Triple Fire Plug

TFP moving to Wordpress

2010-05-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

In order to take advantage of the options available on my new iPhone (i.e., blog posting and managing), I've moved my blog to WordPress. You can read it here.

Disney's Painted Basses

2010-02-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

I've painted, metal flaked, and otherwise damaged more than a few basses in my life as a musician. Now, Disney has produced a series of painted basses to benefit the Grammy's education programs.

String basses with a New Orleans theme, an Enchanted Princess, Dumbo's Pink Elephants, a Cheshire Cat grin, and a Genie were introduced at the Grammy Museum on Thursday. The next time the instruments stand side-by-side will be in the summer when they are auctioned at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas to benefit the Grammy In The Schools music education programs of the Grammy Foundation.
Artists from the Walt Disney Animation Studio were invited to present ideas. Once concepts were selected, they donated their time in creating the final works.

"I want one," said Stanley Clarke, Grammy winning jazz bassist and composer, on hand to speak to how education is enhanced by learning how to play an instrument.

One bass will be on display at the Grammy Museum while the others will be dispatch to different venues for a tour. Stops will include Planet Hollywood locations in Las Vegas and New York and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Animator Brian Kesinger recalled how he was mulling over the final design and was toying with an idea of adding a layer of clear coat. When his car broke down in front of an auto body and paint store, he took it as a sign and told the owner about his project. "His eyes lit up," said Kesinger. The store owner also donated his time to add a final sheen to his Genie string bass.

The upright bass that will be on display at the Grammy Museum has not been selected, but keep in mind that "Aladdin" won two 1993 Grammys and was nominated for a third (Friend Like Me). The Genie may be a downtown resident until summer.

Picture This Film Festival

2010-02-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

The Picture This Film Festival is taking place in Calgary February 8-10.

Picture this…film festival is an international disability film festival. It is a non-profit annual event initiated by the Community Development department of Calgary Scope Society, a registered non-profit society.

The Calgary Scope Society provides services to adults with disabilities and is one of the charities recently in the news regarding the budget cuts to service providers for people with disabilities.

Crisis Camp Haiti

2010-01-29T07:44:00.001-08:00

Here's an upcoming event for those tech savvy individuals interested in helping aid agencies working in Haiti.

Crisis Camp Haiti:
On Saturday February 6th, 2010, we will be hosting CrisisCamp Haiti Calgary to bring together volunteers to collaborate on technology projects which aim to assist in Haiti's relief efforts by providing data, information, maps and technical assistance to NGOs, relief agencies and the public.

Copyright law and the most famous 6 seconds of contemporary music

2010-01-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

I'm working on some research regarding copyright laws in the music industry, with a focus on genres when they are emerging (i.e., considered underground). Copyright laws are all about providing incentives for creative development and productive research. One of the big questions about copyright laws, particularly in the arts, is whether they have any retroactive power regarding things created (and not copyrighted) in the past that are being currently adopted and used (often without remuneration).

One of the people I'm working with on this sent me the video below regarding what is likely the most famous 6 second drum break in contemporary music. Its originally by a band called the Winstons and was written in 1969. This 6 seconds made its way through rap and hip-hop, helped found drum & bass and jungle music, and has made its way into advertising.

January 13, 2010: a rough day for music

2010-01-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, three prominent musicians died: Teddy Pendergrass (soul, R&B), Ed Thigpen (jazz) and Jay Reatard (punk, garage). Rough day across all genres of American music.

Where Not To Go for Musical Instrument Repairs

2010-01-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

As important as positive recommendations are, its also important doubt places you shouldn't go. In the past, I've written positively about Ross Hill (luthier), P.J. Tan's Violin Shop, and the String Emporium(e.g., here and here). Given the recent grief me and friends of mine have run into lately, here's a couple of warnings.

Guitar Connection: This used to be the place for amplifier repairs. Boy, how things have changed. A friend recently brought in a Fender Reverb for repair. Whenever the amp was turned on, all that came out was very loud white-ish noise. He was told a week for the repair. After a week, still not ready. Second week, still not done. Finally, after three weeks he decides he's just going to go pick it up and take it elsewhere. After calling the store, he's told it will be ready that day. Goes in that day and is told by the owner how great it sounds, how he had been playing it for a couple of hours to check it out. As compensation for having taken so long, the owner tells him the repair is free. My friend gets to rehearsal, turns it on, and once again white noise.
Exasperated, my friend takes it to Long and McQuade and gets it repaired in an hour. Turns out the guys at Guitar Connection (if they did anything) used the wrong types of wires and failed to replace a bad power tube.

