FunTime Bob (Bob Ramos) - FunTime Review of Arising
On the LyricsI think I had more to say about Joe's lyrics.I remember listening to trials and tribulations and others from Anthology, his past work. And very often there is something deep and profound in the lyrics that really speaks to the heart and or soul and or mind… Hard scrabble thoughts of struggle and survival. Ain't Easy, the narrative of Bill Dawson, or even shotgun mama. pride in your pain, it's time.. now that's right - it's this too shall pass.. one of the very memorable lines off songs on anthology: Life's a series of endless tasks… a search for comfort that never lasts.. that's just really hard-hitting.. truthful and sobering. But I think where he is now is a better space, a more positive space, more encouraging and I think that's good for a listener to hear. so newer song like harder than this - yeah things are hard, yeah life ain't easy. but it's been harder than this you know. We've seen worse and we know can do better. And you can't stop a dream!
Falling in Deep I wrote my part I wrote my part on my old silver chrome cutaway slingerland drums that I used on the tour to california with Joe 100 years ago that we have set up in our rehearsal space now, and he and Fritz would play me things just out of the blue as we were arranging the songs for the new album to see what I would come up with originally without any influence one way or the other which I appreciated. anyway so yeah I had a cowbell of course on the set and was inspired to apply it in that happy falling chorus section which is funny because I'm used to playing it with the drum part as part of the drum part but when we tracked it in the studio I remember playing it separately which was a little strange haha and change the Mojo a bit. so you have to come see us play it live!Also I was hearing some Cure influence and so did a particular 16th note ride pattern which is a patented, “fun time Bob” sound, and some Police of course for the verses. so I had dragged every last percussion instrument that I owned into the studio by the time we were done overdubbing on all the songs, but for this tune I actually dug out my old 80s octobans for those true Stewart Copeland percussive comments! I finally got some use out of my train whistle as well LOL.Immortalized forever. I was really surprised to hear the background vocals when I caught the final mix, which I love and the guitar sound took me by surprise too - I wasn't expecting to hear Jerry Garcia sitting in with us!One of my favorite tracks on the album - I’m glad it throws the first punch!
I feel aliveChanneling Stewart Copeland's high hat! Another great song and one that really sums up where I am personally in my life as well as Joe. I'm sort of coming out of a particularly hazy unpleasant section and I've come to grips with getting back in touch with the things that make life worth living and bring joy to existence. it's funny when we were recording this album, I was very happy to be doing it and felt great doing what I'm supposed to be doing - playing the drums. but it was all kind of unconscious. Then I snapped out of it and I realized what a blessing the whole process was and still is. but I think it's another testament to Joe's lyrics that there's many ways to feel Alive and I hope everyone can find what it is that makes them feel alive when they listen to the song.This album makes me feel alive! Playing drums and percussion makes me feel alive!Let's go jump in the Ocean!
Cayenne Rain - a wild west tex-mex action adventure soundtrack! I feel like it was one of the tunes that we were playing before we started recording, which is a good thing too because it's such a long number with so many sections I remember hanging on by the seat of my pants getting through it at first. I Can't wait to hear it on wide world of sports. Many parts of the song remind me of early Santana mind-bending Sonic exploration/ Adventures complete with the Greg Rolly keys that Adrian is playing! I wonder if there's a translation of the mysterious Spanish woman… the percussion feature, a lot of fun obviously! tossing it back and forth to myself on timbales, congas and bongos..
Reeling and rockingI actually appreciate the song more than you know. The truth is I'm a big Beatles fan and so this nod to the early sounds of Rock with the twist beat and all is a pretty cool throwback. And the story of course is a timeless and hilarious one that we've all been through I'm sure! It's almost exactly, which is crazy, exactly how I remember how this party went in college. We were playing in a party upstairs in a room. Everyone was going nuts and actually I think somebody got cut and was jumping up and wiping their blood on the wall which is crazy right?! Sure enough the cops came in and the first thing this guy did was look me straight in the eye and says YOU DRUMMER, OUT HERE NOW!! like of course I'm the instigator right? the engine for all the chaos…Fritz is right out of Central Casting with his car 54 where are you ossipher impersonation.. It was fun adding background vocals thanks Joe! The screams are right from John Lennon's take of Larry Williams' Bad Boy cover.
