Passion & Perseverance – The History The geneses of Passion & Perseverance actually began in January of 2007. I had reunited with guitarist and co writer Randy Raatz. We had played together almost 12 years prior. Our focus back then was driven by expression, creativity and originality. Our music was a hybrid of rock, jazz, pop, progressive, metal, blues, folk and country. No boundaries. No style was off limit. As fulfilling for us as our music was, it was very difficult for us to find like minded musicians. In between the time we did not play together, I played and recorded with many different bands and artists. Most noticeably, Ghost Machine, Garden Of Gray, Lower Wacker and 3 Too Far. I was also learning quite a bit about recording, mixing and producing. At this point in my career the most fun I’ve ever had in a band was the time I spent with 3 Too Far. In 2003-2005 we wrote, recorded, mixed and self produced “ Leebo’s Kitchen.” We played live a lot. We had fun. When Randy & I reunited we decided to write more vocal oriented songs. We were still having fun and being creative but we were more focused. During this time I also recorded with Dennis Baughan. I played drums on his 2007 CD “New Day” Randy & I also played the live shows to promote the CD. So Randy & I write all these great vocal oriented songs. We auditioned many musicians to create our ultimate band. We even had a full band twice. Nothing ever stuck. While we were auditioning we recorded. After a few years we realized that it was not going to happen for us. We both had been getting offers to play in other bands. So in addition to our band we were doing things separately. For me I reached a point where I felt I could not move on musically until I did something with the back catalog of music I created. So for me Passion & Perseverance is me “cleaning out my musical closet” so to speak. Passion & Perseverance is done from a drummer’s point of view. The drums are up front and seen from behind the drum set. It is different musical styles. It is, with a few exceptions, all recorded, mixed and produced by me. I had a hand in writing all the songs except for two. Song by Song Denial (Paul Edelstein) EDELDRUM MUSIC Between December 2005 and June 2006 I was the drummer for rock/metal band Lower Wacker. The band was in transition. I was the last piece of the puzzle to complete the band. With the addition of new members the sound of the band had changed. It was my idea to do a quick, self produced recording. I recorded my parts using a click track. I submitted this to the rest of the band in hopes of having them record their parts as well. It did not work out. I always liked my drum arrangement for the song Don’t Deny Me. It is grooving, powerful, fun and full of passion. Since it is my arrangement and very different from any of the two versions of this song that they recorded I feel comfortable to use it. I took the basic track and added the toms during the middle break, the tambourine during the chouruses and the simbago bells during the bridges. The lyrics came to me rather quickly. I know I am not a singer. I am a songwriter. I felt the song needed the vocals and I had something to say. Summer Day (Paul Edelstein, Jeremy Sheehan, David Tramer) STRAINER SONGS Summer Day is a 3 Too Far song that we recorded for our Super 6 Demo in 2004. After we got done promoting “Leebo’s Kitchen”, we recorded 6 more songs that we had written and were going over very well live and people kept asking us where they could get a copy of them. The lyrics were my attempt to make sense of a relationship I thought I was in with a woman who was not emotionally available. I still remember having written these lyrics and then hearing Jeremy playing the main riff. I immediately ran downstairs with the lyrics and started to “sing” them. They matched up perfectly. It was David’s suggestion to emphasize the chourus. In my opinion, a great pop song. Abby’s Water (Paul Edelstein, Randy Raatz) EDELDRUM MUSIC Abby’s Water was actually written in 1994. It is a grooving moody dynamic progressive song that just kicks a** at the end. It was based off drum beats I had and some beautiful acoustic pieces that Randy had. In 2008 we found ourselves in the unique position to be able to record properly for the first time our entire back catalog of songs. Around this time I