“there’s reason to believe
maybe this year will be better than the last…”
I always loved the guarded optimism of those words from the Counting Crows song Long December. I would like to believe I have reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last!
I have been on a different sort of Pedestrian Ramblings, not so much hiking trails, but following different pathways non the less. My convalescence is quite consuming, and in an unusual way, timely. You can read about my progress on my website, madewellmusic.
In my efforts to keep musically engaged, I have started to write reviews of folk recordings made by artists from Ohio and surrounding states. Charlie Mosbrook and his record, It Is Time was my most recent review.
Fall color is just beginning to lite up the trees and when I stepped out on the patio this morning, the pleasant recollection of some video sessions came back to me. I couldn’t help but reflect on the events over the last year. I felt inspired to share something that had nothing to do with my current medical condition and rehabilitation.
It was just about a year ago that Mark Dershaw, Jono Yowell and I were discussing how to book more festival gigs in 2025. My limited festival contacts were as a solo folk performer, and all of Jono’s contacts in the festival circuits are associated in music genres that we really didn’t play. I figured we needed some promo material, and we didn’t have a professional grade recording of our trio, an agent, or manager. We were looking at a DIY proposition and i felt we specifically needed some video. Mark has some editing chops but he would be heading out west for the winter, so we had a limited amount of time to try to get some material together.
It was an interesting set of circumstances how the three of us came to be working together. A few years ago, I enjoyed a “reunion gig” of the old Steve Madewell Band. This was the last, and the best band I worked with before I left Dayton in the mid 1980’s to be the director of the Geauga Park District. It was a bitter sweet situation. We really loved each other, and had a remarkable five piece band, but I could not turn down the job opportunity.
After the Covid isolation was lifted, that group got together and had a marvelous time playing for a full house at the Trolley Stop, which resulted in booking a half dozen gigs across Ohio. Unfortunately, my long time musical partner, Vance Wissinger, bass player extraordinaire, had a brain bleed the week after our first spinoff gig in February. Unfortunately, Vance was in for a long recovery, and with five more shows on the books, I was hustling for a replacement.
I had seen Jon-o Yowell play a few times and after some serious cajoling, he ultimately agreed to cover the remaining Steve Madewell Band gigs, provided he was available and a better offer didn’t turn up. I knew he was a good musician, but I soon came to realize he’s really an incredible talent, and all he has to do to pick up another gig was say “yes”. I was fretting the entire time about him getting a better offer, and after all, I’m an old dude who likes to play my original songs!
We did our additional Steve Madewell Band gigs, making appearances at Driftwood Point,The Old Firehouse, a community event, and two shows at the Yankee Peddler. We had a great time, but the geographic distance was quite a challenge.
However, the idea of playing with a group was really intriguing and I happened to have an inquiry about performing at a local barn party, and the host ask if I could bring an ensemble. I invited a couple really top local players, Paul Kovac and Bill Lestock, to join Jon-o and I for that show. We had a wonderful time which resulted in another spin off side project, the Big Creek Bangers! Without much difficulty, we picked up another half dozen gigs.
Unfortunately, Bill had some unexpected challenges and Mark Dershaw stepped in to fill the void. Mark is an excellent pedal steel player and we had done a few gigs together decades ago. He had been playing with a local group, the Woodpeckers, and stepped away to pursue an opportunity with the Akron based Shootouts. Unfortunately, that never came to be.
Long story short, the Bangers had a good 12 month run, which provided a great opportunity for Jono, Mark and I to establish a good musical bond. We felt it was strong enough for us to consider exploring festivals as a trio, or at least using our trio as a foundation to build from. We decided if we were going to make a pitch for festival gigs we needed to make a few videos.
The first session was shot on my patio in the early fall of 2024. We used three Zoom HQ2 stationary cameras supplemented with “B role” taken with a iPhone. Deb, Nicole, Mark and Jono’s partners, helped, along with Jono’s friend Justin. I was told that I need to stop moving around so much, and to keep me in one spot, Deb put a left down and told me to stand on it! That provided a great deal of entertainment because I don’t stand still when i am playing!
We had a great time and got three songs down, In The Blink Of An Eye, Rivers And Trails, and, I Can’t Get You Off Of My Mind. Mark edited the tunes, and I sequentially dropped them on YouTube. The first one, In The Blink Of An Eye, got 100 views a day for the first week, which isn't that bad for a couple old dudes and a large upright bass player! And just to be clear, an upright base is a large instrument, but Jon-o is a pretty large guy too.
https://youtu.be/_khqS9Pnmzg?feature=shared
It is unclear if I’ll be able to perform again and if I do, I will certainly have to relearn how to play guitar again. But what memories i have acquired! It was such a pleasure and privilege to play with Jon-o and Mark, and regardless of the outcome, I will treasure the recollections of performing and sharing the music that we made together.
Hey, I hope to see you you out shuffling around!