Are You Dave?

And now for a complete change of pace: The Gordys!

I LOVE doing these shows. The rehearsals leading up to them can be murder (and I apologize to the whole band for losing my cool more than once), but the shows themselves are always magical. Barbara recalls: “We had the best weather ever, Pier C park wasn’t a construction site, and the sound guys were awesome.”

This year’s line-up included Rob Harari, Joe Harari, Pamela Strell, Howard Olah-Reiken, Donna Coney Island, Barbara Arnett, and Justin Michael, with guest star Dave Plotka making a special appearance. The Gordys: The Next Generation also joined us, as Genevieve Harari sang a Plain White T’s song with Coby Strell on piano, and some of the other kids singing backups.

This year’s biggest challenge: “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” We pulled it off!

Local mom Susan Chait designed this year’s t-shirt and it looks fabulous.

The full set list:
Girlfriend - We opened with Matthew Sweet’s 3-chord rocker, and I dedicated it to Geri Fallo.
Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Howard rocked this one.
Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Still can’t believe we nailed it.
No One Is To Blame - A gorgeous ballad from the 80s, sung by Pamela.
Shipping Off To Boston - Barbara led this scorching instrumental form the Dropkick Murphys.
Something So Strong - I led this folk-rock classic from Crowded House.
Nowhere Man - Howie led us in this song’s thick, rich harmonies.
The Only Living Boy in New York - Barbara didn’t know when she picked this song that it’s one of my favorites from Simon and Garfunkel.
Down on the Corner - A classic jam tune, hard to believe we’ve never done it before!
Walk Like an Egyptian - More 80s grrrl power!
Ziggy Stardust - I didn’t nail all the lyrics but we had a lot of fun blasting this one out.
Here Comes Your Man - I busted out my electric 12-string for this alt-pop gem.
Wanderlust King - Joe led us on this wild journey a la Golgol Bordello.
Rat Race - Anti-establishment ska (is there any other kind?) with Rob on lead vocals.
Isn’t She Lovely - Rob again, singing a stripped-down Stevie Wonder classic.
I Wish - More Stevie Wonder, a workout for bass hero Justin.
1, 2, 3, 4 - Genna led this gorgeous little Plain White T’s ditty.
Shadows In The Rain - Justin’s other selection, a rocked-up Sting classic featuring Pamela.
Just Won’t Burn - Pamela ripped this Susan Tedeschi blues number to shreds.
Plus, we did a quick version of our ever-popular Klezmer set, let by Barbara and her rockin’ accordion.

After the show we had drinks and food at Hudson Tavern, where we proclaimed Donna an official member of the Gordys. I’m already hearing tunes that I want to try next summer….

It’s summer in Hoboken, and that can only mean one thing: The Gordys are on the loose! That’s right, the Mile-Square City’s hottest Klezmer outfit did its thing again this year at Sinatra Park, and as always, it was a blast. It was a gorgeous night, featuring a lovely moonrise over our Manhattan backdrop. Big thanks to Geri Fallo, Tom Sweeney and sound-guy Chris “Gibby” Gibson.”

This year’s Gordy line-up featured:
Dave Lambert, guitars, mandolin, vocals, percussion and harmonica
Howard Olah-Reiken, guitars and vocals
Pamela Strell, vocals and percussion
Adam Laden, guitars, mandolin, vocals and woodwinds
Barbara Arnett, accordion
Rob Harari, keyboards, vocals and percussion
Joe Harari, drums, vocals
Justin Michael, bass guitar
And two special guests:
Donna Coney Island, vocals
Gordy Haas, vocals and guitar

That’s right, Gordy himself, after whom the band was named, made his stage debut with us tonight! He rocked that Bon Jovi country tune, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?” And the hilarious and talented (and patient) Donna Coney Island stepped in on several tunes, notably “Time Warp” and “We Got The Beat.”

Also, the night featured some VERY special guests, as the Gordys: The Next Generation took the stage. Rob, Howard, Adam and Barbara’s kids all came up to sing that inescapable Train song, “Hey Soul Sister,” and they did a heck of a job.

