Darren's Gig Blog

Jatema is always a fun place to play, and I think I really needed it this week. I was wicked ill earlier this week which was not fun to say the least. When I do get sick (thankfully, not a frequent event), it’s usually pretty wretched. This time really knocked me on my derriere, so I was still feeling a bit weak at the show. That’s okay because a lot of good people came out to hear me play. That really gave me the boost back into the land of the living.

Before the show I actually had a few hours to get a little bit of practice. After all it’d been about a month and a half since my last live show. That’s too much downtime for me. I was a little worried, too. I had nothing but gear glitches during my rehearsing. That of course can mean a serious gig catastrophe, but the show must go on…yada, yada, yada. Besides, I’d perform a cappella if people would still listen. Man, that’d make Mr. Skin sound a bit different!

Luckily, the show went off without a hitch, and there were only a few moments of gear goofage. I think the highlight of the evening though was when one of my students, Austin Longo, came up to play a tune for which he had written the bassline. This was his first time on “stage” with an electric bass (he can also throw down on upright bass), but he played it cool like a seasoned pro. His playing was superb even though he was playing on an unfamiliar bass and a line he had just recently learned. Plus, that bassline was freakin’ cool. I wish I had written it! The crowd loved him, too. I think he got more applause than me, and I have a stinkin’ music degree! Austin, you rock. If fact you rock so much that when people refer to your rockingness they spell it “R-A-W-K”. So, Austin, you rawk!

Later in the set another local solo bassist, Alex Landry, jumped on stage for a few neato solo pieces. He threw out some sick chops that I’m totally going to rip off. See there, Alex, I fooled you. You thought I was just sharing my gig with you, but in fact I was just looking for new material to steal. Heh. Anyway, you can go visit the magical land of Alex Landry here.

There you have it, good show. Thanks to Emily and her dad for requesting to hear Green (I enjoyed playing it), and thanks to all the folks that came out to listen and share in the music I love. Also, a special thank you goes to all my other students in the crowd and their families. Lastly, thanks to Kristina and Natalie at Jatema for being good people. See ya next gig.

Time. What a weird and utterly meaningless human invention. Anyway, the year is progressing somewhat well thus far. I had a great gig at Octane Coffee in Atlanta on January 8th. I shared the show with Jim Lambie, Trip Wamsley and Myron Carroll. It was of course very fun and very cool. I played a pretty good set, Trip of course devastated the place with wicked chops, Jim sounded glorious (and signed his first autograph), and Myron played a solo piece (his first public solo performance). We had a great time. Unfortunately, I think we scared the folks at Octane. They are not going to have me back which is an unusual occurrence in my career. They said our music was too random and that confused the regular patrons. Hehe. I take it as a positive sign that I’m headed in a good direction. I’m going to keep doing my thing, and the future will sort it out.

Cindy and I met with Jason Wade of Wacko Productions. He’s looking well and happy. We finally got a copy of Can’t Live Down which is one of his short films that features a couple of my tunes. I really dig it. Jason has a true talent of telling a story with a camera. Many of the compositions of his shots seemed very original to me. Plus, he must be an editing genius. The flow was wonderful. I do, however, think the writing could have been a little stronger and the female lead wasn’t at all convincing…only my opinion. But, hey, the music rocks ;). The last tune is quite lovely (and it’s not one of mine). If you get a chance to see Can’t Live Down, do so. It’s well worth it.

Cindy and I went to NAMM. It was crowded and loud. The schwagging and schmoozing was almost unbearable…but I still had a blast. I hung out with Trip and Seth Horan and had much fun. We are conniving to take over the world with the clever use of solo bass. Perhaps I’ll write more on that at a later date. Anyway, caught some good bass-centric shows, dropped by the Jerzy Drozd booth (I can’t wait for my bass…it’s almost killing me now), and saw Steve Bailey, Steve Lawson, and Michael Manring. I also made a couple of new friends. If you want to see photos of the goings-on, check out this page.

When we weren’t at NAMM we went to Redondo Beach and caught the sunset. That was friggin’ gorgeous. Los Angeles does have its redeeming qualities, I suppose. My parents were with us and it was good to spend time with them. I haven’t seen them in a very long time especially since they live in Vegas now. Anyway, at the beach I played in the shallows and picked up rocks and sand dollars. It’s cool to think that some of those rocks were once ballast for ships from all over the world. Now they’re on my kitchen table. Groovie. Later, we drove up to the overlook in Burbank and looked at the smoggy city. It was beautiful and ugly at the same time. On the way up there, I saw a skunk-a pretty big striped one. I love the way they walk like pimps. They know that only an idiot would mess with ‘em. It must be nice to have that kind of security.

More important than getting to the beach for the first time this year, I learned an ancient art. Check it out but be prepared to plant your tongue firmly in your cheek.

Yep, the year is going pretty okay so far. Played a show, got me a short film, went to NAMM, saw parents and the sunset (simultaneously no less), smoggy city overlooked, spotted a skunk-who was striped, and learned an ancient art. Done and good. Many things are on the horizon as well. Be on the lookout for dates for the 2005 BassUp! and dates for west coast gigs. Fun! Okay, enough of my meandering! Later…