I know. I know. The show was a week and a half ago, but
I had to get some time off. Anyway, Wow. BassUp! 2005 was all kinds of cool!!! I could use some bigger words to describe it—something with more gusto—but nope that just wouldn’t
do. So I reiterate, BassUp! 2005 was cool!!! For those of you who’d like bigger words for descriptions, just use the word
“cool” to its fullest extent. Yep, that should cover it.
Okay, if you haven’t caught on yet, let me start by saying
that BassUp! 2005 was a success! Atlanta, I knew you had it in ya, but I didn’t know you would prove yourself so soon. After
how last year went (you can look it up in my blogs somewhere), I was on the fence as to how this year’s show would go down.
I was already prepared mentally for the not-so-good side of things of what might happen, but I told myself to be hopeful.
Even so, I’m still stunned by the outcropping of bass players that came to the show. Thanks Atlanta bass community! You rule.
I have so many other people to thank for helping with this
event, so please don’t feel left out if I neglect to mention ya. I’m just too tired to think straight. You can just borrow
some of the other thankyous if that gets your goat. However, I’ll get to the shout outs in a minute. First, let me talk about
the weekend and the show.
Trip Wamsley and Brady Muckelroy rolled into town so late on Friday night that it was technically Saturday morning. That didn’t stop us from shooting the
breeze and playing for a few more hours. Fun times. I took them on a bit of a tour of Atlanta on the next day, but later that
evening was more jamming. I remember sitting on my couch thinking, Heck, I’d pay ten bucks just to hear what these guys
are jamming on in my living room. We all hit the hay late again…uhm, that may have been a bad idea. After a few nights
of little sleep, I was pretty worn. Trip got sick. I don’t think it bothered Brady too much. Dang young’uns.
On Sunday, we got to Smith’s around 1PM and made the gear
haul up the stairs. (I’m so happy I only use a 2x10 cabinet!) All of the Smith’s Olde Bar staff were very groovie people. Man, that was cool to have. Good people always make shows go easy. Anyway, we set up just
in time for soundchecks when the sound guy, Parrish (another groovie person), showed up. Soundchecks went smoothly except
Adam Nitti hadn’t made it in yet. We ended up setting up his band’s sound right before they went on, because poor Marcus Finney (drummer)
got stuck in traffic on his trip from Nashville. He’s a trooper though, because later that night he played his tail off.
Trip Wamsley kicked off the clinic section of the show
at 3 PM. He did some neato playing, and he still had his voice at this point. I don’t know about you guys, but I learned a
lot from that clinic. Thanks to Glockenklang and Atlanta Bass Gallery for sponsoring Trip’s clinic.
Adam Nitti’s Clinic was next up at 4:30-ish. He talked
about relaxing as you play and phrasing as he jammed along with his laptop. Great stuff! Again, I learned a lot. We did some
trivia question giveaways afterwards, which was pretty fun. One question was, “What’s the name of Adam’s dog?”. Of course
Adam’s #1 fan, Sheila, got that one right. Thanks to D’Addario Strings and me (hehe) for sponsoring Adam’s clinic.
I kicked off the performance portion of the show with a
laid back set. I started out with a new tune tentatively titled “Fracto”. It went okay, but I’m not sure it was ready for
playing in front of an audience. Plus it’s a real tough tune for me to open with, because I usually take a few moments to
relax once I get on stage. Next, I played “Spiraling” from equilibrium. That tune is a real doozie to play on my new
Jerzy Drozd bass, but I think I did a fair job. Then I did a mostly improvised loop with a reggae feel. It gave me time to change basses…and
to shake my rump a bit. Next I did my version of Coldplay’s “Don’t Panic” just because I was feeling laid back and groovie.
It was probably not the best cover to play at a show where other players are expecting you to “throw down”, but I don’t care.
I thought it was pretty. That’s just how I am. I ended my set with “Mr. Skin” from equilibrium. Nailed it…aside from some volume issues, but that still made it sound better than the CD version of it. Anyway, that
crowd was cool, attentive, and very responsive. I love you guys for that.
After my set, we did some giveaways via admission ticket
number. Thanks to Keith White (aka, K-dub) for drawing tickets for me. Man, I love giving away stuff! We gave away some neat
items, too.
