Dixie Dregs
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=83473
Printed Date: April 25 2024 at 04:06
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Topic: Dixie Dregs
Posted By: Ytse_Jam
Subject: Dixie Dregs
Date Posted: December 14 2011 at 14:52
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As the title says... topic for everybody who likes this great band. They mix jazz/fusion and prog to create a unique sound in my opinion, and Steve Morse is one of the finest guitarists around. I placed them here in the prog section because I think there is a lot of prog in their sound.. "What If" is a great album and "Bring 'em Back Alive" is for sure in my top 10 live albums. What do you think about? PS: This is my first topic, so, hello everybody
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Replies:
Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: December 14 2011 at 15:32
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Welcome !
Can't say i'm the biggest fan but i do enjoy "What If" a lot.Actually Steve Morse's "Split Decision" is one i play even more,it just seems to hit the spot. I know Slarts(a member here) is a big fan,in fact i think he followed them all over the south-east one year.I'm not saying he was a groupie or anything like that(it's just a rumour) but lets just say he's a big fan. ------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: December 14 2011 at 17:10
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I saw them every time they came to Boston, starting from the "Dregs Of The Earth" tour. I must say that Dave LaRue is a good bassist, but he doesn't have the distinctive bass style of Andy West. ------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: December 14 2011 at 18:26
Welcome from the heart of the Dixie Dregs land. They played around the Atlanta area a lot when I was in my teens. My brother and mom were big into the band so I got to see them live a lot and I do mean a lot.  Even had the privilege of doing volunteer roadie duty when they played a show at Dekalb College. Without a doubt What If remains my favorite. And you can't go bad by Bring 'Em Back Alive. The band is one best experienced live. The Live At Montreaux DVD doesn't showcase some of my favorite material but gives you a nice taste of what the band was like live when I first got into them. Fun fact: the band loved to cover Mahavishnu Orchestra songs in their early days before they had built up their own repertoire. PS. Why wouldn't post an appreciation thread for them in the a prog section? I don't think their habit of doing a somewhat obligatory bluegrass influenced track disqualifies them. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: December 14 2011 at 18:29
------------- Crushed like a rose in the riverflow. |
Mellotron Storm wrote:Posted By: yanch
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 06:39
| Welcome. I've always been a big fan. My younger brother snuck Cruise Control on the turntable one night many years ago and it blew me away. Have been a fan ever since. Saw them upstage the useless Jefferson Starship when they opened for them on the pier in NYC. Played a brilliant set - one of the best I've seen. Got to see them a second time at Hofstra University when I was there in the late 70's. Here they were the headliners and got to play a full 2 hour set-fantastic! Morse is one of my favorite guitar players and I have most of his cd's along with most of the Dixie Dregs work. Fine stuff indeed! |
Posted By: Ytse_Jam
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 07:57
| I think also Full Circle is a good album! |
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 13:39
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I love them too! Here in Europe they are very little known, I first learned about them when I was studying music in the mid-late 80's (never got past amateur level by the way) and a fellow guitarist played me Freefall, wow, I had never heard Morse and I was amazed, what a right hand! but also Morgenstein and the whole band impressed me a lot.
What If and Bring 'Em Back Alive are also my favs, together with the Montreaux DVD which I have reviewed, but from Freefall to Dregs of The Earth they are all worth the money. Of their studio albums I miss Unsung Heroes and Industry Standard.
Got a few Steve Morse Band albums too, The Introduction and High Tension Wires being favourites. Major Impacts is also a very nice album with Steve's interpretation of other bands styles while avoiding actual covers, it's something that I always thought if I was a musician I would like to do.
