Bass Music from the Archives of Vic

Back to the exciting days of Composition studies once again. This is one I really should do over again, and multitrack it by myself. It's called Big Bottom in an obvious hommage to Spinal Tap, but also in an yet another attempt to piss off my composition lecturer with my assumed frivolity.

At the time I had to submit any sort of recording of one of my peices, so three of us got together in a room with a mic and pressed play. The balance between the basses terrible. One of the players was my girlfriend at the time, who I knew (even before I started to go out with her) was an overbearing player prone to making mistakes and not caring, and not having an iota how to listen and perform in a group dynamic. But she was a captive bass player who could read music. There weren't that many in town.

It's noisy, it's poor quality, but at least a recording exists, and that's what you're getting.

Smiles

Things that make me smile. Just a few among many:

1. Hugs
2. A mischievous look in the eyes
3. Fresh sheets
4. Fresh towels
5. Chicken
6. Playing music, listening to music. A good bass riff. A nice guitar tone. An interesting drum fill. The sound of a brass band. Playing guitar in the dark.

All of these things, and more.

Bass Porn

Who needs girls when you've got guitars and drums? says guitarist Dive from Small Glass Planet, after having a therapeutic jam session with drummer brother Full.

Well, guys. You do need girls.
A girl.
With a bass.




Now I haven't picked up my bass in a while. Not working with a band made it seem pretty pointless bringing the old beauty out. But oh how do I miss it! I only truly realised when I cranked it up, pumped out a few favourite riffs and started moving around the room like the old funky idiot I used to be.





Living in the vicinity of a brilliant photographer helps for getting some truly gorgeous shots of what it looks like when you thunk out an open E. Many thanks go to Kate for the use of the pictures she took today.



Meanwhile I was more occupied with grooving away, getting reacquainted with Big Daddy, my long lost ballsy friend who only really gets cranked up beyond a quarter when I have a gig. Shame.



No, I wasn't going to let it go to have a smoke. I can do two things at once, thankyou. Actually, I worked pretty hard on drinking beer and playing also while I was gigging pretty regularly.

Kate's suggestion was to send me over to Dive and Full via the post, in a cardboard box.



So what's the verdict, guys?
Would you adopt the female bass player if the mailman brought you one?

Air Guitar: Aussie Style

Coming to you from the Stroud International Brick and Rolling Pin throwing contest.

Where I stand.

It occurred to me last night that my wrists were hurting, largely due to the terminally boring and soulless factory work that I've been doing. Yes, I realise that somebody has to peel oranges by hand. Somebody has to shovel hundreds of kilograms of prepared sloppy portion controlled salad into two kilogram bags and seal it. I realise that somebody has to come home with their skin oozing the smell of sanitising chlorine. Somebody has to go through their entire working week in a closed off room populated with other workers who appear too scared of losing their precious soulless jobs to have a conversation and get to know each other, just in case the bosses think they aren't working hard enough.

Fuck it. That person is no longer me. Smacking me in the head like a gangster with a baseball bat is the realisation that I want to perform as a musician above everything else. I get into a band after working my butt off on the audition material and now I haven't had the time or energy to work on the material for the rehearsal this weekend. Where do my priorities lie? I'm a fucking musician, dammit. A performer who loves to gain energy from the crowd and dance and lock into the band in the way that makes me so energetic and goddamned happy. I'm the fucking Groover. Second to that priority, and a little conflicting (but I'll work it out later) is the desire to travel, to see, to experience the world in a different way. My way.

It seems to be something I do to myself with regularity. This deciding that I need to work to supplement the traditional Musician income of dole payments and the occasional gig, and then realising that whatever shit job I supplement this income with is actually detracting from my goal. Luckily, the period of drudgery before the realisation occurs seems to be getting shorter. Maybe one day I will not go through it at all. In this case the job I have been in is causing so much strain on my wrists that strapping them is only alleviating the pain a little. I've already given myself a repetetive strain injury in a previous crap filler job (defrosting freezers with a rubber mallet and a bucket of water all day - go figure) and I get knocked around every time it flares up.

Then there's the fact that it is fucking boring. There isn't a social life to distract you from that fact at all. It's in your face all day.

Two strikes. Fuck off, work. I'm a musician.

Introducing my new bed partner

This afternoon I came home from work with aching wrists and no energy. Work is a soulless vegetable preparation factory that drains me mentally from the distaste of being part of an industry direction that I do not support, as well as physically draining me from the repetetive bending and limited movement nature of the work.

