{"id":2190,"date":"2009-08-27T07:08:43","date_gmt":"2009-08-27T15:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=2190"},"modified":"2009-08-27T07:08:43","modified_gmt":"2009-08-27T15:08:43","slug":"rent-party-09-concludes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2009\/08\/27\/rent-party-09-concludes\/","title":{"rendered":"Rent Party ’09 Concludes"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE PLAYERS<\/span><\/p>\n

Keith Carlock<\/p>\n

"You noticed that?"<\/p>\n

Last night, during one of his solos, Keith Carlock changed his grip.<\/p>\n

Most rock drummers work their kit like Fred Flintstone, as if they’re wielding two chicken drumsticks, gripping both overhand.\u00c2\u00a0 But I remember from fifth grade drum class that you’re supposed to hold the left stick underhanded, with two fingers on the outside.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s how Keith holds his left stick.<\/p>\n

Except for this brief moment, where he switched to Rock Band style, and then like Dino Danelli, after playing a few fills, twirled his stick back into place.\u00c2\u00a0 What was going on?\u00c2\u00a0 What was that about?<\/p>\n

That’s what I asked Keith backstage.<\/p>\n

And he told me he learned that trick by playing drumlines, in college.\u00c2\u00a0 In this case, he had another snare drum behind him, in order to reach it, he had to change his grip.<\/p>\n

Keith’s from Mississippi.\u00c2\u00a0 He went to the University of North Texas because of the music program.\u00c2\u00a0 He was in the band.\u00c2\u00a0 Then he ventured to NYC.\u00c2\u00a0 When he’s done with Steely Dan, he goes on the road with James Taylor.<\/p>\n

Michael Leonhart<\/p>\n

Felice struck up a friendship with Michael backstage at Red Rocks, when we saw Steely Dan there back in 2006. Michael’s father was a bass player, who put his kids through private school before they transferred to the High School of Music & Art.\u00c2\u00a0 Michael spent two years at Columbia before he was just too successful musically to continue.\u00c2\u00a0 His sister went on to graduate from the University of Rochester before singing backup for Steely Dan. Michael not only plays trumpet, he arranges too.<\/p>\n

Jim Pugh<\/p>\n

You don’t have to know how to play to recognize excellence.\u00c2\u00a0 I can’t say that I stay up at night thinking of one trombone, never mind seventy six, but Jim Pugh mesmerized and elated me every one of the four evenings.\u00c2\u00a0 His passion, never mind his skill, would draw anybody’s attention.\u00c2\u00a0 And his interplay with Larry Carlton was one of the highlights of the last two nights.\u00c2\u00a0 Jim went to the Eastman School in Rochester, his New York City credits are too long to mention, and now, in addition to touring with Steely Dan, he’s a professor at the University of Illinois.<\/p>\n

Larry Carlton<\/p>\n

Felice asked him if he ever played with her father.
Larry launched into a story about being awoken early in the morning by Hank, being booked for a gig, Felice’s dad saying WAIT ‘TIL YOU HEAR THE BASS PLAYER!\u00c2\u00a0 Abe Laboriel.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/p>\n

In a music business that’s centered on looks, that requires a degree in social networking to compete, Steely Dan’s band is positively old school.\u00c2\u00a0 They didn’t earn their seats with bravura, rather they did it with skill, honed over years.\u00c2\u00a0 Music is a calling.\u00c2\u00a0 Fame is a wish, a desire.\u00c2\u00a0 You can be famous overnight, just go out and shoot someone. But to be a skilled player, you’ve got to put in long, lonely hours honing your craft.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to do it for love, because there may never be any significant remuneration.\u00c2\u00a0 Only the best, with extreme perseverance, are able to make a living playing music.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t confuse pop stars with musicians.\u00c2\u00a0 And, unlike stars, none of the above mentioned musicians had any airs, any reluctance to interact.\u00c2\u00a0 As opposed to exhausted stoners ensconced in their dressing room sipping Jack Daniel’s in debauchery, they were eager to talk, to interact, to give their opinion.\u00c2\u00a0 It was fascinating hearing the viewpoint from the other side of the footlights.\u00c2\u00a0 What they thought worked and what didn’t. And they told me, oftentimes there’s even disagreement amongst the band who played well, which performance was the best.\u00c2\u00a0 A band is a living, breathing thing.\u00c2\u00a0 Made up of human components.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t confuse it with those gyrating bodies singing to track backed by instruments on hard drive.<\/p>\n

