1. jamming on Freebird
2. "Since my baybee left meeee..."
3. "...I found a new place to dwellll"
4. Conway plays a Mellotron. This is a totally bizarre instrument, popular in the 60s, that was basically the original version of a sampler. You would record an instrument--for example a violin, or a flute, or a whole choir singing, or whatever you want--and then you put that recording on a tape reel and put it into the mellotron. Then the mellotron is basically a piano except that when you hit a key it would play that tape reel at whatever pitch you're hitting. Which is pretty much exactly what sampler's do now, except digitally.
And the great thing about the mellotron is that it doesn't do it's job incredibly well; the sound gets all messed up and out of tune and stuff. Which can sound awesome. Famous uses of the mellotron include:
The Beatles--"Strawberry Fields," The Red Hot Chilli Peppers--"Breaking the Girl," The Strokes--"Ask Me Anything."
5. Don't eat the brown acid!
6. Michael on the lap steel.
7. Kickin ass on a Talk Box. Talk Box is the wierdest thing ever: you play a guitar solo into the box, then it feeds the solo down a plastic tube into your mouth!
You hold the tube in your mouth with the microphone, and the shapes you make with your mouth effect the way the solo sounds. It comes out sounding kinda like a wah-wah, kinda like a person talking. From a saliva point of view it's pretty much the grossest thing ever. Other than that it's pretty cool. Most famous use of the Talk Box: Peter Frampton--"Do You Feel Like We Do" from Frampton Comes Alive.
8. Finally, for those of you interested in the ongoing Ring of Hair saga, here is a picture of the previous assistant engineer, Carem, who sported the ring of hair as a result of a $1,000 bet from producer Brendan O'Brien. Conditions of the bet included that Carem keep the ring of hair for a full week, and that on Saturday he go to the mall with it. He was offered an additional $500 to shave his eyebrows, but he declined.