“Rough Lightning” is the final track on our low-fi, bootleg, instrumental, improv jam album “Ruckus Amuckus.”

Every time we would get together and rehearse we would record the session.  Early on we ran two room microphones into two channels on a Fostex 4 track cassette recorder.  Later, after the Fostex broke, we would record on a crappy, little boom box cassette recorder strategically placed somewhere in the room.  In the case of this particular track we were using the boom box.  Most of the time the improvisational jams were misses more than hits, but every so often we would catch lightning in a bottle (no pun intended).  “Rough Lightning” is indeed one of those moments where the band was firing on all cylinders, delivering a super charged, scorching hot, mostly instrumental improvisational jam.

The beauty of a performance like this is that it’s so ethereal in nature.  One moment it’s there, and the next it’s gone.  Nothing was preplanned.  We just flipped on the amps and launched into the music flying by the seat of our pants.  The setting outside was chaotic as a vicious lightning storm raged across the Florida Gulf Coast.  After a few riffs into the jam, our bass player, Danny Bertram, walks over to the light switch and turns it off.  Everything you hear on this track was recorded in total darkness, except for the momentary, strobing effects of the lightning.  You can hear the band ebb and flow along with the storm as it oscillated between varying levels of intensity.  We had seamlessly fused to become one with the violent hostility of Mother Nature!

Eventually the lightning became too intense and, for the greater good of protecting our equipment from a dreaded power surge, we brought the jam to an end.  Before, the music stops, you can hear our drummer, Rob Gilmore, say “That’s some pretty rough lightning,” which is how the track got its title.  You can hear me the guitar player, Clay, exclaim “Woooowwww” in dazed astonishment at the spectacle of the storm and the intensity of the jam.  Then Danny walks over to the tape deck saying “Let’s kill it for a few,” and the recording is shut off with decisive finality, bringing the Ruckus Amuckus album to completion.

Clay Urquhart
Clay@TheTribe


Rough Lightning

------  BIO -------
The Foothill Tribe (f/k/a Steel Dog Cafe) is a three piece alternative-psychedelic-progressive rock band (and recording artist) from the tiny ocean-side town of Destin, Florida, USA. The Tribe is: Clay Urquhart (Guitars | Vocals); Rob Gilmore (Drums | Vocals); Daniel Bertram (Bass Guitar).  

A Note On The Photos: The picture beside each uploaded song is the Cover Art for the Album, EP, or Single the song is on. We will update our Profile with our discography soon.   

We really enjoy (and continue) trying  to push the creative envelope with our music, whether it be with our songs or instrumentals. We often incorporate different genres, styles, and sounds into our music. Our desire and goal is to create original music that is interesting, different, and uniquely recognizable as The Foothill Tribe's own sound. Thank for listening and we truly hope you enjoy our material.   

As a three piece power trio we have no separate front man. We tried out several "would-be" front men when we were first forming the band, but ultimately we were not satisfied with any of the proposed lead singers because they just did not fit with the band or our vision for the future. Out of necessity we made the decision to handle vocals ourselves in what would become a "twin lead-singer" approach with Clay (guitars) and Rob (drums) both handling lead vocals, and with Dan (bass guitar), Clay, and/or Rob handling back-up vocals depending on who was singing lead. This twin lead-vocal approach has developed over the years and forms a key ingredient (and some have gone as far as calling it a trademark) of the band's sound.   

Over the course of writing and recording our various Albums, EPs, and Single releases the band's sound has developed significantly. There are a handful of songs along our path that show the growth of our sound and are witness to a change in the band's direction creatively. We hope to have a chance to tell some of the stories about these key songs and what was going on at the time. We try to offer a bit of background on each song, and sometimes even the lyrics are posted, in the song description for anyone who might be interested in a bit more info about a song.  
 
Since joining Sound Cloud, we have made some awesome new friends and met some great bands and artists. We really appreciate all who listen to our music and who have elected to follow us. Our sincerest thanks! We look forward to continuing to share our music, to making more new friends, and to continuing to discover new and inspiring music/artists/bands as we all grow together. THANKS TO ALL for  sharing in our story and for allowing us to share in yours!  Thanks again for listening to The Tribe!

Rough Lightning

foothilltribe