Lesson: Avoid the Guitar Connection for amplifier repairs.
V.A. Hill Strings: The stories from this place about. Basically the stories revolve around the staff at Hill Strings not really knowing much about instruments. My favorite (recounted to me by a luthier in Edmonton) is someone who bought a cello for $800 in Edmonton and was told by V.A. Hill Strings that the cello was worth $3,000. She then sold the cello to V.A. Hill for $2,000 and went back to Edmonton to buy another cello for $800.

My experience with Hill Strings is equally odd. I brought in a 1920's King double bass to get some cracks repaired and the fingerboard planed. I was going to sell the bass in order to get the funds to upgrade to a carved bass. After a couple of days, I got a call from the owner telling me that they didn't think the bass was worth fixing and that the cost of the repair ($650) was more than the instrument was worth. I told them to to ahead and repair the bass. When I picked up the bass, they had put a new bridge on the bass without having fit it appropriately. The fingerboard and cracks were repaired adequately and I paid for the repair. After cutting the bridge myself, I sold the bass the following week for $2,500.

Lesson: Be wary of the repairs and prices at V.A. Hill Strings.

Itay Talgam on Leading (like a conductor)

2010-01-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

TED has a relatively new video of Itay Talgam discussing conducting and leadership. Its a great talk that highlights the differences in conducting style, what they are communicating, and how they are assuming a role of leadership. I particularly like his discussion of Carlos Kleiber. I have a new understaing of what he is communicating, something I didn't have when I saw the video on this post.

Review: Tuff-Lite Bass Case from the String Emporium

2010-01-11T14:17:00.001-08:00

Over the last 2 years, I've had to ship a bass three times. Most recently to go to Stanford and New York. In the past I had used David Gage bass trunks, older model borrowed from friends. However, last year, with two trips planned and another three slowly materializing, I opted to purchase a trunk of my own.

I did some research comparing prices and features (the primary being weight) and opted for the Tuff-Lite trunk from the String Emporium. I opted for the standard model, thinking that the hard part was getting it on the plane, not the actual weight of the thing. It cost $1,50, weighs just over 60 lbs.

As a quick aside, my experience has been that there is a flat fee (about $175) for traveling with something of this size. I've never had anybody weigh the case. My tips for traveling with a bass are here.

Relative to the gage trunk, I chose the Tuff-Lite for a couple of reasons. First was the price. I don't travel so much that I can rationalize paying almost an additional $1,000. (This is also in part why I opted for the standard Tuff-Lite.) Secondly, I was never a fan of the clasps system on the Gage trunk. In every situation where I've traveled with my bass, I've had to open up the trunk. The Tuff-Lite closes with a series of bungee cables which makes opening and closing the case relatively easy. Moreover, since it can't be locked anyway due to airline security regulations, its easy for others to open it if need be. The video below shows the String Emporium's own Steve Koscica demonstrating the case.

I like this case and it's been great on the road. Some specifics:

Inside the case, there are several straps which can be used to secure the bass in place. Also included are a couple of foam pads that you can place in order to protect the instrument. The straps are well-placed and I feel provide better support for the instrument than the airbags I have seen in other cases.
The case has several handles on the exterior, each of which is pretty thoughtfully placed. I had a relatively easy time maneuvering the case through the airport and found myself using the various handles to make various turns and tips down corridors and into elevators.
The casters (as with the handles) are mounted on the case exterior. I hadn't seen this in other cases and it makes replacing or altering the case easy. The last Gage case I used was an older model with a broken caster. Since the caster was molded into the trunk it coulomb be replaced. Here, if I breaks a wheel, I can easily unscrew the caster and replace it.

Overall, this is a great case, well worth the price. There is one thing I didn't like about the case: there are metal strips on the front and back of the case that, presumably, make it easier to slide for baggage handling. On my case at least, they are sharp at the ends and a jaggedly cut. I tore a shirt and cut a finger on one of these strips. To remedy the problem, I covered the ends of the strips with a couple pieces of duct tape to keep the ends covered.

