Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Lost Recordings

As I rummage through my collection of songs I have written and recorded over the years, I have started to think about recordings once made, now lost.  I know that most of these recordings are long-gone, never to be heard again.  Some part of me wishes I could travel back in time to get one copy of each, just so I could listen to them again.

"Bed" performing on Sun Tree Stage - Calgary Stampede - July 10, 1974
In 1974 I was playing keyboards in a rock group called "Bed".  We covered songs by Led Zepplin, Jethro Tull and the Allman Brothers, and created new interpretations of blues standards, such as "Stormy Monday".

Eugene Chadbourne, the music critic for the Calgary Herald, wrote about the performance:
"Bed plays rock and roll, and it tries to play the music as hard and as energetically as possible."
"The members of this group were all much younger than the average band featured so far at Sun Tree."
"...the group's Sun Tree performance revealed seeds of the kind of potential Calgary's music scene needs badly.  These guys should keep playing."

From the stage, I could see the technicians in the sound booth, and a reel-to-reel tape recorder recording our show.  We were never offered a copy.  It sure would be fun to hear that recording now!

"Lassiter's Third Herd" - studio recording of five blues standards - Ida Banks' studio in Edmonton, 1976
In the summer of 1976 I played keyboards for Art Lassiter's blues band.  We recorded five blues standards.  The band was tight, and we played well.  Money was tight, and I didn't pay for a copy of the recording.  I wish I could hear it again.

"A Certain Kind" - 30 min. TV special - April 9, 1976
In 1976 I also played keyboards in a Calgary Jazz/Rock trio.  We were invited to record a 1/2 hour TV special in the SAIT television studio, and the production won the 1976 SAIT Television Production Award.  It was broadcast on Friday, April 9th.  Sadly, this was before people owned VCRs.  We have other studio recordings, but chances are that a recording of the TV special no longer exists. 

Where does that leave me?  Looking at a box of reel-to-reel recordings, wondering if I can find anyone with a good-quality reel-to-reel tape recorder in good condition.  Amongst these, there is my first professional studio recording of flute and piano music I recorded when I was 17.  I'd like to hear it again, and share it with sympathetic ears.

There is more music to be heard in my archives.  And there is so much more new music waiting to be recorded!
Performing at Calgary Stampede, age 17

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