Saturday, April 30, 2011

Fall 1993 (About 25 Cavort Before its Over)

9/1/93
Back to barn after 2 week break, still hot. Les new top 40 off network, Duran Duran might be good, might not. Part flyers out, can we please skip the snowstorm Gare pleads. Ran thru half of upstairs archives to little effect, although rediscovered Too Rolllng Stoned. Les takes busted light and old kay acoustic. I'll never see them again.

9/15/93
Back to barn as Oct 8 gig shapes up,hallo props gathering. Milky Way better this time (draws few Snickers), Duran so so. Wa Wa making funny noises, you just cant steal a good wa wa anymore. Les in new Mazda pickup cuz his last new car got dirty. Four Horsemen has Charlie raving, it may be a gigglie tune. If I Fell harmonies still being worked. LEs moribund, even cranky, as is his wont. Les leaves amp in barn, wonder what I can get for it.

9/22/93
20 minute two guys on stools, as Lesl picks up an amp. The Church is sounding better and better however, do they have a boxed set out? Critics say pew.

10/6/93
Haloweenie decos well underway, with mad scientist scene shaping up. Fri night giggie canceled, so much for fall world tour t-shirts. Les plays cigarette-smellng Ovation all night but doesnt sound as bad as it smells. Good versions of From the Beginning, Moody for a Day, plus other acoustic-fest faves. First night for in barn coffee service. Boston next week, then final party tuneup. Shew biz is our lives.

10/20/93
Final Hallow tuneup sounding good, very warm and raining. Mom in law in prematurely, gack. Quick runthru of all faves, flyers continue to pour out in all directions but hp and down. Steve out Sat for professional cobweb installation. Under Milky Way is surprisingly strong new entry, Natures Way not a bad debut. Will it fly 8 years in a row? Stay tuned

10/25/93
Steve vascliniating on his costume between Father O'Hooligan and a Urologist seeking samples, dont mix that up with the bubbly is my only advice. Cheap prize trip with the too early Ma in law yesterday, all stoopid prizes aboard. Been tuning decos for weeks. This better be good

10/30/93
Despite early snow care Hallow 8 goes down, with help from new rocket engine heater. About 25 cavort before its over, with the hors douever girl winning first for not setting her own hair on fire. T. Helton putting 'animatron' in the strobe scene out front. Free house bottle of cheapest bourbon in Nashville goes in about 10 minutes down I know not who, so sneaking shots of Steves crown. Band is unremarkable yet not overly obnoxious. Gary once again cannot say Costume Contest with appearing drunk. Les' Captain and Toenail outfit fails to garner a prize, although Gary still hums Love will Keep Us Together who no ones around. Garys General Pantin costume gets no comments.

11/17/93
Two stools under guys. space shuttle heater runs out of gas. Just like NASA. Gary on cigaratee butt-tar, les on keyboard of the month. Halloweenie pictures up, too cool. Les off to walmart with his customary stack o quarters. Uh huh. Year 8 looks done to me.

Friday, April 29, 2011

1994 (Whoaa, Slim Times Indeed)

Jan 12 1994
Les has furniture and impounded stuff may be disimpounding. Gary and Dot network, gary was never sure what he was typing and never did find the backspace but it was fun. Brief runthru of Union stuff, after which I dusted my truck for prints and notes and left, well pleased with new new 3 dog night book, endorsed by Rita Coolidge, that oracle of 60s rock.

Feb 15 1994
Oh so long delays as Gare wades through ice storms, work trips, hot tub heaven, somebody got to do it. Over to 8189 F Pkway, 37214 for brief unplugged set on balcony, new Yes is thrilling. Gares callouses need work, reduced to hamburger on Butt-ar. Charlie in surgery, why doesnt he get a real job that lets off at 4? Toronto again next week, gad

July 28 1994
Whoaaa, slim times indeed. Johnny did call briefly,lunch with Les as his divorce debacle slowly unwinds. Recoding for SGN in the barn, thats about it. Yes conert Aug 18, Gare will be there but nobody else!

September 20, 1994
Party is ON after Charleston buyathon. Trip to Les apartment, new cat, restring Darryl guitar, brief runthu of greatest of the greatest. Les commuting to Boston every other week, Gare takes 1.4 hours to get to Stewarts Ferry due to traffic mishaps. Johnny called, egad, are we back?