I sat on the bed in my room with a coffee and the intention of jamming out on my guitar to an easy listening playlist and eventually bringing myself to learn a few songs for the band I got into. I was all set up - coffee mug on the window sill beside the bed, snuggly pillows to lean against and ease the aching back, ashtray at the ready for the times of sitting back taking a break and just listening.

One song. That was as far as I got. My head couldn't take it and I quit, resloving to just play a few warm-up licks instead. Somewhere shortly after that I fell asleep, leaning back on the pillows on my bed with a guitar across my chest. I vaguely remember rolling over onto my side and thinking huh? Heavy thing near me? but being too absolutely fucked to even figure out what it was.



My girl woke me up later in the evening and reminded me that I do, in fact have a teddy bear for such occasions.

Mediocrity

I sat down last night to practise some serious classical guitar. Practise of that type, for me, represents an intense need for escapism. I can potentially focus on technical work with a metronome for hours at a time. Although there is a gain involved, I do it for the total focus on that one task that closes the door to any other bullshit that may be going on.

I realised that I haven’t done practise like that for months, or with any regularity for years. Since the days of living with my boyfriend. I do a stint every now and then, but I my focus with respect to guitar seems to be circular. I go through a steel-string phase, then a jazz phase, then a song-writing phase, and whatever takes my fancy. Eventually my focus comes knocking back on the classical door.

Frustratingly, my ear has improved continually over this time. My ability is far behind it and that session of practise was far less of a release than it should have been. So many times I berated myself for not being able to do what I could hear. If I did not value my instrument so highly I would have been wearing it around my knee.

Is this my fate? It seems that I cannot focus enough to achieve my full potential in any one area because there’s so much else to do, so much else to occupy my attention. Am I doomed to mediocrity because of my own diversity?

Something positive for once

My good friend Quel sings with local band Cellardoor. Even though they are the people I had my latest Bass Diva explosion over, I went along to support their EP launch last Friday night. I took a camera so that I could take photos for Quel and spent the entire set experimenting with what I could get from on chairs, down on the floor, even coughing my way through cloudy shots in the fog from the smoke machine. I had an absolute ball with it. Here's my favourites.

Before it all begins:



The lead guitarist:




Stompboxes and leads:




Other parts of the band:








A small but dedicated crowd:





Finishing up:




If you click on the above link to the band's MySpace page, all the black and whites on there at the moment are mine. Check em' out.

Meet the family: Joey

”Here is where you start: Play one note on one string and pour in every ounce of your heart and soul. Then repeat.”

Meet Joey (and of course the gorgeous woman pictured with Joey is Kate). Joey is the classical guitar I came across in a pawnbroker shop in Tamworth – a town known for being the Country Music Capital. For this reason I picked my Joey up as a complete bargain. It seems to be hard to appreciate a classical guitar in a town that is centred around the world’s longest line dancing record attempt every year. The woman in the shop was hell bent on telling me that the little blue steel string piece of mass-produced crap sitting next to this one was much better.

Joey is a dynamo for me. It has a gorgeous comfortable neck that just makes me want to play. I can feel the back purr against my chest as I strike the deeper notes. It is easily the guitar in my collection that I have most identified with, and been immediately comfortable with. It’s brought out a deeper emotional connection in my classical playing.

I came across the above quote in a book I’ve been dipping into lately - Zen Guitar. I’m not a fan of the way it’s been written, which causes me to keep putting it down, but some of the thinking is great. It strikes me that the body of this quote is a major reason that Joey and I have clicked so well. I named this guitar to somebody that I am not afraid to pour my soul into, and it reflects in the instrument and my attitude toward playing it. Through this, my playing has more of an emotional focus than a technical one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a control obsessive who would rather do two hours of technique practise than actually learn a new piece, but now I’m listening more to how I express myself musically, and giving my soul that form of expression.

A nonmusician is thrilled to be doing music and is quite happy to sit there and plunk one note all day. And is very alert to the effect of that. Nonmusicians really listen sometimes, because that’s the only thing they have available to them.
- Brian Eno

I took Joey with me to meet Kate this weekend. It was an amazing experience. I spend most of my days introducing students to guitar with the expectation that they learn something straight away. That’s what I’m paid to do – give you a guitar, sit you down, help you play. Have you come out of a half hour lesson with material that keeps you interested and has built your knowledge. And that expectation is reflected by the students as well. They want to play, they want to be a musician now. With Kate, there was no expectation. I let her experience the Joey in her own way and I was fascinated. She listened, she experienced the sounds that she produced in a totally different manner to anybody I’d ever watched before. She related to it by listening to the sounds and making an emotional connection with them.

