Weird Al Yankovic

Since I was a kid, I loved Weird Al Yankovic. Just on a whim, I did a quick search to see what he was up to. To my surprise, he's releasing another album "Straight Outta Lynwood". Here's a parody of Usher's Confessions; "Confessions Part III"



Hilarious Genius

Quote of the Week

Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.
- Groucho Marx
Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home.
- Phyllis Diller
Home is where the heart is. Just make sure your heart is still in your chest.
- BassBassDude
The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.
- Sir William Bragg

Lesson Learned

Things are always funny when there are issues with your bass setup and it is important to have this in proper condition.

I made the little mistake of trying to put my double bass down that, at the time, I thought would be safe, but in fact was quite dangerous which had to pay the price. I arrived at a gig, but in order to put my bass down into the orchestra pit , I would have to carefully lower it from a 4 foot stage down into my section. I thought that my bass was fairly light and my strength and flexibility was more than enough to pull this procedure off but such was not the case. The momentum of this large instrument pulled me off the stage and pulled me down on top of my bass. After dusting my self off, I rolled my bass off its front and quickly examined it for some serious damage. To my relief, there was nothing that I could find.

Throughout the week, it felt that my bass was just not the same and I was not happy with some of the notes I would hit with both arco and pizzicato technique. To make a long story short, I found that the bridge had been slightly compromised and needed to be adjusted to return to form. For a while now, I've been playing around with the bridge's location in relation to the f-holes and the sound post in the bass. It wasn't until last night of fiddling around with the bridge again and practicing, that I found the bridge is where it should be. The bridge is at a correct angle and is properly aligned with the sound post and the f-holes. Most importantly, the sound is warm and projecting nicely.

The Lesson Learned?

Always take care of your instrument and never compromise your setup lest you play with fire.

Quote of the Week

To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.
- Jack Handey
No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up.
- Lily Tomlin
Who needs cynicism when I'm always right.
- BassBassDude

Quote of the Week

Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.
- Evelyn Waugh

Over-excessive boredom can breed extreme lateness as I have only discovered as of late.
- BassBassDude

Recording with Melodious Vibes

Last night I had a last minute recording session with Melodious Vibes. From what I can tell, it will probably be the last (for now, hehe). I never really realized it until last night how much I enjoyed being in a recording setting. In my case, I really enjoy the creative process and the focus one has to have in order to lay down a number of tracks. Moreover, in-between recording, I can just let loose and joke around which helps relieve any tension there could be in the room. Although, I tend to be pretty light-hearted when I'm playing music. It's funny, but almost every time I find myself behind a microphone in a studio, I feel really overly comfortable. Granted, I think I have come to the point where I can balance work-time and fun-time quite reasonably. Years ago, there have been a good number of times where I could go off on major humor-filled tangents that would suck up recording time; now a days, I'm much more focused. Don't get me wrong, I probably still have as much fun as I had years ago; it's just different when you mature.

I thought I'd also take the time to thank Mags and her team on helping us get this put together. As you can tell, I had fun coming into the studio and meeting you and your recording team. It's been a long time coming for Melodius Vibes to get together in a studio recording setting. I just hope the tracks we laid down are good enough for you and your team to play around with in post.

Have fun.

Quote of the Week

"A day of unselfish purpose is always a day of confident hope"
- Woodrow Wilson

"The music that can deepest reach, and cure all ill is cordial speech"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that Ralph Waldo Emerson never learned his ii-V-Is"
- BassBassDude

Scarborough Music Theatre Oklahoma recap

It's been a while since my last post (my apologies). But, most of you might have heard I was the bass sub for Scarborough Music Theatre's production of Oklahoma.

Just to fill you in, someone had come out to watch Brigadoon where I was last sat in playing Bass. That person checked out my blog and then forwarded my name to another person who contacted me to see if I was interested. Long story short... I just finished playing the first week of Oklahoma as their Bass sub.

I really enjoyed being a part of Scarborough Music Theatre and I am completely impressed with the way they conduct their business. It's very professional in every facet and it seems like every one has a fun time whether in the audience, to the performers to the crew working to bring everything together backstage. From an orchestra perspective, it was great meeting some wonderful players and having a chance to play along with them. Hopefully, I'll be a part of Scarborough Music Theatre again in the future.

visit:
theatrescarborough.com

Also, I'll keep things up to date a little better once I have my internet hooked up at my new home.

Thanks.

Beat Box Vs Drummer

And More...

This is something that must be watched and listened to from beginning to end. Very fun and entertaining and some serious drumming skills.



Freakin' Wicked.

