theNEWDEAL

Composed, performed, arranged, recorded and mixed in isolation by The New Deal Mastered by Phil Demetro Davide Di Renzo - drums Dan Kurtz - bass, sax Jamie Shields - keys Brendan Bayliss - guitar

Composed, performed, arranged, recorded and mixed in isolation by The New Deal Mastered by Phil Demetro Davide Di Renzo - drums Dan Kurtz - bass, sax Jamie Shields - keys

Composed, performed, arranged, recorded and mixed in isolation by The New Deal Mastered by Phil Demetro Davide Di Renzo - drums Dan Kurtz - bass, sax Jamie Shields - keys

Composed, performed, arranged, recorded and mixed in isolation by The New Deal Mastered by Phil Demetro Davide Di Renzo - drums Dan Kurtz - bass, sax Jamie Shields - keys

VL TONE PT 2 by theNEWDEAL

HOMEWRECKER by theNEWDEAL

TRIPLE OR NOTHING by theNEWDEAL

REDISCOVERY by theNEWDEAL

GLIDE - ARCADIA by theNEWDEAL

OCTOBONG by theNEWDEAL

AQUILA THE EAGLE PT 2 by theNEWDEAL

TECHNOBEAM PT 2 by theNEWDEAL

TRILIGHT by theNEWDEAL

OPEN CIRCLES by theNEWDEAL

VL TONE PT 1 - VERMILION JAM by theNEWDEAL

FIREFLY by theNEWDEAL

VENETIAN RED JAM by theNEWDEAL

MOONSCRAPER - VERDIGRIS JAM by theNEWDEAL

ISTANBUL by theNEWDEAL

TECHNOBEAM PT 1 by theNEWDEAL

CHERRY STONE by theNEWDEAL

OUR HOUSE by theNEWDEAL

AQUILA THE EAGLE PT 1 by theNEWDEAL

Home, Pt. I by theNEWDEAL

Deep Sun, Pt. I by theNEWDEAL

Deep Sun, Pt. II by theNEWDEAL

Deep Sun, Pt. III by theNEWDEAL

Between the Shore and the Sky, Pt. I by theNEWDEAL

Between the Shore and the Sky, Pt. II by theNEWDEAL

Between the Shore and the Sky, Pt. III by theNEWDEAL

Halo Drive, Pt. I by theNEWDEAL

Halo Drive, Pt. II by theNEWDEAL

Halo Drive, Pt. III by theNEWDEAL

Home, Pt. II by theNEWDEAL

In the past, “This Deal In History” has featured a cut from a long-ago New Deal concert alongside comments and insights from Jamie. In honour of TND’s return to Colorado next week (first time with Davide!), we here at New Deal HQ asked Jamie to talk about a clip from TND’s May 2008 show at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre. If you’ve ever been to a concert at “The Mish” then you know what a beautiful place it is to see live music. I can tell you, however, that nothing compares to being on stage playing music there. The water rolling by behind you, the scenery and audience in front of you - it changes your approach to music, or at least it did for me on that night back in 2008. The cut comes in hot with what i call the “roller skating groove” pumping away courtesy of Dan’s grinding low-end and Darren’s galloping disco beat. It sounds to me like i’ve got the filter on the Nord Lead wide open and set to “stun” while i stab away on the upper reaches of the keyboard. At 0:48 somebody yells out a heads-up (with all of our hand signals and non-verbal communications you sometimes have to just do it old-school with your voice!). That shout was to tell me to stop playing which I did, leaving it to Dan and Darren. They break it down to some fancy bass and hi-hat until I return with a spacey melody on a keyboard that I apparently had on stage that night but don’t have anymore (can’t place that synth sound!). By 2:42 we’re hitting pretty hard with a unison line (keys & bass) that eventually returns to that spacey synth phrase (and then back to the unison line) just in time for a HARD LEFT TURN at 4:20 to a different key, different sound and different groove. I’ve mentioned before how much I love those sudden gear changes. It always makes for an interesting scene shift and this one is no different. I’m really having trouble placing which keyboard is being used for that main melody… it might have been this super-small grey thing that I used for a while, resting it on top of the Juno. No confusion what keyboard that is at 5:30 - the Juno comes in strong and proud with a second melody before returning to the first line played on the other synth. 6:25 has me bringing the Juno back together with the previous keyboard while Darren starts ramping up the tempo until we drop into some good ol’ Drum & Bass at 7:05 with a key change thrown in for good measure. I play the trigger for “Self Orbit” at 7:25 but we hold back for a while (probably allowing me to wrestle with the tuning of the Moog which appeared to be giving me trouble all night). I like the restraint we’re showing in this section - Darren beatboxes and it’s just drums and keys for a while before I start teasing the Self Orbit melody, letting it simmer until we hit it full-throttle at 10:37. FUN FACT - Dan is playing the bass line to “A Little While Longer” in the middle section of “Self Orbit” at 11:15. I’m not sure why but it works! 