A set from Arrivederci Wine Bar in Milwaukie Oregon.

RatPack

This is Bevan, Stew and Chris, better known as Bedspins, on three microphones (vocal and two room mics) recorded to CASSETTE because that was the best thing I could come up with at the time.  I transferred it very carefully some years later to DAT and then into the hard drive and have been enjoying it ever since.

04 Mother - Final

The old house on NE 2nd Ave in Portland was across the river from downtown.  It perched just above the low rising bluffs, far enough back that there wasn’t any view worth money.  The paint had started dark and faded and peeled until only musicians would rent it for the Portland winters.

I sat in Chris’s bedroom with a little mixing console, a couple of beers and a pretty good tape deck.  Still in their wrappers alongside the deck sat new “metal” formulation tapes from SuperDuper Recording, our go-to resource for every stupid question and ridiculous need in those pre-internet days.

Below me in the basement , Chris, Stu and Bevan were lamenting the departure of their douchebag guitar player (who didn’t improve a goddamned thing but did bring powders and other notions with him everywhere).  Paul had made a dramatic leaping entrance to the low-ceilinged practice space and caught an air handling duct with his forehead.  He drove himself to the hospital to get stitches, a 4” flap of skin hanging rakishly over his ear.  I suggested we just play through some stuff.

“Mother” was a song that Chris had played for me a couple days earlier.  The big line in the song called out to the death of his mother from emphysema when he was very young.  “Sitting in your lap, your lungs collapse.  Until this day, it’s held me back.”

I still get teary-eyed every time I hear this song.  The surreal, counterpoint, floaty guitar work from Stu and the rock solid drumming from Bevan just make it perfect.  I didn’t miss Paul at all.

As a technical note, I recorded this with a kick mic, snare and single overhead on the drums.  A guitar mic over by Stu catches a little of his banter.  The bass is direct, via a Behringer DI and my one good vocal mic (probably a 58) was on Chris.

Straight to cassette.

Intro To Mother

These tracks were recorded at BlueDog Recording in Portland Oregon.  

Bruce's Yard Mix

Tom Hood recorded these tracks -- Sarah and Clint singing, Bil on bass, Eric on drums and Keld with lead guitar.  I still think this is our best work.


Ampeg

Tom Hood recorded these tracks -- Sarah and Clint singing, Bil on bass, Eric on drums and Keld with lead guitar.

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