Chuck Snow's eponymous new musical offering is a really good listen
and it's available now on his website...
Posted originally
December 3, 2020,
and last updated December 3, 2020 by
Chuck Miller
 Colorado
Springs native, singer\songwriter & guitar slinger Chuck
Snow has released a new collection of mostly original songs
simply titled Chuck Snow.
I first became aware of Snow when he fronted
the band The Autono. That band released three CD's from 1990
to 1995 and was very popular along the front range of
Colorado.
Since then, Snow has put together or been a
member of a few more bands, including The Texas 7, The Lo-Fi
Cowboys, The Fremont Street Preachers and most recently the
G-Men.
The new CD has a good mix of the genres he's
tackled in the past. It has maturity and depth to it that
matches his 58 trips around the sun.
Not surprisingly the vocals and tasteful guitar playing are
very good, but he actually played all the instruments on
this project. After my first listen I took a look at the CD
package to see if I could find credits for all the musicians
I thought I heard.
The CD was released on November 16 of this
year, and has six songs with a remix version of one of those
songs available on his website.
"Smoke Em" starts the disc off with urgency.
I hear a little late 70's early '80's new wave vibe in
there. It reminds me of what The Tubes and The Cars were doing around
that time.
I'm a David Lynch movie fan and as soon as I
heard "Curtis" it reminded me of Lynch's "Wild At Heart" and
"Blue Velvet" with that moody, vibrato drenched, warped
guitar sound Chris Isaak perfected on those movie
soundtracks. It's a great song too.
The autobiographical "Old Boy" is one of the
more poppy songs I've heard from Snow. But, then it gets a
bit jazzy as it unfolds too. Dare I call it sophisticated
and poignant? Well, whatever it is, I like it. "Old Boy" is
one of the highlights on this compilation. It sounds
authentic and true to what I've heard previously from Mr.
Snow and contemporary to me.
I moved to Colorado Springs in the early
'80s, which is the same time Snow started performing music.
I've made the same observation about the city that's
expressed in the track "Too Many Rats." When I asked Snow
for some autobiographic information in preparing to write
this review I asked him, "...anything else noteworthy to say
about the new music?" He fittingly replied, "It's a dark
record clearly influenced by all the nonsense we have
occurring in these dystopian times. Lol." That serious
underlying message brushed off with a laugh oozes from this
CD and this song specifically. To help drive the point in a
little deeper he presents another version of the song called
"Too Many Rats Skalicious Ultra Mix" on this website. That
remix turns this dystopian view upside down with the light
ska riffs and is synonymous with the "Lol" he added at
the end of his description of the music packaged here. Those
two takes on the same tune are the essence of this clever collection of songs.
 The cover song "Everybody Wants To Survive"
by the Infliktors" fit's neatly in with the originals on
Chuck Snow. I sought out the original version which
starts out sparse and desolate and evolves into a bit of a
punk anthem. Snow's cover sounds much more optimistic to me
than than the Infliktors take and gives needed relief from
the weighty lyrics. A fitting cover for this collection.
The CD ends with what may be the best song,
"Spare Parts." This familiar sounding, country tinged ballad
feels honestly heartfelt. You can hear the truth in his
stark delivery of the lyrics. There's even a little hook in
there that you'll remember even after first hearing it.
Because of the depth of these songs I'll have
this record in my high rotation playlist for a while. There
are no filler songs on this release. Snow told me he had a
couple other songs he considered including but didn't. I
like it just the way it is. I think you will too.
If you'd like to
download or buy the CD and
learn more about Chuck Snow, check out the link to his
official website below. If you buy the digital download
you will receive bonus tracks, "Too Many Rats
Skalicious Mix" & "Drifting" which are
available now with "The Theme From Waxman" being
released next week.
Update to: A homemade effects pedal board made from a large
Home Depot wooden crate...
Posted originally September
29, 2020,
and last updated
September 29, 2020 by
Chuck Miller
I ended up making a second (smaller) effect pedals
board from the scraps left over from the first board I made.
Updated to show a couple of photos.
  
Follow this link to the original pedal board project
My last guitar effects pedal review for now: The Kmise
KM-02 (Black) Ultimate Drive Distortion...
Posted September 23, 2020,
and last updated
September 23, 2020 by
Chuck Miller
This will be my last Kmise guitar pedal
review for a while. I'll also wrap up this blog entry and my
short tenure as a Kmise pedal reviewer with my final thoughts about the
guitar effects boxes I've reviewed for them. This has been
a great opportunity for me to test various effects, and I'm
much more knowledgeable about guitar pedals because of it.
I'd like to thank Kmise for giving me the opportunity and
trust that I'd do reliable and honest reviews of their
products.
It has been pleasantly instructive for me to be given the
opportunity to audition several different pedals in such a
short time. I still have plenty to learn, so maybe I'll get
back to reviewing again at a later time.
Kmise, which sells their products though
lotmusic Store on Amazon and other places, was kind
enough to provide this KM-02 Distortion pedal to me without
charge and has asked me to write an honest review of the
product. Recently, they've asked me if I could do video
reviews, but I'm just not up to doing that. It's much too
time consuming for me now, and I'd rather have the time to play guitar instead of spending time making and editing
videos.
About the product at hand -- The KM-02
Ultimate Drive Distortion effect. Generally, I'm not a huge
distortion pedal user. I prefer overdrive or softer clipping
sounds, although I do like certain fuzz produced tones.
 Of
all the distortion units I have had the opportunity to
utilize or review recently, I had the highest hopes for the Kmise Ultimate Drive. I did some research, and several
players believe it's a Fulltone OCD clone. That pedal is
generally held in high regard. Perhaps they believe it's a
replica because the Ultimate Drive has that high/low toggle
switch on it like the OCD. I don't have the OCD, so I can't
compare them for this review.
Almost as soon as I plugged my guitar into
this pedal and turned the volume up on the amp, I knew it was
good, but probably not my-just-exactly-perfect distortion
device. However, the more I play with it, the more I like
it. I grow fonder of the US Dream pedal the more I use it,
too, and I really like that one now.
Coincidently, I also bought a used Boss DS-1
distortion device recently. Boss has sold over one million
of them. Every electric guitar player has either heard of it or used
it, and my first impression is that I don't like it as
much as this pedal. It probably sounds great for what many
players use it for, a lead boost, but that sound just isn't
right for me. I can't dial the distortion out of the Boss
pedal as I can with this one or even my project fuzz pedal. The DS-1 gets screechy and tinny where the
Kmise effect is almost always nice and smooth. I have
already looked into how to mod and tame the DS-1, so
that may be a future project for me.
