On Friday night, my one band Jason Didner and the GSPs became two bands in one. We took on an alter ego as the Nick Clemons Band. It was concrete proof for me that two things can be true at the same time.
Pieces Coming Together
Nick had invited us to share the stage with him at Tim Kerwin's Pub in Middlesex, NJ for a Friday, June 12 show. Leah had a commitment out-of-town, so I tapped Doug Levine to sit in on the drums, and held a practice with Doug and Steve. We planned a set of originals and covers, drawing heavily from the material of our new album Asbury Heart.
Since I understood Nick would come onstage with us to perform some standards and he named a couple of songs that he'd like to sing, we added “Spirit in the Night” and “Red House” to the set list, along with a few others I felt would sit in the wheelhouse of Nick's powerful voice.
Then a new element entered the picture. ROSTAFA, who had recorded the duet with me of “Come Across the Tracks,” was originally committed to a gig elsewhere, which fell through. So he called me on Thursday night and asked about joining the show. I told him, “Ro - any day I get to sing Come Across the Tracks with you live is a good day!” Ro had sat in with me the previous weekend at the Asbury Hotel, where we did that song together, plus he played lead guitar throughout my acoustic set, where I played my entire new album.
The Show
I was delighted to hear from Ro that he had both his electric and acoustic guitars with him. Now our band was about to take on another dimension. We played our first set, pretty much as planned in our set list, leading off with covers that show our influences - “Sweet Jane” by Lou Reed and “Changes” by David Bowie. Then we launched into material from our album, namely “Come Across the Tracks,” where Ro and I could trade lead vocals in a song that holds deep meaning for me.
Another source of joy was the presence of my lifelong friend Joey, who had attended school with me and eventually moved to Ontario, Canada. He was back in town and came to the show. Joey is a significant influence on my musical taste. We'd gone on long drives together in our teens & 20s and he'd play really eclectic mixtapes for me - like Harry Chapin, Anthrax, Elton John, Temptations and Stormtroopers of Death. He's always been a fan of what's happening in the rhythm section of a band. So when we played the funky, soulful title track of “Asbury Heart,” Joey looked at me and motioned to Steve on the bass, who, along with Doug on drums, was laying down a killer groove.
Covers like “Alison” and “Is She Really Going Out with Him” sounded more fleshed out with the two guitar approach. A particular highlight was a tribute to The Smithereens with “A Girl Like You,” which got a couple up and dancing.
▶️ Play the YouTube short video of “A Girl Like You” with a couple dancing here.
When we took a break after our first set, ROSTAFA took the stage to play a solo acoustic set. I've seen other guitarists break a string onstage (and have been that guitarist), and it's routine for a guitarist to get through it. But Ro took that recovery to another level, making a sort of guitar solo out of playing a rhythmic part while adjusting the tuning of the surviving strings. His voice was strong and true as he made his way through a short set of classic rock, alternative and country songs.
Our band returned to the stage, offering up a Green Day cover and a couple of spirited originals. Nick hopped onstage to share in the vocals on my popular album cut, “Not Young, Still Hungry,” adding a new call-and-response element that I enjoyed throughly.
Then Nick put on a solo acoustic set. During “No Worries,” a song of his I've enjoyed since the mid 90s, I got itchy to climb onstage and add some lead guitar licks. Doug, Steve and Ro followed, and by Nick's final solo tune he had the band behind him. We were really cookin' when we got to a cover of “Red House,” a traditional blues tune popularized by Jimi Hendrix, trading sections of solos among Nick, Ro and me.
Here's an excertp of us playing “Red House” with Nick, captured by Joey.
Nick then turned it over to us to close out the night. This is where we went completely off script and started picking tunes on the spot. ROSTAFA led us through “Little Wing,” “Love the One You're With” and “Heart of Gold.” I brought The Who's “Behind Blue Eyes” into the mix, where Ro and I could trade lead vocals. Then we raised things a level with our cover of “Wish You Were Here.” Ro and I blend seamlessly when we harmonize. I've heard Ro sing for over 13 years and always had a sense we'd sound good together. I was not wrong.
Also in that last full band set, since Red House had gone so well, I launched into an original blues song, “Molasses Blues,” which my wife Amy had written the full lyrics to, describing what it's like to have type 1 diabetes. (Update: thanks to a pancreas transplant, she doesn't have diabetes now!) It falls into a familiar blues pattern that any skilled player could fall right in with. The band did this rendition great justice on the spot, and Nick hopped on stage once more to play harmonica with us, bringing force and vitality to the song.
Spinal Tap Moment
I'd brought a monitor with me so we could place the main speakers in front of the band and have one speaker pointed back toward us so we coud hear ourselves and each other. Since the stage was shallow from front to back, we couldn't fit everything and ended up rearranging elements. In the process, the monitor became unplugged from the PA and I didn't know it. This meant that Doug couldn't hear my vocals on his side of the stage. This created a few moments of confusion over tempos. Nick happened to walk in on precicely that moment of struggle! But we overcame it and I discovered the issue when setting up Nick's solo portion of the night. So we ended up with monitoring of our vocals and acoustic guitars from there on.
The Beatles could not hear themselves on their stadium tours in the mid-60s, but knew their parts so well they were able to overcome it. But if we end up rearranging stage gear onstage again after it's set up, I'll be sure to double-check those cable connections!
What I'll Take With Me from this Gig
Every show I play is different. And this one will certainly stand out in my memory for many reasons. My participation in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) taught me that two things can be true at the same time. So I come away knowing that on Friday night we were Jason Didner and the GSPs. We were also the Nick Clemons Band. And this duality will likely happen again. And surprise elements will come along and cast a new light on what we do.
One more thing: Tim Kerwin's Tavern has Big Man's Brew on tap. I tried my first one, in a toast to the Big Man with Joey. This beer is truly excellent. I rarely ever drink but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Drop a comment about a time in your life when you realized two things can be true at the same time.