12:25 - Another hard turn and we’re entering Robot Territory. That synth line is definitely the Nord Lead. Special shout-out to Dan’s bass tone in this section. The man has got some serious fuzz going on! I’d also be remiss if I didn’t point out MSG’s spot-on delay throws and general sonic awesomeness that he’s displaying in this clip (13:10). The sounds are so clean yet so muscular - I don’t know how we’d do it without him there. I’m glad that he’s still with us! I’m guessing that the lead sound that I dial in at 13:28 is my in-the-moment attempt to emulate the guitar-synth lines at the end of David Bowie’s “Ashes To Ashes”. Sure sounds like it to me, at least. 14:24 you can hear somebody call out a cue for shots (again, the old-fashioned way!) and we oblige with a bunch of hardcore hits before lying down in a bed of dub, cushioned by MSG’s echoes and reverbs. The Mish was definitely opening me up to some spacier sounds and textures on this night. It does some magical things to the mind, that’s for sure. Thanks for listening, -Jamie

Live at Asheville Music Hall, Asheville, NC - 11/10/2019 📸: Bain Stewart Media Welcome to the return of This Deal In History (version 3.0)! In the past, This Deal In History has featured a cut from a long-ago New Deal concert alongside comments and insights from Jamie. This edition will feature a concert from *last week* (11/10/19) in Asheville, NC - the first #TDIH to feature drummer Davide Di Renzo. ————— Last week’s Asheville concert was an exciting one; it featured a lot of improvisation but it also featured what is quickly becoming a hallmark in TND3.0 - patience. One thing that’s different about TND3.0 is our willingness to sit on the groove for a very long time, letting the body of the piece develop and bloom at its own pace. While the TND1.0 and 2.0 iterations had some very strong musical qualities we were never really known as a “patient” band. This has changed with the addition of Davide as our drummer. Davide’s strength behind the kit has contributed to the confidence that we’re showing in letting the music travel to its natural destination. It’s also showcasing the trust between us in allowing the music to get where it's going on its own. This Asheville snippet exemplifies that musical trust and patience. It starts with a dark rhythmic mood interspersed with bursts of noise alongside MSG’s delay throws. I introduce a bubbling repeated line (00:18) that sets this cloudy-yet-patient tone before transitioning into a melancholy melody that complements the moodiness we’ve created so far (1:15). All the while Davide slowly, ever slowly builds intensity only to pull back and return to that bedrock groove. You’ll notice that Dan is playing the same notes over and over - he’s in no hurry to get to the finish line and he’s trusting his bandmates to take the music where we all feel it going. Interesting note - at 1:55 he plays the trigger for “Technobeam” and then incorporates it into his bass groove (almost invisibly). He’s not calling for the song to be played immediately - it’s merely the clarion call to the future. At 3:33 Davide takes it up a notch with a snare/tom-tom groove (bonus points for his “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” cowbell bit at 3:56). By 4:08 we’ve somehow managed to take this improvisational piece to a new level of intensity without changing much of anything. I’m still playing that moody lead line and Dan is still playing the same Technobeam-inspired bass line but *something* has brought the jam to a higher level. 4:39 - I join the Technobeam party and start playing the trigger cue. It’s at this exact moment that Dan decides to mess with his T-Beam rhythm. So, we’ve brought it one step closer to playing that song but at the same time we’ve suspended ourselves in the musical ether, comfortable with “letting it all hang out” (a favourite musical phrase of mine to describe TND3.0) and definitely in no hurry to arrive. A full 2:30 of tension/build goes by before we finally release into Technobeam at 7:15 - but even then we’re not done. Davide decides to play a teaser-type drum groove over the first part, refusing to give in to the suspension, holding us back until he’s ready to let it all out with the full T-Beam groove at 08:21. Just listening to this right now gives me chills. Enjoy. -Jamie

