Bob Schaeffer - DEAD

I never hit the big time or made a record that went gold or played in front of thousands of people, but man, I had some fun chasing the rock and roll dream.

Once, early on, my friend Alex decided to take recording lessons through the university so that he could record our band more effectively. His homework was to book time at the university recording studio, outfitted with ancient (but awesome) gear, and record stuff.

We were used to being up late and there were very few daytime hours available, so we'd get tanked up, set up the mics and cables and stuff, and record until well after the bars in town closed. Since we didn't have any help, Alex would set the levels and hit record, then race into the main room, pick up his bass, and we'd count it in.

During one of the sessions, our friend Bob Schaeffer came in and recorded a few songs with me on drums and Alex on bass. It was in the keys of D, then E, then A, then D again. As you might imagine, it's called DEAD.

So, here's the song. Bob showed us the idea and we played it once for practice, then recorded the second take (this one). There might have been more takes or other songs, but this one made it through the years.



Some of the best times were when I had little or no idea what I was doing. This was one of those times. I feel very lucky and grateful to have landed in Dekalb when I did.