-
jararaca 4:380:00/4:38
NOTES
September 2023
Rewind - Miss Bliss reunion!
SP in the white shirt.
Carolyn in back on drum kit,
Carol & Sandy.
August 4 Friday 2023
You have landed at SPE home site!
Home away from home site is:
https://www.reverbnation.com/stephpappasexperience
July 28 2023
89 WhiteOut
Just before heading out to play a 3 hour show in
Waitsfield Vermont, the drummer I was bringing with
me backs out of the gig. Looks like I am going it solo.
Off I go down 89.
When I pull into the parking lot there's Nathan Scott,
a drummer who I met briefly thru the Crawford brothers,
we used to work at 7th Generation in Burlington and with
them was another computer tech name Tony, yeah their
all computer techs, he's from India and built a fan base for
me but I haven't made it over there yet.
So here I am at the venue and Nathan says he drove
over the mountain from Huntington to see me play. After
I told him my drummer backed out, he said his kit is in the car.
Next thing we know we are playing the gig, making up every
song in the moment all impromptu.
After the show we sat, ate and chatted. I asked him what his
worst habit is and I got an honest answer. He may have asked
mine I don’t recall but I woulda said I am a what ya see is what
ya get, that way you can decide f you want to hang out with me
again or not lol.
Next show is WRUV, college radio with Dommer Barber hosting
Exposure the longest running show there. It started in the 80's
and has had a string of host.
I brought Joshua Cleaver on bass guitar and Nathan. Dommer
asks how we all met. So I told him. Well, I met Joshua in a
parking lot while delivering 7Days Newspaper. He was at a
recording studio in the same building I was dropping at. I saw
him with a couple his bandmates carrying instruments.
We just started chatting.
With all the gigs I was doing I always needed musicians cause
some of my regular band had other projects to keep up with.
I asked Joshua if he could play by ear due to all the impromptu
nature of my gigs. He answers "yep" right away without a blink
of an eye. Then I added answering Dommer how I met Nathan.
What I haven't told ya'll yet is Nathan drove home over the
mountain in a snow storm and I drove the highway,
we both hit white outs. Winter gigs are tough in Vermont.
The next song the three of us played was impromptu
about the drive home, it's called 89 WhiteOut.
Btw HBD to song single 89 WhiteOut
released on this day in 2016.
Hear song:
https://www.reverbnation.com/.../song/26342030-89-whiteout
or here at this site-
https://stephpappas.com/music
c
July 21 2023
HBD to song single EVERYTHANG
Released July 22 in
2014! This song was edited out from a 2
hour show at Higherground in South Burlington Vermont.
One of my producers was there that nite and said he didn't like the music much.
However from the screams captured on the recording apparently the bulk of
audience seemed to feel the opposite. How many local acts can say underwear
was tossed onto the stage at them in their home town.
Hear song: https://www.reverbnation.com/stephpappasexperience
T-shirt was made from a pix taken that night- www.stephpappas.com/store
song is also at: https://stephpappas.com/music
July 15
A Few July Album Facts
Two Albums were released in July.
What's Happening At Vibesville! in 2012.
Jellyfish in 2013Btw the exclamation is part of the title.
venue like these type of things are normally at with alcohol and an audience.
an album and all 8 sessions were uploaded to You-Tube.
There are many song styles on the final disc, a collection from all 8 sessions.
had, such as Dance Around It, Jellyfish, and Energy the arrangement was changed
from a rap acid blues version to a if you will stretch this description, a jazz one.
Lyrics & music to Danny, Pirate For Peace, Revolutionary Dance Party, Dis-Rup-Tion,
Love Love Love, No Fear, Peace & Love- were still in progress as we recorded.
Songs:- https://stephpappas.com/music
and
Jellyfish & more songs: https://www.reverbnation.com/stephpappasexperience
June 16, 2023
Happy Band
L-R original authentic SPE members: Joshua Cleaver, Steph Pappas, Ted Looby, Matthew Nerbak photo credit Margaret Michniewicz at Positive Pie in Montpelier Vermont.
There are atleast 13 SPE band mates however SPE often appear as a downsize version of six and in various instrumental configuration.
Full line up or configuration to draw from:: 3 doo whop singers, didgerido, harmonica,(s), washboard, bass guitar(s), 3 guitars, 1 or 2 drummers, 3 percussionist, tablas fiddle, keys, trumpet and a few other non traditional rock n' roll instrumentation.
