my music

Shutting Down

2008-11-27T08:24:00.002-05:00

I've decided that, instead of keeping two blogs (one for music, one for other stuff), it'd be easier for both of my readers to only have to refer to one blog. Plus, you can only import one blog into Facebook. As such, I will no longer be posting to this blog. I will be posting music and non-music related content to my other blog, Adventitious Cerebration, and making better use of tags to help organize the content. Please visit my other blog for future updates.

Thank you.

French or German, Teil Zwei

2008-11-26T11:29:00.004-05:00

About 8 months ago, I posted Bow Adventures, which described my troubles regarding the use of French vs. German grips on the double bass bow. During the time between then and now, I've worked exclusively with the French bow. That included the spring season with the Cardinal Health Chamber Orchestra and the recording of the soon-to-be-released second Billy Two Shoes CD. And so just now I placed and order for a new carbon fiber Finale bow - with a German grip (right).

So why the return to German? I didn't mind the French grip. Certainly, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. And those disadvantages can be worked through successfully. But one of the difficulties that I had was trying to transfer the weight of my arm to the string. I could get a nice enough sound, but it wasn't very loud. This is compounded by the fact that my bass isn't very loud to begin with.

I've been doing a bit of playing with the bow lately with both the orchestra and B2S. About two weeks ago, my first finger on my right hand really started bothering me. I figured I just overworked my bow hand and needed to give it a rest. It took more than a week for the pain to subside. Finally, I started playing again and immediately noticed the issue. I'm putting too much pressure on my finger trying to play loudly. The leverage in the French grip just isn't working for me without straining my hand. I played with the orchestra for two hours last night, and today my first finger is swollen and sore.

So back to the German grip it is. I think that's ok though. Yes, I realize that, with effort, I could probably work through my problems and continue with the French, but I don't really see the need. My arms are long, which lends itself better to the German grip, and I can easily get more power and a nice sound with this grip. Since one isn't necessarily better than the other, why deal with the pain, right?

Along with the grip change, I'm also going back to my old rosin, Carlsson (see my post on rosin for details).

The String Emporium is currently out of stock on the bow. They'll be getting the next shipment after Thanksgiving, so it'll be a couple of weeks before my new bow gets to me. Once I get it and live with it a little, I'll write a review. Until then, I'll have to reacquaint myself with the only other German bow I have - a cheap fiberglass student bow. Yuck!

Music, music, and more music

2008-11-14T07:21:00.002-05:00

I've been a little lax of late regarding practicing, and now I'm paying the price. The last couple of nights, after an eye-opening orchestra rehearsal on Tuesday, I've been pouring over the sheet music, figuring out fingerings and tricky passages so as not to completely embarrass myself next month.

In addition to the orchestra, we're almost finished recording the Billy Two Shoes CD. I have four more songs to record, plus I've promised to do a 70's AM radio cover for the Javelin podcast, due December 1st.

Finally, our calendar has been filling up with concerts, which all seem to have fallen into a one-week time frame.

So here's my schedule for the next week:

Friday evening -practice for Billy Two Shoes recording session
Saturday @ 11 AM - PBJ & Jazz at Ft. Hayes Metropolitan Education Center
Saturday @ 4 PM - One Union Project concert (a friend's daughter plays in the band and is debuting a song she wrote)
Saturday evening - Jazz with Gene Bertoncini at BOMA
Sunday morning - practice!
Sunday afternoon - Billy Two Shoes and 70's AM radio cover recording
Monday evening - Columbus Philharmonic Youth Orchestra concert (same friend's daughter plays in this as well)
Tuesday evening - Cardinal Health Chamber Orchestra rehearsal
Wednesday evening - practice or more recording, not sure yet
Thursday - Lakeview Jr. High Orchestra concert - Lea's first performance this year playing bass
Friday evening - AC/DC concert
Saturday - practice or more recording
Sunday - Mark Flugge Chamber Jazz Series

I'm tired just looking at it.

Billy Two Shoes @ Fat's Billiards on Wed., Oct. 29th

2008-10-23T11:58:00.002-04:00

Wednesday is singer/songwriter night at Fat's Billiards, and I will be playing with Billy Two Shoes from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. this coming Wednesday, October 29th. The instrumentation will feature guitar, upright bass, congas, harmonica, vocals, percussion and maybe a few homemade instruments.

Billy Two Shoes is the brainchild of James and Jason, with whom I played in The Intolerables. B2S can be described as bluegrass or even the more general Americana. They recorded and released a full-length CD last February with the help of some friends and are in the process of recording a second CD, on which I will be playing bass. All proceeds from CD sales are donated to help people in need.

Music Links

2008-09-22T07:50:00.002-04:00

I came across a couple of music links that interested me and thought I'd share...

Jazz Listening 101

How to Legally Sell Downloads of Cover Songs

Cardinal Health Chamber Orchestra Winter 2008 Performance Schedule

2008-09-02T07:36:00.000-04:00

December 2, 1 pm
Clintonville Elementary School
10 Clinton Heights Ave
Columbus, Oh

December 4, 12 pm
Dublin Retirement Village
6470 Post Road
Dublin, Oh

December 9, 1 pm
Colonial Hills Elementary School
5800 Greenwich St.
Worthington, OH

December 11, 1 pm
Wellington Senior Living
5863 Scioto-Darby Road
Hilliard, Oh

December 13, 7:30 pm
Union County Care Train (Fundraiser)
Veterans Auditorium
233 W 6th Street
Marysville, Oh

December 15, 1 pm
Trillium Place Retirement Center
Trillium Crossing
Columbus, Oh

December 17, 12 pm
Cardinal Health
Dublin, Oh

December 18, 1 pm
Abbey Theater
Dublin Recreation Center
5600 Post Road
Dublin, Oh

A New Direction (almost) - Courtesy of Miles

2008-07-18T12:16:00.003-04:00

My highs a couple of weeks ago living in the bubble of Jazz Camp came crashing down with a healthy dose of reality when I came home. I'm still saddled with limited talent on a difficult instrument trying to play a complex genre that nobody really cares about anymore.

During this whole time I've been reading Miles Davis' autobiography Miles. It just happened that, while I was at jazz camp, he was telling me about his days with Bird and Diz and about recording my favorite Miles album, Kind Of Blue. But Miles didn't stand still. By the time Kind Of Blue came out, he had already moved on to something else. He seemed to have been like that throughout his career.

When I got to the last sections of the book, he was complaining about how everyone wanted him to play "that old shit." But he refused to play it anymore because he felt that everything was said that needed to be said with the music, and that the world had moved on and he did too.

