As I went through my batch of recorded shows, one collection showed up much to my delight in vast numbers – The Last Waltz Ensemble. I don’t recall exactly how I ended up doing a lot of shows with these guys, but it was likely another one of those Fuller Door Moments. Long story short, as I started playing live shows and getting into the scene, keyboardist Jason Fuller would have me sit in at times during gigs that he played, and it ended up opening doors for me for bands like Tishamingo and, in this case, The Last Waltz Ensemble.
Billed as a progressive interpretation of the music of Bob Dylan and The Band, The Last Waltz Ensemble was founded by guitarist/vocalist Kris “Jelly Roll” Gloar, and primarily featured Mark Kramer on acoustic/vocals, William Reed on Bass/vocals, Kevin “Lil’ Buddha” Rutschman on drums, Jason Fuller on keys (when I wasn’t subbing for him) and Benji Shanks on lead guitar. I came into the project around 2006, just as the band would go on a very successful run over the next 2-3 years. It wasn’t your normal run-of-the-mill type of band. We went deep into the treasure trove of classic Band and Dylan tracks and expanded and sometimes rearranged how the songs were played, making it a total blast for me learning these great songs. We traveled across the country playing many different shows/festivals, and they did a lot in getting my touring legs up to snuff. And their shows were always professional, everybody lifting gear out of the trailer on to the stage, getting set up and ready for soundcheck – no BS. It was great to work with a band that knew how to run a machine professionally.
This first show I’m featuring here happened during a special 4-day run up the northeast coast. This run had a lot of great stories, like the time when we stopped on our way back to Atlanta to rest, and after we did our necessities, we saw Scott Glazer, who was subbing for William on bass at the time, doing what looked like Tai-Chi outside the van in prep for his go behind the wheel. I remembered having a laugh about it because we honestly understood stretching before a drive but Tai-Chi seemed a little over the top. But we couldn’t complain, it worked, as he delivered a very cool 4-hour stretch of driving across 4 states! #Warrior!
But what made this run special was in addition to having Scott, we also played Teaneck, NJ’s Mexicali Blues Cafe (now called Mexicali Live), a venue I longed to play given the reputation of the listening room. It’s also the state that my dad was born in, where my Grandfather came from Sicily, and now where my wife is from originally. Using only the mics, we captured a really solid performance with a crowd that was really into the music. The highlights included Atlantic City and Slippin & Slidin’ (when we really started to find our rhythm), and a jammin’ King Harvest where Benji, who now plays with Kristian Bush, takes off the only way he knows how! So kick back and enjoy today’s Friday Factor of The Last Waltz Ensemble live at Teaneck, NJ’s Mexicali Blues Cafe on November 9, 2007!