Ram here, welcome to my weekly Wednesday jam. Starting today, I’m going to cherry pick from live shows we’ve been recording and create an archive of my home recordings (as of this morning, I have 30 already scheduled to be released through the summer of 2024). Kinda reminds me of the old taper sections at Grateful Dead shows back in the day, those guys were onto something, they were there trying to capture magic.
I’ve taped shows back in the day, so it’s understandable that I’ve grown up to be a bit of a home recording nerd, and built a working home studio. Like magic, the show goes by in an instant when your on stage. Instantaneous, while each note emanating from the fretboard is frozen in time for the performer. I’m in the moment, exploring the possibilities of each song with my friends, at the end of the night I don’t even know if the show was good, bad, or ugly.
Years back I remember being so exhausted at the house at 3am, I went to sleep thinking the show sucked, it was a disaster. I was correct, my body was nearly broken from loading in and out a full band’s gear and the PA. If you know a guy that plays a Twin Reverb, you know a guy with compressed vertebrae and back problems. Turns out the performance was exceptional, and the crowd was electric. I found out from friends and fans, but also had proof because we recorded the show that night. Since then I study our shows like a football coach watches team game films.
We’ll pick up this conversation next week. Same bat time, same bat channel. Here’s how it will work: we’ll follow the set list weekly then move on to the next featured show once complete. Every Wednesday we’ll cycle through all the songs we’ve mixed and mastered from a recent or archived show. Our shows are usually 2.5-3 hours so it doesn’t make sense to put the entire show in a single podcast.
Given that we play the Camp Store this Friday April 19, 2024, we’ll start the party with a song from a recent local show. Join me as we begin ushering back the warm weather and outdoor live music here in Carlsbad, CA.
Musicians | The Camp Store Carlsbad, CA | 3.29.2024
Dan Greenbaum
Aaron Brownwood
Mike Hunt
Mark ODonnell
Lyrics
I got an itch I got a feeling, wanna meet in the street tomorrow
Had ENOUGH, being Locked up IN-SIDE today
Let the golden sun shine down, cast our shadows
You want anything, babe, you can have your way
And as we wade into the evening city lights are gonna shine
Choose to use a little hustle Let the city do our bidding tonight
Come what may, nothing to lose, but to choose, do or die, win or lose
No Excuse, just get loose What if all hell breaks loose?
We should be so lucky
So LUCKY, my babe, she get me HIGH
3rd st, 3rd st, got to find my baby on 3rd st…
Need a new change of clothes, hug the curb real close past drug slingin’ rouges
Packing so much heat, no no need to die today
Hope to make some time, hop off the subway line
Walking east to west, hu-up from 125th
When I see you, pretty babe, gonna make my day
And as we wade into the evening city lights are gonna shine
Choose to use a little hustle Let the city do our bidding tonight
Come what may, nothing to lose, but to choose, do or die, win or lose
No Excuse, just get loose What if all hell breaks loose?
We should be so lucky
So LUCKY, my babe, she get me HIGH
3rd st, 3rd st, got to find my baby on 3rd st…
I got an itch I got a feeling, won’t leave the bed till tomorrow
I got my love right here in our birthday suits today
Let the golden sun shine down, cast our shadows
You want anything, babe, you can have your way
And as we wade into the evening city lights are gonna shine
Choose to use a little hustle Let the city do our bidding tonight
Come what may, nothing to lose, but to choose, do or die, win or lose
No Excuse, just get loose What if all hell breaks loose?
We should be so lucky
So LUCKY, my babe, she get me HIGH
3rd st, 3rd st, got to find my baby on 3rd st…
About the Song
So Lucky is yet another love letter (homage) to NYC. Some of my fondest memories are of meeting friends in the summer months up at Grant’s Tomb. I lived at the bottom of the hill on 123rd Street in between Morningside and Manhattan. As you walked out of my apartment, you could see Grant’s Tomb up on top of the hill. The stoop was filled with characters, the windows, neighborhood mothers surveying everything from above. So many memories.
When I first played it with the band, I wasn’t sure it would work. There were a lot of chord changes, pauses, and dynamics. Testament to the musicianship of the band, they devoured the sheet music and gave birth to a new living version of the song. It’s also one of my all time favorite songs to sing and play. I love Dan’s bass line, Mikes beat, and Mike Pritchard’s keyboard gymnastics. The Sessions album was one of my first live studio recording experiments with the band. No click track, minimal overdubs. It started the journey I now find myself on, capturing the magic, one note at a time.
About the Day
2023-24 El Niño weather made for an interesting few years. Our mountains were inundated with snow, our coastal weather was wetter than normal. All of this coming on the heels of a historic 10 year drought. When it rains, it pours. Once again, I was spooked as the local weather forecast said it was going to rain, it didn’t. The week before, I saw another local bank play the stage right up until the moment the sky opened up. The good lord wouldn’t have it any other way, so the weather held. He wouldn’t piss on our first show of the season, I knew that in my heart. Too much practice went into this show, and besides, I had to share my new songs to my friends and family. So we willed the day to be excellent.
Our live shows are about celebrating life, friendship and family, giving back to the newfound community (built by Anthony Marrocotti at his work at The Camp Store), and celebrating our collective enduring spirit. This was the first show our band performed the newly written ‘Warmth of the Fire‘ publicly, and the first time I used my 80s custom Telecaster at live at a show through a Fender Chris Stapleton Princeton. Same combo that effortlessly wrote and recorded my new song ‘Warmth of the Fire‘. During the show, it stayed in tune better than my SG or my es335, but I think I play better on Gibson guitars. I don’t know, I love the way all guitars sound. Could be just the jitters caused by the first show of the season.
About the Ram
Mark "The Ram" O'Donnell is an independent American composer, producer, filmmaker, multi-instrumental performer, designer, and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, California. He performs original, surf-inspired rock-and-roll music on the West Coast.
For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.com
Song Metadata
So Lucky
The Ram
UPC: 196512160483
IRSC: QZNWZ2195615
Release date: December 24, 2021
ASCAP Work ID: 914350006
ASCAP Singer Songwriter IPI Number: 375350750
ASCAP Publisher IPI Number: 375351159
More Information
If you’d like to hear this song as it was originally released on December 24, 2021 (Unplugged) and December 31, 2021, here are some resources for you:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/theram2/so-lucky
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/theram2/sessions
I currently use DistroKid to get everything out to the streaming platforms, Disco for all sync requests, Bands In Town to list live shows, and Substack for just about everything else.
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