October 2 1994
Johnny and Les return to the barn on first ever Sat night prace with Pam in Boaz, Nathan and Dylan playing in attendance. Nathan up till 10:30 first time ever Johnny new Bonham yellow drums, Les keyboard only, tries to play warped bass off the wall - Halloween shaping up, just heard bad news about Dorothy Downs son. Will it happend? Floor in foyer (Gares house) begun.

October 18, 1994
Les but no Johnny, arrives at 7:45, Pam grabs Nathan at 9 and puts to bed, only bass amp Les has acting up, new Billy Joel, barn deco gong good. Bought bubbly, now we HAVE to have party

October 29, 1994
Final Halloween 9 party goes down, late, small crowd, only 6 bottles of bubbly go. Cops show up, I thought they were costumes! The era appears to be over. As I write this on Dec 9. Nathan has turned 4, Im in the middle of a horrendous new job at Northern. And the barn remodeling is well underway. Finis.

1993 Ends (Rikki Dont Lose that Rickenbakker)

The 1994 Sender Chronicles - Les Moves

Dec 1 1993
Two seagulls, gertude and heathcliff. Gary is on Union trip, first inklings of new Yestunes are heard. Les playing Rikki-dont-lose-that-enbacker. Quadro. opero, thiso and thato are bandied about. Charlie may be running off with a two lesbian band, soon to release their first single 'I want to hold your bleep'.

Dec 8 1993
Final 2 guy session for the year, where 'where has our little charlie gone'? Lift Me Up proves heavier than we'd hoped. Les briefly plays Les Paul, but Paul left his Paul Les at home. Ride Captain Ride actually benefits from drum machine treatment, this tune is an american classic. Ran heater briefly but quite warm. What does 94 hold? Divorce court? Exploding drummer of the week? We gonna see, now aint we.

Dec 30, 1993
Unlikely yet unpleasant moving day trip to belleview, garys happy new year is met with a shasta-gram laced with cianide, if not spam. Humming 'go no place to stay'. Close to the Edge comes into percy placefirst, now if he furniture (Les moves out of Belleview into apt near Percy Priest Lake)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

1995 (Swept Away by the Streams of Time)

1/11/95
Studio BACK in apartment, opening session on White Knight.

1/18/95
Version of White Night done, old Peavey bottoms back to apt, Les talking new reverb, swap for Korg module

2/14/95
Brief brief visit o Donelson apt, greatest hits runthru

4/27/95
And so at last the great ea had come to an end, swept away by the streams of time. Final visit to Les apt as off to Boston he went, meeting no doubt his destiny, his new career, and way too much clam chowder. There would be the inevitable reunion albums and tours, the classic rock radio royalties et al, but all colored by the enveloping hue of nosalgia for what was and what could be no more. For the Sender Age had ended, and a new generation was rising. Thus sticking our fingers down our throats in the traditional senderish parting, we loaf off into the sunset bellowing . borrnnn to be wiilllld

POSTSCRIPT

Les returned to Adairville Kentucky of all places, where several brief 'Sender' sessions were held in the attic of the old mansion like house he briefly lived in whilest commuting to Vanderbilt. It was here that the final Sender original 'White Knight' was finished, little else is remembered from these attic sessions, other than it was a long drive up there from the farm.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Famous Moments in Sender History

Gare
1. Bringing down a light on his guitar
2. Hitting his head on the entrance to the Cavern
3. Finger down throat
4. Not knowing a single word to 'Too Rolling Stoned' on the best song at Classicfest
5. The Amon sul Nazgul rap.

Les
1. Keyboard mania
2. Vision of my Mind
3. Gay Santa picture, inventing the lights
4. Epic gloom
5. Baba intro

Johnny
1. Mispelling the Cinders
2. Walking into the radio station
3. Introduction to rock and roll
4. Beating Les to practice (once)
5. Calling Land we Knew 'Levy'

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Top Ten Greatest Sender Memories

1. Any of Johnny attempts to drum the middle section of When the War Was Ended
2. Gares amp going wooooooooooooooooooooooo
3. Breaking into the Long Hollow clubhouse of the Oconee 'long hollow feeling' gig
4. The motorcycle solo suring 'Born to be Wild' same gig as above, where nobody came IN
5. The english couple from the aiport showing up at a Halloween party in a cab
6. First night stage overrun on the KDF Riverboat
7. Any of Les' recorded DD6 drum rolls
8. The famous Hermitage Landing and Caver youre too loud gig busts
9. The Opera
10. Classicfest, the gig, the radio interview