The last session I had
with the Ultimate Drive, I was able to get a good Chuck Berry
tone out of it. That was nice because I love playing that
style of music. Just for comparison's sake, I also tried it
against the fuzz pedal I built. My pedal doesn't have as
many options for modifying its overall sound, but my pedal
still holds up pretty well against the KM-02. Like the other Kmise pedals I've tried, there is plenty of variability in
sounds just by twisting those knobs. The tone control on the
KM-02 goes from raunchy, dirty, in-the-mud lows to clear and
articulate highs. The level control is not as smooth for
dialing in the perfect setting for me as the tone knob is.
It also has a high/low switch that I haven't figured out
exactly how to make the best use of. Right now, it's just
one more variable that makes this device really good but probably not
my "ultimate drive" pedal.
 I've
reviewed four Kmise pedals to date, and this is my third
favorite pick of them all. That's no fault of Kmise,
by the way. I have to say, though, the pedal works perfectly: it
looks nice, it's very inexpensive, and it doesn't take up
much space on my pedal board. The true bypass design and the
toggle switch make it more versatile than a lot of
distortion pedals on the market. I'm not going to give up on
this one. I'll continue to use it with my Line 6 Flextone
III modeling amp to see if it sounds better going into one
of the many head unit or cabinet simulations that amp
offers.
In general, I've found Kmise a very good
company to work with. I receive prompt replies when I have
questions for them. They deliver the pedals quickly and most
of them work perfectly. Their guitar effects are built to
last, and the prices are very agreeable. If they come out
with reverb or booster pedals, I'll buy them. The only other
pedal they currently offer that interests me is the Analog
Chorus. I'll most likely try that one in the future. I
already have plenty of ways to dirty up my guitar sound with
the devices I currently own, so it's no more distortion
pedals for me now.
There is one nagging thing with that Kmise
Vintage Phase I wrote about at the beginning of September. I
still hear faint RF interference noise from it. It's the
only pedal I own that exhibits that annoying problem. Again,
it may be the pairing with my old Line 6 Flextone III solid
state amp, but I don't use that pedal any more because of
the RF issue. That pedal is my least favorite of the bunch.
But I do have to say, the phase effect itself sounds very
nice when that radio interference is not heard in the
background.
The US Dream pedal I bought on eBay based on
another product review I read is my favorite of the Kmise
offerings. It produces more of the vintage type of
distortion I like to hear.
It can be shaped to respond more like a boost box, too, which
makes it more versatile for me.
It's the pedal that prompted me to contact Kmise about
reviewing their products. The Digital Delay they sent me is
also a solid effect, and I'll continue to use it until I can
afford a programmable delay.
What's next for me and the blog? Maybe a
hiatus. I really want to get back to playing guitar. I feel
like I've been spending too much time writing, and that's not
my passion. The thing that's made me most happy lately is
that Sweet Little Diode Fuzz project -- I love that pedal! For
me, it's got a great growl to it. I'd like to have a
switchable buffer pedal someday, so that may be my next
endeavor, building one of those. If I do that or have
anything else relevant to discuss, I'll post about it here.
Until then...
Visit the official Kmise
website
Follow this link to get more information or to purchase the Kmise
Ultimate Drive pedal on Amazon
Another electric guitar electronics project: Sweet Little
Diode Fuzz pedal I built following an online article...
Posted September 19, 2020,
and last updated
September 19, 2020 by
Chuck Miller
 Since
I didn't have a fuzz pedal yet, I decided to build one. For
those unfamiliar, fuzz distortion is part of that guitar sound Jimi
Hendrix articulates so well on the song "Purple Haze." A
"fuzz" pedal distorts a guitar signal in a distinctly (oftentimes) pleasing way. It's an easy guitar sound to recognize.
I followed Rob Cruickshank's excellent article on
MusicWorks
to build my first fuzz pedal project . The article is very
well written with detailed photos that help illustrate what
he's doing all the way through. I chose his fuzz pedal,
primarily because I already had all the parts needed to make
it already. I
used a pedal housing from a broken stomp box along with
capacitors, an op-amp, resistors, knobs, and other
components I had on hand. I liked the fact that it primarily uses two
diodes to produce the fuzz sound rather than using
transistors. I haven't had very good luck with using transistors
on past audio projects. The specifications on them vary so
much you never know what you are going to get. Some people
actually test hundreds to get just the right ones. I don't
have the time or patience for that. For an example of how
wide the tolerances and aspects of individual transistors
vary, the fuzz pedal Hendrix used on "Purple Haze" was
manufactured using germanium transistors, which are not
temperature stable. So, in every different location Hendrix
used that pedal, it sounded slightly different because of
room temperature fluctuations. That's crazy! Knowing that, I
generally stick with op-amp circuits, which don't have such
wide tolerances and quirks.
It was a bit dicey getting everything stuffed into that mini
stomp box, but in the end it all worked out fine. I'm
calling it Sweet Little Diode Fuzz because of the small size and because
it uses two N1914 diodes to produce the fuzz sound. It's
externally powered because there is no room for an on-board
battery in that enclosure.
After I worked out how to get all the parts into that little
box, I ran it through some tests. I demoed it against a Kokko
Overdrive and the Kmise US Dream distortion pedals I already
have. It held its own surprisingly well considering it's
only using two diodes to produce the distortion. I was able
to emulate the Kokko, which is a Tube Screamer clone, fairly
well. The effect with my pedal is not as refined as with the
Koko device. To be fair, the Sweet Little Diode Fuzz doesn't
have a tone knob, so it's not an apples to apples
comparison. I couldn't get it to sound much like the Kmise
pedal, though. That pedal is truly unique. My pedal is
barely
noticeably noisier and generally warmer sounding than both
of the comparison units. It can also produce very, very
heavy distortion. That amount of dirty isn't my particular
style, but I can appreciate the effect, and I am pleased that
it still stays warm sounding when pushed that far. Even
though it has a warm timbre, it doesn't sound muddy at all.
I kept wanting to play the Derek and the Dominos version of
"Little Wing" and surprisingly the Grateful Dead's version
of "Morning Dew" with this pedal on the lower distortion
side of the fuzz setting. One important feature of a
good sounding guitar pedal is that it makes you want to play
your guitar. I absolutely love the sound of my guitar going
through it. I'll call the profile of this pedal warm with a
scooped mid-frequency tone. I like it and I have found this
pedal has more range, going from mild overdrive to all out
screaming rage than the other distortion stomp boxes I own.