This got me thinking. Yes, I love listening to jazz. This, of course, makes me want to play it. But the reality is that I will never be able to play it at more than a rudimentary level. I just don't have the time available for that kind of intense study. And that's ok. As Miles stated, it's all been said already.

I promised myself some time ago that if I ever started playing again, I would not play music I don't like or don't listen to. So what else do I listen to? Well, my guilty pleasure is hair metal from the 80's, but I don't want to play that. I've done that before. I also love the music of the 70's that always seem so much larger than life: Queen, ELO, Rush. And let's not forget the true rock of the 70's: Led Zep, The Who, AC/DC, Kiss, VH.

So where does that leave me? Well, I ain't quite worked that part out yet. I was thinking it'd be cool to play in a cover band playing music from the bands mentioned above. I don't know that Queen and ELO get touched on much at the local bars, but I could be wrong. But, that doesn't really agree with Miles' philosophy; I'm just trading standards from the 50's for standards from the 70's. The only difference being that I have a connection to the music from the 70's and can actually play it. Maybe it's a combination. Find people with similar tastes, learn some covers together, then start writing our own.

My compass is wobbly, but at least it's moving.

Summer Jazz Workshop 2008

2008-07-06T08:27:00.014-04:00

Well, another week at jazz camp is in the bag. And what a week it was...

Audition
I was very worried about the audition. I really didn't want to be in bass lines 101 again. I auditioned for John Goldsby and Rich Armandi. All in all, I didn't do too bad. I was quite nervous and could hardly move, and my intonation was awful, but it was still better than last year, so I can't complain.

The weekend
For the weekend rhythm section primer, they divided us up into groups of similar skill level. We had 5 bassists, 4 drummers and about 6 guitarists. We ran through several songs: Impressions, Watermelon Man, Song For My Father, Satin Doll, Maiden Voyage, Cantaloupe Island, Doxy. All of the guitars comped together while the bass and drums traded off every couple of choruses. Rich Armandi was our instructor. He was my primary bass instructor last year. He has a very in your face approach, which hits a lot of people the wrong way (including me). But I remembered everything he told me last year, avoided making those same mistakes again and everything was fine. I had a good time and couldn't wait for the week to continue (which was very different from what I was feeling last year at this point).

Bass Master Classes
I successfully avoided bass lines 101 and was able to pick and choose which master classes I wanted to attend. Monday was an all hands lesson: an introduction to the faculty and a discussion on our role in the combo. Tuesday, I want to a class on jazz bowing techniques given by John Goldsby and Lynn Seaton. They discussed a lot what is covered in John's book on the subject, but it was nice to get it in person. We got to try some of the techniques, too, which helped me on performance day. Wednesday was another all-hands meeting to watch a multi-media presentation on the history of jazz bass. I saw it last year, but it was still fun. Thursday, I went to J. B. Dyas' class on how to learn tunes. I'm anxious to try out some of his pointers. Friday was a summary class when we got to see 3 bass duets performed by students, followed by the faculty playing a blues tune with 11 basses (plus Jamey took a couple of choruses).

Combo
This years' combo was an absolute joy. Eight pieces total. Us older folk were outnumbered by the youngsters 5 to 3, but we all got along very well. I was able to connect with the drummer immediately. We played several songs together during the week, including Sonny Rollins' "Pent-up House", Wes Montgomery's "Cariba" and Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage." We also worked on a tune that the trombone player wrote. We tried very hard to make this tune work for our performance, but we just didn't have enough time to work out all the kinks. These young players are really amazing. I wish I had the commitment they have when I was that age. Maybe I'd be making music for a living instead of writing software.

As part of our combo experience, the rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drum) got to play with faculty horns. We played with Don Braden and Randy Salman. Don tore up the stage the night before. We played a couple of songs with them and they gave us some very helpful advice on our playing. It was a very positive experience.

Tom Walsh, our instructor, was great to work with. He really took the time to work with each of us on various aspects of our playing. He had the horns doing some really cool stuff. And he was very encouraging and helpful to me with my solos.

Performance
After much debate and voting, we settled on "Pent-up House" by Sonny Rollins. I was very happy with this decision, because I personally felt most comfortable with this song. Earlier in the week, I had played a solo which didn't completely make me want to cringe, and it was to this song.

The stage was quite hot and my finger were sticking together, making it difficult to play, but I think we did a good job. We were really tight and I don't think anyone got turned around too much. I was debating what I was going to do for my solo right up until my first bar. I knew the melody and knew that I would incorporate that into the solo, but I wanted to play it with the bow rather than fingers. I had only tried the melody with the bow a couple of times before our performance, so it was a risk, but during the first bar, I found myself reaching for the bow. I'm sure it didn't sound anything like what I heard in my head, but people applauded. The whole thing was over before I knew it, but I think we pulled it off.

Faculty Concerts
The faculty concerts alone are worth the price of admission. These are some great players. James Moody was absolutely fantastic. And to be given the opportunity to was some jazz greats such as Rufus Re id, Lynn Seaton, Anonio Hart, Don Braden, Steve Davis (trombone) , Steve Davis (drums), etc. The list goes on and on. There was a singer, whose name escapes me, who really impressed me. She quite often would act as a soloist, much like a horn player, and never assumed to be the "leader" of the band. Oh, and her voice was lovely.

Summary
A great week indeed. I can't wait to go back next year. I bought many books and many more CDs. I got another massive blister on my finger. I met (and played with) some really cool people. I learned a lot.

Please visit my photo album:

Summer Jazz Camp 2008

Jazz Camp Jitters

2008-06-13T11:12:00.003-04:00

As chronicled in my post about last year's jazz camp, the first thing that takes place is the audition. I'm really dreading it. I was nervous last year, but I didn't know what was going to happen, so I couldn't really worry about it.

This year, I know what's coming. Worse yet, I don't think I'm any better now than I was last year. I know that, no matter what wrong notes I play, don't stop. Beyond that, I'm pretty much in the same boat as before.

Rosin

2008-06-11T12:17:00.007-04:00

When I first got my upright, the shop gave me, along with a fiberglass bow, some rosin. Trying on my own, I wasn't able to get a very good sound from the bow. At my very first lesson, my instructor advised me to throw away the rosin they gave me and buy some Carlsson. I did that and it made a world of difference.

About six months ago, I noticed he was using a new rosin: Pops rosin. I knew from reading various bass player forums, that Pops rosin is very controversial. Everyone has an opinion on it, and everyone either loves it or hates it. I asked Doug what he thought of it, and he said that he used to use it all the time before and was just going back to it. His only complaint is that it melts easily.

