Photo by Vanessa Kaukonen
My dear friend Dave Revels and I had been talking for years about doing some recording together. At some point during the Pandemic we realized that we would never do it unless we just blocked out some time and… well, did it. With that in mind, Dave lined up his friends at the Jam Room Music Complex down in Howell, New Jersey. Arnie Brown, the proprietor of this very fine establishment has a simply great sounding room. Check out the link above for more in depth details. Anyway, Dave and I wanted to record live… we didn’t want to track. Dave is such an emotionally expressive singer that we didn’t even lock changes in. I followed his voice, his face and his heart to make things happen.
Dave produced this session with the superlative engineer/producer Willie Weist. Willie immediately grokked how this session was meant to be and let us play until we got it. Actually he let us play a little longer than that and then had us listen to an earlier take. Dave and I put some serious hours into this… but it was never work!
The Personnel:
Dave Revels -Producer/Artist
Willie Weist – Engineer/Producer
Arnie Brown – Studio Owner/Assistant Engineer
Emmet Deacon – Assistant
I have to say that this room in the Jam Room Complex loved my Flammang J-35. The Flammang loved the room as well. Willie had some close mikes in place, but he really used the room mikes… that’s how good the room sounded! I really can’t say enough about the whole experience! I look forward to working there again sometime!
Vanessa and I brought our daughter and one of her friends along for the ride and the ladies got to log some serious Manhattan time. Dave and I finished our ‘work’ by Thursday so yesterday I made the NYC trip with the family. I was nice to be in New York without having to work.
Photo by Jorma Kaukonen
While the kids were doing their thing, Vanessa and I found ourselves on Bleeker Street.
Photo by Jorma Kaukonen
Well, walking around Bleeker St. I couldn’t help but think about our old friend Matt Umanov. His shop is closed, but check out his online delights. Very high quality stuff! Anyway we rang his bell and he graciously invited us in and we talked for a couple of hours. Talking with old friends… time to spare and no pressure!
Delightful!
Then dinner with the girls and back on the ferry to Weehawken.
Good times indeed!
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Well.
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On another note our son just moved to Manhasset last week from Hoboken. Looks like i could visit him in Oct. for the show in Port Washington.
We’ll for us who lived in the Trenton,NJ area we would just take a train to NYC. We would have black jack games on the ride in. Once a older women on her way to Boston asked if she could get into the game. She also bought us Beers. After the show we slept on the train for the ride home. Great times in life then & now..
Yes indeed….the subway was another trip entirely ! First the subway and then the Lincoln; wooowe ! What a hoot . @john rubino
@John B…..living in Bklyn..those NYC shows always allowed me to transport using the good ol subway.
its those shows out on the Island & NJ that kept me on my toes driving back…..71-76 part of the good ol Rampage years……guess we all shared the same co-pilots at times…….
@John B
What sort of songs did you record, Jorma?
One of Dave’s songs, Birds & Sleeping Dogs and one of mine, In My Dreams. Google Dave… he’s awesome!
Jorma I live about ten miles south on Route 9 from the Jam Room in Howell New Jersey . Welcome back to the Garden State so soon after your recent swing through with Hurl. John O… god was our co- pilot driving through those tunnels (Lincoln for me) after those Academy all nighters . Whew…..nuf said about that.
Can I get a YIKES from the people in radio dream stream land? I hope more will be revealed soon. Podcast?
I gotta admit those pictures make me a little jealous. My daughter moved from Chinatown to the East Village during the pandemic, took advantage of the drop in rental costs. I have yet to visit her new digs,but hopefully late fall (Maybe catch Tuna at the Cap) Strolling around the Village is just one of my favorite things to do. Rock on, Good Times indeed
Ed: yeah, don’t know why I’d ask the big fella. (nine one four) six four two – six three eight eight.
Hi Ed: Phone disappeared (no big deal) and I have a temp replacement phone with an assigned number I won’t keep but for another week. Maybe you could text info.
Jorma: Is leaving my temp cell number up for Ed to send info via text alright?
@BrendanC
That sounds great, Brendan. We just have to figure out how to get my address to you. And I’m happy to pay the postage.
Ed: I’m in a different place and successfully played discs on DVD player. I wiped CD’s with damp sponge and lay on counter. CD’s had been out of binder a few weeks, which may have helped somehow (didn’t take physics). I didn’t spin every disc, but every disc I spun had no problem. I’d be glad to forward.
Great to hear about the recording session in NYC! Since I was an NYU student in the 70’s the village scene still resonates strongly for me, and reading your story of wandering the streets brings it back.
This morning at home in Princeton I felt the need for some of Jorma’s music magic to get me going and am listening to a Burgers vinyl album and procrastinating by seeing if there will be any tours coming my way. So I was excited to learn about the New Hope, PA show in October which I will be sure not to miss.
Good Sunday morning!
What a cool adventure, like said, hope we might get to hear some of this recent “conversation.” I’m betting it’ll be pretty joyfully heart wrenching.
With great respect for elder wisdom, I suspect that I am 20 years younger than most here,”cutting my teeth” as it were in the early 80s. I feel privileged to read along with all of your collective memories and experiences, as well as with those still ongoing.
Just yesterday, I finally got my autographed Tuna 50th and Quarantine posters framed-they are stunning!
Thank you 🙏
Wow, I hope we get to hear the results of this project with Dave Revels some day.
Sure sounds like it was fun!
Jorma-Just caught a show on AXS TV called If These Walls Could Rock. They just covered the Caverns in Tennessee. I believe you guys played there. Placed look awesome! How was it to play there? Thanks! They are covering the Aragon on Wed nite at 830 EST.
Late 60s and early 70s were really magical in the Village. In 1969 I was 17 and used to go to a busy corner on Bleecker or MacDougal streets on Friday nights and sell my paintings. Then get some illegal drugs, something to eat and go through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel back home to Long Island. That tunnel was a real trip coming home many times from those late shows at the Academy of Music at 5:30 AM and the sun was coming out.
Growing up in Greenwich Village, just a couple blocks from Bleeker St. on Perry St. was an amazing time and place. Such cultural, progressive artistic ideas everywhere you turn.
I’m glad you got to spend quality time Jorma.