I may replace the TLO72 op-amp with a less noisy device at
some point, but even the latent noise it produces doesn't
bother me. One more thing I noticed is that it feeds back
very easily when needed. So overall it's just a good old
fuzz pedal with all the quirks of that particular guitar
effect.
 I
have to say, there truly is nothing like the feeling of soldering
together a
bunch of seemingly random components to make something so
cool sounding and useful as this from scratch. I'm
constantly amazed when I power up a new project and it
actually works as intended. This one I assembled on a
standard, electronics strip board pictured to the left.
Working mostly at night for an hour or two at a time, I
figure I have about 8 hours total invested in it. That
includes drilling, priming and painting the enclosure,
designing the top artwork, wiring, testing, fitting, and
assembly. I may get in there and change some components to
make it a bit more refined in the future, but as is, this
pedal is a worthy addition to my pedal board. One thing I
decided when I began making my own pedals is to put level
indicators on the top of the case for each knob. For me it's
something I miss on many mass produced stomp boxes. I like
to be able to dial in the exact level settings I want on
every guitar effect I use.
Some details on the build... I chose to change a couple of things
from the original design in the article.
The schematic called for just one potentiometer to control
both volume and fuzz level. A one-knob effect is sometimes
appealing but not in this case. That design produced way too
much overall output gain for me.
I decided to add a 20k audio taper volume control at
the output of the circuit. This allows for the first knob to
just control the signal level that pushes the op-amps and
diodes into distortion and in turn allows me to control the
overall volume before it exits the pedal with the second
control. I also used a true bypass style on/off foot switch
instead of
Cruickshank's simple on/off toggle switch.
I have the philosophy that a straight through guitar signal
is oftentimes better than going through a buffer in a high
impedance signal chain.
I always end up spending a lot of time on the case art and design.
I'm mostly happy with how this one looks. Originally, I had
the coloring in the lettering a cooler blue, but it didn't
look good with the green LED I already had. So, I changed
the color to green to match the LED, which makes it look
better. I've been using Cricut brand Printable Clear Sticker
Paper printed on an HP laser jet printer for the graphics on
my project pedals. The only drawback in using that product
is that it locks me into designing around the color the
pedal is painted because it always shows through the clear
section of the sticker in the final product.
As with anything I post here, drop me a line if you have any
questions or need more information. I'll always do my best
to help. I'm passionate about this stuff, and I love
discussing anything audio related. My contact information is
here: Contact
What's next? Kmise is sending me another distortion pedal,
their Ultimate Drive which reportedly emulates the revered
Fulltone OCD. I've never felt compelled to buy the pricey
OCD, so I've never heard it. However, I'm looking forward to
hearing what a clone of that distortion effect sounds like.
Before my sponsored guitar pedal reviewing tenure is over, I
will have a fairly good selection of cheap overdrive and
distortion effects. I'm thinking that's not necessarily a
bad thing.
Follow
this link to view the original article I used to build my
Sweet Little Diode Fuzz pedal
An electronics project: Building a great sounding digital
delay effects pedal from a DIY kit purchased online...
Posted September 8, 2020,
and last updated
September 8, 2020 by
Chuck Miller
Delay is one of the most used and useful effects a musician
or engineer can use in creating music. You hear the effect
as slap-back on early blues and rock-and-roll records. It's
currently used in studios and in live sound reinforcement on
voices and practically every other instrument. The
effect is often used to call attention to a lyric or a
musical section within a song.
 When
I started re-learning to play guitar, getting a modern, good
sounding digital delay was at the top of my list. I've loved
the effect on electric guitar since I heard Alex Lifeson use
it to great effect on the title song from RUSH's 1976 album
2112.
I hadn't used my soldering skills in a while, and I didn't
want to spend much money on this thing, so I went about
finding a digital delay I could assemble from a DIY kit. I
chose a promising appearing kit from a company based in
China that was sold on eBay. It cost me $26.30, which in
hindsight I think is a real bargain. When the kit
arrived from China (it took a couple of weeks), there was a
card inside with this URL on it:
http://www.prolandtone.com/.
The link brings up a web page for the Prolandtone company
located in China. Many of the links to products on that
website don't work; therefore, the site isn't very useful.
At the end of this blog entry, I have posted a link to the
eBay auction I used to buy my kit. There's no guarantee that
this kit will be available for long.
Once in hand, it didn't take me long to populate the circuit
board with the components and solder it all together. The
process that took the longest for me was coming up with
paint and graphics for the case since I really didn't like
the graphics that came on it. On the picture below is the
finished pedal. I liked the blue color used on the stock
device, so I used it in the final graphic. I wouldn't advise
trying this kit as your first DIY guitar pedal project as
there are lots of wires and it has quite a few components
that need to be soldered on the circuit board.
It did come with a high quality PC board, which was labeled
with the component values that need to be soldered into each
of the top-side holes. The components included were of high
quality, too. It was nice to see 1% metal film resistors,
sockets for the IC's, and good quality capacitors included
in the parts bag. Even so,
I had to do some troubleshooting to get it to work after I
got mine assembled. A jumper wire needed to be installed
that wasn't noted on the PCB or online schematic.
I had my doubts as to how well it would work and sound. Once
I completed assembly, I thoroughly tested it, and to my
surprise, it sounded very, very good. It doesn't generate
much extraneous noise. The three controls -- delay time,
feedback, and mix -- are very useful and intuitive to use.
The device sounds the way it does due to employing the
commonly available PT2399 digital chip, used in many modern
delay devices. I read on a DIY pedal board site that it has
a more analog sound due to the filtering used to cut the
high frequencies the PT2399 passes. It appears that the chip
may be slightly too perfect sounding and needs some taming.
Whatever they did, they did it well because it's a very nice
analog sounding delay.
I've been using it for a little over a month now, and I'm
very happy with it. It's currently my main guitar
delay pedal, despite having a couple of commercially made
digital delay pedals to use.
To find the same kit I bought, paste "Delay DIY Guitar Pedal
Kit with Delay-1 Pedal PSB and PT2399/TL077" into the search
box on eBay or use the link below. I don't have any
affiliation with eBay, TTone, Prolandtone, or any of the
other companies I've mentioned in this blog entry.
Follow this link to view the eBay auction I used to purchase
my analog sounding digital delay pedal kit
A guitar accessories project - A homemade effects pedal
board made from a large Home Depot wooden crate...
Posted September 8, 2020,
and last updated
September 8, 2020 by
Chuck Miller
 Since
I hope to keep my blog alive in the live music-starved days
and months of the pandemic, I'm going to continue to share
some more guitar oriented items here.