Machina Electrica by theNEWDEAL

Grasping Thin Air by theNEWDEAL

Jamie Shields - Keyboards Dan Kurtz - Bass Davide Di Renzo - Drums recorded 1/22/2019

Jamie Shields - Keyboards Dan Kurtz - Bass Davide Di Renzo - Drums

#TND3 Jamie Shields - Keyboards Dan Kurtz - Bass Davide Di Renzo - Drums recorded 11/13/2018

This week’s #ThisDealInHistory is taken from our Oct 18, 2002 performance in Whistler, BC. Nobody in the band fancied themselves much as skiers but we always had a great time in Whistler primarily due to the fun vibe that permeates the town twelve months a year. This gig seems to be infused with some of that good-time energy. The clip begins with one of our “standing-start” jams - basically a familiar progression that we would pull from our grab-bag and use as a stepping-stone into less-familiar territory. This particular one usually started with electric piano and featured Dan letting loose with some low-end melodic lines. The interesting bass patterns continue when Darren kicks into the main groove at 0:43. I’m holding back for the most part and repeating some short shots while letting Dan lead the way both rhythmically and melodically. Subtle changes start occurring around 1:11 as I bring the piano chords down an octave and introduce a Moog line while Darren adds some bongo licks at 1:40. The bass shifts into a support role and the Moog starts driving the jam by upping the rhythmic intensity. It’s becoming clear around 1:53 that we’re straightening things out in order to begin transitioning into something else. Darren kicks it up a notch with his hi-hat work while Dan turns to his trusty filter to help change the personality of the jam. Things are now less bouncy/more driving and we’re moving into more of a 16th-note machine-gun groove. At 2:31 I trigger the cue for “Ravine” and we subsequently shift to the appropriate key at 2:47. However, note that it actually takes until 3:15 for the proper tonal centre to become evident. Until then Dan and I are buzzing around it, referencing the Ravine rhythm but never solidly landing on it. Even when we do get there at 3:15 I’m still jumping around, adding new chords that drift away from the “usual” Ravine harmonic structure (3:58 - 5:07) until we jump in to the main melody at 5:08. Things get slightly darker at 6:42 with a minor key change and Darren introduces another interesting hi-hat idea that features a neat little stutter. At 7:52 we start morphing into a new section that includes a new chord structure played on the Nord complemented by a blippy sequence on the Moog. We move along in this style until 9:14 when we drop into a unison 16th-note motif (somebody must have given a hand signal) that builds and develops using the same progression (but now on the organ and Juno). A long-note Moog melody floats above the busy pattern at 10:18 until we start breaking down the structure with a tension-filled development section at 10:51. I like the random computer-style vibe that’s going down here. It’s a bit uncomfortable but still driving. Darren triggers the “Glide” cue on the hi-hats at 12:23 and we take the trigger and run with it, culminating in the main section of “Glide” from 13:30 until the end of this week’s #TDIH. -Jamie

