Contemporary Keyboard, December 1980

T Lavitz
Progressive Rock with the Dixie Dregs
By Frankie Nemko-Graham

What are the qualifications for joining the Dregs Of The Earth? What's a nice sax player from New Jersey doing trading licks with a bluegrass fiddler?

For answers to these and other fascinating musical questions, read on.

Dregs Of The Earth, as you probably know if you're a connoisseur of progressive jazz-rock with a country flavor, is the title of the latest album by the Dixie Dregs [Arista, AL 9528]. Our hero from New Jersey turns out to be none other than T Lavitz, the brilliant keyboardist with the group, who started his professional career following in his saxophonist father's footsteps.

The qualifications for membership in the Dregs are a college degree from the University of Miami, many years of classical studies on your chosen instrument, and five or six years road experience. T Lavitz joined the Dregs in 1978 while still at college and gigging heavily around Miami. "When I started a t Miami U.," he remembers, "the Dregs were already playing on campus as the school's rock ensemble. I was admiring them right from the start."

In those days, back in 1974, Lavitz was dreaming of breaking into the big time fusion scene, but in surveying the lineups of his favorite groups - Weather Report, Chick Corea's Return To Forever, and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters - he realized that the keyboardists were the leaders of each band. "So I told myself there was no hope of ever getting in one of those bands," he says, "because if the pianist ever left any of them it would be all over anyway."

But there was hope after all, almost in his own backyard. "The Dregs always seemed to be running through different keyboard players. So, one time, after they had already left Miami U. and were living in Atlanta, they were doing a concert at Boca Raton, which isn't far from Miami, and they wanted to hang out at the University for a while. Rod Morgenstein, the drummer, vaguely remembered me from his days in school. And I remembered something my dad had always told me: 'Just be assertive, approach those musicians you like, and ask if you can play.'

"I followed this advice and told Rod I had some friends with equipment at their house, and I said, 'Let's play.' We did, and then a year later the band was back in Miami again, looking for a new keyboard player. Rod called and invited me to audition with them in Atlanta. Now, I had just started a rather prestigious jazz gig in Coconut Grove. I wasn't under any written contract or anything, but we had a pretty strong verbal agreement. So I waited until after work one night - when I had the next day off - and I sneaked my synthesizer out, flew immediately to Atlanta, auditioned, came back the next day, and went to work, acting like nothing had happened, just in case I didn't get the job with the Dregs. Rod called me about ten days later and told me, 'Okay, you're in. Start as soon as possible.' So, within less than a month of our first talks, I was packing my car and on my way."

An unlikely dream come true for the erstwhile saxophonist, but though T had been thoroughly trained on reeds, he also had studied classical piano from the age of seven. It was while a student at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan that he was advised to attend the University of Miami because they had a top-flight jazz department.

Lavitz was still pursuing his studies on reeds at Miami when he began noticing that there were more sax and horn players competing for work than rhythm section instrumentalists, who seemed to have an easier time finding a job. That, in effect, helped him re-focus his musical goals. "I decided to go back to piano, so I began studying with Vince Lawrence Maggio, an incredible Bill Evans-type pianist," he explains. "For four years I was playing straight-ahead jazz and really learning my foundations on acoustic piano, building a repertoire of standards. Then soon after I heard the Dregs on campus, I was working steadily outside of school, mostly in Latin and salsa bands. It got to the point where I had to reduce my schedule from fifteen to twelve units, which is why after four-and-a-half years in a four-year jazz program I was still a semester from graduation. I never did graduate, because the Dregs took me out before my last semester. Naturally, I have no regrets."

Asked whether this was when he began delving into the world of electronic keyboards, T replies, "No, just previous to joining them I had purchased an ARP Odyssey monophonic synthesizer. It was good, but in the context of the Dregs group it didn't seem to fill the need for all the different sounds I wanted to be able to get. For example, I might be playing the melody with the violin, then two seconds later I'd have a solo, then I'd go back to the melody again. So I traded the ARP for an Oberheim OB-1. That's also monophonic, but it has an eight-bank memory and I can use it for dual melodies with the violin or guitar and still be able to solo. The main thing I like about the OB-1, though, is that it doesn't go out of tune. I tune it before we play, and I don't have to fool with it during the set. It seems roadworthy too. I've had very few problems with the OB-1."

