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Jay’s Plays – Ominous Seapods North Country Freakouts Vol. 3 11-19-94 Waterhole 3, Saranac Lake, NY

THE INIMITABLE BEDLAM AND MAYHEM OF OMINOUS SEAPODS STILL LIVES ON

[Editor’s Note: As part of the 2018 Ominous Seapods Reunion festivities, Jay went into the vault, and with the help of South Catherine Street Jug Band archivist Nate Pelton, released three more live archival recordings from the Golden Age off the Ominous Seapods under the “North Country Freakouts” series. Today, Volume 3: 11-19-94 Waterhole 3, Saranac Lake, NY]

It’s always a great time for a music lawyer when new music drops…or in this case, old music drops. The news that Ominous Seapods were reuniting under their original incarnation ignited a forest fire within the fanbase. Everyone came out for two magical nights outside Albany for not just a reunion, or a revival, but a reaffirmation that they still are one of the great unsung acts in rock history.

It was the perfect time to go back through the racks of master DAT soundboards and help stoke the incredible outpouring of energy that the Mutants have not only generated, but sustained! The shows may be over, but the buzz is still humming. When the three shows went live, watching the reaction of the fans on-line was like opening presents on Christmas. First place, of course, as to go to Cory Boots’s adorable little daughter rocking out while making cookies. Second to the whole damn Facebook page screaming “Social” every five seconds.

Perhaps the most heartwarming memory was of a forest-fragrant fall night in the Adirondacks as the Seapods closed an east coast fall run with a Saturday night at the Waterhole. The next day, thy headed off to Colorado for a month and their first western tour. But for this night at the Waterhole 3 in Saranac lake, 11-19-94, celebrated as their anniversary by band, family, and friends,

The show notes tell most of the story – I especially liked my line about how trebly this old recording is: “…it is also a watershed moment for the Seapods historically, hence its inclusion in this first wave of releases. And hey, for those who like their music like their pizza, thin and crispy, it’s great!”

That’s so Jaybar…

I did neglect to tell everybody two things:

First, Dana is not only pretending to be Ronald Reagan during Cancelled, he is wearing the Reagan mask while doing it. It was a good night for the goof box, as Max dinned the girl with freckles and pigtails mask for the impromptu Little Red Riding Hood Rap during Hey Donnie Osmond. Make sure o play that loudly, by the way. Invite friends and neighbors over too. Film their reaction and upload it to YouTube and the Seapods Mutant Facebook page.

Second, for the moment, the end of Jump For Joy is cut and the encores are missing. However, Nate Pelton and I have agreed to meet again and get another set of recordings released, and when we do, we will also upload the rest of this show.

That’s how long the boys played that night…a three hour tape wasn’t enough.

One last note – for those of you completely new to the Seapods, the Keep in Mind opener was an experiment of max’s – hometown show (essentially) and kind of an “ease into the show” one member at a time a la Talking Heads kind of vibe…

With the second set being about as perfect as you could ask, this was my favorite of the three.

“When the archivist recommends it, you listen…” – Kevin Shapiro

Later this week, we’ll write up Volumes 2 and 1…

OH THERE WAS…THERE WAS…