2010, back at it.

2010-01-11T14:16:00.001-08:00

My apologies for having being so derelict in keeping this blog up to date. New reviews of gear and gig stories on the way. Mea culpa.

Canada's Music Industry

2009-12-16T10:02:00.000-08:00

According to a recent report by the Martin Prosperity Institute:

On a per capita basis, Canada’s music industry dramatically outperforms the US when it comes to the presence of music business establishments (this category includes record labels, distributors, recording studios, and music publishers). Canada has 5.9 recording industry establishments per 100,000 residents, about five times the US figure of 1.2.

However, this appears to really be only on a per capita basis:

Recording industry establishments in the US are slightly larger – they have an average of 5.9 employees each, compared to only 5.7 in Canada. But the difference is dramatically more pronounced when it comes to revenue. US establishments earn average receipts of $4.1 million per establishment, compared to only US$540,000 in Canada.

So Canada has considerably greater per capita musical activity than the United States in terms of record labels, recording studios, and licensing houses. But the data tell us that the United States has much higher-earning businesses that are more heavily clustered in fewer places – especially Nashville, Los Angeles, and to a lesser extent, New York.

While this research is preliminary, we can speculate about what drives these differences. Economic geographers, from Jane Jacobs to Allen Scott to the Martin Prosperity Institute’s own recent analysis, have long noted that growth in creative industries like music tends to be driven by clustering and economies of scope and scale. The concentration of the American music business in a few key cities likely encourages these forces. In Canada, the fact that the music business is more evenly distributed is certainly a positive thing for musicians looking for opportunities in smaller cities. But failure to cluster in a few key centres may be discouraging the Canadian music industry from growing larger and more internationally competitive.

Now that's a trick!

2009-10-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

A lot of rockabilly players stand on their basses, or put their basses over them, or play with their feet. The list of tricks goes on and on. But this is a real stunt!

The Talking Piano

2009-10-08T12:33:00.001-07:00

In this truly amazing video, we see how a frequency analysis of an individual's voice can be turned into "music". The result: A Talking Piano.

National Ramones Day

2009-10-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

So today (October 8th) is the birthday of both Johnny and C-Jay Ramone. If there was ever an occasion of a holiday in the name of the Ramones, this might be it.

Matt Heller on CBC

2009-09-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Matt Heller (double bassist for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra) was on Contrabass Conversations recently discussing the ISB convention.

John Philip Sousa on the recording industry

2009-09-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

I'm currently reading Elijah Wald's book How the Beatles Destroyed Rock and Roll. In it he discusses the views of John Philip Sousa towards recording and the dissemination of "machine-made music." The quote below is from Sousa's essay "The Menace of Mechanical Music" [published in 1906]. The essay made me think of Jason Heath's recent blog post on why teenagers don't listen to classical music.

Right here is the menace in machine-made music! The first rift in the lute has appeared. The cheaper of these instruments of the home are no longer being purchased as formerly, and all because the automatic music devices are usurping their places.

And what is the result? The child becomes indifferent to practice, for when music can be heard in the homes without the labor of study and close application, and without the slow process of acquiring a technic, it will be simply a question of time when the amateur disappears entirely, and with him a host of vocal and instrumental teachers, who will be without field or calling.

Great Britain is experiencing this decline in domestic music and the English press is discussing it seriously in its editorials. A recent writer in the London Spectator dwells at considerable length upon the prevailing condition, and points to the novel as a sign of the times. The present-day fashionable writer of society fiction, he declares, does not find it necessary to reënforce his heroine with vocal accomplishment, "as in the good old days." He ascribes the passing of home performance, both vocal and instrumental, to the newborn love of athletics among the maids of Albion, together with the introduction of the phonograph as a mechanical substitute for amateur performances....

Under such conditions the tide of amateurism cannot but recede, until there will be left only the mechanical device and the professional executant. Singing will no longer be a fine accomplishment; vocal exercises, so important a factor in the curriculum of physical culture, will be out of vogue!

Then what of the national throat? Will it not weaken? What of the national chest? Will it not shrink? When a mother can turn on the phonograph with the same ease that she applies to the electric light, will she croon her baby to slumber with sweet lullabys, or will the infant be put to sleep by machinery?

