Dixie Dregs
Steve Morse
Any West
...
November 21 1972, Augusta College Performing Arts Theatre, Augusta, GA, USA
- The Augusta Chronicle, November 21, 1972
Dixie Dregs
Steve Morse
Any West
Rod Morgenstein
Allen Sloan
Frank Josephs
May 26 1974, Augusta College Performing Arts Theatre, Augusta, GA, USA
Memorial concert scheduled Sunday at AC Theatre
Tommy Dale Witcher of Augusta was 29 when he died of cancer last February. His obituary
described him simply as a "self-employed musician."
But to his friends and business assocaiates, Tommy Witcher was one of the finest musical
talents - and one of the finest persons - in the Southeast.
To show their true respect, several people who knew Tommy are combining their talents to
present the "Tommy Witcher Memorial Concert" in the Augusta College Performing Arts Theatre,
May 26 at 3 p.m. (view the entire article)
- The Augusta Chronicle, May 19, 1974
November 24 1974, Augusta College Performing Arts Theatre, Augusta, GA, USA
- The Augusta Chronicle, November 24, 1974
February 1 1975, Winter Jam, Bell Auditorium, Augusta, GA, USA
- The Augusta Chronicle, January 26, 1975
Dixie Dregs
Steve Morse
Any West
Rod Morgenstein
Allen Sloan
Steve Davidowski
November 29 1975, Jazz Festival, Hilton Head Island, SC, USA
- from the programme (image provided by Gill Vanderlip)
- from the programme (image provided by Gill Vanderlip)
November 30 1975, Augusta College Performing Arts Theatre, Augusta, GA, USA
- The Augusta Chronicle, November 30, 1975
January 30 1976, Augusta College Performing Arts Theatre, Augusta, GA, USA
- The Augusta Chronicle, January 25, 1976
Augustus 19 1977, Augusta College Performing Arts Theatre, Augusta, GA, USA
- The Augusta Chronicle, Augustus 14, 1977
September 30 1977, Augusta College, Augusta, GA, USA
Free Fall
Violin Solo
Moe Down
Ice Cakes
Take It Off The Top
Country House Shuffle
Night Meets Light
Night Of The Living Dregs
Unreleased Dregs Original
Odyssey
Punk Sandwich
Cruise Control
October 8 1977, 4 Acres Club, Marcy, NY, USA
Broad Street Strut
Free Fall
Moe Down
Refried Funky Chicken
Leprechaun Promenade
Country House Shuffle
Night Meets Light
The Bash
What If
Wages Of Weirdness
Cruise Control
Gina Lola Breakdown
Disco Dregs
Dixie
Dixie Dregs
Steve Morse
Any West
Rod Morgenstein
Allen Sloan
Mark Parrish
April 13 1978, Atlanta Theatre, Atlanta, GA, USA
Free Fall
Moe Down
Ice Cakes
Night Meets Light
Travel Tunes
Patchwork
Punk Sandwich
Leprechaun Promenade
The Bash
Cruise Control
Disco Dregs
Dixie
May 30 1978, Lee Furr's Studios, Tuscon, AZ, USA
Free Fall
Moe Down
Refried Funky Chicken
Night Meets Light
The Bash
Travel Tunes
Wages Of Weirdness
Northern Lights
Night Of The Living Dregs
Odyssey
Take It Off The Top
Country House Shuffle
Ice Cakes
What If
Gina Lola Breakdown
Cruise Control
July 3 1978, WEBN 5th Floor Rec. Studio, Cincinatti, OH, USA
Free Fall
Moe Down
Ice Cakes
Wages Of Weirdness
Refried Funky Chicken
Northern Lights
Travel Tunes
Night Meets Light
Night Of The Living Dregs
Odyssey
Take It Off The Top
4 Jul 1978 4th Of July Jam, Edgewater Park, Cleveland, OH, USA
July 23 1978, Montreux Jazz Festival, Casino, Montreux, Switzerland
Free Fall
Leprechaun Promenade
Country House Shuffle
Patchwork
Attila The Hun
The Bash
Punk Sandwich
Wages Of Weirdness
Take It Off The Top
Kathreen
Dixie
October 21 1978, Russell House Student Union, University of South Carolina, Colombia, SC, USA
Take It Off The Top
Country House Shuffle
Moe Down
Refried Funky Chicken
Night Of The Living Dregs
Patchwork
Ice Cakes
Little Kids
Night Meets Light
Travel Tunes
The Bash
Cruise Control
Disco Dregs
Kathreen
Dixie
