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IN THIS ISSUE:
Fest-Heaven or Festi-Hell? / Birmingham BTE's "Imperfect" / Graham Colton Band Ezra Radio / USAToday Pic Just the Fakts Ma'am The Bootlog The Reviews BTE Caption News & Links TTOY Hall of Fame BTE Impressions |
JUST THE FAKTS MA'AM: Recently some folks on the Better Than Ezra message board were comparing notes on the origins of the songs that appeared on BTE’s 2000 self-released "Artifakt" CD. The songs on this outstanding "b-sides and rarities" CD obviously come from different eras of the band's career. The disc includes both re-recorded older tracks, as well as studio tracks recorded for, but not released on, the "Friction Baby" and "How Does Your Garden Grow" albums. There's obviously a lot of history here, so the Serenade decided to do a little digging which will hopefully shed a little more light on the tracks for our readers. Moreover, whenever possible, some notable live performances and the recordings on which they can be found are also identified. Bear in mind, however, that the quality of these older recordings is often quite poor.
Track 1: Tremble The re-worked song was played live once or twice during 2000, but generally you
have to reach back as far as the early 1990s for a live recording of the tune.
It can be found on the following shows: Fans may recall that prior to the release of "Artifakt," this CD appeared for sale on Ebay. Bidding went as high as $400 before it was withdrawn from bidding. The "Artifakt" version of "Strange Funny Way" is very similar to the original recording, except that it appears the horns were re-recorded and the song was most likely remixed. Fans seeking live recordings of this tune have several places to
turn. The most recent live recordings appear to be: Track 3: Oh, Corrina Kevin Griffin has noted on several occasions that the song was all set to appear on the soundtrack, but that the guys hated an advance version of the film they saw, so they demanded the song be taken off the soundtrack. The band has played the tune live several times (primarily during
2000). Check out the following recordings:
Track 5: Wallflower "This is song we wrote out in LA when we were recording our album [Deluxe] and it’s on like a CD5 that’s being released in Europe, but I think you can get it here, it’s called Wallflower." This statement is apparently accurate as live versions of the song
date as far back as September 1993: The guys also often play this song live when they play Birmingham, AL (see review of the recent Crawfish Boil, front page). |
Track 6: Use Me "... We were recording this summer, some songs, and Ethan [Allen] pulled out this Bill Withers’ disc and he was like ‘man, listen to this sh*t – listen to how simple this song is and how amazing it is.’ And we put the CD on and we were just sitting there listening and we’re like damn, you’re right. It’s a song called ‘Use Me’ and we were so moved we had to do a cover of it. So, just kind of close your eyes and pretend you’re listening to Bill Withers played by a bunch of white guys" Since the recording "Artifakt," the band has played this song numerous times. However, performances are usually in New Orleans as the song is performed with a horn section (typically comprised of Mark Mullins on trombone, Eric Lucero on trumpet, and/or various other other musicians). Notable live recordings include: House of Blues (New Orleans, 07-20-2000) The "Artifakt" version is very similar to the original recording. This song apparently was really close to being included on "Friction Baby." Tom Drummond once told me he fought "nooth and tail" (yes, he had a drink in his hand at the time) for this to be included on the CD and released a single. Live performances of the tune can be found on these recordings: Sig Ep Party/LSU (Baton Rouge, 11-04-1994) Live versions of the song can generally only be found on older bootlegs from the period before Deluxe received national distribution. If you can believe it, at one time, the band used to kick off the tune with a cover of Toni Basil's "Oh Mickey." Live performances include: "The Tulbox" (New Orleans xx-xx-1990) Sadly, there don't appear to be any live recordings of this tune
before or after the time "Artifakt" was released. In fact, for a
live version of this tune, you have to go all the way back to the
1996 Jazzfest show at the Fairgrounds (New Orleans, 05-04-1996) or the
El Rey Theater (Los Angeles, 10-12-1996). Apparently, the song hasn't been played since the pre-Deluxe days: Murphy's (Baton Rouge, xx-01-1991) Hopefully the foregoing information is more or less correct, although I'm sure there are a few inaccuracies somewhere. If you have any comments, suggestions, information or plain old hunches, feel free to let the Serenade know at: ED@streetserenade.com |
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