Children are naturally imitative, and if, in their infancy, they hear only phonographs, will they not sing, if they sing at all, in imitation and finally become simply human phonographs -- without soul or expression? Congregational singing will suffer also, which, though crude at times, at least improves the respiration of many a weary sinner and softens the voices of those who live amid tumult and noise.

Just so far as a spirit of emulation once inspired proud parent or aspiring daughter to send for the music teacher when the neighbor child across the way began to take lessons, the emulation is turning to the purchase of a rival piano player in each house, and the hope of developing the local musical personality is eliminated.

The country dance orchestra of violin, guitar and melodeon had to rest at times, and the resultant interruption afforded the opportunity for general sociability and rest among the entire company. Now a tireless mechanism can keep everlastingly at it, and much of what made the dance a wholesome recreation is eliminated.

The country band with its energetic renditions, its loyal support by local merchants, its benefit concerts, band wagon, gay uniforms, state tournaments, and the attendant pride and gayety, is apparently doomed to vanish in the general assault on personality in music.

Remember, his was written in 1906. I, like Sousa and Heath, think that the changes in music listening habits has a large part to do with the way teenagers (and the rest of us) listen to music today. With the easy availability of MP3 players and the internet providing quick access to literally hundreds of thousands of listening options, classical music is just not properly "placed" to be consumed like other genres: the pieces are significantly longer; the pieces vary in tempi, dynamics and other ways that don't catch people's attention in a world where individuals can listen to their iPod for 3 minutes at a time between classes, meetings, and other friendly interruptions.

The way we consume music has also affected jazz. The fact that individual's purchase their music online now (more than ever) suggests that the art of writing liner notes is being lost. For jazz fans and musicians, the liner notes of an album provide important information on, among other things, the side-men on a given recording date. This has changed (I believe) how people listen to a jazz recording: if the side-men are not mentioned, what are the chances that the average listener will be noticing their contribution to the recording. Now it is harder to follow the contributions of side-men like Larry Grenadier, Eric Alexander, or Terrel Stafford in their contributions to the recordings of others. As a result, I think the way we are currently listening to music also has something to do with the perception (real or not) that jazz is in need of saving.

Airline Travel with Your Bass

2009-08-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

I recently made an airline trip with my bass in my new Tuff-Lite bass trunk. Overall, the trip was pretty easy (surprisingly). Everyone was nice and my bass was well-cared for by the baggage and airline folks. I've included a few tips from my experiences. Hopefully this blog post will help future travelers with similar endeavors.

Just to give some details, I went from YYC to SFO via SLC and back. I flew Delta. As far as i can tell, the only airlines that are reasonable as far as traveling with a bass are Delta and Northwest. They are in the process of a merger, which I'm not sure is good or bad. We'll see.

I packed my bass in my Tuff-Lite case from the String Emporium. As I expected, I got a lot of odd looks at the airport, particularly from the Delta staff who at first seemed a little unsure as to what to do with the trunk.

TIP #1: DO YOUR HOMEWORK:
Prior to making the trip, I got confirmation from Delta that the bass in its case would make the trip. To do this, I spent roughly 45 minutes on the phone making my reservation and getting all the details ironed out. They asked for the measurements of my case and its weight (84" x 34" x 22" and about 100lbs fully loaded). Although this is in excess of Delta's rules (120 linear inches and 100 lb max), the reservation clerk found out the size of the cargo door on the plane (43" X 22") and told me that "if it fits, we'll take it." The person I dealt with on the phone documented our conversation, including all the measurements, and our conversation was able to be reviewed at the various airports by the Delta staff.

TIP #2: GET THERE EARLY:
Even with this assurance, I was pretty paranoid. At the airport, the Delta staff avoided me, looking past me and asking people after me in line to come up. Finally I asserted myself and asked to be served. They finally checked the bag although they were baffled by how the case would be handled once I cleared customs. The extra time it took to get the trunk cleared and in the hands of the baggage folks was about 40 minutes. Add this as additional time you'll need at the airport.

