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Vida 07/20/1996

SHOWID 308173

Set I

A Human Certainty
The Cat Cracker
Joey
Ravenssong
Hey Wilma
Shit, Or Get Off The Pot
Contractions Of Love
5 Hours In Oakland
Unconditional
My Cup Is 1/2 Full
Don't You
Natasha's Scream
Cosmic Slop
Maggot Brain

Set II

 

Set III

 

Comment

Dez Cadena: Guitar & Vocals
George Hurley: Drums & Vocals
Bill Bowman: Bass & Vocals
Tom Troccoli: Guitar & Vocals
SPECIAL GUEST VOCALS: Jack Brewer on Tracks 1 & 2

From a band member:

The first two songs feature Jack Brewer of Saccharine Trust on vocals.
In June of 1996 I got a phone call from someone telling me that Joe Baiza after a Mecolodiacs gig in Germany had been jumped by a bunch of literal 'Neo-Nazis.' He was beaten so badly, and his hand so badly fractured there was some doubt he would be able to play again. I was asked if Vida would be interested in performing a benefit to help him pay for his medical bills, as well as possible surgery to repair the damge in his hand. I said yes right away, and helped organize the benefit. It was a great day and night. So many bands offered to play, that the show began at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and didn't end until 2AM.

I thought it would be cool if Vida actually performed some of Joe's tunes, and asked Saccharine Trust singer and poet (lyricist if you insist) Jack Brewer if he would do the singing. He agreed. As it turned out, we had NO rehearsals of the material. About 20 minutes befor going on, we ran through the 2 tunes in the parking lot on unamplified instruments, went inside and dove right in. It's sloppy, but it's heart-felt, and for no rehearsals not too bad. It was also a gas playing the song 'Joey' for the guy we wrote it for.

By the way, I also wrote a very simple 'blues' instrumental called 'Mano A Mano' (which means 'Hand To Hand') for Joe and I to work his damaged hand back into shape. He only needed one finger at a time to play his part. We wound up performing it in Vida a few times as a set opener, and if I find a good sounding tape, I'll post that one in the future as well.