Joshua Redman Pat Metheny Christian McBride Brian Blade

Thought I'd share this clip.

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Gig Recap - SCS ChristmasConcert (my Wish List)

First off,

I had a great time being a part of the Scarborough Choral Society's "Sounds of Christmas" Concert.  I enjoy being a part of an orchestra where everybody is a good player; it basically keeps me on my toes.  Anyway, I hope to be playing again with the SCS in the near future.

One thing that I have found after doing all these gigs is that my bass doesn't seem to produce a loud enough sound that I can easily play.  I always find myself needing to dig in a lot when I'm playing pizzicato without an amp.  Although I do develop callouses very quickly, it sure does use up a lot of energy always having o dig in to ensure that I can be heard.  Now, I'm not about to bring an amp out when I play in an orchestra, but I am thinking about upgrading my bass.

So, I've been doing a bit of web-window-shopping and I've had my eye on this one particular double bass.  It's the Emanuel Wilfer "Gentleman Jazz"

According to Lemur Music, The Gentleman Jazz "is a 7/8 bass with a playable 42" string length. Violin corners, antique amber color and medium-fancy woods make for a beautiful instrument that can really move some air. If you’ve dreamed of playing piano trio gigs without an amp, this could be your bass. It is also great as a four-string arco bass for regional orchestra section or serious musicals."

Looks may be deceiving but it sure does pull at my heart-strings. All I can do is keep pinching my pennies and wait.

Quote of the Week

"It makes all the difference in the world whether we put truth in the first place, or in the second place."

- John Morley

"It makes all the difference in the world whether we finish the race or mope in the gutter"

- BassBassDude

Scarborough Choral Society

This will be my second run playing double bass with Scarborough Choral Society's "Sounds of Christmas" Concert.

Here are the details.

Scarborough Choral Society presents
Sounds Of Christmas 2008

Director: Judy Scott-Jacobs
Accompanist: Claire Bresee
Guest Performers: CharACTOR Theatre Troupe
Performance Location: Markham Theatre (NW corner of Hwy 7 & Warden Ave in Markham)


Show Dates:
Saturday December 6th @ 3pm and 8pm
Sunday December 7th 2:30pm

Ticket Prices:
Adults $25.00
Seniors $22.00
Students $18.00


It is always a pleasure playing in the orchestra for this production and I look forward to playing there again this weekend.


Hope to see you there.

Quote of the Week

Every man is wise when attacked by a mad dog; fewer when pursued by a mad woman; only the wisest survive when attacked by a mad notion.
- Robertson Davies
Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.
- George Bernard Shaw
Competence, like truth, beauty and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.
- Laurence J. Peter
Competence. A highly undervalued commodity to the incompetent.
- BassBassdude.

Gypsy's last week

Hey,

Just a quick reminder that this is the last week that Gypsy will be on stage at Theatre Scarborough. Three shows left. Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night is closing night. If you haven't had a chance, it's a great show and I'm having a good time playing in the pit.

Hot Pockets

Absolutely Hilarious.



Very clever stuff from Jim Gaffigan

Theatre Scarborough: GYPSY

So, I'm back with Scarborough Music Theatre playing bass in their production of the timeless musical "Gypsy". Here are the details:

Gypsy
October 30^th-November 1^st, 6^th-8^th, and 13^th-14^th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
November 2^nd, 9^th, and 15^th at 2:00 pm

Tickets: $24
Seniors & Students: $20 (Thursdays and Sundays only)
Groups of 15 or more: $20 each





Now, as most of you know, I am a harsh critic when it comes to vocalists and I have to say that the cast is filled with excellent pipes. It's a fun show and I highly recommend this show to everyone.

visit:
theatrescarborough.com for more info

Toronto Condo Show Recap

This past weekend, I had the chance to play at the Toronto Condo Show with Melodious Vibes.

Everything went well and the response that we got from the show was great. Thanks to all who came by.

Looking back, I found this a great time to take a look at songs that we haven't looked at in years. Saturday seemed to be the day of re-hashing all the "oldies but goodies". Some were songs that I had not played in over 6 years. Anyway that was nice.