December 9 1978, The Greater Chattanooga Music Hall and Theatre, Chattanooga, TN, USA
(image provided by Tracy Eaves)
Dixie Dregs
Steve Morse
Any West
Rod Morgenstein
Allen Sloan
T Lavitz
February 13 1979, Memphis, TN, USA
Free Fall
Travel Tunes
Ice Cakes
Gina Lola Breakdown
Northern Lights
Hand Jig
Night Meets Lights
Odyssey
The Bash
Cruise Control
Refried Funky Chicken
February 19 1979, Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, USA
May 7 1979, Oakland West Theater, Oakland, FL, USA
Free Fall
Gina Lola Breakdown
Punk Sandwich
Night Meets Light
Refried Funky Chicken
Patchwork
Night Of The Living Dregs
The Bash
Odyssey
Cruise Control
Disco Dregs
Kathreen
Dixie
May 26 1979, Oakland Park, Oakland, FL, USA
Country House Shuffle
Improvisation
MoeDown
Ice Cakes
Punk Sandwich
I'm Freaking Out
Wages Of Weirdness
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Free Fall
Gina Lola Breakdown
Punk Sandwich
Night Meets Light
Refried Funky Chicken
Patchwork
June 11 1979, Cellar Door, Georgetown, Washington, DC, USA
The Dixie Dregs, who appeard at the Cellar Door last night, may well be the most interesting
band to come out of the South in the last decade. They may also be the least well-known.
The quintet comes out of the fusion stable but in the same position as the first Mahavishnu
Orchestra - as a leader, not an also-run. Their seamless assimilation of rock, jazz country and
classical is achieved through consistently tight musicianship. Guitarist Steve Morse and
violinist Allen Sloan in particular share an osmotic empathy that gives much of the music a
circular pulsating energy. The absence of vocals allows for a greater overall presence in the
music, a continuation of the Mahavishny wall-of-sound concept tempered by individual
restraint. Within pieces like "I'm Freaking Out," Night Meets Light" and "Cuise Control" there
exists the varied time signatures, moods and textures that elevate fusion's perpetually narrow
vision into substantial art. This art, buttressed by the Dixie Dregs' sheer power, will
eventually uncover a much larger audience than the band now enjoys.
- Washington Post, June 12, 1979
June 17 1979, Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Free Fall
Country House Shuffe
Moe Down
Ice Cakes
Travel Tunes
Night Of The Living Dregs
Night Meets Light
Punk Sandwich
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
June 19 1979, My Fathers Place, Long Island, NY, USA
Patchwork
Night Of The Living Dregs
Night Meets Light
Punk Sandwich
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
Gina Lola Breakdown
Dixie
Odyssey
July 25 1979, Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, CA, USA
11:30pm show
Country House Shuffle
Moe Down
Ice Cakes
I'm Freaking Out
Patchwork
Travel Tunes
Night Meets Light
Twiggs Approved
Punk Sandwich
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
Gina Lola Breakdown
July 26 1979, Roxy Theatre, San Diego, CA, USA
11:30pm show
Country House Shuffle
Moe Down
Ice Cakes
I'm Freaking Out
Night Of The Living Dregs
Patchwork
Twiggs Approved
Punk Sandwich
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
Gina Lola Breakdown
Dixie
July 29 1979, Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, CA, USA
Freefall
Moe Down
Odyssey
Country House Shuffle
Twiggs Approved
Travel Tunes
Night Meets Light
Ice Cakes
Punk Sandwich
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
Gina Lola Breakdown
Dixie
September 24 1979, Boomer Theatre, Norman, OK, USA
September 26 1979, The Second Chance, Peoria, IL, USA
Bob Frye remembers:
I Saw The Dregs in Peoria Illinois at a bar called The Second Chance on September 26 1979, my
21st birthday. It was a fantastic show!
