Archive for the ‘My Bands’ Category

Thoughts On Gigs 8/13 – 8/17

August 20, 2010 by John No Comments »

Friday 8/13 The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at the Tulalip Casino, augmented by our horn section “the Plan 9 horns”. This is always an interesting venue for the band. Like many other tribal casinos the Tulalip allows smoking. Since Washington enacted the ban on smoking on bars, I really haven’t been exposed to nearly as much smoke as in previous years. It’s something that has made playing (or just being) in a bar more pleasant. Another interesting thing about this show is the absolute rule of no alcohol while working. The band members are considered employees of the casino which means we’re governed by the same in-house rules as all other employees: no gambling, no drinking. It’s not a big deal to us, but it’s an interesting perspective on how bands are experiencing the increased enforcement of in-house rules at venues.
The band played a great show and had fun. Our audience was the usual combination of friends and random strangers who wandered in from the casino floor. A few friends from high school came to hear the band, including a very accomplished  keyboard player by the name of Chris Joss. Back in high school (nearly 30 years ago!), Chris was unquestionably the most talented and well-known musician in the school. Lately he’s been exploring all kinds of interesting music and continues to play professionally. Always fun to catch up with friends, especially with such a good musician!
I put my amp slightly differently from its usual placement on this stage. They have an excellent monitor system at the Casino and the house sound operator always puts some guitar in my mix. It means I’m not dependent on my amp for hearing myself on stage, and I get a faithful un-eq’d version of my sound from the monitor. This is unusual and I definitely appreciate it. So the Twin sat toward the back of the stage just providing a nice source of audio for SM57 feeding the FOH mix.

Saturday 8/14 The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard. This is a great music bar and has a long history of terrific bands who have played there. Again, the Plan 9 horns joined us for the evening. The stage isn’t nearly as expansive as the Casino, but we managed to fit eight people up there without trouble. This was probably the hottest bar gig we’ve played all year. Early in the day we saw a forecast for 90+ degree temperatures, and the band voted to abandon our usual stage suits in favor of short-sleeved shirts. The temperature in the bar must have been at least 100 degrees! We played an extended version of our set list, which featured the horn section.
I had my amp at the back of the stage, tilted up with a what stage production personnel would call a “technical spacer”; actually it was just a roll of duct tape wedged under the front of the amp. This small adjustment made it possible to hear myself pretty well despite the auditory chaos of all those people, horns and the warm wet air in the room. There is one significant advantage to playing summer bar gigs when the air is so hot and full of moisture: it makes guitar amps sound great! I’ve never figured out what specific physical effect is happening, but it’s probably the additional work the amp is having to do when exciting denser air. Much easier to get controlled feedback, and the overall sound seems even. When this show was over my guitar was a mess! I used some rubbing alcohol to clean up the strings and wiped down the neck and body with non-wax polish. It wasn’t perfect, but decent enough to be used for the Sunday gig.

Sunday 8/15 the 1 Uppers performed at a private event over on Bainbridge Island. With 90 degree temperatures in the forecast the merciful approach might have been to go without our suits, but fashion overcame our desire for comfort. We played outdoors on the deck of a house, to the delight of children, dogs, and adults. Definitely a fun event with a beautiful view and yummy food. The black stratocaster was suitably “seasoned” after two days of sweaty gigs, so my strings had a country-blues approved tone. I also opted for a smaller footprint on this gig by bringing the M9 as my only effects system, and by using the Hot Rod Deluxe for my amp. The M9 has a very good sound that lest my guitar’s tone shine. I use a pretty simple signal chain in the 1 Uppers so this is a great, easy to manage setup. Our set was the usual assortment of country favorites and originals, somewhat shaped by committee. We had a few guitar showdowns, with everyone getting in on the fun during “Luxury Liner”. Jon Hyde and Kris Geren laid down a bunch of wicked solos at this show. Once again I went home determined to come up with better licks for this band. Always a pleasure to get together with these gentlemen.

Tuesday 8/16 the Preons performed on the roof of the Bell Street Conference Center in downtown Seattle. This event was part of a social media gathering, and we were invited to play a set of music. This marked the first Preons show in a while, and it was good to be performing for an audience again. Fortunately we were facing west, so while the audience was watching the band, we were looking at a stunning sunset. This show was a little challenging since we didn’t have any vocal monitors. It meant that we had to simply do our best to sing in tune without being able to hear anything. Definitely not ideal, but we managed. For rehearsals I use a different bass amp; it’s been a few months since I fired up the Ashdown half stack and I was immediately reminded of why I like this amp. It’s big and bold, and produces an authoritative fundamental bass tone.

So, after four gigs in just five days (with three bands!) I’m pretty satisfied with my musical life. I’m blessed to be working with such talented musicians, and it’s always a pleasure to get together for a live show. On to the next!

