After several successful panels at NAMM’s Believe in Music week, Steve Postell and Danny Kortchmar went straight to work in the studio putting some finishing touches on a new recording of a Waddy Wachtel tune – all while adhering to Covid social distancing guidelines
LOS ANGELES, CA — Quarto Valley Records (QVR) recording artist The Immediate Family – a rock & roll band composed of longtime friends and legendary musicians Danny Kortchmar (guitar and vocals), Waddy Wachtel (guitar and vocals), Leland Sklar (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums) and Steve Postell (guitar and vocals) – recently participated in several events at NAMM’s Believe in Music week (Jan 18-22) online gathering (which took the place of this year’s in-person NAMM Show). Registration is still available to access the sessions until February 28 – visit https://attend.believeinmusic.tv/ to join now.
As part of the show’s TEC Tracks series, members of The Immediate Family participated in several different sessions at the event:
- Leland Sklar was interviewed by David Goggin (“Mr. Bonzai”) in a session titled “Leland Sklar Demonstrates His Famous Basses,” in which Sklar shared some of his most beloved instruments and explain how he achieves his iconic sound. After you register for the show, visit https://app.swapcard.com/event/believe-in-music/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMjk5NDk0 to view this session.
- Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar were interviewed by Peter Asher, followed by a live Q&A. They told amazing stories about the early days in the studios with Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Carole King and many other generation-defining performers—from the point of view of the producers, managers and session players who crafted the sounds. Visit https://app.swapcard.com/event/believe-in-music/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMjk5NDg0 to view this session.
- Leland Sklar was also part of the panel “The Sessions and Rock ‘N’ Roll Royalty Reunite.” In this presentation, Sklar, Jim Keltner and Steve Lukather were joined by Liberty Devitto, Dom Famularo and Paul Quin. These artists have brought you thousands of songs, and in this session they shared their 2020 projects. They also looked at how The Beatles impacted them and how the power of music can bring hope, happiness, unity and love to humanity. The Sessions’ mission is to enrich, educate and empower artists, and these 30 minutes will do that! Visit https://app.swapcard.com/event/believe-in-music/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMjk5NTAw to view this session.
- “Russ Kunkel on Hand Percussion” paired Kunkel with David Goggin (“Mr. Bonzai”) as Kunkel demonstrated the gentle art of hand percussion as an integral part of his work in the recording studio. Visit https://app.swapcard.com/event/believe-in-music/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMjk5NDcw to view this session.
Immediately after the Believe in Music week festivities, the band joined up for some properly socially-distanced studio work for the band’s upcoming EP on Quarto Valley Records, which will be the follow-up to their highly acclaimed debut EP Slippin’ And Slidin’, which entered the Billboard Blues Chart at No. 6 and included multiple successful singles. Steve Postell and Danny Kortchmar assembled at Katonah Studios to track overdubs on a tune penned by Waddy Wachtel – keeping distance and wearing masks throughout the process. Postell remarked, “Kootch and I had a great time in the studio, making records ‘Covid-style.’ We look forward to sharing this music on our upcoming Immediate Family EP on QVR!”
More surprises are in store for 2021, including the upcoming Denny Tedesco documentary about the band’s iconic careers, featuring interviews with some of the biggest names in rock and roll.
Photo Caption: Pictured L-R: The Immediate Family’s Steve Postell and Danny Kortchmar, pictured at Katonah Studios, where they were adding overdubs to the band’s recording of a song penned by fellow band member Waddy Wachtel.
