A New (old) Direction
Sunday, 25 September 2005
Where to start...
There have been many rumors over the course of the last couple of years regarding my status with Knucklehead, the hard-rocking cover band based on the East side of the St. Louis area with whom I play bass and keyboards. Up until recently, they have all been off the mark. They seem to have been based on the scheduling conflicts created by my playing in two bands. So, let me first address how that came to be.
I have been a part of many St. Louis area cover bands over the last 23-or-so years. Most of them have also included Deron Boyd on guitar (and sometimes keys). This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows us. Deron has long been not only my best friend, but also the guy who convinced me to trade my unused cornet for a bass guitar so we could start a band in high school. The rest, as they say...
Around 2000 or 2001, after an extended period of not playing live, I started to get the itch to play out again. I had mentioned this to a few select people in the hopes of soliciting enough interest to make it a reality. Unfortunately, no one else seemed interested at the time. There were many reasons for this, the hassles of bar-band life being chief among them. At a Zebra concert, I ran into guitarist Rusty Churchman, with whom I had played briefly in an ‘80s hair-band tribute. He called me shortly after that and asked me to come and jam with him and a studio drummer he knew (Brian Bayley). With some trepidation, I was convinced to give it a try. That band became Those1Guys, which, in its short lifespan, became wildly popular. During that time, there was some interest expressed by Deron and Steve Hall about putting something together. As I was already in a band, I dismissed the idea outright.
After T1G split up during the Labor Day 2002 weekend, I began to again put out the feelers for another band. After the success of T1G, I was bent on continuing in the trio format. I had always wanted to do this, but was always shot down by those who believed that a trio sound would be too sparse. Even T1G ran into this attitude on several occasions, until we proved that it could indeed be done effectively. However, once again I had trouble finding anyone sufficiently interested in my ideas.
With my day-job at the time being at St. Louis Music, I was always surrounded by musicians. One of them happened to be a new design engineer named Carlos Bedoya. Someone in the R&D department alerted me to the fact that his band BenWahBob was looking for a bass player. We traded emails, hooked up for an audition, and I got the job.
Once again, shortly after I began playing with BWB, Deron and Steve started prodding me about playing with them. This time they held up as bait Steve Wenos on drums. This would make it a reunion of the original Knucklehead from 1994, a band that, as Deron often and accurately stated, “could turn goat-piss into gasoline”...and very often did. While that was a period of personal lows in my life, I had to entertain the idea of reviving a musical high point. After some conversations about it concerning the potential for scheduling conflicts, we worked out a deal that would do its best to avoid that. Of course, it didn’t work out that way. It never does. The conflicts became many and often, frustrating both bands as they competed for scheduling slots. Knucklehead was trying to re-establish a name and a following, and BenWahBob was trying to establish a presence at new venues to replace the ones that were no longer viable. It was bordering on a nightmare.
After a few years of this scheduling madness and trying to find replacement players on both sides, it just became too much. I had been rekindling my desire to pursue some original ideas that had been simmering on the back burner for some time, but couldn’t seem to find the time to adequately develop them as I was seemingly playing all the time. I had known for some time that I would eventually be bowing out of the cover band scene in order to properly pursue the originals, as it just wouldn’t be fair to the others to frequently drop out of cover gigs for my own pursuits. The inability to find any time for development simply accelerated this. I had to make a decision. I was not getting any younger, and I didn’t want this to become one of those things that later in life I would wish I had followed through to completion...or at least tried. As it was Knucklehead that was scheduling what seemed like every available gig - even some that where not available - it seemed like the obvious choice to cut there first. As I have mentioned elsewhere, this was not an easy decision. These guys, besides being outstanding and well-respected musicians, are long-time friends. My departure would affect them, too. I know what a hassle it is to replace someone. I’ve been on both sides of that task. I am also aware of the change in the band’s chemistry when there is a personnel change. I’ve been through that on many occasions as well. I had confidence, though, that they would be inundated with bass players willing to fill the spot. If they wanted to continue, I was certain they would have many opportunities to do so. With that, I informed them that I needed to be replaced at the nearest possible convenience. Of course, they were not happy about this, but I think they were also not surprised by it.