 

Thoughts On The 8/7 Dudley Manlove Quartet Performance

August 9, 2010 by John No Comments »

On Saturday 8/7 The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at a wedding reception in the Seattle area. It was a lovely event at a beautiful house overlooking the water. The organizer had planned ahead in case of inclement weather, which was a very good idea since it did rain on and off the whole evening. Undaunted, the band and guests had a great night of music and dancing.

Our final song of the evening was “Don’t Stop Believing”, which is always a crowd pleaser. Right after the intro I started to experience intermittent output from my guitar, with the signal dropping out and coming back at random. I did everything I could think of… wigging the cords and flipping switches on my guitar, giving the amp a bonk with my fist (we all know that’s the best way to troubleshoot electronics, right?) and otherwise performing any ritual I could think of. As we approached the solo section, I was really concerned about whether I’d be able to make any sound, but fortunately I did get past that section before my signal dropped out again. Once the song was over I tried to diagnose the issues but didn’t have time or the proper setting to really delve into it. I loaded out and drove home in a bit of a snit, trying to imagine what had gone wrong. Getting my guitar or my amp into the shop for service would be difficult with my work schedule, and I really didn’t have enough time to work on this myself.
It wasn’t until the next afternoon that I finally had a chance to go through my signal path to see what might be going on. It appears the culprit was a bad cable between the guitar and pedalboard (whew!). It’s especially a difficult thing to nail down with certainty because it seems to be an intermittent connect, and the cable doesn’t appear worn or broken. Usually cables fail at the solder joints to the plugs, but I decided to just throw this out since it seemed to have a flaky connection somewhere in the middle of the cable. I always come to gigs prepared for field-triage… I carry spare cables, plugs, batteries, tools, and usually a spare guitar. This one was a pretty random failure, but if I had needed to, I could resolved it with a quick swap.

Other than the minor hiccup during our final song, the gig went really well. I think we played a great show and the music is getting better every time we get together. Our upcoming gigs will include the Plan 9 horns. Come on down to see us at the Tractor this Saturday 8/14. We’re going to have a great show!

 

Thoughts on the 7/31 and 8/1 Dudley Manlove Quartet Performances

August 3, 2010 by John No Comments »

This was a great weekend for the Dudley Manlove Quartet. We performed at wedding receptions on Saturday 7/31 and on Sunday 8/1. Both events were in the Seattle area, so we didn’t have very far to travel. The show on Saturday was at the Georgetown Ballroom, which is a beautiful venue. I will keep it in mind if I ever need to throw a big private party. It has a dining / reception hall and a separate ballroom with permanent stage and flown PA system. This made our setup a little easier since we could just patch into the house mixer and use their monitor amp feeds to power our wedges. We used one of our mains speakers as a drum fill. A major logistical bonus of this show was the painless load-in; we were able to park in a loading zone directly in front of the door and only had to carry equipment about 20 feet to the stage without encountering any stairs. The wedding party was composed of enthusiastic dancers, and we had a full dance floor from the beginning of our show.

Sunday’s performance was for a wedding in West Seattle and we had a bit of a load-in challenge for this show with some stairs and narrow corridors. The room was pretty large with a big stage. Our soundcheck was quick and we took the opportunity to run some of the requests including “Twist and Shout”, “Love Shack” and “Cecelia”.  Then the band walked over to Endolyne Joe’s for a beer and few games of Bananagrams. It also afforded us an opportunity to watch the sun set, which is always nice. Upon returning to the venue we changed into our suits and prepped for the show. I don’t usually put a microphone on my amp for this type of gig and the size of the room required a bit more amp volume than usual. I had the Twin turned up to 7, which is pretty loud for that amp. It sounds good at that volume, but I think we should probably start putting both the guitar and bass into the PA for shows this size. We started the show with the usual assortment of jazz standards, and I found myself wishing I had spent more time practicing solos over this material. Mack is especially good at playing over those changes and it’s a little daunting to follow his solos. It’s going to be a good summer of musical fun with the band, and we’re staying very busy!

 

Thoughts on the 7/30 1 Uppers Performance

August 2, 2010 by John No Comments »

Friday night the 1 Uppers performed at Conor Byrne in Ballard. We played last, sharing the bill with The Hilltoppers and Lisa and Her Kin. It was a fun night of good music. We wore our suits, which has become a trademark of the band’s presentation, and several of us wore hats… alas, I am not among the hat-wearers… I looked (in vain) for suitable headwear while in Montana but after test-driving several possibilities it was decreed that I was never meant to wear a cowboy hat. I own perhaps two hats; one is a baseball cap with the Einstürzende Neubauten logo, and the other is a snowboard hat. Neither would probably go well with my cowboy suit.