We even got asked to do an encore! Stunned, we stumbled our way through “Angel from Montgomery” to the delight of the synagogue crowd. Then we went to the bar at 10th and Willow for afters, already planning the set list for next year’s show.

The photos on this page are by Joe Epstein. Bill Benzon also took some great shots of the night, you can see them here.

-- Weather When Posted --

• Temperature: 81°F;
• Humidity: 54%;
• Heat Index: 82°F;
• Wind Chill: 81°F;
• Pressure: 30 in.;

Justin writes: Tracking in the studio, overdubbing the bass parts, was made a lot easier working with Dan one-on-one.  We could discuss what I was playing and why certain parts sounded good and why others sounded better.  Day one I was pretty nervous, but by Day Four, I was comfortable saying “I’m not sure what I want to play in the bridge of the song, but I wanted it to be different than what I had been playing live.”

I feel like Dan made my playing better, and he offered suggestions that helped me tighten my parts and improve my technique while still playing with my own style.

I’m always honored to work with the rest of The Fuzzy Lemons and I’m really enjoying being in the studio.  Too bad this is the last day (in the studio) for me. For now.

~ Justin

Finally, with the sun out and the puddles drying up at the Fall Arts and Music Festival, The Fuzzy Lemons took the stage.

Scott Altizio had spent the entire day tweaking the P.A., and so by the time we were up things were just about perfect. My memory of the set is that we were sitting in a great monitor mix——I could hear myself and my bandmates, which makes for a happy performance. The audience was rockin’ and Nancy was selling our new CDs back by the sound booth (she sold 37). It was pretty much the opposite of the Tenafly show two weeks previously. All was right with the world.

Reading through the Lemons’ post show e-mails reminds me of some details I forgot. The big one is: we played at about 90 m.p.h.! We played FAST. Our adrenaline was up, or something.

Also, Kipley broke a string and somehow it was blamed on me, for “jinxing” him.

This is a pretty threadbare post, I realize. The event was a month ago and I’ve said all there is to say about the day, the weather, and the other performers. I’ll let some more photos tell the story (courtesy of Brandon’s dad).

I’m going to bed.
Dave

Oh man, I just had the COOLEST day!

As a Music Together teacher headquartered near a major metropolitan area, I’ve met some varied and interesting people over the years. Not like my friend Erin Lee, who’s met Hugh Jackman and Al Pacino, but still, being out in the world like that can lead to unexpected results. And of course, there’s always that dream of being “discovered.”

It didn’t happen exactly that way, but…  

One of Music Together’s newest rising stars is Paul Godwin, a Center Director from San Francisco who leads a fun-lovin’ band of kiddie rockers called The Sippy Cups. I’m not sure why (and who cares?), but Paul got it into his head that when his band hit South Street Seaport in NYC, they should invite some Music Together folks to open the show with some rousing sing-along tunes. 

My boss Lisa, bless her heart, knows how much I love any chance to jump on stage, so she forwarded Paul’s invitation to me back in May. Showing my usual remarkable restraint, I called Paul (well, he was foolish enough to put his number on the invitation) and pretty much booked myself a slot, right then and there. He was very agreeable and friendly, even though I’m pretty sure I woke him up–big time difference to San Francisco, oops! 

Anyway, I’ll fast-forward through the e-mail barrage of the next two months and get right to today’s show. The deal was: The Sippy Cups played two sets, one at noon and one at three, and local Music Together franchises were invited to lead the crowd in some sing-alongs to open each set. I got the three o’clock set because I had to teach in the morning; Lisa was going to participate in the noon set but had to back out at the last minute because she’s got swollen vocal chords, which is pretty crappy for someone who sings for a living. Send good thoughts her way!

The moment my class ended at 12:30, I packed up as fast as I could, with the help of the redoubtable Justin. I’d asked him along to help me sell Fuzzy Lemons CDs at the gig (another cool thing about Paul and the Sippy Cups: They were totally o.k. with us bringing our own merchandise). Justin came equipped with a subway map, thank goodness, and a backpack full of cables and tuners and such because that’s the kind of guy he is. I was carrying a guitar, banjo, my own bag of cables and tuners, and our case full of CDs. It was quite a load and I was grateful to Justin for his help.