I am still playing with BenWahBob. This, too, has been a source of some contention - perhaps even resentment. One reason is that BWB generally only plays about twice a month. It is a part-time band, and everyone seems to want to keep it that way. In fact, the recent venture into multiple monthly dates has created a bit of stress in the band. Carlos has expressed his desire to get back to the twice-a-month schedule, as he doesn’t have the time or desire to play all the time either. As it happens, we will only be playing about once a month through the rest of this year. Another reason is that I only play bass with BWB, as opposed to also playing keyboards and supplying PA and lights for many of the KH gigs. Much of the writing and developing of the originals is being done in the sequencer of my Roland XP-80 keyboard/workstation. Having it always set up and available makes it much easier to facilitate the writing process. It is similar to the idea of having your instrument sitting out on a stand to make it easier to pick it up and practice, as opposed to having to get it out of a case and set everything up every time. So, for now, I will continue to play with BWB.
I recently played what seemed at the time to be the last gig with Knucklehead (this turned out not to be the case). We played a weekend at Club 501 in Wood River, IL. It was billed as the annual birthday bash of DJs Tommy and T-Bone, who put together a band to play on Saturday night. This is all accounted in the last blog, but I wanted to again address the reception I received from everyone who came out that weekend. I honestly expected to get some ribbing about quitting (and did later in the night). I was therefore somewhat surprised to receive so many well-wishes from so many people. Many of the areas more respected musicians (yes - bass players are musicians, too) made appearances and offered me their support, as did many of the people who became Knucklehead regulars. I cannot begin to tell you how heart-warming that was for me. So, without getting too sappy over it, I will just say, “Thank you” to everyone kind enough to offer support for my venture. I hope you are not disappointed with the fruits it will bear.
I would also like to ask everyone interested to check frequently at the MetalSmith website for updates on the progress of the various projects. I will try to keep this weblog updated as well. You can also send me an email from the website link, and I will gladly include you in any email updates, especially when the projects are finished. Hopefully, that will be very soon.
As to the nature of those projects, I can only really give the general concepts at this time, as they are still in development. The primary focus is on a progressive rock/metal project based around themes from the 120 keyboard sonatas of Padre Antonio Soler, a Spanish monk and composer of the Baroque era. Due to the massive volume of these works, this is something that could continue for quite a long time...and probably will. Running concurrent with this seems to be the development of some ambient digital music, probably inspired by my affinity for the Echoes syndicated radio program I listen to every weeknight on WSIE 88.7FM. The basics for this seem to be writing themselves as I search through my synthesizer for sounds. Another passion of mine since high school has been baroque string music, so naturally there is some of that on the way, too. I’ve thus far composed the foundations for a string quartet, but haven’t yet ornamented the melodies and counter-melodies. It is coming along nicely, though. There is also a funk thing with which I keep toying every now and again. I haven’t really put too much effort into this for a couple of years now, but the basics are still there and it will eventually be explored, too.
The recent break from the constant gigging has proven very fruitful towards those goals. I also have a bit of time off coming up during the day, as I am rolling into a job change. I will be leaving the old job (auto industry - yuck) several days before I start the new one (developing & building pipe organs - how cool is that!), and plan to use that time to its full potential. Since the new job is close to my home, I will also be losing over two hours of drive time each day, which should provide even more creative time. With any luck, and a bunch of hard work on my part, these projects should finish themselves much quicker than they started. Then we can all hear the cacophony of music that flits around inside my head every day.
Until then...be sure to check out the other STL area rock bands such as Ivory Tiger, Jagertyme, Rock Bottom (featuring Steve Hall on vocals!), The Stand, Just Mr., London Calling, and any of the many others who deserve and appreciate your patronage.
~PJS~
Where to start...
There have been many rumors over the course of the last couple of years regarding my status with Knucklehead, the hard-rocking cover band based on the East side of the St. Louis area with whom I play bass and keyboards. Up until recently, they have all been off the mark. They seem to have been based on the scheduling conflicts created by my playing in two bands. So, let me first address how that came to be.
I have been a part of many St. Louis area cover bands over the last 23-or-so years. Most of them have also included Deron Boyd on guitar (and sometimes keys). This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows us. Deron has long been not only my best friend, but also the guy who convinced me to trade my unused cornet for a bass guitar so we could start a band in high school. The rest, as they say...
Around 2000 or 2001, after an extended period of not playing live, I started to get the itch to play out again. I had mentioned this to a few select people in the hopes of soliciting enough interest to make it a reality. Unfortunately, no one else seemed interested at the time. There were many reasons for this, the hassles of bar-band life being chief among them. At a Zebra concert, I ran into guitarist Rusty Churchman, with whom I had played briefly in an ‘80s hair-band tribute. He called me shortly after that and asked me to come and jam with him and a studio drummer he knew (Brian Bayley). With some trepidation, I was convinced to give it a try. That band became Those1Guys, which, in its short lifespan, became wildly popular. During that time, there was some interest expressed by Deron and Steve Hall about putting something together. As I was already in a band, I dismissed the idea outright.
