Tag: weaklazyliar

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6 May: Atlanta

6 May – Eddie’s Attic
w/ Pat Walsh, weaklazyliar, Sue Witty

I let this write-up sit for far too long, swamped with other responsibilities. But this was Sue Witty’s CD release party and it went well. She had a good sized crowd of her fans out. In the interest of public disclosure I will mention that I sing backing vocals on two of the songs on her new CD, which she recorded at Rob Gal’s studio. The CD is very different from Sue’s solo show, with the songs in their full band form. Linda Bolley (Gentle Readers, Michelle Malone) played drums and Ryan Taylor (weaklazyliar) played some keys. I got up during her first set to reprise my vocals but I don’t think they went very well.

I know I’ve said it all before so I’ll try to be brief, but to me CD release shows are a big deal and whenever I’m part of someone else’s I always try to do whatever I can to help it be special. So I kept egging the crowd on during my set for Sue, since they seemed to be a little disinterested for a bit. I played Janis Ian’s “Seventeen” during my set, just because I’ve always loved that song and also to be able to make a joke about Rob calling me his favorite female voice in Atlanta. It was a good choice, though, since I had a few people come up to say they couldn’t believe I had pulled it off.

That’s all I can remember, except to mention that I thought weaklazyliar’s stripped down set (just Gerlinda on guitar and Ryan on keyboards) sounded surprisingly amazing. Also, that Pat Walsh is still one of my favorites in this town, and I wish he had a little more exposure. I would think the notlame.com types would eat his stuff up… very literate and erudite pop.

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25-27 Apr: Atlanta

25 April – Floataway Open House (Atlanta, GA)
w/ weaklazyliar

This wasn’t really a public show, it was an open house for a complex of businesses in Atlanta. They do this every year, with food, drinks and live music. The first show I ever officially did post-Radiant City was playing this, back in 1999. It caused a lot of drama at the time because, though I had booked it as a solo show before the blow-up, the band saw it as proof that I had intended to quit all along. That night I played with weaklazyliar and the Young Antiques.

weaklazyliar sounds great with their new drummer Travis. He seems to me to be a combination of Joe and Mitch in all the right ways. Ryan also was playing his new Moog, making lots of little Fantastic Planet noises. I can’t say enough that I want them to keep making music. They could be so much more confident if they could be touring. They could be indie darlings in a way I don’t think I ever could.

We did the show as an acoustic three-piece since Lee was out of town. We… well, *I* was sloppy. And in pain. My hand was cramping, reminding me why I don’t like to play the acoustic. I broke a string on the second song (which Gerlinda fixed while I was playing her guitar). But overall it went okay. I had a few people tell me they liked the treatment we gave the songs and the changes we had made. Though, I’m not really aware of any changes that we made deliberately, so I assume they were mostly the subconscious ones. Watching dynamics and that sort of thing. they wanted one more song once we were done and we really hadn’t worked up anything else, not to mention I couldn’t imagine playing guitar any longer, so instead we did a version of Squeeze’s “Tempted” with Lyle playing bass and Chris playing a little percussion that went surprisingly well.

26 April 2003 – 10 High (Atlanta, GA)
on stage with chain poets

Now the secret can be told. For two weeks I went and rehearsed with chain poets to get ready for this show.

“Mr. Blue Sky”

That’s what we did. I’m sorry, not just “Mr. Blue Sky,” but virtually every tiny bit of “Mr. Blue Sky” short of the ‘clang-clang-clang’ sound which we couldn’t reproduce. But YES to lots of harmonies falling all over the place, YES to string sounds, YES to the vocoder, and even YES to the operatic ending. I did not nail the solo and would kill for another chance at it, but it still sounded great. Curtis, who normally runs sound, wasn’t going to be at the show but heard us run through it for soundcheck and swapped with another soundman for the night to make sure he was the one running sound.

Damn right.

And it was a fucking blast, too. Happy late birthday to me.

We also did “No Matter What,” but we’ve done that before. The thing I learn from being on stage with them, though, is that I do have that lingering urge to RAWK, to front a loud seventies rock band. But I find, in the end, that I don’t want it consistently enough to be in a band like that full time. Anyway, I don’t think I pull off the image.