I was sharing the stage with two other area teachers, Toby Williams and Ilusha Tsinadze.  After stumbling around South Street Seaport for a bit, Justin and I found Toby and her boss, Theresa, lounging outside the venue between shows, about a half-hour before soundcheck. (We’d e-mailed back and forth to pick our songs, but never met face-to-face to rehearse anything, so I was mildly surprised to suddenly be reminded that Toby is a girl and Ilusha is a guy.)  We puttered around there, making goo-goo faces at Toby’s adorable 9-month-old and swapping gig stories. Toby knows some of the same East Village cabaret types that I do. (More on that in another entry someday. Maybe.) 

At about 2:15 we moseyed into the SpiegelTent on Pier 17, normally home to much more risqué, after-hours burlesque-circus acts. It’s a cool room built like an old circus tent, with a trapeze hanging from the ceiling and a solid wooden floor that right away sounded to me like it would be perfect for foot-stomping. A helpful young fellow calling himself Check, with an accent, full beard, and dreds, ran a quick and efficient soundcheck for us (I was the one with the most equipment, a guitar AND a banjo).

The Sippy Cups started arriving from their lunch break while we were setting up, and introductions went around. Paul heard me warming up my banjo and said “wow, banjo man!” A moment later Sippy Alison came in and said “Hey, banjo man!” So Banjo Man I was.

Now, I’ll be totally honest here, I’d been fantasizing since May that they’d ask me up on stage with them. It’s a big part of the reason I brought my banjo and not just my guitar. I didn’t think it would happen, and I certainly didn’t feel entitled or anything… So my heart leapt when Paul said to his bandmates “Hey, is there a song we can use the banjo in?”

I held my breath. They batted a couple of song ideas around, and it didn’t seem like there was anything suitable. Oh well. Then Paul and Alison said “Elephant!” It’s an old Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd song, three chords, key of C, perfect. Paul took me quickly through the changes and that was that, I was invited to play banjo with them during their set. 

Awesome.

If you’re thinking “wow, Dave, you really turned into a star-struck fanboy in a hurry!” you’d be absolutely right. If you’re thinking “Wow, you’re such an egomaniac that you just assumed the band would love you and want you to join them,” you’d be right about that, too.  At about that time I realized that I REALLY wished I had a camera. Justin was loitering, having nothing to do now that he’d deposited the Lemons CDs with the merchandise people. I begged him to go find a camera. He said he wasn’t sure where to find one. “This is South Street Seaport,” I reminded him. “There’s got to be a shop with cheap disposables somewhere!” There was, and he was back in moments ready to capture my moment of glory. 

Three o’clock came pretty quickly, and I was the first one up for the Music Together portion. I led off with “The Hello Song,” naturally. At least half the room had taken Music Together (and there were several more Music Together teachers in the crowd, as well, including Susan Darrow all the way from Montclair, NJ) so it didn’t take long to get them all singing along. Then I switched to the banjo for my world-famous “Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain/Workin’ on the Railroad” medley. I’d been right, the wood floor sounded great with everyone stomping their feet.

Toby was next, and after she accompanied herself on a fun version of “Kookaburra,” I got up and played slide guitar for her as she sang “City Blues.” That was a lot of fun, Toby is a Movement Person and so we did lots of motions—not easy when one is playing slide guitar, but a lot of fun to try. At one point she brought us down, down, down, until I was on my back on the floor. Very silly.

Ilusha got up and did the ever-popular “I Had a Little Frog” chant, followed by his own slide (dobro, actually) version of “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In.” He’s a fantastic musician, and very friendly. I’m sorry we didn’t get to rehearse anything in advance of the show, I think we could have put together a scorcher of a set. Maybe next time. Because, as fun as it was leading my sing-along set, I always have more fun jamming with others. 

The Music Together segment ended with the beautiful lullaby “May All Children,” with Toby and I retaking the stage with Ilusha, and even Sippy Paul got up to join us. It was a lovely moment.

