It’s one of the more famous storiesin rock history: the night in 1973 when a teenage fan went to a concert by The Who and ended up filling in for incapacitated drummer Keith Moon.
On a slightly smaller scale, and with a more seasoned musician, history repeated Wednesday night during the free concert series at The Empire State Plaza in Albany.
With headliner Lit — known for 1990s radio hits, soundtrack appearances, a set at Woodstock ‘99, and MTV videos, but most of all the now platinum-selling single “My Own Worst Enemy” — late to take the stage, a virtual stranger lined up to singer A. Jay Popoff’s left, carrying his own bass.
As Lit explained during the concert and later on Instagram, regular bassist Kevin Baldes was late landing in Albany due to travel delays. Plus, the band was using borrowed equipment during a harried tour route that had them due in Montana Friday, Omaha Saturday and Des Moines Sunday. “Spinal Tap” references followed.
In a social media video posted by the band, the bassist of more than three decades was seen racing in an SUV from the airport to the gig downtown. He rushed to the stage in time to take over on “Zip-Lock.”
So who was the pinch hitter on the low end before Baldes showed up? 30-year-old Dan Lawson of Albany, a professional bassist who plays in a variety of bands. As he told WAMC Thursday morning, he had only a couple of hours to learn Lit’s songs — and didn’t even get a rehearsal before the gig began.
What is your musical background?
I started playing music in grade school, started on the saxophone and in the middle of high school I switched over to bass. And I've been playing bass, I'm 30 now, so I've been playing bass maybe 13 years. I’m originally from Brooklyn. I moved to Albany around the time I started high school, 2003, 2004.
I'm in a few bands. A lot of it is mainly like, I'll get called to do work. I do consistent corporate gigs and wedding gigs. I play for some local artists. And then do gigs with my own band.
How did yesterday come together?
I got a call. And I didn't take the call. And then I heard a voicemail and I called back. She had gotten my number from another local musician that I do gigs with. And she said she's in charge of entertainment at the Plaza, the New York State events. And she says for the headlining band, the bassist is stuck in Chicago. And the start time is 7 and would I be interested in or wiling to fill in for him? She told me the name of the band, it didn't ring any bells.
I asked what kind of music, she said like 90s alternative music. Then I said OK, I feel like I have you know, at least two hours, 2.5 hours, to learn some material. And I felt confident that I could do that. So I asked for a setlist, and then I went to Spotify. And then I just started learning the music on the setlist. And I made notes in the notes section on my phone, almost like a guideline, so I wouldn't get lost if the song started and I didn't remember off the top of my head.
Is the kind of music you played with them very different from what you normally do?
Not very different. I mean, I play a mixture of everything. So I feel like I was very much prepared for the style that I had to play and that aspect.
Did you have a chance to rehearse with the band at all?
No, I didn't meet the band…I don't even think the band knew I was going to be there. Because I was in the dressing room. They came in they said, Hey, what's up? And then maybe 10 minutes passed, and then their guitar tech came in and was like, Hey, did you guys meet Daniel? And they're like, yeah. And he's like, well, he's gonna be subbing for Kevin. And they were like, Oh, really? And that’s when it registered what was going on.
I was counting and you got to like five or six songs through the gig. If they didn’t point it out, I don’t know if the crowd would have known that you were there at the last minute.
Right. I mean, true fans of the band probably know, for sure. I felt like I didn’t look the part. But other than that, I feel like I locked into the band really well.
Were you nervous?
No, I don't think I was nervous. I was nervous mainly of how they would react towards me, like, who is this guy or like, I'm not good enough, but they were very welcoming in the green room. And I told them I learned the songs, which gave them some assurance. And before we went out, they were like, let’s do this.
How do you think it went?
I think it went OK. Once Kevin got there and we switched over, his energy level was very high. So that's something I probably wouldn't have been able to duplicate, I would have been staring at my phone all the time. So I think the rest of the night went well.
Can you tell me a little bit about the notes you made on the songs? Did you have the tabs or charts in front of you?
No, it was just me listening. And learning by ear and just writing out those sections like verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and just like how many times I had to play the verse like, I would say, like, verse times two, chorus bridge, back to another verse, then intro or outro, like stuff like that. And the key signature, just so I knew.
Does stuff like this happen to you when you're a professional bassist?
I've never got a call like this before, but I've definitely had to learn songs in a short amount of time.
How do you do it?
Depends on how much time. Like, this was like literally no time at all. Typically, I can learn a song like if I got the call the day before, I would have been able to learn the songs and not have to rely on any notes. But I feel like there was way too many songs for me to remember. And it was.
So as I'm learning it, the two hours that I had to prepare, I’m just making notes in the notes on my phone. That's how I was able to get through it.
They had a cover on their setlist, which is at the end of the setlist, “American Girl.” And they asked if I knew that, and I said yeah. So they decided to open with that. Because I’ve played that song thousands of times, so they figured they could start with that, since I knew it. Two of the songs on the setlist I hadn't heard because it wasn't released yet so I wasn't able to practice that. So they were hoping to just rearrange the setlist in hopes that Kevin would get there in time.
So there was a chance that you are going to have to do the whole gig.
Right.
Did you get paid to work yesterday?
Yes.
Are you a Lit fan at this point?
I wasn't familiar with them. But with learning the songs, I recognized them. A lot of the songs I didn't know that it was them, some of their hit songs. So as I'm like, looking up the songs on the setlist, I'm like OK, I've heard this before. I've never played it, but I've definitely heard it plenty of times, whether it be on the radio or in movies or video games. Yeah, I guess I'm a fan now.
Did you get to see them at all after the gig once the regular bassist had made it?
Yeah, I left my instrument in the green room. So I went to pick it up and we talked and they took some pictures with me afterwards. I guess we were gonna hang out but at that point, I was pretty hungry. So I decided to meet a friend at Savoy.
You seem like you have the right disposition to thrive in a situation like yesterday.
Yeah, I mean, I felt pretty confident. If it were like a bebop jazz gig, I'd probably be sweating.