After T1G split up during the Labor Day 2002 weekend, I began to again put out the feelers for another band. After the success of T1G, I was bent on continuing in the trio format. I had always wanted to do this, but was always shot down by those who believed that a trio sound would be too sparse. Even T1G ran into this attitude on several occasions, until we proved that it could indeed be done effectively. However, once again I had trouble finding anyone sufficiently interested in my ideas.
With my day-job at the time being at St. Louis Music, I was always surrounded by musicians. One of them happened to be a new design engineer named Carlos Bedoya. Someone in the R&D department alerted me to the fact that his band BenWahBob was looking for a bass player. We traded emails, hooked up for an audition, and I got the job.
Once again, shortly after I began playing with BWB, Deron and Steve started prodding me about playing with them. This time they held up as bait Steve Wenos on drums. This would make it a reunion of the original Knucklehead from 1994, a band that, as Deron often and accurately stated, “could turn goat-piss into gasoline”...and very often did. While that was a period of personal lows in my life, I had to entertain the idea of reviving a musical high point. After some conversations about it concerning the potential for scheduling conflicts, we worked out a deal that would do its best to avoid that. Of course, it didn’t work out that way. It never does. The conflicts became many and often, frustrating both bands as they competed for scheduling slots. Knucklehead was trying to re-establish a name and a following, and BenWahBob was trying to establish a presence at new venues to replace the ones that were no longer viable. It was bordering on a nightmare.
After a few years of this scheduling madness and trying to find replacement players on both sides, it just became too much. I had been rekindling my desire to pursue some original ideas that had been simmering on the back burner for some time, but couldn’t seem to find the time to adequately develop them as I was seemingly playing all the time. I had known for some time that I would eventually be bowing out of the cover band scene in order to properly pursue the originals, as it just wouldn’t be fair to the others to frequently drop out of cover gigs for my own pursuits. The inability to find any time for development simply accelerated this. I had to make a decision. I was not getting any younger, and I didn’t want this to become one of those things that later in life I would wish I had followed through to completion...or at least tried. As it was Knucklehead that was scheduling what seemed like every available gig - even some that where not available - it seemed like the obvious choice to cut there first. As I have mentioned elsewhere, this was not an easy decision. These guys, besides being outstanding and well-respected musicians, are long-time friends. My departure would affect them, too. I know what a hassle it is to replace someone. I’ve been on both sides of that task. I am also aware of the change in the band’s chemistry when there is a personnel change. I’ve been through that on many occasions as well. I had confidence, though, that they would be inundated with bass players willing to fill the spot. If they wanted to continue, I was certain they would have many opportunities to do so. With that, I informed them that I needed to be replaced at the nearest possible convenience. Of course, they were not happy about this, but I think they were also not surprised by it.
I am still playing with BenWahBob. This, too, has been a source of some contention - perhaps even resentment. One reason is that BWB generally only plays about twice a month. It is a part-time band, and everyone seems to want to keep it that way. In fact, the recent venture into multiple monthly dates has created a bit of stress in the band. Carlos has expressed his desire to get back to the twice-a-month schedule, as he doesn’t have the time or desire to play all the time either. As it happens, we will only be playing about once a month through the rest of this year. Another reason is that I only play bass with BWB, as opposed to also playing keyboards and supplying PA and lights for many of the KH gigs. Much of the writing and developing of the originals is being done in the sequencer of my Roland XP-80 keyboard/workstation. Having it always set up and available makes it much easier to facilitate the writing process. It is similar to the idea of having your instrument sitting out on a stand to make it easier to pick it up and practice, as opposed to having to get it out of a case and set everything up every time. So, for now, I will continue to play with BWB.
I recently played what seemed at the time to be the last gig with Knucklehead (this turned out not to be the case). We played a weekend at Club 501 in Wood River, IL. It was billed as the annual birthday bash of DJs Tommy and T-Bone, who put together a band to play on Saturday night. This is all accounted in the last blog, but I wanted to again address the reception I received from everyone who came out that weekend. I honestly expected to get some ribbing about quitting (and did later in the night). I was therefore somewhat surprised to receive so many well-wishes from so many people. Many of the areas more respected musicians (yes - bass players are musicians, too) made appearances and offered me their support, as did many of the people who became Knucklehead regulars. I cannot begin to tell you how heart-warming that was for me. So, without getting too sappy over it, I will just say, “Thank you” to everyone kind enough to offer support for my venture. I hope you are not disappointed with the fruits it will bear.