TIP #3: GET A GREEN CARD FOR YOUR INSTRUMENT:
The folks at US customs (which I cleared in Calgary) asked about the value of my instrument. Once I told them, they asked for a "green card" for the instrument. Apparently, when you're traveling with an expensive instrument, you can obtain a green card for that instrument from your home airport's custom authority. This card indicates that the instrument originated in Canada. In this way, when you return there are no questions regarding where the instrument came from. The Canadian customs people (and those in the US too) are apparently on the lookout for purchases made in the US on which duties and taxes may be owed. The green card avoids these hassles upon return. (Given that I don't have a green card for my bass, I'll deal with this potentiality in a week's time.)

TIP #4: BE NICE TO EVERYONE:
Naturally, when traveling with a bass trunk there is a lot of curiosity on the part of fellow travelers and airport staff. Be nice to all of them. Realize that you're in some sense at their mercy. Given that the bass trunk is over-sized, they can always decide not to take it. Its worth the extra time to talk with them, entertain their inquiries, and open the case again and again (for customs and security checks) with a smile on your face.

Ray Drummond's Core 50

2009-08-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

I just came back from the Stanford Jazz Workshop. At the sessions, bassist Ray Drummond gave out a list of the core 50 songs every bassist (and other instrumentalists) should know. Here it is for those interested.

1. I can’t get started
2. Body and soul
3. Take the A train
4. Sophisticated lady
5. Chelsea bridge
6. Prelude to a kiss
7. I got rhythm
8. Cherokee
9. Cheryl
10. Now is the time
11. Giant steps
12. Invitation
13. Blue monk
14. Well you needn’t
15. Willow weep for me
16. How high the moon
17. Whispering
18. All the things you are
19. What is this thing called love
20. I’ll remember April
21. In a mellow tone
22. It don’t mean a thing
23. All God’s children got rhythm
24. Scrapple from the Apple
25. Round midnight
26. Sweet Georgia Brown
27. There will never be another you
28. Afternoon in Paris
29. Have you met Miss Jones
30. Caravan
31. Was for not
32. I remember Clifford
33. Gone with the wind
34. Like someone in love
35. Con Alma
36. A night in Tunisia
37. Bebop
38. Yesterdays
39. Polka dots and moonbeams
40. Stella by starlight
41. Love for sale
42. Mr. PC
43. There is no greater love
44. Softly as a morning sunrise
45. Summertime
46. Dolphin dance
47. Lose in the closet
48. Lover Man
49. But not for me
50. Lover come back to me

I think there are a lot of interesting inclusions and omissions from this list. Part of Ray's point here (I believe) is to establish a list of songs which have important forms and changes.

Ross Hill - Calgary luthier

2009-07-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

I recently took in my 1951 Nicola Alagia bass for some work on the fingerboard. I bought this bass from PJ Tan in Edmonton, someone who I've written about before.

I took the bass to Aeolian Strings as I heard that Ross Hill was working there. Ross is a Calgary luthier who I had heard great things about from both jazz players and members of the CPO.

I have been looking for a luthier in Calgary for some time. There are very few places that will take a double bass. There's the principal of the CPO, Charles Garret, who does great work but only relatively minor repairs (e.g., bridges, seams). Then there's VA Hill Strings which was once the namesake of Ross Hill. (Due to a divorce, he's no longer involved with VA Hill Strings. 'Nuff said.) I took in an older bass once and a visiting luthier did a great job done. A second time (with my 1920's King laminate bass), I received a phone call to tell me that the bass wasn't worth the cost of repairs ($600). I had them do the work, the regular luthier did a lousy job, Vicky Hill and the luthier treated me like a chump (rolling their eyes at me as I spoke), and I sold the bass for $2,400. In short, I don't recommend VA Hill Strings for anything. I've had other experiences there while looking at bows and have heard stories that just made me laugh. My general impression is that they are not as informed/experienced as they present or believe themselves to be.

Moving on, I was excited about taking my bass to Ross Hill. From my perspective he's been a bit of a spectre: someone you hear about but never see.

After he looked at my bass, he recommended a new fingerboard. I admit, the fingerboard was getting thin, I just didn't think it needed the whole thing replaced. I opted to have the work done, plus fixing a seam, adjusting and installing some adjusters in the bridge. We talked over the phone about what I wanted, but never got together to talk about different possible shapes for the fingerboard.

