Last May, I recorded the tribute to The Lovin’ Spoonful at 2A , a really special night of musical celebration (and perhaps the sweatiest in recent memory – the AC couldn’t handle the packed house). Tom Clark mentioned that Dave Davies was in the audience but I missed spotting Dave or the chance to say hello. A day or two after the show I was going over the recording and heard this little snippet in the background – Dave’s unmistakable voice offering a little encouragement between a couple of songs. Just a snippet of sound, but a genuine, unexpected moment from a music hero. This band deserved it.
I’m pleased, chuffed, pumped, delighted, tickled and downright honored to have The Reducers’ Last Tracks and Lost Songs included in Jack Rabid’s Best of 2015.
Jack is one of The Big Takeover, the world’s greatest (and thriving) rock magazine. I’ve been reading TBT for years and years so it’s a thrill to have such an emotionally charged project included in a list with some pretty impressive artists. (The Reducers are nestled in somewhere between The MC5 and The Heartbreakers).
Gosh, I fell for this band. Back in my “you-go-out-every-night-and-see-a-band” days, I, uh, pretty much went out every night to see a band. Sometimes I knew what I was getting into, sometimes I had no idea. Those nights without expectations were unsurprisingly a mixed bag. Most nights were meh, every now and then I wouldn’t last a song, but then there were those nights where you heard a band doing something special, making a connection with crowd, maybe even playing an unfamiliar brand of music.
Sea of Bees @ HiFi Bar, July 16, 2015
Sea of Bees did it for me when they played HiFi on July 15, 2015. I started recording for the Live at Fi podcast just a few weeks before Sea of Bees showed up and was still working out exactly how we were going to get these bands recorded. I showed up early to set up and was happy to meet Julie Ann and the rest of the band. All friendly, all happy and ready to play. The crowd wasn’t very big, but they showed up early, clearly expecting a lot of competition for seats. These people knew something I didn’t know and when Sea of Bees started playing I figured it out – Julie Ann Bee has start power. Such a unique voice and a set of original songs with strong, singable melodies that manage to steer clear of the traps of nostalgia. I loved the set and happily purchased a vinyl copy of their latest LP, Build a Boat to the Sun. I was too dopey to get autographs but I should have.
Live at Fi – Sea of Bees on iTunes
http://apple.co/1KWMpNF
Live at Fi – Sea of Bees on Soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/hifibar
