tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13368602977592222852024-03-13T09:11:36.985-07:00BrettBob's Back PorchBrett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-31535036178549981782021-01-08T14:13:00.005-08:002021-01-08T14:14:36.919-08:00"GAMES PEOPLE PLAY"<p></p><p></p><p> I recorded a take on King Curits's version of Joe South's "Games People
Play" years ago. It was when I first started recording and was pretty
rough, so I decided to do a cleaner take on it.</p><p><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/0FaJIMUg21A" width="480"></iframe></p>Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-57107398911704761462020-05-16T09:14:00.007-07:002022-08-08T09:35:47.949-07:00"MIDNIGHT IN HARLEM"<div> Big thanks to my bandmate Celeste taking over singing on this beloved Tedeschi Trucks Band song.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="274" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lROfhKs8kDs" width="489" youtube-src-id="lROfhKs8kDs"></iframe></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /></div>Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-49428714849229800852020-05-10T07:09:00.003-07:002023-07-13T11:36:53.964-07:00Playing with Myself: “Little Martha > Blue Sky”<p>It was time to jam on two of my favorite songs From my favorite album, Eat A Peach. I didn’t want to ruin “Blue Sky” with my inconsistent vocals, and I wanted to build up “Little Martha” more than a duet. So I took inspiration from the arrangement the Allman Brothers did starting in 2009 of mashing the 2 songs into a single instrumental. It works beautifully since they are both E/A jams.<br />
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<br /></p>Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-70227518099215099432020-05-05T07:45:00.000-07:002020-05-05T07:45:49.875-07:00Playing with Myself: "Feel So Bad"Another funky old nugget, Chuck Willis's "Feel So Bad"<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fRcAwosRsHs" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-72362572069011594592020-05-04T10:53:00.003-07:002020-05-04T10:53:46.356-07:00Playing with Myself: "Memphis Soul Stew"King Curtis's "Memphis Soul Stew" kicks off his legendary live album from the Fillmore West. I decided to borrow the recipe, with a few substitutions.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGqu8OO-KB0" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-23501976714451013062020-04-25T06:48:00.000-07:002020-05-03T06:21:15.441-07:00Playing with Myself: "Dreams"Several years ago I <a href="http://brettbob.blogspot.com/2015/11/dreams.html" target="_blank">attempted an acoustic cover</a> of my favorite song, the Allman Brothers Band's epic meditation <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESDqkzZOQCo" target="_blank">"Dreams"</a>. It was pretty messy - bad mics, out of tune piano, bad rhythm, etc. I tried it again. Not sure if it's any better, but at least it's sonically cleaner.<br />
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<br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-6620870961698366972020-04-14T05:19:00.001-07:002020-04-27T16:37:00.316-07:00Playing with Myself: "Keep on Growing"<a href="http://brettbob.blogspot.com/2016/07/keep-on-growing.html" target="_blank">I Revisited</a> another tune, Derek & the Dominos' "Keep on Growing"<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/woIzkKCYz7w" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-42433252543111783652020-04-10T17:31:00.000-07:002020-04-10T17:31:12.374-07:00Playing With Myself: "Plastic Jesus"Another take on my favorite Lukas Jackson song,"Plastic Jesus"<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nqx500mM1Ac" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-26110505524587964732020-04-08T06:29:00.001-07:002020-04-08T06:29:19.326-07:00Playing with Myself: "Albatross"This was a tough one. Not an easy arrangement since the original is so dependent on reverb atmosphere.<br />
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<br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-79254361393021260672020-04-05T13:23:00.001-07:002020-04-05T13:23:17.075-07:00Playing with Myself "Done Somebody Wrong"<a href="http://brettbob.blogspot.com/2017/01/done-somebody-wrong.html" target="_blank">Another take</a> on one of my favorite Elmore James tunes <br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9n6cMfAPV7I" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-33809286239341036762020-04-02T11:39:00.002-07:002020-05-04T15:26:07.098-07:00Playing with Myself: "The Weight"I've been meaning to work up a full version of "The Weight". I guess now
seems as good a time as any to record a quick solo version.<br />
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Everyone loves The Band's "The Weight". It's an FM radio staple, a bar
band anthem singalong, and been covered by too many artists to count
from the moment it was released. Robbie Robertson's evocative tapestry
of a drifter weaving through a colorful cast characters is both fantasy
and relatable at the same time. The simple, folksy song structure lends
itself to interpretation by artists as diverse as The Staple Singers,
