Darren's Gig Blog

Gee golly, BassUp! was an evening of extremes! All the players were cool and made great music. The crowd was small, but keeno. The venue…how should I say this without sounding too negative…well…the venue was cool, but the venue owners were…uhmmm. How do you call someone a THIEF without sounding negative? I got it! Politician is a word sometimes associated with thieves and thief-like dealings. So the venue owners are primo politicians! However, I’d like to thank them. Yes, thank them. Why? I’ll get to that. So before there is a mass choosing of sides, thumbing of noses, and calling of names (sorry, guess I already did that), read my tale. Then, perhaps, you’ll see there are no sides left to choose.

First, I’d like to thank the audience. Although there were very few of you, all of you rocked! Almost every single person in the crowd stayed the entire show. That was a lot of bass even for me, but you guys stayed enthralled. Plus everyone was very attentive and supportive. Also thanks to folks that have emailed me and posted comments on how cool the show was. Worry not. BassUp! will return next year with an even larger lineup, bigger format, and a more appropriate venue. Be sure to visit the website (www.bassup.net) for the photos that will be posted soon.

Next, thanks to all the players. Trip Wamsley, Joseph Patrick Moore, Keith White, and Jim Lambie all did some serious bass slingin’. No Joke. I started off the night with a set composed almost entirely of tunes from my new album. Then Keith did a fifteen minute set of some Jaco tunes, Amazing Grace, and some cool looping. Next came Trip and he blew the roof off the place. Everyone seemed as engaged in his goofy stage antics as they were in his tremendous bass playing. Side note to Trip: Cindy got a photo of you shaking your rump onstage. It will be posted to the website, so now the FBI can link you to all those drive-by moonings. Up next was Jim Lambie. He chilled it back out by playing some gorgeous solo and looping pieces. He said he’s soon to record them, so be on the lookout. It’s too bad that guy’s moving to Japan. After Jim came Joseph with his band (a percussionist and an EWI player). They laid done some slinky, groovin’ jazz tunes with many a hip interpretation. However, Joseph’s set was cut short. I’ll get to why momentarily.

After the show we hung out in the parking lot for a while and chatted about our lives and all things bass. I realized then that I was not only surrounded by great musicians, but good people. Everyone was easygoing and nice to be around. All of them seemed like fellows that you’d want your kids to call “uncle” even though they aren’t technically family, you know? Good people. Thanks guys for sharing your time and your music with this event. You’ll go down in history as the firsts to do this type of thing in Atlanta. You definitely won’t be the last.

Now it is time for me to talk about the dark side of this moon. Remember how I said Joseph’s set was cut short? During Jim’s set the sound guy, Chris (a really decent sound person and a pretty nice guy), pulled me aside and gave me some shocking news. The owner had called and said to pull the plug. Apparently, the bartender had complained that no one was drinking, so the owner’s wife called the owner and complained. Since our draw had been less than wonderful (this was due to the lack of typical promotion by the venue and due to our main headliner dropping out a few weeks before the event), the owner considered that a deal breaker. He seemingly felt that we hadn’t held up our end of the bargain. I could go into several reasons to the contrary, but it’s not worth it. Over, done with, gone. Anyway, this was before Joseph had a chance to go on. I had to fight to be allowed to let him play. I must say I do admire the sound guy’s courage for having to be the person to tell the event coordinator that his event was being screwed. He was calm and to the point. He did not show the lack of character that the owner and his wife displayed rampantly. Kudos.

However, the sliminess didn’t end there. After the premature end to the show, I broke down my rig and went to ask for the door money. The owner’s wife said that she couldn’t give it to me. When I asked her why, she told me that our draw had not been enough and the bar didn’t make enough money that night. God bless America, land that I love. Well, we all didn’t make enough money that night. Cindy was about to lay into the lady, but I tried to convince her otherwise. Then I walked away. Cindy had a conversation with her, but if you want to know about it, you’ll have to ask her. I ran out to an ATM to make sure the headliners got paid. Later, I apologized to the folks at RedLight if we appeared rude, and for the lack of turnout. I truly meant that apology.

So here’s the part of the blog where I thank RedLight Café. Thank you, RedLight. Yep, even though stole our money, you provided a place for us to play the first Bassup!, and by doing so brought together at least a small part of the bass community. This is something Atlanta needs. Keith and Jim got to finally play some solo stuff at a place where people had come to hear exactly that. Trip’s genius was finally known in Atlanta. Joseph got to share his calm force and his smooth vibes. I got to share a stage with these guys and at the end shake their hands and call them friend. Plus, the seed has been planted. Many perceptions of the electric bass were altered that night. This will bear fruit for generations to come, and the crap that is RedLight fertilized it all. Thank you, RedLight, also for the providing the adversity that has given me proof positive that I have chosen the right path.