After I got my new bow, I was working with Doug some more and he suggested I give Pops a try. So I finally broke down and bought some last week and used it last night during orchestra rehearsal. So far, I'm falling into the hate it crowd. I get a very screechy sound at the beginning of pulling the bow. However, I can't help but wonder if this noise isn't just the different rosin amplifying my own poor bowing technique. As such, I'm going to keep using it for a while before I make up my mind completely. I do like the idea that it's made in the USA, so I'm not adding to global warming by having my rosin shipped from Sweden. Besides, Doug's been right about everything else so far.

6 Basses, No Waiting

2008-06-03T19:43:00.004-04:00

Since Lea decided to switch from violin to bass, and since she bought herself an electric bass a couple of months ago, we are now a 6 bass family. Her upright is the one on the left. Her electric is the red 4 string on the wall.

It Is To Me

2008-05-30T15:26:00.004-04:00

My post the other day asked "Is Jazz Even Relevant?" This post was brought to you by my well documented depression. And now that I'm on the other side, I can answer that question.

It moves me. I listen to it and I want to play it. Nothing else I listen to these days does that for me. I still like the classic rock/metal of old, but very little of the new stuff strikes me as interesting. So, even if there's no one to hear me play, as long as I enjoy myself, that's what counts!

BTW - I thought briefly about just deleting that post, but it contained links to a couple of interesting articles, so I left it in tact.

Is Jazz Even Relevant?

2008-05-28T07:06:00.004-04:00

Or is it the musical equivalent of taking Latin in school?

A recent article on jazz.com asked the question: Have bass solos ruined jazz? I found this article through a double bass player's email list. What surprised me most about the response was not "bass solos belong in jazz" or "jazz is not ruined", but "bass solos didn't ruin jazz...this did!" There were different theories on what ruined it and why it's no longer popular, mostly involving its evolution into something only other musicians can enjoy.

So why is it still played? Why do people study it in school?

Of course, the death of jazz does have its upside: Smooth Jazz RIP 1985 - 2008?

All That Jazz

2008-05-23T07:03:00.006-04:00

I grew up listening to rock and, to a lesser extent, country. My dad liked Johnny Cash and my mom liked The Eagles. When I began to develop my own tastes in the mid '70s, I included such artists as Kiss, Queen, Elton John, Steve Miller Band, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Alice Cooper. I did work backwards a little toward The Who and Led Zeppelin. As I grew older, my tastes grew heaver: AC/DC, Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden.

Then, in the late '80s, I met a drummer named Jim Paxson. His mother is pianist Sunnie Paxson, who at one point played with Stanley Clarke. He pointed me to Return To Forever and Weather Report. This completely changed my playing and the way I listened to music. Bass playing became important, and not just a way to meet chicks.

It didn't take me too long to begin working backwards from fusion. I began to listen to more traditional jazz and really appreciate the sound of the upright. Meanwhile, I was a frustrated bass guitarist because I just couldn't find my role. I toyed with the fretless for a time and enjoyed it, but it still felt like something was missing. Plus, I was listening to less and less electric jazz.

Now I find myself totally immersed in "traditional" jazz: bebop, hard-bop, post-bop, modern. I find it to be the ultimate form of musical expression. Don't get me wrong, I still like rock - the heavier the better. Not overly fond of anything that's being released today, but that's probably because I'm old. Jazz, to me, has it all: emotion, musicianship, feeling, etc. Plus, the bass is not relegated to doubling the guitar.

So here's the problem I'm facing: I want to play jazz, but jazz is all but dead. Now that the Columbus Music Hall closed, there's nowhere left in Columbus to listen to good jazz on a regular basis. So, even if I do manage to ever learn to play it, I won't have anywhere to play.

Another issue is this: I'm 44 years old. My background in jazz is limited to the last 5 years or so. The upright bass is a completely different beast from the bass guitar. Playing jazz takes knowledge and courage. Can I play it? I'm signed up again for the Summer Jazz Workshop, but that doesn't help with the courage.

Playing with the orchestra does help. And I do enjoy it. But it's not my goal. Jazz is my goal. I just hope there are people who care to listen when I reach it.

Cardinal Health Chamber Orchestra Spring 2008 Performance Schedule

2008-04-30T07:36:00.000-04:00

May 6 , 12 pm
Dublin Retirement Village
6470 Post Road Dublin, Oh

May 7, 7 pm
Dublin Scioto High School (FUNDRAISER)
4000 Hard Road, Dublin

May 9, 1 pm
Hilliard Senior Center
3800 Veterans Memorial Drive, Hilliard

May 13, 12 pm
Whetstone Garden of Roses
Hollerback Drive, Clintonville

May 15, 1 pm
Upper Arlington Senior Center
1945 Ridgeview Road, Columbus

May 17, 8 pm
Thank You Concert,
Church of Latter Day Saints
Coffman Road, Dublin

May 20, 1 pm
Trillium Place Retirement Center
Trillium Crossing

May 22, 1 pm
Abbey Theater at Dublin Recreation Center
5600 Post Road, Dublin

June 14, 7:30 pm
Union County Humane Society (FUNDRAISER)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
233 W 6th Street
Marysville, OH

Bow Adventures

2008-03-06T07:13:00.009-05:00

I've been playing the double bass for about two years now. One aspect that has been a continuous struggle for me was the bow. You see, upon taking up the instrument, double bass players are immediately presented with a decision: French or German?

The above image is from Bob Gollihur's excellent site, which includes an FAQ on bows.

For the first year of playing, I played with a French style bow because that's what my instructor used and that's what came with the bass. However, I was never able to get comfortable with it. I could not relax my grip enough to be effective. So, I decided to make the switch to German. I found an online source for quality, inexpensive bows in Upton Bass, and ordered their German style bow. Soon after, I joined the Cardinal Health Chamber Orchestra as second bassist. The principal bassist also played a German bow, and my instructor was able to give me some tips, so I felt fairly comfortable with my decision. I found the bow easier to hold, and it gave me a decent sound.

But there was still this nagging question: Is this really the right bow for me? I found the grip to be somewhat awkward, like I was also having to reach to play. And I always felt as if I were trying to cut down a tree with it. I would watch other German bow players, and they could produce such lovely sounds, yet I always sounded like a cow fighting a goose. My instructor, being a French bow player, could only help so much, and getting a new instructor was not an option because I really like him and his playing, and since my primary goal is to play jazz, he really is the right one for me.