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Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 13:47
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They are fairly well known in Britain due to one of their songs being the theme tune to the "Friday Rock Show" I like them. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 15:40
I was wondering where the name rang a bell.
 for the musicand also
for the late great Tommy Vance |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 16:40
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^^^ I'm assuming that's 'Take it off the top' Opening track on What If. I can't play the clip for some reason. Good album, but I never got round to buying anything else. I feel an Amazon visit coming on.. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 18:13
Steve's DVD Sects, Dregs & Rock 'N' Roll is another really good one to get. Has one performance of a the revamped Dregs with none other than Jerry Goodman on violin and the late T Lavitz on both that performance and joining Steve in a mostly solo show. And hey, while I'm at it a link/plug for Steve's site: http://www.stevemorse.com/" rel="nofollow - http://www.stevemorse.com/ ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Chris S
Date Posted: December 15 2011 at 22:23
Night of the Living Dregs...one of the best live albums around , surprised not mentioned much! Great band and so different and original------------- ...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 16 2011 at 02:03
It is
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Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: December 16 2011 at 04:37
| I think Steve Morse is a fine guitartist. They are all fine musicians and all the Dregs titles mentioned in this thread are worth going the distance for. Of course I had a close tie when I traveled with some stupied show band and opened for the Dregs in 81". I go off on this because it was just so mind blowing to tour the circuit with them in the early days of their career and to see how talented they were. Now in the present....I teach kids the Steve Morse guitar methods and he is a God! There is nothing more rewarding than to learn and play a piece of music from the "What If" album. Think of it this way: You might be able to play 1 of their pieces , but can you write like they do? Great band! |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: December 16 2011 at 06:56
I've very fond memories of the Friday rock show. Vance used to also use Theme 1 by VDGG, to introduce his 'Friday night connection' slot..  ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Snow Dog
Date Posted: December 16 2011 at 07:02
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^ Did he use the Cozy Powell version? ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Snow_Dog" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: December 16 2011 at 16:17
Fairly sure he used VDGG's version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny4i-vzad-0" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny4i-vzad-0
Cozy's version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMg5KqtxAVc" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMg5KqtxAVc
and also the original
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EVpvrDeVg8" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EVpvrDeVg8
Nick Magnus has also done an excellent version but I couldn't find a link for that
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Posted By: fxdregs
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 10:47
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Great first topic Ytse Jam.
Long time Dregs head here, nice to see them get some recognition even though they haven't put out any new material for way too long.
BTW - Plenty of Dregs - Dream Theater connections too.
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Posted By: timothy leary
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 11:11
| ^ Indeed, you might want to check out the Prime Cuts album which i believe features almost all of the Dream theater members. A Steve Morse Band Album. |
Posted By: Ytse_Jam
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 17:10
| In fact I must say that I knew them reading about DT's inspirations, and I liked them :D |
Posted By: infocat
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 18:38
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If I recall correctly, the first time I saw DT the opening band was...The Dixie Dregs! ------------- -- Frank Swarbrick Belief is not Truth. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: December 17 2011 at 20:04
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By the way: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=80053&KW=steve+morse" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=80053&KW=steve+morse http://jasobrecht.com/steve-morse-complete-1978-dixie-dregs-interview/" rel="nofollow">http://jasobrecht.com/steve-morse-complete-1978-dixie-dregs-interview/
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: December 18 2011 at 07:04
Yes, it was definitely the VDGG version. I had it on numerous tapes I recorded from the show, but only found out by chance it was VDGG years later, when I bought a VDGG compilation, on the back of a recommendation from folk here at PA.  ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: December 18 2011 at 07:19
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yes, great band. Mainly jazz/fusion but always pushing the boundaries of this "tag" to include country/bluegrass, southern rock (Allman Brothers was a great influence), classical music (mainly Bach), pop (cf 'industry standard'), black music (some funk on the first album, some blues on night of the living dregs).
The Lavitz' 'storytime' and 'from the west' are recommended if you like Dixie Dregs. Also Steve Morse Band (the very first two albums are in the vein of Dixie Dregs, albeit more eclectic), then High tension Wires is more ambient/melodic guitar stuff but very enjoyable, then he turned shredding/hard rock with Dave Larue on bass guitar and Van Romaine on drums, but eclectism is still present and guitar solos are aerial and melodic. ------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: Jbird
Date Posted: December 22 2011 at 04:48
I saw the Dixie Dregs back in 2000, with the Steve Morse Band as the opening act 
Great, great show.
As far as the original lineup albums go, 'What If' is my least favorite. I know it's most peoples fav, but it just doesnt grab me the way the others do, though I still like it.
