Happy 30th anniversary to our freshly baked soul food CD! Our journey of creating this CD began back in 1994, even before we released two EP’s on cassette.
When the band formed in 1991, we started as a cover band playing improvisational, psychedelic music by bands like the Grateful Dead, Phish, and the Allman Brothers. We performed at many showcases around Los Angeles at iconic venues like the Roxy and Whiskey A Go Go. However, we realized that we weren’t getting a record deal. The problem was that nobody knew what kind of music we were playing. It didn’t fit into any specific genre, and the term “jam band” hadn’t been coined yet. Most of the radio played songs by bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and Sound Garden.
By 1994, we had released two EP’s on cassette tape, featuring some original songs and covers of “Peace Frog” by the Doors and “Shakedown Street” by the Grateful Dead. Since Jerry Garcia was still alive and the Dead was still touring, as was Phish and The Allman Brothers, the only way for us to grow was to write our own music and try to build our own fan base, similar to other bands like Leftover Salmon and Blues Traveller.
In 1994, we were invited to perform at The Strand in Redondo Beach with a band called Sublime and several other bands. We were the opening act, playing just before Sublime. Most of the bands were ska and punk, while we were a swirly, hippy band. The mosh pit wasn’t very crowded, making us the odd ones out.
After the show, Bradley from Sublime approached me and complimented my playing style, comparing it to Jerry Garcia. He handed me a promo copy of their album, 40oz to Freedom, and shared his story of self-producing their albums in people’s living rooms using a tape machine. His inspiration motivated me to pursue a similar path.
Shortly after the show, we finally purchased our own digital 8-track machine. I headed to Beaver’s garage, where he was also performing with a ska band called Out Of Order. There, I began recording the rhythm section. We utilized all eight tracks and started experimenting with the Beatles’ technique of ping-ponging stereo submixes whenever we had access to a second machine. We successfully synchronized a Mac SE to the tape machine to record all the keyboard parts using MIDI. Additionally, we figured out how to sync a PC running Wave for Windows to perform edits and drop in samples. It was a complex process, but our keyboard player, John Pahmer, was an exceptional talent.
However, Pahmer soon got hired away by Terrence Trent D’Arby for a world tour. We had to work around his schedule when he returned to LA. In the meantime, I took the equipment to a lockout studio in San Francisco, where Dave Amato and I primarily handled the guitar work.
The cover artwork was even worse. Our good friend, Gavin Heaney (whose band AWOL was also on the bill of the show), was an amazing artist who had done a lot of our artwork to date. He had given me a painting of his to use as a basis. So, I dropped it into Photoshop 1.0 and started to composite lettering and effects. I had a 20MB hard drive, and the file got so large that it would take almost 20 minutes to open, and then it would crash. Luckily, our percussion player, Sam-O, was running a clothing company and had a powerful Mac that was able to finish the work.
After a year and a half, we finally reached the point of mixing down. We hired a friend named Casey Stone to help us put it all together. He was amazing, and I learned a lot from him about engineering. He would go on to do Superman soundtracks and win numerous awards. He was working on some major bands’ records at Electric Lady Land Studios in Hollywood and told me to come by after hours so we could use some of the high-end gear to finish the work.
It was 1996, and the band had pretty much disbanded by then, but I was determined to get this record done. I can remember driving to Orange County to pick up the first 1,000 CDs from the printers. I was so relieved and excited to give them to Bradley the next time I saw him. A couple of weeks later, I heard of his death on the radio. I was very sad and somewhat angry to see how then the music of Sublime started to gain popularity, and he wouldn’t be around to reap the benefits. Especially since he had just had a son Jakob. I could only imagine all the great music that may have come to fruition.
The band would soon reform in 1997 and release three more studio albums. We played somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 shows from 1993 to 2001, traveling through California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. We probably recorded about 200 of those shows onto cassette tape. I believe there were around 47 members over that time period.
Around 1998, the Homegrown Music Network emerged, and the term “jam band” gained popularity. Jam bands were characterized by their diverse musical styles and extended instrumental and improvisational sections that seamlessly transitioned between songs. While many jam bands paid homage to iconic bands like Grateful Dead, Phish, and Allman Brothers, not all did. We formed a tight-knit community, collaborating on shows and festivals, creating a vibrant and eclectic circuit reminiscent of a gypsy caravan. Some of the bands I fondly remember include Tunji, Electric Blue, Ominous Seapods, Mr. Ectomy, Disco Biscuits, Turtle Grove, Wise Monkey Orchestra, ALO, and That Good Music.
Back then, gas prices were a mere $1.25 per gallon.
