Preston Arendson in Copemish
About two months ago I proposed a get-together / possible jam session with former members of the Preston Arendson band. Scott Zylstra, the lead guitarist, hosted it it up at his home in Copemish. He has a beautiful old farmhouse with ancient wood floors and vintage furnishings. I felt like I was stepping back in time which is not far from the truth. Jack Grant, the bass player, and Bill Voss, our sound technician, arrived ahead of me. When I walked into the living room four chairs were set up in a circle and Jack was already set up with his bass and amp. I recognized the bass, a Fender Precision he bought back when we first started playing out. Vintage! Bill brought a new model Taylor guitar from his vast collection of very high end acoustics and electrics. Scott just retrieved his Martin D-18 from a guitar shop. They had it for over a year for a re-fret job so I think he was ready to test it out. It sounded incredible. I brought my OOO-16 cutaway Martin acoustic.
We talked for a bit about old bands from the 70’s, concerts we saw back then, mostly music topics. I brought my vintage pellet pistol knowing Bill is interested in old firearms. Turns out Jack has some knowledge on the subject too. Frankly I was a little nervous, under-practiced, and didn’t know how this would all go down.
Highlights for me: Scott goofing on his guitar between songs playing killer riffs and short progressions. I could have listened to Scott do that for fifteen minutes and called it a great day. I kept thinking I really need a recording of his jams. Maybe I could write some lyrics and melodies around them if he was up for a project. Then listening to Jack on the bass. A master. When I say master I mean subtle and solid progressions that don’t call attention to his playing. Supporting the song. And then he slides in with harmonies that are so dead on, and beautiful, you can’t hardly separate them from the melodies. Bill sounded great singing old Ozark Mountain Daredevils tunes and spurring memories of songs I completely forgot! We started playing around 11:00 in the morning and suddenly Jack said he had to get going. Scott mentioned it was 5:30. I swear, time has not moved that fast for me in the last 20 years. I wished I’d have been more prepared and forthright about jumping in with songs. Truthfully, I was just glad to be there and listen. I really needed that. It was something.
Found this photo from the late 70s… Feral with a pipe on the left, Jack on bass, me with my D-35, Scott tuning a 12 string, Abe on the right. Not sure who took the photo but wish I had more photos from back then.
Fichigan 