“Tahiti, 2005. I was invited to travel to Papeete, Tahiti for a week of playing some jazz with a local bass player named Felix. Accompanying me was Joey Navarro, the keyboard player in my band and now EBS. And of course Andrea went with me. It’s about an 8 hour flight from L.A. Overnight, so we arr…ived at about sunrise the next day. Wow. What a paradise. They put us in the Hotel Intercontinental. Beautiful hotel right on the beach with over-water bungalows. Talk about a working vacation, you couldn’t get any better than this Oh, and the food. Oh boy.

We were given vouchers for the restaurants in the hotel. French and Asian were the predominant cuisines. You could have sushi or sashimi for B, L or D if you wanted. The gigs were just a minor inconvenience, if you know what I mean. But 3 shows in 6 days was do able. And at the end of the week, we were treated to an unbelievable afternoon on a privately owned motu (island) just off the coast. It was a trip of a lifetime for us! Now that I’ve told you about this wonderful travelogue we went on, there’s just one little thing that happened the first night on the bandstand.

Our first show was the evening of the day of our arrival. A little jet lag, but who cared? After all, we were in Tahiti! The show was in the hotel, so there was no stress there. Just stroll down from the room and into the restaurant where they’d built a small stage for us. The restaurant was packed and things were looking good for a nice little show. We’d rehearsed earlier in the afternoon and we were just doing standards, so if it was loose, no biggy. Once again, after all we were in Tahiti. Went on stage to set up, putting my horn stands for my trumpet and flugal on the small drum riser behind me. When we were ready to start, the drummer started the count to Night In Tunisia or something like that. Most the songs were straight ahead jazz, which I love to play. I’m holding my flugal and as the drummer hits the downbeat with his bass drum, my trumpet goes flying and hits the stage mangling my first valve. Oh boy. It’s not moving at all. I figure I get through the night on flugal and get it repaired tomorrow. After the song ends, I turn to the local tenor sax player whose in this week’s band and ask him, “Where’s the closest brass repairman?”  He turns to me and says, “L.A.” I finished the week on flugal. After all, we were in Tahiti.”

See you next week.

For more on Greg go to http://www.gregadamsmusic.com/ or http://www.eastbaysoul.com/

10. Rocco levitating above the stage but “valuable stuff” kept falling out of his pockets.

9. Wino fights during “Knock yourself out”.

8. A tribute to Global warning by horns blow drying bad hairdos.

7. Band uniforms, other than standard issue orange Alameda County convict jumpsuits.

6. Rhythm section’s Afro wig hairdo tribute to Link from Mod Squad.

5. Using the underwear tossed on stage to launch a “Back to Oakland” Blimp.

4. Computer generated animal noises to cause goat stampedes at fair gigs.

3. Flashing strobe lights made real estate Accountants incontinent.

2. Short video on what is Hip…replacement.

1. The Lenny Pickett, way too much caffeine, AARP dance off.

Printed on East Bay Soul’s Facebook page last week.

NYC-1988. “I’d been arranging and playing for an ad agency in New York that had the contract for music for Budweiser and later, Michelob beer. My producer, Steve McCabe would fly me in from L.A. about once a month to do a set of jingles, a 30 and 60 second. I first met Steve… when he hired Tower to do one of these ads. Ours was based on Go And Get It With Your Good Credit. All you had to do was get the slogan This Bud’s For You in there somewhere and you were good to go. After this first one with Tower, I became his go to guy.

The scenario for these jingles was this: Hire a famous singer or group and build the ad around the song that the artist was famous for. What was cool about it was the fact that we’d do very regional musical styles from around the country. We did Buckwheat Zydeco, The Neville Brothers, Robert Cray a…nd Wilson Pickett to name a few. This story is going to be about the Wilson Pickett sessions. I’d get the assignment from Steve about 2 weeks out and start in on the writing. I’d call Paul Schaffer and The World’s Most Dangerous Band, (still on NBC) to be my rhythm section and get a small horn section, usually Barry Rogers on bone and Ronnie Cuber on bari. Sometimes I was lucky enough to snag L.P. fom SNL to play tenor for a couple of hours.