Tell Me Another surprise for me was the horns! to finally hear in the mx, which is one guy sounding like a full section. It was crazy. Great work Adam (saxophone)! when we were arranging and rehearsing it I didn't know it was a thing that was going to happen of course Joe did but it didn't even occur to me while it was unfolding … Love the Motown R&B vibe! So if you're coming out to see us maybe bring a horn lol
I don't knowThe Rock ballad! excellent work by our keyboardist.. the train station effects are brilliant.Awesome guitar work by Joe...Thanks again to Kosta for making me sound so good and thank God for that click track LOL it's funny life imitates art imitates life…We improved so many things and so many of these songs while we were in the studio with great suggestions from all of us, especially Joe and Kosta, but the engineering and the production are just fantastic. What else can I say? and so we had the blueprint beforehand, but built these ultimately in the studio. and now that we have them we have them as models to emulate and make them so in real life.
Any Way I doHilarious that I still have not 100% sure what song is this when I see it on the setlist. It's such a Grateful Dead way to name a song. a True Blues number .. country Blues..Again Joe and Kosta help me bring to life the brush work section with the high hat which was kind of a do because of the way the mics were working and the sticks that I needed to use for each. The bass really comes alive here too. excellent solos all around Kudos gentleman!I probably don't need to say anything about this but this is the song that ties Us in with Chincoteague where we've been going for I don't know 2 years now? working with Chris Nacy (harmonica solo in the Alternate Version – Track 13). who's an excellent Blues harpist who we were lucky to have on the record, shout out to the guy who helped record him and send up the track. Joe can tell you about the connection to Chincoteague and his college days. but it looks like we're going down there every weekend for a while hahaha! I originally was psyched to go down also because I remember having camped there as a child.. but it turns out it was actually the Assateague Campground where you can actually be on the water with the horses so I got to work that into the schedule again cuz that's dope! Fritz and I have also been in the ocean every month of the year so we get a free sub on our punch card!
Harder than thisMore exciting keyboards and prominent backing percussion!More background vocals! a nice easy rocker. this tune has the banjo and the cricket section. stereo crickets. go figure. ladies and gentlemen Carlos Santana on lead guitar! oh look there's that breakdown I always miss LOL… Excellent harmonic base work from Fritz as per usual. here he leads us into the Fleetwood Mac section..
Can't stop a dream I think this was one of the last songs I learned before we went into the studio. I think Fritz & Joe had been kicking it around for a while. kind of has a positive Grateful Dead vibe to it. And who doesn't want to go to the Misty Mountain? very catchy parts. more great leads.. I'm always humming this when we're done. do I get to talk about the drum Parts at all LOL I think Joe likes to point out this is with the falling down the stairs fills.
Jive time mindGene Krupa drum intro, man! I think I knew this song was going to have horns… came out great.. fun backgrounds from Fritz. more Studio trickery to get the low note on the sax I believe.. see if you can hear it! a nice Boogie solo from Stew I mean Adrian… the song’s another great throwback that I hope people appreciate.
Little Miss Hustle hustlin' shuffle... yeah!I don't think I was expecting Jerry Garcia on this song either LOL tasty keys… I love the hits, man, that we all cop.. apparently it's about a woman of ill repute.. I love the G-rated version that we pull out when it's a children's show. More great keyboard and guitar solos….Fritz and FunTime holdin’ down the form underneath like we do…
Brother Tom Yeah the story is funny I think it was one of the first that was recorded when Alzi was in the mix on drums from another one of Joe's past bands. and Joe is trying to tell me that we were both going to get a shot at recording some of these tunes and then get to pick the best one or something? anyway I think this is alzie on drums. I'm overdubbing a jane's addiction tribal thing.. I'm proud of the talking drum and tabla sounds that you can hear that I try to work into the live renditions. Generally I try to remember to play like Alzie - but don't forget some Fun time Bob on top for dessert!I love the mandolin! I remember playing with Joe 100 years ago and it was a nice touch then it's a nice touch now - it does kind of remind me of our past Brotherhood, if you will.Awesome gong work! How often do you get to say that while reviewing a song? This is actually another one of my favorites. I enjoy when we open with it and just kind of feel it out without any explanation. let the song grow and develop. you can really hear how heartfelt the vocals are. It hurts to hear.
