Joe G Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Just had a very enjoyable evening attending a concert by the Brad Shepik trio with Mark (Uncle Skid), and his friend Bill. Beforehand we managed to spot one Chuck Nessa in the crowd and whisk him away from his perfectly charming wife (they were there attending a pottery and crafts show) for a beer in a nearby dive bar (or was it he who wisked us away?). Spent an hour or so just rapping about this and that (and some of you all) until we finished a couple of rounds and had to make our way back to the venue. The concert itself was excellent, with Brad and his trio mates in fine form. A very unique take on the guitar trio, wouldn't you say, Mark? Got to hang out a bit with the band afterwards, too. Both Chuck and Mark said they would be showing up at future Organissimo gigs, which I'm sure will be more fun than you can shake a post at. Thank you for the drinks and the company; I hope we can do it again soon. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 And Chuck and his lovely wife Ann came to Billy's Lounge to see Randy and I play with the Grand River Blue Cats after hanging with Joe and Mark! It was a sincere pleasure meeting you, Chuck and your wife. That was a money-makin' gig for sure. I would love for you to come to an Organissimo hit in the future. Where the hell where you, Joe?!?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 (edited) It was a great pleasure to spend some time with you guys too. It is always fun to see how "board personalities" translate into human beings. Don't get out of Whitehall much, but you can count on our attendance at future gigs. PS for Jim; the Willis Jackson/Pat Martino date I mentioned was issued as Single Action. Edited December 6, 2003 by Chuck Nessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Ah, I don't think I have that one. I'll look for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted December 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Where the hell where you, Joe?!?? Uh, hanging with Brad Shepik? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 A likely story. It probably went something like this: After the concert, Brad is packing up his gear and has a ton of people around him. After 30 minutes of standing there looking like a doof, Joe gets his chance to talk to him. Joe: Dude, that was AWESOME! Brad: Thanks. Joe: Dude, you remember that time on your one record where you had middle eastern influences on there? Brad: Uh, yeah. Joe: That was great! Brad: I have to go now. Joe: AWESOME! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 COLD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted December 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 (edited) With Uncle Skid as my witness, it went down like this: Show ends, the band exits stage left, and the audience, after a moment of applause, begins to leave. My companions and I put on our coats and wait for the crowd to pass. Just as we are leaving, I hear someone calling my name repeatedly, "Joe! Joe! Wait!!!!" I turn to look behind me and see Brad heading in our direction at a near sprint. He hurdles a row of seats, catching his foot on the seat back and comes crashing to the ground. Before we can react, he leaps to his feet and limps the rest of the way up to where we are standing. "Brad", I say, "Are you all right?" He winces and replies," Oh it's nothing. Forget about it. Man, I have been listening to your cd ever since I stole that copy from Nate Shaw back in the spring. It kicks maximum ass!!! Is there any chance we can get together so I can get a guitar lesson from you?" " Well, thank you Brad," I say, " Yes, I'm sure we could work that out. Just contact me the next time you're swinging through Michigan." "Great!", he says, "You have got to show me some of that shit!.... Um....I was just wondering, well, did you, y'know, like our show?" "Oh yeah Brad. You've come a long way since the first time I saw you. I see a lot of improvement happening there. Great work," I answer. Brad says, "Oh thank you sooooo much. That makes this whole trip worth while right there. Thanks Joe, for everything. " Awkward pause.... Me: "Brad, I have to go now." Brad: "AWESOME!" Edited December 6, 2003 by Joe G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Damn, that's eerily similair to the first time I met Joey D... or should I say, he met me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdog Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 A likely story. It probably went something like this: After the concert, Brad is packing up his gear and has a ton of people around him. After 30 minutes of standing there looking like a doof, Joe gets his chance to talk to him. Joe: Dude, that was AWESOME! Brad: Thanks. Joe: Dude, you remember that time on your one record where you had middle eastern influences on there? Brad: Uh, yeah. Joe: That was great! Brad: I have to go now. Joe: AWESOME! The spirit of Chris Farley lives, and posts here on Organissimo.org!