Jack is back and a new music project

ADAM YATES AND I have started a new original music project called "Happy Hour." We've dubbed our little project "1/5 & Maine" and are about halfway through with Isaac Smith's 505 Recording Studio, located on the second floor of our Second String Music Building. Adam is doing drums, keyboards and vocals. I'm doing guitar and vocals. We have nine original songs and they are coming together nicely.

Sunshine Cable Radio started in the space in the mid-1980s. Back then Jack Inghram helped wire the place up, and they spent about $20,000 redoing it, but they moved less than two years later. It basically sat empty until we bought the building, and Isaac is our second tenant in the old radio station space.

Isaac wiring up Jack to wail away!

Last night Jack was back at Fifth and Maine, this time recording a sax part for one of our songs. Thankfully Sheryl cleaned up the second floor foyer and made Jack feel welcome and he walked right back in time. We had a blast talking about how he wired everything up and what they went through with Sunshine Cable Radio, now known as WGCA.

Isaac moved in about a year ago and he's spent an large amount of time and money upgrading it. It's state of the art, with all the Pro Tools stuff, but he uses a regular sound board and careful placement of microphones to get optimal sound. Isaac, originally from Camp Point, cut his teeth in the recording business in Salt Lake City before moving back to the area, and he's incredible. With his helper, Nate, he's recording and engineering the project and they both have tons of great ideas.

The songs range from country to pop to classic rock. We have the guts of seven songs basically done and will spend the rest of the week doing guitar, keyboards and vocals.

On Saturday we had Tim Smith come in and sing and play on one song, and Justin Sievert played bass on four songs. Brad Fletcher of the Cheeseburgers played bass on two more songs. We did drums, bass and guitar live on six songs, with Adam playing drums, and he's recorded really cool keyboard and piano parts.

We might have another person or two come up to help, and I would love for our local players to take part, but we are strapped for time and basically doing most of it ourselves to put it together. We plan to put it out in the digital world, but probably won't make CDs.

It was so good to see Jack again and hear him wail away on the sax. Funions for life! Onward and upward and we'll keep you posted on our progress.

It's a Funions reunion!