GREAT DEAD BANDS - Paddlefoot

If you go looking on Google or some other search engine for "Paddlefoot", you'll probably first find out that it was the name of a dog on the old "Clutch Cargo" cartoon; if you widen out the search for bands, you'll probably find at least 2 others with that name... but still, "no dice".

The Paddlefoot that's of concern with this posting, is a band, based in San Francisco for the bulk of the 1990s. Comprised of Lee Chae, Jason Kleinberg, Philip Hereso, Timothy McCrystle and Joel Murach, they were one of those musical hybrid bands that San Francisco seems to be able to allow to flourish - a bit of rock, some folk, country; all mashed up and given a uniquely American flavor of its own. They did a series of cassette releases, and released 2 cd's before packing it in 1998.



The First CD

from their defunct website:

On this CD, Paddlefoot moved back into the recording studio but tried to maintain the live approach that had been developed on the previous efforts. The result is crisp, clean production with live energy and interplay. Although 72 minutes long and a bit unwieldy at times, it is regarded by many Paddlefoot fans as the best recording effort to date. This group of songs marks the first time that Paddlefoot recorded with Greg Freeman at his Lowdown Studios and the last time that Paddlefoot recorded with Nancy Scharlau. Evident here is Jason's newfound love of traditional Irish and American fiddle tunes. This CD includes such Paddlefoot live-show standards as "The Murphy-Ryan Polkas" - a traditional Irish fiddle tune, "John Henry's Blues" - an original by Lee, "64 Corvair, Part 2" - an original by Joel that uses part of a traditional tune, and "Sound of the Fiddle" - an original by Jason. The trend toward guest appearances continues on this CD with contributions by The Beer 'n' Bach Orchestra and one of Paddlefoot's favorite bands, Ed's Redeeming Qualities -- including some great penny whistle playing by Jonah Winter.

engineered by Greg Freeman
and Nancy Sharlau (5, 16, 17)

recorded and mixed at Lowdown
Studios, SF in 3 quick weekends
in May 1996.

5, 16, and 17 recorded and mixed
in November 1995

special guest appearances by:

Beer -n- Bach Orchestra 1, 9, 11, 13, 17
Peter Altenberg
Wallace Harvey
Anne Mellinger
Ian Stoba
Cindy Wiggington

Ed's Redeeming Qualities 14
Carrie Bradley
Dan Leone
Jonah Winter 4, 14, 15

Penny Mapa - accordian breakdown 15

1. Pete and Jimmy
2. Whiskey Before Breakfast
3. Fishing Rod
4. The Murphy-Ryan Polkas
5. John Henry's Blues
6. '64 Corvair Part 2
7. Racoons like Moonshine, too
8. Shelf Life
9. Hey Chris
10. Rock and Roll Scene
11. Tiny House
12. Strum Along Slow
13. She's Moving Back Home
14. When I Was Nine
15. Kangaroo's Paw
16. sound of the fiddle
17. Amaxti Smiled
18. Yeah
19. Dashboard Waltz



The Last CD

from their defunct website:

The 14 songs on this CD were selected from 20 songs that were recorded in two sessions. All songs were recorded by Greg Freeman. The first session was recorded during the last days of Greg's Lowdown Studio (which was torn down to make way for the outfield bleachers of the new Giants stadium). These songs were recorded directly after the third and last tour and included such songs as "Just About Midnight," one of Lee's new songs that had been a favorite of the tour, "Neon Lights," an old song of Jason's that was new to Paddlefoot, and a new version of "Find Me," one of Tim's finest songs. The second session was recorded at Roof Brothers studio in Emeryville. During these sessions, spirits were low as the band struggled with darker new material and with general feelings of unhappiness and depression. Still, the recording has a richer tonal quality than the previous recordings and some of the new songs come across as well or better than anything Paddlefoot has recorded so far. Jason's instrumental "Let the Possums Play Possum," for example, is a musical journey that stands as a PFoot masterpiece. After this session, it slowly became clear that Paddlefoot had reached the end of its rope and that the band would split. As a result, a limited number of these CDs were pressed.


with special guests
Margaret Moore
Bruce Sherin
Brian Theriault
Corey Porter
Marissa Hereso

Beer & Bach Orchestra
Anne Mellinger
Cindy Wiggington
Elise Engelberg
Marc Franchitto
Ian Stoba

1. Neon Lights
2. Just about Midnight
3. Tank Hill
4. Let the Possums Play Possum
5. Find Me
6. Take a Picture
7. Billy Banjo
8. Most of the Time
9. Armenian Wedding
10. West Portal
11. Twist Away
12. Kern County Waltz
13. Distance
14. Sunshine on the Trees

To hear any of the tracks on these cd's, Joel Murach has a Paddlefoot page, where you can either download individual tracks, or the entire album.

If you like the music of Paddlefoot, you might also sample some of Murach's other work, which is available for download - either his solo work, or several albums of the band, 86.