Joe Cocker, and even Aretha Franklin, among so many more the song would
have reached over saturation were it not so good.<br />
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It's Aretha swampy take that inspires this version. Duane Allman
famously played slide guitar on her funky, soul take that downplays the
melancholy original. Decades later, the Allman Brothers would cover "The
Weight" in the same style as an homage to their fearless leader.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5Rj4eTSXo_A" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-77903839795735671962020-04-01T12:56:00.000-07:002020-05-03T12:23:53.824-07:00Playing with Myself: "Ain't Wasting Time No More"Most artists can work alone at home, but musicians are feeling the isolation. I even got a little tired of being limited to just one instrument, so I decided as long as I'm alone together I might as well play with myself. Here is a favorite, the Allman Brothers Band's "Ain't Wasting Time No More"<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iuKBlSmatU0" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-81983088196122812592020-03-23T09:37:00.003-07:002020-03-23T09:37:59.581-07:00"It Hurts Me Too"Day Whatever of COVID Quarantine. Felt like playing some Elmore James on my Tricone.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KNdZEcSNKhI" width="560"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-87462927327812420962019-12-31T10:07:00.000-08:002019-12-31T11:07:49.914-08:00A New Gibson Les PaulI've been playing out more, which has left less time for recording. Playing is always more fun than recording, so it's definitely a good thing. One project lasted exactly one gig, but it was a decent gig - here is me playing slide on "Ain't Wasting Time No More" (apologies for the portrait mode video)<br />
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But I couldn't let all of 2019 go by without posting something, so here's a quick look at the Les Paul I recently added to my arsenal.
After years of playing a Les Paul Goldtop, Dickey Betts switched to a Paul Reed Smith for the 1994 tour. Being a huge fan of Dickey's sound, I sold my Les Paul and saved up for a Paul Reed Smith of my own. I was 14 and did not fully understand that what Dickey was playing was PRS's new McCarty Model which was an homage to Gibson. It had a 3-way pickup switch and a thicker body and a shorter neck. I thought it looked (pearl bird inlay!) and sounded pretty cool. Dickey switched to a Gibson ES-335 the next year and I spent the next 20 years trying to get the PRS to sound like a Gibson, which, I found, is impossible.<br />
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After playing in a few bands the past year, I grew frustrated with the "brittle" PRS tone. The sustain wasn't what I wanted, and too often it sounded closer to a Strat. So I found a deal on a used 2013 Gibson Les Paul Studio 1970s Tribute. Being a 1970s Tribute, it's my shade of brown and had no cumbersome pick guard. Of course, tone is more important than anything, and the Dirty Fingers pickups were way too metal for me. So I swapped out the pickups for some Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates (I managed to hack the dreaded Gibson circuit board) which I had bought when attempting to brighten up my PRS. They didn't do much for the PRS (probably because they were out-of-phase from the factory which I had to fix), but sang in the Les Paul. I also swapped out the hardware to accentuate the satin brown burst. It sounds great, I really missed the Les Paul tone.<br />
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Here's the before and after.</div>
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And the whole fleet:</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CccXWeh_Ouk/XguMzOeCMjI/AAAAAAAACPM/h4NKeXe0e0kYrk8lWKq_5VBCiEQLsQHtgCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_1086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1268" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CccXWeh_Ouk/XguMzOeCMjI/AAAAAAAACPM/h4NKeXe0e0kYrk8lWKq_5VBCiEQLsQHtgCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_1086.JPG" width="253" /></a></div>
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<br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-85135262937793904772018-08-06T08:40:00.007-07:002018-08-06T08:40:53.037-07:00"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain"When asked to list my favorite guitarists, I often receive a few baffled looks from those expecting a list of Axe-Slinging Super Shredders. Sure, usual suspects like Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, Derek Trucks are at the top, along with the legendary blues powerhouse Albert King, but right up there is the Red Headed Stranger himself: Willie Nelson. But how can I possibly prefer Willie Nelson as <i>a guitarist</i> over the likes of Clapton or Hendrix? Well, it's not all about guitar pyrotechnics and I can listen to Willie pick his famous busted up nylon-stringed Trigger all day.