Falling in Deep I wrote my part I wrote my part on my old silver chrome cutaway slingerland drums that I used on the tour to california with Joe 100 years ago that we have set up in our rehearsal space now, and he and Fritz would play me things just out of the blue as we were arranging the songs for the new album to see what I would come up with originally without any influence one way or the other which I appreciated. anyway so yeah I had a cowbell of course on the set and was inspired to apply it in that happy falling chorus section which is funny because I'm used to playing it with the drum part as part of the drum part but when we tracked it in the studio I remember playing it separately which was a little strange haha and change the Mojo a bit. so you have to come see us play it live!Also I was hearing some Cure influence and so did a particular 16th note ride pattern which is a patented, “fun time Bob” sound, and some Police of course for the verses. so I had dragged every last percussion instrument that I owned into the studio by the time we were done overdubbing on all the songs, but for this tune I actually dug out my old 80s octobans for those true Stewart Copeland percussive comments! I finally got some use out of my train whistle as well LOL.Immortalized forever. I was really surprised to hear the background vocals when I caught the final mix, which I love and the guitar sound took me by surprise too - I wasn't expecting to hear Jerry Garcia sitting in with us!One of my favorite tracks on the album - I’m glad it throws the first punch!
I feel aliveChanneling Stewart Copeland's high hat! Another great song and one that really sums up where I am personally in my life as well as Joe. I'm sort of coming out of a particularly hazy unpleasant section and I've come to grips with getting back in touch with the things that make life worth living and bring joy to existence. it's funny when we were recording this album, I was very happy to be doing it and felt great doing what I'm supposed to be doing - playing the drums. but it was all kind of unconscious. Then I snapped out of it and I realized what a blessing the whole process was and still is. but I think it's another testament to Joe's lyrics that there's many ways to feel Alive and I hope everyone can find what it is that makes them feel alive when they listen to the song.This album makes me feel alive! Playing drums and percussion makes me feel alive!Let's go jump in the Ocean!
Cayenne Rain - a wild west tex-mex action adventure soundtrack! I feel like it was one of the tunes that we were playing before we started recording, which is a good thing too because it's such a long number with so many sections I remember hanging on by the seat of my pants getting through it at first. I Can't wait to hear it on wide world of sports. Many parts of the song remind me of early Santana mind-bending Sonic exploration/ Adventures complete with the Greg Rolly keys that Adrian is playing! I wonder if there's a translation of the mysterious Spanish woman… the percussion feature, a lot of fun obviously! tossing it back and forth to myself on timbales, congas and bongos..
Reeling and rockingI actually appreciate the song more than you know. The truth is I'm a big Beatles fan and so this nod to the early sounds of Rock with the twist beat and all is a pretty cool throwback. And the story of course is a timeless and hilarious one that we've all been through I'm sure! It's almost exactly, which is crazy, exactly how I remember how this party went in college. We were playing in a party upstairs in a room. Everyone was going nuts and actually I think somebody got cut and was jumping up and wiping their blood on the wall which is crazy right?! Sure enough the cops came in and the first thing this guy did was look me straight in the eye and says YOU DRUMMER, OUT HERE NOW!! like of course I'm the instigator right? the engine for all the chaos…Fritz is right out of Central Casting with his car 54 where are you ossipher impersonation.. It was fun adding background vocals thanks Joe! The screams are right from John Lennon's take of Larry Williams' Bad Boy cover.
