Paper Bag wanted to do a "live in front of people" album. We had talked about maybe being able to get it out of one gig, if the show ended up being good enough. We needed to decide on a place to try this at, and the place we decided on was Bebop.
Bebop Records was a combination record store, art gallery, and performance space in Reseda, California run by Richard Bruland, an art lover and excellent artist in his own right. Paper Bag had played there on many occasions. We met David McIntire there. We did poetry and music shows there. Our various projects played there, as did many bands we knew, had crossed paths with, or which individual members had collaborated with. The wedding of Richie and Michelle Hass was held there, where they first hooked up; and during which Paper Bag played an improvised wedding march. In many ways, Bebop was like home for us.
Bebop was very small, and in order to make it possible for us to record there, we had to arrange with Richard Bruland to remove a long aisle of record bins from the center of the store. The bins were brought to Mark's place, which became known as the Bag house, since many people involved in the band lived there at one time or another, and rehearsals also took place there. Luckily Richard was OK with this. (It actually worked in his favor too; that show was the highest grossing performance in the history of the venue, right up to the time it closed. More room, more people, more money. And lots of people wanted to see us record an album.) Doing this required a large crew of people to assist us, eleven in all. The band could not be doing any of the moving, we had playing and recording to worry about it and couldn't be involved. Kind of foreign to us all, but definitely necessary. Mark and Kenny did allow the use of their trucks for the moving. (They had to, we couldn't afford to rent a moving truck. Such is the life of players of weird music.) Richard wanted to give us a percent of the door, which we initially refused, but we decided give it to the crew instead. They refused it too, until Richard assured us he was OK with his share. We were all just grateful we got to do it. So the crew got paid. They certainly worked hard for it.
Here's a note from later, looking back on the gig:
Bebop show. Marvelous turnout. Massive effort on our behalf by friends working as crew. Blistering high energy show. Surrounded by friends and supporters before the show, during, and then partying at the Bag house after.
BUT WAIT! IT'S THE VIEW FROM 2024!
(The opinions expressed below are mine, I alone am responsible for them.)
Here we are again, and once again I give the disclaimer: improvised music is risky. Paper Bag covered the whole range, from atrocious to brilliant. It's my opinion that entire range can be heard during this gig. That said, the atrocious moments pass quickly, the mediocre tracks are forgivable, and several of these tracks are among the very best in the band's 6 year history. Overall, a very significant and good show for us.
There is about two hours of music here. Most of the "Improvised My Ass" album was drawn from it, and had we stuck to doing that exclusively, as M. had strongly suggested, we could have easily filled the album. If we had been given the opportunity to do it as a CD, even with the extended time, we still could have filled it with quality music. Example: of the poetry pieces on here, only "I Live In L.A." made it onto the record. But as you will hear, the others would have been very strong contenders. It's true that choosing just enough tracks for that short LP was difficult.
I now have full acquaintance with everything we played that night. I hadn't heard any of the unreleased music since we decided on what tracks would go on the album, in August of '88. I'm happy to have rediscovered some music the band as a whole can be proud of. Sweet Willy, can you hear me now? The future is here! Hear the fanfare of the common bag!
Personal strong memories of moments of the show:
Playing the beginning riff of Mr. Id. I didn't think about it, I just did it. Some combination of muscle, and a couple of parts of consciousness. One of those times where in the very first moments, I saw and felt my hand and arm moving, I knew I'd hit it, and hoped I could keep it at that level to the end. Then I dived in and ran with it. What a rush.
The "birds flying in sync" moments between me and George at the end of "Origin".
M. playing the metal lids on his floor toms when the instrumental section begins on "I Live in L.A." He'd put them on before the piece started. I wasn't sure what he was going to do, and suddenly hearing the result made me smile and blew me away.
Kenny's oscillator playing coming in loudly towards the end of "Mantell's Last Flight". It caused a large grin on my face to appear for the rest of the piece.
So, sit back, relax, and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful gig. Wait, no.
Give it some respect!
I've got it.
I'll remember it strongly and fondly, as long as I have memory.
GS, 11/24
released November 25, 2024
Paper Bag:
George Radai- bass, effects, Taurus bass pedals, poetry/vocal
Kenny Ryman- keyboards, tape loops, turntable, regular and endless cassettes, vacuumette, oscillator, poetry/vocals
Greg Segal- guitar, effects
M. Segal- drums, conventional and unconventional percussion, ray guns, whirly tubes, poetry/vocals
Live recording produced and engineered on mobile 8-track by Phil Newman.
Live sound by Robert Eisenhammer
Special thanks to Richard Bruland for allowing us to take over his store/gallery/performance space for this event.
The fearless, very generous and overworked crew:
David McIntire, Tom Shannon, Nubs, Mary Radai, Brigid Crawford, Chris Gruenwedel, Steve Goldberg, Mage White, Tom Barricklow, Tim Snyder, Steve Shaw.