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EtCP3ru0mGI/W2XhRFYBnpI/AAAAAAAACAU/k7tN5CDz_ckmkP_l4CleoRnl4lxaAFPRwCLcBGAs/s1600/redheadedstranger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="355" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EtCP3ru0mGI/W2XhRFYBnpI/AAAAAAAACAU/k7tN5CDz_ckmkP_l4CleoRnl4lxaAFPRwCLcBGAs/s200/redheadedstranger.jpg" width="200" /></a>After years of writing country music standards like "Crazy" and "Hello Walls" for other artists, Nelson became a country music hero in the 1970s by stripping the strings and slick arrangements that dominated sequined Nashville tunes of the day. Nelson's rustic approach (and rugged appearance) gave his country music an authenticity that was missing from the Charlie Riches and Conway Twittys of the mid-1970s. Along with fellow industry rebels like Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, Nelson helped created a sub-genre of its own: Outlaw Country. People who couldn't stomach Tammy Wynette and George Jones singing about domestic discord could totally get on board Willie Nelson's fresh, rootsy approach to country music.<br />
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But even among his Outlaw brethren, Willie Nelson's music was tonally different. Nelson's music was often somber, compared to the sweaty, coke-fueled vamping of Jennings' barrel house shows, or even the Hollywood-produced music of fellow "Outlaw" Johnny Cash at the time (he had his own TV show). 1975's <i>Red Headed Stranger</i> was a melancholy concept album that put Nelson's creaky, pained voice that was never slick enough to break into the Nashville mainstream on full naked display. Along with a delicate jazz guitar approach, far removed from the telecasters of James Burton and the Gibson Doves of <i>Hee-Haw</i>, made this music universal by crossing genres (Nelson released an album of jazz standard covers, <i>Stardust, </i>shortly after<i> Stranger</i>). <i>Red Headed Stranger</i> was as lonesome as a Hank Williams tune, with the rawness of Jimmy Rodgers or the Carter Family, minus the twang and yodeling that had become a Nashville cliche.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knU6_iTuCQ4/W2Xjum4H41I/AAAAAAAACAg/IBAHh7LOW08eZrKt1FpVkqWuM2tAg9MlACLcBGAs/s1600/greggwillie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="612" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-knU6_iTuCQ4/W2Xjum4H41I/AAAAAAAACAg/IBAHh7LOW08eZrKt1FpVkqWuM2tAg9MlACLcBGAs/s320/greggwillie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gregg Allman with Willie & Trigger, Farm Aid, NYC</td></tr>
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So I picked "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", a song written in 1947 by Fred Rose and covered by a number of artists such as Roy Acuff, Hank Williams, and Charlie Pride. You'd be forgiven for thinking Willie Nelson himself wrote it, the song has all of his hallmarks and was heavily featured in the movie adaptation of <i>Red Headed Stranger</i> a decade later. The arrangement is bare, and although Nelson's voice relates the despair truthfully, it's Trigger that caries the tune. It's often more difficult to perform a song with less, a stripped down tune is on full display. That's why the simple dobro part I included took me a while to arrange. It's a song that deserves to breath, and tough to approach when Willie did it so perfectly.<br />
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<br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-60952187997385246662018-05-01T09:15:00.003-07:002018-06-07T14:00:10.242-07:00"Uh Oh Love Comes to Town"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The first Talking Heads album I picked up was <i>Stop Making Sense</i>, an album I bought blindly knowing nothing about, other than I wanted some Talking Heads in my rotation. Often times record companies will fool a buyer by designing a live album to appear as a "Greatest Hits" album, disappointing the customer expecting to hear familiar radio hits. That wasn't the case with me and <i>Stop Making Sense</i>. As an Allman Brothers fan, I was into live music, and the Talking Heads were an excellent, energetic live band. Also, <i>Stop Making Sense</i> isn't your typical live album. It's one of the greatest concert films ever put together, artfully designed for stage by David Byrne, and expertly filmed by Jonathan Demme, who understood that the spectacle on stage was the attraction, not the LA crowd. Once I owned the film on disc, I watched it constantly (as my roommates will attest to). But there was still a lot of Talking Heads to explore. I picked up a bunch of their studio albums, including their first one, <i>77</i>, which hits the ground running with the catchy and upbeat, "Uh Oh Love Comes to Town".<br />
