[11/22, 6/24] This demo run at an almost-forgotten original gets shelved for a year and a half. Unearthed in June of 2024, it gets a coat of Nick on drums and fixes galore. The song has lyrics but somehow this ended up as an instrumental version, trading its cynicism for a happy upbeat vibe.

Blue Sky and Dream

[9/30/22] Curt (guitar) and Dave (bass) shake a cool vibe out of the ether. Considerable overdubs and gluing happens in July-Sep 2024. Thirty edits bring this from nine minutes down to a cozy four.

Tangent

[8/17/23] This jam is the start of the third set, just after Pete and Nick took off. Curt (guitar) and Dave (bass) lean hard on the Hologram pedal to create this jellyfish forest of a thing. Overdubs, mixing and glue arrives in September/October of 2024.

Bromide

[12/6/24] Brad is in the house on lead guitar. Dave on bass. Nick on drums and Curt on guitar.

Six Fifteen

[2/2/24] At Jay's request, we trot out this old jammer. Dave takes lead. Curt and Jay hold it down on guitar and bass while Nick drums on it for the first time. Pete plays shaker. We find a few choice bits along the way and manage to land it.

Restitution

[4/25/25] Toward the end of the night, this original tune appears. In piano flavor. Curt: Piano, Dave: Guitar, Rick: Drums. The Gm > Am7 jam part is completely forgotten, in favor of this one-chord drone version.

Doubt

[May-June 2025] We be messin'. Copious sounds are tossed into the audio blender and puréed into this piquant froth. Diddy Kong Racing meets 007 meets Mantovani.

Nova

[5/31/25] First song of the night and Justin's first ever jam! We tune down a whole step for this Neil tune and give it a few go's. This is take 5, the last one. Justin: vocals/guitar. Curt: guitar. Steve: backing vocals.

Hey Hey, My My

[6/20/25] The last song of the jam. Curt and Dave are both on keys. Dave switches to bass halfway through. Rick drums and sings while Brad dishes out some stinging wah guitar. A fine way to end the night.

Possible

[7/11/25] Nick picks this as the last song of the night. Curt on guitar; Nick on drums. After Nick heads home, Curt overdubs keys, guitar and bass while the new kitten tears it up underfoot, being downstairs for the very first time.

[7/18/25] The very first song of the night is this new cover idea, one of a raft of Ween tunes we've been trying out. Really fun to play and sing. Curt: guitar/vocals. Nick:drums.

She Wanted to Leave

[10/21/95] A cover of the Reivers tune. Recorded in the dining room of an Oak Park apartment on a Tascam 238 Syncaset. Split into stems 30 years later and remixed. Cindy: vocals. Curt: vocals/guitar/bass/drums.

Katie

[4/7/98] Killing time at the apartment by pairing a cool guitar riff with a borrowed drum machine. The cheap, battery-powered drum pad thing is doing both drums and bass here against a live guitar and vocal performance. Piano is overdubbed a few days later. A spacey organ is added some 27 years later. Stem split and remixed in August 2025.

Your House Tonight

[12/1989] As lightning flashes outside, Jay (violin) and Curt (guitar) perform a live version of this short song from The Wall. Recorded in the upper "video" room in Frankfort. This is likely the oldest track posted in this collection. There's also a video of this capture somewhere.

Is There Anybody Out There?

[1/25/15] When Steve and Curt get together the Beatles tunes inevitably come out. They try out this one and it's not bad. Overdubbed harmonies help a bit as does the perfect Harrison volume pedal sound.

Yes It Is

[1/8/10] Curt, Jay and Rick plow headlong into the January night of a new decade with this odd little number. A gypsy folktale at the Hop. Jay on bass/backing vocals, Curt on guitar/vocals, Rick on drums. Tasty overdubs (done a few days later) add a lot to the flavor here. Remixed in 2025.

Give It Up

[August 1997] Demo of a new song, incorporating Jay on bass and backing vocals. Amazingly, this is the only mixed recording of this song, despite being played countless times over the years. Inspired by the great 1960 sci-fi film Village of the Damned, although it takes huge liberties with the plot.

