Living With the Past

[Nonfatman]

Check out this amazing performance of Aqualung, by our friends Ray and Living With the Past on July 22, 2006.
We like these guys a lot!



Look for more details regarding their 40th Anniversary DVD set, from their 2008 performance in Buffalo, New York, and our accompanying contest, coming very soon!

Jeff

[Nonfatman]

The Jethro Tull Board is in now in the process of preparing its review of the very special 40th anniversary Jethro Tull tribute show, performed by our friend Ray and bandmates of the Tull tribute band Living With the Past, with special guest Dave Pegg appearing on six of the songs! How that came to pass is an interesting story, which shall be related in our review.

As previously mentioned here, the band released a DVD/CD of their show, which was performed at a very nice club in Buffalo, New York. We are hoping to have our review of this release, entitled 'Life is a Long Song,' posted up here within two weeks time, three at most.

A fun contest will then follow, consisting of some challenging and humorous questions, with copies of the DVD/CD set to be given away as prizes to the lucky winners! In the meantime, here is a little sampling of this exciting release from Living With the Past:



I should also mention that, in addition to the feature story that will appear right here, it is my understanding that Dave Rees will also be featuring a write-up of this riveting and dynamic performance in the upcoming issue of A New Day Magazine, which will be Issue #100!

Stay tuned for more.......

Jeff

[TM]

Here's another video of our friend Ray with Dave Pegg doing Budapest.

[Nonfatman]

Jul 12, 2010 13:21:29 GMT -5 TM said:

Here's another video of our friend Ray with Dave Pegg doing Budapest.

Thanks, I didn't realize Ray had posted this on youtube. It's my favorite one from their DVD, and I think Ray's singing is nicest on this one, and on all of the other acoustic pieces that they do. Acoustically is where they really shine the most, but their heavier Tull stuff is great too. Salamander was another highlight....I really like their rendition of that one. So few Tull tribute bands can play a song like that.

My full review will be forthcoming at long last. About a month ago, I was almost about to do it, I had assembled my notes and was sitting down at the computer to start writing, and then other events (i.e., kids) conspired against me.

Part of my problem is that I try to make everything I write like the Torah, i.e., too long. I think I will scale back my ambitious plans and do a shorter write-up, so we can finally do that contest.

I don't think it was bad that we've put this off a bit, because several months ago we really did not have enough members here for a good contest, but I think now we do, and this is something that we will really plug on FB as well.

Jeff

[Tulltapes]

Here is a pretty cool instrumental of Pibroch by this band..

[Nonfatman]

Jul 21, 2010 18:34:02 GMT -5 Tulltapes said:

Here is a pretty cool instrumental of Pibroch by this band..

Thank you for that, Tulltapes, I didn't realize that Ray had posted this one either. I think he might have put this medley and Budapest on youtube very recently.

Just another reminder for me to get my full review done already on this terrific tribute band!

Jeff

[livingwiththepast]

Hello,

We have begun rehearsals for new shows, including songs we've never done like Thousand Mothers....great song to jam to! Maybe we'll play in your neighborhood, ya never know.

Ray - LWTP

[TM]

Nov 22, 2010 21:57:56 GMT -5 livingwiththepast said:

Hello,

We have begun rehearsals for new shows, including songs we've never done like Thousand Mothers....great song to jam to! Maybe we'll play in your neighborhood, ya never know.

Ray - LWTP

That's great news Ray! Let us know when and where. If you come out to NYC I'll be there.

[Nonfatman]

About a year ago, just two or three months after this board was founded, we were speaking with Ray about doing an ambitious and full-fledged review of his tribute band Living With The Past's, 40th anniversary DVD/CD set, which features Dave Pegg as a guest on six or seven of the songs, followed by a contest in which Ray would send off five copies of the set to winners.

Here's a look at the packaging, which has a Christ-like character playing flute in sort of a one-legged crucifixion pose, in a field of sheep, or are those lambs?



