SAVAGE GULF
SUMMARY
Fall 1985—Unlike most of the musical projects documented here, I was not involved in the origins of Savage Gulf. I joined when Fred, my partner in Dog & Bone, invited me to play bass. The band started in 1981 and lasted through 1990, with its share of lineup changes.
Our 1986 recording project Grundy County Line notwithstanding, Savage Gulf was primarily a cover band in the jamming style of The Grateful Dead. The song list did branch out over time, but Dead songs were still at the core. Even among the four songs included on Vol.12, three of those were rehearsal jams and not played at our gigs. It was still tons of fun and really developed my musicianship.
LINEUP
(incomplete list)Fall 1985—John Greer (guitar & vocals), Fred Shepard (lead guitar & vocals), Dave Turnbow (bass), Drew Jones (drums) & Ropes Stewart (bongos)
March 1986—John Greer left the band
Fall 1987—John is back, I’m on lead guitar, Greg Thorp plays bass, and David Bush on drums
Fall 1988 [Memphis]—John Greer (guitar & vocals), Fred Shepard (lead guitar & vocals), Dave Turnbow (bass) & Drew Jones (drums)
Spring 1989—John Greer (guitar & vocals), Dave Turnbow (lead guitar & vocals), Greg Thorp (bass) & Drew Jones (drums). Frequently had Ropes Stewart (congas & vocals)
OTHERS
Others: Keith Cartright was a founding member. Annette Carpenter sang with the band in 1986–87. Donald Crisp played bass for a few gigs from 1987–88. Most Frequent Guest designation has to go to Sean Kirkpatrick, who sat in with us many times, playing trumpet, keyboard and guitar. Among those who sat in with us: Will Tonks (guitar), John Crater (guitar), Barry Bean (harmonica), Tupper Saucey (piano) and Pete Rubens (keyboards & guitar). And the guitarist from Other Bright Colors sat in with us one crazy night in Spring 1986.RECORDINGS
| VOL | TITLE | |
|---|---|---|
| LISTEN | DTC03 | Grundy County Line |
| LISTEN | DTC06 | Hits Amidst the Hiss |
| LISTEN | DTC12 | BackScraps 2 |
| LISTEN | DTC13 | BackScraps 3 |
| LISTEN | DTC18 | Far From Yesterday |
OTHER RECORDINGS
PERFORMANCES
Way too many to count