Then… the Sippy Cups took the stage, and they hit the ground running! Their show has juggling, costumes, confetti cannons, trapeze artists, enormous balloons bouncing in the audience… oh, and the music is fantastic too. Justin and I watched carefully, enjoying the show but also absorbing and assimilating the things that we might steal adopt for The Fuzzy Lemons.

I was on after the trapeze artist, who preformed her routine while the band played the Rolling Stones’ “She’s a Rainbow” (and played it very well). I grabbed my banjo and waited backstage.

Paul introduced me as “Dave Williams,” mashing me and Toby together into one person, but he name-checked the Fuzzy Lemons so I didn’t mind so much. Then he put on an elephant mask and went out in the audience to sing “Elephant” while I followed the band. It’s a pretty straightforward song, and they gave me big cues for the stops and tempo changes, and frankly I think I nailed it. I even gave myself permission to experiment a little, roaming up the neck and throwing in some harmonics. Oh I wish I had a video of it. Justin got pics with the disposable, but it’s anyone’s guess how those will come out (because of the camera, not because of Justin).

 

It was over too quickly.

Not long after, they closed with “Goodbye, So Long, Farewell” and invited us all back up to join them. Ilusha had left, and Toby was outside with her 9-month-old, so there I was on stage with the Sippy Cups again. After the goodbye song the band launched into their Ramones cover, “I Wanna be Elated.” I was still up there, so I let my hair down and joined in the fun (which lead to the only bad moment of the day–I left my cowboy hat on stage and forgot to pick it up again afterwards). Paul leaned over to me and shared the mic, and we “bah bah bah-bah’d” happily together. Paul’s my hero.

After the set, everyone lingered outside for some meet-n-greet. I hung out at the merchandise table for a bit, trying to help move Fuzzy Lemons CDs before going outside to chat with the band and the fans. I posed for some pictures with Paul and even signed a couple of autographs. To the people who asked me to autograph their Fuzzy Lemons CDs: Hold on to those, they’ll be worth big bucks someday. To the people who asked me to autograph Sippy Cups merchandise: I’m sorry, I’m not really with the band and I kinda feel bad about signing. But not THAT bad.

 

Then Justin and I went home. I owe him a dinner. I could have gotten there and done what I did alone, but it was just better having a friend along.

I hope that a budding relationship with the Sippy Cups turns into some real connections, maybe some gig-swaps or opening-act arrangements. I think those long-term benefits will outweigh the fact that I only sold four Fuzzy Lemons CDs today. Watch this space!

Dave

Here’s how I spent my week: 

• Sunday evening: Gordys rehearsal at HEFC. Justin is playing bass with the Gordys this year.
• Monday evening: Church rehearsal—Justin and I lead the worship music a couple of times a month, and tonight is rehearsal for this coming Sunday.
• Tuesday evening: Gordys rehearsal, the last one before the show.
• Wednesday evening: Fuzzy Lemons rehearsal. As you know, Justin plays bass for the Fuzzy Lemons.
• Thursday evening: The Gordys perform at Sinatra Park. See the Gig Diary for details.
• Friday afternoon: Justin comes over to record bass parts for the Fuzzy Lemons’ upcoming CD. For the first time in a week, I don’t say “see you tomorrow” when Justin leaves.

He’s a good friend, fortunately.

With the rousing success of our first show at the Elks Club (hey, no one died, no one got sued) we decided to roll forward.  But first some questions had to be answered. Mainly, who was going to play what? With the exception of the redoubtable Justin, the rest of us (Dave, Dana, Kipley and Maiken) play multiple instruments. It’s fun to switch things around, to keep the sound different and show off a little by changing instruments, but the problem we faced boiled down to the fact that we had no drummer. Maiken offered to play drums, but that would take her off of keyboards. Kipley could play keyboards, but that would put all of the rhythm guitar chores in Dana’s hands. In one swoop we’d loose all of that musical flexibility. 