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As one of my favorite bands, I'm surprised it took me this long to cover a Talking Heads song. But I go in and out of love with them, listening to them in heavy doses and just as quickly turning them off for months. But not all music I enjoy listening to is music I can perform. David Byrne has a specific style and delivery that is difficult to adapt - his unique voice isn't always pitch perfect, but it's always honest and vulnerable. It's a similar issue I had when I covered a Lou Reed song. I tried to forget Byrne's delivery and sing it as if I'd never heard it before, which doesn't mean it's good, but it's less worse. I decided to adapt the steel drum to dobro and add a little mandolin to give the song the same fun, light step that attracted me to the original.<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/438005934&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-21125000299932839542018-03-20T06:10:00.001-07:002019-12-31T11:08:16.983-08:00Custom Daddy Mojo Rosetta<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7SI06it90YM/WrBI1TO4DMI/AAAAAAAAB4o/iKWapfAPQEobr8MJX5oodI8az0K7OjxhgCLcBGAs/s1600/rosetta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="706" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7SI06it90YM/WrBI1TO4DMI/AAAAAAAAB4o/iKWapfAPQEobr8MJX5oodI8az0K7OjxhgCLcBGAs/s200/rosetta.jpg" width="88" /></a>Once I went down the <a href="http://brettbob.blogspot.com/2015/08/cigar-box-guitar.html" target="_blank">cigar box guitar rabbit</a> hole a few years ago, I stumbled upon the <a href="https://daddy-mojo.com/models/resophonic-tobacco-sunburst/" target="_blank">6-string biscuit cone cigar box guitar made by Daddy Mojo Instruments</a>. Based in Montreal, Lenny makes a number of amazing instruments from more<a href="https://daddy-mojo.com/models/classics-series-san-julia-pin/" target="_blank"> traditional cigar box guitars</a> to<a href="http://dmelectrics.squarespace.com/ozark2/" target="_blank"> art deco diner table-themed guitars</a>. I've used the 6-string biscuit cigar box repeatedly, but just last week I received a custom-made Rosetta biscuit cone guitar. I've always been a fan of the old Gibson archtop guitars, so <a href="http://dmelectrics.squarespace.com/what-we-do/" target="_blank">Daddy Mojo's Rosetta models</a> immediately caught my eye. But Lenny created a whole new model, and I encouraged him to create what came to him as an artist - I felt like I would just request paint jobs and designs that I already had. What he went with turned out amazing, and the pick-up sounds like something between a Telecaster and a National, which I love. Lenny refers to the finish as creme brulee, but being from Wisconsin, it looks more smoked gouda to me. The disc pattern is similar to <a href="https://artisanguitars.com/sites/default/files/guitar_product_images/National-NRP-Collegian-artisan_021.jpg" target="_blank">old Collegeian Nationals</a>, or the phases of the Florida sun which never goes away.<br />
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<span id="goog_736710928"></span><span id="goog_736710929"></span><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-82997390432029600612018-03-12T15:12:00.002-07:002018-03-13T17:57:30.776-07:00"Down By The Seaside"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Acoustic Zep Set, late 1970s</td></tr>
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When you grow up with 2 older brothers in the 1980s, you are going to hear a lot of Led Zeppelin. Regardless, Zep was always on the radio even when the Classic Rock station wasn't getting "THE LED OUT". Even those who don't listen to a lot of 1970s rock 'n roll are still going to hear a fair share of Led Zeppelin in their lifetime - Zep's music is still everywhere. That's probably why I only listen to them in spurts these days. There are some great bands that I just have to take an extended break from - even favorites like The Beatles and David Byrne have to stay on the shelf for periods so I can appreciate them on a future fresh listen. Led Zeppelin is in that category - I probably haven't heard "Stairway to Heaven" in over a decade.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRlYESWIY8I/Wqb4iQDinNI/AAAAAAAAB38/4dtpPdLgBbMS5VwbOwsIGA4Zuyik6I1nQCLcBGAs/s1600/physicalgraffiti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="1425" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRlYESWIY8I/Wqb4iQDinNI/AAAAAAAAB38/4dtpPdLgBbMS5VwbOwsIGA4Zuyik6I1nQCLcBGAs/s200/physicalgraffiti.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
One song I never tire of is <i>Physical Graffiti'</i>s "Down By The Seaside". It was written by Robert Plant & Jimmy Page and recorded during the <i>IV</i> sessions, however, there wasn't enough room on the LP for it so it sat on the shelf for a few years. Some bands have such creative peaks that they can't fit everything on their next record due to the constraints of an LP side. Led Zeppelin released their first four albums over a 3 year period (1969-71), and aside from "Hey Hey What Can I Do?" as an exclusive B-side single, the popularity of the album format meant extra songs stayed on the shelf. When recording sessions for 1975's <i>Physical Graffiti</i> were so successful it meant the band would exceed the maximum run time for 2 sides of an LP, it afforded them the opportunity to include previous songs that hadn't made the cut to fill the second LP. "Down By The Seaside" was never performed live by Led Zeppelin, but it did make a bit of a comeback in the mid-1990s when it was rearranged with a more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Y0Xf26eSI" target="_blank">ethereal vibe by Robert Plant and Tori Amos</a> for a Zeppelin tribute album.<br />
