On Playing in the Static Octopus

Tery says in the starcityscene.com interview that he and I did that I joined the Static Octopus in January of 2005, so I'll start with that; the first decade of the new millenium was really a time of continuous change in my life, so I can't remember all the dates as well as I might. I was in the group for several years and it was a great experience overall. As Tery illustrates in said interview, we met through mutual friend Dan Kaspari and then Tery came to a Davenports show to see what I was up to. I didn't think we played particularly well that night, but he liked it, and we agreed I would join his group as rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist. I hadn't really been looking to join a band at that point, but Near South Davenport wasn't playing as much as I'd have liked (Dan, Noah, and I were living in different towns, had challenging schedules, and no convenient rehearsal space at the time), and this opportunity just sort of happily/luckily fell into my lap.

I had liked what I heard from the recordings that Tery gave me of his music, and recognized immediately that we shared quite common tastes, though not identical. Tery ventures into punk rock a bit more than me, and I probably go into the baroque pop end of the pool more than he does. But overall, we were very kindred spirits musically and I knew he was doing some really great music, and doing it exceedingly well. In particular, his songwriting (often a really challenging blend of XTC and the Records, to my ear), production, arranging, and stellar guitar work really stood out for me. That continues to be the case, actually. Tery is one of the best guitar players I've ever seen.

As for the other guys in the group, I knew Scott Stanfield from being his student in English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln years past, and I knew him from the music scene around town a bit. We always seemed to be at the same shows, so it was apparent we had a similar taste in music as well. Scott even came to one of the early Davenports shows at Knickerbockers on my advice. I knew, then, that it would also be rewarding to be in a group with him. I didn't know drummer Jeff Gustafson previously, but we rehearsed at his house in North Lincoln, so we quickly became acquainted.

For me, the best parts about being in Static Octopus were the additional live performance experience (we played quite a few shows around town), and being a part of bringing this great music of Tery's to fruition. I wouldn't have done it as long as I did if the material wasn't so good. Tery worked us hard at practices because, as he's said, he had written the bulk of the material long before this amalgamation of the band and had a specific idea of how he wanted the parts played/sung, but we also had a ton of fun and frequently laughed our heads off. Humor will always be a big part of any group I'm in, for that matter, or I won't last long in it.

Additionally, I really learned a lot about being in a band from this group, in which I was a role player (I'd only ever really played in my own band to that point, so only knew that perspective on things). It was a nice complement, in that sense, to being in my own band with Dan and Noah, as I didn't have the pressure of fronting the band and could just relax and do my thing a bit more. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that playing in the Static Octopus definitely made me a better guitar player, simply because Tery is such a good guitar player that his parts demanded that I play things I wouldn't have written for myself at that time. And kudos to Tery for his patience in helping me learn the parts.

Lastly, highlights of being in the group. I think the best gig we ever played was at the 9th Street Basement in Lincoln. There was a decent crowd and we just played hard and nailed every song. Good friend, Return drummer Ted Alesio was there and said it seemed like we'd been on the road or something, it was so tight. Bandmate Dan was also there and dug it too if I remember.

It was also fun playing for bigger crowds at Scenefest at Duffy's, though possibly less-so for Tery since he had all the organizing responsibilities for the event as well. And of course, our summer trip down to Lawrence, Kansas to play at the Bottleneck was a little slice of heaven. With the exception of Scott (who drove separately), we all piled into my Good Times van and drove down, and regrettably, that's still my only experience heading out on the road (even though it was only for a single gig) with a band. I loved every second of it. It was a thrill to play at the Bottleneck, as I had seen numerous favorite bands there in years past: Semisonic, Super Furry Animals, New Pornographers, etc. I immediately went up to the dressing room to sit where my idols had sat, which had previously been off-limits to me at their shows, of course, and even though it was a sweltering, dirty little shit hole, I sat there for a moment by myself and reveled in it. We also played a great show that night, albeit to about 5 people (although one was the record buyer from the famous local store, Love Garden, who was eating out of our hand afterward--thanks for liking us!), and we opened for a great L.A. band, Biirdie, who are associates of the great L.A. musician/producer Michael Andrews (of Donnie Darkko fame). We all hung out together until the wee hours after the show and talked about our similar musical tastes (they told me they had spotted me on the street before the gig wearing my Teenage Fanclub shirt, and so knew it was going to be a good fit on the bill that night).

As much as any of the above experiences still resonate with me, some of my happiest times with the band were when Tery, Scott, and I would rehearse in my apartment in Lincoln, fully amplified through my mixing board and w/vocals, but through headphones. It wasn't an ideal arrangement (it was the result of Jeff having a crazy work schedule that didn't allow for much practice time, and also deprived us of our practice space), but it was a very workable arrangment, and without drums it was conducive to us being able to concentrate more on the details of the vocal harmonies, which of course was highly enjoyable for me. The whole thing also saved me from loading/unloading a bunch of gear each time to head to practice. Mostly, however, I loved the social aspect of the arrangement, because every time we would rehearse the material we needed to that night, and then sit around for an hour or two at my place listening to music (usually vinyl) and enjoying one another's company.

Ah, one more thing. What fun it was to record out at Scott Dreesen's Mookie Studio in South Lincoln. Scott is a great guy with a stellar recording setup--one of the only proper studios I've ever played in.

In the end, the Static Octopus was really a great band from the ground up. We had great material (and Tery even pitched me the lead vocal on the Records' "Hearts in Her Eyes"), everybody could play their instruments, and we had 3-part harmony. There's not much not to like in that scenario for me. Unfortunately, our brand of power pop/psych pop wasn't exceedingly popular at that time/place, so we often didn't draw the crowds we'd hoped for, but that scarcely lessened the experience for me. Hopefully I'll collaborate again with these friends.