So we tackled it the same way we tackled the bass player issue: We brought someone in, raising our roster to 6. It didn’t take long to find our drummer; we posted a note on the Hoboken Moms e-mail list, hoping to find a local parent with a drum kit in the basement who was itching to play. Instead we got Kimberly Perry, who was already known to both Justin and myself — we both did a mental forehead-slap “duh, of COURSE!” when her name came up. We’d been hoping to talk her into playing with the church worship team for ages. So it was a huge boost when she replied that she’d be interested in checking out The Fuzzy Lemons.

Kimberly is a teacher at a local school in addition to being a drum teacher and semi-pro (she had played with local band Eugene for a while). She works with kids and is a great fit for the whole Lemon vibe. She sat in on a rehearsal in late February, and by the third song she’d jumped up on stage to play along. I don’t think any of us ever questioned it, she just joined right in. Like Justin, she only had a few weeks to learn the material but she caught up quickly (fighting illness the whole time, bless her heart), adding a whole new layer to the music. There’s nothing like hearing the little songs you’ve written suddenly come to life with bass, drums and electric guitar!

As all of this was going on, we were working on booking our second-ever gig. I hit on the happy idea of taking over the back room at The Goldhawk, around the corner from my apartment. I knew the owner, Fran, and I’d done kids’ parties there before (well, one, and that was for Fran’s nephew, but still). So Dana and I hit the bar after rehearsal one night, bought some beers, and bounced the idea off of him. He was into it, so with a pledge of $60 to the sound guy, the place was ours from 4 to 6 on Sunday March 16. 

We advertised like mad, flyers and e-mails all over town (and I think Kipley had put up our web site by that point as well). We didn’t sell tickets or anything; the idea was to pass the tip jar and see what happened. Well, the combination of beer for the grown-ups and a free concert for the kids proved to be irresistible–folks lined up around the block. The capacity of the Goldhawk’s back room is around 75, but by all estimates we doubled that. People who arrived after the 4:00 start time peeked in the window, saw the crowd, and turned around and left again. I felt bad about that, but it also felt really good to draw such a crowd! 

A negative voice in the back of my head told me that people only came to see us because it was something new, and that the excitement would fade quickly. But I’ve gotten a lot better at shushing the negative voices in my head (they’re pretty common) and have since embraced the radical idea that people come to see us because they like us. 

I think we learned a lot that day, both about playing together as a band and about how to book a small club! I don’t have the set list from that day but I imagine it was pretty similar to the Cabin Fever set. We added some covers, songs like “No Rain” and Todd Rundgren’s classic “Bang on the Drum All Day,” that gave the grown-ups something to enjoy. I think we sounded great and the energy was spilling out of that little room. I’m sure it was all a sloppy mess, but I don’t think any recordings exist of the event so you’ll never know, nyah.

Kipley’s post-gig e-mail to the band speaks volumes:

Did that really happen? Did we just pack the Goldhawk and play a great show?! It’s all a blur. I remember little bits and flashes… smiling faces in the audience, [Justin's wife] clapping and hollering, [Dave's family] bouncing to the beat, Dave [Entwistle] grinning back at me, Dana’s profile… not so much of you guys on the stage, though. I couldn’t turn around without bumping my microphone stand.

Well… Great job, everyone! Soon we’ll all have those little ear monitors so we can really hear ourselves and enjoy the full effect.

Seriously… DAMN!!! Am I the only one who wants to do this every weekend now? How soon can we give in and become full-time Lemons?

Soon, Kipley. Soon.

At the end of the day we’d collected something like $250 in the tip jar, and sold a lot of beer for Fran, which made him happy enough to let us come back..twice! (More on those gigs later). We used that money to pay, and tip handsomely, Fran’s sound guy, Dave Entwistle. A lot, and I mean a whole heck of a lot, of the credit for our sound goes to Dave. He was cheerful, speedy and professional, working away at the sound board with a big cheery smile on his face. It made us all happy to see him grinning and dancing back there. We liked him so much that we booked him on the spot to help us with our next show, a road trip into Manhattan. More on that in an upcoming Gig Diary entry.