T is satisfied with the unusual pitch-bend lever found on the OB-1 as well. "Most synthesizer players start out with a Minimoog, so they're uncomfortable with anything but the wheel for bending notes. Well, I never had a Minimoog, so the lever came easy to me because I wasn't already used to something. But I think the wheel concept is neat. That's what Jan Hammer uses, and if you can express yourself the way he does through the way he bands pitch, I figure it's worth it for everybody. His choice of notes and the way he bends them sound so neat to me that I'd like to further myself with the wheel too."

On his next synthesizer, a Prophet-5, Lavitz had the chance to familiar himself with the pitch-bend wheel, along with the possibilities of polyphonic synthesis. "But I don't claim to be any kind of real synthesist," he insists. "I know basics. I just sit there and stumble around until I get a good sound. That's why a programmable synthesizer is a must for somebody like me. I know what a good sound is when I find it, but I wouldn't know how to get it onstage."

Occasionally T is frustrated by what he considers his lack of knowledge about the electronics of programming. "In college there was an electronic music course," he muses. "They had all these synthesizers and tape machines, and I never bothered to get into it. Now I'm really regretting it, because I have to learn by begging information from other people. I really envy people who know about synthesis, but hopefully I'll keep learning at my own slow pace until I feel more confident."

With his "hunt and peck" method of programming, Lavitz has nonetheless come up with a number of programs on both of his synthesizers; he estimates that about half the Prophet programs are his own, and the rest are factory patches he decided to keep. Many of the ones he designed were devised as solo voices, since T uses the Prophet almost as much as the OB-1 for that purpose. "I think it's great for solo lines," he enthuses. "I was the drummer, Tony Williams, in concert, and one of his two keyboard players had a Prophet. It was unbelievable how he used it, just like most people would use a Minimoog, plus he would switch to other programs he had for chording. He was really using the instrument, and it sort of inspired me.

"I use the OB-1 for solos when I want to turn and face the violin player [Allen Sloan] so we can play melodies together or trade licks back and forth," he continues. "I've got all eight programs filled in that one, and I keep another one in the manual position -the sample-and-hold intro that brings in the song I'm Freaking Out' [from Dregs Of The Earth]. There is a real buzz-type sound I need because it cuts through real well for soloing, and there's a mellow sound that's kind of like a Moog sound, except for the difference in the filters. And there are two other programs that are a necessity. On one of our songs we simulate a bomb, with a whistle oscillating at the top and then coming down; when it gets to a certain point I push in the second program, which is the bomb going off." T would like to set time aside to devise some new programs, but he insists he doesn't get the chance nowadays. "Some people do their programming through headphones, but I prefer to do it through the amps I'm using onstage, so I know exactly what it will sound like live. And most of the time when my rig is set up, it's either during a sound check, just before they let the audience in, or we're not there yet ourselves."

Another favorite use for the Prophet for T is to use it for doubling line with his organ. "The organ I use right now is a Crumar T1B," he explains. "It's powered by two Fender dual showman amps, one of which drives a 15" bass speaker in a ported cabinet; the top half goes through a Roto Phaser. By turning the master volume way up, and turning down the individual volume controls, I'll get tube distortion out of these Dual Showman heads, which is what creates that Hammond rock and roll sound."

Lavitz recorded Dregs Of The Earth with a Hammond organ. There were several reasons why he made the switch to Crumar. One of them, he candidly admits, is that he was approached by Crumar to endorse their product, but even if that weren't the case, he feels he would be playing the T1B anyway. "I listened to it through the Roto Phaser and a tube amplifier, and it gets that Hammond distortion," he affirms. "So I figured I could have my old M-3 at home for my own personal use, and take the Crumar on the road. It's easier for the crew, just like having the Yamaha electric grand. I wouldn't want to buy an acoustic piano to take on the road because it would probably get too beat up, but in any event there are some things that it just isn't fair to our crew to do unless they're making a lot of money. I'd feel too guilty coming in every day to a Hammond and a grand, knowing that they'd be there holding their aching backs." Most of the time, Lavitz uses the drawbar settings on the Crumar, rather than the presets.

