W. or D.S. (Williams, bass. Droll, guitar. Sipe, drums). Recorded March 2010 at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina.
People Watching appears on the “dream” record as well as the “sight” dvd. It also appears on my YouTube channel with Keith Moseley on bass recorded in ‘07 at the Georgia Theater. Jeff Sipe plays on the studio version (dream) along with Bela Fleck on banjo and Victor Wooten on bass. This version has me on my hofner bass in a 3-piece setting. It contains build-ups and breakdowns all during the improvisational parts. Gibb and I play some unique, unrehearsed musical patterns that could not easily be repeated unless of course we wrote down the notes as we listened to this version. But that's no fun. We'd rather just make it up as go along.
I discovered the actual sport of people watching in my late teens at those good ole' Grateful Dead shows. There were always lots of people to watch. Later on, I began watching people from stage. That's where this song came from. Please enjoy.
W.or D.S., similar to the way C.H.iP.s stands for California Highway Patrol, stands for Williams, Droll, and Sipe. I haven’t checked to see if there is another band named W.or D.S, the way I didn't check to see if there was another band named The WMDs (Which stands for Williams, Moseley, Droll and Sipe. Yes Jeff got the little "s" which was only for the pronunciation). If there is another band named W.or D.S. I bet they don't spell it W.or D.S. At least Jeff gets a capitol "S". I'm speaking of course of Jeff Sipe on drums. The world’s premier drummer. He's the best in the world. Gibb Droll is on guitar. The world’s coolest guitar vessel. He levitates as he channels. And lil ole me on bass. A blatant Jaco Pastorious wanna be poser. The 3 of us did a second set together at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina on 3/5/10. We have done probably upwards of 80 shows together since the spring of '07, but with the amazing in the pocket bass playing of Keith Moseley. This is our first time playing as a 3 piece. It’s partly because of Keith that I play bass. About a decade ago Kristen, Keith's wife, was pregnant with their first daughter. The tour was routed to end a week or two before her due date. I was slated to open on that tour. Just in case Keith had to jet away to attend an early birth, I learned 20 String Cheese Incident songs on the bass so I could fill in if heaven forbid the situation called for it. Fortunately, Keith finished the tour and I started integrating the bass into my set. The past year, I've been slightly obsessed with the fretless bass. I've been waiting to try out this particular 3 piece since this obsession hit. We know the songs and arrangements from the touring we've done together, only they take on a different feel with me on bass. I hope we get to do this again but in case we don't, I'm proud to release 8 songs over the next 7 weeks from that special set. Starting with a twofer of Ultimate and Best Feeling. They both have a similar chord progression. I notice that when I play Ultimate, people seem to get excited at the opening hits, but then look confused when I go into the verse. I'm thinking (since they sound similar) people think it’s Best Feeling. So, I strung them together in the same track. Ultimate appears on the Odd record and Best Feeling appears on Buzz, Breathe, and Sight. These versions are different from those. Of course. Please enjoy.
Good old Grateful Dead done bluegrass. This picks up where we left of last time at The Birchmere with Jay Starling on dobro and Claude Arthur on bass and vocals. Lou Gosain mixed and sang harmonies. I would always love it when the Dead opened with this. Like almost all songs in general, this makes a great bluegrass song. At least to me.
Credits: Lyrics By: Robert Hunter - Music By: Jerry Garcia (c) Ice Nine Publishing Co Inc.
Elephorse is the product of the bluegrass science fiction writing assignment I gave myself. The original version appears on the Odd record. The song is the inspiration behind the Richard Biffle cover art for Odd. Which is of course me riding the multiheaded beast. Not to be confused with Elephorse which is a cross between an elephant and a horse. Of course. This version was recorded at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on 4/2/10 with Jay Starling on dobro, Claude Arthur on bass and me on baritone 12 string (which I use 9). Claude and I have played this live as a duo, but this version is the first time this tune has been played live in a bluegrass trio setting. Please enjoy.