“This week’s #ThisDealInHistory comes from our May 26, 2006 show in Boston, MA. The clip starts with a chord progression that we frequently used as a launchpad for our “standing start” jams (see TDIH 02/20/09 Northampton MA for an explanation). While the theme often remained similar whenever we played this bit it was our approach that would differ from night to night. On this particular evening Darren has decided to incorporate the beatbox from the start while Dan has opted for a crunchy bass tone filtered through his expression pedal. Around 1:30 we shift into a latin-flavoured passage with the keyboards talking a backseat to the comfy groove that Darren and Dan have developed. Around 2:00 it’s clear that we’ve collectively decided to take the music in a different direction. We deftly change keys at 2:04, all the while increasing the tempo until we drop into a surprising half-time swing pattern at 2:47. I’m playing off the rhythm of the delay effect on the keyboard to create a loping, off-kilter feel that both Dan and Darren complement with a trashy street groove. A quick drum break at 4:22 leads into a Drum+Bass section with wah-wah organ over top. I’m moving the organ’s drawbars in and out to create a variety of tones while also adjusting the wah and delay, thereby creating some extreme sonic washes over top of the frenetic rhythms underneath. Some interesting chords start popping up from 5:30 onwards (with bonus points for Dan and his bass harmonics at 5:41). I’ve got some sort of minor/major thing going on up above while Dan picks his low notes carefully (GREAT choice at 6:01). Darren comes in with a tambourine-led vengeance at 6:32 and we drop some new chords around 6:50, these ones led by Dan. Around 7:09 one can hear me voice my approval with a whoop of delight. Somebody clearly called/played the “VL Tone” trigger cue because we abruptly change gears at 7:42 and begin the intro section. As is our wont we take our time with this part - Darren plays with the meter (probably trying to confuse us) and has a couple great drum rolls to lead us into the main segment of “VL Tone” at 9:47. Do I hear a small tease of Europe’s “The Final Countdown” at 11:18? I think I do! That probably explains why I mess up the descending line that immediately follows… I regain my musical composure to ensure that this week’s #TDIH wraps up semi-cleanly with the standard “VL Tone” ending.” -J

“This week’s #ThisDealInHistory is pulled from our May 24, 2006 concert aboard one of the Rocks Off Concert Cruise boats. Founded by our good friend and OG tND associate Jake Szufnarowski, The Rocks Off Concert Cruise would feature bands playing on one of their many boats that would venture off on a cruise through the various waterways surrounding Lower Manhattan. It made for a pretty fun time and this week’s audio cut captures some of that energy. Note the bass tone that leads off this week’s opening jam - it’s part rock/part fuzz but All Dan. It was around this time that Dan really started turning up the “rock” in his bass sound, much to our delight and encouragement. I would even bring some bass picks and surreptitiously leave them on top of his amp in the hope that he would use them (which he would from time to time). A key change at 1:10 leads to a new Moog-led segment and ANOTHER key change at 2:05, this time with the cue for “Sub Sky” getting triggered at 2:09 by yours truly. The other guys had something else in mind, though, so Sub Sky gets waved off in favour of some more jamming (you’ll never hear a complaint from me about that!). In fact, there aren’t any tND songs played in this week’s cut; you get nothing but in-the-moment musical exploration. Things speed up until the new section begins at 2:19. Some groovy Juno chords slide in at 2:59 to help change the sonic personality and take a little of the aggressive edge off of the feel. Note that Dan has continued to keep the rock bass tone going until 4:10 when he drops a severe filter on it. That definitely contributes to taking the edge off a little bit - a conscious decision to help increase the dynamic flow. ONE more key change at 5:27 is followed by another trigger cue at 5:40, although it’s probably one of the least-noticeable ones that I play. If i’m using that blippy Moog tone and start playing random notes over many octaves then that’s a cue for Dan to cut out and for Darren to start playing like he does at 5:51. I will eventually change my patch to what we hear in that section and it becomes a Jamie/Darren duet. This would often become the transition into Technobeam but not for this show. We instead return to the previous theme, incorporating a new motif from 7:11 until another Darren/Jamie breakdown at 7:38. A new progression/motif is established here; this one featuring an aggressive filter-bass/drums combo supporting a thick keyboard chord pattern with a simplified synth melody. I love the little bass turnaround that Dan throws in at 9:51 - it totally adds another harmonic ingredient to the recipe that we’re creating on stage. Someone gives a cue for the unison offbeat shots and with that we stop/start our way to the end of this week’s #TDIH.” -Jamie

