Liner Notes :

Syndicated Dreams - volume 14:
DREAM ON: the second release from the Pat Thomas archives

I've planning to put together this CD for the past couple of years - sort of a history of Steve and I together. If I had more time and a protools set-up, I could probably do a nice multi-CD set with tons of interview/spoken word stuff mixed in.
But for now, enjoy this.....

1) Steve Wynn and Pat Thomas - Rochester, N.Y. hotel room 7/17/85

this was the 3rd time I'd meet Steve and the first time we were able to have lengthy chat. I hadn't thought about it until now, but the band was staying in a very nice hotel in a fancy section of downtown Rochester (more upscale than some of the other hotels and motels I've hung out with Steve in). I was interviewing Steve that day for the THE BOB magazine and he gave me a "Down There Records" T-shirt, which I still have. Dennis was sitting in the room as well, but he didn't say too much.

2) Out Of The Grey - Scorgies, Rochester, N.Y. 7/16/85

My band Absolute Grey opened for the Syndicate that night and a good time was had by all. Mark Walton was particularly interested in one of the local groupies. It was the first time I'd heard Paul Cutler and he totally blew me away that night. The band played most of the songs from the "Out Of The Grey" album (which didn't get released for another year), I thought most of the live versions that night, blew away the sound of the actual album. For years, I thought about using this tape - to assemble an "Out Of The Grey" live sequence, but I never got around to it.

3) Pat & Steve back at the hotel room - Rochester 7/17/85

I was just getting into Van Morrison myself that summer, discovering the albums T.B. Sheets, Veedon Fleece and It's Too Late To Stop Now. By the end of the year, I also had a "Sense Of Wonder".

4) Steve solo acoustic - Listen To The Lion - Mean Fiddler, London 3/18/87

Steve and I were just discussing this song the other day, it's long overdue for Steve to put it back into his setlist.

5) Papa Was A Rolling Stone - (dream syndicate rehearsal demo, exact date unknown)

Steve gave me this tape years ago, I think it was done in 1986. At that time my interest in soul and r&b was minimal, these days, hearing the Dream Syndicate cover some Motown would give me a hard on.

6) Dave Provost and Pat Thomas - Huset club, Copenhagen 9/23/86

I was living in Denmark in 1986, which is how I was able (and lucky) to catch the legendary Roskilde Festival performance and a couple of other shows that fall in Copenhagen and Gothenberg. The Droogs also came through town and I surprised the shit out of Dave Provost when I showed up for their soundcheck that night. I interviewed him for my magazine "John Coltrane Stereo News". Later on, either Dave or Steve told me when Steve read this interview, it led to them patching things up after not talking for a couple of years. Bringing musicians together again warms my heart.

7) Evil Ways - Zaders, New Hope, PA 1983

There was alot of "off the wall" cover songs early in the Dream Syndicate's career - I'd love to see Steve get back into the jamming and tribal nature of that first Santana band. Dave Provost on bass.

8) Side I'll Never Show - San Francisco Music Works, 4/3/88
9) Merritville - San Francisco Music Works, 4/3/88

I remember this day well, it was Easter Sunday and Steve and I went to Barbara Manning's house for an Easter dinner. Then we all went to the club for soundcheck and Steve discovered that the club owner was John Cipollina's manager, so there was a discussion of having the Quicksilver master come down and jam with the band, but the manager wanted Cipollina to get paid. End of discussion, so Steve, Barbara and I went up to North Beach to do some drinking and explore some of Jack Kerouac's old watering holes. Steve asked Barbara what song she wanted to hear that night and she replied "Too little, too late". Steve wasn't amused. I was begging for "Suzy Q", but he wouldn't do that either. We should have pooled our money to have Cipollina play, I'm sure Steve regrets that now. Even without John, the band played like mothers....here's a couple of songs from that night.

10) Steve and Nick Kontogouris driving around Athens, Greece 7/9/86

Anyone know Nick? Tell him to get in touch, he was a good friend who helped Absolute Grey get a Greek record deal, I was supposed to go live and/or play there in 1987, but that's another story. You gotta love the last comment about Chris Cacavas.

