Ah, Buttsteak! The band, that is-- the actual Buttsteak. With the sloppy cover song thing? You know, with the Haggises Five and all that? The ramshackle "organization" managed to get through no fewer than four major incarnations back in the JHU days but in our brains they've all sorta melded into The One. And, sleeper cells that we are, the promise of old friends and stoopid rock songs and cold beer and bad dancing still manages to intermittently call us forward into action, and backward into silliness. The signal's got enough power that it was a no-brainer that, come the 20th reunion of the class of '89, we'd naturally all get back together and get our rock trousers on. And indeed, that whole affair was a hoot. So. Much. Fun.
But this isn't about the gig. Even if the Hopkins show hadn't gone down, it would have been worth it just to have five of us get together for the practices down in Baltimore, and then to get joined by Hani in the stretch. Like putting on an old, comfortable pair of cut-off camouflage pants in need of a washing, and a shirt with a sausage on it.
But this also isn't about the practices either. It's about the idea that we get together a couple months after the '09 gig to at long last lay down some decent recordings of the band. Not surprisingly, we'd never gotten our act together to do such a thing back in the day. And this take was also incomplete, but we made do--- Hani had to head back overseas, so the sloppy and half-baked keyboards you hear are my fault (and I couldn't come close to bringing the Shalabi mojo). Back in Boston, we managed to dub Fitz in. Soooo at least it's an approximation.
And there's a big bunch to post. First up, two unsung classics by Santa Cruz, CA's Camper van Beethoven, old mainstays... "Skinheads" goes way back to the Scott Scummit/ Whiskey Sin and Moral Corruption days and, I dunno, maybe before I was on board, and enviously watching those yahoos in the lovely D.U. basement. "Sweethearts" I believe we added in the post-Fitz era. It's missing the string parts and whistling but I could listen to Todd play those guitar bits just about forever.
Take the Skinheads Bowling:
Sweethearts:
Four out of six, spring '09:
Hani's thoughts on the matter:
Fitz, winter '09 actually looking up lyrics!! Go internets!
I've really been digging all the posts and the songs - even the ones post my '91 exodus from Charm City that don't take me on the nostalgia train (keep 'em comin'). But that train is definitely calling my name right now, so these CVB covers are just the thing. Hope the gang has a blast in Boston this weekend - be sure to record and post something. The whale says hi.
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