The Immediate Family, the rock supergroup of top session musicians, songwriters and producers, stopped by for a performance at TELEFUNKEN’s Connecticut headquarters during its recent nationwide tour, with the first video of the event now available on the company’s YouTube channel (here).
A six-song EP, “Live from Telefunken Soundstage,” has also now been released via Quarto Valley Records. In conjunction with the EP, a rollout of videos will continue to premiere on TELEFUNKEN’s “Live from The Lab” series following today’s launch. “Live From the Telefunken Soundstage” will be available via all digital platforms.
Filmed in November 2021, the six-camera, six-song set was recorded to multitrack, featuring the original songs “Slippin and Slidin’,” “Divorced,” “Fair Warning,” and “House will Fall,” along with the perennial hits “Somebody’s Baby” (a Danny Kortchmar/Jackson Browne collaboration) and “Dirty Laundry” (penned by Danny Kortchmar/Don Henley).
The Immediate Family is comprised of Danny Kortchmar (guitar and vocals), Waddy Wachtel (guitar and vocals), Leland Sklar (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums), and Steve Postell (guitar and vocals). Frequent collaborators both in the studio and on-stage, their work can be heard on albums from Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards, Warren Zevon, Graham Nash, Neil Young, David Crosby and many more.
“We had a blast during our recent visit to Telefunken,” Kortchmar says. “As a musician, recording artist and producer, I have used Telefunken products my whole career, and they have always been synonymous with quality, so it was great to experience some of that magic on-site. And I think our band played great, and I am proud to show everyone the live EP that we cooked up. Thanks to Telefunken for having us.”
Before the performance, members of the band toured the TELEFUNKEN factory and warehouse to select some gear for their stage and studio work. Bassist Leland Sklar picked up a TDA-1 direct box; drummer Russ Kunkel now has an M82 dynamic mic for his kick drum and a M80-SH mic for his snare, and Danny Kortchmar has a TDP-1 direct box for his acoustic guitar and an M80 dynamic mic for his vocals.
Postell comments, “As an engineer and a studio owner, I’m extremely excited by equipment and gear. To see all those microphones and the intricate components was really exciting. It’s a beautiful facility and they’ve made a great sound stage for full audio/video production. There may not be another place like that anywhere, really. We saw the gear, we put the mics up in the stands and sang into them that night for an all-in-one situation. Waddy Wachtel and I worked on the mix with the fine Telefunken production team.”
While at TELEFUNKEN, Postell picked up two items, a vocal mic and a TD-1 direct box. “I take that M80 vocal mic with me everywhere I go now and a good solid direct box is perfect for my live acoustic guitar onstage,” he says. “We’re using the new gear on stage now and also at my Katonah Studios where we do most of our recordings, along with Jackson Browne’s Groove Masters studio here in LA.
The band’s TELEFUNKEN performance was a benefit charity concert for AANE, the Asperger’s/AUTISM Network. The event was presented by local recording artist Alan Friedman, who is also a prominent entertainment CPA and managing partner of Friedman, Kannenberg & Company of Farmington, Connecticut. Friedman is a life-long guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of the local rock band “The Accounting Crows.”
“We had a great time at the factory and onstage,” Postell concludes. “Founder Toni Fishman and his staff are really committed to what they’re doing and carrying on a tradition of quality. Everybody was really warm and inviting to us and our friend Alan Venitosh put together a great benefit show with Alan Friedman and FKCO.”
“Live from the Telefunken Soundstage” comes on the heels of the band’s recent self-titled album, which debuted at number 6 on the Billboard Blues Chart and features the singles “Fair Warning” and “Divorced” preceded by the EP’s “Slippin’ and Slidin'” and “Can’t Stop Progress.”