The gig on Friday was a fun one. When there are three bands on the bill in a small club like this, it guarantees that there will be a big pile of equipment strewn about. I arrived with my gear and discovered there was no space anywhere to put it. Stuff was already piled up in the corners and in front of the stage, as well as the back hallway. I eventually just beached my equipment back in front of the restrooms. It took some wrangling to navigate back to the stage for setup, but it all worked out.

We did a good set of mostly original material with some selected cover songs. We all took turns at the microphone; I sang “Ring of Fire”, with good accompaniment provided by the entire bar. Everyone knows that song, so there was plenty of support during the choruses.
All in all, a fun show. The band sounds good, and every time we play I am reminded how lucky I am to be surrounded by such great musicians. This is a band that consistently improves from gig to gig, and after every show I want to go home and polish up my stuff.

 

Thoughts On The 7/10 Dudley Manlove Quartet Performance

July 14, 2010 by John 1 Comment »

On Saturday 7/10 The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at Redmond Derby Days. Outdoor festival shows bring their own idiosyncratic challenges with strange acoustics, short changeover times between bands, and random issues with power / grounding. This performance took place on a stage that was covered with a large tent / awning, and it creates a strange acoustic space where some sounds reflect and others seems to disappear entirely. I knew, from previous experience, that this event would be a parking challenge so I packed as light as possible. This meant bringing the Hot Rod Deluxe rather than the Twin. While the HRD is lighter, it definitely doesn’t have the big-stage delivery of the Twin, and about half way into our set I started to wish I had just packed the bigger amp.

The set ended with “Don’t Stop Believin'” and during the solo I felt inspired to leap out the front of the stage, and from there I crept out onto a little ledge that overlooked the grass. Having gotten that far I decided to jump down onto the grass, estimating the drop to be around four feet. About halfway down I realized it was taking a long time to reach the ground… needless to say, my rangefinding might need to be recalibrated. Fortunately, I did stick the landing and had fun running around with the dancers in front of the stage. It was a bit of a hike to get back… but was worth the effort. After the show we had a great BBQ and spent a fun evening chatting and relaxing. Another wonderful gig with great friends.

 

Thoughts On The 6/26 Dudley Manlove Quartet Gig

July 1, 2010 by John No Comments »

On Saturday 6/26 The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at a wedding reception at the UW boathouse. The bride was a UW student who spent years with the UW Crew, rowing to victory. Being back on the UW campus is always a little nostalgic for me, and I enjoy seeing how it has changed over the years since I was first a student there in 1981. Our soundcheck was early in the afternoon so we had a few hours to wander around before the guests began to arrive. Stefan and I trotted over the U Village to look around in the bookstore and sip some iced tea.

The wedding reception included a large number of people who had flown in from the northeast, and I enjoyed chatting with some of guests. The wedding couple had chosen some great requests for the first dances. The bride is of Irish descent and had spent several years learning traditinoal Irish dance. After some cajoling from her father she performed a short reel on the dance floor, which was fun. Then it was our turn to get things moving. Some of the songs we performed were rarities for our set list, including gems such as “Hot Child in the City”, “Werewolves of London”, “American Girl” and “Cracklin’ Rosie”. All are plenty of fun to play, and I’m always happy to oblige a wedding reception with special songs that are meaningful to the newly married couple.

This event was the appearance of my new flight case for the Fender Twin. Having that piece of equipment in a wheeled case sure made it easier to move around, but now it’s more difficult to pick it up and put it in the car. I’m considering the purchase of a small ramp to make it easier to manage alone.

All in all, a fun gig and one that went very well.

 

Girls Just Wanna Have Prom : The Dudley Manlove Quartet 80s Prom

May 6, 2010 by John No Comments »

As you are probably aware, I play in a couple of local bands. People sometimes ask me to provide advance notice for my shows. So here it is: one of my bands is The Dudley Manlove Quartet and we’re hosting our annual “80s Prom” this month at Neumos. 80s prom?! Yes, that’s right… this year’s event is called Girls Just Wanna Have Prom, and we’ll be performing New Wave and Big Hair hits from MTV’s glory days, including chart-toppers from Journey, Cyndi Lauper, Night Ranger, Madness, Pat Benatar, Bryan Adams, David Bowie, the Buggles, Wang Chung, Europe, Huey Lewis and the News, and Duran Duran.