Then I saw some instructional videos from Andrew Anderson. His grip on the French bow is very much like the grip of my instructor's. And after seeing how he placed his thumb and hearing his theories on grip and producing sound, I felt I had to give the French bow another chance. So, I ordered the French version of the Upton Bass bow.

I received the bow via UPS last Monday, and proceeded to work with it that evening. I was able to get decent sound from it, but it still felt uncomfortable, particularly when switching back and forth between the two. I was beginning to think I made a bad decision. But I knew I was not giving it a fair chance, and wanted to spend a week with it before deciding if I should keep it or not.

Tuesday was our next orchestra rehearsal, and while I toyed with the idea of bring the new French bow, I felt I was struggling enough with the music, so I brought my old one. Upon my arrival, I set up my music stand, got out my bow, tightened it up and hung it on the little hook on my music stand where I always hung my bow, got out my music and placed it on the stand. As I was leafing through the music to the first piece, the edge of my hand knocked the bow off of it's little hook and it hit tip-first onto the hard wood floor.

I had always heard that bows are fragile, particularly when under the stress of being tightened. At this point there wasn't much I could do, so without saying a word, I packed up my music stand and left rehearsal. Needless to say, I will not be hanging my bow in the music stand any longer.

Last night I played for quite some time with the French bow, and I found that without the option of switching back and forth, I was able to become much more comfortable with it. It'll take some work, but I think it'll pay off in the long run. Sometimes I need to have decisions made for me.

Jazz Camp Pictures

2007-07-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

I put some pictures up. Use the link below to view them. I will add some more as soon as they're developed.

Summer Jazz Workshop 2007

Summer Jazz Workshop

2007-07-07T21:06:00.000-04:00

I'm back from the Summer Jazz Workshop. It was quite an amazing adventure.

Saturday, June 30:
My first day there. I came early for the Bass & Drum workshop before the week long Jazz workshop. They included guitar this year as well, basically to give rhythm section members a head start. I started the day with the audition, the purpose of which is to place the student in the correct level. Mine was a disaster. I was asked to play a standard blues in F, and I couldn't get through it without stopping to correct mistakes, which were many. After that mess, they placed the chord changes for Autumn Leaves in front of me and asked me to play. Fortunately, I have worked on this song in the past, so I wasn't completely lost. Bill Moring, one of the instructors who listened to my audition, assured me that I played some nice lines, learned from my mistakes and was in the right place.

After that, they divided us into groups. My group consisted of 5 bassists and about 12 guitarists. They put music in front of us and walked us through playing changes. After a couple of hours of that, they brought in a few drummers to play with us. We each took turns playing changes to the songs. We must have played through 10 standards that day. Unfortunately, I don't have a pick up installed on my bass, so I had to play that much harder to try to be loud enough to be heard. I had the makings of a nice blister by the end of the day.

That night, I went to a local club called The Jazz Factory to hear Jim Snidero, Lynn Seaton, Steve Allee and Steve Davis play. The first night of many great nights of jazz.

Sunday, July 1:
After taping my index finger to try to control my blister, it was another half day of playing standards with various drummers and guitarists. After Saturday, I was feeling pretty down. My playing was awful and didn't seem to be getting any better. The instructor was trying his best to help me out, telling me that the rhythm was more important than the notes and that bassists can get away with a good bit, so long as they do it in time. I, on the other hand, was questioning my ability to play jazz and even the upright itself.

After my last bass class, I completed my theory test (another aid in placing me), I had some dinner, did some shopping at the book/music store and went to the theater to hear some more great jazz. They divided various members of the faculty into 3 combos, who played from 7:30 - 10:30. Lynn Seaton did a fantastic bowed solo where he scatted his solo line as he played it. Very reminiscent of Slam Stewert.

Monday, July 2:
This was the first day of our full jazz workshop. The day was scheduled as: breakfast, theory class, ear training class, combo rehearsal, lunch, instrument master class, combo rehearsal, dinner, faculty concert. I was placed in the intermediate theory class, held by Dan Haerle. The first part of Bass Master Class was Rufus Reid and Lynn Seaton performing a duet, after which we were split into our various levels. I was assigned to Bass Lines 101, taught by various members of the faculty.

My combo was made up of two pianists (about my age), two guitarists (one teenager and one older), two sax players (13 and 17) and a drummer (also 17). The drummer was very, very new to jazz and didn't really have a clue of what to do. Fortunately for me, his instructor was Steve Davis, who asked to play a few choruses of "Take the 'A' Train" with me to show him. That was a nice way to start my combo experience. We spent both of our rehearsals just running through various standards, getting a feel for each other. This was the first time I actually felt comfortable with my playing.

The concert was another amazing time. I could tell already that each concert was bound to out-do the previous.

Tuesday & Wednesday July 3-4:
While Monday's theory class was mostly review for me, Tuesday immediately moved into unknown territory. The classes dealt mostly with identifying which scales work best over which chords. We also worked a lot on recognizing ii-V-I progressions in major and minor and how to play over the changes.

Ear training was with Jamey Aebersold himself. We spent time listening to various tunes and while Jamey would show the transcription on an overhead. Then, he would go to the piano and test us on identifying major and minor chords as he played. I used to think I was pretty good at this, but clearly I have some work to do.

For combo, we usually spent each session working on a couple of songs. We played with the arrangement a bit, adding shout choruses and trading fours (band plays 4 bars, drummer plays 4 bars). I could feel myself getting more comfortable with my playing as the days went on. Solos were still giving me fits, but at least I was no longer panicking when it was my turn.

Bass master class dealt mostly with creating bass lines to fit the chord changes. At this point, I had already discovered most of what they were teaching, but it was nice to have the confirmation.

The faculty concerts were amazing. They were all really great players, and some of them would just knock your doors off every time they took the stage:

Antonio Hart is simply and amazing sax player. He never ceased to amaze.
Jim Rotondi is a fantastic trumpet player
Rufus Reid is the definition of cool
Lynn Seaton constantly made my jaw hit the floor
Steve Davis uses every inch of a drum kit and never misses a beat

Thursday, July 5:
This was the money day. Since Friday was going to be spent preparing for combo performance, this was the last day to get real information. And for me, that moment was when our combo's rhythm section played with a couple members of the faculty. Every day, rhythm and horn sections were selected to play with faculty members, and this was our day. I showed up, nervous and excited, wondering who we'd be playing with, when in walks Antonio Hart and Shelley Yoelin. To my great delight, Antonio worked very closely with the drummer and me, helping us to get a tight sound. He gave me some very good advise on time and rhythm.

In our afternoon combo rehearsal, we voted on our song for the Friday performance: Blue Bossa.

