Solo Stuff!
Some quick notifications here - I'm still playing with the groups I usually do (and accepting new gigs if you're interested - contact info to the right), but I'm also putting together some solo material. For which to play solo shows and do some recording. To whit:
- Tonic Ball has graciously included me on their compilation to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this great event, along with 16 fantastic acts. All money from sales of this compilation benefit Second Helpings, which is a wonderful cause. Go support them now.
- That compilation features acts performing at this year's Tonic Ball, taking place on Friday, November 18th at three venues in the beautiful Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis. And yes, that means I'll be one of the performers. On the Michael Jackson stage (David Bowie and REM are the other featured subjects of tribute). And that's the best way to make your public solo debut, I think: I'm just playing two songs, and one of them people already know. Nailed it!
- Finally, don't forget the Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse album. If you haven't purchased it already, go do that now, and thank you.
Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse Project
Please take a minute to check out this project and consider donating to the fund to aid the victims of the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair earlier this year. Thanks to PJ Christie and Indyrok Media for putting it together, and thanks to the good folks in Loretta for letting me donate my version of their song to the cause. Hopefully, this helps ease the burden for those affected by this tragedy. Thanks!
New IMN Podcast and Restringing my 5-String
The new IMN podcast is up - download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2, Thursdays at 4pm and 10pm.
I've been threatening to take my 5-string bass from a low B to a high C string for a bit - it's a bass that doesn't get a ton of use, and the neck seems unusually sensitive to weather and needs more adjustment (especially in the summer) than I'm always comfortable with. After my last round of tweaking and the recent cold weather, though, the bass seems to have calmed a bit. I'm going to take it on a few shows this week to see what I think, but I'l still considering the move. I like what Matthew Garrison has been doing with a similarly stringed bass, and my move towards more solo songs and looping (plus the chordal studies I took from Todd Johnson) make it seem a good move.
I'm just cheap and don't want to run through a set of strings, I suppose. 
The only set I've found for 5-strings with a high C are the Fodera Matthew Garrison sets (I'm sure they're out there, but my research continues), so I'll give it a shot when I can throw away some string money.
New IMN Podcast and More SoftStep
The new IMN podcast is up - download it or listen on the site or on WFYI HD2, Thursdays at 4pm and 10pm. Incidentally, this is show 320, and it looks like we'll end up at around show 331.
And then I'll have to find something else to write about on Thursdays.
It's easy to go deep into the rabbit hole with the SoftStep programming software - I'd been using the factory-standard toggle preset in both Reason and Everyday Looper for transport controls and loop triggering. However, I wanted to get a mix of toggles and pressure-sensitive pads on the pedal in order make full use of it in Reason. I ended up going with the Easy Editor provided by the SoftStep folks - it locks the pedal into a single setting, but it gave me the mixed use I need and was really easy to edit and save. I also turned off the backlight per the instructions to eliminate some hum coming through the system. So SoftStep now controls the iPad and Everyday Looper with the audio signal coming into the iRig via the headphone jack and makes for a nice, transportable setup. Toss in a few effects pedals and I'm ready to go. On the Reason side, the additional pads control settings on the Echo device (playing around with analog-style dub delay on the bass is just so much fun) and trigger different loops from the Dr. Octorex machine. Which also makes me happy - who needs a band anymore?
New IMN Podcast and Fun Loopy Goodness
The new IMN Podcast is up - download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2, Thursdays at 4pm and 10pm.
I'd been playing with the Everyday Looper on the iPad for a bit, and it's a useful tool (especially the ability to arm tracks and import music loops). As much as they tried to customize the touchscreen for two-handed players, though, it could be a little awkward to play and loop at the same time. One of their recent updates added MIDI control for start, stop, and record functions, though. And then I paired it with the iPad's Camera Connection Kit and the SoftStep foot controller. So, for the full setup, that's the SoftStep going into the USB port on the 30-pin connection, and the bass going into an iRig in the headphone jack.
