Gooch: So Commissioner, how are you feeling after several long weeks on the Road?
 Gordon: I’m feeling great! It helps that we’ve been home for a few weeks since the tour.   On the road with the same 5 guys for 3 weeks in a cramped van can take it’s toll, but we got through it all right.   It was my first tour with these guys.   We’re back in Newark now, focusing on new material and just trying to keep this thing going.

Gooch: Overall, how where you received by audiences?
Gordon: Well, anytime you take an original sound out on the road to play to strangers, you’re taking a risk, regardless of the music.   In our genre word of mouth is everything, and you have to spread it anyway you can.   This tour was successful in this regard, and we were well received wherever we could find an audience.   We’ve made some contacts that I anticipate will pay dividends on our next tour.

Gooch: Can you compare and contrast a show like Summerfest with some of the smaller venues you played? 
Gordon: Easily. Summerfest was huge!   About half of this tour consisted of outdoor shows, and those always had better attendance than playing in bars.   The Terrace in Madison, WI and Boston Harborfest are other standouts.   The smaller venues are fun too, but there really isn’t any real substitute for playing in front of a huge crowd of people (not for me, at least).

Gooch: What other acts did you see that you really enjoyed?
Gordon: I got to see and meet Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks in Milwaukee at Summerfest.   Our respective stages were adjacent, which made it easy for me to venture backstage to where they were all hanging out before the show.   Of all my musical influences, Derek ranks among the top, so it was truly an honor to meet him. The show that they put on that night–for me–made the whole trip worthwhile.

Gooch: Can you tell me something positive and something negative you learned that you will apply to your next tour?
Gordon: Strategically planned routes.   With the way we planned this tour, we had to drive out to Wisconsin twice because of the gigs we had booked out there.   Both really good gigs. So we drove out there, played the Terrace, drove back to the east coast to play Boston, New York, and Vermont, then drove back out to Wisconsin to play Summerfest.   The gas prices killed us. You also have to keep in mind why you are out there in the first place, and for me that is the joy of playing our music to new faces, while also searching for new ways to keep the same old songs interesting to me.   It’s all about taking risks. I don’t like to play the same guitar solo over and over, for example and I’m always thinking of new approaches and attacks (with respect to the song, of course).   I’m playing to the audience, but I’m also playing to my band-mates and I think it’s healthy for us to try to impress one another on stage–to show each other that we’re still thinking even after playing the same song a million times.

Gooch: What’s one memory from the tour that really sticks out? 
Gordon: Meeting Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi at Summerfest would be an obvious answer.   For the sake of variety, We had a show booked in Saratoga Springs, NY during our first week on the road.   It was an ideal stop coming from Wisconsin and playing in Vermont the following night. We got a message, however, the day before the gig saying it was canceled and we weren’t given any explanation as to why.   The guy who booked us wouldn’t return our calls. So we had no idea what was going on.   We decided to show up anyway, since we already had a place to crash and it was on our way.   Since we didn’t have a gig anymore, we decided to find one. We heard about an open mic going on at this bar called Daffney’s.   We gave the owner a copy of the CD and he told us to come out that night.   We pulled up with all our gear and played our set and the place went nuts.   They told us to just keep playing, which was great considering the fact that it wasn’t even our gig!

Gooch: What gear do you use to achieve your massive, yet elagent electric guitar tone?
Gordon: My rig is pretty simple, actually.   My main guitar is my Gibson ES-339 that I run out of a Deluxe Reverb ‘65 Reissue.   I also have a ‘57 Reissue Strat that I play slide with on select numbers. My effects chain includes a Fulltone Full-Drive 2, a TS808 Tubescreamer, Keeley Compressor, Line 6 Delay, and Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus.   Most of the time I’m running clean through the amp with a little bit of compression and then I’ll hit the Full-Drive for solos.   It’s more about touch for me than it is effects. I could probably get by with just my guitar running clean, although playing in the Pangs has allowed me to experiment with effects a bit more (at my own risk of course).

Gooch: I know that you are relatively new to the band.  When did you join and what where the circumstances? 
Gordon: I joined the band last October after hearing that they were looking for a new guitarist.   I had seen them several years before, and I remember wishing at the time that I was playing in a band like that.   I picked up a copy of their first album, learned all the songs, auditioned, and got the call.

Gooch: When a new member steps in to an established band, it can be a rough transition.  How did you cope with that, while still finding ways to to assert yourself as an equal member?
Gordon: Rarely do bands maintain the exact same sound upon replacing a guitar player.   I think I have stayed true to the original sound while exploring new influences and introducing some interesting new flavors to the mix.   There was never any form of hazing the new guy if that’s what you’re asking [laughs].   But I also think it was much easier for me than it was for the other guys, who had grown so accustomed to Chris’ (former guitarist) sound.   That’s easy to see now that I’m on the other end.   We’re currently auditioning drummers, since Ross has decided to move on to bigger and better things.   It’s difficult to imagine this band without him. But you have to look at it as a positive.   Could this be a blessing in disguise? I’m trying to put myself in the new guy’s shoes, which is easy to do, considering I was the new guy not too long ago.