Tell Me Another surprise for me was the horns! to finally hear in the mx, which is one guy sounding like a full section. It was crazy. Great work Adam (saxophone)! when we were arranging and rehearsing it I didn't know it was a thing that was going to happen of course Joe did but it didn't even occur to me while it was unfolding … Love the Motown R&B vibe! So if you're coming out to see us maybe bring a horn lol
I don't knowThe Rock ballad! excellent work by our keyboardist.. the train station effects are brilliant.Awesome guitar work by Joe...Thanks again to Kosta for making me sound so good and thank God for that click track LOL it's funny life imitates art imitates life…We improved so many things and so many of these songs while we were in the studio with great suggestions from all of us, especially Joe and Kosta, but the engineering and the production are just fantastic. What else can I say? and so we had the blueprint beforehand, but built these ultimately in the studio. and now that we have them we have them as models to emulate and make them so in real life.
Any Way I doHilarious that I still have not 100% sure what song is this when I see it on the setlist. It's such a Grateful Dead way to name a song. a True Blues number .. country Blues..Again Joe and Kosta help me bring to life the brush work section with the high hat which was kind of a do because of the way the mics were working and the sticks that I needed to use for each. The bass really comes alive here too. excellent solos all around Kudos gentleman!I probably don't need to say anything about this but this is the song that ties Us in with Chincoteague where we've been going for I don't know 2 years now? working with Chris Nacy (harmonica solo in the Alternate Version – Track 13). who's an excellent Blues harpist who we were lucky to have on the record, shout out to the guy who helped record him and send up the track. Joe can tell you about the connection to Chincoteague and his college days. but it looks like we're going down there every weekend for a while hahaha! I originally was psyched to go down also because I remember having camped there as a child.. but it turns out it was actually the Assateague Campground where you can actually be on the water with the horses so I got to work that into the schedule again cuz that's dope! Fritz and I have also been in the ocean every month of the year so we get a free sub on our punch card!
Harder than thisMore exciting keyboards and prominent backing percussion!More background vocals! a nice easy rocker. this tune has the banjo and the cricket section. stereo crickets. go figure. ladies and gentlemen Carlos Santana on lead guitar! oh look there's that breakdown I always miss LOL… Excellent harmonic base work from Fritz as per usual. here he leads us into the Fleetwood Mac section..
Can't stop a dream I think this was one of the last songs I learned before we went into the studio. I think Fritz & Joe had been kicking it around for a while. kind of has a positive Grateful Dead vibe to it. And who doesn't want to go to the Misty Mountain? very catchy parts. more great leads.. I'm always humming this when we're done. do I get to talk about the drum Parts at all LOL I think Joe likes to point out this is with the falling down the stairs fills.
Jive time mindGene Krupa drum intro, man! I think I knew this song was going to have horns… came out great.. fun backgrounds from Fritz. more Studio trickery to get the low note on the sax I believe.. see if you can hear it! a nice Boogie solo from Stew I mean Adrian… the song’s another great throwback that I hope people appreciate.
Little Miss Hustle hustlin' shuffle... yeah!I don't think I was expecting Jerry Garcia on this song either LOL tasty keys… I love the hits, man, that we all cop.. apparently it's about a woman of ill repute.. I love the G-rated version that we pull out when it's a children's show. More great keyboard and guitar solos….Fritz and FunTime holdin’ down the form underneath like we do…
Brother Tom Yeah the story is funny I think it was one of the first that was recorded when Alzi was in the mix on drums from another one of Joe's past bands. and Joe is trying to tell me that we were both going to get a shot at recording some of these tunes and then get to pick the best one or something? anyway I think this is alzie on drums. I'm overdubbing a jane's addiction tribal thing.. I'm proud of the talking drum and tabla sounds that you can hear that I try to work into the live renditions. Generally I try to remember to play like Alzie - but don't forget some Fun time Bob on top for dessert!I love the mandolin! I remember playing with Joe 100 years ago and it was a nice touch then it's a nice touch now - it does kind of remind me of our past Brotherhood, if you will.Awesome gong work! How often do you get to say that while reviewing a song? This is actually another one of my favorites. I enjoy when we open with it and just kind of feel it out without any explanation. let the song grow and develop. you can really hear how heartfelt the vocals are. It hurts to hear.