David Beck & The Well Dressed Thieves "Room for Me"
When I am on the road, there is always one day that totally gets away from me. A day that is so frenetic, even my copious amounts of tech cannot connect me to the outside world. A day when I don't actually communicate with people, just dimly acknowledge their having reached out to me through the haze. It is so thick, that sometimes, when I look at their email afterwards, I don't remember having seen them before. It is like having a brain wipe (is that even possible?). And when you come up for air, it's like a brave new world, a new landscape, unfamiliar terrain. It's hard work that does that, and commitment to it. I might add that it is fine with me! Especially when our work is also such a pleasure.
Just having wrapped MusicFest at Steamboat, we are all in recovery mode. But savoring the good times mode, too. We need a nap, and we promise, we will be rolling more MusicFest videos here on the Music Fog pages. But in the meantime, as I start thinking about booking artists for our SXSW coverage, let's revisit last year. I had just made the acquaintance of one David Beck, as he was playing bass for Matt King. He gave me some tunes to listen to, and we talked the next day. Since then, David has recorded two more projects on his own, produced some CDs for others and is extending his wings in collaboration. Did I mention he is just 23? He says, "The last few months have found me in the studio producing records, like Carmel by the Sea for Marshall Anderson and Gone by Miss Cate James. Be on the lookout for those two. I've started a new group with my good friend Paul Cauthen. We've been busy writing, getting ready for our debut album in April."
Here is something from last March to tide you over, shot on the Threadgill's stage during SXSW 2010. Music Fog captured the first ever live performance of this particular tune, "Room for Me," which you can find on his release Grand Island.
- Jessie Scott