I promise I'll get back to recording, concerts, and other
live music-centric topics as soon as possible.
Playing guitar again has re-ignited my passion for DIY
projects, including inexpensive ways to make needed
accessories and getting back into working on
electronics projects. This includes making projects from
scratch and modifying already assembled items to be more
useful for me.
So, let me start with the homemade, wooden guitar pedal
board I assembled last month. Of course, I need some way to
manage my growing collection of guitar effects pedals. When
I started shopping for retail pedal boards, I found them to
be over-priced for the size I wanted. My ideal guitar pedal
board holds at least 10 pedals and costs less than $50. I
couldn't find an existing product that fit that bill, so I
decided to make my own.
 I
checked Google and read that many do-it-yourselfers have
made them out of the pieces of a disassembled IKEA crate. I
found a YouTube video by Matt LeFevers that shows exactly
how to do it. Follow the link at the bottom of this blog
entry to watch that video. There are many more videos, if
you're interested. Just type "IKEA crate pedal board" into
Google (or your favorite search engine), and you'll see
pages of tutorials and ideas to get you started. Since I
don't live very close to an IKEA and don't appreciate long
lines, I bought this
large wooden crate (pictured above) at Home Depot for
$12.98 that worked just as well.
For what it's worth,
and since I have been reviewing some guitar pedals with
reimbursement, I don't have any affiliation with Google,
IKEA, Home Depot, YouTube, or Matt LeFevers.
It wasn't difficult to make the effects pedal board after
watching the video, even though the Home Depot crate was
slightly different than the IKEA. The box I used
necessitated that I use my sabre saw to cut the sides of the
box to make it slant up like the one in the YouTube video. I
think my version is probably more stable.
 I
disassembled the slats I needed and reattached them using
Gorilla glue, which is much stronger than the wire brads
used originally. I also reinforced the sides with some metal
L brackets. The finished board measures 18" long x 9.5" wide
x 2.5" tall and holds plenty of effects pedals since I like
to demo multiple combinations of the effects to compare them
and use them properly.
To finish it up I painted the whole thing satin black and
covered the slats with industrial strength Velcro.
As you can see, it's essentially the long side of the crate
the pedals rest on. The loop part of the Velcro was placed
on the slats, and the hook portion of the Velcro is adhered
to the bottom of the individual pedals so they stay in place
when placed in the slats. I also mounted a thin pedal power
station (not pictured) under the slats to power all the
pedals properly without using the valuable space on top of
the board.
I'm quite pleased with the results. After making it,
I still have enough wood left over from that crate to make
another smaller effects pedal board if needed some day. If
you want to try making one like this yourself,
contact me. I'd be happy to share more details with you
if you want to build a pedal board like this one.
Follow this link to the large Home Depot box used to make my
pedal board
Follow
this link to the Matt LeFevers YouTube video detailing how
to make this pedal board
Another guitar effects pedal review: The Kmise Vintage
Phase is a very nice sounding phase shifter...
Posted September 6, 2020,
and last updated
September 30, 2020 by
Chuck Miller
Vintage Phase is a fitting name for this somewhat generic
looking device. My first impression
is that it sounds quite similar to the
MXR Phase 90, which is the
old-style gold standard for
guitar phase pedals. Fittingly, this Kmise pedal
housing has a gold flake paint job, perhaps paying tribute
to the reference pedal that sports a similar orange color. The
Vintage Phase also has
only one knob labeled "Speed" and a red LED like the MXR. The
effect housing
measures 1 5/8" across by 3
5/8" long and 2" tall including the height of the
power button.
The aluminum case is very sturdy, but
its small size doesn't allow for an
onboard battery. So, you will need a separate 9v power
supply to use it. It's nice and quiet, and I don't detect any boosting or cutting of
the guitar signal through the pedal. The tone of my
Stratocaster remains intact when the pedal is engaged.
 To
finish up on the features, the pedal also offers true bypass
and a silent on/off foot switch.
I can tell you that Kmise customer service is very good as I
had the opportunity to contact them. When I started testing
the unit, I heard radio interference coming through my amplifier
when the pedal was switched on. I checked and tested
everything thoroughly. Still, the problem persisted. I contacted Kmise and
told them about the issue, and they sent me another pedal in
less than one week.
When the second pedal exhibited the same problem, I did some
research and read that the interference might be dirty AC power going to my
older solid-state amp. So I bought an RF protected surge suppressor, and that
did the trick. No more AM country radio coming through my
old amp. The Vintage Phase pedal sounded crystal
clear with the amp plugged into the new RF suppressor power
strip. That made me happy because I genuinely like and have
come to trust the Kmise pedals I've tried, and I found it
hard to believe that they would send me two bad pedals.
Also, now I could do a fair evaluation of this new, gold
flake painted box.
I started by just strumming open position cords and
found there is plenty of variety in sounds
achieved by just adjusting that one knob. I would describe
the sound as very clean and the depth of the phase
cancellation as in the medium range -- think David Gilmour's
sound on the Pink Floyd album Animals. For a deeper
phase effect like The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir's tone in the
late 1980's, you'll need a phase shifter with more control
than this simple one knob pedal.
At no setting does it distort or suck tone. It's pleasingly
musical throughout the full range of the "Speed" knob. Just
for comparison's sake, my guitar amp models the MXR Phase 90
in the effects section. The Vintage Phase and my amplifier's
phase pedal patch sound very close, but not exactly the
same. The feedback and mix are adjustable on the
effect built into the amp, so it's not a fair comparison.
I'm selective about how I think a phase shifter should sound,
and the Kmise Vintage Phase sits in that sweet spot for me.
That's especially true when paired with my guitar and amp. I
found it also sounds great when played before or after a distortion
effect. If I were a touring musician, I'd probably want more
control, but for playing cover songs in the basement and
jamming with friends, this is all I need in a phaser.
This is the third Kmise pedal I've reviewed, and it
ranks second in usability and sound for me behind the US
Dream Distortion pedal I bought before I joined the Kmise
Testing Club. I also need to disclose that I received this item
for free in exchange for an honest
review. If I didn't like it or if I found something wrong
with it, I'd write that in the review. I can also say I'd buy this pedal
in a minute for the current price of $21.99 on Amazon after
hearing for myself what it sounds like. It sells for much
less than one third the price of the reference pedal and
offers sound close enough to it for many guitar player's
needs. This one is a keeper for me on my growing pedal
board.
