Played Jake’s Ice Cream in Decatur the night of last and had a big ole blast! (that rhymes). When I told folks that I was playing at an ice cream parlor, many
laughed and questioned why. To these people I flick my fingers from beneath my chin in their general direction. Playing Jake’s
was cool! I must also remind these people that I am a solo bassist not a rock star. Solo bassists that wish to keep a plump
belly and stay warm in the winter go and play wherever and whenever possible. Plus I just love to play my basses for people.
I’d set up and rock some solo bass in your bathroom if people would show up and listen. That’s just how I am. So you naysayers
can lick my butt clean…wait, that was rude. You naysayers are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled not to listen to
it. Cool? Anyway, I’m going to play Jake’s again sometime soon. Thanks very much to Andrew Burke and the staff at Jake’s for
letting me drag all my gear into your shop and do my thing.
Speaking of gear, I tried some new things with my rig at
this gig (oh my, that rhymes, too). My Boomerang loves to hiss like a den of lovesick reptiles, so I tried running through a mixer and put a 31-band equalizer after my loopers
to cut out the noise and boost a bit of bottom. Seems to have worked pretty well, but I spent lots of time adjusting levels.
I rather spend that time playing. Also, that gave me even more gear to drag around which is so not cool. Perhaps sometime
soon the Boomerang will go the way of the Dodo, but I need to find an adequate replacement. If anyone knows of a looping unit
that has the capabilities of a Boomerang but not the crazy hiss, please drop me an email. Thanks and thanks some more.
Let me take a moment to give a holler to all the folks
that showed up to hear my bass meanderings. Thanks to Beth and Jonathan, they’ve been making it to a lot of my shows. Also
thanks to Vic and Kat (first-timers), Tonya and her mom (sorry didn’t catch your name), Ryan Taylor (one of my students),
and Alex Landry. Alex is a solo bassist that just popped up on the radar. He’s got a few shows coming up. You can check out
his stuff at his site. I wanted to let Ryan and Alex hop up for a song or two. Oh well, maybe next time. Oh, and thanks to all the lovely folks
from Agnes Scott College for hanging out and listening. Apparently my new CD will now be reviewed in
the ASC newspaper. Cool. Be gentle; I’m very sensitive. Hehheh.
Okay, here are some things on the horizon. I’ll be playing
some shows with Trip Wamsley in the coming months. Some other players will be joining in on the fun…one player being Stewart Mckinsey. Check those guys out as soon as you get the chance. Also, I wrote a short story about my experience of being a solo bassist
that will be in the next issue of the online bass magazine, Bass Inside. It’s not out yet, but I’ll let guys know when it does pop up. Remember as well that the holiday season has once again reared
its ugly head, and nothing says “I love you” quite like a solo bass CD…hint, shameless hint. So go check out the CDs I have
for sale here and commence stuffing stockings and whatnot. Thanks for reading, and see you next gig.