October 4 1979, Tillman Hall Auditorium, Clemson, SC, USA
Tillman Hall's 'Night of the Living Dregs'
By Mark Sublette
Tiger Staff Writer
It is a good thing that Thursday nights are regarded as an early version of Friday here at
Clemson. It would otherwise be very difficult for students to enjoy some events that end up
scheduled for Thursday evenings, were it not for the fact that most Clemsonites are already
accustomed to going to classes on Friday after a full night of partying.
One such night was Thursday evening, Oct. 4 as the Dixie Dregs made a return visit to Clemson
for a concert in Tillman Auditorium. Students were well-rimed for the show, despite a dreary
dose of thoroughly disgusting rainy weather. Homecoming displays were underway out on Bowman
Field, and quite a few of the rowdy partiers doing display construction duty could be seen
making their way up to Tillman for the concert.
What they got was a good dose of the instrumental jazz-rock for which the Dregs are noted. This
Atlanta-based group has made a name for themselves by their innovative use of musical styles
which are reimiscent of everything from Aaron Copland's "Rodeo," to the pickin' and fiddlin' of
Flatt and Scruggs. The Dregs do not worry themselves with lyrics, but concentrate on tight
musical competition. Their entire offering was purely instrumental.
The Tillman audience showed that it was more than just slightly familiar with this group, and
undoubtedly many of those present on Thursday had already seen the band last October. During
such numbers as "The Bash," which might be described as the Dixie Dregs' offering to the world
of Bluegrass, the fan reaction was unmistakable as the familiar melody was passed back and
forth between Alan Sloan on violin and Steve Morse on Fender guitar.
There can be little doubt that Sloan enjoys himself on stage, as his facial expressions give
him the appearance of an absolute imp while he plays. This fact was not diminished one bit in
Tillman Hall that night, despite the fact that he was confined to a chair following an incident
at Mississippi State University the previous evening. Sloan collected some shrapnel in the leg
as a flashot, regularly used during the song "Cruise Control," went off with unanticipated
force, shattering the container. As might be expected, the pyrotechnics were not used at the
Clemson concert.
Bassist Andy West served as the master of ceremonies, and was most enjoyable in the role for he
cut up and kidded around a bit, as we appropriate for a smaller hall like Tillman. He and Morse
made an interesting team as the did pseudo-Broadway chorus line kicks during the Dregs
non-tribute to the disco craze in a fun composition entitled "Disco Dregs." West also amused
front-row seaters as he raised eyebrows in mock dismay as an illicit cigarette made an
appearance. The Dregs showed that they can get the crowd on their feet with the best of the
rock groups as they concluded their performance with some encores that proved to be real
hell-raisers in a live show. Their first encore, "Take It Off the Top," was well-known to the
audience and brought forth quite a bit of crowd reaction as they went thumping into it. "Disco
Dregs" followed, and after the audience had hooted and stomped loud enough, the band returned
for one last piece, the amusingly-titled "Gina Lola Breakdown," allegedly named after a female
acquaintance of the band members.
Despite the fact that the band's label, Capricorn Records, is apparently about to go under in
the wake of various bands breaking up or signing with other labels, it is obvious that the
Dixie Dregs will survive, for they are a talented group of musicians. However, should Capricorn
fold, they'll have no problem signing with another record company. Two pieces from a future
album that were performed on Thursday night show that the Dregs are far from finished with
their musical experiences.
- The Tiger, October 12, 1979
November 30 1979, Memorial Auditorium, Chattanooga, TN, USA
(image provided by Tracy Eaves)
December 31 1979, Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, USA
February 27 1980, Munger Auditorium, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL, USA
(image provided by Mr Random)
March 21 1980, Tomorrowland Theatre, Disneyworld, Orlando, FL, USA
(images provided by Jonathan Robinson)
Jonathan Robinson remembers:
I was visiting my grandparents in Florida during spring break 1980, when I saw them (quite by
accident) while visiting Disneyworld in Orlando on Friday, March 21. They were playing at the
Tomorrowland Theatre, three 45-min. sets (all different!) at 3:30, 4:30 and 5:30 pm. There
were a few dozen of us on this grassy, sunny knoll in front of the stage...I was sitting about
15 feet from the stage...dead center. The sound was unbelievable! Needless to say, I was
utterly blown out of my socks, as were everyone else who "got it"...the rest just kind of
looked confused and scratched their heads! What an unforgettable day!