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It's easy to see why "Down By The Seaside" didn't make the cut for previous albums - on the surface it's fairly unremarkable except for the novelty of Robert Plant singing about "little fishes". Considering Zeppelin's penchant for hard blues rock and acoustic folk, "Seaside" might have fit better on <i>Houses of the Holy</i> alongside lighter songs like "The Ocean", "Over the Hills & Far Away", and "Dy'maker" - then again, it might have seemed redundant next to those tunes. John Paul Jones' breezy keyboards are what drew me to to the song. It's a deceptively tough vibe to get without those keys, which I tried to adapt to dobro. You never want "laid back" to become slow and muddy, and sometimes less is more difficult to pull of than more.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/412722132&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-12243163692887087022018-02-14T14:09:00.002-08:002018-02-18T07:35:30.060-08:00Acoustic Guitar-to-Bass Conversion Test Drive: "Into the Mystic" reduxAfter years of heavy gauge strings and high action on my <a href="http://brettbob.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-guitars.html" target="_blank">1985 Sovereign acoustic guitar</a>, the guitar finally became unplayable. A luthier I took it to practically gave it last rights, so I spent the past year searching for a replacement. After flirting with low-end Martins and "high-end" used Sigmas, I found an 8 year-old Blueridge. It's pretty solid and sounds pirty, but after years of playing the old Sovereign, it will take some playing to get the newer wood of the Blueridge to have the same depth I'm used. But being able to play at the 2nd fret is awfully nice.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
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<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJWYkXrk4xc/WoSrsfxXeZI/AAAAAAAAB3Y/nXlxvUEq8d4_Hh_2SoUpZhSH5LZRyFgXwCLcBGAs/s1600/acousticbass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1342" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJWYkXrk4xc/WoSrsfxXeZI/AAAAAAAAB3Y/nXlxvUEq8d4_Hh_2SoUpZhSH5LZRyFgXwCLcBGAs/s320/acousticbass.jpg" width="268" /></a></td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sovereign Acoustic Bass | Blueridge Dread</td>
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Once the Blueridge arrived I wondered what to do with the Sovereign. For a while I kept it tuned to G, but the bridge is pretty wrecked - I didn't feel like wasting another set of guitar strings on it and further stressing it. While I was searching for a new guitar <a href="http://brettbob.blogspot.com/2017/07/altered-roots-band.html" target="_blank">I did a brief stint in a great local acoustic band</a>, and the bass player and friend, Bob, had converted an old acoustic guitar into a short-scale acoustic bass. I have always kind of wanted an acoustic bass - they are easier to mic than a bass amp, and the woody sound is a better fit alongside resonators and acoustics instruments. I was never going to spend any serious money on one anytime soon, yet here I was with a resonant acoustic body. After some <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Acoustic-Guitar-to-Acoustic-Bass-Conversion/" target="_blank">quick</a> <a href="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/my-acoustic-guitar-to-bass-conversion.1168341/" target="_blank">research</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzGRON9G8MM" target="_blank">online</a> I bought a 4-string trapeze tailpiece, some new tuners, a fresh saddle, and something I never thought I'd own - a drill. In about an hour I had a brand new acoustic bass. The tailpiece kept the stressed bridge safe from further damage, but the short-scale strings caused uneven tension and thus laid at an angle from nut to tailpiece. I thought I had installed the tailpiece incorrectly. But after a quick adjustment, the strings came into alignment (and better intonation at the frets). It's not perfect, but it should have a nice second life.<br />
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I decided to test it out on one of my favorite bass lines, "Into the Mystic". I was never happy with <a href="http://brettbob.blogspot.com/2016/02/into-mystic.html" target="_blank">the first recording</a> I did, which was a massive wall of sound captured by an inferior mic. This new take is pretty much the same arrangement as before, but slowed down and minus about 7 instruments.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/401471484&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-81715895707068681362018-01-26T07:31:00.001-08:002018-01-31T06:31:38.014-08:00"Plastic Jesus"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7vHuNdkXsEo/WmtJgAG1CjI/AAAAAAAAB3A/O9VWA9eOjIktMoS5sbHporRfMBK1JSeOQCLcBGAs/s1600/coolhandluke.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="592" height="161" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7vHuNdkXsEo/WmtJgAG1CjI/AAAAAAAAB3A/O9VWA9eOjIktMoS5sbHporRfMBK1JSeOQCLcBGAs/s400/coolhandluke.png" width="400" /></a></div>
