in front of us, hitting the rear quarter panel of the driver side. The car we were in started to swerve from the impact and the fishtailed back only to have the guy nail us in the passenger side rear quarter panel. The same guy hit us TWICE! It turns out the guy was in his 80's at least, and upon further review had alcohol on breath. Luckily no one was hurt, although the second impact did jolt me pretty good. We waited forever for the cops to get there. While we waited the guy was so scared and/or drunk that he actually told me that it did not look that bad. Both quarter panels were smashed in!!! I felt bad because I got picked up before the cops showed up. He never did get a chance to come over again. We laughed about the old guy but it sucked that his car was messed up. So whenever I hear Under a Glass Moon I think of that day and the accident.

Do you have any memories for this song? Please let me know.

Peace Among the Ruins by Presto Ballet

Ok, so you like Styx, Kansas, Old REO (before they went soft), the you really need to check this band out. Presto Ballet, a band out of Seattle (its not what you think) founded by the guitarist from Metal Church (one of my favorite all-time thrash metal bands) Kurdt Vanderhoof. He was influenced by the 70's bands like Yes, Genesis and those listed above. He put together a great band and recreated that 70's sound. How did they do it you might ask. They recorded EVERYTHING in analog. Do digital BS anywhere. The bottom sounds are phenomenal and there is a real mellotron in there as well. As of this writing they just released their third album Invisible Places (with a whole new line up). I do not have this one yet but plan to get it soon. So I am going to discuss their first album and may do each album over time. However, the lineup for the first two albums are as follows:

Kurdt Vanderhoof - Guitars, additional keys

Jeff Wade : Drums

Brian Cokeley : Keyboard

Scott Albright : Vocals

Brian Lake : Bass 

 

Kurdt Vanderhoof has subtle yet powerful guitar riffs sprinkled throughout the album along with some good lead parts. Scott Albright has the perfect voice for this project. He is a cross between Dennis DeYoung from Styx and Kevin Cronin from REO Speedwagon. Jeff Wade is a more than capable drummer who keeps the parts interesting. Brian Lake, never heard of him before this, but I am a fan now. The bass lines on this album meld perfectly with the music. Brian Cokeley, this album would not be the same without the keyboards so he deserves a lot of credit for the sound.


Track Listing:
Peace Among The Ruins: Simply put, one of the best songs I have heard in a long time. The beginning just punches you in the gut and then cools out into a great groove. This song has some subtle odd time which makes it very fun to play.
The Fringes: a bit more synth in this one. Very Styx-like. There are some great vocal harmonies in this song during the chorus which has a bit of trippy feel to it. This is a foreshadow of some of the other songs later on the album.
Seasons: again a ton of great vocal harmonies. This song is straight out of the 70's. The chorus has the same chord progression as Ghost of a Chance by Rush. I don't think it was intentional and it fits great.
Find the Time: This song is No Quarter part 2. It starts with a mellotron! The beginning is mellow and later builds up. There is a great synth sound in there as well. I love No quarter and I love this song.
Speed of Time: A mellow number that starts on the acoustic guitar and adds some synth over it. Then bursts into a great driving groove with a nice keyboard overlaying the melody. The chorus has layered harmonies, again catching that classic rock vibe.
Sunshine: this is a straight-up hippy song from the late 60's. I love the vocals on this tune. Be careful, this song will get stuck in your head all day.
Slave: this song starts with that low moog sound, slowly building the tension with guitar and drums until the drums bust into a Bonham-like fill to get to the full riff with Pink-floydish synth over the top. This is a much heavier song than the previous few.
Bringin' It On: Last but not least. Starts with an acoustic guitar and the singer. Eventually it builds slightly with the drums coming in and grooves from there. This is a song to raise your lighter to.


The band also released 3 full songs free to download that were recorded for this album but not put on it. The link for them is here: http://www.prestoballet.com/downloads.asp
Get these songs!! They are just as good. Let me know what you think about this band. Thanks.

Dear Prudence by the Beatles

So the is a memory from only a few days ago. For Mother's Day I got my wife a bunch of goodies from the kids and I (she said it was too much but Ididn't think so). There was chocolate, candy, a homemade trinket form the kids and various other things; including the White Album by the Beatles. Ever since we started doing karaoke, my wife would since Dear Prudence (story behind the song) and I had never hear that song before. Her older brothers liked the Beatles so she heard it a lot as a kid. So when I was gathering gifts for Mother's Day, I thought it would be nice for her to have it so she could listen to it in the car (or on my ipod). We cranked up that song in the house while I was making a nice breakfast and right there a memory was born. We had a great day. We went to the Milwaukee Art musuem which my wife and I had never been to (very cool by the way). Later we then went out to lunch/dinner. I was a real nice day for mom.

Dear Prudence is a song that showcased their Indian influence (along with other songs of course) and I think that is what really attracted me to the song. I have always enjoyed that sitar sound (al la Ravi Shankar). There are other songs that feature that sound that I like as well including Dream Theaters Home, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, In the Light (I know that is keyboards, but still), Heart Full of Soul, Paint It Black, My Little Man (Ozzy) and many others I can't think of right now. Maybe I will do a post about this fascination.

So do you have a memory from this song? Please let me know.