Visit the official Kmise
website
Follow this link to get more information or to purchase the Kmise
Vintage Phase pedal on Amazon
Update September 23, 2020:
While I still like the sound of this phase pedal, I am also
still experiencing RF interference with it in some
situations. I can't say with certainty that's it's all the
fault of the pedal, but none of my other pedals display this
interference. I hear an AM country radio station's signal
when I turn my amp up to moderate volume. I've looked at
every other variable. It's not my guitar, cables or other
pedals. When I bought and started using an RF filtered power
strip the problem almost went away. At times, there is no
interference, but at other times and places I can clearly
hear the radio. Please make what you will of this info.
Update September 30, 2020:
Good news. I bought a JHS Little Black Buffer to put at the
front of my effects chain and I placed a pedal with a built
in buffer at the end of the chain and that has really
cleaned up the RF interference problem with this pedal. It's
very quiet now, so it's back on my effects board, as I
really do like the sound of it.
Guitar effects pedal review: Another great guitar effects pedal
from Kmise - the Kmise Digital Delay...
Posted August 30, 2020,
and last updated
September 1, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
 I
love delay effects. There's nothing better than a subtle
guitar slap-back sound on 50's rock-n-roll songs. Before
digital took over, engineers had to run the instrument or
voice through a tape delay or maybe another primitive analog
device to get that effect. Now, all that can be done easily in the
digital domain.
Recently, I hand built a digital delay pedal
project based on the Rebote Delay 2.5 circuit. I'm very happy with the resulting pedal. It
has an "analog" sound, due to the filtering used after the
digital delay chip does its thing. It's the best
inexpensive digital delay circuit I have heard.
So when Kmise offered me the opportunity to
review their line of products, I jumped at the opportunity
to try their digital delay pedal. I wanted to
hear what the current digital delay devices could do. As a
participant in their Testing Club, I received the effect
for free in exchange for an honest review of the
product. Previously, I had purchased their US Dream
distortion effect without reimbursement, and I absolutely
loved it. My last blog post is a review of that product.
So when the Kmise Digital Delay pedal
(KM-08) arrived and I unboxed it, my first impression was
that the pedal itself looked quite boring. It has three
typical, unassuming (delay)
Time, (effect) Level, and Repeat control knobs. It's housed
in a thick aluminum casing that has a sparkly brown coating
on it. It has a solid
feel to it, able to be used and abused over many
years. But it still looks rather generic to me.
I built that
Rebote Delay 2.5 project last month because I didn't have a
usable delay yet and I wanted to emulate the sound Neil Finn got on the Crowded House hit
song "Don't Dream It's Over." That pedal is able to emulate
the effect very well. So my first test for the Kmise Digital
Delay pedal was to get the slap back echo sound on that
song.
It was easy and intuitive to dial that effect
in. The knob settings were quite different than the
ones I used on my pedal project, so the circuit is not
exactly the same. The Kmise delay pedal has a cleaner sound
to it than my project delay. The repeats are clearer and
slightly more mechanical sounding. But it's still musical.
Like my other delay pedal it
does an excellent job of reproducing the guitar sound on
that song.
I measured the Kmise Digital Delay pedal as
having a maximum delay time of 583 milliseconds. The circuit is self
oscillating, meaning that when the repeat knob is turned up
to the maximum, the pedal will continue to produce delay
endlessly. It's a strange effect, but for some people, it's important.
Like my reference delay the Kmise pedal doesn't allow for
"tails."
Meaning, when you push the on/off switch while the delay
effect is happening it immediately cuts the repeats rather
than allowing them to
continue. That "tails" feature is
usually only found on much more expensive delay pedals.
I really like this pedal, although I'm not
sure if it will completely replace my project Rebote 2.5 delay.
I will stack them and use them together on my pedal board
for a while. One advantage it has over my current delay is the
maximum delay length. But, it's only a few milliseconds
difference. My current delay outputs more white noise
than the Kmise pedal, so subjectively the Kmise delay sound is slightly
clearer.
In a live environment that may be an advantage. It's also
true bypass and requires a 9v center negative power supply
as the case is too small to house a battery.
For comparison, I also have a Donner Echo
Square digital delay pedal. It has several different types
of delay that can be selected. But, that pedal outputs so much white
noise when engaged that it is unusable for me. I like
crystal clear tone, and the Donner digital delay I have
doesn't allow for that. I've contacted Donner to see if the
device I received is defective. The Donner pedal cost me $43
on Amazon. The Kmise Digital Delay pedal
can be purchased on Amazon for $18.59.
To sum up, the Kmise Digital Delay pedal
(KM-08) is an incredibly affordable digital delay effect. It
doesn't sound harsh at extreme settings and is easy to use.
It's very inexpensive for a device that sounds so good. If
you want that clean, non-degraded delay effect and don't
need more than a half second of delay time, it's a no
brainer. Buy it. The more I use it, the more I think it'll
replace my current delay pedal, mainly because it's so
clean sounding.
So far, Kmise is batting 2-2 on its guitar
pedals for me. I have a Vintage Phase pedal coming from them soon. That will be my next review.
I hope it is as
useful as the last two Kmise pedals I've received.
I need a chorus pedal so I may review that one too in the
future.
Visit the official Kmise
website
Follow
this link for more information on the Rebote 2.5 Digital
Delay and many other guitar effect pedal projects
Follow this link to get more information or to purchase the Kmise Digital Delay pedal on Amazon
Guitar effects pedal review: The Kmise US Dream distortion
pedal costs under $20 and sounds awesome...
Posted August 29, 2020,
and last updated
August 29, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
I'm
becoming a bit of an effects pedal collector since I started
playing guitar again. I guess it's inevitable. But with me,
I'm going for the least expensive effects pedals I can find
that have good reviews and do what I want them to do. That
brings me to Kmise and their US Dream (KM-04) distortion
pedal which I recently purchased on Amazon for only $17.98!
Here is a link to the Kmise US Dream effects pedal on
Amazon.com. I see it sells for $18.59 now. That's still
dirt (pedal) cheap.
It's a mini-pedal so there is no space for a battery. I use
a Donnor 9v DC power supply, which works great. It's a true
bypass pedal, so when it is switched off, it passes your
guitar signal through like a straight wire. The housing is
all thick aluminum and should hold up well over years of
use.
The first guitar pedal I bought after all these years was a
little outside my monetary comfort zone, which is why I'm
focusing on inexpensive effects pedals now. I bought a
boutique overdrive, the handmade Katana overdrive made by
Velvet Pedals based in Greece. I wanted to hear that Dumble
amp sound I've read so much about, and this pedal promised
to deliver it. And, to be honest, I love the Katana pedal.