Cindy mentioned that owner’s wife had pointed to a photo of her child while they argued over the door money. The owner’s wife yelled that we were taking away her ability to provide for her child. Well, she has our money now, but I’m still suspicious as to how she will be able to provide for her child, if you catch my drift. So this brings to light another point. I learned recently that our misfortune at the RedLight was a common event. They have screwed band after band out of pay. If they don’t like the draw, they break the deal. However, by practicing business in this manner they are only hurting us all. By keeping all of these bands’ money, they have really collected the distrust and dislike of his venue and his dealings by the bands and their family, fans, and friends. Things snowball, and eventually there is the proverbial “goes-around-comes-around”.

Herein lies the rub. It screws everybody. Mistreat the bands, bands stop playing at venue, “lesser” talent is all they can attract, people stop going to the venue, venue closes, one less place for bands to play, good bands have to leave town to survive, the music scene of the entire town dwindles and fades, nightlife begins to suffer, younger families do not move to town, town begins to stagnate, all art suffers, businesses suffer…I could keep going until it’s on everyone’s front lawn. Sure, it may get ridiculous, but it wouldn’t be too far off mark. My point is that this is the way we all treat each other on the collective whole. In tough times, we don’t share what we’ve got, instead we horde it for ourselves. It’s a story centuries old. The events at the RedLight only model this story, but in truth it’s happening on such a larger scale. Look around, you’ll see it. By hurting each other, we only hurt ourselves. There are no sides. There is no “us” and “them”.

Again I thank them. They have illuminated such a large dilemma and a sort of moral buoy. They have alerted me to dangerous waters. This is a way that I will not live my life by. By seeing their actions, I know the path that I will not tread. This is such a great gift to give me.

So, there it is, the dark side to this moon. But you see, like the Moon there really is not a dark side. The “dark side” actually much brighter than the one we see. It’s just something beyond our perception. I still had a major blast doing what I do. Plans are already in the works for the next BassUp!. Thank you for reading this. I hope you see that there are no “sides”. Open your perception. We are all in this together, and in it we walk hand in hand.

Greetings and Salutations! I’m kicking back after a long week of gigging and preparing for BassUp! (www.bassup.net - go to the site and then go to the show!). Yep, just sitting here typing away while Samurai Jack the movie plays in the background. Aku is a rough mug. Then again, Jack has an enchanted sword. I think enchanted swords should be standard attire… you know government issue or something. Like when you get your driver’s license, the DMV person forks one over. “Eighty percent on the written test and ninety percent on the driving test; here’s your license…oh and don’t forget your enchanted sword. Now go forth and do good.” Of course my sword would more than likely have a crappy enchantment, like the nifty ability to slice a bagel into exact halves. That WOULD be kinda helpful, but as for going forth and doing good, well… Anyway, here is the blog to cover the Conway, Fayetteville, and Atlanta gigs from last weekend. Hope you enjoy.

On Friday, October 1^st, Trip and I played Something Brewing in Conway, AR. We had a crazy long drive from Jackson, MS, to get there, but I thought it was worth it. The Jodys were nice enough to put us up at their home. One Jody was missing, male Jody…he was golfing. Female Jody was around as well as their daughter, Allison. So at least we got to relax a bit before the gig. Well, that is, we rested in the short periods between playing with Allison and Loki.

We pulled up to Something Brewing with plenty of time. There were only a few folks hanging out. Trip seemed discouraged. I told him not to worry because it had looked like that before my last gig there. I thought it would pack out again. Boy was I wrong, but I‘ll get to that. We started setting up on the deck outside and realized that we didn’t have an extension cord to the power outlet. The folks at the venue couldn’t find one. Luckily, Cindy and Jody showed up in time to go down the street and buy a cord at Walgreens. Thanks, guys. You rock.

So we started playing. We round-robined again. I played a couple, and then Trip played some. It was nice to get behind my instrument again. We had been driving all day, and I hadn’t had a chance to play yet. I must admit that I’m addicted to playing bass. It’s hard to describe. It’s not so much the music as it is the physicality of it. The music is wonderful to make, sure, but the actual feeling of a big ole six string rumbling against my gut is such a marvelous thing. Anyway, we started playing. I was a little more “on” that night and I didn’t have problems with my Boomerang. Trip was of course incredible. I only had to contend with a train passing by once. Only about thirty folks showed up, but they were attentive. I’m grateful for it. The Beams were there as well as my brother Bill and his family. Mark Chiaro, a guy that played guitar on a few songs on my album, made it out towards the end. It was good to see all those folks. There were a few new faces as well. We hung out a bit after the show and chatted. Good Times. Thanks to Elisabeth Eoaff for letting us come out and play.