April 26 1980, Agora Ballroom, USA
(ticket provided by Jim Naugle)
May 3 1980, The Roxy, Hollywood, CA, USA
11:30pm show
Odyssey
Pride O' The Farm
Ice Cakes
I'm Freaking Out
Twiggs Approved
Wages Of Weirdness
Hereafter
Punk Sandwich
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
Gina Lola Breakdown
Dixie
May 4 1980, The Roxy, Hollywood, CA, USA
9:00pm show
Country House Shuffle
Pride O' The Farm
Twiggs Approved
I'm Freaking Out
Old World
Ice Cakes
Road Expense
Hereafter
Punk Sandwich
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
Gina Lola Breakdown
Dixie
11:30pm show
Odyssey
Broad Street Strut
Pride O' The Farm
Old World
Ice Cakes
Travel Tunes
What If
The Bash
Cruise Control
Twiggs Approved
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
Dixie
May 9 1980, Old Waldorf Theater, San Francisco, CA, USA
Twiggs Approved
Pride O' The Farm
Ice Cakes
Odyssey
Old World
Leprechaun Promenade
Road Expense
Hereafter
Punk Sandwich
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Disco Dregs
May 30 1980, Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center, Augusta, GA, USA
- The Augusta Chronicle, May 11, 1980
June 13 1980, Town Hall, New York City, NY, USA
August 30 1980, Sandy Creek Campgrounds, Montgomery, AL, USA
(image provided by Jeff Smith)
September 14 1980, The Bayou, Georgetown, DC, USA
All five of the Dixie Dregs are undeniably fine musicians. Last night at the Bayou, they each
played tricky ensemble parts with precision and solos with real flair. Unfortunately, it takes
more than this to creat inspiring music. It takes compositions and arrangements of real
personality, which the Dregs still lack.
The Dixie Dregs sounded like superlative studio musicians blowing off steam after work.
They proved they could play their jazz-country-classical-rock instrumentals in any key at any
tempo. No melodies came through, though, nor did much feeling. These were gifted musical
messengers in search of a message. Guitarist Steve Morse, the group's leader and chief
songwriter, can already play better than the Allman Brothers' Dickie Betts and almost as well
as his former teacher, Pat Metheny. Unfortunately, Morse's compositions lack the voice-like
lyricism of Betts or Metheny. Without that lyricism, most jazz-rock sounds like musical
calisthenics.
- Washington Post, September 15, 1980
September 26 1980, Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, SC, USA
October 30 1980, Memorial Hall Auditorium, Chapman College, Orange, CA, USA
(image provided by Matt Gibbons)
April 10 1981, Haymakers, Palatine, IL, USA
Take It Off The Top
Pride o' the Farm
Twiggs Approved
Odyssey
Kat Food
Hereafter
I'll Just Pick
Travel Tunes
I'm Freaking Out
The Bash
Cruise Control
Punk Sandwich
Disco Dregs
Gina Lola Breakdown
Dixie
April 11 1981, Kite Flite V, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
The Dregs
Steve Morse
Any West
Rod Morgenstein
T Lavitz
Mark O'Connor
May 13 1981, The Ritz, New York, NY, USA
(image provided by Matt Lehman)
May 14 1981, The Bayou, Georgetown, DC, USA
Dregs & 'Unsung Heroes'
THE ALBUM -- Dregs, "Unsung Heroes," Arista AL 9548.
THE SHOW -- Thursday at 8 at the Bayou. It's their sense of irony that has always shaped
the Dregs and hoisted them well above the middling contemporaries of their chosen genre. But
it's the ironies of the pop zeitgeist that keep them twisting in the wind.
