VAN HALEN
October 3, 1988
The Omni
Atlanta, GA
Source: Sony ECM-102 > Panasonic RQ-L317
Taper: Jim Hennessy (Bring 'em Back Alive Productions)
Location: lower level, near top row towards back stage left
Lineage: Cassette(M) > WAV [24/44.1] > WAV [16/44.1] > FLAC
Transfer: Nakamichi DR-1 > Sound Devices 744T
Edits/EQ: +11dB
Notes: incomplete
01 - Summer Nights
02 - bass solo
03 - Runnin' With the Devil
04 - You Really Got Me
05 - Best of Both Worlds
06 - Eruption
07 - Black and Blue
08 - Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
09 - Cabo Wabo
10 - Rock and Roll
Compiled August 2025 by CPS
-----
Jimbo says, "In March of 1985, just after my 17th birthday, I got a job as a fry cook at Adam's Ribs in Edgewater, MD (just south of Annapolis). One of the line cooks was a guy named Chris Cullison, who was probably 20 or 21 at the time. Chris and I instantly bonded over 2 things:
1. Duane Allman, not Jimi Hendrix, was the greatest guitar player ever
2. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
When I told Chris my mom and I had gone to see SRV at Constitution Hall in D.C. in the fall of 1984, he proceeded to tell me he TAPED it.
That night I found myself in his house listening to the same show I had seen in '84. I was floored. He told me he was looking for someone to go to shows with him that wouldn't mess up his recordings and help provide some cover. Chris was taping shows using a hand-held recorder that wasn't exactly small. Our first show together was...........SRV & Double Trouble with the Fab T-Birds at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD late June of '85. 2 weeks later, on the 4th of July weekend, it was Robert Palmer at Kings Dominion in Richmond.
The only bummer about Chris was he would NOT copy a single recording for anyone. You could come over to his house, open up the tape boxes, pick a show, and he'd provide the bowls and beer. However, as hard as I tried and as many times as I asked, I could never get him to share any of his recordings. In 1986, I moved to Atlanta and never saw Chris again. What I wouldn't give to have that collection now.
By June 1986, I'm living in Atlanta and hitting the ground running. I saw as many shows as I could, from Ozzy/Metallica and then Triumph at the Omni, to R.E.M. at The Fox Thanksgiving weekend, and to as many local shows (especially Drivin' & Cryin') as I could get to. By the end of 1986, I decided to buy a recorder and was given a small plug in mic by ? I was going to tape shows like my buddy Chris in Maryland.
What you hear here is one of many recordings I made in the late 80s and early 90s in Atlanta. Sadly, I recorded only a small percentage of the shows I attended during those years. Taping in clubs and very small spaces was difficult in Atlanta. There really wasn't a huge rock club like Hammerjacks in Baltimore. Even The Masquerade was kinda small. Between overselling shows and tight security, I often got caught in the early days and just decided to tape shows at bigger venues only. I also sometimes simply wanted to enjoy a show without the hassle of taping.
I hope everyone enjoys these recordings and they add value to the community. They are nothing special soundwise. They are basic AUD recordings made with a simple hand-held recorder by a guy who simply wanted to be able to relive a moment in time. Almost all of these tapes have never been heard by anyone other than myself and the person who attended the show with me. With VERY rare exception, these tapes have never been copied or traded. They have been carefully stored and moved over the last 30 years. I myself haven't listened to any of these tapes since the late 1990s. By then, I was so inundated with high quality live recordings on tape of just The Black Crowes alone that I just lost interest in my own recordings. I thought they sounded terrible and no one would be interested. Hopefully, after all these years, I'll be proven wrong. So, fire one up, crank 'em loud, and Stay Tall everyone!"
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October 3, 1988
The Omni
Atlanta, GA
Source: Sony ECM-102 > Panasonic RQ-L317
Taper: Jim Hennessy (Bring 'em Back Alive Productions)
Location: lower level, near top row towards back stage left
Lineage: Cassette(M) > WAV [24/44.1] > WAV [16/44.1] > FLAC
Transfer: Nakamichi DR-1 > Sound Devices 744T
Edits/EQ: +11dB
Notes: incomplete
01 - Summer Nights
02 - bass solo
03 - Runnin' With the Devil
04 - You Really Got Me
05 - Best of Both Worlds
06 - Eruption
07 - Black and Blue
08 - Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
09 - Cabo Wabo
10 - Rock and Roll
Compiled August 2025 by CPS
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-----
Jimbo says, "In March of 1985, just after my 17th birthday, I got a job as a fry cook at Adam's Ribs in Edgewater, MD (just south of Annapolis). One of the line cooks was a guy named Chris Cullison, who was probably 20 or 21 at the time. Chris and I instantly bonded over 2 things:
1. Duane Allman, not Jimi Hendrix, was the greatest guitar player ever
2. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
When I told Chris my mom and I had gone to see SRV at Constitution Hall in D.C. in the fall of 1984, he proceeded to tell me he TAPED it.
That night I found myself in his house listening to the same show I had seen in '84. I was floored. He told me he was looking for someone to go to shows with him that wouldn't mess up his recordings and help provide some cover. Chris was taping shows using a hand-held recorder that wasn't exactly small. Our first show together was...........SRV & Double Trouble with the Fab T-Birds at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD late June of '85. 2 weeks later, on the 4th of July weekend, it was Robert Palmer at Kings Dominion in Richmond.
The only bummer about Chris was he would NOT copy a single recording for anyone. You could come over to his house, open up the tape boxes, pick a show, and he'd provide the bowls and beer. However, as hard as I tried and as many times as I asked, I could never get him to share any of his recordings. In 1986, I moved to Atlanta and never saw Chris again. What I wouldn't give to have that collection now.
By June 1986, I'm living in Atlanta and hitting the ground running. I saw as many shows as I could, from Ozzy/Metallica and then Triumph at the Omni, to R.E.M. at The Fox Thanksgiving weekend, and to as many local shows (especially Drivin' & Cryin') as I could get to. By the end of 1986, I decided to buy a recorder and was given a small plug in mic by ? I was going to tape shows like my buddy Chris in Maryland.
What you hear here is one of many recordings I made in the late 80s and early 90s in Atlanta. Sadly, I recorded only a small percentage of the shows I attended during those years. Taping in clubs and very small spaces was difficult in Atlanta. There really wasn't a huge rock club like Hammerjacks in Baltimore. Even The Masquerade was kinda small. Between overselling shows and tight security, I often got caught in the early days and just decided to tape shows at bigger venues only. I also sometimes simply wanted to enjoy a show without the hassle of taping.
I hope everyone enjoys these recordings and they add value to the community. They are nothing special soundwise. They are basic AUD recordings made with a simple hand-held recorder by a guy who simply wanted to be able to relive a moment in time. Almost all of these tapes have never been heard by anyone other than myself and the person who attended the show with me. With VERY rare exception, these tapes have never been copied or traded. They have been carefully stored and moved over the last 30 years. I myself haven't listened to any of these tapes since the late 1990s. By then, I was so inundated with high quality live recordings on tape of just The Black Crowes alone that I just lost interest in my own recordings. I thought they sounded terrible and no one would be interested. Hopefully, after all these years, I'll be proven wrong. So, fire one up, crank 'em loud, and Stay Tall everyone!"