Friday, July 6:
The big day! Bass master class featured three duets performed by students selected earlier in the week followed by an 11 bass blues jam by all of the bass faculty. Our last combo rehearsal was spent working on our Blue Bossa arrangement. We worked out an intro with syncopated rhythms, everyone taking two choruses for their solos except me; I managed to talk myself down to one chorus.

Our performance was scheduled for 2:40, so after lunch I sat and watched some of the other combo performances. A half hour before our performance, I met the rest of the combo back stage. Before I knew it, it was time to go on - no time for nervousness. The drummer and I started the intro, but one of the sax players started right in on the melody. Oh well, the rest of us followed and no one was the wiser. As the song went on, it was interesting to hear the applause between the solos - quite exciting actually. Then it was time for my solo. I had worked out some of it before hand, being sure not to write the whole thing so that I'd be forced to improvise some of it. The chorus was over before I knew it and I started to play the last chorus. Unfortunately, the sax players didn't follow suit. I figured they forgot I was only taking one chorus, so I started soloing some more. Half way through my solo, the sax players caught their mistake and started playing the head - right in the middle of the second chorus. Oh well, the rest of us picked up on it, played the head and finished the song. That's jazz, right?

Wrap-up:
Despite my early anxiety and depression (not to mention the massive blisters on my fingers), the week was a truly wonderful experience. I think with a lot of work, I might actually be able to do this thing.

Pictures will be posted soon.

CAH Chamber Orchestra Performance Schedule

2007-01-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

The Spring 2007 performance schedule for the Cardinal Health Chamber Orchestra was just released. Here are the dates and locales:

05/01 12:00 PM - Dublin Retirement Village
05/03 1:45 PM - Norwich Elementary School
05/08 12:45 PM - Gillie Senior Center
05/10 1:00 PM - Martin Janis Senior Center
05/15 1:00 PM - Wexner Heritage Center
05/17 1:30 PM - Trillium Place
05/22 12:00 PM - Cardinal Health
05/23 1:30 PM - Abbey Theater
05/24 1:30 PM - Abbey Theater

New Music Endeavors

2007-01-12T09:29:00.000-05:00

I found a new band...The Intolerables! They're not looking to play out, just record, which is fine by me. They have their own studio, so I'll be recording there as well as swapping files from home.

I played with them for the first time last Thursday (01/04). There are lots of different influences, and it was very laid back. Very cool. We practice in the studio with the drums mic'ed in a separate room and all of us going into the board and wearing phones. Nice set-up.

In other music news, my workplace sponsors a volunteer chamber orchestra, for which I signed up to play. I have my first practice next Friday (01/19). This should be interesting. Being new to the double bass and to orchestra playing, it'll be quite a challenge.

And lastly, I'm signing up to go to a Summer Jazz Workshop. A full week of studying bass and jazz, culminating with a performance with a group in front of the other attendees, the teachers and family.

Experience has taught me that I won't practice unless I'm under pressure to do so. So I'm applying some pressure.

Please note too that I put a schedule of my music events at the bottom of the blog (scroll down). This will include practice and recording sessions, scheduled lessons and performances. I will include addresses and contact information where applicable.

Olivia's Piano Recital

2006-07-16T07:29:00.000-04:00

My youngest started piano lessons last February and has been doing great. She loves it! Her first piano recital was June, 17th, in which she played "Sugarfoot Rag" as a duet with her teacher. About half way through the piece she lost her place and tried to pick up where she left off, but thankfully her teacher suggested they start over. She made it through the piece beautifully, took her bow to thunderous applause and Tammy and I were able to resume our breathing.

Here is a video of her performance. The MPEG is just over 15 meg, so you might not want to retrieve it using dial-up.

Fly

2006-07-05T07:04:00.000-04:00

The Great Javelin Experiment is complete and we have a new song: Fly (click to download). This song started with Matt Butler recording some guitar and passing it on to me. I added bass and forwarded it to Jeff Thinschmidt who worked his magic by completely rearranging the song and adding a drum track. Dennis Haberkern added guitar, Matt added some synth guitar, Mel Scott added vocals with Jeff and Matt providing back-ups along with a female barbershop quartet doing harmony. Then, after many painstaking hours spent by Jeff mixing the song, we have the finish product.

This was really an interesting experiment in that, once each of us were done with our piece, we passed it on and didn't have any more input until the end, so each of us built on what the person before us provided. And all of this was done without any of us being in the same room at any given time. Pretty cool.

Van Howard

2006-07-03T11:35:00.000-04:00

My youngest, Olivia, has always wanted to play drums. We convinced her that it would be better for her to take piano lessons first, as piano would give her a good all-around understanding of music.

Well, she's been playing piano for about 4 months now and is doing very well. We never have to remind her to practice and she really enjoys it. But she still would talk about how much she wanted to play the drums. This talk was fueled by the fact that a local music store where Lea takes guitar lessons had a used Pearl set for sale.

After some discussion, we told her we'd meet her 1/2 way on the purchase of the drum set. Little did we know she already had enough saved up to pay her portion. So now she is taking drum lessons in addition to piano lessons and our "music" room no longer has space for seating.

First Lesson

2006-04-23T06:59:00.000-04:00

Well, I had my first double bass lesson yesterday. My instructor's name is Doug Richeson (for those interested, here's his bio).

I was very nervous before my lesson. I haven't been in a lesson situation for probably 20 years! I had my bass packed and ready to go a full 3 hours before my lesson, just in case (of what, I don't know).

The lesson took place in his studio at Denison University. There was a soap-box derby race going on in front of the building, so they had the street blocked off. As such, I had to park a block and a half away. My first lesson - even though the bass is hollow, it's heavy!

Doug was very cool. We spent the first 15 minutes going over my left hand technique (wrong!) and my right hand pizzicato (plucking) technique (also wrong!). Then we immediately started talking about theory and improvising walking bass lines. I've never been good at walking bass lines - I just can't seem to think fast enough - but I remind myself that's why I'm taking lessons. And if I want to play jazz, I'd better learn.

My first big test came when he placed a chord chart in front of me for a standard 12 bar blues and put on a play-along CD. I had to try to play a walking line with chord tones, using leading and passing tones on the fourth beat of every measure. When it was over, I had old B&W movie footage of a war-time plane, flames shooting out of the tail, spinning wildly as it crashed into the ocean, going through my head. Then my instructor said "Good. You'll get this in no time." That's when I noticed the pilot floating gently down with his parachute.

After we talked about theory some more and he outlined my study material, we talked about my right hand arco (bowing) technique (wrong!).