It’s like a Delorean-powered time machine to the land of total awesomeness. Think about it: you can relive your prom night from the 80s, possibly correcting errors in the space-time continuum (results not guaranteed). Here is your chance to (1) break out that great prom outfit that you’ve so carefully saved all these years (2) earn / re-earn your rightful designation as PROM KING / QUEEN (3) unabashedly sing along to your favorite songs from that zany decade and (4) stay out dancing until 2:00 AM without getting grounded (also not guaranteed). The decorating committee is hard at work… we’re making our horn section exercise their lung power blowing up balloons, and the tall guys are putting up streamers. And of course we’ll have a photo area, so you can carry a wallet-size memento of this glorious night. Dust off your best Molly Ringwald moves for an 80s Dance-Off, or compete for marginally valuable prizes in the Ugliest Prom Dress and Biggest Hair competitions. 80s-wear is WAY encouraged, but like totally optional. 

Advance tickets are available at eTix  http://tiny.cc/scfqq.

For more information, visit our web site: http://www.dudleymanlove.com/?p=816

 

Thoughts On The 4/30 Dudley Manlove Quartet Gig

May 5, 2010 by John No Comments »

Last Friday night the Dudley Manlove Quartet performed for the Seattle Rep’s annual fundraising gala. It was a fun event and I always enjoy being around the theater scene. After a late-afternoon load-in and soundcheck, we had quite a long break before we were to play. We took advantage of the free time to wander around and visited a few local restaurants for snacks and happy hour martinis. On the way back to the venue we stopped for some gourmet chocolate and espresso.

The first set was solid, and par for the course at such events, the audience wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about dancing until they’d had a few refreshments. By the end of the first set we had a good full dance floor. During the second set I turned up my amp a bit to get a little better stage coverage, and encountered the same issue I’ve experienced on a few previous occasions: my amp became increasingly distorted and I couldn’t get a clean tone at a decent volume level. We’re not all that loud onstage – especially at this kind of performance – and this issue has arisen more than once before. I’ve done some reading online in the forums and most people seem to feel this amp is designed to break up a bit at normal stage volume, producing an overdriven blues / rock tone. I really want the amp to be clean with a lot of headroom. It’s possible that I just won’t get this kind of performance from a 40 watt amp, but in Jumbalassy I used a 60 watt amp to drive my speaker cabinets and it was always squeaky clean at stage level. I’m not very interested in returning to that kind of setup, but it may be necessary to find a louder guitar amp for use in The Dudley Manlove Quartet. I’ve already started test-driving a few amps including the classic Fender Twin. I think I’d like to get a 65 Twin Reissue if I can find one at a decent price. If anyone is interested in selling one, please touch base with me.

 

Thoughts On The 3/19 Dudley Manlove Quartet Performance

March 23, 2010 by John No Comments »

On Friday 3/19 Dudley Manlove Quartet celebrated our 15th anniversary at the Nectar Lounge in Fremont. This was also the night we debuted the shiny new Plan 9 horns. Also joining us for the anniversary celebration were Matt and Joe, original members of the band who both happen to play a pretty mean sax. At a few points during the night we had ten musicians onstage, rocking the hits. Opening the night were our friends The Hemingway Reference, who played a fabulous first set. I’m sure we’ll work together again.

I arrived early enough to get loaded in and generally situated. The house sound operator is a longtime friend who used to run sound for us in Jumbalassy, and he’s also worked with The Preons. Great to catch up with him as we finished wiring the stage for soundcheck. We started the night with some great standards and the room’s energy was a great source of inspiration for us. At a few points during the night I found myself tempted to turn my guitar amp up, which means the stage volume was a bit louder than usual. My amp is only 40 watts, and when turned up tends to begin introducing some distortion; this is a deliberate characteristic of the amp’s design and not simply clipping due to excessive gain. In order to minimize logistic challenges at this show, Steve borrowed the opening band’s Epifani bass amp. He usually uses an SWR combo for our shows, and it sounds great. I was really impressed at the power and tone of the Epifani setup. It’s pretty tempting as a potential upgrade to my Ashdown bass / Warr guitar amp.

Overall, the gig was a blast and one that I’ll remember as a highlight of my first year with the band.

 

Dudley Manlove Quartet 15th Anniversary Bash

March 18, 2010 by John No Comments »

The Dudley Manlove Quartet is looking forward to our 3/19 show at the Nectar Lounge in Fremont. This event marks the 15th Anniversary of the band and and will be the debut of the Plan 9 horns. The Hemingway Reference will be opening the evening, and during our set you’ll see some surprise appearances by former members of DMQ. Sure, we’re a great five-piece quartet. But with the addition of three amazing horn players and special guests, we’ll be a TEN piece quartet. That’s pretty big for a quartet, you gotta admit!

Tickets are still available for this event, but they’re going fast. Some tickets will be available at the door for $10, but you should definitely consider purchasing in advance for $8. This will be a fun evening of celebrating 15 years of adventure and music with the DMQ crew, and we’ll look forward to seeing you there.

Doors will open at 9:00 PM and we’ll be ready to make the music happen. Arrive early… settle in… get  your dancing groove on. This is going to be a great 15th Anniversary party!