Blue Prints Records, Inc.

13 years!
Why would anyone take 13 years to make a record? When asked, producer Michael Carr answered "Cause that's how long it took. We coulldn't have finished it in 12." How can you argue with logic like that? Even though the album covers very diverse musical ground -- there is a common thread that carried through all those years.

In August 1986 at a recording studio in New York City called West 52nd St. Studios (formerly the Old Music Farm), a group of musicians began recording basic tracks. In the studio was Rave Tesar on keyboards, Chris Donato on bass (check out early Marshall Crenshaw albums), Mick E. Dean on vocals and Steven Carr on guitars and drumulator drum machine. Within days, Steven walked and the search began for a new guitarist.

Around this time, songwriter Mick E. Dean, who had just moved back from San Francisco, was looking for a place to crash. Having answered an ad in the Village Voice, he went out to Brooklyn to check out an apartment. The guy renting the apartment (whose name is now forgotten) was a percussion player.

So what happens when two musicians meet? They start talking music. Mick has a tape of the early sessions and they listen. After listening the percussion guy says "I know someone who could really help you out on this." Mick sarcastically asks (a lot of what Mick says is said sarcastically) "Who? Elliot Randall?". Now Elliot Randall was a somewhat mysterious and somewhat legendary guitarist who would pop up on Steely Dan albums and play these great solos and then fade into the background (check out Can't Buy A Thrill, Royal Scam and Katy Lied). He was also Mick's favorite guitarist. The percussion guy says "Yeah, Elliot Randall. Yeah, Elliot Randall what? Yeah, Elliot Randall's the guy I know who could help you. Let me give you his number."

So Michael calls him and nervously tells his story, "I'm uh um, I'm ah making this record and uh, you know I was um wondering if you would, you know, like want to play on it?" Elliot sounds pretty open to discussion and suggets they meet at Big Nick's on Broadway on the Upper West Side and he'll listen to the tunes. Elliot listens in between bites of his Big Nick breakfast. "Not bad" says Elliot. "What?" asks Michael, "The music or food?". Elliot says, "Well both actually, but I was referring to the music. I like it alot and would like to play on it."

Elliot comes in and plays on a song called "Same as Here" over at West 55th Studio and blows everyone away (the control room was packed with about 40 people). "People were speechless" according to Rave Tesar, "It was an incredible performance". Even though "Same As Here" has undergone serious transformations since the original sessions in 1986, the most exciting parts are Elliot's guitar work.

Now it turns out that Elliot has some friends who are pretty good players: Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, an alumnus of Steely Dan and The Doobie Bothers, Paul Griffin, a legendary New York session player who is the only person to co-write a Steely Dan song with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker ("The Fez").

Two of Elliot's friends were two guys who made up one of the great rhythm sections of all time; Bernard Purdie on drums and Chuck Rainey on bass guitar. You may not know them by name, but you know them. RESPECT, Chain of Fools, Rock Steady with Aretha, Deacon Blues, Kid Charlemagne, Babylon Sisters, Peg with Steely Dan, the list is truly endless. This was the first core band of MDC.

© 2000 Blue Prints Records, Inc.
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