The shame is that I cannot teach this way – there needs to be a little more forward motion. However the experience has made me revisit the wonder of striking just one note and hearing it for the first time. The Hey! I made that sound happen! feeling of accomplishment these kids I teach must have. I can appreciate it more, and allow them the time to appreciate their achievement too.

Quote of the Day

... knew a guitar when he saw one. They were supposed to be shaped like a woman, but this was only the case if you thought women had no legs, a long neck and too many ears.

- Terry Pratchett, Soul Music

Meet the family: Jerome

Jerome is the cedar Tanglewood I bought a while back and teased Dive about...

Happy Birthday, Dive.

Meet the family Part One: Big Daddy

So finally I get around to the series I want to dedicate to Dive, the lovely guitar-toting balding ball of occasional rantiness. This man has recently made a comment that has become a mantra for me:

"You are Vic.
You are the Groover.
You don't need to be anything else."

And Big Daddy is where the groove really lies. Previous to this amp I was using something with less than half the power, and not being able to hear myself clearly at large gigs. Big Daddy is responsible for the confidence of The Groover.


(Apologies for the pic being dark, but you get the idea.)

I've danced on this amp.

I've jumped off it.

I've been blown away sitting in front of it.

I've sat on it and played a low B with the octave below doubling turned up, feeling the delicious slow vibration roaring through my entire body.

I've carried it across carparks, lamenting the tiny wheels that can't handle any surface but carpet and feeling strained for days from the effort (but loving it).


I've found a lot of myself in using this amp. Big Daddy.

Playing dress-ups: Part One

So I've been playing bass for a local musical society production. The Musical Director has picked his band basically from people he knows will work well together and be fun in the process. And fun it's been. The band is nestled in behind the stage (normally it's off to the side in the local productions) so virtually nobody from the audience can see us. We've even had comment that people think it's a CD. So we were joking about before the shows started that we should dress in pyjamas so that we'd be comfortable.

It's gone a bit nuts from there. Each night has a different theme. So the easiest most tragic choice after pyjamas was eighties night. I hit the op-shop and hacked away at a pair of jeans, a jacket and then piled a shitload of gel into my hair. The looks we got when we walked into the services club where the show is playing were priceless.

The themes are a topic of bar discussion after the show (Where else? We're musicians) and have included suggestions from the cast as well. Whatever idiot thought that we could dress up as the food groups was just pushing the friendship, though. It's been an ice-breaker between the band and the cast and I've met a lot of cool people through it.

Then we have the shot some might have been waiting for. "Formal dress" night. That's right - Vic in a dress (cue: those reading gasp at the surprise). I told the entire cast that it was a once in ten-year thing and not to get too excited. I had one lady who I'm sure was trying to convince me I could pick up a nice young lad in what I was wearing. I just smiled and nodded and thought not a chance honey.

This series of shows is the most I've ever dressed up for anything and it's been fun. Normally I'm the person who finds any excuse to turn up in jeans and hang out away from the action - to be a part of the plain furniture rather than a feature wall, but through the last two weeks of dressing up I've come out of my shell a little more as a person and it's fun.

Pearls of wisdom for audience members

When requesting a song from the band, just say "play my song", or "it goes something like this" then hum a few bars! We musicians have a chip implanted in our heads with an unlimited database with the favorite
tunes of every patron who ever walked into a bar & all songs ever recorded, so feel free to be vague, we love the challenge.

If we tell you that we do not remember exactly what tune you want, we're only kidding. Bands know every song ever recorded, so keep humming. Hum harder if need be... it helps jog the memory.

If a band tells you they do not know a song you want to hear, they either forgot that they know the tune or they are just putting you on. Try singing a few words for the band. Any words.

If one member halfway knows part of a chorus, the rest of the band will instantly learn the entire song by osmosis. Knowing this, if the band still claims not to know your song, it helps to just keep requesting the same song every time there is a break.

It also helps to scream your request from across the room several times per set followed by the phrases, "AW COME ON!" and, "YOU SUCK!" Exaggerated hand gestures expressing disapproval from the dance floor are a big help as well, such as the thumbs down or your middle finger. Put-downs are the best way to jog a band's memory. This instantly promotes you to the status of "Personal Friend Of The Band."

Entertainers are notorious fakers & jokesters and never really prepare for their shows. They simply walk on stage with no prior thought to what they will do once they arrive. An entertainer's job is so easy, even a
monkey could do it, so don't let them off the hook easily. Your request is all that matters.

If a metal band had played at the club a few weeks ago, the next band that follows will automatically know every metal tune the previous band ever played, even if the current band is a blues or country band. It's the law.

Feel free to yell AC/DC or SLAYER!! to a band that plays strictly originals or jazz for example. Conversely, Deadheads may yell for Grateful Dead tunes at a dance or metal band.

