The Bass Geek

I have no idea how this bass would sound - the only Conklins I’ve ever played have been the production 4-string and the monstrous 11-string (allegedly played in one of the official armed services ensembles - they practice overwhelming force even in their music groups!). It’s just an amazing piece of bass art.

Also, my iPod just jumped from a podcast about the rise and fall of jingles in American commercials straight to a Betty Davis track. Now that most advertisers eschew jingles for tracks from already established acts, I think I’m going to spend the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out what product this music would sell.

In this case, I think it’s what the designers had in mind. I suppose the Bogdon Box Bass looks fun enough, and the reviews I’ve read seem to think it’s good for what it is. You even get to build it yourself, like a kit car or a sea monkey kingdom. It’s the “Bogdon On Tour” link on their website that scares me a bit. I’d think I’d need four or five kits along with me on any travel just in case of catastrophe, i.e. the thing comes in contact with an errant drink, a light rain shower, or an overly humid room. Eeeep.

Not that I’m relying on well-researched facts here, but I’m fairly sure Mike Huckabee is the first bassist ever to win a presidential primary probably the first Republican bassist to win a presidential primary, barring Nixon’s jamming with Moby Grape or something. While sites like Jossip may mock this fact, I hereby submit that a bassist carries many traits that would benefit a leader and a country:

• Ability to lay solid foundation for his group
• Bringing together disparate elements to form a cohesive whole
• Define the issues (or chords, as necessary) that the group must deal with

In theory, a bassist would make a fine president. In this particular case, there’s all that other stuff Huckabee represents that makes me disinclined to vote for him. But the trend is set, the die is cast, and I fully support a Bootsy/Wooten ticket in 2012. It’s not too early to start campaigning for the next election, is it?

EDIT: Screwed the pooch on this one - a friend of mine reminded me that John Kerry was a bassist as well. I stand humbly and regretfully corrected.

I missed my basses. A lot. Even though it was quite late when we finally got back (and both my wife and I were questioning the wisdom of landing in single-degree weather), I still had to make some time for a little playing. I even broke out the Q-Tron for a little extra funk. It was a little sad that I had to blow some dust off of the pedal. Not a lot of call for it in lounge parody or country music. I’m going to have to make some more time for it soon. Maybe even in country music. If Bootsy can do a bluegrass album, why not?

I can think of no better way to begin a new year than next to my wife during a George Porter, Jr. bass solo. That’s extremely fortuitous timing, you know. Couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. We ended up at The Howlin’ Wolf for an open-bar affair featuring Porter Batiste Stoltz and Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. By the way, they featured TWO bassists - one heavily effected player filling a rhythm guitar role, and the other playing more traditional slap style. Throw in a few dueling bass solos, and you’ve got a damn fine show. Tres bien, gentlemen.

The night started with some quality people-watching time, a decent Italian dinner followed by a beverage at the R Bar (which almost became a secondary base of operations during our stay) and a quick trip down Frenchman. Instead of a brass band this time, there was a large metal contraption filled with salvaged percussion instruments and other things that made clanging or clinking sounds when banged. Passers-by were invited to create said banging, clanging and clinking, creating one giant rhythmic cacophony echoing for several blocks around. I joined in for a bit, even though this was treading dangerously close to drum circle territory. I limited my exposure by passing the sticks off at quick, regular intervals, thereby managing to avoid contamination and resorting to the use of patchouli.

It’s late and I’m sleepy, so more on the new year later. I just wanted to write this down before I went to sleep. Happy happy, everyone.