Phase 4 introduced us all to the Linden Brewery. Adam and Carey are two dudes with a dream… bring beer back to Oaktown! Brewing was THE biggest economy of Oakland in the 1800’s. Turns out the 49′ers loved to drink, go figure! After prohibition, the East Bay took some time off. Linden Brewery, located in the scenic Port of Oakland ‘hood, gave us the opportunity to perform at the weekly FreeBeer Fridays. We had a happy crowd, plenty of friends on hand, and enough beer to raise the baylevel just a little.
It was on this gig that we all got to experience the Amazing Steve Weems and His Magic Drums!
(ASW+HMD! ??) Steve and I met at Van Kleef a ways back, after many anonymous transactions at Best Music (where he works, and I shop!). He was running the sound board back in the day. I knew he played drums and had a thorough knowledge of every gadget under the sun. What I didn’t know was how well he can use the technology to create on-the-fly loops and delays and glitches and digital Tsunamis, all while keeping the beat fresh and funky. It was a perfect match for my loops, plus it fit hand-in-glove with the digital sax!
I also brought in cohorts from Powers That Be, keyboardist Patrick Petzel and drummer David Strong. Plus, bassist Ian Smith. This line-up was filmed by my friend Tatek Aragaw, and you can check clips of the band on the sidebar, or just search youTube with any 2 of our names… and voila!
Here’s us getting down by the front door…
Patrick Petzel (keys), Colin Gleason (sax), David Strong (drums), Carl Herder (bass). Photo: Brian Compton
And here we are on the back loading dock!….
. Photo: Brian Compton”]
