I’ll never forget the calls I got about Umphrey’s McGee’s performance at The Tabernacle in Atlanta back on February 6th telling me what a special show had taken place and
Wade Ellis Wilby presents Hidden Track Storytellers. This is a creative writing workshop for fiction and nonfiction stories & poetry inspired by music.
My father turned 60 the other day which got me very nostalgic about the many great things he has taught me over the years. One of the greatest lessons I inherited was his vinyl collection. Back in the day, people use to write on album covers like high school year books. So not only do I have an amazing collection of classic rock and jazz, i also have love notes from my mom to my dad etched forever on the covers of so many historical records…Abbey Road being one of them – the album is covered with little pictures of “jan loves lew” – cute right?
Well, sometime after I ruined the family record player by trying to scratch with a Grado needle, and sometime before my friend bequeathed to me his turntables, I was left with only a cassette Walkman. It is at this point my Dad hands me two tapes : Aja and Gold, two monsters from the Steely Dan vault. This is the summer of my junior year in high school – 1997. And I didn’t know that when I pressed play on Aja, I would be entering into a deep part of the counter culture that only so many people were “in” on. The rest of the majority would pass off Steely Dan as “jazz fags”. Not my father, and certainly not me. And I have to tell you…the weed helped.
By now, I was deep into Phish and weed had saved my life two years earlier. I was a hot headed kid who just LOVED violence. The weed helped mellow that side of me out and opened me up to many different cultures and types of music and people. I am SO happy I decided to fire up before taking that first walk with Aja down my suburban street in Enfield, CT. It got me into that slippery, slithery vibe that is “The Dan”. Below is a story full of memories and lessons I associate with the record Aja. I hope you enjoy this trip through my youth and the summer of 97. (Went Rage Tales Not Included)
READ ON for more of this installment of Storytellers…
After spending years upon years toiling away as a band playing countless shows, traveling thousands of miles, recording various studio projects and building an original catalog, to say it’s a hard decision to change directions, re-brand and move on to something new is like saying it’s hard to beat Mike Tyson in Punch Out: an understatement of the highest order.
After nearly five years, the popular Brooklyn jam/jazz/funk/fusion band, Licorice, decided it was time for a change. Three of the original four members, David Lott (guitar, vocals), Matt Epstein (bass) and Josh Bloom (drums, vocals), plan to stay together in the form of The Whitewalls, but with a new direction, a more song-focused trio and perhaps (gasp) less extended jamming.
Despite the mental struggles that come with debating a name change and a new sonic endeavor: giving up the brand recognition; wondering what to do with the recorded catalog; questioning if the fans will follow; and summoning up the energy to build something new from the ground up, David Lott and The Whitewalls have a reinvigorated spirit and they know they did the right thing. Look no further than Lott’s recent months for proof. He’s already released an E.P. with The Whitewalls, recorded his own solo EP, landed a role as the lone guitarist in an Off-Broadway gig and continued to perform relentlessly.
Ryan Dembinsky: So let’s start with some background; I ran into your lovely wife Emily in Saratoga before the Phish shows and she passed along the news that had Licorice split up, or was at least on hold for the time being. It sounds like the intent is that you are planning to focus on writing for a new band called The Whitewalls as well as on your solo material. So, without digging up dirt, what happened?
David Lott: My wife starting seeing Phish regularly, and so, I had to get out of the jamband race – that’s some stiff competition.
All kidding aside, after nearly 5 years, Licorice had accomplished so much, from our Blue Note extravaganzas to playing with jazz legends as regulars at the Telluride Jazz Festival in Colorado to the stages in NYC like Bowery, Brooklyn Bowl, Blender Theater, The Knit, Sullivan Hall, etc. We had come to a point, a sort of fork in the road, where we wanted to attain the production level, artistic intention, and lyrical value of the bands/artists we were also learning from in addition the bands in the jamband world.
It was not “Licorice” anymore once we made that choice. The intent was different, and so, the name, had to change. Licorice may always exist – it’s like my first child, but I want to have a bigger family now.
READ ON for more of Ryan’s chat with David Lott…
All’s been quiet on the God Street Wine front since July’s epic reunion, so we took the opportunity to take a little God Street Wednesdays hiatus in August. Speaking of
1320 Records recording artist Big Gigantic have built quite a name for themselves over the past few years thanks to relentless touring, vivacious live shows and sharing free downloads of
We came across this incredible video of Jerry Garcia doing his best Bob Weir imitation at Hampton in 1987 during Terrapin. We’ve never seen Captain Trips so animated and it
This past Friday night, Marco Benevento and Joey Russo (whoa!) teamed up for their only Duo date of 2010 with an intimate acoustic performance at the Highline Ballroom in NYC.
Katy Perry performing in the plaza for NBC's Today Show on August 27, 2010.
Last year the indie rock group Dirty Projectors released their acclaimed record, Bitte Orca. Coming this September, the LP will be re-released as a double-disc expanded version with rare
The band finished with one more blues tune, a Memphis Slim cover of ‘Mother Earth’ before stepping away as Lauper sent the appreciative audience home with the gentle ‘True Colors’. It was just enough of the popular hits to satisfy her loyal followers and everyone left in awe of Cyndi Lauper, the blues singer.