T's Yamaha electric grand, a CP-70B, supports his Prophet onstage, and a Rhodes electric piano completes his setup. All are powered, except for the organ, by a Crown amp with an electronic crossover through the Fender Bottom mentioned earlier, and a Fender top with JBL double 12" cabinets. "I'm glad I'm playing the Yamaha," he states, "because if I wasn't playing any acoustic-type instruments, to tell you the truth, my chops would go out the window." Generally he keeps the tone on the Yamaha high, with the treble control on the mixer set three-quarters open, the midrange at fifty percent, and the bass one-quarter. On the piano itself, the treble and the mid are left at fifty percent, and the bass at twenty-five percent.

As a final note on keyboards, Lavitz used to carry a Clavinet in his setup, but recently he dropped it after putting together a Clav sound on the Prophet. "I like Clavinets," he insists, "but I'm running out of places to put keyboards onstage, and they also seem to go out of tune a lot on the road. Besides, I only used it for one song, 'Broad Street Strut,' with acoustic piano, just playing chords like maybe Richard Tee would."

Among the effects Lavitz employs are a Maestro Echoplex run through one of the eight channels of the mixer as a master effect. "That way," he points out, "by pulling up the attenuator for the effects, or turning up the channel for whichever keyboard needs the echo, I can use the desired amount of echo in each channel, while running it as a master effect. One of the two Roto Phasers is for the organ, and the other is a master effect that I can cut on and off whenever I want for the four other keyboards, and that creates a great phase sound. In fact, I find it a lot better than an electronic phaser. By cutting on that Roto Phaser I can make the Prophet or the electric grand or the Oberheim or the Rhodes sound really sweet."

The only major modification in T's setup is a customized equalization system he recently had installed in his Rhodes by Dyno-My-Piano [2940 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA 94110]. T wanted the extra EQ because he felt that clarity of the Rhodes when played in a small club is lost when played in a larger auditorium.

Lavitz's role with the Dixie Dregs differs slightly from that of Mark Parrish [interviewed in CK, Nov. '78] and the other keyboardists who preceded him in the band. Most of them, T says, didn't care too much for the bluegrass elements of the Dregs sound, and whenever a country song came up they tended to restrict themselves to playing simpler parts. "That's not whole-hearted," he notes. "Now, we all enjoy the country music as much as jazz, rock, and even classical, but I guess being a purist is just a phase most musicians go through. I know I did. For instance, Led Zeppelin was one of my very favorite bands when I was in high school. Then when I started getting into jazz, I'd say to myself, 'Oh, how could I listen to that? They're morons!' But now I love them."

This willingness to dive into country-oriented tunes meant that some arrangements played by the Dregs before Lavitz joined up were redone to allow for more keyboard playing. For example, a keyboard solo has been added to their live version of "The Bash" [from Night Of The Living Dregs, Capricorn (dist. By Warner Bros.), 0216], where only keyboard comping had been called for earlier.

The tones and keyboard voicings on the newer material are devised by T within the band's arrangements, with some restrictions. Since chords and melody lines are frequently duplicated by two or more instruments, the effort is often made to find sounds on synthesizer that will blend imperceptibly with guitar or violin. Occasionally, when listening to the last Dregs LP, Lavitz even now has trouble picking out his part on some tracks. "There's an interesting lick at the beginning of 'Twiggs Approved,' a real percussive fast thing that's guitar and Prophet," he says. "Now, I know that Steve and I played it, but it's mixed so well into a homogenous whole that I can't discern my playing from his. When I first heard the final mixes, I remember saying, 'Wow, you can't hear the keyboards well enough,' which was a typical ego thing, but everybody said, 'No, you're crazy! If you can't tell who is playing what, that's great! That's how you get a fatter overall sound.'"

Since almost all of the Dregs repertoire was written by guitarist Steve Morse, he has a large say in coordinating the parts played by the other members of the band. Frequently he will play the structures of each chord for Lavitz and the others on guitar, although most of the passages allow for a looser, more improvisational approach. In some ways the toughest aspects of learning Steve's songs, though, involve mastering the lengthy unison runs he often calls for among various combinations of instruments.

"It takes us days to learn one song," T says, "and we do that mostly by ear. It's not like we're trying to avoid learning from paper, but sometimes it really is a process of struggle. We'll have to play a new song over and over in practice, then every day at sound check before we perform it live. When you're playing lines with somebody else, you either play it right or you don't, and if you miss it, the other guy and maybe some of the musicians in the audience know, but if it's a really bad mistake, maybe everybody will hear it. Some of those lines move so fast that if you loose concentration for just one second, you've blown it.