After a busy end to 2017, I finally got around to recording a new tune. Well, not only was 2017 busy, the high action on my acoustic guitar finally became unplayable after years of heavy gauge strings pulling on the neck. It's a shame, it had a nice woody, deep tone, which is why I am going to try to convert it to a short scale bass. After nearly a year of researching acoustics, I settled on a Blueridge, which has a great full sound. To test her out I decided to take a stab at "Plastic Jesus", a popular novelty song written in 1957. It is best known as the song Lucas Jackson sings after hearing of his mother's passing in <i>Cool Hand Luke</i>, but it has been covered by everyone from The Flaming Lips to Billy Idol to Widespread Panic. I was probably most inspired by The Wandering Endorphins' expanded acoustic version which is a lot of fun. I thought about adding bass and harmony vocals, but didn't want to overload a 90 second tune.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/392396013&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-81522520867774951752017-07-20T06:28:00.000-07:002017-07-20T06:46:41.397-07:00My First Dobro<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8Y-46jrg1FM/WW5NAZo_uSI/AAAAAAAABy0/NFSy4efeHB4FXsxTGdAwFaGCowF2-SnewCLcBGAs/s1600/brettdobro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1247" data-original-width="1600" height="249" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8Y-46jrg1FM/WW5NAZo_uSI/AAAAAAAABy0/NFSy4efeHB4FXsxTGdAwFaGCowF2-SnewCLcBGAs/s320/brettdobro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">circa 1995 (evidence: pastel couch)</td></tr>
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At the age of 14 I got my first guitar, a cheap Yamaha electric and bad Peavy amp. Typical beginner equipment, easy to return if the kid gives up after a month. Well, 2 months later I had a Les Paul - just happened to see a cheap used one at the guitar store and my music-loving parents could see I was hooked.<br />
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Typically if a kid wants to go acoustic, they get a regular acoustic guitar. I got a Regal Dobro. I loved the sound of Duane Allman dobro's on "Little Martha" and "Please Be With Me" and Dickey Betts on "Pony Boy", so I just had to have one. I didn't have it for long, the cones started buzzing, which happens as seasons change. But I thought it was broken, so I returned it for a Marshall Amp. It would take 20 years before I replaced the dobro, and damn am I glad to have another one.Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-80657239001215514302017-07-17T10:28:00.001-07:002018-01-26T08:10:46.204-08:00Altered Roots Band<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YP4LkBv4ze0/WWzyMBQUGrI/AAAAAAAAByk/WnYYpozzvz8Yqt4DDtYDDfLEakX1nS0kACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3915.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1334" height="179" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YP4LkBv4ze0/WWzyMBQUGrI/AAAAAAAAByk/WnYYpozzvz8Yqt4DDtYDDfLEakX1nS0kACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_3915.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Altered Roots Band at Funky Buddha Lounge</td></tr>
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Last month I joined <a href="https://alteredrootsband.com/" target="_blank">Altered Roots Band</a>, founded by singer/songwriter/guitarist/foot-drummer Kenny Karr. After I finally got settled in south Florida, I decided it was time to stop picking songs on my own - I missed playing music with other musicians. Years of jamming on songs I didn't always know at Rocky Sullivan's Monday Jams back in Brooklyn prepped me for quickly picking up the material, especially Kenny's own excellent originals. The concept is "Americana Re-arranged", which naturally attracted me considering all of the acoustic re-arrangements I've been doing with this project. However, I still get to plug in the PRS pretty often, so it's a really nice mix so far.<br />
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The band is rounded out by the excellent Bob Zimmerman (aka, The Mad Scientist) on bass and Emily Carter belting some fantastic lead and harmony vocals. UPDATE: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZO1gwdQl1U" target="_blank">Check out some highlights from an October show.</a>Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-65125597764838700212017-05-22T15:17:00.002-07:002018-06-21T06:57:57.534-07:00"Mountain Jam"When I first started this acoustic project about 2 years ago, I scribbled down about 20 songs I might want to include. The Allman Brothers' "Mountain Jam" was on there towards the bottom, but I don't think I ever seriously thought I'd put together an acoustic version. But while noodling on Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun", which is prominently featured within the winding movements of "Mountain Jam", I figured why not take a stab at it the whole thing.<br />
