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This was our first attempt at doing a demo on my 4-track, at the Suffolk Office.....a place I can only try to convey how great it was to those who haven't seen it. We had a whole office suite and two gigantic (empty) warehouses in an industrial park so we could make all the noise we wanted. Our rent was.....nothing! Rent-free! We had all of our equipment there, our own "relaxation lounge"...it wasn't just our rehearsal space, it was our clubhouse! I'm not so sure that the only reason LOOB stayed together during this period was because of this amazing scam we had! Let's put it this way.....when we finally had to move out of this space, as soon as we had shut the door for the last time and were in the car.....Ted and I actually shed eye water!
But that was two years later! At this point, we've had the Suffolk Office for just under two months. I think Hubie said we needed a demo to get a show so we picked these three as the most ready to go and laid 'em down one night. I remember it was night because as soon as we were done, Ted and I went to his mother's house and mixed the tapes on the living room floor at, like, 3 in the morning! We could hardly keep our eyes open but we were dying to hear how it came out.
The following evening the three of us drove in Hubie's car directly to the Rainy Nighthouse (do I have that name right?) and dropped it off to get a gig. Back then, there were NO places to play. Very few. And virtually none on Long Island (if you weren't a metal band, or didn't play covers). Anyways, we didn't get a gig at the Rainytime Nighthouse Tree, or whatever it was called. In fact, we wouldn't play a gig until the following winter, and then not again until two years after that! In the meantime, we were stockpiling tons of songs.
The three songs we did on this 1987 demo are:
"Is It Safe?" - Hubie & Ted's ode to safe sex! Remember, this is the 80s! If I think of this song, I can't help but grin like a big pumpkin, there's not a bad line in the entire song! Ok, look, normally I wouldn't do this, but here's the lyrics to "Is It Safe", written by Hubie & Ted together, so you can follow along. I wasn't there, but I can guarantee you there was a lot of laughter during the writing of this song!
Is It Safe?
What you got to hide?
I've seen it written in all the papers.
But it's all right
I'm aware of all the dangers.
So come with me now
Everything will fall into place
What's all the fuss?
I've got it all figured out!
Is it safe.....(to love you?)
Is it safe....(I love you but.....)
Is it safe.....( to love you?)
Is it safe?What's all the fuss?
I've got it all figured out!
There sure is no guarantee
unless you've been to the Board of Health!
So let me inside
It's cold out - my hands are freezing
so give me some gloves
If you don't care then I'll be leaving!
Is it safe....(to love you!)
Is it safe...(my loins are trembling!)
Is it safe...(to love you?)
Is it safe?
See what I mean? When it came time to learn "Is It Safe", Ted instructed me to do the answer lines ala Otis Redding, which I did with varying degrees of success over the years (and virtually none back in those days!)
"Easier Said Than Done" was a beautiful, sad Hubie tune (also with great lyrics) that we all loved but it soon fell out of rotation for some reason, try as we might to bring it back from time to time.
"Wintertime", on the other hand, never left rotation! Not for the next six years I was in the band, anyway! And, for me, this is the definitive version, Ted's bass playing specifically gives me goosebumps, the instrumental breaks, the chords...it'll all take you to the back of your mind, trust me. A huge jump from how we sounded just two months earlier.....but that's a story for another post! In the meantime, dig Life Out Of A Balance as they were in August of 1987. Yadahaaaaaaaay!
Suffolk Office demo, August 1987
Is It Safe?
Easier Said Than Done
Wintertime
Hubert Poole - guitar, vocal
Ted Schreiber - bass, vocal
Michael Goodman - drums, vocal
recorded on Tascam Porta Two studio, taken from my original dub
Download here: (mp3 & lossless flacs in one folder -delete flacs if you have no use for them)
http://www.mediafire.com/download/v9nb9u6q626a4ec/1987-08_Demo,_Suffolk_Office.zip
