Lazy Summer Home @ Lost Lake Lounge 2/9/2023
Hey friends, it’s Richie! I’m the new keyboardist for Lazy Summer Home (LSH) and I think its time we start giving all of you some insight to what we do, our creative mindset, and how we think as a band. This is the first of many blogs that will discuss our set lists, our origin stories, our creative mindsets, and who knows what else.
The biggest message here is that we love what we do and in order to bring some light into a darkening world, we decided we’ll share it with you.
So, I play the piano for LSH, though I’m truly a guitarist. I’ve actually been playing with the guys for some time in a place we call Snurch, but more on that another time. For now, we’re going to stick to this amazing set we played at the Lost Lake Lounge in Denver, Colorado on February 9th, 2023.
We shared the stage with a similar band, Orca the Band, who opened things up. After we played, The Dick Nixons rocked the stage and melted faces (think Eruption from Van Halen). Orca has a solid sound that takes me into the jam world of the 90s somehow. Maybe its the sun glasses, or their friendly super chill vibe on stage. Their keyboardist was inspiring for me, bc at the moment, I’m stuck on arpeggios and struggling with my jazz chords.
This show was big for us because it was my first official debut and we were testing out our vocal harmonies. I think each of us has a feeling that we can really turn this band into something special. I can’t speak for the guys when I say this, but I’ve always dreamed of really sharing my love of music on stage in front of human beings and it isn’t really about the rock star thing, but being able to connect with strangers. We’re stuck in our own worlds, on a global highway internet filled with millions of souls, but I thing most of us are lonely at night. We long for more and music is most definitely one of those keys to connection. I may never be the virtuoso in my head, but I can connect people with music and words. At least, I love trying.
Anyway… the Set list! Lazy Summer Home has played many three hour gigs, but when you share a stage and you play a venue (rather than a brewery or restaurant) you want to show who you are as a band within about 50 minutes. We split our originals and covers up in a unique way, while adding new songs for our heartfelt close friends and followers.
Roses Are Free – Opening up with this Ween cover really set the tone! Orca just played a killer set and no one was going anywhere. From the moment Dillow counted us off, we were on point. Harmonizing the whole song, the crowd busted out singing with us too! I think anyone that likes Ween, loves this song. We play this song more like Phish, where we play the solo and sing that chorus one more time. For whatever reason, Ween stopped doing this.
Acid Squirrel – Our first original of the night; quick, upbeat and very comforting for us. Before the show, Jack was a little on edge. He told me he’d be fine after playing the first chord, but, “its a smaller, intimate venue, there’s a great crowd, and the owner’s weren’t as happy with us when we played the Globe Hall because we didn’t have as much a turnout as we hoped.” Thanks to Roses, Jack was warmed up and as he went into the song, the crowd enveloped his true story about his personal squirrel encounter with enthusiasm.
Gam Gam – This is a newer song and already a band favorite. Its also one of our first collectively written tune. Lyrics by Jack, music by Dillow, and the arrangement built by all of us. Gam Gam sits in A minor, but has this chromatic C, C#, D walk up, that I love jamming to on the Clavinet sound (think early Stevie Wonder). Jack and I harmonize the chorus and with the band in the pocket, it turns into a real rocker.
Viola Lee Blues – On this Dead cover, Dillow has already ripped a few solos, but now warmed up on that Les Paul of his, thrilled the crowd with his playing. LSH started as a Dead cover band and long before LSH became a band, Dillow had played some of these songs for years. The other thing about Dillow is that he has this magically switch within himself that turns on in front of a crowd. Maybe during practice, he’s more concentrated on our arrangements, or he’s focused on listening to to the other guys. And maybe when we’re on stage, he trusts us to come through for him so he can allow his guitar to sing. Whatever goes on in that head, Dillow made his predecessors proud. On top of the guitar playing, was the tight timing taken care of by Taner. We worked out particular stops and starts for this tune and Taner nailed them.
Baboon Caboose – A debut song I wished we had recorded. Rumor has it that JoeBob’s wife may have captured video of the entire thing. Fingers crossed. Between you and I, Baboon Caboose and Acid Squirrel tell me that, as a writer, Jack is showing inspiration from Kurt Cobain and Syd Barrett. We’ve had many conversations about music, but we haven’t really discussed how each of us began. I think Jack was into really into the 90s, bluegrass and the jam band styles we played. One only needs to listen and study his writings so far. We structured this song with Jack singing and playing by himself on the first verse, followed by the band jumping in together and more harmonies, vocally and instrumentally.
Jack Straw – A fan favorite, and as my first keys show, very chord heavy, lol. Thankfully I only sang the choruses, and I’ve worked on this song religiously. Practices paid off and I felt like I plugged into the guys flow with ease. Similar to Jerry & Bobby, Dillow & Jackie trade verses and this old western tale is one I hope we perform for a long time. During our performance of this one, I felt that magic of, “oh shit! We sound gooooood.”
Old Home Place – Yes, a traditional folk/bluegrass tune, performed electrically and very catchy. The whole set was quite upbeat and I was in awe that we had the room tightly packed with a movement of the ocean. I can’t tell you enough how much the crowd was involved in our performance. You always hear bands say the cliches about loving the fans and how important they are. It’s only a cliche because its true. Dillow took the lead vocal on this song and we smashed the choruses as a band.
Halley’s Comet – This Phish cover was our ‘challenge song.’ We’ve discussed individually and as a group how we always need to evolve and challenge each other. We will not be a band that plays the same dozen songs every show. This debut was our challenge to showcase that we can sing and we can handle more difficult arrangements. Most importantly, and not spoken of enough yet is our Bass man, Joe Bob Pierce. Joe Bob held down the bass vocally and instrumentally on this one. His low tones and his booming bass are just as exciting as his personality. We liken him to John Fishman; we usually give him a few minutes on the mic… but not too much! Haha, all in good fun:) Seriously though, the entire show holds a consistency. That consistency, in my opinion is locked in from the years of friendship and camaraderie that Dillow and Joe Bob have had. They’re two brothers of music, and they probably take for granted how tight they are. A friend, Wade, told me after the show that it sounds like we’ve been a band for years. That’s Joe Bob and Dillow. Needless to say, the chromatic jam session we have in this song was wild, weird, and very full of purpose.
Pinky Doodle – Pinky Doodle gets people going with its quick and slow time sections. In a 100 years, Pinky Doodle could totally become a Folk Traditional of the 2020s. Jack tends to write with no fear and I’m not sure where he gets his ideas, but he’s a creative SOB. This is a twisted take on the familiar Yankee Doodle, but you’ll have to wait for the lyric sheet on an album.
A Real Bummer (of a song) – Our only slow song of the night, and very sad, but something everyone should discuss with friends and family. Suicide is not joke and neither is this song. I love the feel and the haunting melody of this one and I can play it for days. We wanted to slow down the vibe for just a moment before our closing song…
Crosseyed and Painless – Talking Heads was the right choice for the ever-jumping fan base we built by the end of this show. What better way to cap off a successful night than to add some David Byrne? A really great jam was had on this one, and the key for us was to make our jams timely. They haven’t been too long (we haven’t earned that yet) and we are trying to build a fan base, while being creatively honest with ourselves.
This was a top performance in my personal career. I finally joined a band that makes people want to move and its important to find friends that play music rather than find musicians that play music. We made waves and showcased some originality in a world thriving in pop music and electronic music. Call us a rock band, a jam band, call us whatever you want. We’re musicians and we love playing. We love growing. We’re Lazy Summer Home and I think we’re staying around for a bit.