The Daves
Empire Rock Club, Philadelphia, PA
November 24, 1989
WMMR-FM
Empire Rock Club, Philadelphia, PA
November 24, 1989
WMMR-FM
01 Joe Bonadonna - Intro
02 The Daves - Your Heart Is Mine
03 The Daves - Love Sweat and Passion
04 The Daves - People I Hate
05 The Daves - Uhaul
06 The Daves - And I Row
07 The Daves - One Cell
08 The Daves - Old People In Cars
09 The Daves - Let Me In
10 The Daves - Step Into My Brain, drum solo, Your Heart Is Mine (reprise)
02 The Daves - Your Heart Is Mine
03 The Daves - Love Sweat and Passion
04 The Daves - People I Hate
05 The Daves - Uhaul
06 The Daves - And I Row
07 The Daves - One Cell
08 The Daves - Old People In Cars
09 The Daves - Let Me In
10 The Daves - Step Into My Brain, drum solo, Your Heart Is Mine (reprise)
One more from the Sam Elliot's Mustache collection. He sent me a Bullet Boys cassette he wanted digitized (just posted). The other side of the tape had a show by the Daves that he hadn't mentioned as they were of low interest to him.
I'd never heard of the band, but I took immediate notice because of their name. I was in a band named Dave back in 1982. Hey, I'd been in a band named Gang of Four in 1977 (but not "THE" Gang of Four). You notice it when someone comes up with the same idea as you (and does it better).
So of course I digitized it, and I'm glad I did.
First of all, here's the Wiki biography of lead singer Bekka Eaton:
"Bekka Eaton, the current Director of Theater at Miami University Hamilton in Hamilton, Ohio, got her start as part of the improvisational comedy troupe The Second City in Chicago. She went on to be cast as the Female DJ in Sixteen Candles and a larger role as Delta Burke's sister in the TV movie Day-O.
"Bekka Eaton, the current Director of Theater at Miami University Hamilton in Hamilton, Ohio, got her start as part of the improvisational comedy troupe The Second City in Chicago. She went on to be cast as the Female DJ in Sixteen Candles and a larger role as Delta Burke's sister in the TV movie Day-O.
She is also the founder of the Greater Cincinnati teen improvisational group Dot. Comedy.
She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her master's degree from Indiana University. Bekka led the Philadelphia area band, The Daves, which released one album on the Pyramid label in 1988. The Daves were composed of Bekka Eaton: vocals and trombone, Mike Mennies: keyboards and vocals, Jim Ericson: guitar and vocals, Jerry Getz bass and vocals (replaced by Garry Lee in 1988), and Ronny Crawford: drums. While they were one of the premier local Philadelphia club bands, they distinguished themselves with their touring schedule which took them from Chicago to South Carolina. Their multi-week-long stints at the Windjammer (Isle of Palms, SC) were legendary for their overflow audiences. Their motto was "Music Is Fun", and some of their stage props were made by noted painter Ron Crawford."
She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her master's degree from Indiana University. Bekka led the Philadelphia area band, The Daves, which released one album on the Pyramid label in 1988. The Daves were composed of Bekka Eaton: vocals and trombone, Mike Mennies: keyboards and vocals, Jim Ericson: guitar and vocals, Jerry Getz bass and vocals (replaced by Garry Lee in 1988), and Ronny Crawford: drums. While they were one of the premier local Philadelphia club bands, they distinguished themselves with their touring schedule which took them from Chicago to South Carolina. Their multi-week-long stints at the Windjammer (Isle of Palms, SC) were legendary for their overflow audiences. Their motto was "Music Is Fun", and some of their stage props were made by noted painter Ron Crawford."
The geography of the United States is large, and there's a whole lotta nothin' in western half of the country...for a rock and roll band, anyway. Unless you have record company money backing a national tour, you're constrained by distance, gas money, motel bills, etc. The Daves were based in Philadelphia. They put out a demo tape and a locally released album on Philadelphia imprint Pyramid Records. Discogs shows four releases by that label, so they weren't a powerhouse with marketing money.
You can see the touring geography in that Wiki paragraph: West to Chicago 760 miles; 12 hours of driving, and South Carolina 682 miles, 10 hours. Oh, and I forgot toll roads, something we don't really have out here in the west (they're just starting 'em, though...)
I love the Daves, they're a good pop-rock band with interesting lyrics, solid musicianship, and Eaton's got a powerful voice.
The Internet mentions that "Love, Sweat, and Passion" was inspired by the comic book Daredevil. I didn't hear it but I did find this on the The Daves/Bekka Eaton Facebook page:
"Loooove this song! Bekka, I heard the comic book character Daredevil is the inspiration for this one -- is that true?"
"Loooove this song! Bekka, I heard the comic book character Daredevil is the inspiration for this one -- is that true?"
Bekka Eaton "yes. I was a huge fan of comic books and graphic novels. The song is based on the Neil Gaiman’s era."
The tape itself has a few dropouts from the tape aging. The sound is almost mono, with little stereo separation...but the music comes through. YouTube has a bunch of the Daves demo tapes posted in great sound. The last song "The Daves - Step Into My Brain, drum solo, Your Heart Is Mine" (reprise) is posted, in very good stereo sound.
I was able track down the correct titles of all but two songs. So I left a message four days ago on the Daves FB page. I was already uploading an earlier version of this file when I was notified I'd received this reply:
"The Daves/Bekka Eaton
Draftervoi this summer I’m going to try and get stuff in shape to put tunes online somewhere. Those to songs are UHAUL and AND I ROW. Thanks"
Draftervoi this summer I’m going to try and get stuff in shape to put tunes online somewhere. Those to songs are UHAUL and AND I ROW. Thanks"
So I stopped the upload, tagged the files with the titles I just got from the lead singer, and now you have a properly tagged version.
Flac files of wavs. Digitized April 2023. Includes newspaper column from The Morning Call Nov. 24, 1989 proving the date is correct.