met my dear friend, keyboardist Paris Meletiou. He was visiting from Cyprus and we became fast friends. When he heard this song he told me he had some great ideas that would compliment the song. We borrowed a keyboard from our friend Ken Barnard and Paris laid his part down. It gives the song a majestic, regal feel. The title came from a bass player we auditioned. He brought this gallon jug of water with him. When he left, he left it. When anyone came out to audition they always asked us whose water it was. We always said it was Abby’s water and no one ever touched it. Home (Dennis Baughan) Hawk Productions Home is a song off Dennis Baughan’s 2007 CD “New Day”. Dennis had first seen me play when I was a member of Lower Wacker. When I left that band, Dennis was in a band that needed a drummer and the guitar player contacted me. At that time I was not looking to join another band. Fast forward a bit and when Dennis struck out on his own he contacted me through My Space. Randy & I had just reunited and approached Dennis about playing bass for us. He wanted to do his own thing. One Tuesday I get a call from Dennis. He tells me that he is in the studio recording his debut CD and the drummer isn’t cutting it. I show up to the studio on Thursday, learn the song “Know My Name” on the spot and record it. I ended recording the entire CD with the exception of two songs that he uses electronic drums on. Home is a powerful heavy emotional song that I dig. Thanks Dennis! Black Car – You Call It Love (Paul Edelstein, Randy Raatz) EDELDRUM MUSIC This is a song that I just had to get out of me and release into the universe. I had to do it for me. Unfortunately, for me this is a true story. I was in love. I was used. I ended it. Big funky bass and drum groove with some creative textured guitars. Great crying lead from Randy. I know I am not a singer. I had tried many different singers on this song. None of them came close to the emotion that this song needed. Very emotional for me. A lesson painfully learned. Fun and Games (Paul Edelstein, Randy Raatz) EDELDRUM MUSIC Bluesy, sleazy rocker with sexy horns. Nice dynamic emotional lead section. This song has lyrics but after many different singers could not capture the emotion it requires I decided it had enough to say musically as an instrumental. Take Me Back To Chicago (Daniel Seraphine, David Wolinski) Licensed from Harry Fox Associates This is a song that we recorded for The Chicago Cubs movie We Believe. It is a rocked up, gritty version of the 1977 song by Chicago. The premise; a movie about the love affair between the city of Chicago and the Chicago Baseball Cubs. It had to be retooled after the team again failed to live up to the expectations of champions it has yet to become. The movie started production when the producers thought that they were going to be world champions. The musical premise; write an original song about Chicago or do your own version of a song with the title of Chicago in it. We saw this as a great opportunity. Randy picked the song and did an awesome job of rearranging it. We submitted it and got a phone call saying that we won. The producers picked our song to be in the movie and be the lead song, the single, the whole shebang! We were excited and elated. We took a chance. We recorded it, paid for it and I spent a ton of time mixing and producing it. It all paid off? It was a lie. All the bands that entered the contest received the same news of lies. What a deception. Then to get some publicity at our expense they turned it into an internet popularity contest. We make it to the final round. We finish at number 3. By their own rules the top 5 songs will make it into the movie and onto the soundtrack. They claim for our effort they will pay for the licensing rights. NEVER HAPPENED! Then I get a call from the producer. He tells us that there is no money for a soundtrack. He wants ALL the bands to each pay 225 dollars to be included on the soundtrack. Over 100 bands entered. How many did he call? In the end no bands wanted to pay. That is what the producers told me. THERE NEVER WAS A SEPERATE SOUNDTRACK! As far as this went was they did have a showing of some version of the film. They did invite us, but with almost no advance notice, like an afterthought. Maybe they could not sell any tickets? WHAT A SHAM! I heard the bass