IMPORTANT

When an entertainer leans over to hear you better, grab his or her head in both hands and yell directly into their ear, while holding their head securely so they cannot pull away. This will be taken as an invitation to a friendly & playful game of tug of war between their head and your hands.

Don't give up! Hang on until the singer or guitar player submits. Drummers are often safe from this fun game since they usually sit in the back, protected by the guitar players. Keyboard players are protected
by their instrument, & only play the game when tricked into coming out from behind their keyboards. Though difficult to get them to play, it's not impossible, so keep trying. They're especially vulnerable during the break between songs.

TALKING WITH THE BAND

The best time to discuss anything with the band in any meaningful way is in the middle of a song when all members are singing at the same time (such as a multi harmony part). Our hearing is so advanced that we can pick out your tiny voice from the megawatt wall of sound blasting all around us. Musicians are expert lip readers too. If a musician does not reply to your question or comment during a tune, it's because they didn't get a good look at your mouth in order to read your lips. Simply continue to scream
your request & be sure to overemphasise the words with your lips. This helps immensely. Don't be fooled.

Singers have the innate ability to answer questions & sing at the same time. If the singer doesn't answer your questions immediately, regardless of how stupid the question may seem, it's because they are
purposely ignoring you. If this happens, immediately cop an attitude. We love this.

HELPING THE BAND

If you inform the band that you are a singer, the band will appreciate your help with the next few tunes, or however long you can remain standing on stage. Just pretend you're in a Karaoke bar. Simply feel free to walk up on stage & join in. By the way, the drunker you are, the better you sound & the louder you should sing.

If by chance you fall off the stage, be sure to crawl back up & attempt to sing harmony. Keep in mind that nothing assists the band more than outrageous dancing, third & fourth part harmonies, or a tambourine
played out of tempo.

Try the cow bell, they love the challenge. The band always needs the help & will take this as a compliment.

VERY IMPORTANT

Remember to allow enough time to make it from the stage to the bathroom in case of an emergency. On stage accidents are bad form. The band will carry on.

BONUS TIP

As a last resort, wait until the band takes a break and then get on stage and start playing their instruments. They love this. Even if you are ejected from the club, you can rest assured in the fact that you have successfully completed your audition. The band will call you immediately the following day to offer you a position.

Where the hell is the postman?

Purchased from ebay last week, as yet undelivered:

Used but in imaculate condition 65Watt valve state amp Has 1x Valve in preamp section giving great clean and 2x overdrive modes plus volume boost all footsitchable. Nice reverb and Celestion 12" speaker made inUK Cost $1000.00 new and is in as new condition never gigged hardly played

So hurry up already.

Guitar Party Tricks

For those of you who can't watch the YouTube (sorry Dive) here's brief idea: Harmonics being played with the nose and tongue, and five people playing one guitar all at once. Worth a watch!

Also worth checking out on YouTube is Andy McKee. The pieces I've seen him do involve two hand tapping on an acoustic guitar, as well as incorporating a tapped drum beat. It's amazing to think about the melody and rhythm parts interlocking and have both represented so well.

I was intrigued by Andy McKee's style and decided that since I've never really freed up my right arm enough to tap the body of the guitar while I'm playing, I might as well have a go and learn now. It can only be good for me! So I was mucking around yesterday with the idea while a student was about to arrive. He walked in to me bashing out a basic rock beat on the guitar body with my right hand and tapping out Smoke on the Water with my left. Raised eyebrows.

New student guitar piece

Well, I've finally started composing again. It isn't earth shattering stuff, but I want to do a heap of student pieces that look at different tecniques.

So this one is a fingerstyle blues type thing called Fishin' Trip. I bashed it out on the coast a couple of weeks ago, but have been procrastinating on doing a presentable copy. It keeps the right hand thumb steady on open bass strings, swapping to a melodic role and then settling back into driving bass notes again. It should have enough interest in it to push a student who is just starting out with this style of playing.

I'll aim to put something up regularly in the future, if only to prove to myself that I can keep at it.

So... If you download this piece, let me know. My email is on the second page of the sheet music, or just leave a comment. If you play it and have and coments/suggestions/criticisms definately let me know. If you're not into guitar and you've read this far anyway, cheers for sticking it out and just be happy that I'm actually getting my life into gear and doing something I'm proud of and want to do.

Some serious guitar bashing.

Here's Tommy Emmanuel playing Mombasa (with an extended percussion section).

And then there's what I think is the definitive delay piece - Initiation. This one has an intro that lasts until two thirds (at least) through. Live, the sound just pumps through you.