The Jones Band

The Blue Tape was (perhaps) the high point of the Jones' studio career. Recorded in 1992, the demo tape (sounds quaint, doesn't it?) contained four mainstays of the Jones Band's original set. At this point in time, Jones members were: Eric Friedmann, Dino Nickolas, Bill Rushing, and Steve Schneider.

The tape was recorded at (I think) Soundtek Studios. I wouldn't have remembered this except that one of the studio principals (a bassist, of course) used to tour with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer in an outfit called (surprisingly enough) 3*. There was a poster of 'em all, and everything. I believe that those pukes insisted on hanging on to our two-inch, and I still regret that. Especially in light of recent developments on the two-inch tape frontier. This is merely a roundabout way of telling you that I digitized this stuff off cassette tape.

• Son of the Milkman. It's a masterpiece of Rushing-penned mayhem. Off hand, I'm not aware of a finer Eric Friedmann solo recorded on tape. Though I'm convinced that earlier versions of the tune had a lower-register melody through the chorus. (Was that complaint veiled thinly enough, Bill?) Also, I hope y'all especially enjoy the dulcet wood-knock sounds in the breakdown, because those cost extra.
• My Oh My. One of my (Schneider's) contributions to the band. Like most of my work, it's too damned busy. In my defense, I'd like to suggest that with most of the songs on this tape, we orignally played them at much slower tempo, but got a little overexcited in the studio. So, it would be a much better tune a little slowed down, but even so, I think this is a tour de force of Jones Band capabilities. We actually could pull this tune off live (with the occasional sketchiness around the infamous "so right" lyric at the end of the tune--but hey: it's a tough jump).
• Dalewood. An E. M. Friedmonster composition, this tune skirts the psychedelic fringe, and was inspired (IIRC) by Iggy's fateful trip to British Colombia to study killer whales. This tune has jam written all over it [or would it be more correct to say that it has jam all over it?] while maintaining the traditional Jones Band energy throughout. Treat yourself to an earful of double-ride.
• Hang On. Another Friedmann number, I thought this tune was the Jones Band's best shot at a hit record. Obviously, not many people agree with me. I have the solo in this tune, and I will make the same observation as above: too busy, possibly mitigated if you had heard it in a slower rendition. For extra credit, non-band-members can guess how the heck we created the whale-like sound at the end (because, without inside info, I bet you can't).

* It seems that this guy I'm thinking of above is one Robert Berry. I mean: he recorded some of the shit on this tape. The album (3) is universally reviled, however, so that's a tough break for Bob. You can still find Soundtek Studios articles on the web. Or, if you can tolerate some atrocious web design, it seems that he is still out there doing his thing.

As usual, I'm happy to compile people's thoughts on the Jones Band's Blue Tape on this page.