Steuart Liebig Men-Tot Six: Last Call (ORENDA RECORDS 2018)

The idea for this project started back in 2008. I would take two related bands that I’d been writing for—The Mentones (Tony Atherton, Bill Barrett, Joe Berardi, me) and the Tee-Tot Quartet (Dan Clucas, Scot Ray, Joe Berardi, me)—and combine them. I started to write the music, I started the artwork, I had the album title—but life and the world intervened. 

Then in 2017, I had the opportunity to play a fairly high-profile gig and I asked to do this, my deferred dream band. The presenter put faith in me (thank you, Lisa Mezzacappa!) and Men-Tot Six was back. 

I reworked the two and half tunes I had already started and then got to work on some other preliminary sketches. As usual, original ideas can start changing once the music starts coming out. For example, the plan was to write seven tunes, but after a couple of rehearsals, an eighth emerged (which ended up being the title tune, nine years after the fact). And the writing itself changed. Some of it became quite a bit more contrapuntal then I had anticipated . . . what had started as an extension of the skewed American music I’d done for the two bands became something a bit different—something (perhaps) a bit more skewed—once we got into it. 

The guys in the band . . . they’ve put their talents and hard work into this project. They really supported and encouraged me (even when I wasn’t so great to be around), which is incredibly important in the creative world. (I’m grateful!) 

They also played their asses off. There are too many moments, great solos, bits of interaction, etc., to go into detail. One of the great joys for me is the way this band can be fluid with the material (and there is a bunch of written music)—we can go skittering off the page. Just take a listen. 

Tony Atherton - Alto Saxophone

Bill Barrett - Chromatic Harmonica

Scot Ray - Slide Guitar

Dan Clucas - Cornet

Joseph Berardi - Drumset, Percussion

Steuart Liebig - Contrabass Guitars

Recorded 4-5 November 2017 by Wayne Peet at Newzone Studios, LA

Mixed by Wayne Peet and Steuart Liebig

Mastered by Wayne Peet

All music by Steuart Liebig

© sisong music (ASCAP) 2018

1. Crescent Limited 07:36

2. 7-06-71 10:07

3. Trouble By The Toe 07:07

4. Smokey Valley Lament 11:21

5. All Lit Up & Nothing To Do 07:08

6. No Picture No You 09:56

7. Honeysuckle Bounce 11:11

8. Last Call 08:24