Needless to say, I have a lot of work ahead of me. But it's good work. And I feel good about it. I went into my lesson wondering if this is something I'd be able to pull off, or if I was just wasting my time...too old and too set in my ways to learn something new. Now my only concern is finding enough time to practice.

An interesting sidenote: when he asked me to name some of my favorite bassists, two at the top of my list were Charles Mingus and Paul Chambers...and unbeknownst to me, yesterday was their birthday.

Now THIS is a Bass!

2006-02-16T12:25:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted one of these, but never had a real reason to get one. But I've found myself listening to a lot of traditional jazz the last couple of years, and so I thought I'd give it a shot.

It's quite a different animal from the bass guitar, even the fretless. But I'm enjoying myself a great deal as I work around the fingerboard, trying to find my notes. I got a bow with it, and I am trying to work with that too, but it still sounds very much like a sick cow when I use it.

Right now I'm working with a book that I used to use during bass lessons in the 80's - The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid. It's a very good book, and he included fingering and bowing instructions with the excersizes. Still I may have to spring for lessons to make sure I'm doing it right. I wouldn't hurt to have some direction too.

My plan is to keep renting this for a while until I decide it's for me. The shop I'm renting it from has a nice policy where 100% of the rental fee gets applied to purchase should I decide to buy one later. I'd like to get a hybrid (solid top, ply sides) or, if I can afford one, a carved bass. But that's in the future. Right now I just need to figure out how to play in tune.

New Guitar in the Family

2006-01-29T13:46:00.000-05:00

My oldest daughter Lea saved up her own money and bought herself a guitar. It's a Squire Stratocaster. She named it Bebe.

She's really quite proud of it, and I'm proud of her for saving enough money to purchase it. I didn't want her to buy the first one she saw...I wanted to make sure she got one that wouldn't be an exercise in frustration every time she played it. I think she made a good choice.

Fayde - Part 2

2006-01-08T15:04:00.000-05:00

Exit Zack Bocelle, enter Wayne Camp.

I had worked with Wayne in Rekkless for a couple of years, so he and I were already pretty good friends. And again we went to a pretty serious practice schedule, getting together 4 or 5 nights a week for a minimum of 3 hours each night. Most of these sessions were fueled by gallon jugs of Earnest & Julio Gallo Chablis.

After a good bit of practice, we were finally able to play out. Most of our shows were at Reds in Margate, NJ and we managed to gather a decent following. We also sponsored our own show at the Music Pier in Ocean City, NJ. We picked a charity for the proceeds, printed the tickets and sold them ourselves. We also built a pretty cool stage, with ramps on both sides of the drum riser going up to a platform that ran behind the drummer. The show was a great success, with every seat being occupied. The show went off without a hitch as well, which was pretty cool seeing as we were still building the drum riser two hours before the show.

As things progressed with the band, we started talking about taking things to the next level. We went back to the studio and recorded two more songs with Wayne on vocals (Turn Me Loose and Shoot You) and made plans to move the band to the west coast.

Each of us left at different times, with plans to meet in Los Angeles. Jim went out early and arranged for apartments for us in a building that was currently being built just off of Hollywood Boulevard. Pete Manno and I were going to be living together, so I sent money ahead to hold the apartment for us. And then I rented a U-Haul trailer, packed up all my belongings, set on my way.

Unfortunately, the band was pretty much broken up before I even got out there. There were arguments and broken property and that was it. Of course, I couldn't turn around and go back, so I arrived in L.A. on September 31, 1987. The apartment wasn't finished yet, so I rented a room in a motel right next door and settled in.

The next morning, as I was moving my truck from one side of the street to the other, I noticed the glass front of the motel start to wobble, followed by some very loud and very scary rumblings. My first 24 hours in L.A. were greeted by an earthquake measuring 5.9.

I didn't turn around right away, though the aftershocks were a good bit less than fun. But, unable to find a job and with no band to keep me there, I left about a month later. I didn't have the funds to rent another trailer to take my stuff back, so I had to pare everything down to whatever would fit in the back of the pick-up.

Fayde - Part 1

2005-12-23T12:08:00.000-05:00

Pete Manno and Robin Russo were both guitarists for Sacred Sword at different times. I knew Pete from working at the parking lot, and when he and Robin decided to put a band together, they asked me to play bass.

They were both very good guitar players, and both very different. Pete was technical, where Robin played more by feel. They complimented each other well.

On drums, they got Jim Paxson. Jim was, and still is, one of the best drummers I ever played with. His father was a drummer in a casino band at the time, and his mother is Sunnie Paxson, a jazz keyboardist who once recorded and played with Stanley Clarke. Jim is responsible for introducing me to jazz fusion, which would ultimately become my favorite form of music and would drastically change my playing style.

First up on vocals was Zack Bocelle, an excellent singer who I would end up working with more later.

The 5 of us practiced every night writing new material, and Jim set up a recording session for us in North Jersey. None of our songs had vocals yet, but still the date was set. So, after working a full day at the parking lot, I picked Zack up and the two of us set off in my truck for the two-hour drive to the studio. Zack had a cassette from one of our practices, so we just played that over and over so that he could write lyrics to the two songs we were recording. They ended up being Gettin' Ready and I'll Be Back Again.

The studio itself was at the top of this run-down office building. The accoustics were terrible. During recording of the rhythm track, I unveiled my new bass line for the break in Gettin' Ready. I knew it needed something, so I worked on it the night before, to be ready for the recording. Everyone was very happy with what I was playing, so after we finished up the rhythm track and some of the guitar work, I went into the hall and fell asleep on the floor for a couple of hours.

At about 2:00 am, Pete woke me up, excited with the vocals that Zack layed down, so I watched him and Robin do their guitar solos. We mixed it all down and left the studio just in time for me to go to work the next morning for my shift the following day. In all, I'm fairly happy with the recording. It was a rush job, so there are quite a few mistakes on it, and you can barely hear the bass line in the break I worked so hard on, but they're good songs.

In the end, though, Zack and Pete just couldn't make it work, and so Zack left (or was asked to leave, not sure) the band.

Nitro

2005-12-20T12:22:00.000-05:00

Nitro was really more of an idea than a band. Jerry Johnson was a guitarist for the local heavy metal band Sacred Sword who wanted to form a band of his own. He asked Joe Lamaina and me to join up with him to form Nitro. Jerry was probably best known for attaching a cheese grater to the back of his guitar and punching it during his guitar solo to make his knuckles bleed while he played. He reminded me very much of Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P.

