Who Cares?

One of the reasons this blog was started was to create a forum for open conversation. Seems like the message boards can be kind of quiet sometimes. We all love the music of Chris Shaffer, where's the conversation?

My theory is that maybe it's all been said by now. Maybe most people have decided how to take Chris and are no longer surprised or ruffled by his choices. I get the feeling (my imagination only?) that for a lot of people, Chris is a touchstone to the past. The Why Store was a big deal for a lot of people during those fun and formative college years (even for those of us who didn't graduate!). And Chris is still fun to see, but I think that most of his fans are still seeing him as he relates to that earlier experience. Like thumbing through an old yearbook. For some, no band Chris puts together will surpass The Why Store.

I agree with this perspective, but I want to make a further distinction. The magic that was The Why Store is gone forever. When those guys get back together every few years- it's cool, they can kick ass again, but it's not the same. A fog of nostalgia hangs over every one of those reunion shows. The last few reunion shows in particular were obviously sub-par, the band members failing to communicate well on stage. No reunion show will ever surpass the power, the passion, and the magic of seeing The Why Store in their prime.

That's why I was so excited by the Chris Shaffer Band with the CS, KT, DH, & PK lineup. It seemed to me like the magic was being reborn.

Like a lot of people, I was pretty deeply into The Why Store during the 90's. I kinda lost track after they got dropped from Way Cool/MCA. I liked TWS, I was proud of them, but it seemed their time was over. There was more for me to discover. One time I saw Shaffer Street open for the Mickey Hart Band. I was glad to see Chris still earning a paycheck, winning great gigs, and nailing his cover of Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," but overall, I was not impressed with Shaffer Street. I didn't agree with the Linda McCartney aspect of his wife playing in the band. Heather has a fine singing voice, but if Chris is in the band, there's just no reason for someone else to sing lead.

I happened to see the 4-28-5 reunion show listed in the paper. I'd missed all the other reunions, hadn't even known they took place. My wife and I shared a love of the music, though, and we decided we would go. It was very exciting to see the band again, but this show was mostly about celebrating the past. I thought the band still sounded great, and I was glad for them and for everyone in the audience that had the chance to be a part of the special evening. However, I got tired of the bad singing from the crowd, I had to be at work early the next day, it was stiflingly crowded, and we didn't even end up staying for the whole show. We left after "Father." We'd had a good time and we were glad we went.

It would have ended there, except 2 short weeks later we noticed Chris Shaffer listed as playing at the Rathskeller. Miraculously, we were able to find another sitter and were able to go out again. We didn't know what to expect - we were basically looking to get out of the house. The sardine bar was packed as always and the only available table was directly in front of the band.

Long story short, the band blew us away completely. The intimacy of the room was a factor. Sharing beers with the guys during set break was a factor. But mostly, it was the music. We'd always loved Chris's songs, now there were more to learn. Chris's stage presence hadn't suffered a bit, and the energy coming from him was a little surprising in its intensity. But the X-factor, the piece that put everything over the top was Kenny Taylor. I knew what to expect from Chris - I was familiar with his voice and style, if not all of his songs. I walked in thinking I'd be hearing some 2nd rate guitarist delivering half-hearted versions of MDS solos. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Kenny was not covering TWS songs, he was re-inventing them. Kenny was taking the songs I thought I knew so well and he was opening them up, shaking them around, and finding places to take them that even Mike Smith never knew were there. He was able to stay true to the compositions while breathing new life into them. He was fast, he was piercingly sharp, he was startlingly original in his approach. Blending elements of country, bluegrass, rockabilly and swing music into the pop rock structure that Chris has so long mastered, Kenny was able to give the songs a depth they'd never had before.

Opinion will always vary. Mine is that Kenny is every bit as good a player as MDS. I will go farther. I believe that the alt country influence that KT brought to the mix was a better contribution to the overall sound than what Smith was bringing. They're both killer players, but I think KT's contribution made Chris's music more original, more distinct. When I listen to TWS songs, I sometimes think it sounds too much like the other stuff that was getting played on the radio at the time. In fact, in a later blog, I will make the argument that sounding too much like other bands is the primary reason TWS ended up getting dropped. So while I wouldn't say one is a better player than another, I will say I think Chris sounded better with KT.