It sounds great on the bluesy, jammy music I like to play,
and it works to tame the aggressive sounding Fender Lace
Sensor pick-ups in my made-in-Mexico Fender Stratocaster.
For comparison, I also have a Kokko Overdrive pedal, said to be a clone of the legendary Ibanez Tube Screamer.
That pedal cost me less than $20 used, and I like this pedal
quite a bit too. Between these two pedals, I figured I had all of the overdrive and distortion
options I needed
for my playing. Until now.
I bought the US Dream pedal after reading a short review at
squire-talk.com. There is a
link to the review
below which includes a brief YouTube demo of what it sounds
like. Read the comments too. Most people who bought one
really like it. Reading the review and comments I
learned I could have a great sounding effects pedal that can go from
bluesy rock rhythm to distorted lead for about the price of
a restaurant lunch. I'll tell
you right now, this pedal delivers on that and then some.
There are three controls: Volume, Dist, and Tone. Since this
is a high-gain pedal, the sound can get aggressive fast. I
set that control between 9 o'clock and noon most of the
time. The Dist setting is very generous in that it delivers
everything from warm, bluesy overdrive all the way to heavy
metal screaming. The Tone adjusts the sound from dark to
bright. It's great for warming up the higher distortion
settings when needed.
I've been able to emulate --not exactly, but pretty close --
both of the other distortion pedals I have by tweaking the
settings on the US Dream. That's this pedal's best feature.
As I explained earlier, it has a lot of range in that Dist
setting. I think part of the reason I like it so much is
because it's warmer than the Kokko Overdrive and not as warm
as the Katana pedal. It bridges that gap. It's full and in
your face which is a great combination for a distortion
pedal. Another great use is as a booster for changing
between rhythm and lead playing.
I can't think of anything substantial I dislike about this
thing -- maybe that is has a generic looking exterior? How
can they pack all of this goodness in a device that costs so
little? It works and sounds great, it's so inexpensive, and
it's built to hold up over many years of use. Don't let that
purple plain Jane appearance fool you. It's what's on the inside
that counts, and this pedal has the goods.
After I bought this and found that I liked it so much, I
went to the Kmise web site and found they have a Testing
Club. I decided to join because I love this pedal so much.
So, in the future, I'll have more reviews of Kmise guitar
effects pedals.
Hopefully reviewing some more of these pedals will keep me
busy until I can get back to recording live music again.
Visit the official Kmise
website
Read
Don Sucher's US Dream squire-talk.com review
Check out Don
Sucher's YouTube demo of what the US Dream pedal sounds like
Follow this link to view more YouTube demos and to hear how
good this pedal sounds
My first live music experience since the virus hit - Jim Jam
2 - The Davenport Band rehearsal on June 27...
Posted July 2, 2020,
and last updated July 2, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
I was invited to attend The Davenport Band's rehearsal at
Jim Rose's home last weekend. It was great to see and
especially hear live music after all this time. The band set
up outside under the carport in front of Rose's home in El
Paso County.
 The
band, Amy Binkowski - keyboards; John Byers - vocals and
acoustic guitars; Paul Gagnon- vocals and acoustic guitar;
Dale Maxwell - acoustic guitar and vocals; Tracy Meyhew -
lead acoustic and electric guitars; Jim Rose - 12-string
acoustic guitar and vocals, and Kevin Waybright - electric
bass and vocals played more than 55 songs from approximately
1 PM to 6:30 PM.
Songs included covers "They Call Me the Breeze," Tom Petty's
"Learning To Fly," America's "Sister Golden Hair," a good
sampling of Grateful Dead songs, and some originals. I
really liked "Into The Mystic," a Van Morrison cover.
There was plenty of social distancing, which was weird but
necessary. I made a recording and took a lot of pictures.
I'm waiting to hear from the band on what songs to include
on the blog, but please enjoy some pictures I took at the
event in the meantime.
The Davenport Band -
2020-06-27
What I'm doing during this unusual spring and summer, also
known as "The COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Blues"...
Posted June 7, 2020,
and last updated June 7, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
When Colorado Governor Jared Polis enacted "stay-at-home"
and currently "safer-at-home" orders for the state because
of the COVID-19 virus, it became clear to me in mid March
that this would be a summer without live music. Almost
immediately I decide I'd need something constructive to do
to pass the days, weeks, and now months.
I've almost always had a guitar to play since my parents
bought me an Ovation acoustic when I was 13 years old. I
never learned to be a great player, but I played acoustic
guitar through high school and college as a hobby, mostly
finger picking soft rock covers and traditional songs for
myself and sometimes with friends.
I got somewhat serious about playing and bought an Epiphone
Casino electric guitar in the late 1980's and put together a
cover band that played Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers
Band covers in my small basement apartment in Cascade, CO.
Sadly, after lots of practicing and supporting other local
bands a few times, I decided playing guitar live on stage
was not for me. Looking back on it now, I'd call it
perfomance anxiety.
Soon after, I sold all my guitar gear and used the money to
buy some nice microphones. That's when I got serious about
recording live music. I also did front of the house sound
for a local band for a while in the early 1990's. I felt
that was much more satisfying than playing on stage.
Fast forward to March 2020. Though I have a beat-up Gibson
Maestro acoustic guitar, I rarely pick it up anymore,
primarily because the neck isn't right so the string action
is set too high for me to play easily.
Knowing I was going to have a lot of free time at home
because of the pandemic response, I figured this might be an
ideal time to re-learn how to play guitar, especially
electric guitar as I learned to love hearing the power of
electric guitar played through an amplifier when I played in
a rock band.
So, in late March I saw a beautiful, black Fender
Stratocaster at the neighborhood pawn shop. I felt it was
calling to me. I consulted with some musician friends. They
informed me that it was a good quailty guitar for the money.
Shortly after, I saw an advertisement on Facebook
Marketplace for an inexpensive Line 6 Flextone III digital
modeling amplifier. So, of course, I quickly bought the amp
and the guitar and started on a new journey.
It's been great fun re-learning to play electric guitar,
even though my fingers and fretting hand hurt for the first
month. I've been making time to pick it up and play every
day. I'm mostly re-learning the songs I played when I was
younger and have found some great tutorials on YouTube that
are helping me learn new songs. My only goal is to have fun.
I know that playing in front of people isn't my thing, so
there's no performance pressure associated with this new
adventure either.
