David Gans: It’s a Hand-Me-Down

Description

An album of “solo electric” interpretations of songs by the Grateful Dead.

David Gans – guitars and vocals

Songs: Stagger Lee, Lazy River Road, Ship of Fools, Loser, Looks Like Rain, Wharf Rat, Stella Blue, Black Peter, New Speedway Boogie, Deal, Terrapin Station, Attics of My Life, Brokedown Palace

From the CD liner notes:

Among the many gifts I got from the Dead was the habit of intermingling original, improvised, and borrowed material in pursuit of a unique narrative of my own. In the same way the Dead made “Mana Tried” and “Minglewood” and “Morning Dew” their own, I have adapted the Dead’s songs to suit my vocal range, guitar style, and personal narrative.

The idea was to make a record that sounds like my live “solo electric” performances: guitar and vocal, with some additional layers of guitar made possible by the use of the Boss RC-30 Loop Station. The looper allows me to record the chord changes of a song so I and play a guitar solo, and it also makes it possible to create multi-layered performances of composed and improvised music.

Produced by David Gans & Jeremy Goody and recorded by Jeremy Goody at Megasonic Sound, Piedmont CA, except: “Lady With a Fan/Terrapin” and “Looks Like Rain,” produced and recorded by Jim LeBrecht at Berkeley Sound Artists; and “Stella Blue,” recorded by Arnie Brown at The Jam Room, Howell NJ and mixed by Jeremy Goody at Megasonic.

Mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering, Boulder CO
Instruments by Renaissance Guitars (Rick Turner), Mario DeSio, C.F. Martin & Co. (And two borrowed Taylors on “Stella Blue”)

All songs by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter
except “Looks Like Rain” by Bob Weir and John Barlow Ice Nine Publishing (ASCAP)