When the Dixie Dregs recorded their first albums, jazz/rock fusion was busily exposing itself
as the musical equivalent of a fire sale at an ice-cream store. At the same time, every no-talent
rock band schlepping out of the South was enjoying a success directly proportional to its
ability to swill Jack Daniels, spew chauvinistic bombast and assault audiences with
interminable, mindless boogie riffs.
What the Dixie Dregs (now simply the Dregs) had to offer was a tasteful if not brilliant
combination of musical structures that managed neither to slop over into each other nor be
cloyingly pure. As an instrumental group, they never had to worry about cramming lyrics full of
regionalistic agitprop, but even without lyrics, they always found a way to trade hubris for
humor. Their name reflected self-image as much as sarcasm, since it was always the crock-rock
Billy Bobs that floated to the top of the charts.
"Unsung Heroes" is not likely to change this situation, although it's as thoughtful and well-
played as album as the Dregs have ever made.
The music is less fusion than fission; instead of merely being part of a stylistic jumble, each
influence retains a separate integrity withing the overall composition. Thus, on "I'll Just Pick,"
the listener can focus on the bluegrass fiddling of Allen Slonov, the Mahavishnu-y rhythimic
pattern of bassist Andy West and percussionist Rod Morgenstein -- or on all of it at once.
"Go for Baroque" is another example of this three-for-one technique, this time throwing in a
mild dollop of classical style via T Lavitz's keyboards. It's as though the Dregs are trying every
possible method of conveying the idea that interaction doesn't necessitate loss of identity, and
it's fitting that one of the most successful tunes in this regard is titled "Divided We Stand."
A real standout on the album is "Rock & Roll Park," in which West and guitarist Steve
Morse dust off some ancient, bluesy riffs and place them with loving incongruity in a sort of
oriental-jazz showcase. Not as easy to describe as to hear. I'm afraid, but the end result is
guaranteed to make you smile.
Morse is also responsible for the smooth (but not slick), well-paced production of the album.
Like the songs it contains, "Unsung Heroes" offers an unassuming finesse that is just as
palatable heard track-by-track as it is in a straight-through listening.
The cover of this record is humble almost to the point of self-denigration (the band appears
naked with their mouths airbrushed out), and "Dixie" is no longer part of the name. These
concessions notwithstanding, it's probably too late to alter the expectations of either pop
audiences or critics, long programmed to be suspicious (even hostile) to Southern groups
sporting a modicum of technique and grace. (The same treatment applies to women striving to
escape the limitations of candy-cane compositions and/or sexual self-exploitation.)
Rock and roll may owe its very existence to the South, but that area has spent a good deal of
time at the back of the musical bus lately. It's no accident that the only commercially
successful Southerners seem to be the ones most willing to perpetuate the legend of cud-
chewing cretin.
Even with their mouths in absentia, the Dregs shout a defiant, continuing challenge to such
sociopathic stereotyping.
- Washington Post, May 8, 1981
May 16 1981, Springfest '81, Mill St. Field, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
(image provided by Rick Krim)
May 18 1981, The She, Dayton, OH, USA
(image provided by Scott Nuckles)
June 3 1981, My Father's Place, Roslyn, NY, USA
Divided We Stand
Pride O' The Farm
Twigg's Approved
Kat Food
Limerock
Odyssey
I'll Just Pick
Punk Sandwich
Rock & Roll Park
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
June 30 1981, Gary Gand Music & Sound, Highland Park, IL, USA
(image provided by Steve Winkler)
unknown song by T Lavitz (keyboards, bass, drums only)
Chinese Monkeys by Andy West (keyboards, bass, drums only)
Divided We Stand
Twiggs Approved
Kat Food
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
July 25 1981, Pioneer Theatre Auditorium, Reno, NV, USA
August 22 1981, Club Bene, Morgan, NJ, USA
(image provided by Rick Krim)
August 23 1981, Tin Lizzie Garage, Princeton, NJ, USA
(image provided by Rick Krim)
September 24 1981, Paradise Theater, Boston, MA, USA
DREGS: A STYLE ALL THEIR OWN
THE DREGS - IN CONCERT AT THE PARADISE LAST NIGHT.
