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--- person:ille_homine_albe [2015/04/25 01:27] – [The BBS Years] Added more text and photos. digital man
+++ person:ille_homine_albe [2018/07/28 00:16] – Minor edits digital man
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 {{:person:scan0021.jpg?500|Steve Deppe, Dresden show, 1986}}
-  * [[http://stevedeppe.com|Steve's web-site (with Dresden's "Occult Science of Power" as background music)]]
+  * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170914140030/http://stevedeppe.com/|Steve's old web-site]] (which used to have Dresden's [[https://soundcloud.com/rob-swindell/steve-deppe-with-dresden-occult-science-of-power|"Occult Science of Power"]] as background music)
   * [[http://bit.ly/1lQ9iXJ|Steve's obituary in The Fresno Bee]]
   * [[https://www.facebook.com/sd559|Steve's Facebook page]]
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 ===== Rob's recollection =====
-I first met Steve in 1986. I was 16 years old at the time and my brother Mike had answered, on my behalf, a "drummer wanted" ad in The Recycler newspaper for the progressive rock band, Dresden. Mike spoke on the phone with the bassist of Dresden, Dave Codde. Mike spoke highly of me and my drumming and arranged for me to later speak with and then meet Dave who came to our house to watch and hear me play (I played "Tom Sawyer" for him, without accompaniment). After that, Dave gave me a cassette tape of recorded original songs from the band (with drummers [[http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1597|Shaun Guerin]] and Howard Roth) and we then arranged my audition for the band at Francisco's Studios in Vernon, California about a week later. I didn't own a car at the time, so my brother packed my drums into his fire-engine red Dodge Coronet muscle car and took me and some of my drums, cymbals, and sticks to LA.
+I first met Steve in 1986. I was 16 years old at the time and my brother Mike had answered, on my behalf, a "drummer wanted" ad in The Recycler newspaper for the progressive rock band, Dresden. Mike spoke on the phone with the bassist of Dresden, Dave Codde. Mike spoke highly of me and my drumming and arranged for me to later speak with and then meet Dave who came to our house to watch and hear me play (I played "Tom Sawyer" for him, without accompaniment). After that, Dave gave me a cassette tape of [[https://soundcloud.com/rob-swindell/shades-of-grey-from-dresden-with-steve-deppe-circa-1984|recorded original songs from the band]] (with drummers [[http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1597|Shaun Guerin]] and Howard Roth) and we then arranged my audition for the band at Francisco's Studios in Vernon, California about a week later. I didn't own a car at the time, so my brother packed my drums into his fire-engine red Dodge Coronet muscle car and took me and some of my drums, cymbals, and sticks to LA.
-Having already met Dave at my house, the audition would be my first introduction to both [[http://www.stevedeppe.com|Steve Deppe]] (the keyboardist) and [[http://www.guitarlessonsriverside.com/|Karl Johnson]] (the guitarist). Elaine Donaldson was the singer of the band at the time and I don't recall her being there the day of my audition. I would only see Elaine a handful of times as her interest in the band seemed to be waning (or was it mutual?) and I would only play with Karl for a couple of years and Dave maybe a year longer than that, but Steve would remain an important musical mentor and important influence in other elements of my life for many years to come. Of course, I didn't know that at the time.
+Having already met Dave at my house, the audition would be my first introduction to both Steve Deppe (the keyboardist) and [[http://www.guitarlessonsriverside.com/|Karl Johnson]] (the guitarist). Elaine Donaldson was the singer of the band at the time and I don't recall her being there the day of my audition. I would only see Elaine a handful of times as her interest in the band seemed to be waning (or was it mutual?) and I would only play with Karl for a couple of years and Dave maybe a year longer than that, but Steve would remain an important musical mentor and important influence in other elements of my life for many years to come. Of course, I didn't know that at the time.