Gooch: The song “Dear Ma”, off of your new album “Witness & Wait”, begins with a tasty riff that sounds a lot like Eric Clapton’s song “Got to Get Better in a Little While”.  Was that on purpose, or was it just one of those things? 
Gordon: I knew you would catch that [laughs]! They do sound similar, although the musical context is completely different.   With Dear Ma we had this rockin’ blues fusion groove that needed a rockin’ intro.   That riff came out in rehearsal one time and we all latched onto it.   It was what that song needed, as well as a chance to pay homage to one of my biggest musical influences.

Gooch: You guys will be joining 61 North for a charity show on October 4th to raise money and awarness for spinal cord injury victims.  What are your thoughts on this show and playing for charity in general?
Gordon: I think it’s going to be a blast! I’m really looking forward to it.   It’s a great cause and I know you and Brian have worked hard to put it all together.   Plus, it’s about time our band’s did a show together!

Gooch: Before we’re done, why don’t you give The Pangs a shameless plug and let us know where we can get the album and catch the next show?
Gordon: “Witness & Wait” is available on CD Baby and iTunes.   You can also get it at Rainbow records on Main St. in Newark or at any of our shows.   Check us out at myspace.com/madsweetpangs or at our website madsweetpangs.com. Thanks Gooch.

Written By: Ryan “Gooch” Nelson

61 North is a guitar driven band rock n’ roll band, and thats how I like it, but on some songs keyboard parts seem to fly into my head. Thats why the obvious decision was to see if Jordan would be down to add to our music, as he so graciously has done. He laid down tracks on Jimi Is Gone, Funk You and Find Some Love. Jimi Is Gone was screaming for that ballad rock organ. A very proficient studio musician, Jordan understood our ideas quickly and clearly, and soon had added that sonic whooosh screaming organ we desired. Next we moved to Funk You. All we could hear on this one was Stevie Wonder clavinet sound, so I simply said “Hey Jordan, can you play some funked out Stevie Wonder shit?” Just listen to the song when it comes out. Finally, we went for Find Some Love. I have a particular fondness for this song and started to write a simple part for it on piano. After showing Jordan a few of my ideas, he ran with it and laid down a much better version than what I had in my head. The smooth, Whurlitzer sound really compliments the song and I couldn’t be more pleased.

As of now we are inches away from completing the tracking. A couple harmonies from myself, Bob and Gooch and we are ready to begin the editing. Listening to the album progress has helped us to be able to make the corrections necessary for the high level quality we are shooting for. Though anxious to release the music for everyone to hear, the band is firmly committed to putting out the best quality album possible. We owe it to our fans and ourselves. But for now, my mind is away from the studio and on Friday’s gig at Deer Park.

Rock n’ Roll,

- Brian

The fourth of July show at Marlton Rec. Field was a great success and we are riding high on the show.  We received a warm response from the crowd of over 1,000 Woodstownians who withstood the thundershowers for the music preceding the fireworks show.  The climax came for me when a young 8th grade guitarist from Woodstown named CJ played the national anthem following our show in true Jimi Hendrix style, performing to a throng of his screaming groupies dancing in the rain while balls of exploding fire roared up in the distance.   What a great cap-off to the show.

It seems like we have thrown ourselves so hard into the album that it is all we can focus on.   I’m hoping that I can get all the lead vocals done in our next two days so that we can come back in late July/August to put the finishing touches on the tracking before we begin the mixing and mastering process.  I’m taking a trip down to West Virginia to work at All Good Festival with Brint Ewart (our producer) and am ready for the adventure.  Bob Comfort is going down as well with some of his bros so it should be fun to catch some shows with them.  I’m looking forward to a break from the recording and the music as I’m sure the rest of the guys are.  A good road trip always proves to bring out a new perspective and fresh ideas.  I’m having the time of my life so far in the studio and 61 North is making something I’m damn proud of.

Quote of the week — “Produced it”

Brian

So far we have finished the rhythms for Loaded Gun, Midnight Hour, Find Some Love, Slavedriver, Breakers Point, Funk You, Blackwater, No Time and Doin’ Time. Dave, one of the Gradwell House Studio’s engineers is great to work with and he is really helping to nail down our sound. Also, our producer Brint Ewart is proving to keep us progressing and never settling for less than what we are capable of. We seem to have a great chemistry going, and I’m having the time of my life.