This week’s #ThisDealInHistory is a continuation of our look into tND’s February 20, 2009 show in Northampton, MA. The clip begins with what is effectively a “standing start” - one of us just playing something (anything, really) and off we go. No discussion beforehand, no planning - just put your hands on your axe and dig in. In this case Darren steps up with the beat and I join in shortly thereafter with a Nord pattern. I’m definitely getting elastic with the time signature in the first couple of minutes, changing from 4/4 to 5/4 and 6/4 and then back to 4/4; something that I tended to do with our standing-start jams and often just for fun or to see if something new (melodically or harmonically) would arise from this meter change. Darren and Dan would usually just keep to the standard 4-beats-to-a-bar directive while I dart in and out of the 4/4 framework. We build the theme until Darren brings in the deep groove at 2:15 and I introduce a main Moog line at 2:45. This new melody, rather than serving as the focal point for this jam, acts as a transitional section into something deeper, darker and faster at 3:45. Dan establishes the theme with a fresh bass hook and a dirtier tone while I “up the aggro” on the Nord. As discussed in previous #TDIH’s, I’m also deferring to the prominent bass melody by limiting the keyboards to short chord stabs and the occasional long-note melodic line. The bit at 6:55 features a busier keyboard part along with some chordal/harmonic modifications. Dan has put the bass melody aside for the moment and is now supporting the main synth motif which has evolved in complexity and detail since it was last heard two minutes earlier. At 8:45 we decide to pull back a bit, thereby allowing space for some echoed organ stabs and Rhodes chords. Slowly but surely we’re opening ourselves up to some type of transition - the likes of which we’re not quite sure yet but you can definitely hear us downshifting and expanding the parameters of potential direction. Between 8:45 and 10:15 we become almost free-form, letting the musical dust settle as we wait and see where we’re going to go. At 10:15 it appears that we’ve decided on a tighter house groove layered with mellow Rhodes chords, a high Solina string pad and a jazzy synth solo. I reintroduce the Nord stabs/melody at 12:15 as we redevelop the intensity on the path back to the previous jam. We drop into a completely new bag at 14:15 via a key change and some fancy bits courtesy of Dan and Darren. They’re confidently in control here so I decide to sit back and limit my contribution until 16:00 when I play some fuzzed-out Juno lines - still in the background but adding some texture and flavour while Dan and Darren do the heavy lifting. MSG joins in the fun at 16:20 with some well-placed echo effects that advance the rhythmic complexity until the beatbox section at 17:40. We close out this segment of the jam with an interesting synth solo over top of some Drum+Bass. Keen ears will note that at 18:54 Darren briefly triggers a rhythmic cue which we all hit at 18:59, using this rhythm to transition into “VL Tone” at 19:31. The simplicity of “VL Tone” works nicely as a landing pad for the improvisational intensity of the previous 20 minutes. With that concept in mind we keep the middle section short and get on with playing the recognized “VL Tone” structure to close out this week’s #ThisDealInHistory. -Jamie