We played a few times together, writing songs and jamming, but didn't have a singer. Still, that didn't stop us from booking studio time in the same Northfield studio Rekkless recorded in earlier. For vocals, Jerry got Ted Ellis from another local band Altoona Works to sit in. He sat in the engineers booth while the three of us recorded the rhythm tracks, listening to the song and writing lyrics.

When it came time for the vocals, I got my first real lesson in the "magic" of the studio. While Ted had a good, powerful voice, he was unable to sing more than two lines of the song in a row. So the engineer had him record two lines, stop the tape, back-up a little and record the next two lines. This was done for the entire song. Still, Demons Cry is a pretty cool song and we had a lot of fun recording it.

Things fell apart pretty quickly after that though. Shortly after we finished the song, Jerry set up a radio interview for the band. Unfortunately, he failed to check with us first on the date. I had already scheduled a trip to visit family. So, while I was away, Jerry and Joe did the radio interview and played the song on the air. My apparent punishment for failure to appear on the radio show was to have Jerry forget to mention my name as a member of the band.

Needless to say, that was it for me.

A Sideman's Journey

2005-12-18T19:36:00.000-05:00

I finally put the finishing touches on my CD today. This CD represents 8 very active years recording and playing in bands between 1984 and 1992. The song list is as follows:

Little Killer - Rekkless
Get Ready - Rekkless
Lucky 7 - Rekkless
We Like It Hot - Rekkless
Demons Cry - Nitro
Never Look Back - Tom Howard
Gettin' Ready - Fayde
I'll Be Back Again - Fayde
Turn Me Loose - Fayde
Shoot You - Fayde
Don't Tease Me - Jinxx
Jennifer - Jinxx
Carnival - Craig Koons and Tom Howard
Back In The Swing - Hard Knox
To The Heavens - Rhythm Tribe
Walkin' Over - Rhythm Tribe
Can't Absorb The Madness - Vince Valore
Remember Her - Tom Howard

Rekkless

2005-11-15T18:50:00.000-05:00

This was my first serious band since Javelin. It featured Wayne Camp on vocals, Craig Koons on guitar, Joe Lamaina on drums and me on bass. We started out playing cover tunes (hair-metal bands of the day: Motley Crue, Ratt, Ozzy, Kiss) and had one original song, Little Killer.

This was the first band I was in that recorded at a recording studio; not once, but twice. Our first time in the studio was this place in Pleasantville, NJ, that used to be a church. We recorded "Smokin' in the Boy's Room", "Little Killer", "Rock and Roll All Night" and "Helter Skelter". This being our first time in the studio, we were pretty much at the mercy of the guys at the mixing board. All in all, it was a good experience.

Our second time in the studio was probably a year later. Our manager, Mike Turron, found a guy in Northfield who actually built a recording studio onto the back of his house. He really went all out with it too. I remember the first time we went there, walking around, amazed at how the walls just soaked up sound so there was no echo. This was nothing like the church. We re-recorded "Little Killer" along with four other originals: "Get Ready", "Just Call Me", "Lucky 7" and the blues inspired "We Like It Hot." The owner of the studio was still learning the art of mixing, as were we, so it still didn't sound great. I would work with him several more times over the years though, and each time got better.

In addition to recording, we managed to do a lot of playing out. Our first real gig was openning for local heavy metal band Sacred Sword at Blondie's night club. Craig was still in high-school at the time, so we actually had to get his mom to sign a paper giving him permission to play in a bar. Since this was the first time I had played in front of a crowd in a long time, I can still remember how much my hands were shaking through the entire performance. I still don't know how I managed to work my way through it.

We played a lot of gigs as a band: we played at The Omni when it first openned, we played 3 gigs at the bar at the base of the Somers Point-Longport bridge, we played several parties and city events throughout south Jersey, and we even sponsored a show in Stone Harbor that drew a pretty good crowd. We had t-shirts made up that sold pretty well at shows, too. Enough that we actually had to have a second printing 'cause we ran out of the first batch.

Our last show as a band was a self sponsored booze-cruise in Brigantine Harbor. We weren't allowed to stay in the harbor because we were too loud, so they took us out on the ocean where the waves caused the boat to rock back and forth, knocking our equipment over. It was a very good show, though. The evening took a tragic turn when one of our roadies was killed in a hit-and-run accident while walking down the road sometime after the show was over. It also happened to be my birthday.

New Band - NOT

2005-09-17T07:13:00.000-04:00

Okay, well, the new band didn't work out. The guy trying to put it together was more interested in getting the website up than actually playing. And then, when we did play, he wasn't very good. Oh well.

I did have some other people contact me, looking for a bassist for a cover band, but the music was SO not what I wanted to play: America, The Eagles, Sheryl Crow. Not that these are bad artists. I just find them very boring to play.

No, I've come to the conclusion that a cover band is not for me. To be honest, I've never really cared whether people wanted to hear what I was playing or not, which helps explain why I never made it as a musician I suppose.

So, I have to resign myself to either finding other musicians who feel the same way as I, who want to create new music without regard to its popularity, or just record my own. Neither of these options is easy. Finding other musicians with the same tastes and sensibilities is challenging. That's why bands tend not to last very long. And I'm not very prolific, or creative for that matter, so writing my own material will be difficult if not impossible. Added with the fact that I am a passible bassist, sucky guitarist, terrible drum sequencer and can't play any other instruments, and I'm pretty much SOL. Hopefully, that won't stop me from trying :)

Post-Javelin

2005-07-31T19:51:00.000-04:00

My four or five years following the break-up of Javelin were filled with music, but no serious bands. There was the aformentioned Ro Herim that consisted of Denny Haberkern, Bob Gleisberg, Steve Olsen and me, which basically involved us sitting around talking about playing and making up new logos, interspersed with actual playing.

I spent most of my high school years getting high and going to concerts with Denny. As such, my memory of this time is a little fuzzy, and I'm not 100% sure of some of the facts. I do know that we saw a good many bands during that time: ELO, Queen (twice), Cheap Trick, Van Halen, etc. I also was taking bass lessons from a local musician friend of my mom's, Frank Coffman. He was actually a guitar player who played in area night clubs, but he had a decent understanding of how the bass should be approached. I just wish I had bothered to study more.

Denny and I also took some music courses together at Mainland. I believe we both took Theory I and II together. But the one that stands out most in my mind was the Music Appreciation class with Mrs. Olga Buttle (or was it Tuttle?). This class basically consisted of a bunch of us just sitting around listening to music all day. I remember distincly all of us having to do reports on current artists, along with playing selections of their music. Denny did Queen and I did Kiss. But the best had to have been when Ron Mason did The B52's. The sight of Olga sitting at the piano, tapping out the chords to "Rock Lobster" along with the record is a memory I cherish to this day. A less cherished memory is when Ron came in with a cassette tape the two of us had made the night before while stoned, with him playing drums and me turning my knuckles into a bloody mess trying to emulate Pete Townsend's windmill guitar style. Hearing it the next day, it didn't sound nearly as good as it did under the influence the night before. And my knuckles hurt.