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted December 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Damn, that's eerily similair to the first time I met Joey D... or should I say, he met me! Does that include the "crashing to the ground" part? Sorry, cheap shot. Give me a warning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Jim might need a warning for goading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 I can't help it. I'm a goad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Forget about it. Man, I have been listening to your cd ever since I stole that copy from Nate Shaw back in the spring. I'm just now joining this party, so pardon if I didn't catch this the first time (or even know how it came up in the first place). Is the "Nate Shaw" in this post, the same "Nate Shaw" who is or was based in Minneapolis (I think he moved to NYC a few years ago). The guy plays a mean piano, looks quite a bit like Ben Folds, and he used to be a member of a band called "The Motion Poets" (which used to be called "The Little Big Band" before that) - a six piece group lead by Doug Little (alto sax), also from Minneapolis??? Just saw the name, and wondered if it was the same guy. The "Poets" came through Kansas City a bunch of times in the mid-to-late 90's, and although the story's too long to tell - they ended up crashed at my place several times. Nice guys. Doug Little even let my wife and I crash at his place up in Minneapolis, and loaned us his car for the weekend -- when he and the band were on the road. Man, am I going off topic, or what!!!! Hell, while I'm off topic, the line-up of the Motion Poets was... Doug Little - Alto Sax (leader) Mark Sutton - Trumpet, Flugelhorn Mark Miller - Trombone Nate Shaw - Piano Chris Bates - Bass J.T. Bates - Drums Later, Mark Sutton was replaced by another trumpet player from NYC, who's name I can't seem to find on-line at the moment. I saw Doug play here in Kansas City last year (or was it the year before), leading a quartet, with some really great Italian piano player, and a drummer that was nearly as good as Kenny Garrett's young drummer (shit, can't remember his name either). OK, now I'm REALLY off-topic!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted December 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 This is the Nate Shaw I'm referring to. Electric bassist J.A. Grinelli (sp?) played in G.R. earlier this year in a lineup that included both Shepik and Shaw. Randy gave Nate and the drummer copies of the disc. So you see, it could've happened! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 (edited) This is the Nate Shaw I'm referring to. YEAH!!!!! That's the same Nate. He's crashed on my couch about 3 or 4 times (for the record, that was several years ago). And technically, he could have been one of the guys that slept on the floor in sleeping bags. In any case, he's a GREAT pianist, and a great guy too. Man, I've got to check out his site, and see if he has any new recordings. My wife and I both thought he was one of the most tallented guys in The Motion Poets (though all of them had lots of potential). Damn, small world!!! Edited December 6, 2003 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted December 7, 2003 Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 What kind of beer were you dudes drinking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted December 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 Well, we just hit the nearest bar, which was a little hole in the wall. When asked what they had on tap, the answer was: Bud and Bud Light. I asked what they had in bottles. Bud, Bud Light, Killians-- "I'll take that!" I don't think they're getting on board the microbrew revolution any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Skid Posted December 7, 2003 Report Share Posted December 7, 2003 Gotta say “thanks again” to Joe for putting this outing together. I had not heard about the concert until Joe's posting in the “Live Shows & Festivals” area. Joe & Chuck - It was really nice meeting you both, and Chuck's wife Ann, as well. I really enjoyed the drinks and conversation at the bar, even with the pretty awful country music in the background. I'm really looking forward to driving up to Chuck's sometime to buy some CD's – one of the previous AOW's (Air Time) is high on my list, and also Roscoe Mitchell's “"Snurdy McGurdy”. The concert was excellent! “Unique take on the guitar trio” describes it perfectly, Joe. It's very hard to categorize Brad's trio, but unique and eclectic probably comes close. One song had a distinct reggae feel to it, and I didn't realize how different it really was until Joe pointed out that it was “reggae in 7, wow!”. Wow, indeed! Hanging out with Brad and the guys after was very cool. Brad is a very nice guy, and seemed genuinely grateful that we had come out to see him. My buddy Bill even got to “talk shop” for awhile with the bassist, John Hebert. All of us picked up Brad's latest CD; I'm looking forward to delving into that one! BTW, Joe's description of the after-the-show meeting with Brad is *exactly* how it went down. I think I even heard Brad mutter something that sounded like “I'M NOT WORTHY! I'M NOT WORTHY!” upon first spotting Joe in the crowd. And Joe, thanks for taking the time to give me advice and guidance on my guitar playing. I really like what you do live and on the CD – “I'M NOT WORTHY!!”. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upright Bill Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 Chuck & Joe, It was great to meet you guys. The concert was great, conversation was excellent, the beer sucked. Joe, I have to admit that I thought it was pathetic the way Brad swooned when he spotted you. Jeez, I've seen hero worship before but that nearly made me lose my gross, warm beer! Chuck, I'm looking forward to more "war stories!" John Hebert was (like most bassists) a very personable guy. Nice 1900's German bass as well. Upright Bill & The Greyhounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 Welcome to the board Upright! We need more people in that condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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