We left the next day to go to Fayetteville but stopped off in Conway to grab a bite to eat. We ended up eating at Something Brewing. Their food is that good. While we were waiting for the food, I walked around downtown a bit to see if I could find the write up on me in the Go and Do, the local entertainment guide. I couldn’t find one, so if anyone knows of the article please email me (darren@darrenmichaelsbass.com). We ate and hung out there for about and hour and a half then made our way towards Fayetteville.

We arrived at Chris Moore’s house around 5:30PM, and we weren’t due to play until 9PM. I was all prepared to chill out awhile…you know, shake off all that driving. Well, Chris wasn’t home, neither was his roomie, Amy. Dude, they’re always home, so their absence had me a bit worried. I tried to call some folks, but apparently no one else was home either. It was like being in the beginning of 28 Days Later except we were in the woods of north Arkansas. Somehow that’s a scarier notion to me. Anyway, we decided to go to the venue and just set up early and relax there. The only problem was what to do with Loki. It was getting chilly, too. We couldn’t leave him out in Chris’s fenced-in yard. He would freeze.

Loki went with us to Arsaga’s, and the staff there was cool enough to let us take him inside. He’s such a tiny thing anyway, but he did get in the way…sorta…more later. I was hoping for a crowd, because every time I’ve played there in the past, there’s been a great turnout. I found out though that we were competing with “Blues and Barbeque” ( I think that’s the name). It’s a fall festival that Fayetteville was having that weekend. Well, it killed our turnout. It was our worst one of the tour. I feel so bad about it only because I had dragged Trip way up there to play with me. I wanted to expose his playing to my audience…you know, share the love. Well, sorry. We did get a few folks out to see us, which was really cool. Thanks to the people that made it. Got to met one of Trip’s friends, Keith (I hope that’s his name-I’m so bad with names). He had a cool looking bass with him, but I didn’t get to check it out.

Trip opened the show with a full set, and tore the roof off. Man, that guy can play! Here’s the point where Loki enters the picture again. Loki started howling during Trip’s last tune. He sounded like he was trying to harmonize with Trip and doing a bang up job, too. I had to run outside with him, though, before he stole the show. Sorry, Trip. I got up next and played a pretty good show. I did mostly tunes off my new CD, and had a good time. Yes, it was fun even though we didn’t have a big crowd. Thanks to Cindy Arsaga for having us out. Thanks to Trip also for being so cool and playing some shows with me. Next time will have more of a crowd. I jokingly said we needed to sacrifice a chicken, because Trip had brought some serious voodoo from Louisiana that scared all my crowd away. Heh. Don’t worry. I won’t hurt any chickens.

Cindy and I left right after the show after we hung out a little while with Trip. We rolled out of Fayetteville around 2:30AM Atlanta time and drove all night to make it to my gig for the Atlanta Celebrates Photography “My Atlanta” show in Piedmont Park. We made it to town with just enough time for me to get cleaned up and then go play. The weather was nice, not too hot and not too cold. Plus the Sun was shining. It was a good day to play in the park. Also, we found out our friend that had open heart surgery was doing fine. Good day. I played for almost three hours and stuck to really light, relaxing tunes. It was fun, and I was barely awake enough to be aware of it. Hehe. I talked a while with a few folks after the gig and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. There also may be a few more local gigs in the works from folks that caught my playing in the park. Coolness. Thanks to ACP for having me out to play again. Hopefully it will become an annual gig.

Okay, Trip showed up. We’ll probably stay up a while talking about stuff. I’ll post this in the morning. Come to BassUp! (www.bassup.net). See ya there!

Greetings from the Great White North! Okay, it’s not so white, and we’re not very north. So, greetings from the Great Greenish-brown sorta Mid-west! Somehow that doesn’t sound so grandiose. Anyway, I’m typing this in Little Rock, AR at the Jodys's home (yes, that's Jody plural) and I want to thank them for letting us stay. I’ve done two shows so far with Trip Wamsley. Last night we were in Conway, AR, and we were in Jackson, MS the night before. Both shows were much fun. It’s interesting to share gigs with another solo bassist. Our playing styles and music contrast very nicely. I think it gives the listener a great taste of what solo bassists have to offer in listening (and viewing) enjoyment.

