Welcome to day 18 of our month 28 day Blog-A-Thon. We’ve been bringing you highlights of drink recipes, flaming saxophones, concert reviews, and a back-stage passto our Tin Pan world. Happy to have you with us.
This week at Googie’s Part three of our continuing series on our residency at this well-trafficked venue. A truly wonderful thing happened again at Googie’s on Friday night. We invited the wonderful Clem Waldmann play our second set with us. I know you are at least a little familiar with our music and presentation. We put a lot of work into getting some tight arrangements that have some sudden and dazzling twists and turns, hairpin mood shifts, and expressive use of tempo. Having a drummer sit in with us is fraught with peril. Either they will just miss certain changes or they will railroad the beat into something that suits their style but isn’t the groove or feeling that the rest of the band is going for.
Enter Clem Waldmann. This guy’s playing was so joyous and seamless. The bass drum wasn’t too persistent. The shuffle was impeccable. The accents were in the right places. The groove was buoyant and light when needed and thick and swampy when required. He didn’t not miss a single cue, transition or feel! Frankly, and this is going to sound strange, Stefan and I FORGOT THAT HE WAS EVEN THERE. It was such a good accompaniment and so obviously supportive of what was going on that it allowed us to focus all our attention on being in the moment and maintaining the connection with the audience. It’s hard to tell a story when you’re looking over shoulder trying to accomodate the new guy. In this case is was the opposite. Even with the very first few sounds he made, he just built confident gesture and agreement on to every moment of the music. Every once in a while he would add something delicious and fun and I would remember that we had this whole extra layer to what we were doing. It’s like when you’re walking, after the first few steps you really don’t have to think about your feet. It’s only when things get shaky would you need to concern yourself with balance. Clem was as solid as possible in that regard.
Stefan said so to Clem right after the gig while we were still on stage.
“I forgot you were there.” The truly terrific part is that Clem understood the HUGE compliment in this comment and rejoiced in it.
He clutched is hands and pumped them over his head with a huge smile like he just won a prize. Clifton reports that over at the Blue Man Group theater (where they have worked together for a few years already) Clem told another drummer how excited he was to receive that feedback and they both high-fived about it!
I think that might be the sign of a drummer that I want to be working with. They place a very high value on time-keeping, solidity, confidence, and taste and are confident enough to not be so concerned with being noticed for flashy playing. Clem, you nailed. Thanks! Listen for Clem on our next record. We start recording in March.
Another first to note at this gig. The deliciously talented Katie Hasty sang a few songs with us on this gig. She managed to sing the material without falling into the obvious tropes of female jazz singing that we tend to avoid. She brought all her personality, wit and sauce into the mix. Her stage presence made standing next to her a joy. It was really fun. She tore it up. More please.
Some members of the audience were commenting after the show that Tin Pan is a pretty male, testosterone-driven experience. We all are gruff and going for it with boatloads of Yang energy. Katie’s presence on stage (even for justa few songs) helped members of the audience feel more comfortable and assured by balancing out the vibe. It also drew a sharper contrast making for a more compelling show. And there you have it. Thanks for the feedback.
And while we’re talking aesthetics: Clem reflected after the gig that he felt like Baby Hands and I come off like trained musicians who have too much sauce to sound like school and just want to rock-out. Clifton and Zoo on the other hand come across as rockers who somehow wound up with an acoustic guitar or a clarinet in their hands and are making the best of it.