11) Steve solo acoustic - Drinking Problem - Kennel Club, San Francisco 12/19/87

I had just moved to San Francisco about a month before, recorded a demo and put together my first "Pat Thomas" band. Steve helped me land a great first west coast gig - as the opening act for him! Steve (and Cacavas on accordion, but not on this song) played a great acoustic set that night between me and The Catheads. I tried to convince Steve to join in on my set for a version of "T.B. Sheets", but he wouldn't do it, so I didn't do it either. I always figured "Drinking Problem" was about Dan Stuart.

12) Steve Wynn band - Still Holding On To You - Paradise Lounge, San Francisco 10/22/96
13) S.W. band - Epilogue - Paradise Lounge, San Francisco 10/22/96

I recorded and mixed this show on an 8-track ADAT machine, which means I was able to have some control over the final mix. I think it sounds pretty good and was always hoping it could get used for something - probably not as a complete live album, but as part of an EP or B-side. Sadly, everytime I've suggested that, it's gone over like a turd in a punch bowl. I've said it before and I'll say it again - Steve's best two (post Syndicate) guitarists are Jason Victor and Rich Gilbert. Never understood why Steve never used Rich again after a few brief tours - he was a sweet guy who played some very tasty and twisted axe - check out these recordings for proof.

14) Steve, Pat and Chris Cacavas - I Ain't Your Mother - studio out-take July 1995

After hearing the first part of an album (later released as "Fresh") I'd recorded in Berlin in early 1995, Steve offered to play on the second part of the album to be recorded in San Francisco that summer (thanks Steve, that was great, let's do it again sometime!). Chris caught wind of the session, stopped working on his own "New Improved Pain" album in LA and came up to SF to work on mine - he arrived with a great song he wrote especially for me to sing and with Steve as the lead guitar player - I insisted he use an "envelope follower" pedal ( I was going for the lead guitar sound of "Going Mobile" on Who's Next). This version is different than the one we used on the CD.

15) Steve (and Pat's Fresh band) - Why - studio out-take July 1995

Never intended for my CD, we had some downtime in the studio and Steve tried a quick run through of his new song (with Cacavas and the guys playing on my record) just for the fun of it. If we ever get around to doing that Wynn box, this will probably be on it.

16) Pat Thomas & The Family Jewels, plus Steve - Koln, Germany May 1994 "Baby Let Me Follow You Down" and "Vicious"

Steve and my band crossed paths in Koln in 1994, he was touring solo acoustic and we shared a bill at (was it the Underground club?, I can't remember the name right now). Anyway, this is one of those fun, not rehearsed, and a little sloppy but high energy, end of the night encore kind of things. Steve and I singing two of our favorites - Dylan and Lou. My pal and songwriter Pat Johnson (and former Coal Porter) is playing lead guitar. I was living in Germany at that point, working for Normal Records and running P.R. for what was then called the San Francisco Neo-Folk revival. Steve and I had dinner that night, his record company taped it and it was used in a couple of different magazines around Europe - Spex (Germany), Route 66 (Spain), and Ptolemaic Terrascope (UK) as a sort of "my dinner with Andre" interview kind of thing. there's some photos and a video floating around as well.

17) Pat Thomas with the band and street choir - Helmut Kohl & Rasputin - studio July 1995

Normally I wouldn't put officially and/or previously released songs on a Syndicated Dreams CD-R, but since it's my song and the album ( "Fresh") is out of print and although it sold several thousand copies, very few non-Germans have heard it. It's not just my ego talking, when I say - that Steve Wynn's lead guitar playing on this song is among his best ever recorded. Steve does some great Jorma Kaukonen styled (lots of reverb) melodic lines in the first part of the song and then at the end - it's like a truck hitting you in the face - with a very impressive monster sounding guitar solo (that would even do Paul Cutler proud) - I noticed after this session, Steve started taking more solos in his own live sets. Gary Floyd of Sister Double Happiness sings the chorus.

I guess I could have sub-titled this CD "Pat and Steve - the first ten years", as I've just noticed it spans 1985 to 1995. Where does the time go? Hard to believe that 1995 is rapidly approaching 10 years ago and I've known Steve for 20. Steve was such a strong influence in my own music career, especially during the 1980's that if I haven't properly thanked him before now, let me do so now.

Pat Thomas
Oakland, CA
April 18th 2004

The Tracks