player from Chicago heard and liked our version of their song. At least that’s something. I have done some research and discovered that a DVD of this film was made. In all fairness I have copied the information in regard to the soundtrack music that is in the film. There is no separate soundtrack available. There are Chicago based bands but they were not selected as the producers stated they would be. I guess that is the producers right. I think you can see why this whole situation frustrates me. Below is the information I found: It is followed by the final official standings from 4-28-09 when the voting officially ended. “A significant aspect of the film's creative vision is its soundtrack. Among artists contributing songs to the film are Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Steve Goodman, Paul McCartney, Plain White T's, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and Umphrey's McGee. Other musical contributions have been made by local Chicago bands including an original score composed by Steve Ford, one of the city's top composers. Please note that songs listed here (and in the movie credits) cannot always be found on CD soundtracks. Please check CD track details for confirmation.” Hope of Deliverance-Paul McCartney, My Kind of Town-Frank Sinatra, Waltz Through the Ashes- Inchworm, Glory, Mantis, Plunger, We Believe- Umphrey's McGee,1,2,3,4- Plain White T’s, Chicago-Chicago, Go Cubs Go Written by Steve Goodman Performed by Manic Sewing Circle Courtesy of Oh Boy Records, A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request, Take Me Out to the Ball Game- Steve Goodman, "Go, Go, Go Chicago Cubs-Marie Fuller, Shining Star-Earth, Wind & Fire Land of Hope and Dreams -Bruce Springsteen, Go Cubs Go-Manic Sewing Circle Go Cubs (Swing Batta Batta)-Code Red, A Matter of Pride-Cirrus Falcon The following is the final vote totals as taken off of the Voting website on 4-28-09 at midnight when voting ended. Cirrus Falcon Matter of Pride Ever So Jake Lake Shore Drive Stutter Step Take Me Back to Chicago Inchworm Silent Observers Algren My City David Bovyn Chicago Inchworm Waltz Through the Ashes Pie Eyed Pete All You Bring Is Down Chris Bryan Sweet Home Chicago Glam Femmes The Ivy Will Always Be Ours Performed by Bryant Rosenwinkel, written by Jim Rosenwinkel The Old Cubs Fan The Double Hey Like in 1908 Performed by Mike Rosenwinkel, written by Jim Rosenwinkel October Windy City Rev Ups Swing Out Chicago The August Dear Chicago Up (Paul Edelstein) EDELDRUM MUSIC This is a drum/vocal song that sums up a lot of things for me. It is an attitude of go for it. I know one thing. If you do nothing, nothing will happen. This was a song I had just written and was very inspirational for me. It is a song of growth and change. It is about not being happy of where you are in your life and trying to do something about it. I know I am not a singer. It has some silly vocals, a great groove and some cool double bass work. In the chouruses there is a conga drum. It also has some maracas. Where I Wish I Was (Paul Edelstein, Randy Raatz) EDELDRUM MUSIC There are some beautiful lyrics that I wrote for this song. Once again this is a case of not being able to find the right singer who could capture the emotion this song needs. I really like the musical landscape that the music paints, the dynamics and the interplay of guitars. As much as the right singer would have sent this song over the top, I believe it stands on its own musically. Heartworm (Randy Raatz, Paul Edelstein) G04 PRODUCTIONS This song has a lot of history. This is the acoustic version of this song that we wrote in 1993. The acoustic guitars were taken from the original recording from 1995 recorded by Jerry Soto (RIP). We took the original recording from the original DAT. I then recorded my drums to it in 2008. There was a movie in production that we submitted this version to with the original vocal by Patty Ortega. The producer really liked the song, but did not feel the vocal fit the mood of the song. He suggested we resubmit it with a tortured male voice. Enter Mike Meadows who played the part perfectly. Then our imagination took over. Before we knew it Randy had all these ideas for strings. It was still missing something. After a lot of effort in finding the right guy, Bill Henshell provided the fretless bass that