That Eerie Glow

[6/5/09] Recorded live at BobDog Studios. 95% of this comes from take 2 but a few bits (mostly vocals) were flown in from take 1 as spackle. Stem split from a rough-mix mp3 file and properly retooled 16 years later. Curt: vocals/guitar. Jay: bass and backing vocals. Rick: drums

Rectangle Days

[December 1997] Having trouble adding a melody and lyrics to this idea, I gave it to a co-worker, Sean Oakley, who delivered the words and this vocal performance, captured in one take. I liked the backing vocals that had acted as placeholder in the chorus and Sean suggested leaving those so both melodies overlap.

Four Years

[9/28/12] Dave's second-ever jam finds us trying out this Wings tune, to some success. We join here just as things start to coalesce. Rick on drums and backing vocals. Dave on guitar. Curt on piano/vocals. Stem split in September 2025 to fully isolate everything (not just instruments but also to remove vocal bleed from the drum mics and vice versa). Then remixed completely.

Call Me Back Again

[11/8/99] A minor ditty quickly written and recorded because why not. Contains a small nod to Bill Hicks. Stemmed and remixed in 2025. My first use of both falsetto and knee slap percussion.

Why Did I Get Up?

[9/11/09] Curt and Rick keeping the Friday night fires burning with this Simon & Garfunkel cover. Rick, on a Musser One Niter vibraphone, quietly susses out the notes that work during the verses until his solo moment arrives. Overdubs of bass and harmonies were added a few days after this capture. Split and remixed in Sep/Oct of 2025.

The Only Living Boy in New York

[2/14/98] A silly little tune that people seemed to like so here it is. Stemmed and remixed over a quarter century later. Obviously an homage to the 70s TV show, and the assumed personal relationship fallout of such a man's radical transformation. I still have the action figure.

Steve

[12/28/06] Steve brings in this song idea, a Jayhawks cover. Steve: vocals. Curt: guitar/bass/vocals. Recorded in the dining room.

Blue

[4/17/09] The boys trot out this early Beatles tune for a spin and it mostly works. No one has the guts to attempt the vocal opening and who knows where that ending came from, but dang, ain't we having fun. Curt: guitar/vocals. Jay: bass/vocals. Rick: drums.

Mister Moonlight

[9/23/11] Susan joins the jam for a couple of songs and her voice lifts us up a level or two. We try out this Fiona Apple tune until it breaks down. Pretty nice though. Susan: vocals. Curt: piano. Jay: bass. Rick: drums.

Shadowboxer

[11/4/11] The boys reach for this early Who tune. Curt: piano/vocals/guitar. Jay: bass/vocals. Rick: drums

I Can't Reach You

[3/3/10] Holy crap. The boys take on a high bar and manage to climb some of the way up. Curt: guitar/vocal. Jay: bass/vocals. Rick:drums. Keys overdubs were done shortly after this recording and that resultant mixed file was stemmed and remixed 15 years later.

I Want You (She's So Heavy)

[9/10/21] A little waltz built up around an improvised capture.

Unraveling in Rhyme

[9/97] Demo of a new tune idea. Recorded on 8-track cassette in the dining/music room of an Oak Park apartment. Features Jay on bass and backing vocals. Stemmed and remixed in October 2025.

Flying From You

[10/30/09] Early Halloween jam stuff here. After a slightly scary first half, this piece finds a hopeful upbeat ending. Curt on guitar. Jay on bass. Rick on drums. Keys added shortly afterward. Remixed in October 2025.

Hallows II

[10/28/25] Instrumental version of an original that often gets forgotten about.

[Fall 1998] Demo-izing a wistful new song. Written during a turbulent time and recorded on 8-track cassette, this features a borrowed cello and some unseasoned scraping of said cello. 

Right There

[1992] Doing some sequencing on the classic Korg M1. Its cheesy orchestral sounds almost have a charm to them 30+ years later.

Girl Under Glass

[12/14/18] A reskinning of this well-trod tune trades violin for guitar and finds a few new corners to explore. Curt holds the shape on piano while Dave slings guitar over top. Graham drums up a lather. You could do worse with your four minutes.

Steam

[12/14/18] The third improv of the night throws off a few sparks before she's through. Music for a leisurely chase through the countryside. With torches. Dave on guitar, Curt on piano and Graham on drums.

Of This World

We're a hobby band that records our weekly jam, hoping to capture unique or inspired moments that happen by. Improvs are later mixed and overdubbed to further extract them from the ether. We also pepper in originals and covers.

Big Handshake

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