Here’s how the trip to New York went. The agency flew me business class. Ahh. Then I’d check into an obscenely expensive hotel and have an obscenely expensive dinner with Steve. Noexpense spared here. Ah, the ’80s. The downbeat the next day was for 10 am and the rhythm section was ready to go. This time I had Steve Cropper sitting in on guitar. He wrote the song that I based the song made famous by Wilson, Land Of A Thousand Dances. How cool was that to have the writer on the date. Plus he played on the original record. Wilson and his wife arrived about 11. What a nice couple. He was very soft spoken. Almost to the point of being shy. There was one little thing we didn’t know. Wilson didn’t know how to read written word. Oh boy. But that didn’t faze him. His wife took the lyrics and him into an empty studio next door and they woodshedded for the next couple of hours while we built the tracks for him to sing to. Paul and the guys finished up the rhythm tracks in time to scoot over to NBC for their call on Dave’s show. Cropper hung around to hear the horn overdubs and listen to Wilson sing. I always had to be careful not to make the ad sound too much like the original so as not to get in any hot water with the writers or publishers. What’s that word? Plagiarism? The agency always had a musicoligist check things out so everything was legal. I had never had a problem besides, I had Cropper, the writer of the song sitting right next to me. I turned to him and asked him, “Does this sound too much like the original to you?” He says, in his deep Memphis drawl, “Nah Greg. Sounds okay with me.” Cool. Now it’s time for Wilson. Remember how I said he was soft spoken and shy? Well when that red light on the tape recorder goes on… look out!! He nails both the :30 and :60 in one take each. His wife has taught him to memorize the lyrics. I wish it didn’t go so fast. I wanted more. The great Wilson Pickett singing a Bud jingle based on one of his biggest hits. How surreal was that?…

The process of building these jingles always took a full day in the studio. 10 to 6, no more no less. So by 8 o’clock we were in another obscenely expensive restaurant having dinner. Ah yes, that good old expense account. Back to the hotel and on my flight home the next morning. A few days later, Steve, my producer calls. Oh boy. It seems the musicoligist has had a listen and says it sounds too much like the original. Wait a minute. Steve has tried in vain to explain how the writer himself has no problem with it. I guess the ad agency’s legal department trumps Steve Cropper, the writer. Back on a flight 2 days later to recut the horns to satisfy the suits. This time the nusicoligist was there. By the end of the date everyone was happy. I really didn’t have to change much. Just some of the rhythms in the horn chart. Oh, and here’s the irony of this jingle for Wilson Pickett: My producer Steve and I recieved International Broadcasting Award honoring the World’s Best Broadcasting Advertisements of 1988 from The Hollywood Radio and Television Society. Oh, and I don’t think the musicoligist got anything.”

See you next week.

For more on Greg go to http://www.gregadamsmusic.com/ or http://www.eastbaysoul.com/

Here is an update on Trumpet phenom, Josh Shpak.  As you recall Josh sat in with Tower Of Power in June of this year (Josh is a student of Mic Gillette’s).  At that time Josh was about to visit Clark Terry at his home to study with Mr. Terry, and scheduled to go to the Berklee College of Music for a Summer workshop.

The following is an update from Michael Miller, Josh’s mentor:

“Dear Raoul,

If you’ll recall, we communicated just after my godson, Josh Shpak, sat in with Tower of Power at the Alameda County Fair here in California.

At that time, he was off to Boston to participate in the Berklee College of Music 5-Week Summer Jazz Workshop. Well, the big news is that, at the end of the final Berklee summer concert on Aug. 12th, the Berklee staff awarded Josh with a four-year/full-ride, full-tuition scholarship to the Berklee College of Music! With him currently only just beginning his senior year in high school, he can rest easy knowing he’ll be attending the best music school in the world starting in the Fall of 2011. How cool is that!?!?!!

Anyway…I thought I’d give you that news in case you’d like to update your site!

All the best from way out west,

Michael”

10.Prance around the house in PJ’s playing trombone parts with a toilet plunger.

9. You hear TOP music in stores and can’t stop doing the splits.

8. Plan your vacation around tour schedule knowing that your spouse may file charges.

7. Started watching Lawrence Welk rearranging the horn parts in your head.

6. Family does an intervention, you mock them by getting “Down on My knees”.

5. You work the word “Boogalate” into every conversation.

4. Wear an Oakland Raider jersey over your business suit for work.

3. Took a bus to Oakland, just to get beer poured on you and slapped around.

2. Did a life size BBQ rib sculpture of DG’s drum kit in the garage.

1. If you don’t know, you need to ask somebody.