completed and for us, makes the song. I remixed it, did some more production on it and we resubmitted it to producer Kevin Bacon. He liked the improvements but by the time we got the song to him, he had lost a lot of money in the financial “Bernie Madoff” scandal and the movie was dead. It has received some radio airplay and we were offered a B movie sound track but declined. Passion & Perseverance CD Credits All Tracks Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Paul Edelstein unless otherwise noted Mastered by Gary Cobb/ ARS Studios 1 Denial (Paul Edelstein) Drums, Percussion and Vocals –Paul ASCAP EDELDRUM MUSIC 2 Summer Day ( Lyrics Paul Edelstein, Music Paul Edelstein, Jeremy Sheehan, David Tramer) Paul-Drums, Percussion Jeremy Sheehan- Lead Vocals, Guitar David Tramer-Bass, Harmony Vocals, Piano Produced by David Tramer, Paul Edelstein, Jeremy Sheehan ASCAP STRAINER SONGS 3 Abby’s Water (Paul Edelstein, Randy Raatz) Drums-Paul Guitars, Piano intro-Randy Raatz Keyboards-Paris Meletiou ASCAP EDELDRUM MUSIC 4 Home (Dennis Baughan) Drums-Paul Guitars, Bass, Vocals-Dennis Baughan Produced by Larry Kriz HAWK PRODUCTIONS 5 Black Car You Call It Love ( Lyrics Paul Edelstein Music Paul, Edelstein Randy Raatz) Paul-Drums, Percussion, Vocals Randy Raatz- Guitars, Bass ASCAP EDELDRUM MUSIC 6 Fun and Games (Paul Edelstein, Randy Raatz) Paul- Drums, Percussion Randy Raatz- Guitars, Bass, Horns ASCAP EDELDRUM MUSIC 7 Take Me Back To Chicago (Daniel Seraphine, David Wolinski) Paul-Drums Randy Raatz-Guitars Mike Meadows-Vocals Tony Creany-Bass LICENSED FROM HARRY FOX ASSOCIATES 8 Up (Paul Edelstein) Drums, Percussion and Vocals –Paul ASCAP EDELDRUM MUSIC 9 Where I Wish I Was (Paul Edelstein, Randy Raatz) Paul- Drums Randy Raatz- Guitars, Bass ASCAP EDELDRUM MUSIC 10 Heartworm ( Lyrics Randy Raatz Music Randy Raatz ,Paul Edelstein) Paul- Drums Randy Raatz- Guitars, Strings Mike Meadows-Vocals Bill Henshell-Fretless Bass BMI G04 PRODUCTIONS All songs copyright For info on using these songs contact EDELDRUM@sbcglobal.net www.myspace.com/pauldrum www.facebook.com/Edeldrum Photos by Kip Wilkinson Art Direction Paul Edelstein/ Dwight Raatz Paul Edelstein Bio I have been playing drums and writing songs for pretty much all my life. Music is a part of my soul. I am a master timekeeper that can play with or without a click track. I play with feel, heart, emotion and groove. I play for the song. I have a lot of studio and stage experience. I love both equally. They have their own uniqueness that I enjoy. My strengths are drumming, songwriting, arranging, teamwork and attaining goals. Song wise, I believe emotion, melody, harmony, groove, originality and creativity are very important factors. Songwriting is an art. Band wise, I believe that you are only as strong as your weakest link. Hard work, dedication, and practice bring their own rewards. I believe in true collaboration, everyone working for the same goal, great music. When you truly collaborate on a song everyone gets a chance to have their input and feel as if they own the song. That gives the songs depth and true emotion. I also believe band members need to be friends and have things in common. Teamwork is essential to success. I am a health oriented person. I eat right, work out, do not smoke, drink or do drugs. In my experience those are things that deter you from your goals. I do love to have fun. Music is a big part of that. A sense of humor helps. Major accomplishments include many years as a studio musician and playing countless live shows. I am also recording, mixing and producing songs as well. An avid songwriter, I have contributed not only my playing and arranging capabilities, but numerous songs to past projects. Past bands include Garden Of Gray, (a metal band that recorded a disc, Fate), Ghost Machine, (a hard rock band that recorded Minds Of Maniacs), and 3 Too Far, (a pop rock band that recorded a disc, Leebos Kitchen). From December 2005 to June 2006 I was a member of rock/metal band Lower Wacker. During this time we wrote songs and played many live shows. I played drums on Dennis Baughan’s 2007 CD New Day and the live shows that accompanied it. I am proudly putting out my latest disc Passion & Perseverance on which I played, wrote and produced. The ultimate dream is to be able to communicate to the masses through music.