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We at Exowax are exceptionally excited to bring you this little gem.
Freaks in a Mellow Mood, Volume One consists of live recordings of me and Bryan Beller in November 2003, rampaging from music store to music store, playing and singing and talking acoustically on behalf of Taylor Guitars.
Back in those infant days of the 21st century, these acoustic workshops were something that Bryan and I did with some frequency, and the recordings on this album are a highly effective capturing of that moment in time.
This link to Freaks in a Mellow Mood, Volume One goes live at 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday night, September 5!
If you’ve got an itchy clicker finger, go here now for all the other available MK titles…
Scott Chatfield, the road manager on the Taylor tours, made pristine digital recordings of the shows on this particular run, and it’s from these recordings – unheard for over two decades! – that the tracks on this album are drawn.
I spent a good chunk of time mixing these songs over the past few weeks, and I am entirely happy (I think the 45-year-olds nowadays might say stoked?) with how this album has turned out.
I suspect that you’ll get a kick out of it as well, or my name isn’t Boseman Willacow, and it isn’t!
Here’s what you will find on FIAMM, Volume 1:
RADIO KENEALLY JINGLE (3 Variations) - Soundcheck, Fairview United Methodist Church, Fairview, PA - Nov 09 2003
THE CAR SONG - Victor’s House of Music, Paramus, NJ - Nov 12 2003
1988 WAS A MILLION YEARS AGO - Victor’s House of Music, Paramus, NJ - Nov 12 2003
ANKLE BRACELET - Sides Family Music Center, Williamsport, PA - Nov 10 2003
HELLO - Sides Family Music Center, Williamsport, PA - Nov 10 2003
OUR BEST CAMPFIRE SONG - Sides Family Music Center, Williamsport, PA - Nov 10 2003
AYE-AYE MONSTER - Lauzon Music, Ottawa, ON - Nov 4 2003
BOBER - Northern Lights, Littleton, NH - Nov 3 2003
LIGHTNIN’ ONION ROY – Soundcheck, Lauzon Music, Ottawa, ON - Nov 4 2003
MACHU PICCHU - Sides Family Music Center, Williamsport, PA - Nov 10 2003
PHYSICS - Fairview United Methodist Church, Fairview, PA - Nov 09 2003
CAREER POLITICIANS - Guitar Center, Tanawanda, NY - Nov 5 2003
LOVE THEME FROM VULTURE FUN - Sides Family Music Center, Williamsport, PA - Nov 10 2003
AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING - Sides Family Music Center, Williamsport, PA - Nov 10 2003
POTATO - Victor’s House of Music, Paramus, NJ - Nov 12 2003
COWLOGY (Broken String Variation) - Fairview United Methodist Church, Fairview, PA - Nov 09 2003
CHECKING A SECTION OF LIVE IN JAPAN - Soundcheck, Victor’s House of Music, Paramus, NJ - Nov 12 2003
Maybe you yourself were present at one or more of these shows, and you may now relive the golden glow of those nutty days.
For me it’s a heavy nostalgia trip to finally hear these performances more than two decades after having played them, but more importantly, I think it’s really good music, and I feel great about sharing it with you. And Beller is a MONSTER on these recordings, holy cow.
I have numerous bootlegs of these types of shows that Mike and Bryan did way back when, but they're almost all (if not all) audience recordings, so even though this is a pick and choose thing, it's still going to be awesome to have (although I really wish there was a physical version).
Side note - I saw two shows from this run, Nov. 8 in Rochester, NY, and the Nov. 9 Fairview show represented with a few cuts on this album. And...I'm partially responsible for the Fairview recording happening. After the Rochester show, Mike invited a few of us who had traveled to go to dinner after the show. While we were at dinner, Bryan suddenly said, "Oh shit!" Someone asked him what was wrong, and he said he thought he had forgotten the power supply for the MacBook at House Of Guitars, where the gig was. Their travel requirements didn't allow them to stay the next day to retrieve the power supply (the store didn't open until noon). I said I'd stay behind and go to the store to retrieve it - my original plan was to head to Erie and sit in a Quaker Steak And Lube for a couple extra hours. Bryan told me where he was pretty sure it was, and I got the power supply the next day and took it to the gig. My contribution to a professional recording!