This week’s #ThisDealInHistory is the second one taken from our 10/17/2003 performance in Ottawa, Ontario at Barrymore’s Music Hall. The clip starts with the transition out of what sounds like the end of a “Birds In The Ocean, Pt. 2” jam into a Moog and (spacey) Nord-led build that intensifies for 90 seconds before landing on the main section of “Glide” at 3:07. I believe I may have been playing the trigger cue for “G-nome” but upon repeated listens i think it may have just been a similar melody (which the sharp ears out there will notice that I also repeat at 3:18 in the middle of the main “Glide” melody). A quick key change at 4:16 and we’re into a signature “James Guitar Shields Delay Pedal Adventure”. 4:16 - 4:56 is pretty far-out but I eventually settle into a new melody while keeping the delay high in the mix. It sounds like I’ve got the rate going super-short with a LOT of feedback, creating a super-glitchy/bent synth tone. It’s pretty cool how, with a little experimentation, one can get some interesting sonic results with a minimum of hardware. We stumble into “Billy Jean” at 6:42 - this version featuring some filtered Moog in conjunction with Darren’s beatbox. This tease usually only comes around if one of us hears Dan playing a similar bass line. This evening’s “Billy Jean” is quick as I trigger the cue for “Sub Sky” at 8:09 and eight seconds later (8:17) we’re into it with the precision and focus of a mercenary strike force. Or are we? It turns out that the other guys didn’t quite catch that cue so what we have here is the New Deal’s tribute to the composer Charles Ives as we play two very different songs simultaneously. Dan’s playing the intro to “Back To The Middle” in C-minor, I’m playing the intro to “Sub Sky” in F#-minor and for the uninitiated - those are two very different keys. BUT - as I’ve mentioned many times in the past, these mistakes sound pretty cool to us… so not only do we decide to roll along with this train wreck but we actually turn it into a musical passage and continue to hammer away at the two different songs for over a minute before arriving peacefully at “Sub Sky”. Those 70 seconds of tension actually helped to intensify the resolution into “Sub Sky” at 9:24. That’s why we do what we do… The next section starts with a key change at 12:34 and Darren triggering the “Glide” return cue at 12:44. This whole #TDIH cut is taken from somewhere in the middle of a “Glide” jam so what we have now is a move towards the second half of “Sub Sky” followed by the end of “Glide”. Sort of like having parentheses inside other parentheses - you gotta remember to close them all out! So we crash into the second half of “Sub Sky” with the trigger cue at 12:47 followed by the second half proper at 13:00, but then something interesting happens. As we build our way into what would usually be the ending reprise of the closing “Sub Sky” melody we instead take a left turn and dive into “Glide” at 16:43. After we sort out the rhythmic confusion at 17:23 we wrap it all up in a nice bow and close it out with the final “Glide” notes still echoing in the hall. -Jamie

This week’s #ThisDealInHistory is one of a handful of clips excerpted from our Feb. 19, 2003 show in Philadelphia, PA. The cut starts in the middle of what I’d describe as a “dirty-sounding” jam; a result of the combination of fuzzed-out Juno, super-square bass tone and a fairly intense hi-hat pattern. At 0:55 we transition into our next section by ramping up the tempo and switching up tones and motifs. I keep the fuzz-Juno going but now introduce the Moog while Dan softens (and deepens) his tone. From 1:50 - 2:15 I’m teasing the 1980 dance-punk track “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag” (a favourite throw-in of mine). I proceed to hack up that melody into various bits as we begin our build section, finally landing on “Receiver” at 3:20. “Receiver” was a long-time favourite of ours (haven’t brought it back yet w Joel but we will). We sort of stopped playing it as other songs came along but it definitely holds a special place in our hearts as one of the first “big and popular” tND themes. I like the one-beat break at the drop of the main bit (3:20) - It helps build up that tension beyond the first beat of the release which is not an easy thing to do with most songs! The jam at 4:28 starts immediately with Darren’s deep half-time groove, incorporating some ambient wah-wah’d organ chords on top of Dan’s dub-style bass. It was around this time that we started to approach our sets as a series of colours and angles, if you will. For example, if we started to feel that much of the set had been high on the intensity level (“jagged”, “bright”, “intense light”, etc. etc.) then we would endeavour to soften it up by rounding out the edges and incorporating some deeper hues and shades into our tones and melodies. It sort of sounds like a bunch of New-Age malarky when I describe it like that but it worked for us on stage. It was a lot easier than trying to explain (onstage, no less) something that can’t really be explained except, in our opinion, through colour! With that concept in mind one can feel a “warmer” and “rounder” musical environment appearing around 4:50 as we jam our way through some ambient-based mellow grooves. I play some long one-note synth tones while Darren channels his inner Stewart Copeland at 5:45 with a “Steppers” reggae beat. The melody and chord progression is being kept ridiculous simple on purpose, giving everyone’s brains (and ears) a chance to just sit on this scene for a while and soak it in without having to think about it. At 7:22 we switch keys into a cool chord pattern that leads to the intro chords of “Then And Now”. This is a much harder version of “Then and Now”, most likely serving as a musical exclamation point for the ambient jam that preceded it. The jam/solo section at 10:48 is played in regular-time (as opposed to the usual half-time) and takes on a disco flavour with some jazzy supporting chords. It sounds like I’m teasing something from 11:38 - 11:59 but I don’t know what it is. I would often play a snippet of a track we heard at dinner or something that one of us was talking about that day, but in this case I can’t place it. A key change at 12:14 introduces a new section which we develop over a descending progression that includes some cool “slash chords” played by yours truly (and supported down low by Dan The Man). We turn this chord sequence into a build at 14:01 by keeping the bass note the same still continuing to play the chords over top. Sharp listeners will hear the trigger cue for the second half of “Receiver” being played at 14:12. Sounds like the other two guys on stage also heard it because we slip into the second half at 14:28 (known to us as “the shot section”) and finish the clip off with the return of the “Receiver” main theme. -Jamie