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"Mountain Jam" was a showcase for the whole band, a lengthy instrumental that was born from The Allman Brothers and The Grateful Dead jamming together on a riff from Donovan's "There is a Mountain". For anywhere between 10 and 45 minutes "Mountain Jam" weaves through melodies from "Third Stone From the Sun" to "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" to "What I Say". The version on <i>Eat A Peach </i>(33 minutes, originally split across 2 LP sides) gives everyone in the band a few minutes in the spot light: the melodic and funky drumming of Butch and Jaimoe and even a sweet and bouncy Berry Oakley bass solo. But it was different every night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers jam at the Fillmore East</td></tr>
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As the band's line ups changed and their song catalog grew, "Mountain Jam" would pop up in sets less and less. By the time the Allmans reunited briefly in 1979, "Mountain Jam" was played even less (a truncated version closes an epic 1979 Passaic NJ encore), which isn't surprising since long extended jams weren't exactly en vogue. But even when the band reunited again in 1989, "Mountain Jam" was mostly sidelined save for a tease in the middle of "Jessica". It wasn't until the Summer 2000 tour, the first without without guitarist Dickey Betts, that the band dusted it off so they could give Gregg Allman's voice a rest since Dickey's departure made him the sole singer. It remained in the rotation until the band called it quits in 2014, and was typically an epic set piece that could open <i>and </i>close the same show.<br />
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I drew on a few different "Mountain Jam" performances for my version. I needed a framework, so I picked the essential pieces from the band's 2004 In The Studio performance of <i>Eat A Peach</i> as a jumping off point. From there I had to figure out what I <i>could</i> perform and adapt. I wanted to add keys since Gregg Allman's hammond organ is such a presence, but it quickly became too busy. Plus I'm not a good enough keyboard player to justify that much bad piano playing. But I did throw in a few of those keyboard licks on the dobro solo. Same thing happened to the drum section. If I had more time, I might have been able to put together a something more interesting but there is a big gulf between being able to keep a beat and being able to put together a few bars of funky, interesting percussion solo. I initially intended the bass solo to be longer, but as I tried to figure out what to do there I realized I would have just been copying Berry Oakley's licks. So that got cut down considerably. The bass part is actually super simplified. Berry Oakley's bass playing on "Mountain Jam" is relatively busy, moving freely along side Dickey and Duane's guitar themes. I tried playing bass with a little more freedom but it just didn't fit (probably because he was an amazing bass player and I'm not), so I simplified the bass line to something less distracting.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/461400336&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-45381790532754078972017-05-07T08:29:00.002-07:002018-02-18T07:23:38.469-08:00"Rock & Roll"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uHCCqDV9aU0/WQ89CYCZXnI/AAAAAAAABnk/VWqaozS8XdohR0vr-3CxGcggk9e4KullgCLcB/s1600/warhol-velvet-underground-580.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uHCCqDV9aU0/WQ89CYCZXnI/AAAAAAAABnk/VWqaozS8XdohR0vr-3CxGcggk9e4KullgCLcB/s320/warhol-velvet-underground-580.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
There has been more lionizing of Lou Reed than maybe any other musician of the past 40 years, especially in his home town, New York City. Along with fellow experimental musician John Cale, Reed infused pop music with an art house sensibility with The Velvet Underground at a time when The Beatles and Beach Boys were just starting to experiment sonically. Cale was soon dismissed and Reed left the band by 1970, just as their final studio album, <i>Loaded</i>, was being finished. Between Lou Reed's mythic status as the sound of 1970s New York, and Andy Warhol's initial involvement, The Velvet Underground is likely still better known for their art house reputation than their actual music.<br />
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There have been many rock & roll songs <i>about</i> Rock 'n Roll, but Lou Reed's autobiographical tune is probably the best, definitely the most personal love letter to the music:<br />
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"Rock and Roll' is about me. If I hadn't heard rock and roll on the
radio, I would have had no idea there was life on this planet. Which
would have been devastating - to think that everything, everywhere was
like it was where I come from. That would have been profoundly
discouraging. Movies didn't do it for me. TV didn't do it for me. It was