Before I get into the gigs, I must tell you guys that my second CD, Equilibrium, is finally out! I picked it up on Thursday morning before I left Atlanta to play in Jackson. Talk about good timing! I woke up so friggin’ early to drive way up to north Georgia to pick up a cubic butt-ton (see previous blog entry for definition of cubic butt-ton) of boxes full of copies of my CD. It was worth it. I’m pretty pleased with how it sounds and looks. Hope you folks enjoy it as much as I. Unfortunately it won’t be available for purchase online for maybe two weeks (hopefully sooner). Be on the lookout.

Okay, time to yap about the gig and other things. Cindy and I made it to Jackson a little later than planned due to my early morning trek to obtain my CDs. Our rented Ford Focus (not a good trip car) which was loaded down with way too much gear, the evil Chihuahua, and my wife and me rolled into town around 4PM. I usually like to get into town earlier when I’m playing. I just like to kinda relax after a long drive and kinda settle into the new locale. This was cutting it a little close, because I needed to start setting up by 7PM. I called one of my friends to see if she would be coming to the show. Instead of the normally cheerful conversation, she gave me some alarming news. Her mother, also a good friend, was scheduled to have a quadruple bypass. They had just found out about some serious heart problems that day and had to schedule an emergency surgery. When Life wants to throw you a curveball, it doesn’t mess around. By the way, I’ve yet to find out how the surgery went. We had to leave town while she was still in the middle of it. Everyone please keep her in your thoughts and pray to whomever you pray to. She’s a great lady, and we still need her here with us.

With this news on my mind, I began to wonder where Mr. Wamsley was. Trip hadn’t made it to the hotel yet. Just as I was getting a bit worried about him, my cellphone rang…well, actually, it vibrated. It was Trip. He said that he had missed his exit. Okay, no big deal, but then he said he missed his exit by FIFTY MILES. That's a hundred miles when you have to turn around and go back. Heh heh. He was still going to make the gig in time, but he was going to be cutting it close. I hadn’t met Trip face to face yet, but our many emails and phone conversations had already told me the only important thing, Trip’s good people. When he finally arrived, he greeted me with a handshake and a hug (my wife turned me into a hugger). He looked a little bedraggled by his extended journey, but we had no time to rest. We had to play!

We set up at Cups in Fondren. It was a little smaller than I expected, but it’s in a pretty hip part of Jackson right next to Millsaps College. The staff people at Cups were extremely nice and easy to talk to, and the place has a really laid-back vibe (and also a kick-butt iced vanilla chai). Thanks to Dan Joiner for having us out. It's cool of you to book solo bassists. I definitely want to come back. Anyway, Trip and I had decided to round robin the show where one of us would play three and then switch out. I started it off. Needless to say my mind was elsewhere. I eventually started to get into it. Then it was Trip’s turn.

Trip got up there and said something like, “This is a tune Elvis taught me,” and then BOOJAH! He ripped it up! His playing peeled the paint off the walls and shook the corners of the heavens. It was beautiful, groovie, ugly, and funky all at the same time. The sound was just amazing. You must witness it! The guy is truly a master and a freak on stage. I can’t believe his image isn’t plastered all over bass magazines and websites. I feel so honored and awed to be playing with him. Go now to his website, www.tripwamsley.com, listen to his mp3s and buy his new album.

Well, that’s how the night progressed. We switched out and had fun. Turn out wasn’t quite what I was hoping for, but it was good to be there with everybody and good to be playing what I love. Thanks to the folks that came out. John Jayroe, you rock! Thanks also to the folks that bought my CD and to the folks that just enjoyed listening.

We packed up our stuff and hung out in the parking lot a bit. Trip had been dogging on my Warwick basses and amp, so when he wasn’t looking I stuck a Warwick logo sticker on the front of his Glockenclang cabinet. Heheh. He didn’t find it until the next gig. After we dropped Cindy off at the hotel, Trip and I went to an IHOP to grab some grub. Aside from having a deeply emotional experience with the herb chicken I ate (DAMN!! it was good), I got to learn more about Trip. He’s a monster on the bass, sure, but he’s also a gem of a person. He’s deeply in love with his wife and kid, and he’s truly compassionate about the world around him and filled with life…and a dose of wise-ass. See, good people. Anyway, we hung out until 4AM and just chatted and schemed about world domination through the genre of solo bass (think it will happen?).

I snagged a little over three hours of sleep, and got up early to go see friends at the hospital and then to come back and prepare for our drive to Arkansas. I’ll have to tell you about that and the Conway gig in another blog though. We’re about to head up to Fayetteville, AR (Saturday, October 2nd) to play at Arsaga’s tonight. I can’t wait. It will be fun. This is our last shared show until BassUp! so come out and check us out. See you soon!