Progress Shot of the Skjold

Look at this! I just received this photo today and just had to post the pic. Look at this thing...It's better than I imagined. Pete's doing good things... www.skjolddesign.com

Bandcamp people to listen to...

So yeah, I've been blathering on about Bandcamp for a while now. I've even pointed you in the direction of a nice directory of Bandcamp musicians. But that assumed you had all the time in the world to read my post, go read Steve's post and listen to the rather large amount of peeps there. Let's see if we can make it a tad easier.

Some special highlights from the list and few that may not be on there:

First up is Gustaf Fjelstrom's Metamesmeric, which is described as Ambient Looping Bass Cello Excursions. It's all sorts of ambient loopy goodness...Listen and meditate...or something.




Next is Trip Wamsley. Solo Bassist, Extended Range Bassist...goofball. Aparently was once a zygote...but he got better. Listen now. He's good...like real good.



Here we have Atmos Trio, Rob Michael: guitars, Joe Shotwell: drums, Drew Waters: bass
Rob has been doing loads of Ustream performances, so if the tracks aren't enough you can check him out HERE. It's all excellent music.



I can't leave out Steve Lawson. Solo bassist, fellow looper, and all around social media wizard. It helps that his music is good too:




That's it for now... More to come as I discover more. Take a listen to everyone and if you like, it wouldn’t hurt to throw some of that spare change you got lying around at the chaps above. They could use some more Ramen.

Bandcamp and new things afoot...a foot....uhfute

Bandcamp seems to have become the next big thing for musicians. It's super easy to use and it has all the usual widget type things that make it very useful in getting your music noticed as well as providing an easy way for people to purchase your music. Speaking of... Matt Stevens a fellow looper and blogger discussed why now is the best time to be a musician on his blog a bit ago. I agree, it's an age of DYI. The only thing that seems to be holding anyone back is commitment. You can't procrastinate and expect things to happen. So get out there, make friends and don't annoy people with tweets that contain nothing but "HEY BUY MY MUSIC!" it's rude and generally people Will not listen. What's the point? Why interact with someone who yells at you to buy something. Billy Mays you are not.

This brings me to the idea of community. I would like to link to Steve Lawson's Bandcamp directory. It's an example of how to do this right. Build a community, interact with this community, make friends in it, and help promote each other. There be loads of great music in here. Please take your time, stroll through the widgets, and if you like it, support it. (was tempted to type put a ring on it...apologies)

I'm on bandcamp, the new CD will be on bandcamp. Hell just about everything I do will be on bandcamp. In fact Surrent(AKA Jake Hildreth) and I are using bandcamp to document our progress in creating a new project. Here is the first version of what we're doing. IT gets rough in places, but I think preserving the creative process is interesting, to me and Jake anyhow. Please take a listen, and provide feedback, I would love to hear comments, both negative and positive.




In other news:

My Skjold Bass is coming together nicely. It's looking fantastic!




That's all for now. No movie clip today. I've got word on a movie called "Highway to Hell" that looks promising. I'll let you know.

But I do have this hilarious look into a discussion of a solo bass gig thanks to Steve Lawson:

This is where the title goes....

While making room to demo for the new CD I came across some non looped material I recorded eons ago. Must have been before I got my first looper. I had completely forgotten about them and at least one was decent enough to post here...or so I thought. After listening to them I realized why I didn't release them in any sort of way. However it seems that I've always been a loop kinda guy as these tunes can be tweaked and then looped live for performances. It's always nice to listen to old stuff...cringe...and then be happy knowing that you've progressed since then.





In other news, my Skjold bass is still in the early stages of production, but Pete tells me it's ready to be cut and he starting work on the neck soon. I'm thrilled...I should have it in a few months...hopefully.

When I get more pics I'll post 'em.

In other OTHER news, I'm no longer pulling bass duty for Glass Bead Game. After my son was born I needed to take a good look at the things I was putting time and energy into and evaluate the return. Time away from my family must be productive time, and things just didn't seem to be progressing. There was discussion but differing opinions couldn't fix the issues. It sucks in some ways because the music was great and the musicians are some of the best I've played with, but it just wasn't working out.

So I'm putting that energy into production of a new CD, and some collaberative projects with Surrent. He and i have a show at The Ground Level on Nov 7th. Seperate sets and a collaberative peice. I just might Ustream the thing. We'll see.

Movies:

The genius of Hard Ticket to Hawaii can be summed up by this clip:

I'm Really Bad With Titles...

I'm also really bad at starting out my blogs...but hey look!! I seem to have gotten one started!

Before I go and get all talky and drive most of you away...I managed to find time to complete my bandcamp site. Bandcamp is very nice and simple. All digital downloads with links to buy a physical copy from CD baby if you're so inclined to do so.

Ok...on with the show....


I've been pretty busy the last few weeks, mostly with that whole being a father and having a job kind of thing. It's been four and half months since Octavius was born and it's true...this time goes by way too fast. He has changed so much in such a short time. But I won't bore you with my views on fatherhood.



But I will post some pics:



Octavius three days old on his last day at the hospital:




Octavius a few days ago:



So...how do I find time to practice? A chore for music types who also happen to be parents to be sure. Well, I've set aside one day a week for myself, with about an hour or two to work in. It's not much and the writing process has been slowed down somewhat but, I've gotten enough material for another project, so I'm ok with the current state of things...

I've also started to use that time to practice with drummer Dave Kontak. I've known Dave for a few years and used to play in a death/black metal band with him called Into Nothing. The first track on his myspace called Into Nothing is a track I produced and played on oh so many years ago. He's a great drummer with a lot of good things ahead of him.