DO IT AGAIN<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s the sound of the guitar.<\/p>\n

My machine, my very first, was a hand-me-down ’63 Chevy, with an AM radio in the dash.\u00c2\u00a0 But when the intro to "Do It Again" poured out of the one and only speaker I was transfixed.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the power of music.\u00c2\u00a0 It can instantly adrenalize you, make you feel like you want to live forever.<\/p>\n

RIKKI DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER<\/span><\/p>\n

My mother’s Country Squire did have an FM radio, but there was little reception on the way to Lyndon’s house in Wellfleet.\u00c2\u00a0 That was a summer tradition, in early June, going out to the Cape.\u00c2\u00a0 At this point, I’d just graduated from college, which is one of the most depressing moments in life.\u00c2\u00a0 Talk about a let-down.\u00c2\u00a0 NOW WHAT?<\/p>\n

Some people figure it’s all an endless slog to graduate school.\u00c2\u00a0 When I heard fellow freshmen grubbing grades for their next layer of education, I opted out.\u00c2\u00a0 At some point you’ve got to stop playing the game and be who you are.<\/p>\n

"Rikki" was a surprise.\u00c2\u00a0 Steely Dan’s second album had contained no hits.\u00c2\u00a0 Stacked against the rest of the AM playlist "Rikki Don’t Lose That Number" was like stumbling upon your stoner buddy at a religious convention. "Rikki" is wistful.\u00c2\u00a0 Wistful tracks penetrate, grab hold and never let go.\u00c2\u00a0 Like the Left Banke’s "Pretty Ballerina", which we heard on XM pulling up to park Monday night.<\/p>\n

DOCTOR WU<\/span><\/p>\n

Irving said the crowd in Boston and New York was standing, cheering during this number, unlike their L.A. brethren.\u00c2\u00a0 It was great to hear "Docor Wu", but I’m waiting for the tour with the complete "Katy Lied".\u00c2\u00a0 I want to hear "Bad Sneakers" and "Your Gold Teeth II".\u00c2\u00a0 But, "Black Friday" killed, as per usual.<\/p>\n

KID CHARLEMAGNE<\/span><\/p>\n

This got better every night.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, Larry Carlton brought the whole enterprise up a notch, but what was truly enticing was how it ceased being a performance and truly captured the essence of an era, like experiencing a great movie. The combination of exuberance and danger, mixed with the remorse of aging, of time passing, is a unique brew that intoxicates with repeated listening.<\/p>\n

JOSIE<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the number that kicked it up another notch last night.\u00c2\u00a0 People jumped up and immediately started dancing, and there was an undercurrent of audience vocals.\u00c2\u00a0 We may not be able to recite the Constitution, but thirty year old tracks are imprinted in our DNA.\u00c2\u00a0 "Josie" swings on record.\u00c2\u00a0 But live, it’s a pulsing ooze that squeezes out regular life, that takes over your head and heart, that makes you feel JOYFUL!<\/p>\n

HOME AT LAST<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday night’s rendition was the definitive performance.\u00c2\u00a0 It was Larry Carlton’s defining moment.\u00c2\u00a0 Have you seen Jeff Beck?\u00c2\u00a0 He gets you standing, oohing and ahhing, staring in disbelief as he wrings ever more satisfying notes from his guitar.\u00c2\u00a0 Larry did the same thing.\u00c2\u00a0 After that one performance, I’ve got newfound respect for the song, I luxuriated in hearing it on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

