A Domino Finds His Match

I would like to extend my best wishes to my dear friends Bobby Whitlock (of Derek & the Dominos fame) and Kim Carmel... who tied the knot this Christmas Eve! Congratulations you two. You are truly two wonderful people who I am glad to know. I can't wait to hear your brand new music... hopefully it will see a release this year. Stay in touch.

Keys, Please...

In a casual meeting at Casa de Fitch, a couple members of the DRP got together to hang out and throw a few ideas around. Gary sat behind the electric keyboard and starting banging out a few of the tunes we were working on. I picked up an acoustic and sang along... to find that piano arrangements might just be the way to go on a couple songs.

Gary Fitch (Planet Roy, Running Erin, Skillet Lickers) - keyboard, vocals
Dave Rayburn (Buddy, Garage Salesmen) - acoustic guitar, vocals

Songs (in no particular order):
"Awake" (Rayburn) - There's something a little more somber about this one on piano. I like it!
"Broken" (Rayburn) - I've had a hard time settling with the current arrangement of this song, so to hear it with a piano accompanyment greatly helped accent the progression that I wrote it around.
"Wonder" (Rayburn) - Not bad, though I'm still partial to the `coustic.
"Phases And Changes" (Rayburn) - This one could work in any direction we take it (in my opinion). Not sure where it will go from here, but I'm glad we tried it.

I certainly appreciated the opportunity to work on some songs outisde the controlled environment of the rehearsal studio. No piano there. Ideas are always welcome. Now it's just a matter of implementing them.

It's Showtime!

Word arrived early this evening that the first Dave Rayburn concert featuring the current full band lineup has been scheduled for (Saturday night) February 11, 2006! The Bamboo Terrace (also known as Din Din) in Costa Mesa will be the host venue for this very special event.

It's also been rumored that John Frum Kuger Mellacamp (a.k.a. John Frum) may also appear on the bill which means that Jesse Cripps will be pulling double-duty that night. What a rock star!

And, further consideration... it makes sense that the show will be billed as The Dave Rayburn Project. Wish us luck. More details will be posted soon.

A Secret Gig

Saturday, December 10, 2005
Sugar's Warehouse - Fullerton, California

The Dave Rayburn Project's set:
"Phases And Changes"
"In Peace (Dogstar)"

Jesse Cripps (John Frum) - electric guitar
Gary Fitch (Planet Roy, Running Erin, Skillet Lickers) - electric guitar
D.J. Jones (Planet Roy, the Spurs) - bass guitar
Dave Rayburn (Buddy, Garage Salesmen) - vocals
Danny __________ (John Frum) - keyboard
Chris "Sugar" Pursley (John Frum, The Confirmed Bachelors) - drums

Jesse Cripps, the brilliant guitarist who owns the single most unique laugh in music history turned 30 today! Jesse has been a major creative factor in the making of the current record project, and on top of that, he's a pure pleasure to hang out with. He's got some of the best stories in the biz, and he gets all the jokes. Many friends and family came out to Fullerton tonight to help him celebrate his 30th. I was honored to be one of them.

As the evening moved forward and a few more drinks were dispensed, the idea was laid out to put forth a performance for all the guests. Miguel hadn't yet arrived, so "Sugar" offered to fill in on sticks. And so, the masses filed out to the warehouse/studio for what turned out to be a rather fun two-song set. We were even joined by a mystery keyboardist (I'm told it was the bassist from John Frum). Thanks to all who joined in... and most importantly... HAPPY BIRTHDAY J-MAN!

Showing No Mercy

What originally was going to be a brainstorm session for the album tracks turned out to be a very fun demo session for a new song written by Master of Ceremonies... Gary Fitch. As it was explained to me, Gary was asked by a friend to compose a song for possible use in a short subject film. Not much is known about the storyline aside from a couple character names. Nonetheless, a song was thrown together in true rockabilly fashion. "No Mercy" was mastered in a little over half a dozen takes. I was quite surprised (and honored) to be asked to take lead vocal duties. The demo was sent off at the end of the night via email. I'm just thankful that Fitch is writing again!

...and the Oscars go to:

Gary Fitch (Planet Roy, Running Erin, Skillet Lickers) - electric guitar
D.J. Jones (Planet Roy, the Spurs) - bass guitar
Dave Rayburn (Buddy, Garage Salesmen) - vocals
Miguel Zuleta (Planet Roy, Shattered Glass) - drums

Song:
"No Mercy" (Fitch)

After completing the demo, we sat down and focused on contributing ideas for the recording sessions. Among some cool arrangement scenarios were the thoughts of using a church choir (ala Rattle And Hum) as well as an opportunity to work with a legendary rock keyboardist (more on that as it is confirmed). All I can say is that I am pretty darn anxious to get started on the sessions. Word is that recording will begin somewhere around the first week of January. 2006... look out!!