Quote of the Week

The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.
- Thomas Carlyle
If one were unconscious, one could be considered faultless.
- BassBassDude
Virtue is its own punishment.
- Aneurin Bevan
Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.
- Bill Vaughan

Quote of the Week

It is always easier to believe than to deny. Our minds are naturally affirmative.
- John Burroughs
This is one of those views which are so absolutely absurd that only very learned men could possibly adopt them.
- Bertrand Russell
Living in a vacuum sucks.
- Adrienne E. Gusoff
Living in a dryer blows.
- BassBassDude

Can I Get A Napkin Please

The Improv Musical



Here's the inside scoop from ImprovEverywhere.com

From http://www.ImprovEverywhere.com, 16 agents create a spontaneous musical in a food court in a Los Angeles mall. Using wireless microphones and the mall's PA system, both their voices and the music was amplified throughout the food court. All cameras were hidden behind two-way mirrors and other concealed structures.

This is one of over 70 different missions Improv Everywhere has executed over the past six years in New York City. Others include Frozen Grand Central, the Best Buy uniform prank, and the famous U2 Rooftop Hoax, to name a few. Visit the website to see tons of photos and video of all of our work, including behind the scenes information on how this video was made.

Song by Scott Brown and Anthony King.

Check it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M

Quote of the Week

A fine quotation is a diamond on the finger of a man of wit, and a pebble in the hand of a fool.
- Joseph Roux
It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.
- Oscar Wilde
To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.
- Joan Klempner
When I sleep I dream of robot sheep. Does that make me an android?
- BassBassDude

Marlowe Part Deux

Hey everybody,

Last week went really well so we decided to do it one more time. I'll be playing some live jazz and R&B with Ken De Los Santos back at The Marlowe on Hwy 7 and Leslie in Thornhill. Here's the details:

Marlowe Restaurant & Wine Bar
155 York Blvd. Richmond Hill, ON
Tuesday March 11th
7pm to 10pm

Thanks to all who came out last time and to those who will be stopping by tomorrow night.

visit
themarlowe.ca
melodiousvibes.com

Marlowe Tomorrow Night

Hey everybody,

I'll be playing some live jazz with Ken De Los Santos at The Marlowe on Hwy 7 and Leslie in Thornhill. Here's the details:

Marlowe Restaurant & Wine Bar
155 York Blvd. Richmond Hill, ON
Tuesday March 11th
7pm to 10pm

Hope to see you there

visit
themarlowe.ca
melodiousvibes.com

Grand Central... coming to Canada?

Here's something that i hope comes up to Canada sooner than later.

Grand Central Communications is now a Google company that puts a new spin on how you use your phone. According to Google, it is a service that allows users to use their existing phone numbers and voice mailboxes into one account that you can access from the web.

Although, it sounds similar to what Vonage Canada already provides, but I think the potential to provide a little bit more is present. You can screen calls, record calls on the fly and listen to them online, block callers, and receive voicemail notifications via email or SMS. On top of all this, Google ensures that there will be more to come in the future.

As a Canadian, I'm licking my chops to see if this will be coming north of the border.

To see more, check out grandcentral.com

Loving JabbaWockeeZ

Alright, I admit, when my brother and wife introduced me to Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew I went in with a little pessimism. I must say, I think I'm pretty hooked. My brother told me to keep an eye out for a group called the JabbaWockeeZ. Sure enough, I'm backing these guys to the bank. Not only can these guys dance but they dance well as a unit. The philosophy behind this masked dance crew is uncanny when you think about it. Individually, each person is a great dancer, but with the anonymity that the masks bring, it creates this adhesion that makes the group reach new heights. No individual is more important than the sum of all the parts. In addition, they are extremely creative when tasks are presented to them and it seems they have a lot of fun when they perform. On top of all that, they're freakin' awesome.



http://youtube.com/watch?v=M9L7exvltPg&feature=PlayList&p=19A8B0219816359B&index=6

Quote of the Week

I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- EB White
I get up every morning thinking about pancakes.
-BassBassDude
Man is a clever animal who behaves like an imbecile.
- Albert Schweitzer
I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done.
- Henry Ford

Quote of the Week

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.
- Frank Tibolt

Get off the couch
- BassBassDude

New Home Announcement

Well,

It's done (pending inspection). I am now a full-fledged home-owner. As exciting as this is right now, this is just the beginning to being in debt for a very long time. Anyway, here's hoping things continue to go well. Here's hoping I keep my mistakes to a minimum when dealing with all things with my new home. Here's to trying to pay off my mortgage.

Cheers.