Brady Muckelroy was up next. This was his first time to
play in Atlanta (as a bassist), and it was his first ever “bass fest” to perform. Regardless, he jumped up on stage and showed
‘em how it was done. If you folks have not heard Brady, you should go to his site and do so right this minute. He started
off as a drum corps dude. When he picked up bass, he transferred a lot of those drum ideas to the instrument. It’s pretty
darn cool. Anyway, it was awesome, and I could see that the room was digging it, too. He even sang a tune…sang the heck out
of it, too. My personal fav tune was “Sweet Surrender”. It had some killer dynamics.
After Brady’s set, I did some more giveaways. Then I pulled
the winning raffle ticket for the fretless KSD bass donated by Jim Rubio of the Atlanta Bass Gallery. A young man named
Drew won. That was pretty dang hip. Here’s a photo.
Trip’s set was next. The poor guy was feeling like regurgitated
dog poo (I’ve seen that!), but he got up and threw down anyway. He lost his voice during the first tune, but it didn’t matter.
He was still incredible as always. Trip played a lot of new stuff. Most was this really low volume but extremely intense music
with a very lyrical quality to it. I loved it! When I met Trip over a year ago, I felt I had met a master of the bass. He’s
gotten even better now, so that has really changed my view. I now feel you never fully master the bass and that its possibilities
are farther reaching than anyone currently playing the instrument can comprehend. The bass is a complete instrument and a
lifetime instrument. Thanks for showing me that, Trip. Anyway, after his set, Trip said, “I’m sorry I sucked.” I just had
to look at him in disbelief. I guess that’s what pushes guys like that.
After Trip, I did some more giveaways and raffled the remaining
KSD bass. This one was a beautiful fretted jazz style bass. Guess what, a guitarist won it (I forgot your name by the way!). Many bassists were dismayed, but I thought it was cool. Who needs to be exposed
to the depth of bass more than a guitarist? I told him that he might have been a guitarist when he walked to the stage, but
he’s a bass player now. Heh. Plus, there’s a real balance in the bass winners that night. First one was a young guy who won
the fretless. The other was this guy. Man, that’s equilibrium.
Adam’s band did a sound check and then played a killer
set. Steve Cunningham (guitar…with a Bootsy Collins shirt) and Marcus Finney (drummer) joined Adam to play some wonderful fusion. Those guys were
on. Adam even played a new solo tune. Once again the crowd was amazed.
So that was BassUp! 2005. I had a blast, and I hope those
that attended did, too. There were moments during the show when I just gazed out at the audience. I could see others feeling
the joy that I feel when I hear this kind of music. That confirmed to me that BassUp! is a good thing and must continue. Oh
yeah, go see photos of the show here.
Here are the folks I need to thank for all the help. First,
thanks to our sponsors International Institute of Bass, ExtendedRangeBassist.com, Braswell Music, Fatdaddy Productions, and Atlanta Bass Gallery. By the way, Jim Rubio of Atlanta Bass Gallery gave SOOOO much to this event. He spread the word on his site, donated tons
of strings, cables, shirts, DVDs, CDs, and he donated TWO basses to be raffled off. Man, that’s giving back to the community!
Next time you need a bass, amp, or just something little like strings or a strap, go visit Jim at the Atlanta Bass Gallery.
Next let me thank all the people that helped spread the word—Steve Mays and Tiffany Nageem in particular. Thanks to Smith’s
Olde Bar. Those folks were super cool. We would not have had a show without a place to have it. Dur. Also, thanks to my students
that showed, Myron Carroll, Keith White, and Mark Pitner. Thanks to the players for your time and wiliness to play my little
bass show. Last and definitely not least, thanks to all that came to the show. I appreciate your interest and support. See
you in 2006!
Okay gang, I’ve got a few low-key gallery shows on the
docket. Also, I’ll be playing Jatema again on October 22nd with a guest solo bassist from Alabama. His name is
Blake Branch and he is good. Good check him out. Also look for a small, locals-only show called BassUp! Extra coming this winter or spring
to a coffeehouse somewhere in Atlanta. Toodle-loo!