As I went to more and more shows ( I saw more Shaffer more times in 2005 and 2006 than at any time since 1993 - 1994), I confirmed my opinion. I got the Shaffer Street cds, 6 Ball, and Live at Midnight. Chris was still writing great, original music and I began to realize his writing was only improving with time. People might go see him to remember old days, but Chris continues to move forward. Dan and Paul were solid and reliable and good, but it was Shaffer's voice singing Shaffer's words and the magic of KT on guitar that I thought people would sit up and take notice. There was too much talent to be ignored. I wanted to help.

I emailed Chris and asked him if he would like a banner to display at gigs so people would remember who they'd seen and so they could find the website. He said yes, and promptly lost the banner I made him (from Skinny Dave's art) after a dozen or so gigs. I have a few contacts at minor record labels. I asked Chris if he'd mind if I sent them press kits. So he hooked me up with some cds and bios and I sent them off. Nothing came of it. I wanted to see Chris succeed. I was listening to a lot of different bands and I knew Chris could hold his own. I knew that if "ABC" band was making it, there was no reason CSB shouldn't be making it. I pestered him to let me make stickers and hand them out. I wanted to hand out flyers and handbills for upcoming shows. I wanted to make t-shirts for him to sell. (I ended up making only 1). With TWS playing Deer Creek for Q95, I thought Chris had a certain amount of buzz and that he should be able to parlay that into some success.

It seemed like he was doing just that. He got in touch with Rusty Anderson and I thought the first Chris Shaffer cd from an actual record label was on the way. We all know how that turned out.

So my little love affair with Shaffer has been somewhat shorter than others. Along the way, I heard plenty of stories. How things ended with MDS and the band. How things ended with Heather (I mean aside from the songs on the cd we all bought). I learned that Chris had a falling out with Larry Gerstein - TWS spiritual advisor. How anyone can get to the point of not getting along with a buddhist like Larry is beyond me - I can't even fit it into my head. I don't pretend to know the truth behind any of these situations, but I am able to see an emerging pattern.

The breakup with KT was the one that hit me hardest - probably because it was the only one I had a front row seat for. I've seen Dan Crance defend Chris on excluding KT from the record that became VIM, and on the separation of the two titans. I understand about the employer/employee nature of their relationship, but I also understand the concept of loyalty. Those two spent a lot of time writing and playing together. I think it's 100% bullshit that Chris couldn't find room on that cd for a KT solo somewhere when Polly B is on there and she was never any more than Chris's flavor of the month. There's at least 3 places on the disc where a KT solo would fit nicely. I just would never treat someone that way and it is very revealing when someone does.

So it pissed me off and I started to say things. Like, why is it that Chris never gets called on his bullshit? Why the big dramatic blow ups and the fake, professional gloss overs? Why doesn't Chris try harder to succeed at a higher level? Why does he still book gigs under The Why Store brand? Some people were thinking these things, but not saying them. Some were shocked that I would have the gall.

But I wanted to know more. Where is Chris coming from? Does he even want to break out of the Indy market? Where does he think his strengths are? What do his fans think? What are they getting out of going to the shows? Are his fans offended by his mood swings? If his fans are all thinking the same things, then how come no one is saying any of them?

I've come to the conclusion that, by and large, I am more interested in this than many other fans. People who like music are, after all, interested in the music. People go to a show when they can and that's about it. Fans like to trade shows and share information on the message boards, but it doesn't seem to be a nurturing environment for sharing thoughts. I think the main thing is that there just aren't many people having thoughts to share.

This brings us back to the top of the post. Maybe people aren't saying anything because they've said it already. Maybe they know by now that Chris is fun to watch perform, but it's better to leave it at that. Maybe they know that no amount of effort will be enough to get Chris to change his path once he's on it. Maybe some fans have been disappointed enough times that they just don't have the emotional currency to try to care about what happens next so long as the new guy (be he guitarist, drummer or whatever) can play the Shaffer catalog.

Me, I'm still invested. And I'm still interested. And that's why I post.

peace
shawn

Favorite live show pic

I've been thinking of all of the pics I've taken at Shaffer/Why Store shows, and I thought it might be fun to see what you guys have taken. I'm trying to attach my favorite. This is from the Fort Wayne show on 9.24.05. Anybody else have one to share??? I know JasonA has a few to choose from....