On a side note, they’ve got a new song that kills me and I wish I had written it.

27 April 2003 – Borders (Atlanta, GA)

This was something that was set up about a month or so ago. An in-store in conjunction with EarthShare and Earth Day. Unfortunately, the person at Daemon who set it up with Borders was gone by April, and the promotion that had been promised at the time never materialized. So I really half expected no one would be there for it. Actually, I half-expected that the store wouldn’t even have a clue that I was supposed to be there. Thankfully, though, that idea was wrong, and they had the little area set up before I even got there. Still, I played to about 10 people, but having expected that it wasn’t such a big deal. I sold a couple of CDs, even, had a few people sign up. Even more unexpectedly I felt really good about how it sounded and how I played. Which goes to show you can never predict these things.

With the lull I’m in musically right now I find myself in sort of a pit. I feel a little short-tempered and impatient, and the whole enterprise seems terribly pointless at the moment. Nevertheless I keep going through the motions. I don’t really know when I developed this sort of ability to ignore myself and keep doing things musically while I wait out my depression. But thank whoever that I did.

I just need movement again. The problem is that I don’t know how soon that will come. A lot has happened in the past 6 months, most of it I would never have believed. But on the other side of it, taking the long view, it’s hard to feel that I’ve made much headway.

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14 Sep: Atlanta

14 September – 10 High (Atlanta, GA)
CD Release Party

I have always believed, since the days of my old band, that for your CD release party what matters most is not the location but having control of the evening. I have gone to too many CD release parties that were at nice clubs on a Wednesday night, sandwiched between two bands who, not only are unaware the night means anything to anyone in particular, but also bear little to no resemblance to the band in question musically. In other words, it’s just another Wednesday night show to everyone else, and then the band in question wonders why they feel let down afterward. It’s a party, goddammit. You just spent months (or in some hypothetical cases we won’t mention here, years) making this thing, you’re supposed to be celebrating. Go with whatever club will let you do whatever you want on whatever night you want.

I have been lucky enough to have had two CD release parties prior to this, both of them were very crowded. Both of them were at less than savory clubs. But they were also both on a Saturday, and both were full of bands and people I loved. This time I got luckier still and managed to have all of that at the club I would have chosen.

Oh, I stressed beforehand, believe me. Though these things have drawn well before, I never believe that to be any indication that it will happen again, and so I was nervous about turnout for the show in a way I haven’t been in a while now. I really had no way of knowing if people were going to make it out.

The day was overcast and wet, perfect for the mood of the CD. I should have known.

All three bands were outside waiting for load-in, we all chatted. It felt good, I always love playing with other bands I know, since that eliminates one variable, the one of “band-with-attitude.” We loaded in, set up. Sound checked, it went well. Daemon was throwing a pre-show party starting at 8pm for the press and such. Around 8:45 or so we got up and played three songs for the glitterati. Jeff Clark, who some of you may recall is the person who banned me from his magazine at one time, not only mentioned me recently in glowing terms but came out for the little pre-show party. They cheered, it was a decent sized crowd of people, a bit more than I had expected for that part of the show.

Afterwards I felt great. I came to the conclusion that I should do a pre-show show before every show. It completely eliminates the usual antsy feeling I get, wanting things to get moving, wanting to go ahead and play. Beforehand I kept telling people I was really looking forward to being on the other side of the show, I just wanted it to already have happened and have been a success so I could just get on with basking. But after playing a few songs it was sort of like that mood got expelled, and I was able to be at the show and enjoy it waiting for my turn to play the regular set.

The Ether Family Presents… went on first. I have gone on about them at length before. So, all I really want to add is that this was the first time I have ever seen them live. The lights went down, the background music went off, and they struck the first chord. I remember being stunned, just by the first chord. I don’t know what I had expected, but it was so full I was completely caught off guard. They were amazing, and it’s a damn shame they haven’t played out more often. When they started playing the crowd was already huge. The club was packed, and I experienced mocking at the hands of people who had to suffer through my worrying beforehand. The crowd stood up against the stage and filled the entire room, and a lot of them were singing along, something that threw Jimmy at one point.