I've had the bass back now for a couple of weeks. Simply but: the work is excellent! The bass is a joy to play; its fast; it feels so natural. I'm amazed at how great the bass plays. Its like a new instrument. He even managed to do some work to the soundpost and bridge to even out the tone across the strings. Its deep "Italian oily sound" is better than ever. Incredible!

My strongest recommendation of Ross Hill. He can be reached through Aeolian Strings (403.244.5593).

Jazz 50 Years Ago

2009-07-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the article. 'Nuff said. Will we ever have such a landmark year for music in any genre?

Practicing Your Songwriting

2009-07-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

I recently had an article appear in the Serve the Song blog (a blog I read pretty regularly and find very useful). Here's the article:

Like anything, songwriting improves as one practices one’s craft. Practicing songwriting can often be a daunting task not only because it seems odd as a concept (What is the difference between practicing songwriting and being creative by actually engaging in the process of songwriting?) but also because it requires admitting that your own songwriting needs improvement.

Many times, once we write something we have a hard time letting it go, admitting that it needs complete rewriting or that may just not be that good to want a live performance or recording. Many years ago, I read somewhere that Charlotte Cafferty (then guitarist of the Go-Go’s) wrote hundreds of songs that never saw life beyond her notebook. She viewed these is not good enough for live performance and use them as examples to learn and practice what worked and what didn’t work.

Personally, for every 10 songs or so I write, one makes it in front of a band; and for every five that I bring to the band, one makes it to a live performance or recording. While this may suggest that I’m extremely prolific or just plain suck at writing, I take a different view: In a sense, all those bad songs I write are practice for the good songs I write.

In any event, admitting that a song you have written requires rewriting/retooling/rejecting can be difficult. Sometimes when I’m just not in the mood to rework my own material, I turn to the work of others. My approach is this: How many times has a song you don’t particularly like gotten stuck in your head? It happens to me all the time. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and one of my kids’ favorite songs is stuck in my head. Sometimes I (inadvertently) hear a song by an artist I don’t like, only to have the song repeat over and over again in my head throughout the day. There must be something about these songs that makes them “stick.” So, I use these songs as material to practice my songwriting. Literally, I take these songs and start rewriting them, taking them apart to figure out what makes them tick and why they are so catchy. At the same time, I’m honing my own skills with melody, harmony and rhythm.
Deconstructing a Hit

When practicing songwriting, it’s useful to think about what it is that makes these songs (perhaps regrettably) so memorable. Is it the melody? Is it the artist’s phrasing? Is it the rhythm or chord progression? As such, rewriting an existing song can serve several important purposes:
By dissecting and rewriting an existing song you can learn a great deal about what makes its melody catchy or its rhythm addictive. I often take an existing song and try to change one aspect (e.g., melody rhythm progression) while keeping everything else constant. This allows me to see how, say, the artist phrasing works within a melodic or harmonic structure.Sometimes I keep the melody and try to change the chords or rhythm in order to understand how a seemingly catchy melody can be supercharged by the right rhythm and harmony to create a monster you can’t get out of your head. Through this, you learn what works and what doesn’t for more general songwriting.
This type of work also gives you an opportunity to step outside of your genre. Maybe you can take that goofy Carrie Underwood song about cheating and turn it into a mambo? Maybe you can really stretch out an do what these guys did, converting a Brittany Spears song into a fugue. By stepping out of your genre and writing something really different, you open yourself up to new ways of conceptualizing a song. You hear new rhythms and phrases that may spark ideas for your own original material.
Finally, by working from an existing song you are not only learning from an example of a “successful” song, but you’re also practicing your own craft. In re-writings say a Beyonce song or something from the soundtrack to bear in the Big Blue House, it’s impossible for you not to interject your own ideas and style. As such, your songwriting, arranging, and your toolkit of songwriting tricks and ideas can only get better.

Calgary Stampede in Review

2009-07-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

So the Calgary Stampede is over. For the city of Calgary it meant a boost in tourism revenue (despite the economic and weather conditions). For me, it meant 18 gigs in 10 days. Last year I did 22, the year before 26. From my perspective, there was a real downturn in the number (and lavishness) of the corporate parties. That said, it was fun (most of it) and I earned a good sum money in a short period of time.