BABYLON SISTERS<\/span>

1<\/span><\/p>\n

Drive west on Sunset<\/span>
To the sea<\/span><\/p>\n

Irving’s right, L.A. audiences suck.\u00c2\u00a0 But there’s a reason we live here.\u00c2\u00a0 Three hours behind New York and D.C. Sure, we care about the country, but this is the homeland of personal development.\u00c2\u00a0 We don’t want to shirk responsibility, but we don’t want to do what we’re told, what’s expected of us.\u00c2\u00a0 We came to L.A. to be free.<\/p>\n

And when you drive west of the 405, as the road twists and turns through Brentwood and then Pacific Palisades towards the beach, you feel an inner exhilaration that’s a combination of every Beach Boys number and "Babylon Sisters".\u00c2\u00a0 You’re calm, but you’re conscious of the possibilities.\u00c2\u00a0 Who your father is, where you went to college, they no longer matter.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, you can dress up in designer clothes, drive a German car, but that’s only skin deep.\u00c2\u00a0 Those people are playing to the media.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas true Angelenos are about independence and choice.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s who you truly are.\u00c2\u00a0 Not your c.v., but your essence.<\/p>\n

So languid and bittersweet, "Babylon Sisters" sounds like what it is, the musings of displaced New Yorkers, who’ve stayed long enough to slow down and ask questions.\u00c2\u00a0 To which, if there are any answers at all, there certainly are not correct ones.<\/p>\n

Are you building your resume for your obit?\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe you connived to get your wedding listed in the "New York Times".\u00c2\u00a0 But the only people who really care about those markers are the people judging you in your head.\u00c2\u00a0 We know this in California.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why we live here.\u00c2\u00a0 We die and our ashes are spread at sea.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re like the wind.<\/p>\n

But it can get lonely.\u00c2\u00a0 And what keeps you warmest is music.\u00c2\u00a0 And sound is important, but we want artists to speak to us.\u00c2\u00a0 We discard the Top Forty inanities, we’re hunting for someone who’s got a viewpoint, who’s got something to say.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why we gravitated to Steely Dan.\u00c2\u00a0 More books are sold per capita west of the Mississippi than east. We’re searching.<\/p>\n

And we want to find our own answers.\u00c2\u00a0 But we’re looking for guidance, for solidarity, for resonance along the way. That’s what Steely Dan provides.<\/p>\n

And now, like Los Angeles itself, Steely Dan is an outpost, not the mainstream.\u00c2\u00a0 And like L.A., Steely Dan doesn’t care.\u00c2\u00a0 It exists in its own world, with enough fans to keep the music alive.<\/p>\n

2<\/span><\/p>\n

This is no one night stand<\/span>
It’s a real occasion"<\/span>
Close your eyes and you’ll be there<\/span>
It’s everything they say<\/span>
The end of a perfect day<\/span><\/p>\n

We didn’t drive west on Sunset to the beach, rather east on the 101 to Universal City.\u00c2\u00a0 Where we spent four nights hanging with our buddies, there to enjoy the music.\u00c2\u00a0 It was like the seventies, but better.\u00c2\u00a0 We were no longer trying to achieve something, no longer reaching to define ourselves, we were now fully developed, we accepted who we were.<\/p>\n

Attendance was not a badge of honor.\u00c2\u00a0 Those who didn’t go, didn’t care.\u00c2\u00a0 But we did.\u00c2\u00a0 We needed to shake it.

You’ve got to shake it baby<\/span>
You’ve got to shake it baby<\/span>
You’ve got to shake it<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE PLAYERS Keith Carlock "You noticed that?" Last night, during one of his solos, Keith Carlock changed his grip. Most rock drummers work their kit like Fred Flintstone, as if they’re wielding two chicken drumsticks, gripping both overhand.\u00c2\u00a0 But I remember from fifth grade drum class that you’re supposed to hold the left stick underhanded, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-shows","category-the-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-zk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2191,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190\/revisions\/2191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}