At the time, I asked Ray for some background information concerning the band and band members, and he obliged with a lot of material, and then I became overwhelmed with information and was having difficulty deciding on the correct approach for the review, combining both the factual matter and the review. We also had doubts that a contest would be effective, because back then I think we only had about 90 total members, and perhaps 20 active members at most. But over the next few months we did add about 30 new members, so we decided to go forward with it.

Then computer problems arose, I became very busy with family affairs, work, etc., not to mention continuing to try to build the board and also embarking on a full-scale project to feature not just Ray's fine tribute band, but all of the many tribute bands worldwide, the results of which can be viewed in our Tribute Band Department.

In July or August, I sat down to write, with my notes in front of me and was ready to go, and then got distracted by kids and did not manage to do what I had planned. (What I was intending was a professionally written review, with photos and images, something really good.)

So the full review never got written . That's not to say we haven't paid any attention to LWTP, or that we haven't shown much love to Ray & Company, because we've already posted several mini-reviews, a couple of their videos and a lot other information about them, both in this LWTP thread, and also the 'Songs From The Mushroom' thread in our Tull Art and Photo Department. So, we urge anyone who is interested to scroll back to the beginning of this thread, and to visit the Songs From the Mushroom thread, to catch up on all of our efforts to spotlight this great tribute act to date!

thejethrotullboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=youtube&action=display&thread=670

As for my full review, it is still forthcoming, but I have decided to split the piece into two parts. Ray was kind enough to provide me with extensive answers to several questions that I had, requesting more info about the band members and history of his band -- which after all is one of the granddaddies of all Tull tribute bands, dating back to the early nineties when they were known as 'Present' and played at several of the early USA Tull conventions -- since I thought that would make for a better review. I had intended to somehow work this into a "review" but looking over the material again today, it struck me that it would work much better as an interview, because Ray's responses include some very fascinating information, including some interesting anecdotes about sharing pizza with Ian and the boys after a show in Buffalo! So, the first part of our full feature on LWTP will be an interview with Ray, consisting of his answers to my email and PM inquiries!

I am sure Ray will understand the delays which we encountered, after all, in addition to his involvement with LWTP, he also runs three businesses and has a family of his own, so he knows how crazy things can get. And hopefully, he still has those five extra copies sitting around for our contest, which will be fun and exciting, not dull and boring, and will include other great prizes as well!

Anyway, without further ado, please see the next post in this thread for our interview with Ray!

Jeff

[Nonfatman]

Here is The Jethro Tull Board's exclusive interview with Ray Roehner, lead singer, flutist and frontman of one of our favorite Tull tribute bands, and one of the first and finest Tull tribute bands ever!

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JEFF : I just wanted to let you know I finally had some time to myself where I could listen to the 2 CDs straight through, and I did, twice. Then I followed up with the DVD and it was an even more enjoyable experience.

I really liked the band a lot, especially the acoustic material, and Budapest was probably my favorite!

RAY : Yes, Budapest was my fav too. Ian has said that Budapest was his favorite Tull song of all time, so it was fitting that we played it for this event. We only practiced it together twice before the show!! Very complex piece but Peggy's solid bass playing helped us pull it all together.

JEFF : The Peggy stuff was great, as was your stage show with the colorful lights and the props like the stain glass window on My God and the bellydancer on Salamander. And I like how you tackled some of the most difficult stuff.

Was the DVD recorded on different sound equipment than the CD? The DVD sound was great (not that it was bad on the CDs), but it seemed even better on the DVD. I was able to hear each of the instruments more clearly, especially your flute-playing which was solid throughout. Maybe it was just the effect of watching the musicians actually perform the music that made it sound even better to me.

RAY : Nope, the sound should be the same on both. I have to take a moment to give Kudos to our guitarist Erin Ward, who was responsible for putting this DVD together. It was a huge undertaking and he was the engine that drove the whole thing, start to finish......really an amazing job considering this video was not professionally shot with 10 cameras, etc.....and yet it turned out to be a really nice project, and the sound is really good for a live thing. Erin was awesome to put this all together for us! I like that the DVD makes you feel like you are actually at a club watching the show, rather than having a squeaky clean video with ultra close-ups of me making bizarre faces and wincing in agony trying to play music that is this difficult! The DVD has a nice feel to it and Erin is responsible for capturing that live feel so folks watching would think they were there.

