#1956265 - 06/11/08 07:26 AM
Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
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EddiePlaysBass
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A friend of mine was so kind to convert to cd this old rehearsal tape I had lying around. It was from the end of 2004, back when we were called either Hamse Bier Crew (Ham Beer crew, Ham being where I live) or Student Chicken Toilet (don't even ask). We played an ecclectic mix of contemporary pop songs and ... well ... we totally s*cked eggs 
Seriously, I'd forgotten just how bad we really were when we started ! The guitar was completely out of tune, same as our singer and I did non-harmony vocals to match  My bass lines were ... well, thump thump da thump, the drum fills were off-beat, we slowed down, sped up (some things never change) There's a particularly awful version of Make Me Smile, which ironically we recorded two years later. Some nice moments too, ruined by my non-harmony backings
But all in all it is interesting to hear how we evolved as musicians and as a band. This sort of recordings do help put things into perspective somewhat  All of a sudden I appreciate our current sound and line-up so much more
Edited by EddiePlaysBass (06/11/08 07:27 AM)
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#1956290 - 06/11/08 08:05 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: EddiePlaysBass]
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Jode
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It's fun to trip down Amnesia Lane, isn't it? I was listening to some old tapes from a prior band with my guitarist friend, after we'd made up and formed another outfit. Lo and behold, it turns out that tape was rolling at the exact moment I quit the band. We were going over a song for the umpteenth time - not only could I not get anyone in the band to agree where the turnaround was, I couldn't get them to care where it went. We played the song again, everyone but me blew the turnaround again, and I did something I've never before or since: I threw my drumsticks across the room and started cussing. "God dammit, what was that bullshit?" After about two minutes of foul language, I just started packing up my stuff. I'd had it.
Fast forward two years, and my buddy and I have made up and are listening to old rehearsal tapes, and all of a sudden, in the second verse of "Cactus Tree," I'm blowing my stack. We gasped and looked at each other and laughed. Didn't need to preserve that moment for posterity, but we did.
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Dave Horne
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#1956316 - 06/11/08 08:52 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: Jode]
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yourlord
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I have recordings of us going all the way back to 1998.. It's always hilarious to go back and listen to em.. I even have some videos we took back in the day.. great stuff to watch..
I'm tempted to break out the video from 8 years ago to illustrate to the newer band members that we've been just as dysfunctional as we are now, for a long long time..
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#1956333 - 06/11/08 09:17 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: yourlord]
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forceman
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Registered: 03/01/04
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I wish I had the cassette tape from a jam I was in back in 1971'ish....our "drummer" banged on pots and pans, and myself (Fender bass) and the guitarist played through one cheapo practice amp! 
It actually sounded kinda cool...think of a bootleg "West, Bruce, and Laing" concert while on LSD...
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#1956407 - 06/11/08 11:33 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: forceman]
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Tenstrum
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Loc: Northeast Tennessee
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Man I wish I had some of the early stuff that I had played on recorded. Lots of good time and memories gone forever...
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Tenstrum
Bass players go deeper!
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#1956409 - 06/11/08 11:41 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: Tenstrum]
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mattulator
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Registered: 07/27/04
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I stumble across a cassette from time to time and smile and wince. I was pretty bad - but I could sing a LOT higher back then!
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Standing in a river, waving a stick. Quantum Soup
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#1956442 - 06/11/08 01:09 PM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: mattulator]
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RicBassGuy
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Somewhere I have an 8 track from about '78 of my earliest performances. Haven't listened in quite some time. (Sorry, Steve, I wasn't even in school yet when you made your first recording. )
I'd love to get my hands on a copy of my HS symphonic band from festival my senior year. We kicked some serious butt! (No, really!!)
At least my HS band recording exists somewhere. There are many performances and rehearsals over the years that were never even recorded.
But, yeah, being able to review your previous level of performance and compare it to today's (hopefully improved) level is always instructional (if not eye -- or ear -- opening).
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#1956451 - 06/11/08 01:34 PM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: RicBassGuy]
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forceman
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Oh yeah--I forgot! I have a vinyl 33 1/3 recording of my Junior High School band (7th grade) playing a couple of classics! I played Sousaphone. I need to dig that baby out and listen to it again..