Needless to say, Gooch and I are pumped for guitar week. Dave put it best when he said “guitar week may even be on the same level as shark week” haha. We are getting some of the meanest tones of our lives in the studio and the songs are really falling into their own characters as recordings. I can’t wait to see how the music evolves.

B

-Ryan “gooch” Nelson

On to a more serious topic, the death toll of United States soldiers for the Month of April 2008 closed out at 49 deaths in Iraq. Bringing the total to over 4,000 killed and almost 40,000 injured. My prayers go out to them and their families and friends who are undoubtedly struggling. It is so sad to think that because the leadership has been so poor these past eight years, that many people don’t even realize the enormous sacrifices that American soldiers and their families are making. People always look at Vietnam and think, well we lost between 40,000 and 60,000 men in that war, at least it’s not that bad. However, IT IS that bad. The difference is that we have better medical teams and better forms of treatment now, as opossed to Vietnam. If it were the 60’s or 70’s, the death toll would be approaching that threshold as I write. Instead, all of those soldiers lives have been saved. We now have more soldiers who are amputees, mentally retarded, paralyzed, or suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) then after any other war in history. This is one of the hidden costs that you don’t see factored in to the war budget. These some 30,000-40,000 soldiers will need medical assistance in one form or another for the rest of their lives. This trillion dollar expense will be passed on to all Americans, as well it should be, but didn’t have to be. I ask all who read this to stop and think about our troops over seas and pray for them.

Reflecting on this, I beg the question…How? How did we get to this point? How have things gotten so bad so fast? In my new song, The War Machine, I tried to travel back in my mind to 2001/2003/2005 to revisit my thoiughts at the time. The lyrics take you through the mind of a young man who, after 9/11, is filled with anger and hate. He wants revenge through violence, but inside doesn’t really know who to be angry with. He feels as though he wants “the freedom to shoot any man who threatens [him].” He decides the military is the best way to handle his anger, but soon realizes that the military is very different then he thought it would be. Inside he’s still not sure who he’s supposed to be fighting and why. By the end, the young man has made it through “The War Machine”, but doesn’t know what he accomplished because the anger is still inside of him. Maybe the next time we are threatened as a country we can take the time to explore all of our opotions and make more decisive decisions.

-Gooch

The song is a heavy powerhouse that goes straight to the heart of the point I’m trying to make. I told Brian that I had a song in my head that sounded like it needed an aggresive, powerful, Jimi Hendrix style riff to back it up. Sure enough, Bri came back with what will surely become one of the most well known guitar riffs of all time. Our music is constantly evolving. The more we write, the more the messages are revealed behind what drives 61 North Consider our lyrics to be the nails that are driven in by the hammer that is our music.

-Ryan “Gooch” Nelson

-Ryan “Gooch” Nelson

We are currently in a state of turmoil in our country that requires great resolve on the part of all Americans. The Economy is on the verge of recession, Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure, the planet is in peril, we’re using torture on our enemies, and we’re at war in two countries. In retrospect, fighting wars on two fronts is what brought Napoleon and Hitler to their demise. (Remember the saying “divide and conquer”) Well my friends, we are divided. Our country is divided; Our Army is divided; Our resourses are divided. The last seven years have been a disgrace to what America has always stood for, FREEDOM. Politics of rhetoric and fear have dominated us for far to long. My hope is that we can restore our country’s good name in the world and that the greatest generations are not behind us, but ahead of us. It’s with this in mind that I call on you to make a conscious effort to get out and vote this coming Tuesday in the Feb. 5th Primary. I personally will be voting for the only candidate who can deliver on these changes, Barack Obama. Every candidate has an issue or two that you may not agree with, but Obama has the judgement when it counts. In his 2002 speech leading up to the war, Barack chillingly predicted what would happen if the U.S. averted their attention from Afghanistan and attacked Iraq unconstitutionally. The bottom line is who has the judgement and vision to unite the country. Below are excerpts from Hillary Clinton’s 2002 speech on the floor of the Senate and Barack Obama’s speech leading up to the war in Iraq. I ask that you read them carefully and look forward to the future, not back to the past.

-Ryan “Gooch” Nelson

Hillary Clinton 2002, floor speech right before the war authorization she voted for:

In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security.

So it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interests of our nation.

Obama 2002 Speech:

I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military’s a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

The State Of Things is actually the title of a new song I’ve been working on. It was originally inspired by Invisible Children, a documentary about the lives of children in Uganda who have to hide daily from bushman attacks on their villages so as not to be turned into soldiers. I’m talking about 5 year olds! With the upcoming presidential election on my mind, it sort of evolved into a broader idea about where we are as Americans, and where we need to be going.

Come out to our first 61 North full acoustic/electric set at Theo’s on February 2 at 9:00pm. We will be debuting a lot of new blues covers and originals that I think are some of the best music we have come up with.

-Brian