SO yeah...I've decided the next CD will not only be solo bass. You must be asking, "but Steven, you've been pushing this solo bass thing for quite some time now...a drummer you say?" Yes. The truth is, I'll still do a majority of solo shows , but I also would like to have a drummer to bounce things off of...like rocks and other trajectory type objects. I also would like to groove. The loop can be restricting in some cases, and the more complex the device and the more intrusive the technology, the less I can actually enjoy what I'm doing without worrying about the loop crashing and burning. I'm a scatterbrained type of Joe...So the more buttons I have to click the easier it is for me to be confoosed.

Not to fear though...I already know the third will be a solo disk again, as I've already got the idea for that one. But I digress...

And in other news... for those who missed it and might find it as neat as I did, No Treble: The site for Bass Players featured my video of Concluding Remarks a few weeks back. They had some pretty nice things to say too. CLICK HERE to see the video. A Big Thanks to them!


So how about a few highlights from the basement?

Dave Kontak on drums and me soloing too much:



Dave Kontak on Drums again while I beat up on my bass and look at my loop station like WTF?:





That's about it for now...I think. I've been watching "Crimewave" while doing this so I'm sure I left something out. Check out the youtoobyness of a "Crimewave scene!

Cincinnati Bass Blast...

I'm a bit slow in writing about The Bass Blast, but I took a day off from the interweb thing to decompress and spend the next day with my family...undivided attention and all, well at least until we watched Phase IV...but I digress.

I can't express what an amazing event this was. Camaraderie and a sense of community was present and it was quite a thing to be a part of it all. It's really wonderful to see so many people pull together to showcase the diversity of the Bass as an instrument both in style and in philosophy. One thing is certain, community is the driving force behind these kinds of events and as I said before, it's a rather special thing to be involved with. So if you hear of one being put together near you, please go and show your support.

An incredible amount of thanks goes out to Helena Bouchez and David Yates for organizing the night. They fed us...good food even! Fed musicians are happy musicians! More thanks goes out to Daniel Johnson, Jr. for hooking up and running the event through Ustream all night as well. The man is all sorts of social media guru-ness.

Speaking of social media guru-ness not only was the event Ustreamed but you can follow the thread on Twitter by searching with the hashtag #cincybass.

As I've said the evening was Ustreamed and you can watch everyone's set below.

Three very different approaches to the Bass as a lead instrument....

So without further delay...here goes my description of the night:

The evening began with a video introduction by Victor Wooten

Mind Blown...That was not expected...it was a pleasent surprise indeed.

I performed first...I actually got video of it this time. I stuck to my set list, something I don't do usually. All went pretty well, save for a few minor blips, boops and beeps from my loop pedals. Those things never do what the're supposed to do at a live event. Or should I say my feet never do what I tell them at a live event. KAHN!!! indeed. It also didn't help that I wore my sandals for the first half. I always play barefoot, I feel grounded and there is less room for pedal mistakes. Lesson learned.

Doug Johns and Chris Ceja were just incredible to watch. A real treat. If they're anywhere near your town you owe it to yourself to catch these guys. Doug does so much with just four strings and Chris is a madman on the kit. They also did a tribute to Trentin Manning, a fellow bassist who passed away not even a year ago. Fitting as we all knew him and Cinci is his hometown.

Jauqo III-X, Jim Gifford, and DeLawn Simpson (who plays a 9 stringed Ergo guitar) finished the evening with some of the most original sounding material I've heard in a good while. It was a sonic assault in someways and yet, there was so much grove present. Jauqo has a rather innovative technique which allows him to thump, pick and tap with minimal effort. Lots of great sounds from his band, who are formally called Jauqo III-X Reality.

And there you have it. The first annual Cincinnati Bass Blast all blogged out for you. Hopefully it makes sense and hopefully it conveys what an awesome event it was. Here's to next year!

When Moshing had an Anthem...Plus...More Bass Stuff! Well at least bass themed....anyway.

So yeah... The Bass Blast is tomorrow. I'll post pics and whatnots and things after it's all said and done.

I'm on twitter...you can read all the riveting things I have to say from my twitter feed over there on the right. That would be that'a way ----->

Anyhow, After youtubing my way through memory lane looking for "Old Skool" metal to point to for #musicmonday...(you've got to have the hash mark or you fail, It's all about the hash marks apparently) I came across this:

Testament- Souls of Black. Can't embed it but here be a link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqiTNHJVp9E

Which lead to this: Exodus - The Toxic Waltz




Then This: Megadeth - Peace Sells



Which then led to many, many other things...some of which were rather embarrassing and perhaps a blog about the embarrassing music I listened to is in order...at least for penance...a sort of public flogging for all of the horrible music I used to listen to...except for these songs... they rock. \m/ <--- That's so freakin' metal! Grrr!

What's my point? Well, ignoring Exodus....Souls of Black and Peace Sells were two songs I just had to learn when I was a yute. Exodus is with us today simply to remind us how to mosh.

Are they truly "Old Skool?" That's up for debate...It is a touch disconcerting to hear 80's music on the oldies station....perhaps it is "Old Skool."

Anyhow...All this was inspired by some twitter discussions and I thought I'd go ahead and blog about it. (I would include the discussion but I've no idear how to do that.) There are more bass centric old skool metal songs out there to be sure....Some more have already come to mind. But in the interest of attempting to make this blog an interactive experience...does anyone who just might be reading have any songs and experiences to contribute to the list?