JasonA's best/worst shows

BEST: I'm not sure I could define a single greatest Shaffer or Why Store show. I remember specific things about each and every show I've ever seen, and they are great for a lot of different reasons. Here's one in particular that helped push me further into this...um...sickness? Hobby? Interest? Musical cult following? Yeah that's it!

July 30, 1999: The Why Store plays Club Soda, in Kalamazoo, MI. This was only the second show I had been to since I found out taping was allowed. As usual, my pre-show jitters were running rampant as I try to figure out the most diplomatic way to get the soundboard hook-up.

The band is set up to play outside on the back patio, only this is the new scaled-down TWS production. I had met former TWS sound man Steve Spergl a few times before, so I look for him. With no MCA label, the only band crew is John McConnel, Mo and then-manager Billy Morgan (none of whom I really knew at all at that point). Billy was now in charge of running the board, only he wasn't around before the show. Some Club Soda guy ran the board for the opening band, and he was real busy resetting from the opener's gear to TWS. So I hit him up, he says "not now, talk to the Why Store's sound guy." So I hang out by the board and wait. Time goes by, with show time quickly approaching, still no Billy. Nobody's around the board at the back of the room.

So I say screw it, dig out a flashlight and proceed to plug myself into the board, fearing great trouble if I'm discovered messing with the board. I get plugged in, put the tape in and literally less than 5 minutes later Billy shows up and the band starts playing. Nobody ever said a word to me for hooking up, cool.

Being the end of July, it's hot as hell. The kind of humid summer heat where it's 11 p.m. and still over 80 degrees outside. The band rips through one song after the next without stopping in between, mostly new (to me) material from the as-yet-to-be-released Life On Planet Six Ball:
Remember, Dreamer, Bitten By A Snake, Roses, Mamas & Papas, Taken Your Soul, Sunrise, Fade Away, Broken Glass, Let You In > bass solo > drum solo, Happy Place, When You're High, Intrigue, Blanket Inside, Reality, Lack Of Water
ENCORE: When I'm with You, Sleepy Little Train to Memphis

All of the new material really smokes live. Chris tells the crowd early on "watch your fluids", referring to the heat, me & my buddy chuckle. I remember Mike Smith getting out his glass slide at the beginning of When I'm With You, holding it up to his nose and being visibly taken aback by the stench. He then immediately called McConnell over to share the stink.

After that I went home and made a CD of just all the new 6 Ball songs from that show to listen to over and over and over.

I had been a casual TWS fan up until that night, but this show was a turning point that rekindled my interest in the band and propelled me to seek out their greatness whenever and wherever it happened in Michigan from that point on.

WORST: "On stage, I fly by the seat of my pants; sometimes they fall off."
- Chris Shaffer, in defense of the House Of Blues show that 1da mentioned in his entry below.

I wasn't at that show, but can relate to some of the not-so-great moments I've read about. Here's one I experienced firsthand.

Chris Shaffer plays Fifth Avenue Billiards in Detroit, 3/14/03: The Chris Shaffer live experience as of late was really something to behold. This was during the time that the "Chris Shaffer" album was being written and recorded, and anybody that was around back then might remember that from about January - April of 2003, it seemed like Chris was bringing out a new song at almost every show, it was great stuff: Gypsies, Book On The Shelf, Just Over You, I Know Where The Love Goes, I remember seeing all of those performed for the first time back then. Kenny Taylor had been in the band for several months by now, and things were really taking shape, with Charlie Bushor on drums and Rob Calder on bass.

The show started out well, but after the second set it quickly spiraled downward. I think Chris had been partying a little too hard before the show, and by set 3 the music was a mess. At one point, Chris had taken off his 12-string to play harmonica. The acoustic was leaning up against his mic stand and during one of the more intense moments of "Sleepy Train", he knocked it over and just let it lay there for a long time. I took a picture of it laying there face down on the ground; it totally sums up what that night was about (see above). By the end of the night, "Father" was a complete train wreck. Charlie and the other guys are exchanging angry glances with each other, and I really felt their pain.

When things are great, the music is stellar; but when it's bad, it can be really bad. The bad usually isn't from lack of talent or passion, it's almost always due to "substance abuse" (for lack of a better term). That's rock and roll for you.