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#1956533 - 06/11/08 04:14 PM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: forceman]
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b5pilot
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Registered: 10/17/07
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Loc: Sterling Heights, Michigan
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I have some old demo 45's (anybody remember them?) we recorded from back in I think '80 or '81. It would be cool to hear it but I don't have a record player anymore. I think I was still playing my old Fender musicmaster then.
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#1956537 - 06/11/08 04:20 PM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: b5pilot]
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forceman
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Dood! Vinyl is making a comeback! Get a turntable pronto!
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#1956767 - 06/12/08 10:24 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: forceman]
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Tom Capasso
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Registered: 04/30/01
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Loc: east meadow,NY,UNITED STATES
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I've got cassettes from the mid and late 70s.
The more interesting stuff is the originals. I had some of it made into CDs. The studio stuff (we only got cassettes out of the deal - I'm sure the master is long gone) isn't too bad (though I've been reminded that it definitely sounds like the late 70s). Two years before the studio stuff, we'd set up a cassette recorder (stereo - two mics) and just sang into the mics. The balance was terrible (along with some of the performance  ). The interesting thing was to see the song development in-between. Parts had settled in, songs added dropped, etc. The hardest part for me is that I still appreciate the good parts even as I'm screaming some out-of-tune "ahhh" background. I'll trot out the term I've used before - "musical narcissism". No matter how bad, I'll see the good side of music that includes me.
I have more tapes of the same band at a live show. We did lots of classic rock but mixed in plenty of originals. Some day I've got to get that loaded up.
Yes - I could also sing higher then. I had a falsetto that was worth something for backgrounds also (maybe not as much as I used it...).
And yes - I say incredibly dumb things on some of these tapes.
Tom
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www.stoneflyrocks.com Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt
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#1957922 - 06/15/08 04:55 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: EddiePlaysBass]
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Yourup
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I've got some cassette recordings dating back to about 1982 and they're quite a nostalia trip for me. I was just learning to play guitar and my brother was just learning drums. Stuff like The Cars' first album and Cheap Trick were popular... Remember that?
Some of our originals for me are worth a remake, but some others... Well, let's just say they needed A LOT of improvement!
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#1958547 - 06/16/08 02:33 PM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: Yourup]
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jcdlc72
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Registered: 12/11/07
Posts: 371
Loc: Caracas, DF. Venezuela.
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Yourup... Where in Spain are you from?  I remember back then playing along a lot of Baron Rojo songs... and Obus...  Even tried (I was about 10) to cover "Caperucita Feroz" by the Orquesta Mondragon.... those were the times...
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#1958628 - 06/16/08 06:50 PM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: jcdlc72]
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Joe Bloe
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My brother just gave me a cd (from a tape) of my high school jazz band circa 1976. I played bass trombone in the jazz band that year. I went on to play lead trombone and finally bass guitar my senior year.
We were really good with a female singer who went on to sing at Northern Illinois University with their Jazz Band. Her rendition of Carol King's "Natural Woman" was really good.
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#1959054 - 06/17/08 03:11 PM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: Joe Bloe]
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Davo-London
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Yeah I recorded a duo with a female singer guitarist in 1981. I still have the reel to reel tape. I could do with converting this to .aiff tracks so I can redo the basslines. Then I could send it to the singer who is in Australia. That would be a laugh.
Phil: any ideas where I could get the reel to reel converted to digital?
Davo
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#1959457 - 06/18/08 10:17 AM
Re: Blast from the past - confrontational recordings
[Re: Davo-London]
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Tom Capasso
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Registered: 04/30/01
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any ideas where I could get the reel to reel converted to digital?Davo
I have this problem as well, though I haven't done much to pursue an answer. I got a name of a place on the west coast that could do conversions, but have been afraid to send the tapes fearing that they are fragile. Every once in a while I look at the used market for a reel-to-reel machine, but haven't moved on anything yet.
I figure if I had a tape machine, I can go to any studio to take the feed in and digitize it.
Tom
_________________________
www.stoneflyrocks.com Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt
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