JEFF : Also, am I correct to say that some of the stage banter was edited out on the CDs? There were some snippets on the DVD that I did not remember from the CD, like Peggy introducing Budapest.

RAY : Yes, we edited out some stage banter from the CDs just to make them different from the DVD.

JEFF : Paul, Dan and I are going to prepare a composite review, and put it up in final form on the board. I already have some ideas and was writing bits and pieces in my head. The goal is by the end of the month. But I would first like to receive some still photos of the band from this performance, as well as some brief biographical information about each band member, i.e., your jobs, family and when you first started playing together, etc.

RAY : There were not many pics taken at the show, just the video stuff. The only pics available I know of would be the ones we have up on our website.

As for bio stuff....hmmmm....I could write a book. We have been playing off and on together since 95. Back in the 90s we were known as "Present" and we played out a lot then, and did some Tull conventions in the northeast. We headlined the Tull Convention In the Boston area in 95 and that was a great night with a very enthusiastic, fun crowd of Tull fanatics from all over the US and even Europe.

All the guys are busy with jobs, families, etc. It is difficult to put shows together because I live in Boulder and they are all in NY. Tull music is extremely complex stuff, so to do the songs justice without practice is a HUGE challenge! But Tull is in our blood and we love the music, so it all kind of just flows once we get on stage. Being able to do those songs on stage as fans is an honor and a great thrill. I remember doing Aqualung at that Boston convention, and at the end of the song during the buildup, I actually felt like I was levitating for a few seconds....that was one of my most intense moments ever playing Tull music. Doing the jam at the end of Budapest was another huge highlight for me personally.

I have hung out with Tull backstage and afterwards at the hotel lounges many times through the years, but in recent years, I don't bother them because touring is very hectic and stressful these days, but we've had a lot of great times. Ian has always been very cordial to me but I'm sure in the back of his mind he was saying, "Who are these guys and why do they keep following me around!" Peggy and Andrew were always the most approachable and loved to hang out and talk about music, life, beer, etc. Great guys! But all the guys through the years have always been awesome and down to earth. Martin is such a quiet, unassuming guy, yet he is a monster on stage! Doane is the salt of the earth and a wonderful person, as are all the guys really. We've all got some great memories thanks to this band we call Tull!

JEFF : That would be helpful, because it is nice to have some interesting facts and background info about the musicians to weave into the review, to add some color, and maybe a humorous story or two. Also, how was it that you got Peggy to agree to appear? I'd really like to know that story so I can included it in the write-up.

RAY : I emailed Peggy about our idea for this 40th anniversary tribute show. He then called me from France where he spends much of his time these days, and said he'd love to do it with us. He hadn't done many of the songs for years, but like the pro he is, he pulled them off as if he had been playing them all along! He had not played Broadsword since that tour, and it has some difficult bass lines, but he played it flawlessly, as he did Budapest, which is extremely complex. It was very cool to have him on mando for LALS and Skating too......it added such a great touch to those songs.

JEFF : Also, I want to ask you where in Buffalo was the club that you performed this show, and what the was the venue like?

RAY : The club is in the northern Buffalo area, excellent venue with premium lighting and sound, and a big stage.

JEFF : What was the crowd like, was it students, blue collar folks, mostly male, female, or a bit of both?

RAY : It was a mixture really. Surprisingly there were a lot of females in the crowd, which is unusual for a prog rock show. Some of these Tull gals out there are very knowledgeable about Tull, and they ask really detailed questions and obviously know their Tull. It's cool to have females at a show like that rather than 98% guys which is often the case with rock shows at clubs.

JEFF : I went to Law School up there in the eighties, really liked the area and am pretty familiar with it. The club we always went to downtown was The Continental, but that was when Chippewa street was still the little "red light" district, with no bars, restaurants and clubs like there was the last time I was back there in 2000. I also saw Tull up there for the Underwraps tour at the War Memorial Auditorium in 1984, and again in 1994 or 1995, I believe, at the Shea Theater, and then again at the Erie County Fair in 2000. Did you grow up in Buffalo?

