Full Band Rehearsals In Placentia

Who saw this coming? Dave Rayburn fronting a rock band. Yeah, that's an acoustic guitar in hand, but some things simply won't change. This spontaneous session was thrown together overnight by Gary Fitch, in an effort to see if this Rayburn character has it in him to be a rock star. Well, I must admit, my guest appearance with Planet Roy in September was empowering. Questions remained. What about the rest of his work? Will the material transfer well into the electric realm? Sure enough... a case of beer held the answers to these questions.

Jesse Cripps (John Frum) - bass guitar
Tony Dare (Destiny, Running Erin, Skillet Lickers) - drums
Gary Fitch (Planet Roy, Running Erin, Skillet Lickers) - electric guitar, keyboard
Dave Rayburn (Buddy, Garage Salesmen) - acoustic guitar, vocals

Songs (in alphabetical order):

"Broken" (Gomez/Rayburn)
"I've Got Time" (Rayburn)
"In Peace: Dogstar" (Rayburn)
"It's Your Turn Anyway" (Gomez/Rayburn)
"Phases And Changes" (Rayburn)
"Set Me Free" (Rayburn)
"Small Midwestern Town" (Moore/Rayburn)
"Why Won't You Fall?" (Rayburn)
"Wonder" (Rayburn)

A list of nearly 50 Rayburn compositions was used as a source for the band's rehearsal. Things went surprisingly well, and the 2.5 hour session was recorded straight into a computer for posterity. Fitch claims that this is the first step in making sure that the Dave Rayburn CD is finished and released by March of 2005. The goal: record 14 songs, choose 12. Go play live and sell some CDs! Oh, to be a busker again...

Buddy Break

In the tradition of Richard & Linda Thompson, the acoustic singer-songwriter duo known as Buddy looks to have run it's creative course. Dave Rayburn and Caroline Gomez have parted ways... at least for now. The nearly five-year run turned out to be quite successful on a personal level for both of us. We've met so many great people along the way, and we sincerely appreciate all of the support that we've gathered over time. You made us feel special. You made us feel wanted. And, you made us feel necessary. For that, we hope we've been able to repay you in our own way.

And, as with the Thompsons... the musical door shall not remain closed. If a Buddy collaboration reappears on the radar at some point, you will all be the first to know. In the meantime, there is an archive of music and video... bootlegged live shows, and lost studio recordings. Good times, good times. Feel free to ask for some tunes, for old time's sake. In the meantime, you can still request and hear Buddy songs on KRBS FM (if you're in the Oroville, Ca. area) or in cyberspace on MWSMedia Radio.

Thanks for the memories!

Chris Valenti Is An Emotional Wreck

I can't believe how many of my musical friends are enjoying the success of a critical stage in their music careers... a factory pressed full-length CD! Chris Valenti marks the latest addition to the ranks with his rightly-titled Emotional Wreck album.

Chris and I go back all the way to the night of April 1st, 2001. It was the occassion of Buddy's second live appearance EVER (McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica). They host a wonderful singer-songwriter open mic night there, and that's where we met Chris. He had these hilarious songs about relationships-gone-wrong and.... well, guy problems. We exchanged numbers, and then a little over five months later, I asked him to take part in the Buddies For America benefit that Caroline and I organized to raise money for the Red Cross following 9/11. Chris kindly donated a track to the compilation CD we put together and he offered to come out and play a set along with a few folks who, in union, eventually became the beginnings of the Perpetual Intermittent Tour. Since then, Chris was a regular at P.I.T. shows and played a key role in securing the opportunity for Buddy to play the fabulous Sunset Strip in Hollywood!

Now onto the new CD... Emotional Wreck, upon the first spin, is a freakin' riot. This is mainly attributed to the realistic situations that he pokes fun at. To me, that's what made Woody Allen so brilliant. "Passive Aggressive" is a non-stop cascade of one cutting edge quip after another from a guy who has finally had enough. "Boyfriend" sounds great with a full band, and is even funnier in it's evolution. It sort of swings a bit like the Violent Femmes' "Blister In The Sun". Even the ballads are not immune from the "f-bomb", but if you've seen Chris play live, you will TOTALLY understand the needed context. From "Don't Pass Out" to his anthemic "Booty Call", Chris raises our spirits as a result of his continual let-downs. What a guy!

You can pick up your own copy at Emotional Wreck-ords' web site. If you live in the L.A. area (or sometimes travel to N.Y.), odds are you can catch a Chris Valenti show, either solo or with a band. Either way, you'll laugh till you're in tears.

MWS Media Radio Podcast (11/5/04)

"Our fifth show, featuring our first featured radio documentary from Adam Norman, as well as Jose Promis, Buddy, and DJ Jaspa!"

Tonight's playlist featured the following:

"Phases And Changes" (Rayburn) - Dave Rayburn
"Small Midwestern Town" (Moore/Rayburn) - Mark Mason

The Rayburn solo track was recorded in August of 2004 with the help of producer Tony Dare, and is preceded in this podcast by a little personalized "station ID" recorded for MWS Media Radio on November 4th, 2004 via voice mail. Also played this week was Mark Mason's cover of "Small Midwestern Town" which was released via the internet last month on Mark's web site. Thanks again, Matt! Download the show and find out more about MWS Media while you're there!