The Longshots

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℗ 2021 Plutonian Music (ASCAP)

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The Longshots

  • Michael Bedrosian – Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
  • Dave LaDue – Bass, Vocals
  • John Dwyer – Lead Guitar, Vocals
  • Blake Baird – Drums

Songs

  • Tighten Up No More – © 1981 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • Homesick Blues – © 1985 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • Goddess Looking For A God – © 1995 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • Family Man – © 1995 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • Sex Is A Phase – © 1985 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • Almost Hear You Fall – © 1988 David LaDue (BMI)
  • The Back Of The Bar – © 1988 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • Traces Of Soul – © 1988 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • Written In Stone – © 1987 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)
  • See It In Your Eyes – © 1988 David LaDue (BMI)
  • Utah Train – © 1983 Michael A. Bedrosian (ASCAP)

Recording

  • Room – Mt. Airy Road (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9) / rehearsal studios at 351 West 30th Street, New York City
  • Multitrack – Tascam 80-8 (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9)
  • Mixer – Tascam Model 15 (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9)
  • Stereo Mix – Ampex 351-2 (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9)
  • Tape Restoration – King Street Recording
  • Mastering – Discmakers

Notes

I was going through some boxes of old tapes a couple of years ago, when I came upon a cassette labeled just “The Longshots”. It turned out to be a complete live performance at Kenny’s Castaways in New York City, sometime in 1990.

So began an archival adventure, unearthing one time capsule after another from the crypt (shelves in the basement holding prime examples of the following formats in various states of decay: 1″, 1/2″ and 1/4″ reels of tape; cassette; DAT; ADAT VHS; HD24 disk; and CD-R).

The Longshots . . .

Early in 1987, when I was living in New York and occasionally taking the train out to Mt. Airy Road to make demos, I felt a strong need to play out again. I hadn’t performed regularly since the Tone Controls disbanded in 1984, but I had been writing; and the new songs seemed more straight ahead, less fussy. And I was gradually getting more confident about singing them, instead of hiding behind my guitar.

So I called a few guys. Blake and I were working at the same company downtown in the Trade Center – I’d met him years before in Philadelphia, when he used to come see the Tone Controls play. John and Dave had been in a bar band called The Hacks – I’d played with them a few times, filling in. We booked a couple of hours in a rehearsal studio in the Music Building on West 30th Street, where we made a lot of noise and had an absolute blast just playing covers (“Love Potion #9” – thanks, Dave, for the “red eye wink”).

What comes after covers? Why originals, of course. In May of ’87 I got them all out to Mt. Airy Road to record. We did some covers, and also Homesick Blues – yet another version recorded in the same room as my 1984 demo (Chuck and I did one in 1986). Without planning it, the sound was already gelling into Burritos / Stones country pop rock – perfect for a bar. On the cassette copy of this session, the name of the band is The True Grits.

Then we got some gigs on Bleecker Street, starting with the Monday midnight show at Kenny’s Castaways. Kenny’s was fantastic: a bar near the door, then tables and a real stage at the far end with lights, a drum riser and a decent sound system. Monday at midnight was the proving ground for new bands: if you did OK, you might get called back for, say, Tuesday at midnight. A weekend was a dream. I don’t remember the date of that Monday, but I remember some things. There was a dressing room in the basement under the stage; we could hear the other bands playing while we “got ready” to go on. I was incredibly nervous, not having performed in several years; but I also knew we were going to have fun. The graffiti was hilarious; at one point, John had Dave put gel in his hair. My heart was skipping. Finally we got our cue and made our way up the stairs and onto the stage under the lights. We had one set of material, pretty tight, and made it through with heads held high. I was flying on adrenaline. And – we got called back! Here’s my tribute to that night: A Little Too Loud (from the album Genuine).

We went back to Mt. Airy Road later that year, and recorded four of the tunes on this release, once again to 1/2″ eight-track tape, mixed to 1/4″ two-track on the Ampex 351-2. This (and my demo for “Written In Stone”) was the last gasp for that gear, which had been stewing in the heat of my old bedroom, the transports straying out of alignment, the capacitors failing. Two of the tracks, “Tighten Up No More” and “Homesick Blues” became the A and B sides of our one and only 45 RPM single, which should be some kind of collector’s item.

Dave had written a bunch of songs, and we started rehearsing these along with my stuff and a core set of covers – Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Burritos, Orbison. John had a Portastudio in his apartment in Brooklyn, along with a drum machine and his guitar rig. We used to do demos there, after Mt. Airy Road was no longer an option. I used to bring lyrics and basic arrangements, and we’d just hack them out. The best. Here’s the first version of what became one of our performance staples (it got just a tad faster live):

Traces Of Soul (1988 demo, in John’s apartment)

Another:

The Back Of The Bar (1988 demo, in John’s apartment)

After that, we were rolling. We played Kenny’s a bunch of times, also The Bitter End, right down the block. Chinese noodles before each gig, for energy – we played the rockers at breakneck speed! Eventually, we discovered Nightingale at 13th Street on Second Avenue, where the entire wall behind the band was covered in mirrors. The sound was rather, shall we say, bright . . .

Love Is The Perfect Crime (live to cassette at Nightingale Bar, 1989)

Tom, the manager, put our single on the jukebox. It sounded good there. One night in April 1989, we opened for the Spin Doctors at this wonderful place. Like so much else about New York in the 80s and 90s, it’s not what it used to be. The Music Building, where we recorded the rest of what appears on this release, live to early DAT in a rehearsal room in 1990, has been converted to something or other. The Longshots, too, grew up and moved on, each to his own facsimile of adulthood. But we’re in touch again, having sent around copies of all the material I discovered in the archives, and I have a feeling we may ride again in the City. As Blake might say:

‘Tah – for now . . .