Since I can't write about recording new live music now, I'm
making my own music. Focusing on playing is also a great
distraction from the new reality we're all experiencing this
year. I never intended to write much about myself personally
on this blog, but the subject matter is fitting. I don't
feel I'm good enough to record myself playing yet, which may
be the next logical step. But, who knows? Maybe that'll
happen if I stick with it.
The Samples' latest musical offering is an Indian Summer
you will never want to end...
Posted February 18, 2020,
and last updated February 20, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
 It's
been over five years since Sean Kelly's band The Samples
released a new album. I'm glad the wait is over, and I'm
happy to report the long wait was worth it. Indian Summer
opens aggressively with crunching electric guitar, upfront
vocals, and the heavy lyrics of "Some People." Kelly starts
singing,
"Some
people just want to bring you down
These people have enough to go
around
Exploiters always on the run."
The last Samples' album, 2014's America,
started out a bit heavy, too, with the ominous "Fukushima."
I hear "Some People" as a better song and a step forward
with a more accessible sound for the band. In fact, Kelly's
guitar work
reminds me of Neil Young's best work with Crazy Horse.
Kelly has always been reflective, often about the world as a
whole, in songs like, "Ocean Of War," "Streets In the
Rain," and "Buffalo Herds & Windmills." However, this
fourteen-song epic is more personally reflective than any
other recent Samples' collection. The lyrics, which are
printed on the tri panel CD package, are deep and thoughtful. The music is
nuanced and rich with Kelly and the band playing cohesively.
Multiple listenings are rewarding, especially with the
lyrics in hand.
The second song "Cry Cry Cry" is much lighter musically,
still heavy lyrically, and ever so slightly country-tinged
putting us in more familiar territory for a Samples' record.
This song also sets the tone for the rest of the collection.
"Take My Hands" mimics the reggae sound of the earliest
Samples' tunes and maintains the record's comfortabe feel
before dropping into the stark cut "Train Tracks." The
latter begins with sparse piano, then Kelly's doubled vocal,
and later adds layered keyboards and vocal harmonies. Some
of the vocal processing on this one is distracting to me,
but it's still a provocative song.
One of the standout tracks is "Crooked Road." With
nostalgic pedigree dating back to "Indiana" from Transmission's From the
Sea of Tranquility, this song sounds familiar. It's as
close to a radio hit as I hear on Indian Summer.
I've been carrying this song's chorus in my head since first
hearing it:
"I've
been walking straight down a crooked road."
Another great track and a more upbeat offering is "Savor
This Time Of Life With Joy (For Olivia)." With lush, melodic
instrumental accompaniment, Kelly sings a love song for his
daughter. The lyrics begin,
"There's
no flaws in this beautiful girl,
she's got the strength of an alloy
Born straight in to this
judgement world savor this time of life with joy,"
producing one of the most poignant and personal moments on
the album.
There are several songs without drums on this CD. One of
them, "Trinda," sounds more like a Kelly solo song than a
band song. This is the most unique selection here. It's a
bit trippy and features some tape-reversed
electric guitar work in the beginning and as a reprise at the end. I enjoy the atmosphere
created and hope to hear more pieces like this from Kelly
and the band in
the future.
If you liked the old Samples with Al, Jeep, and Andy, give
"New World Order" a listen. It's got some of that old
Samples' feel and wouldn't sound out of place on one of the
early albums, like The Last Drag. This may be the
happy, sleeper tune on this release, for it's even got some
of that syncopated drum technique like Jeep
MacNichol used to play on it.
"Bow To the Sun" is another sparse and appealing hit
that builds as the song progresses.
It's counted in by Kelly and starts with acoustic guitar and
vocal joined by bass guitar, building keyboards, and
multi-layered vocals conjuring the sound of "Mysterious Times"
from America, but I enjoy this song more. There are
even some unexpected horn flourishes at the end.
Production-wise, this is a warm, bass-forward recording that
is easy to listen to and embrace. Unfortunately, there is no
recording information to be found in the package other than
the musicians' names and instruments played. That's too bad
because the mixing and mastering sound good to me, and I'm
curious
about the production details.
The fourteen-song album finishes with the eponymous "Indian
Summer." Co-written with long-time collaborator Tom
Askin, "Indian Summer" offers a paradoxically sad and hopeful finish to
an album that is more somber and mature than previous late
period Samples' records. The song is a close cousin of "When
the Day Is Done" from The Last Drag. The final lyrics sung are deeply
personal and provide a reflective ending to this great work: 
"I
guess I'm not ready to share, my body with someone new
My body with someone new
I hope you never forget my
face, the one so easily replaced,
If we could go back in time as
lovers, or just two misunderstood lives
I'd give you a thousand Indian
Summers just to give it one more try
I'd give you a thousand Indian
Summers
I'd give you a thousand Indian
Summers"
This evocative release Indian Summer is the equal
of the original quartet's best work and epitomizes the
clear, bright future of this line-up of The Samples. It's
the best Samples' offering since my favorite 1997's
Transmissions From the Sea Of Tranquility, and I can't
wait to hear what they do next.
Visit The Samples official
web site
Visit THE SAMPLES: Community Facebook page
Visit Sean
Kelly Of The Samples Facebook page
Couch concert: Railroad Earth with Peter Rowan
at The Mission Ballroom in Denver, CO, on February 1...
Posted February 2, 2020,
and last updated February 4, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
When I learned streaming service nugs.tv was broadcasting the Railroad Earth
show at The Mission Ballroom live on February 1 for free, I got
excited. I haven't seen RRE since December of 2017 at the
Fox Theatre in Boulder, and I was in need of a Railroad Earth
fix and a new entry in my blog for February.
Couch concerts appeal so much to me as I get older. Reason number one is
comfort. I can watch in my own home, even sitting on the couch if I
want to. I don't have to stand all night on a crowded floor. I can eat
whatever food I want, be close to a nice bathroom,
and I can play the music as loud or as soft as I like. Add
in that the drinks are cheap and I don't have to drive home
for an hour or more after the show, and I'm a very happy guy.
When I saw that Peter Rowan was going to play with them and
the group was going to cover the iconic 1975 bluegrass album
Old & In the Way, which Rowan wrote some of the
songs for and perfomed on, that sealed the deal for me.
Yee haw!
The music started at 7:52 PM with Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. These 5 guys are a young
but talented traditional bluegrass band. Acoustic guitar,
double bass, fiddle, banjo, squeeze box, and harmonica, with
no drummer. They all sing around a central mic and have a
rootsy, homespun sound. The sound of the band coming through
my home speakers was actually a bit unsettling at first
because of the rawness, but I got used to it quickly.