Dave

My first gig of 2008 was at the Hoboken Family Alliance’s Cabin Fever event at the Elks Club. I’ve played there the last three (?) years as part of the Music Together ensemble, alongside my fellow teachers (including Lisa, Marina, Pete, Catherine, Joi and John, among others). But for whatever reason, we couldn’t rouse a contingent of teachers to put together a show this year. 

Along came Kipley Wentz, musician and puppetmaster, who was also on the HFA’s list of invited entertainers. He and Dana Harrison (who teaches a class called Musicology in town) had already written and performed some songs together, and they invited me to sit down with them at the Frozen Monkey one rainy winter afternoon to talk about the possibility of joining forces. We agreed that, rather than fighting for space at Cabin Fever, a Musical Summit was called for, a meeting of Hoboken’s many and varied kiddie entertainers. We put out the invitation to all of the Music Together teachers, as well as Adam from Music for Aardvarks, Karen Kuhl, Sally Robertson and others. 

We wound up with myself, Kipley, Dana, and Maiken DuBois, who had been performing puppet shows with Kipley and on her own. My memories are hazy, but I recall them coming over to my tiny apartment for a couple of rehearsals, where we recorded Dana and Kipley singing their original tunes and I taught them “Skunks in My Shoes,” at the time my only original composition for kids. Kipley thought he might play bass guitar, since Dana and I both play guitar and we had no bassist. That sounded fine to me until he called a couple of days later and asked if I could recommend a good learn-to-play-the-bass book.

I gave the recordings to my friend Justin Michael and invited him to sit in on bass instead. Justin and I have been playing together in church for a few years now. I think he only had a couple of weeks before the gig to get caught up, but it’s not like we had a huge head start over him.

The HFA billed us at Cabin Fever as “Kipley, Dana and Dave,” but truly the Fuzzy Lemons had been born by then, and this was our inaugural gig. I got to the Elks Club with about 5 minutes to spare–I was doing a birthday party in Weehawken before the show (something that will constantly dog most of the Lemons as we try to book gigs around our party schedules); big thanks to Shana Lee for the ride back to Hoboken! Ken Chen’s fabulous photos of the event reveal that I still have my earmuffs stuck up on my hat–I didn’t even have time to take them off before we started. Later I asked Justin why he didn’t tell me they were up there and he said “I though they were there on purpose, that’s part of your look!” Looking back now I think that’s a cool idea, but I’d have to get myself some big funny fluffy earmuffs. Back then I was just embarrassed and annoyed. 

Big ups, by the way, to Justin and to Scott Weiner for setting up all the gear. Scott’s been doing sound for the town for a long time, and he’s always friendly and professional. He has since moved on to other things, but he still hangs out at shows; it’s always good to see him. And Justin is used to being my guitar tech; he’s helped me out the last 2 summers at Gordys concerts (The Gordys rewarded him this year by making him their bass player–I’ll post all about that at a later date).

After the gig, the band’s e-mails started flying (we’re notorious with the e-mail). Kipley wrote:

Great job today, guys. I had a lot of fun and from what I can tell we all received great feedback. I certainly got some great comments and I guess when we listen to the recording it’ll be clear what worked and needs work. For me, it’s going to take some getting used to… it always sounds and feels so much different when we perform than it did in practice.

And Dana chimed in:

I had a blast today too.  I need a tambourine 101 class though.  I have a NASTY 2×4 inch bruise on my right leg. 

No victory comes without its scars. Overall I think we did just fine for a first gig–lots of mistakes, technical issues, and the town almost NEVER provides enough monitors (those are speakers pointed at the band instead of the audience, enabling us to hear ourselves and each other over the din!). You’ll notice in Ken Chen’s photo that not one of us is making eye contact with the audience. Or smiling. We had a long way to go in the audience-interaction department.

But the songs are great, we have a nice fat sound with multiple guitars, plus keyboards, horns and a mandolin, and lush 4-part harmony.  I think the audience had a good time, down there in the Elks’ basement. I really felt like, imperfect as it was, it was the birth of something new. The heart of the Fuzzy Lemons started beating that day.