By the time weaklazyliar went on it was as crowded as I have ever seen the place. I have gone on about them at length before. So for them suffice to say that, this was their first show with a new drummer. I know they were stressed about it. And it was amazing. It was different from when Joe played, it had to be. But it was just as incredible. They were ON. And again, the crowd up front was singing along. Between songs Gerlinda would get a silly sort of smirk on her face, like she just didn’t think these people should be so satisfied.

For nothing else, I am glad that I could freak out bands I love by having them play a show with such a huge, appreciative crowd. If there’s one time I can take credit for something like that, I would like to think this is the time.

Then we took the stage. There was a moment, before I started, when I just said, “hey, I’m Paul Melancon.” And everyone cheered. And cheered. And cheered.

I couldn’t speak.

Curtis was running sound and lights (he’s in a band called the Bibles, who also kick ass), and, like the club, is the person I would have chosen all along to do so. We opened with “Hey, California,” me playing acoustic alone up until the very end of the song when the band kicks in. Curtis just had a spot on me until they came in, and it felt like a moment of rock concert high-cheese in a way, and it was great, to be honest. We ran through the set, I babbled incessantly (knowing we weren’t going to fill up the amount of time the club normally likes). The crowd was packed, and singing along. There was a moment at the beginning of “Slumberland” where I nearly stopped singing because so many people were singing the words in front of me. Just to hear it. But I didn’t. I played a melodica solo on “Sherman.” The crowd was so loud after every song, it was just unbelievable.

At the end we finished the set with “Hitchcock Blonde.” I can’t say enough things about the people who agreed to back me for these shows. Rob Gal, John Cerreta, David Henderson, Pete McDade, and Lee Cuthbert are all amazing musicians and they honestly make me sound much better than I would otherwise. I am extremely lucky to have had them there.

They left the stage, and the final phase began. When I realized that I wouldn’t have much opportunity to rehearse with the band before the show, I tried to figure out something special to do after our set. Over email Jimmy (from the Ethers) and I decided to slap together some covers. They were all suggested by him, lovingly endorsed by me. The closest we came to rehearsing was all of us having copies of the originals and Jimmy sending out mp3s of him playing them by himself. We knew it would be messy but hoped it would be fun.

We started with “Turn to Stone” by ELO. Chris (from the Ethers) and David played, too. Somehow we made it through, and it sounded much better than I had figured. Then it was “Picture Book” by the Kinks. Adam McIntyre hopped up to play bass and David switched to keyboards. Adam drove all the way in from Nashville just to catch the show, so it was great to have one of those rock ‘n’ roll moments of having the visiting musician hop up suddenly to play an impromptu song. He nailed it, better than the rest of us, I think. It was a blast. Then we did “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys, David back on the bass. I think I can say we played the song. More than that might be too much. Lastly we did “Let ’em In” by Paul McCartney. By this time I had noticed that Lyle Bufkin had made it to the show (he was playing with Kenny Howes elsewhere that night but had managed to make it over to our show afterwards). So David called him up to play bass and went back to the keyboards. I think I had been most worried about that song and it may be the one we almost nailed. Ryan and I did the horn parts vocally. It was a hell of a lot of fun.

I sold a lot of CDs.
The place was packed all night.
Lauren and Rama at Goodsforyou.com (they designed the CD and the new website) had blown up the cover of the CD onto a giant vinyl poster as a gift. They announced it during weaklazyliar’s set and had the crowd autograph it throughout the rest of the night.
John Brand, who used to be at Daemon and in a band called Belloluna, came up to tell me he loved the CD and thought it was in the top five of CDs the label has ever put out.
So many people came up with congratulations, so many people came out who I haven’t seen in so very long. There are people who came who I only found out they were there afterwards, from other people.
I signed a lot of autographs and felt generally silly about it.

I felt like a rock star. And you guys did it to me.

Every one of you. Bands, fans, friends, I love you all.

Good night.