Steve Morse Globe Staff
There's an old country song with the refrain, "Call it what you want to; I just call it quits." The
words refer to a dashed romance, but could also apply to the hassle of trying to define the
Dregs.
When the Dregs - then called the Dixie Dregs - first made a splash four years ago, they
were impossible to define. And they still are. If anything, the task is getting even harder.
The band straddles styles like Hunter Thompson writes. You never know what's going to turn up.
Sources range from baroque composers to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, from Texas fiddlers to heavy
metal headbangers. Played at speeds ranging from fast, faster and hey-did-you-happen-to-get-that-
license-number, their music is an inspirational stew that is their's alone.
Take this random comment overheard about the country music they did last night: "You know, I
don't really like country music, but it's all right played at 78 rpm speed."
An all-instrumental group, the Dregs play what they term "electric chamber music." They play too
much rock to be a fusion band; too much country to be a jazz band; too much classical to be a
bluegrass group; and you get the picture.
The band is led by guitarist Steve Morse, who can play Pat Metheny licks (a few of them last night
in honor of Pat, who used to be his guitar teacher at the University of Miami), as well as Jimmy
Page licks. Morse has adopted more of a leadership role in recent years, and his long solo last
night was striking. It didn't include quotes from Page or Jimi Hendrix - as his solos often do - but
instead blindingly fast passages from Mahavishnu's "Birds of Fire," along with some of his own
improvisation that flew off into the ionosphere. (Because we share the same name, I must confess
that we met once, joked about switching roles for the night, then quickly changed our minds).
The Dregs were not at their absolute peak last night - a weak moment included Rod Morgenstern's
directionless drum solo and some lapses in momentum - but even a subpar night for them is heads
and shoulders above the mainstream. New fiddler Mark O'Connor - a three-time national fiddle
champion - was the spark, adding a fiery presence on the electric bluegrass of "The Bash" and the
Texas fiddle tune "Lyme Rock." He and Morse dueted beautifully, both in unison and counterpoint.
Strobe lights, ZZ Top rhythms, an exploding bomb, two-guitar duets and the thunderous rhythms of
bassist Andy West added to the versatility. West plays a new Steinberger bass, which is made of
unbreakable space-age plastic and has tuning keys on the back and not on the neck. It looks like a
sawed-off shotgun, but gives an otherworldly depth of sound. Both Stanley Clarke and John
Entwistle also play one.
A much better band in person than on record, the Dregs had the crowd screaming at the end. After
warming up with poetic material like "Night Meets Light" - drenched in florid vibrato - the Dregs kept
raising the tempo until the room nearly levitated. This is a group that may be doomed to cult status,
but has to be seen to be believed.
- Boston Globe, September 25, 1981
October 4 1981, The Savoy, New York, NY, USA
Divided We Stand
Pride O' The Farm
Twiggs Approved
Kat Food
Limerock
Odyssey
What If
Refried Funky Chicken
Take It Off The Top
Bloodsucking Leeches *
Rock & Roll Park *
The Bash
Cruise Control
* with Mark O'Connor on guitar
October 18 1981, The Bayou, Georgetown, DC, USA
Concert update: The Rossington Collins Band, which has already canceled out twice at the
Merriweather Post Pavilion this summer, is scheduled once more for Sept. 12, along with a
new opening act, the Paul Barrere Band. Barrere, formerly of Little Feat, will also bring his
Feat-heavy band to the Bayou on Oct. 20 and 21. The Dregs also return there on Oct. 14.
- Washington Post, September 9, 1981
New shows at the Bayou include Johnny Van Zant on Sept. 30, Icehouse on Oct. 7 and the
Dregs moving from Oct. 14 to 18.
- Washington Post, September 19, 1981
October 16 1981, Landmark Theater, Syracuse, NY, USA
Divided We Stand
Pride O' The Farm
Twiggs Approved
Kat Food
Limerock
Odyssey
I'll Just Pick
Bloodsucking Leeches *
Rock & Roll Park *
The Bash
Cruise Control
Take It Off The Top
Vitamin Q
* with Mark O'Connor on guitar
