Somewhere There Light Projections #3

L to R: Jamie Thompson flute, Erik Colin Ross, keys, Andy Yue, keys, Michael Kaler, bass, Arnd Juergensen, guitar, and Paul Newman, sax.

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In Memoriam: Frazier Mohawk / Barry Friedman

Since the beginning, “Frazier Mohawk’s coffee bean grinder” has been listed as a lightsweetcrude influence: long story, but a little imagination will get you there… He was a one-of-a-kind individual who helped form the Buffalo Springfield, had a hand in many goings on in Hollywood in the ’60s, worked at Elektra, and was a very positive musical force and mentor to anyone in his presence. He also hated Pro Tools – he knew how to make a record, and still believed in the magic that happens when the red light goes on…. In a world of industrial units with SSLs thrown in, Puck’s Farm was (and is) a unique studio with a real aesthetic and atmosphere, that sends you right back to another time and place: a better sounding one. That aesthetic: one of rustic vibes, wood, art, 1930’s Hollywood artifacts, ancient microphones, tape, and a huge but warm recording space, was Frazier’s. Coupled with the fact that this creative space was located on a fully functional farm, it made for an almost otherworldly experience. Leaving late at night, you could hear animal whispers everywhere, and dark percussive sounds coming from the emu “quarters”. Always meant to record that… I had the pleasure of working there for a few years, and it was an experience that has been with me ever since. I’m grateful to have had a generous taste of a world that is slowly disappearing. Thanks for all the stories, the laughs, and the knowledge, Frazier. Rest in Peace.

Frazier’s story
A taste of Frazier’s world in 1968

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Homegrown Hamilton

File under: *awesome night*
Photos courtesy of Rob Rush (upper) and Paola Martinez Hernandez.

Somewhere There Light Projections #2

A little bit of background this time: Somewhere There, Toronto’s experimental music hub, generously offered lightsweetcrude a May/June 2012 residency. We did one in March/April of last year, and it really did something great, but this year not everyone could commit. Ken Aldcroft encouraged me to come up with something else instead as I was declining, so Michael Kaler and I agreed to collab on this, with him curating a ensemble (with a few variations week-to-week) playing improvised music, and my contribution: fire up the overhead projectors, and trip the light fantastic. This week it was: Michael Kaler, bass, Connie Nowe, drums, Paul Newman, sax, and Arnd Jurgensen, guitar.

The residency continues May 27th.

Somewhere There Light Projections

Somewhere There May 6th, 2012

light projections – jason steidman
music curated by michael kaler

More next Sunday.

A Jammer In The Hammer

Hard to believe we’ve played Owen Sound twice, and not once in this great city right next door. Not that it hasn’t been on my radar since we started gigging in 2009. It has. Somehow since my last Grateful Dead concert (ironically Copps Coliseum on 1990-03-22), and my popping my head up out of the studio trenches in 2007, curious once again about the ‘jamband scene’ (always a dubious term, but we’ll save that discussion for another time), Hamilton had become Ontario’s hub. Obviously bands traveling in from the US were more likely to stop in TO, but not always – Garaj Mahal and a few others were notable exceptions, adding a stop in the Hammer to their short North-of-the-border schedule, or playing exclusively there.
How did this come about? I personally have no idea. There’s always a reason, though. Fill me in.
Must Stash Hat were uber-kind to ask us to open for them at what I’ve heard is a great venue: Homegrown Hamilton. We really dug MSH’s set when we gigged together at The Bovine in February – very tight, almost hypnotic, groove-oriented jamming, that really floored me. I was struck again by how many different approaches exist under the ‘improvised music’ umbrella, all taking us to the same place, but along different paths.

Jambands.ca post
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Crosswires #9

Crosswires is a recently launched pwyc night Sundays at The Garrison, curated by Doc Pickles of TO’s Wavelength crew. So far the lineups have been very interesting, and tastefully eclectic, with visuals by General Chaos being a regular feature of each gig. Nice!
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Crosswires Blog

.@lightsweetcrude rockin’ their sweet vibes @TheGarrisonTO twitter.com/CrosswiresTO/s…

— Crosswires (@CrosswiresTO) April 23, 2012

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Road Trip To Owen Sound

Last Summer we did a road trip to Owen Sound for OtherFolk, and it was a blast! We have played out of town festivals before, but had previously met up at the gig, and traveled separately – this was the first time the whole band was in the Crudemobile together for a voyage. I was curious how it would turn out. After all, if we found for some reason we couldn’t get along for 12 hours together, the “live” future of lightsweetcrude would be looking grim. We’re still trying to learn from our audiences here in TO, but the plan is to eventually make extended visits elsewhere to learn from other audiences, as well.
Obviously things went fine. 12 hours isn’t such a long time, especially when you’re psyched to play in another city. The entire trip out there just builds the excitement! Yes, I may be an older hand in the studio, but regarding the “road”, I’m green and not as jaded.
Music selections on the road were interesting… I was able to turn these guys on to a stretch from Miles‘ “Live/Evil”, and King Crimson‘s “Lark’s Tongues In Aspic”. Michael hippified us to Ronnie Boykins‘ 1975 album, “The Will Come, Is Now”. On the way back, I played some long overdue live Grateful Dead for Alexei and Mark, who had never heard any before(!), but were constantly subjected to references from Kaler and myself. 6/22/73 was the jam du jour. Let’s just say all Crudemobile passengers were ready to hear it with open ears at that point. (If you check the link for this show, we listened from track 22 onward, just fyi). Then Alexei hippified us to Talk Talk‘s “Spirit Of Eden” – an interesting album with a real sense of space, true to the ‘ambient’ ’80s. Mark has to bring his iPod next time!
As we arrived at the venue, so did Kyle Haight from Blobject, who were headlining that night, and Kyle was generously supplying the kit. The gig was on the rooftop of the Chaise Lounge. Putting aside the possibility of rain, a rooftop is an amazing place to play…. There’s an amazing view, the sky above, snare hits reverberating off buildings across the street – you get the idea. It was even nicer once it got dark, and the bar was a big source of light.
We had some time to kill, and went for some coffee. On our return to The Chaise Lounge, Kyle was carting around a portable live painting station that he was pumped to put to use that night, converting different bands’ music into art. After our set, he handed me this:

Beautiful! So generous of him! Check Kyle’s website. A very talented individual.

It was a great road trip, and we played to a great crowd. It’s hard to nail exactly why, but the vibe and energy was so different from a Toronto gig, and I really think the music responded to this. Feel free to check it out below. We’re heading up to beautiful Owen Sound again this weekend for Lupercalia fest, also helmed by Joshua Richardson, and we’re looking very forward to it!

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February Has The Jam

Who knows what the weather will be like on February 23rd? This gig poster is hopeful that we will have some snow in our lives, even just for a little bit. Does that mean I’m personally hoping for a snowstorm? Not really. Except this Winter has been a bit creepy. It would feel kind of nice for some kind of a snowfall to come at some point, and allow to brush of all that Global Warming stuff as nonsense…. But maybe not until after the weekend of Feb 18th / 19th. We’ve got to drive up to Owen Sound….

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