This week's #ThisDealInHistory is one of three clips taken from our concert in Northampton, MA on Feb 20, 2009. Something to note about this week's epic 21-minute cut is that there are no standard tND songs in it. Rather, this clip features nothing but jams created in the moment and turned into songs (to the best of our ability) in real-time on stage. We start in the middle of what sounds like an old-school UK Garage-style jam. We're keeping it pretty sparse with only the echo of the Juno stabs spilling over into the next beat. Dan and Darren are locked into a super-clipped staccato groove until 1:00 when we morph into a Latin House vibe. I solo along for a while, pouring on the jazzy vibes (especially that ascending lick around 1:40!) until we settle into a main groove at 1:54 and ever-so-subtly change the key signature (C- and B-flat minor progression switching to G- for those keeping score at home) at 2:08 in anticipation of our next move. Dan's rocking a dirty bass tone as we amp up the intensity courtesy of Darren's hi-hat and some harmonized twin-lead synth lines. The breakdown at 4:30 features me playing the same melody on two different keyboards but with one of them offset by (I think) a dotted-sixteenth note. Intellectual! We briefly visit an interesting halftime feel before exploding (at 6:24) into a balls-to-the-wall section topped off with an angry Moog solo. This whole bit is on fire but we seem to hit our groove from 7:06 onwards as we explore that descending synth line and increase the intensity until the tempo and key change at 9:25. I don't think we initially had dub on our mind when we kicked in to this bit although we quickly jump in with both feet by 9:35. A nice change of pace from the intensity of the previous ten minutes. I like the patience we're displaying here in letting this downtempo exploration unfold. We don't seem in any rush to get anywhere which, in my opinion, is the way to approach it - if I'm thinking too far ahead I lose focus on what I'm trying to do in the moment. At 13:40 we transition out of the dub and into an entirely different jam - this one heavy on The Bounce. The offbeat bass and the blippy Juno create a refreshing alternative to the previous jam and help point us in a new direction. I've got a pretty intense sound coming out of the Nord at 16:00. This is a good example of the "Random Patch Generator" concept that i've touched on in the past. Basically the idea is that i press any button on the Nord to bring up a random sound which will usually inspire me to play something i normally wouldn't have played using any of my "go-to" patches. I'll sometimes tweak the sound but more often than not I'll keep it as is. It's definitely an exciting way to make music on stage! -Jamie

