Jim’s journal 1/24/09

Domestic Problems

It has been awhile since I spoke a lot on the blog. In truth my wife does s great job of chronicling our lives on the Blanco De Sinki blog.

As I grew in knowledge as a sound engineer, it was my privilege to grow with a band that has never gotten the recognition it deserved. Domestic Problems was the party band of the late nineties in the mid-west. If you never caught a show, you missed out on a real phenomenon. They were accused by “serious” musicians of being a little on the fluff side of music. But they stand up well against some pretty stiff competition like Bare Naked Ladies, Dave Matthews, and in my mind (live from Ausitin) , and perhaps even Huey Lewis and the News, or Tom Jones.

Laugh if you want, but Huey Lewis had some of the catchiest and even now recognizable music in the rock catalog (ok maybe pop rock).

Domestic Problems was not originated to explore the dark side of human emotion, but rather to celebrate and uplift the spirit. A Domestic Problems show became a well crafted exercise in entertainment, rising to peaks and then slowing down, all the while leading to the kick ass ending that would send the crowd home drunk and sweaty and singing in the streets

Domestic Problems began their recorded catalog with the modest effort “Scattered Pieces”. It was recorded for approximately the budget that a national act would have for one day. Scattered Pieces went on to be one of the best selling local albums of any artist from the West Michigan area to date. Some day I will ask one of the guys how many were sold, but I remember it was well into the thousands of albums, which was pretty unheard of for a Grand Rapids band.

As the band matured lead singer Andy Holtgreive became a force to be reckoned with as both an entertainer and as a songwriter. His emotion came through in such songs as Untitled and other untitled (har har). But Andy’s secret was that he did not mind playing the court jester on such hits as Bowling and El Matador. By the time fourth studio album “Patiently” was recorded, Domestic Problems had logged as many miles as any working mans band in the nation, and had built up a catalog of hits that should have propelled them to national status.

This is where we talk about the drug binges or drummer dying right? In truth the grind wore out Domestic Problems. Most of the band were getting into their thirties and had the kind of responsibilities for family and bills that gradually make it harder to live life on the road. I had by this time relinquished my duties behind the sound board, and has been through at least two adult “career” jobs.

I wish every day that I could have hung in there and trusted the band to provide my livelihood. But in truth I had always treated my position as one that needed to make some money. There were nights that I made more money than anyone in the band. But the job of engineer also was a back breaking one, and there was not a great deal of fame to be had sitting in the dark making the guys sound good each night. I treated it as a job, and so I headed out to careerville before most of the rest of the guys. But I miss it, I am good at my corporate gig, but I dream of the road and the music, occasionally waking up with the sounds still fading in my ears.

Peace, love, and the occasional toast to you guys. I miss you, and hope that you occasionally miss me too!