RAY : We hung out with Ian at the hotel in Buffalo after the Underwraps show and we ate pizza together. He had just had surgery on nodes in his throat and he talked about all that. The doctor had offered to do a video of the surgery, which Ian declined...he said his son James was somewhat upset afterwards that he didn't get the video of it because he thought it would be cool to see! Ian kind of laughed and rolled his eyes.

Yes, I am from the Buffalo area originally, and have been in Boulder now for many years. I go back to Buffalo now and then to see family and friends, and occasionally play a little light music!

JEFF : Get back to me with some nice background information, so I can weave it into the review. Paul and I started the board not so much to pay homage to Jethro Tull, but more so as a place to explore the fans' creativity, opinions, artwork, thoughts, stories, etc., vis a vis Tull, and pretty much everything else. That is why we are so interested in doing this and other things like it.

Still, it may take me a few weeks, because work is crazy right now, not to mention the demands of fatherhood.

RAY : No worries, mate. Check out this [biography] I just sent to Paul:

Living with the Past began as a Tull tribute band back in Western New York called Present. Present played the local club scene, and performed at Tull conventions in the NY/Boston corridor.

LWTP was formed around 2002, performing acoustic Tull gigs in NY area clubs. As the band evolved, they decided to branch out and expand, and started playing full-blown Tull shows, this time featuring the heavy, electric side of Tull.

In this electric incarnation, Ray continued to front the band, and was joined by original Present members, Chris Martin on bass, John Berg on guitars, and Kevin Kukoda on keyboards. But it was the addition of the very versatile guitarist, Erin Ward, and John Olivier on drums that really catapulted the band to a whole new level.

With having two very accomplished lead guitarists in the band, LWTP was able to duplicate live, the blazing Tull studio guitar arrangements, which added a great dimension to the live performance of Tull’s music. John and Erin worked hard to master the guitar licks and harmonies of such Tull guitar greats as The Brick, Pibroch, Whistler Jam, and others. The two guitar sound added a richness and fullness to the performance, much to the delight of the crowds attending their shows. Both John and Erin are also outstanding acoustic guitarists, so they were able to handle all the acoustic guitar sections which freed Ray up to concentrate on the very difficult and complex vocal arrangements, not to mention the impossible flute work!

John Olivier is, in many peoples’ opinions, one of the very best Tull drummers ever to play the music. John has the perfect timing instinct and natural talent to pull off the complexities of the work of such great drummers as Bunker, Barlow, and Perry, and his dynamic work on percussion truly was the heartbeat of the band. John is one of those gifted drummers that could be playing in any major band in the world. His day job in the financial arena however precludes him from having the time on his hands to participate in a full time band commitment.

As for the other boys, Ray has worked in medical research all his life, so that, combined with living cross country from the rest of the band makes Ray a pretty busy guy as he juggles multiple commitments 24/7. He talked about doing practice over the telephone lines long distance, sending audio files back and forth of the internet, and sending CDs of practices cross country so the band could practice together without being together. Ray has had a deep love for Tull’s music since the early days of Jethro Tull, and has attended over 100 Tull shows in his days. Ray has never taken a flute lesson, but had some natural instincts with the flute because his mother was a flute player. “A good memory is key to singing Tull live, and singing the entire first side of Thick as a Brick in front of a live audience can be a daunting task to remember….kind of like reciting War and Peace off the top of your head!”, says Ray.

John Berg had worked for his local town government for many years, and recently decided to leave that position in pursuit of his music and some much needed rest and relaxation. He has an extensive collection of guitars, including 23 high-end electric guitars, along with several state of the art amplifiers and other equipment.

Chris Martin and Kevin Kukoda are also long-time members of the Tull project. Both work in the retail and computer business. Kevin has been and still is involved in other bands, and has also been involved in band promotion work. Chris recently had his first child, so both of these members are quite busy to say the least.

