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6/12/1931 - 4/1/2003

Dickie's Dream (Part One)

Oh, this was a fun one. The drinking started early, and the fun began immediately. Dickie Little (of the Ziggens) was on hand to help out and make sure that no beer bottle was left unopened.

Jesse Cripps (John Frum) - electric guitar
Gary Fitch (Planet Roy, Running Erin, Skillet Lickers) - electric guitar
D.J. Jones (Planet Roy, the Spurs) - bass guitar
Dickie Little (The Ziggens) - vocals
Dave Rayburn (Buddy, Garage Salesmen) - vocals
Miguel Zuleta (Planet Roy, Shattered Glass) - drums

Songs (in order of appearance):
"I've Got Time" (Rayburn) - A pretty solid run-through of this rocker.
"Good In Black" (Rayburn) - This one is the current favorite of mine. Sounding real good all around.
"Outside" (Rayburn) - At little sloppy around the edges, but I think the energy more than makes up for it!
"Awake" (Rayburn) - Spent quite a lot of time on this one tonight. I blame Friday the 13th. Sweet liqour eases the pain.
"Small Midwestern Town" (Moore/Rayburn) - The same old usual brilliant fanfare.
"Set Me Free" (Rayburn) - Still working on the new vocal build-up ending, but it's coming together a lot better than expected.
"Broken" (Rayburn) - There's just no getting away from that damn surf lick, is there? Kidding. There was some great sudio chatter during this one including Miguel screaming, "I don't know what's going on!!!" God bless you, my percussive friend.
"It's Your Turn Anyway" (Gomez/Rayburn) - This one is practically on auto pilot.
"Wonder" (Rayburn) - Still trying to find the right groove for this one, although it does seem to be slowing down a little more each time we play it.
"Why Won't You Fall?" (Rayburn) - A very fragile song, and one that owes a lot to the tasteful drumming of one Miguel Zuleta.
"In Peace (Dogstar)" (Rayburn) - If Neil Young could have waited about thirty years or so, we'd be impressing a lot of people with this arrangement. Still, this one is all ours. Just ask any of us.
"Phases And Changes" (Rayburn) - The last of the "album" songs was almost a no-brainer. Everyone did a fine job, and I think we have this one in the bag.
"Every Dog Must Have His Day" (Jones) - Miguel got his chance to shine, and thanks to his favorite domestic beer... he faced his demons and won. Request this one next time you're at a Planet Roy gig!
"Dickie's Dream" (Little/Jones/Fitch/Cripps) - Rehearsal seemed over, and then Dickie took to the mic with a million dollar smile on his face. What followed was one heck of an interesting 20-something minute improvisational music-drama-comedy showcase that will never see the light of day as long as any of us are considering a government office. I had a good time, though. Thanks, Dickie!

As the evening came to a close and the time to sober up was upon us, Gary noticed something on top of Miguel's drums. It was Miguel. Poor buddy. He had a long week, and many a beer... and simply passed out on his kit. After taking several posed pictures with him, we carefully helped him inside his house for a good night's rest filled with dreams of Norm's pancakes.

Two Losses In The Jazz World

Sad news arrived this morning in two waves.

Veteran jazz/R&B voice Lou Rawls died this morning at the age of 72. I first heard a couple weeks ago that he was fighting brain and lung cancer, and that he was in increasingly failing condition. Although my music isn't very much influenced by jazz at all, I do listen to a lot of it in my leisure time. In fact, there's one album in particular (Lou Rawls Live!, 1966) that gets played every once in a while. During the concert performance he declares that "the eagle flies on Friday". Well, it's Friday and it just doesn't feel right. Thank you for all the great music (and hip acting).

Upon researching this fresh news at the web site of my favorite jazz station, the other shoe dropped.

I came across a news posting that stated that Sunday, January 8th was to be declared Sam Fields day. At first I thought this was kind of a special honor for one of my favorite jazz dj's. Then it hit me... the line that mentioned his very recent passing at the age of 55. Granted, Chuck Niles was the classic spirit of 88.1 FM in the Long Beach area for such a long time, Sam had been another of my favorites with his mild, relaxing delivery of the players and recording facts. His knowledge and love for jazz music was only matched by Chuck. I have to say that one of my favorite soft spots in the world of music is listening to a late night jazz deejay in the late night and wee hours of the morning. Your senses are tuned in to nothing else but the music and the voice that presents it. His voice will be missed dearly.

If any of you are jazz fans (regardless where you live), I highly recommend you tune in and listen to James Janisse from midnight to 6am weekday mornings (West Coast time). If I was to pick the greatest jazz man on the air today, it's him. Check him out and enjoy some true American heritage while you can still find it.

A Domino Finds His Match

I would like to extend my best wishes to my dear friends Bobby Whitlock (of Derek & the Dominos fame) and Kim Carmel... who tied the knot this Christmas Eve! Congratulations you two. You are truly two wonderful people who I am glad to know. I can't wait to hear your brand new music... hopefully it will see a release this year. Stay in touch.

Keys, Please...

In a casual meeting at Casa de Fitch, a couple members of the DRP got together to hang out and throw a few ideas around. Gary sat behind the electric keyboard and starting banging out a few of the tunes we were working on. I picked up an acoustic and sang along... to find that piano arrangements might just be the way to go on a couple songs.

Gary Fitch (Planet Roy, Running Erin, Skillet Lickers) - keyboard, vocals
Dave Rayburn (Buddy, Garage Salesmen) - acoustic guitar, vocals

Songs (in no particular order):
"Awake" (Rayburn) - There's something a little more somber about this one on piano. I like it!
"Broken" (Rayburn) - I've had a hard time settling with the current arrangement of this song, so to hear it with a piano accompanyment greatly helped accent the progression that I wrote it around.
"Wonder" (Rayburn) - Not bad, though I'm still partial to the `coustic.
"Phases And Changes" (Rayburn) - This one could work in any direction we take it (in my opinion). Not sure where it will go from here, but I'm glad we tried it.

I certainly appreciated the opportunity to work on some songs outisde the controlled environment of the rehearsal studio. No piano there. Ideas are always welcome. Now it's just a matter of implementing them.