I would also like to ask everyone interested to check frequently at the MetalSmith website for updates on the progress of the various projects. I will try to keep this weblog updated as well. You can also send me an email from the website link, and I will gladly include you in any email updates, especially when the projects are finished. Hopefully, that will be very soon.
As to the nature of those projects, I can only really give the general concepts at this time, as they are still in development. The primary focus is on a progressive rock/metal project based around themes from the 120 keyboard sonatas of Padre Antonio Soler, a Spanish monk and composer of the Baroque era. Due to the massive volume of these works, this is something that could continue for quite a long time...and probably will. Running concurrent with this seems to be the development of some ambient digital music, probably inspired by my affinity for the Echoes syndicated radio program I listen to every weeknight on WSIE 88.7FM. The basics for this seem to be writing themselves as I search through my synthesizer for sounds. Another passion of mine since high school has been baroque string music, so naturally there is some of that on the way, too. I’ve thus far composed the foundations for a string quartet, but haven’t yet ornamented the melodies and counter-melodies. It is coming along nicely, though. There is also a funk thing with which I keep toying every now and again. I haven’t really put too much effort into this for a couple of years now, but the basics are still there and it will eventually be explored, too.
The recent break from the constant gigging has proven very fruitful towards those goals. I also have a bit of time off coming up during the day, as I am rolling into a job change. I will be leaving the old job (auto industry - yuck) several days before I start the new one (developing & building pipe organs - how cool is that!), and plan to use that time to its full potential. Since the new job is close to my home, I will also be losing over two hours of drive time each day, which should provide even more creative time. With any luck, and a bunch of hard work on my part, these projects should finish themselves much quicker than they started. Then we can all hear the cacophony of music that flits around inside my head every day.
Until then...be sure to check out the other STL area rock bands such as Ivory Tiger, Jagertyme, Rock Bottom (featuring Steve Hall on vocals!), The Stand, Just Mr., London Calling, and any of the many others who deserve and appreciate your patronage.
~PJS~
posted by Paul J. Smith | 12:01
1 Comments:
I want to take the time to address your statement: "Of course, they were not happy about this, but I think they were also not surprised by it."
Were we surprised? Yes, we were, actually. Apart from the scheduling nightmare, the chemisty and magic that we could create onstage was special, so very remeniscent of the Granny's Rocker days. I always thought that it made it worth it. I'd walk over broken glass to play with the three of you. Everyone in the band, for one reason or another, missed a show at some point, but not me. Not that you couldn't play without me. Jager Tommy or John Ringling could fill my shoes in a heartbeat. But I was fortunate not to suffer any illness to keep me from playing, or run across any scheduling conflicts to have to make that decision, I guess. To use a cliche', wild horses couldn't drag me away from playing with you three.
Were we not happy? I don't think that's quite accurate either. It's not what we wanted to happen, but you're our friend first, bass player second. No one wanted you to be there if you didn't want to be. I suppose it's more we assumed you did, because from our stand point, we were enjoying it so much. We still could turn goat piss into gasoline (that's a line from Blues Brothers, BTW).
Which leads, I suppose, to why we wanted to book so many dates. Steve Hall has long since said this is the best way for him to make more money. It's a great part time job to him, and lots of fun too. We had a perfect vehicle to make some side dough, all while getting paid to drink beer (well, the three of us) and do what we enjoy with the people we enjoy the most.
I got back into it largely because of you three, the money helped, and it was something I could share with my wife at the time, because I met her at the tail end of Knucklehead in '94, and she'd never seen this part of my life, and I'd hoped it was a way for us to bond, for her to be proud of me, and to entertain her. I was in it just as much for her as for myself. After the failure of my marriage, it became a cathartic outlet of spending weekends with my closest friends, and playing with the passion and emotion that I felt deep inside, and almost taking me back to '93, before I'd met her. Without Knucklehead, I would have spent some very lonely weekends seaching for answers (not that I haven't...). I shudder to think what would have happened to me without Knucklehead this past year. Perhaps I never said it, because between the four of us, it typically doesn't need to be said. But, thank you for being there for me, guys.
What it boils down to, between you and I, Paul, is that long ago I realized I had no song in my heart to share, no great message or melody that I was dying to create. I'd much rather spend my time performing for people, putting a smile on their face, and get paid to drink beer and jam my favorite tunes with my three best friends.
You still have that dream, and a song to share. For that, I commend you, and wonder how I lost mine. But then, I don't think I really ever had it. As I've grown older, I've begun to realize I'm more about taking a three chord blues melody, and sharing with everyone my passion, my pain, my ecstasy, and my agony. That's hard to do to a tape deck, and to me, not nearly as rewarding.
So, there we are.
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