 {{:person:scan0030.jpg?300|Steve Deppe, 1986}}
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 {{:person:scan0019.jpg?300|Rob, at home on the phone, 1986}}
-I didn't immediately join another band though I was jamming with some friends and auditioning for other bands. Eventually Dave called me to say that Dresden had found a singer, Baron Knight, and asked if I would rejoin the band. We had all been screening singers while I was in the band and I remember rejecting a singer named "Baron" because I didn't like his demo tape (in particular, his singing on it) and I wondered if this was the same guy. I agreed to meet the guys at their new studio in Santa Ana, California and meet this new singer and sure enough it was the same guy I had previously rejected. Somewhat reluctantly, I rejoined the band with assurance from Dave and the rest of the band that we would be playing gigs and recording eminently.
+I didn't immediately join another band though I was jamming with some friends and auditioning for other bands. Eventually Dave called me to say that Dresden had found a singer, Baron Knight, and asked if I would rejoin the band. We had all been screening singers while I was in the band and I remember rejecting a singer named "Baron" because I didn't like his demo tape (in particular, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swfaoa8PJtc|his singing on it]]) and I wondered if this was the same guy.
+{{:person:baron_knight_with_cassle.jpg?300|Baron Knight (second from left) with his former band, Cassle)}}
+I agreed to meet the guys at their new studio in Santa Ana, California and meet this new singer and sure enough it was the **same guy** I had previously rejected. Somewhat reluctantly, I rejoined the band with assurance from Dave and the others that we would be playing gigs and recording eminently.
 {{:person:scan0012.jpg?500|Rob Swindell, Baron Knight, Karl Johnson, Dave Codde, 1988}}
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 {{:person:scan0011.jpg?500|Steve Deppe, Rob Swindell (drums at least) and Baron Knight, 1988}}
-We worked hard to refine our set and integrate Baron and prepared for our first gig with the new band name "Threshold" (the name Dresden was taken by some other more established bands). The gig was just after my high school graduation, in 1988, at the club then known as "Goodies" in Placentia, California. We were on the bill with 3 or 4 other bands and we were definitely not the headlining act ("Reinkus Tide" was). It took us about 20 minutes to get our massive amounts of gear on the stage and plugged-in (my electronic drums never did work for this show), so our set was cut short to about 20 minutes.
+We worked hard to refine our set list and integrate Baron and prepared for our first gig with the new band name "Threshold" (the name "Dresden" was now known to have been used by some other, more established, bands). The gig was just after my high school graduation, in 1988, at the club then known as "Goodies" in Placentia, California. We were on the bill with 3 or 4 other bands and we were definitely not the headlining act ("Reinkus Tide" was). It took us about 20 minutes to get our massive amounts of gear on the stage and plugged-in (my electronic drums never did work for this show), so our set was cut short to about 20 minutes.
 {{:person:dresden-threshold_gig_tickets_from_goodies_1988.jpg?500|Ticket Stub for the Dresden (Threshold) final gig}}
+All in all I think //we// thought we performed pretty well although:
+  * The song tempos were definitely accelerated due to adrenaline (mine)
+  * Karl's friend who worked the sound board didn't get the memo: //this// band was "all about the keyboards"
+  * We were a bit bemused by Baron's "bumble bee" outfit
 {{:person:scan0013.jpg?500|Steve Deppe, Baron Knight, Rob Swindell, Karl Johnson, and Dave Codde, 1988}}
-All in all I think we thought we performed pretty well (the tempos were definitely accelerated due to adrenaline and Karl's friend who worked the sound board didn't get the memo that the band was "all about the keyboards"). Someone recorded video without audio and we got an audio recording from the sound board on cassette tape. When we later listened to the audio recording of the show, we sat in stunned disappointment. This gig led to the dismissal of Baron and Karl and not too long after, Dave would move to northern California and then back to central California for career and family reasons, leaving just Steve and I to move forward with the music.