Annotation

The beginning of Rock and Roll was drumming problematic as well

Monday, April 25, 2011

The Sender Hall of Fame Inductees

1. Chi Chi (Mississippi Queen! she would yell)
2. Thad (mr Sax, who appeared on When the War was Ended and jammed occasionally)
3. Dr Love (Steve Welch, he poured bubbly at most parties)
4. the Vandroid Girls (at one particular Vanderbilt party, a song was written)
5. Barry (a guy who drummed occasionally)
6. Mark (a friend who sang occasionally)
7. Charlie (a guy who drummed occasionally)
8. Mark (a drummer? I dont remember, notes say he drummed 4 weeks)
9. Ben (famous but I forget why, 'Ben' used to be a running joke, who was he?)
10. The guy who did the field picture

Annotation

Chatty Patty? Lindsey, who sang a couple times? Shasta? Ter-ye, who recorded us?

The Most Famous Sender Originals

1. Lorien
2. Deadly Embrace
3. When the War was Ended
4. The Land We Knew
5. Take You By Storm
6. Salisbury Trilogy
7. Alien Nation
8. Look to the Skies
9. There Are Times
10. River of Life

Annotation

The presence of originals means that the Senders were more than just a barn band. The Senders were something that Les and Gare DID for 10 years. There were many many more, this list seems arbitrary.

Sender Combos

1. Sea and Sand/Dirty Jobs/Punk Meets the Godfather
2. 21st Century Schizoid Man/Crimson King
3. Hey Bulldog/I Want You (Shes so Heavy)
4. Yours Is No Disgrace/Roundabout/Starship Trooper
5. Touch Me/Hello I Love You
6. Nowhere Man/Help/If I Fell
7. Thank You/Dazed and Confused
8. Hey You/Comfortably Numb/Wish You Were Here/Momentary Lapse of Reason
9. Who Are You/Baba O Reily
10. Hand with Care/End of the Line

Annotation

Not really sure why this is in the Chronicles, I know for a fact the Senders never played Dazed and Confused. Also, since the Senders never memorized lyrics, most songs were done singly, but its possible we strung some of them together as depicted here.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Most Famous Sender Covers (Party)

1. Green River
2. Brown Eyed Girl
3. Long Cool Woman
4. Your Wildest Dreams
5. A Touch of Grey
6. Sunshine of Your Love
7. Dancing Days
8. Born to be Wild
9. All Right Now
10. Rock and Roll

Annotation:

The party songs were in a separate book, and were basically songs that seemed to work, in other words we could play them passably. Looking at the list now, they were all frequent visitors at parties, but where is 'Back on the Chaingang'? It always went over well.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Salty Dog, Eddie Jelley, and the Westside Six in Detroit

One of my biggest in person guitar heroes was a guy named Eddie, who came to town in Detroit occasionally in the late 70s and played mainly at the West Side Six bar, 6 Mile road and Telegraph with his group Salty Dog. Near the end they were playing mainly originals from their (never released it seems 'Bitten by the Dog' album), but my band Blackstone would go see them, mainly to see Eddie. In fact, my nickname BECAME Eddie. Eddie had his Marshall logo cut off at MARS, which I have recreated because of the great memories. Salty Dog did songs nobody else did, Bohemian Rhapsody, Side 2 of Abbey Road, Liar by Queen, All Good People by Yes (the last two were stunning openers) - they sounded exactly like Led Zepplin - but it was Eddie .. Eddies stare .. he was beyond cool. Today I read he's headed several tribute bands (Journey and Stevie Ray Vaughn), but heres to the Eddie I remember, and was in Livonia Mich in the late 70s!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

About the Chronicles

Gare kept a log of most if not all practices, the odd Sender 'gig', the 14 Sender parties in the barn, the apex of Senderdom (Classicfest 88), as well as songwriting/jam sessions between Les and Gare. Other drummers come and go, and as Les once aptly put it, 'we all had our Yokos'. Make of that what you will....

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Who Were The Senders?

Gary Les and Johnny. The name was an accident, after Les and Gare voted for the 'Cinders' because we were burned out, Johnny mispelled it into the 'Senders'. Gare and Les began jamming in his ancient Inglenook cavernlike basement (there was visible dirt), and soon added Johnny on drums, the only available opening since Gare attempted guitar (beer assisted) and Les played bass and everything else, sporting a soon to be growing collection of keyboards and fretted instruments. Gare soon moved to a mini-farm with a barn, but this is all in the Chronicles .. come with me now .