the radio that did it." - Lou Reed</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6cxJ3Xi3cGU/WQ89RhUdcmI/AAAAAAAABno/yP9hYlGtVz87U1dSo_Zg-0tFquR9igdSACLcB/s1600/loaded.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6cxJ3Xi3cGU/WQ89RhUdcmI/AAAAAAAABno/yP9hYlGtVz87U1dSo_Zg-0tFquR9igdSACLcB/s200/loaded.jpeg" width="197" /></a>I can't remember when exactly I heard the song, probably much later in life than I should have, but Lou Reed's deceptively minimal arrangement immediately jumped out at me from a pretty amazing album. After several jammy songs, I wanted to take a crack at it. Even though the song is mostly acoustic, I had to figure how to strip the song down acoustically without removing the attitude. Also, I just don't have a lot of punk in my voice. I tried to sing/speak it like Lou, but it sounded like a bad imitation. So I tried to put a bit of a melody to it, which I didn't love, so I tried masking it with harmony and back up vocals, similar to the "All Right" answer back up vocals on the chorus. I didn't love it, so I shelved it. I came back to it a few months later, with fresh ears, and thought it didn't sound so bad once I ditched the harmony singing, and wasn't going to get any better.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/401477571&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336860297759222285.post-3604552050068980732017-04-13T07:09:00.002-07:002018-02-17T08:19:01.007-08:00"Back Where It All Begins"I like to mix it up as much as possible for this acoustic project and create something different from what I've just done. Last month I finished The Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower", which came together fairly easily, which you would expect from a loose jam song. After noodling on my mandolin for a few days, I decided I wanted to feature it in order to add some variety to the instrumentation. I really hadn't used it as anything more than an additive to date, learning chords and parts as they were needed. The mandolin sounded pretty good as the backbone of the Allman Brothers' "Back Where It All Begins" adapting the song to a rootsier palette that still retained the song's bright essence. But recording it right after "Franklin's Tower" presented its own challenges. The two songs are in some ways related - their basic chord progression is basically the inverse of each other, only "Begins" has a more complicated bridge and instrumental section. It was going to be a fun challenge to separate these two songs from each other. (Coincidentally, the Allman Brothers began playing both songs in the mid-1990s)<br />
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"Back Where It All Begins" was released on 1994's <i>Where It All Begins</i> at the height of the Allman Brothers' Warren Haynes & Allen Woody era. At the age of 13, I just happened to be getting into the band, so with the band peaking, it was a perfect time. "Begins" was one of my first introductions to witnessing the band play. I tuned in to <i>The Late Show with David Letterman</i> expecting to see Gregg belt out their latest hit , "No One to Run With" (as he had done a week prior on Jay Leno's <i>Tonight Show</i>), only to see the cowboy guitar player singing a much sweeter tune. "Begins" is a mishmash of folk and jam music infused with desert drifter iconography, which is exactly what you would expect from Dickey Betts, yet still be blown away by. "Begins" takes you through 10 minutes of high peaks and quiet valleys. The set piece features Warren Haynes' blistering guitar playing that will make guitar players either want to practice their guitar or burn it (to quote a friend).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allman Bros on David Letterman; first time I "saw" them play.</td></tr>
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The song starts out simple enough, an inverse of "Franklin's Tower" circular major progression up from I and back instead of down to it. This is common in many popular songs ("Louie, Louie", "Wild Thing", etc), so it is a testament to Dickey's playing that he is able to make it unique. Superficially, the bridge could be mistaken for "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", which I'm not sure is intentional (Dickey would later change a lyric from "and the stars up in the sky" to "tell her one more goodbye" and I always wondered if it was to distance it from the nursery song or was just a more evocative line).<br />
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The instrumental section seems simple enough at first glace, but the jump into an E>D chord progression keeps a player on their toes. Well, it kept me on my toes, and to further separate the arrangement from my "Franklin's Tower", I decided to do a dobro solo which was even more challenging. The second solo section bring the song back to the A>D>E>D>A and is more traditional and mercifully more forgiving.<br />
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I recorded the tune in its native key of A, but it was too low for my voice, so I moved it to C, which moved the solos to a little more challenging spot on the neck of the guitar. It also meant the harmonies were pushed higher, so they certainly suffered. I won't lie, it got frustrating along the way, but at the very least, it definitely doesn't sound like "Franklin's Tower".<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/401055417&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />Brett Underhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06795447301539647105noreply@blogger.com0