I did manage to get some actual playing done during high school. I remember one band featuring Bill Brummett on drums, me on bass and Bob G. on vocals. I believe it was Mike Oriente on guitar in this band, with us playing a lot of Ozzy and Rush tunes. Mike was a phenominal guitar player that Bob and Steve Olsen picked up hitch-hiking one day. He introduced us all to the wonders of Randy Rhodes. The amazing thing to me was that Mike was able to duplicate his lead playing without using a tremelo. He played a Les Paul guitar and, instead of using the "whammy bar" to bend the notes, he would reach up with his right hand, grab the string between the nut and his fretted finger and pull, giving it the same tremelo effect. It was quite a thing to see. I played in a couple different setting with Mike. He was partly responsible for helping me to take my bass playing to the next level.

New Band

2005-07-28T06:53:00.000-04:00

I played with some other musicians last night for the first time in probably 10 years. About 4 months ago I had answered an online ad looking for musicians in this area. The guy posting the ad said he was looking for other "middle-aged fat guys" so that he could "put the band back together." This sounded like a good place for me to start, so I responded.

It was a little difficult for him to assemble the various members, due to scheduling and musical desires. His philosophy is that the band is just a glorified beer salesman for the venue at which they are playing. He wants to play feel good, classic rock.

Personally, I tend to approach music from a more artistic aspect. This will be the first cover band I've been in since my teens. And my idea of classic rock differs a little with the band leader's - he's Billy Joel and John Cougar whereas I'm Led Zeppelin and The Who - but that's okay. It's something to play and people to play with. And I do like his other rule: family first.

Unfortunately, the drummer got tied up in Toledo, so our first practice was without a drummer. But still, it got us together and got me playing some music, so it's all good.

Javelin

2005-07-24T11:46:00.000-04:00

There is already a very good history of Javelin at the band's website, so I won't bother going into it here. Instead, I'll just share some of my memories and thoughts...

My first time hooking up with any other musicians was when I met up with Denny Haberkern and Bob Gleisberg at Bob's house. I had only been playing a couple of months at that point and remember being totally humiliated when I didn't even know how to play "Smoke On The Water." After that, I went back to my teacher and made him show me how to learn songs.

My next memory is sitting next to Rob Rando in math class and him asking me if I played and if I would be interested in getting a band together. I don't remember much of the details of getting everyone together. According to the website, we played a birthday party in Rob's basement with Denny, Jeff Thinschmidt and me on guitar and Rob on drums. A short while after that Matt Butler came in on bass, and Javelin was born.

It never occurred to us that we were doing anything out of the ordinary for kids our age. We all just saw it as a natural progression. And the support from our respective parents was outstanding. The driving us around to band practices and gigs, allowing us to play really loud, obnoxious music with our friends. Alot of credit has to be given to them.

I'm also impressed with the amount of gigs we had. We played school dances and holiday functions, parties, a talent show and even on TV! Okay, it was early Sunday morning, but it was something that we did on our own and was damn exciting. Years later, when trying to get another band off the ground, I used Javelin as an example of how to get things done.

Musically, what can I say? We were kids, all trying to discover our own talents. Listening to some of the old music is nostalgic, fun and sometimes painful, particularly when I ventured into lead guitar.

Eventually, as happens with most bands, we all kind of drifted in different directions musically and broke up. Denny and I played together again in Ro Herim with Bob Gleisberg and Steve Olsen, but if memory serves, we only played one show - a party in my back yard that was cut short by a visit from Northfield's finest.

Seeing a void (and lack of 6 string talent on my part), I switched to bass not long after that. And the rest, as they say, is history (which I am sure to recount later so stay tuned!).

I should note that I've had the sincere pleasure of recording with all of these guys again recently. It started with an email from someone with access to classmates.com. I learned that the other members of Javelin were looking for me and were putting a CD together of old recordings along with a new song. So, with the help of modern technology and UPS, we recorded a version of "Get Back" by The Beatles. I won't post a link to it here since it's copyrighted material, but will send it to people I know who ask. We keep threatening to get together again for old times sake and will be sure to post details here should this occur.

Remember Her

2005-07-21T19:59:00.000-04:00

Remember Her is a song I wrote back in '89, just a few months after my mother died. It is currently the only serious song I've ever written and recorded on my own. I did write other songs when I was younger, but mostly they were crude lyrics with very few of them actually set to music. The bulk of my recording and writing has been in collaboration with other artists.

The original recording of this took place shortly after I wrote the basic parts. I wrote the part that I call the 'rhythm' (the tapped, arpeggiated chords) first, followed by the 'melody'. I then put it together using my Fostex 4-track and Roland drum machine. Once I put together a very basic drum beat, I recorded it plus the 'rhythm' and a simple 'bass' part, then bounced them all down to a single track. I then recorded the 'melody' on two of the tracks, panning each one 70% to either side. The last track was the 'solo' and the 'harmony' piece at the end, both of which were actually written after I put the rest of it together. Unfortunately, I never mixed this recording down to a cassette. I still have the master, but no longer have the Fostex so I have no way of playing it. The instruments were a Custom Dreams fretted bass (ESP parts assembled by Dave Sabo of Skid Row) and Fender Jazz fretless for the solo.

Fast forward to 2005. I wanted to re-record the song, but didn't want to tax my wallet doing so. With a little research, I found a program called Audacity, which is open source multi-track recording software. The price was right and it seemed relatively easy to use. I then found Fruityloops, which is a software based drum sequencer. Fortunately for me, they have a trial version that lets you use the software but not save your work. Since the drum track is very basic, that was good enough for me.

The nice thing about software multi-track recorders is that the number of tracks is only limited by the power of your machine. As such, I didn't have to bounce tracks the way I did before. It took me some time, however, to learn how to get around the differences of recording to PC, such as lag. Also, my current soundcard leaves a lot to be desired, which is why it's so difficult to hear without turning it up. Even so, it came out pretty good. I had to force myself to avoid getting anal about it, continually re-recording the solo. Finally, I got one that was half way decent and left it at that. I no longer have a fretless, so I did everything on my new American Fender Jazz Deluxe 5-String.

I will probably record this again in the future, once I have some decent equipment and spend some time getting aquainted with playing bass again.