Success! The app took MIDI controls quite easily - I'm using the SoftStep in Toggle mode to trigger the looper, and the Everyday Looper accepts multiple commands for the same control. So you enter both the 0 and 127 levels of the toggle for start, stop, and record, and you're good to go. That way, there's no double-tapping the button to get the desired effect. The added benefit that I didn't even plan was that every new record attempt automatically bounces to the next track. You're never recording over the stuff you've already recorded.
I'd love to see future updates use the X-Y capabilities of the SoftStep to handle volume on the looped tracks, but that can wait - I'm having too much fun now.
New IMN Podcast and NPR’s Bass Nod
The new IMN podcast is up - download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2, Thursdays at 4pm and 10pm.
NPR's jazz blog took a swing at acknowledging jazz fussion bassists a couple of days ago, and the ones they picked certainly rank highly in the pantheon. But the whole music department over there puts a ton of effort in digging up new music in every other genre that this just seems a little . . . easy. Fans of the genre already know these names, and those that aren't fans probably aren't even reading this blog, anyway. May I recommend taking into account folks like Matthew Garrison and even Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner, whose latest release is getting a ton of attention and is pushing what's possible in fusion (aside from just tossing in some jazz lines over rock)? The comments fill in a lot of the blanks, and maybe that was the point. But I'd love to hear more about the newer folks, too, and that's where the mandate should take blogs like this.
New IMN Podcast and SXSW Update
I guess it's already too late for the 4pm airing of the new IMN podcast on WFYI HD2, but you can still catch the 10pm airing. Or you just download it or listen at the site. Whatever works for you.
Voting ends tomorrow for the SXSW Panel Picker, including the very panel I'm on. The fact that this panel is the ONLY panel specifically mentioning bass is reason enough to vote for it, I'd say. You start out not working with bassists, you end up crapping all over Mozart with the Insane Clown Posse. Avoid such a fate, won't you?
New IMN Podcast and The Aristocrats!
The new IMN podcast is up - download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2, Thursdays at 4pm and 10pm.
Bassist Bryan Beller and his new group The Aristocrats (that name always does terrible things to my headspace) have a wonderful free track available on their website in exchange for your email address. I highly recommend making the trade - great small-group fusion stuff from some very tasteful players. Have at it!
New IMN Podcast and SXSW Panel Submission
The new IMN podcast is up - download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2, Thursdays at 4pm and 10pm.
So the panel entries for next year's SXSW conference are up, and one of those panels could include my own darn self if it gets selected. The panel talks about What A Bass Player Can Teach You About Marketing, and it's the brainchild of Austin/Indy bassist and marketer PJ Christie (who's quite good at both things). Also quite good at both things are Rose Marshack and Lindsay Manfredi, and I'll be bringing up the rear. This looks like an exciting prospect to at least talk about bass for a couple of hours, and I'll fly anywhere to do that, so it all works out. We'll know more later this year.
EDIT: Looks like I forgot something - please consider voting for this wonderful panel.
New IMN Podcast and Guts & Groove Bass Clinic!
The new IMN podcast is up - download it or listen at the site or on WFYI HD2, Thursdays at 4pm and 10pm.
I'm really excited about this upcoming bass clinic pictured in the graphic to the left - the previous session with just Anthony Wellington was one of the best butt-kickings I've received in a long time, and I'm still working out stuff I learned in that lesson. Adding Doug Johns to the clinic brings in a totally different element, and one I'm really looking forward to learning about. Johns plays a ton of shows with just a drummer, so he ends up doing a ton of stuff by himself (and I wish to pick his brain on this). The Lodge is a great place to host sessions like this, and the price is quite reasonable. Thanks to In The Pocket Productions for making this possible, and I'll see you all there in late August.
Guts & Groove Clinic - Anthony Wellington & Doug Johns
Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 2:00pm
The Lodge Recording Studios, Indianapolis, Indiana 46218
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