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Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: December 22 2011 at 08:19
| Steve Morse adapts a side of theory that he creates from and developed it into the music of the Dregs. He plays a scale and creates close to 12 patterns from it and makes itself evident in the Dregs music. When he is working against gravity with his right hand he is in an untouchable world unless you're John McLaughlin. Steve Morse really has this musical aspect mastered and he is just amazing. When picking with your right hand and depending on the structure of notes and fret jumping positions...your right hand must sometimes change it's position into a curve or slant in order to produce that many notes with melodic texture. Steve Morse is a master at this ...what an amazing guitar player. |
Posted By: AreYouHuman
Date Posted: April 19 2013 at 20:59
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Looks like this thread could use livening up… I was stationed with the Navy in Charleston, SC from 1980 to 1983. The concert scene there and then would best be described as Feast or Famine. Most of the time we’d get artists like Leon Russell or Dr. Hook or the current version of the Guess Who, who were past their commercial heyday. Or…at least four times in a 2-year period, we had the Dixie Dregs, for crying out loud! A band that clearly had their sights on making excellent music and not radio-ready manufactured swill that local radio was force-feeding us (tho it got a little better 1982 on). I caught them twice, first in December 1981, after Mark O’Connor replaced Alan Sloan on violin. The venue was called Derriere’s (seriously) and was clearly a place where live acts were not the highest priority. The doors opened at 8 PM but the band didn’t come on until around 10:30. A local DJ could be heard, but not seen, from backstage trying to warm up the crowd. It’s just as well he wasn’t onstage, because he was receiving plenty of boos and one-finger salutes as it is. This was because he was from a station with the most restrictive, tight-assed playlist imaginable. They promoted the show but gave the band no more than lip service. Where I worked, I was essentially forced to listen to this station all day. I really, really grew to loathe Journey, Foreigner and Survivor. To this day I try to avoid subjecting my ears to “Don’t Stop Believing” at all costs.  Back to the show, when it finally started, it was worth the wait. I’d secured an excellent seat where I could witness their virtuoso musicianship up close. At the time I didn’t own any of their albums so I wasn’t familiar with really any individual songs, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying what I still consider one of the top five concerts I’ve ever been to. They didn’t let up, from slower numbers like “Night Meets Light” to the country-flavored “The Bash” to the more complex “Odyssey.” They closed with their extended treatment of “Cruise Control” which at one point was down to Steve Morse and Rod Morgenstein; I never thought a guitar and drums-percussion duet would hold my attention that well, as they coaxed forth some amazing textures before the rest of the band jumped in, trading off solos in the same rapid-fire fashion live as they did on their records before bringing it to an explosive conclusion (yes, there were pyrotechnics, but they were minimal). Only seven months later (July 1982), they returned to the same venue, still promoted by the same station, who still paid them only lip service; and who, BTW, used “Crank it up!” as their on-air slogan. That was also the title of the single (their attempt to break through to AOR radio) off the band’s latest album “Industry Standard,” but these cretins still wouldn’t play that or any of their songs. Anyway…this was an equally great show, though notable for their being down to a four-piece; Mark O’Connor had moved on and they didn’t replace him. I don’t remember this show in nearly as great detail, partially due to distractions I won’t go into. They didn’t do “Crank It Up”, but they did do “Cruise Control” again, in much the same manner; during the guitar-drums duet, Morse threw in a riff from “Whole Lotta Love.” I already had “What If” by that time and started buying up their other albums after that. “What If” is still my favorite Dregs album to this day. Haven’t seen them live since, during their occasional reunion tours, though I did catch Steve Morse with Kansas in 1987. Have continued to follow Morse’s career with his own band. Still great! 
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Posted By: zumacraig
Date Posted: April 19 2013 at 22:06
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The Dregs! Absolutley love Rod Morganstein. One of the most enjoyable drummers to watch. He did an album with Jazz Is Dead several years ago which is worth checking out. Of course, Morse is a bad ass!! ------------- Stardust we are. -Roine Stolt |
Posted By: Sagichim
Date Posted: April 20 2013 at 01:28
| For the past few month my ringtone is the song Holiday. Such a perfect song. |