Baghdad Scuba Review reunion show with bassist Erik Riedasch

Basis Eric Redash is a co-founder of the Madison Jam Band Supergroup Back Dad Scooter Review.

The band made a name for itself in the 2000s, forming with members of great bands at the

time, like Groovy List Glove, Runga Kutta, the Northern Pines, the Green Situation, and

of course John Schneider, on guitar and vocals.

Normally on Heidus, the band comes out of the closet every so often to reunite and Friday

December 13th at the Atwood, on Atwood Avenue, on Madison's East Side, is the next reunion

show.

And here to tell us about the show is Eric Redash.

Eric, welcome to Maxing Radio.

Eric.

Hey, dude, thank you for listening and properly chastised.

Glad to be here, yes.

Just drawing your last name.

Brenner Redash.

We like to say weed hash, but that's a good way to remember it.

I'll never forget it now.

Is it common, then, that people get it wrong?

Oh, all the time.

They got it once, right in Germany.

That was it.

It's a German name.

It's like, how did you get that right?

Oh, yeah, this is Germany.

It's around the United States, just forget it.

Well, tell us about the early days of Baghdad's Scooter Review.

What was it like to start a band with such well-respected musicians at the time?

You were just telling me your first album was out in 2007, but you were around before

that.

Yeah, well, we were all kind of established bands, but it was a time when all of us, I

guess it was a perfect storm of either not playing enough with our existing bands or

the grievous club kind of hid maybe reaching its later years.

There was ban turmoil going on all kinds of fun stuff like that.

Oh, yes, yes, fighting and all kinds of good stuff, but we all reunited, but yeah, back

then, there was some turbulent times and this guy John Schneider had come to town and

he was doing an open jam and some of us went down there and we all hit it off and played

it.

That was at the pizza place, right?

Yeah, yeah.

What was the name?

Uno's.

Uno's in all street streets.

I'm going to eat 20 years ago, is that, or more?

Oh, it's probably 30.

Yeah, maybe even four-year-old, bro.

Lost a decade, just like that.

Normally, when bands discontinue, there are personal issues, like you just said.

And other people might not even be friends afterwards, but Baghdad School Review, you seem

to stay together like a family and all of a sudden, you're back together again.

It's like nothing ever changed.

Tell us about the secret sauce to your band.

Yeah, kind of a dysfunctional family, maybe, but no, we've all stayed pretty good friends

over the years.

Lately, we've had one of those texts going on with all the guys throwing stuff in there

and we were always into politics.

That's what a lot of the songs on the first album were about.

We took political stances back then during the George Bush years and the good old days.

Yeah.

We can look back on the good times, but no, we had a lot of strong feelings about things

and thought we could all change the world and we decided to form a band and get real political.

Well, not real political, but yeah.

Now that you're doing just the occasional show or the reunion shows every once in a

while, the band has to get pretty excited to do that show.

Yeah, sometimes it goes a year a little more before we play or get together and there's

some reason that comes up or maybe it's just someone says, hey, you haven't played in

a long time, why don't you get out there?

Is everybody in Madison?

Yeah, yeah, we are.

And you know, I was going to ask, because you mentioned that you were more idealistic and

political back in the George Bush days with this first album, how do you feel today?

How has that, has that aged well?

We have all, we all have our own own ideas about things.

We don't all go with the flow, if you will, and we still debate on end about issues.

I mean, I've always been, you know, legalized marijuana, but then I get outside and into

other issues too, but you know, we've all got something we bring to the table and...

Are you still writing?

A little bit.

John Schneider was in here a couple of weeks ago, I think, and he's really on fire right

now.

He's got something burning under him and he's generating a lot of music, and I think it's

pretty exciting.

It's not quite the, it's a little more Americana type stuff that he's doing, it's not quite

a Baghdad schoolberry view, but, you know...

Allison Bay, right?

That's what it was called.

Yeah, that's what he's calling it.

Music that he wrote on his niece, who had passed away from Kansas, was her wish that

he'd make a new album.

Yeah, yeah, and he's following through.

He's working with, I think, a Nashville producer and all kinds of...

Big stuff.

Wow.

But some of that will overlap into Baghdad's scuba and some of it will just stay with John.

But...

Now, the show coming up, is this a party for your fans as well?

Oh, you know it.

You know it.

You guys get together and you're a family, but what about the extended family, the fans?

Party for the people.

No, I can't tell you how exciting it, you know, I'm looking definitely looking forward

to this, to see old faces again and maybe some new ones.

Yeah.

But to see, you know, we do a lot of original music and to see the people sing along with

the songs.

That's pretty flattering that they not only remember the songs, but they can sing along

with them.

But...

Remember the lyrics?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Remember the songs, I mean...

Yeah.

We have to sometimes relearn them.

Yeah.

You know, it's been a while and...

To practice.

We've played that.

We haven't had teleprompters yet on the MacBooks.

No, no.

Not yet.

December 13th at the Atwood, on Atwood Avenue in Madison, what can people expect

for a Baghdad scuba review reunion?

Well, we're not pulling out any stops, there's going to be old songs.

A lot of covers, you know, some...

Any brand new...

Well, yeah, there will be some brand new ones.

There...

There's a few songs that never made our albums that we've kind of dusted off.

Nice.

And we're bringing back.

And then we are going to be playing a couple of John's brand new ones as well.

So, you know, you don't know what to expect.

So it's going to be a full night of music.

It's just Baghdad scuba review.

And then the funny thing, it's at the Atwood, which I like to call it.

You know, it'll always be Mr. Roberts to me.

Right.

You know, and we've all got a long history down there.

I used to book bands down there.

It's the stage still in the same place.

The stage is in back now, which is...

It's a little more of a real stage.

But yeah, we started playing there back when the stage was up front.

And we were doing the Barrymore after shows.

Bob Hansen was around.

Yeah.

But yeah, it'll be a great reunion, especially based on the venue.

Absolutely.

It's called the Atwood now.

It's on Atwood Avenue right next to the...

Yeah, they've remodeled it.

It's a little nicer than it used to be.

Right across from Monty's Blue Plate, right there.

Right.

On Atwood Avenue, tickets are...

Fantastic.

So you just pay at the door.

It just pay at the door.

Just pay at the door.

Bring some cash.

Tip your bartender.

It'll be good.

Any new music that you're going to record and release?

Well, like I said, we've got a few that haven't made an on albums yet.

And we did do some recording a little bit on a new song.

We'll definitely be playing that.

But nothing on recordings.

You know, all I can say is maybe next year after John's solo album is finished

and Baghdad's Google will get back into the studio proper.

But we certainly got material for it.

Yeah.

Get it.

Go fund me going.

Because stuff is expensive.

Hey, man.

Thanks for coming in tonight.

It's great to see you again.

Sorry for destroying your name.

Oh, no, Jimmy.

Read ash.

Read ash.

I got it.

No, it makes for good humor.

Hey, we're going to play too bad.

Remember this song?

Oh, yeah.

2007?

What comes to mind when you hear that song title?

Well, yeah, this was one of the few that we wrote as a band.

We had kind of a lock-in where we all took a bunch of mushrooms.

I know it all night and wrote music.

But this was one song that actually came out of it.

And it's kind of a bleak look at first.

But it's got a positive end to it.

Enjoy your trip, folks.

Baghdags, do we review a Maxing Radio?

No, it's a full world to know the truth.

Just not get the skill again.