Sunday I got a chance to do a number of songs with only Lianne; vocals and bass duet stuff. It's a good challenge to bass players to work in duet situations; especially if they are not piano or keyboard. It makes you think more about the notes you pick when supporting your partner. Walking also becomes more exposed and if you do too many songs that have the same tempo and feel, the song becomes the same song.

Anyway, the Toronto Condo Show was a great experience again and was an excellent opportunity to try new things and re-learn the old.

Lucky

On Saturday night, I had two gigs booked. Because the location of the two were close proximity, I figured things would be fine.

Normally after playing one gig I tend to be a little tired regardless of the duration. Having two gigs in two different locations, with different people each time, can be a little trying. Fortunately, for me both gigs went off without a hitch, but by the end of the second, I was mentally tired.

Well, when I arrived home and was unloading my gear, I quickly noticed that my bass amp was gone. I realized I left it in a parking garage where I played my second gig. I quickly called my friend who I had played with to see if she was still close to where we last played. In the meantime, I jumped back in my van and headed back down to the parking garage. Lucky for me, my bass amp was still where I had left it and my friend was able to pick it up.

Tired and exhausted with bass amp in-hand and a hard lesson learned, I went to bed with the feeling that I was given a very lucky break.

Marlowe Tomorrow Night

Hey,

I'll be up at Marlowe tomorrow night (Tuesday August 12th) playing with Melodious Vibes from 7pm until 10pm. We'll be doing a mix of Jazz and Old School R&B that night. Here's the details:

Marlowe Restaurant and Bar Grill
155 York Boulevard
Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3B4, Canada
Call
(905) 771-8645

visit:
themarlowe.ca
melodiousvibes.com

Gig Recap

It's nice to always take a step back and take a good look at things. Especially, when at the time, it wasn't the greatest feelings. Last night's gig was one of those nights.

I arrived first to the gig with 2xbass in-tow and started to get ready. I made a quick call to just check in to see where my band mates were. It turns out they got caught in traffic behind a major car accident. Anyway, the chances of them arriving on-time were pretty slim. I was going to be left me on my own for a good chunk of time in front of a large number of people with not much solo bass repertoire under my hat. I'm normally the support in a musical stand-point, not a virtuoso soloist. Needless to say, I felt like a fish out of water and was wating for some sign of relief. I basically went into a number of songs withnot much direction (and not much reactio if I may add).

Anyway, one the rest of the group arrived, we got set-up very quickly and jumped right into our first tunes and played staight in just under two hours.

Once we got into playing, everything sounded great and the audience really enjoyed our show which was our main goal in the first place.

Lesson learned: try to prepare for anything. Time to work on some solo repertoire.

Quote of the Week

I wonder what it means when your grandson is more crotchety than you are.
- Aaron McGruder
If time flies when you're having fun, it hits the afterburners when you don't think you're having enough.
- Jef Mallett
On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.
- George Orwell
Sometimes success is determined not by being great, but by being just good enough.
- BassBassDude

Street Party

Over the weekend, a friend of my mine was part of a Street Party and decided to provide some musical entertainment. So, he asked to come out and play on his front lawn. Long story short: it was a great time. Everyone that I spoke to at the party said the music sounded great and that we were very entertaining. I just wished it would happen more often, but it's not all that easy to close off a street for a day. Not bad for a beautiful Saturday evening full of good food, good neighbours, good music and good fun.

Quote of the Week

There is still a difference between something and nothing, but it is purely geometrical and there is nothing behind the geometry.
- Martin Gardner
I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.
- James Thurber
If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.
- Abraham Lincoln
Coffee - Life's magic potion that makes everything seem a little better and makes my urine smell funny.
- BassBassDude

Casino Rama Gig

Hey,

I'll be playing with Melodious Vibes up at Casino Rama in Orillia tomorrow night courtesy of Tai Pan Tours. We'll be playing from about 8pm to 10pm in their Silvernightingale Ballroom.

Hope to see you there.

visit
casinorama.com

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