The addition of long-time Tull bassist Dave Pegg for this performance was one of those “meant to be” things. Ray contacted Peggy by phone and discussed the possibility of Dave joining the band for set of Tull to honor the band’s 40th anniversary. As fate would have it, Dave had planned to come to the US to perform some club dates with musical partner PJ Wright, so Peggy worked out a date with Ray and it all fell into place very nicely. Dave played flawlessly as always, which is really astounding since he hadn’t played these Tull songs in many years….in fact, Dave hadn’t played Broadsword since that tour way back in 1982, yet be played it with the great feeling and perfection that he did back on that tour. The band was thrilled to play with Dave, and they give him the credit for taking them up a level and inspiring them to put on their best Tull performance ever.

Perhaps the main cog in the wheel of the band is guitarist Erin Ward. Erin works out all the difficult Tull arrangements for the band, organizes the rehearsals at his studio, and has patiently put up with the extreme difficulties of putting together a band of busy guys and their collectively very hectic schedules. Erin also did the vast majority of production work on the live DVD/CD set, which required countless hours of hard work and fortitude.

The DVD project was not filmed by a 10 camera video production company, so Erin had to compile bits and pieces of video he was able to obtain, and put it all together in as complete and professional a package as possible. The audio recording was also very difficult, and took hours to break everything down and separate it all out so it could be mixed and mastered properly. Aqualung, for instance, unfortunately had some serious audio problems, so the boys were faced with either putting it out as it was recorded, or replaying it in the studio. They decided not to compromise the integrity of the project by fixing Aqualung in the studio, so they made the difficult decision to leave it off the final project.

All in all, the tribute project came out quite well, and the boys are satisfied that the culmination of many years of hard Tull work resulted in a respectable and heartfelt tribute to their favorite band, the mighty Jethro Tull.

JEFF : I really liked the DVD a lot and am looking forward to seeing it again over the holiday break to make some final notes before I prepare a draft for Paul and Dan to make any additions/revisions. It will be more of a "feature story" than a critical review, wihch is why I needed that info!

RAY : Thanks, Jeff. I would suggest to take your time and put it together the way you really want to, not hurry. I think we weill do a big push in advertising and marketing for the project next year, so this fits in well for the Tull fans. We paid a kazillion dollars to Tull for the royalites, both audio and video (yikes!), so let's make it worthwhile and get it out to the Tull fans. Thanks for being true Tull disciples!

JEFF : Thank you Ray, for the great info there....and I read on your website your advice concerning heart health, etc., and I was going to work that into my feature of course, along with the fact that you were donating the proceeds of the disc to charity. I apologize for the delay. My home computer has been down for awhile so I'm limited to posting on this board from work or my sister's apartment. But I will get this done in the coming weeks, but lately I've been strapped for time.

RAY : Thanks, I'm big on the heart health topic. I may know much more about this than the average doctor these days. Heart disease is in large part, preventable, and even reversible. I'm running three business myself, so I know what being strapped for time is all about!! Yikes! Crazy. Just do the best you can and try to always stay motivated and set goals. Those are the keys. That, and a lot of vitamins!!! Good luck!

JEFF : Thank you, Ray! And one last thing....any future plans for Living With the Past?

RAY : LWTP has considered doing a studio acoustic CD at asome point of Tull stuff, with a fewm of my Somewhere in the Universe songs thrown in. I'd like to fo First Snow, Gift of Roses, and all the usual Tull acoustic classiscs, so that may be a project for the future.

Please let me know if you need other details or have other ideas for questions. I don't want to bore people and get too verbose....just want to color it all with our own personal touch! Thanks for your interest in doing this. After all....it's for you!
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Thanks for the great interview, Ray, and we understand that since this interview was conducted there are now plans for LWTP to hit the road again! Hopefully you will be in the New York area, and if you are, you know that representatives of The Jethro Tull Board will be there. And I've been itching to take another trip to Buffalo, so it that's where you will be, don't be surprised to see my face in the crowd!

Okay, so with the factual and background information now covered, I can now focus on my full and extensive "review" the DVD, without having to worry about working the biographical data into the review. Whew!

And then, we can proceed to the contest, if you still has those extra five copies available for prizes, which we will combine with other goodies, to our contest winners!

Jeff