Continuing with our study of 2003 tND shows (we'll showcase other years as we find and transfer them), we present a #ThisDealInHistory excerpt from our July 4 performance in Portland, Maine. The strongest memory I have from this run is of the band basically exiting our Toronto studio and walking out the door right on to the tour bus. We were in the midst of recording "Gone Gone Gone" and had booked some shows thinking we'd be done by early July. Little did we know we still had another two months to go! The cut begins with a Rhodes progression that transitions between minor and major. The Moog accentuates this switch up top but steps back at 0:30 to let the bass line lead the way, both rhythmically and melodically. The Moog returns and slowly changes the shape of the jam by increasing the intensity until 2:23 when we dramatically drop into a new and exceptionally dissonant segment. My guess is that we called the change to "I Feel Love" but one of us who shall remain nameless (Dan) didn't catch it and continued on in the previous key. True to the tND style we took that mistake and turned it into a pretty interesting section that otherwise would never have existed. We stay on this startling discovery for a bit, enjoying our mistake, and then make our way into "I Feel Love" followed quickly by "Juno" at 6:23. "Juno" is one of those tracks that would pop up now and then in our set. We'd play it for five shows in a row and then not touch it again for a month. The jam out takes a heavier detour via a super-FM Nord patch coupled with Darren's beatbox as we slowly transition into "G-nome". Two key changes later (10:18 with a cool A-Minor/Major bit and 10:46) we initiate an extended intro that has the shaker and high-register bass leading the groove right up to the main drop at 13:26. We keep this particular jam short (we were probably approaching the end of our set) but still manage to throw in some interesting ideas following the shots at 15:48, including Darren's snare work and Dan's LFO bass tone. -Jamie

This week's #ThisDealInHistory is one of two clips excerpted from our 10/17/03 show at Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa, Ontario. Besides being Our Nation's Capital, Ottawa has long served as a must-play concert destination for me and Dan (through all our various pre-tND musical partnerships dating back to high school) and with good reason — there are a lot of music lovers in Ottawa. We begin with a quasi-hypnotic echo-soaked intro jam to "G-nome". Dan's got some synthy filters going on and he's complementing the spaciness with some short bursts that increases in intensity at 1:25 when he and Darren pick up the pace. As noted in previous #TDIH posts, Dan is leading the harmonic progression over the build while I step back and improvise variations on the G-nome theme. We're definitely treated to a wide variety of bass tones before the main section kicks in at 2:47. The middle jam in G-nome is always a wild card for us, stylistically speaking. It can run the gamut from pumping electro workouts (as heard on our "LIVE: LATE NIGHT 08.27.05" release) to the type of murky dub that we hear here. "Space" and "Echo" seem to be the recurring themes as I immediately return to my trusty delay pedals at 4:36. I like the sense of musical restraint and sonic sparseness here — every so often I play a few organ notes but for the most part the spacey atmosphere is dictating the jam's vibe. I introduce the Fender Rhodes at 5:29 but quickly abandon that in favour of a lush Juno pad in support of some Moog and organ lines at 6:09. I probably decided that the Rhodes would busy things up too much and instead chose to keep the sparse, dubby environment intact. This whole section is a good example of the band endeavouring to create a musical statement while simultaneously containing themselves within the previously established stylistic parameters. We've always felt that changing scenes simply to change scenes was a bit of a cop-out; one should try and complete whatever musical mission one initially sets out to accomplish. Dan triggers the return cue at 8:24 (actually he only plays half the trigger but we obviously got the hint) and we riff on that for a while as I incorporate the delayed keyboard bits from earlier in the jam. Those keyboard lines serve to conceptually link the previous jam section with the upcoming reprise. Dan might have also teased The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" at 9:03. From there we take that half-trigger to its natural conclusion by employing it as the stepping stone into the final section of "G-nome". I should also note MSG's (our long-time sound engineer) contribution throughout this clip and particularly in this build. His imaginative use of reverbs, delays and filters (10:20 - 10:42 for example) definitely heightens the drama and tension prior to the final movement at 10:43. -Jamie