"It's especially challenging to play them with Steve," he adds. "I never hear him make mistakes! Everybody will blow the timing of a solo or miss one note, but he seems to be the exception. It's not always easy playing with such a perfectionist. In a lot of my old bands I was one of the better players, so I wasn't uptight about sounding good to the other guys in the group, but in this context, every night I just want to sound good to the other guys."

Although Morse writes virtually all the group's material, T has been composing tunes for years. "I have a lot of stuff," he admits, "but the thing with the Dregs is that up till now Steve just always has come up with these brilliant Dregs-style tunes, and I think all of us agree that unless it sounds like the Dregs there's really no point in using anything else. I would like to hear my songs recorded, though, either in a solo effort by me or even by a Top 40 band. It's a great feeling to have your own music played; it's a way of expressing yourself. I have a four-track recorder at home, and whenever I get the chance I just sit there and overdub all kinds of keyboards, trying new songs."

Talking about his own plans leads Lavitz to reflect on his own role in the Dregs, where being able to fit into someone else's tight, though challenging, arrangements, is of primary importance. "Working in a band where somebody else is doing all the composing is tough at times. For one thing, a composer generally makes more money, although of course if Steve doesn't deserve it, nobody does," he says. "Sure, I'd like to do the solo album sometime, and maybe go out on the road with someone else from time to time, but I'd only do this if the Dregs got to the point where we could go out for say, two months promoting a new album, then have several months off. My first priority is with the Dixie Dregs."

The success of the Dregs is well assured. They have a major record company behind them and a large following throughout the United States. But in spite of all this, T at 24 still sees himself as a student of music, still learning new techniques and exploring new ideas, and still a fan of those he has looked up to for years. He was especially excited, for example, about a recent visit with Stu Goldberg, former keyboardist with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, during a Dregs gig at the Roxy in Los Angeles: "He had a grand piano, a Minimoog, and a Rhodes, and we just jammed together. My heart was beating so fast because here I was playing with one of my idols. Another time I went to see Chick Corea in concert, and I gave him a tape of our new album. He was real friendly, and this means so much to me, because these are people I was writing fan letters to just a short while ago!"

One more memorable encounter was with one of the giants of modern jazz piano. "When I saw McCoy Tyner for the first time after all these years of hearing his records and studying his music, I went up to him at the club where he was playing and said, 'You don't know what you've meant to me all these years . . . and here I am talking to you!' And he broke out in this big smile and said, 'You don't have to say that. I really appreciate it.' Man, he was just like a little kid. I thought he was joking, but I guess he really has transcended his ego."

After assimilating diverse influences on his own over the years, and encountering new ones with the Dregs, Lavitz has gotten to the point of evolving an identifiable style of his own. But when asked what kind of style that is, he looks once more to the past for his answer. "I'd have to go back and tell you about the first keyboard I've ever owned, a Farfisa organ. At the time I was taking classical piano lessons, and I didn't really know what to do with this organ. What I was hearing all around me were pop songs, so I tried to imitate them in my early forays into the world of pop music. But gradually I began really listening to rock and roll, to people like Emerson, Lake & Palmer - I used to dream about Keith Emerson. And then in my late teens I totally abandoned rock and became this purist jazz player. Now I'm back with the rock and roll, I still love jazz, and I'm doing country music too, so I guess I like to think of myself as an accessible type of musician, playing music that anybody can listen to and enjoy."

It is this desire to please his audience and his fellow performers with music they all can believe in that seems to guarantee Lavitz and the Dregs a place in the spotlight for years to come. "We realize that our attitude onstage is what makes the audience respond in a certain way," he concludes, "and then their response just turns us on all the more; it's give and take. We have great respect for each other and our public. I think that some of the so-called new wave bands that go up onstage and play the same stupid things over and over are really insulting themselves and the audience. We prefer to think of the listener as an intelligent person, capable of assimilating some of the more intricate things we play. When I think of all those bar bands I was in, doing that awful stuff, some of the same tunes twice a night, six nights a week, four or five sets a night, this is such a joy, to be able to play good music and watch people actually getting off on it. We're even making a decent living. I'm in no rush."