Guitarist/singer Adam Greuel kept the crowd entertained with
friendly banter and helped keep the show moving as the rest
of the band tuned their instruments between songs. I enjoyed
their 55-minute set consisting of mostly original songs.
They even played a stripped down cover of my favorite
Talking Heads hit "This Must Be the Place (Naive
Melody)."
Railroad Earth walked onto the stage at 9:16 PM with Peter Rowan
and RRE guitarist and vocalist Todd Sheaffer sharing center stage. The first song
was of course "Pig In A Pen." As promised, the first set consisted
entirely of the album Old & In the Way by the
eponymous band played in order and concluded with the
gorgeous and haunting Rowan-penned "Land Of the Navajo." It
was wonderful and the most powerful song of the night so
far. I also noticed the mix was much better for the RRE set.
There was more stereo separation and the low end was much
tighter. Simply stated, it sounded great!
The band minus Rowan started set two at 10:40 PM playing the
upbeat number "Mission Man" then "Happy
Song." A few songs later, in his last appearance with the
band for the night, Rowan came out and did a heartfelt
version of his classic tune "The Cuckoo
Bird." Next, the band launched into "Colorado,"
which got the home crowd excited. By now, it was clear
the band was playing well and the audience was really enjoying
the show. I know I was.
"Mighty River" with it's sing-along chorus was a highight for me as was "Like
A Buddha" later in the set. "The Great Divide" wrapped up set
two. When the band came back for the encore, fiddle player
Tim Carbone asked the audience to yell "Happy birthday,
Phil"
to a friend who was at home watching the show like I
was. The audience enthusiastically obliged and the band ended the night with
"RV" and a nuanced rendition of the group's
namesake "Railroad Earth."
I just love experiencing live concerts at home. I'm
going to be doing more of this in the future. A few minutes after the last
note was played, I was in my own bed and dreaming of the
show I just saw. I have included links to the bands, venue
and streaming service
below. Please check them out and support the bands and the
venues that host concerts to help keep this great music alive in Colorado and
elsewhere.
Visit Railroad Earth's
official web site
Visit Peter Rowan's
official web site
Visit Horseshoes &
Hand Grenades official web site
Visit The Mission
Ballrooms official web site
Visit nugs.tv's official web site
A stripped down version of Colorado Springs' Davenport
Band performed at Patty Jewett on January 17...
Posted January 18, 2020,
and last updated January 18, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
 Bassist
Kevin Waybright, keyboardist Amy Binkowski and
guitarists/singers Jim Rose and John Byers entertained a
small but very enthusiastic audience at the Patty Jewett Bar
& Grill in Colorado Springs on Friday night.
They played their typical mix of soft country
and folk rock including covers of Grateful Dead, Tom Petty,
and
Van Morrison songs.
One thing that is noteworthy is that The
Patty Jewett Bar & Grill had a free happy hour buffet last
night. It included fried cheese, steak fries, small fried
weinies and flat bread pizza. We also ordered a spinach
salad and a plate of buffalo chicken wings from the
appetizer menu that were very good too.
I didn't record the band this time. Maybe I should
have, as they played very well and the crowd was really into
it. There was a good bit of audience participation in singing
the choruses on some of the songs. "Into The Mystic" was one
good example. Amy Binkowski told me the band is playing twice at Hillside Gardens
this summer, so I'll probably record at least one of those shows
and write a more in-depth review.
Visit
The Davenport Band's official Facebook page
Visit the
official Patty Jewett Bar & Grill web site
Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven usher in the new decade
at The Soiled Dove Underground in Denver...
Posted January 1, 2020,
and last updated January 2, 2020, by
Chuck Miller
 My
last concert of 2019 and first live music set of 2020 was
the Camper
Van Beethoven/Cracker double bill at The Soiled Dove
Underground in Denver on New Year's Eve.
I've come to consider The Soiled Dove Underground to be one
of my favorite indoor venues in the state. The 300-capacity
venue is terraced so every seat has a clear sight-line to
the stage. There's a generously sized dance area right in
front of the stage that is a nice alternative to the
ticketed seating area and allows front row viewing and
dancing. There is also a very nice bar, The Tavern, upstairs
that serves great tasting appetizers and entrees along with
a great beer selection. I usually get a pre-show meal there
before the music starts downstairs.
CVB started the night at 9:15 PM and played a 55-minute long
set that included "Tania," "Oh Death," "Take the Skinheads
Bowling," and "S.P. 37957 Medley."
It was a very enjoyable set. Unfortunately, the sound was
not ideal, even in our centered upfront seats. It was hard
to hear band leader David Lowery's voice clearly during many
songs. But, since most of us were long time fans, we knew
what he was singing anyway.
My favorite song of the Camper set was "(We're A) Bad Trip,"
which had multi-intstrumentalist Jonathan Segal trading lead
vocals back and forth with
Lowery. I can't recall the last Camper set I heard where
they didn't play "Sweethearts," which I consider their best
song. I wish they played that one. Other
than that, I thought it was a great set.
Cracker took the stage at 10:45 PM and started with an
unexpected cover of the Jerry Garcia slow burner song
"Loser." Though I prefer the original, it's always good to
hear Cracker cover it. "Friends," which has Lowery and
guitarist Johnny Hickman co-singing, was much appreciated,
too. I love how Cracker mixes their sets up, playing rockers
juxtaposed with slow quiet songs. So, before playing their
biggest radio hit, the rocker "Low," they played
the quiet "I Want Everything," which was very nice.
Hickman's tor de force "Another Song About the Rain" was
next and the highlight of the one hour and 42 minute long
set. Between Hickman's
"California Country Boy" and Lowery's "Happy Birthday To
Me," they did a countdown to midnight. We all toasted
with complimentary champagne handed out earlier by the
venue.
 The
show ended with the upbeat "Been Around the World" from the
album Gentleman's Blues as the encore. That song
and the whole show was a great way to end 2019 and begin
2020.
I recorded both sets and took some photos, which can be
accessed by following the links below.
Thank you to morst, Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven, The
Soiled Dove Underground and FOH engineer Chris for the
assistance and access given to make this recording.
Cracker ~ 2019-12-31 The Soiled Dove Underground, Denver, CO
Camper
Van Beethoven ~ 2019-12-31 The Soiled Dove Underground,
Denver, CO
Cracker - 2019-12-31
Camper Van Beethoven - 2019-12-31
Please help support both of these great bands and the venue.
Visit Cracker's official web site
Visit Camper
Van Beethoven's official web site
Visit The
Soiled Dove Underground's official web site
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