+Someone recorded video without audio and we got an audio recording from the sound board on cassette tape. When we later listened to the audio recording of the show, we sat in stunned disappointment. This gig led to the dismissal of Baron and Karl and not too long after, Dave would move to northern California and then back to central California for career and family reasons, leaving just Steve and I to move forward with the music.
 {{:person:scan0014.jpg?500|Steve Deppe and Rob Swindell, 1988}}
-By this time, I had become engrossed in Steve's compositions and Steve would teach me my favorite parts on the keyboard (mostly from "Mass for the Dead") when I requested. Some of the longer more intricate pieces that I didn't immediately "get" when I was younger, were now my favorites and I was eager to get them recorded just so I could listen to them for my own enjoyment and I just *knew* that fans of great music would find and love Steve's songs, with or without drums. Heck, I didn't care if it was even a band, I just wanted the melodies and arrangements to be downloaded from Steve's brain to something more permanent and easily shared with the world: like a compact disc!
+By this time, I had become engrossed in Steve's compositions and Steve would teach me my favorite parts on the keyboard (mostly from "[[https://soundcloud.com/rob-swindell/steve-deppes-mass-for-the-dead-string-septet|Mass for the Dead]]") when I requested. Some of the longer more intricate pieces that I didn't immediately "get" when I was younger, were now my favorites and I was eager to get them recorded just so I could listen to them for my own enjoyment and I just *knew* that fans of great music would find and love Steve's songs, with or without drums. Heck, I didn't care if it was even a band, I just wanted the melodies and arrangements to be downloaded from Steve's brain to something more permanent and easily shared with the world: like a compact disc!
 In 1989, Steve and I moved from the studio in Santa Ana to another more secure studio in Whittier, California and it was there that we auditioned and played with different guitarists and bass players. When we found [[http://www.reverbnation.com/musician/kenjaquess|Ken Jaquess]], we were sure we could move forward finally as a new band (but preserving most of Steve's music from Dresden) and Steve's girlfriend of the time, Holly, had suggested the name "Vertrauen" (German for "trust") for the band. I liked the name so much that I decided to use it as the name of my new bulletin board system, running on a PC-XT clone running WWIV v4 on MS-DOS. We never did much as a band with the name "Vertrauen", but the BBS by that name has lived on, all these years, in one form or another, and ultimately played a large part in my life.
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 {{:person:xmas_in_reedley_2007.jpg?500|Steve in Fresno, Christmas 2007}}
-As it turned out, my wife's family lived near Fresno, so we had a several opportunities to see each other and work on some of Steve's material from the Dresden/Vertrauen days (again, mainly, Mass For The Dead), and Steve recorded some of our improvisations in his private studio. But mainly, we just socialized on the occasions that my wife and kids and I would visit my in-laws near Fresno. Steve enjoyed bringing over DVDs and sharing his favorite shows and movies with anyone that would sit and focus long enough. We played board games and just talked. Steve was now mellower and a bit more comfortable in social situations, so he would join our New Year's Eve and birthday parties eagerly.
+As it turned out, my wife's family lived near Fresno, so we had a several opportunities to see each other and work on some of Steve's material from the Dresden/Vertrauen days (again, mainly, "[[ftp://vert.synchro.net/music/DRESDEN/Requiem.MP3|Mass For The Dead]]"), and Steve recorded some of our improvisations in his private studio ([[https://soundcloud.com/rob-swindell/steve-deppes-last-jam-with-rob-swindell-on-v-drums|listen here]]). But mainly, we just socialized on the occasions that my wife and kids and I would visit my in-laws near Fresno. Steve enjoyed bringing over DVDs and sharing his favorite shows and movies with anyone that would sit and focus long enough. We played board games and just talked. Steve was now mellower and a bit more comfortable in social situations, so he would join our New Year's Eve and birthday parties eagerly.
 {{:person:steve_deppe_studio_2011.jpg?500|Steve in his music studio in Fresno, 2011}}

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