Check our RISE: https://www.reverbnation.com/stephpappasexperience/song/28898398-sp-exp-rise
May 19th Friday
NOVA SCOTIA
Recording is not an easy task for alot of artist, go figure
but it just isn't, so in the case of recording Not On The Map
a duo album interlaced with guitar and drum action, me
and my friend Matthew buckled down for a few days
with Joe engineering the project.
There wasn’t much in the way of producing. It was more
like play, hit record, capture what we sound like in the room,
then after that do we want the guitar a tad louder than drums
or the drums a tad louder than the guitar, do we want the vocals
dry or have some reverb, do we want the vocal louder so folks
can hear the words or mix the vocals at the same volume level
with the instruments?
When we got to the song Nova Scotia I wanted a particular drum
beat and sound. Matt played what he felt. The section where I sang,
I ordered adding in some Floor Tom. Here’s a picture:
Download Nova Scotia off the album Not On The Map
cause the best things in life are free! Here ya go:
https://www.reverbnation.com/stephpappasexperience
I sent the song Nova Scotia to the NXNE Festival in
Toronto Ontario Canada and they booked me because
they liked both the song and title (there’s a Nova Scotia Canada)
and also thought I was from Burlington Canada. They missed
that it’s Burlington Vermont USA.
That all got me a primetime slot in the festival line up, a great
promo write up as top pick to go see, and a decent venue location
which means chances for a packed show are better and that’s good
for album sales. Upon realizing later which Burlington I was from
I was still a shoe in and welcomed back following years
Posted April 30th
Luck In The Business
When internet became a thing, I was still using a landline. I didn’t get internet hooked
up to my home but a few years ago. Yes I know what century it is. I used a friends lap
top or the library.
There I was setting up my Heartland Tour and needed to move quicker to snag
some gigs that were time sensitive. I was surprised someone at every venue answered.
They were surprised someone called. Especially the gigs I was lining up in Nashville.
The process to play the Bluebird in Nashville is a thing. They require a demo just to
play the open mic. After that then maybe you get to play a showcase of 3 songs.
Barbara in Nashville, the very one Melissa Etheridge sings of,
https://youtu.be/uQ9ZR8OVlfQ is the very same one who books acts at the Bluebird.
Barbara picked up the phone one afternoon when I called. That call sent me to the
top performance level. I was offered one of the two slot choices that’s typically reserved
for famous Nashville songwriter’s or acts with a big draw.
All those Nashville shows were lucky.

Posted March 10th 2023
The organizer said there's going to be hours and hours of music and that each artist
gets to pick a cover song to perform on their own or with the house band she had lined up.
I picked Heroin by Lou Reed.
if it was even suitable for general audience? Also I opted out of band rehearsal. It was
kind of far. So I sent a version of the song for cord changes purpose along with a note
answering some of their questions; trust me I'll make it work just start with a D guitar
chord. I would like to include the didgeridoo and fiddle players that are part of the house band.
the most faith in me were on the didgeridoo and fiddle, they blended into the guitars
stumming out that infamous D chord in my instruction note, the song emerged.
Somewhere in the song I found myself doing that rock n’ roll slide thing across the floor.
it was going to suck, now all bright eyed and bushy tailed we were laughing hard.

Posted November 19 Saturday 2022
My very special Save Bee Project is under way with
new raglan (baseball 3/4 sleeves) style T-Shirts
and hand made yarn Honey Bees in an effert to bring
awarness that bees and their hives are in danger.
Bees are essential to our food crops.
This explains it well;
https://www.ecowatch.com/save-the-bees-guide-2655304561.html
While it's all about the bees however, I have added
some special personal touches into the shirt design!
4 shirt variations to check out! Go team Save Bees Go!
https://stephpappas.com/store
TY! Design by Steph S. at Gotham City Graphics
TY! Amalgamated Culture Works, especially Johnnie & also Curt!
TY! Remy at https://www.facebook.com/ArgyleBestiaryCo
Posted November 16 Wednesday 2022
T- shirts are in! Pictures will be up shortly.
Shirts choices are grey or white, Sleeve choices
are orange, denim, olive, maroon.
Posted November 11 Friday 2022
SPE Save Honey Bees Project-
New baseball t-shirts arrive soon.
Posted October 12, 2022
HBD to song single Metal/Country
https://www.reverbnation.com/stephpappasexperience
Picture of SP
Sept 18th /Burlington Vermont
at Waterfront Park