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Raw Deal

About Me

Song lyrics by Brian Lampkin, music by Gubb Cooper, played by Gubb (acoustic guitars, harmonica and vocals) and Gubb's now 19-year-old son, Sam (bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards and harmony vocals). These are rough cuts, recorded in Gubb and Sam's living room, with some very obvious screw-ups and imperfections. One day, perhaps, we'll get around to recording these songs a bit more professionally (though really, Raw Deal is more of a songwriting project than a band). See our first blog entry (above) for a little on the history of Raw Deal (hit "View All Blog Entries" and scroll down). For more on Brian's writing, check out his blog, "Sleeping Through Sirens" (via our "Band Website"). And check out some of Sam's own original songs via the Sam Berman-Cooper link in our "Friend Space" (below) -- his solo CD, "Measure of Doubt" (released under his stage name, Sam Gillam), is available through CD Baby.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 23/10/2006
Band Website: http://lampkinbrian.blogspot.com
Band Members: Brian Lampkin (lyrics); Gubb Cooper (acoustic guitars, harmonica and vocals); Sam Berman-Cooper (bass guitar, keyboards, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmony vocals, recording and mixing)
Influences: Richard Thompson, Linda Thompson, Danny Thompson, Norma Waterson, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, Dave Pegg, John Martyn, Nick Drake, Lucinda Williams, Terry Allen, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Doc Watson, Bob Dylan, The Band, John Lennon, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, John Fahey, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Tom Waits, Luke Doucet, Roy Harper, Michael Chapman, James McMurtry, Steve Earle, John Hiatt, Ben Harper, Loudon Wainwright III, Townes Van Zandt, Greg Brown, Shawn Colvin, Joni Mitchell, Roseanne Cash, T-Bone Burnett, John McCrea, David Bazan
Sounds Like: Raw Deal's first ever live show, at the Rooftop Poetry Club, Buffalo, October 26th, 2007: "How Dead the Heart". Gubb on rhythm guitar and vocals, Sam on lead guitar (improvising wildly!) and harmony vocals, Jack Feuerstein on bass, Brian listening and waiting patiently for a chance to read some of his poems! Video courtesy of David Landrey.Raw Deal's first ever live show, at the Rooftop Poetry Club, Buffalo, October 26th, 2007: Brian talking about "How Dead the Heart", and reading "The Beautiful Black Vultures of Tarboro". Video courtesy of David Landrey.Raw Deal's first ever live show, at the Rooftop Poetry Club, Buffalo, October 26th, 2007: "Rhyme Anymore", a brand new song which we'd just finished writing a couple of days before, and which Brian was hearing for the first time. Gubb on rhythm guitar and vocals, Sam on lead guitar, Jack Feuerstein on harmony vocals. Video courtesy of David Landrey.
Record Label: Unknown Indie
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Rhyme Anymore -- Play It Loud!

Intended to be played at high volume! We finally got this recorded about six months after writing and first performing it.  It might have been even longer than the 8 minutes it now is, excep...
Posted by on Sat, 10 May 2008 17:41:00 GMT

Podcast -- Raw Deal at the Rooftop Poetry Club

On October 26th, 2007, Raw Deal (Brian, Gubb and Sam, with Jack Feuerstein on bass) performed live at the Rooftop Poetry Club at the Butler Library, Buffalo State College.  You can hear...
Posted by on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:29:00 GMT

Canyon

If you've enjoyed Raw Deal's songs, you might also like to take a listen to Canyon, a new songwriting collaboration between poet Carolyn Finlay and myself, with songs played by me and Sam (just t...
Posted by on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:02:00 GMT

A Year on MySpace -- Many Thanks to Everyone!

Exactly a year on MySpace!  We've had fourteen songs up, almost 20,000 plays and close to 7,500 profile views, and we have 364 friends -- and we couldn't be happier about it!  Thanks very, v...
Posted by on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:40:00 GMT

"No Flag"

I just laid down the very simple acoustic guitar part and the vocals: Sam then added all the good stuff -- bass, keyboards and electric guitars.  Hope you enjoy it! And if you have...
Posted by on Sat, 01 Sep 2007 10:37:00 GMT

Six Raw Deal Songs on Virtual Open Mic

Our songs "Small Isle" and "If I Tear" are now up on the main setlist of Virtual Open Mic.  Here's the link:  Also, "Why Would You Bring Them" is on the "catch-up" setlist, and "Line Ending ...
Posted by on Sat, 18 Aug 2007 10:43:00 GMT

"Broken Falls", "At Your House", and "How Dead the Heart"

"Broken Falls" is new, recorded a few days ago.  "At Your House" and "How Dead the Heart" haven't been up on the site for a few months, so I thought I'd give them another airi...
Posted by on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:01:00 GMT

"Harm" -- Sam's bass, keyboard and electric guitar parts

I recorded a very simple acoustic guitar part and the vocals, then let Sam loose to do whatever he wanted on the bass, keyboards and electric guitar to develop the song ..... he had the good sens...
Posted by on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:19:00 GMT

Old Photographs, New Photographs

Well, I put a few up, on a whim -- tiny glimpses of history.  In a way, just as much a part of Raw Deal as the words and music of the songs.  Maybe there'll be more.  Gubb.
Posted by on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 19:20:00 GMT

Sam's CD, "Measure of Doubt", Available on CD Baby

Check it out at http://cdbaby.com/cd/samgillam.  Listen to 2-minute segments of each song; buy it (it's only $11.99, and worth every penny!); rate it, and write a review!  Gubb.
Posted by on Sat, 26 May 2007 07:22:00 GMT