I thought it would be fun to talk a bit about some of the things I saw/experienced during my Stampede gigs and mention a bit about keeping your hands healthy during extended gigs. I also included a bit of simple bass playing math.

First, some highlights:

Playing Flames Central as an opening act for Colin James (who I'm not familiar with).
Opening for Fred Eaglesmith (who I am familiar with).
Seeing a 30-foot tall image of myself on the jumbo-tron at Flames Central.
Playing on the roof of a diner.
A wet t-shirt contest for charity.
A nervous burlesque dancer throwing up backstage.
Running through downtown between gigs while carrying an upright bass.
Hearing the "That's a mighty big violin" joke approximately 48 times. (Yes, I counted.)
Explaining to several "sound-men" the difference between mixing as a DJ and mixing live music.
Surviving.

With respect to the latter, Stampede usually takes a huge toll on my sleep and my fingers. Regarding my sleep patterns, I had more than a few nights that I played until 2am and had to be at a pancake breakfast for my next gig at 6 or 7 am.

As for my fingers, the average gig I play is three 45-minute sets. That's a lot of slapping on a double bass. For those not familiar with slapping on an upright bass, its like performing a Bartok slap very quickly and repeatedly. Some people use gut strings or weed whackers. My bass had steel strings (Spirocores) on it during Stampede.

Now some simple math:

13 songs per set at 3 minutes each, average tempo of 160 = 3,120 times per set that my fingers pull up a string.

And that's only if I'm playing I-V's the whole night (i.e., two notes per measure). If I'm walking (which I do about half the time) the better estimate is 4,680 plucks per night. (I just shocked myself figuring this out.) And this isn't even counting the slaps on the string/fingerboard.On the three-set night that means about 14,040 times my fingers pluck a string. Over the whole of Stampede, 252,720 times. Crazy. Oh well my fingers survived.

I've written before (here and here) about the need to take care of your hands. To the right is a picture of my fingers at the start of Stampede. At the bottom of the post is a photo of my hands near the end of Stampede. Overall, I did a pretty good job taking care of them: each night I used some lotion (Burt's Bees is my preferred) and put a band-aid on any cuts. This kept my hands from drying out too much , thereby helping them stay in shape for the next gig. I only had a couple of nights that I was really bothered by some pain and no major cuts or blisters, which is more than I can say for some of my compadre bassists during Stampede. At one gig where many of us were hanging out, some guys/girls had a bit of show and tell regarding their blisters. Regardless, that's the cost (along with the sleepless nights, running between gigs, and listening to DJ's swell a room with feedback while trying to figure out how to set up stage monitors) many of us pay during the Calgary Stampede. Now its time to start training for next year. Yee Haw.

The Calgary Stampede

2009-06-30T20:17:00.001-07:00

This week starts my annual flood of gigs around the Calgary Stampede. At the end of it all, I'll post something about the whole experience. Let me just say this. The Calgary Stampede is in many ways "harvest time for the musicians" as there are club and corporate gigs everywhere.

Over the 10 days of Stampede. I have 22 gigs. (Not a record. I set that a couple of years ago at 26 gigs in 10 days.) I've even had to turn down gigs due to scheduling conflicts or attempts to keep my sanity. (I can only do so many late night shows followed by corporate breakfasts before the lack of sleep starts kicking in.) In any case, the Stampede is reason enough for every bassist to learn how to improvise a I-V bass line over chord changes and learn a little bit of slapping. Stay tuned.

Branford Marsalis on the state of jazz education

2009-06-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Branford Marsalis will be performing at the Calgary jazz festival. Here are some excerpts from his interview in the Calgary Herald:

For the 48-year-old saxophonist, composer, teacher and leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, the importance of learning from those who have gone before--not only with regard to musical refinement but also the spirit of community that lies close to the heart of the jazz music-making experience --is largely lost on the average young, well-schooled jazz musician of today, for whom the rush instead to be considered a new and unique voice is paramount.
"They're not in it for the tradition," the famous musician says, pointing out that the current artistic climate in the United States, which he sees as being shaped by "40 years of cultural narcissism," is largely to blame.
By the time the 1970s rolled round, he says, "the idea of jazz being reflective of a community and jazz being a sound where a solo was an integral part of the music but not the main issue" had evolved (at least insofar as the average jazz student was concerned) into the notion of the solo as "the only part of jazz they were interested in."
"The idea of playing with other musicians and playing together--all of those things had been pushed aside for a more self-absorbed philosophy based on a mastery of patterns and scales that work on chord progressions, et cetera, et cetera."
"It really depends on how the teacher is teaching as to whether it's important, but what I often tell my students is if architecture or aviation or engineering was taught the way jazz was taught there would be planes and buildings falling out of the sky. They'd just be crumbling everywhere, because the jazz version of (teaching) architecture is, 'Sure the Greeks had something important, sure the Egyptians developed certain structural things but we don't need to study it because it's not current. We're going to start around 1970'--and I don't have to tell you the end conclusion to that."
"I was lousy when I started, which the records bear out," Marsalis says. "But when I had the privilege of meeting people like Art Blakey and he would say to me, 'You don't have enough sound' and Dizzie Gillespie would say 'You need to learn the blues,' I didn't just say, 'Oh, they're just jealous because they're old.'
"I didn't make up an excuse to dismiss the central theme of what they were saying--which is something that was popular among my generation, to ignore those guys.
"A lot of musicians were more interested in getting gigs than they were in becoming competent and really good at what they do."

I go back and forth on my thoughts About his views on education and contemporary jazz. I see a point in what he's saying (particularly on the over emphasis of the solo and the importance of ensemble playing), however, as Bill Harrison wrote, there are times when Branford bugs me.

Bands and Brands

2009-06-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been reading Songs for Soap, a blog fron Advertising Age. Two recent posts caught my attention, both of which I believe have the same (in one case, tacit) message. The first post is by a marketer and gives a glimpse into what marketing people think of the music industry:

People can sift through a site like HypeMachine and read, engage, and comment on their favorite and possibly-favorite artists, all while listening to their entire album (plus remixes). How often do those links to Amazon and iTunes go un-clicked? The enormous ocean of music, sorting through what you do like, don't like, and may-very-well-like-but-haven't-heard-yet is a Herculean task. Once a user finds something they like, they can search for it on a site like Qloud or GrooveShark and stream it instantly. Repeatedly.
Indeed, the current process of discovering music has replaced the need to acquire music. Certainly, there are those remote corners of your life, like camping or swimming, where the internet determinstic argument falls down, but even those areas of our lives are being constantly opened up by new devices and infrastructures. The car has already fallen under the constant "just give it time" umbrella.
Music is sort of like a municipality, like water from a faucet: free, of acceptable quality. If you want a more savory experience, there is always the bottled variety. In fact, this paradigm shift is already behind us.

Given this ocean of music, the second post suggests where a musician's focus should be in terms of getting involved/included in marketing and advertising:

...they consistently ask the same question during or after these panels: "How do I get you and your brand clients and agency clients to choose my song or my band for your next major ad campaign?"
The answer is complicated, but the short answer is this: There is no music-branding silver bullet that will skyrocket a developing artist to stardom and riches. Take your time and focus on your own career and we will find you. It's often not the answer these artists want to hear, but it's the truth.
Coca-Cola, Nike and Gap are not going to place your song in a national TV spot or your artist on their billboards or the print ads they are buying in Vanity Fair unless the brand or its agency understands your brand as an artist.
There, I said it. As an artist, you must become a brand unto yourself. It's only then that a major marketer will desire this transference of values. The values that you as an artist embody and express to your fans and your community must be clear to a brand and must match their own values. The brand will then be much more likely to desire your music and a relationship with you as an artist in order to express its values.

The central message (as I see it) is "get better, hone your craft, discover yourself as an artist."

Music Critics in the Twitter Age

2009-06-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

I was directed to this by a friend: Christopher R. Weingarten discussing the role of the music critic in the world of Twitter at the 140 Characters Conference. His talk is funny, witty, and very relevant. I think the most important aspect of the talk is his emphasis on the fact that people using Twitter (and blogs for that matter) don't address the "Why?" questions in the explaining why a band/album is good/sucks. It reminds my a bit of this post.

Learning Tunes

2009-06-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a video about how to learn tunes and songs. The key is letting your ears fully absorb the tunes, going slowly and thoroughly through the tunes. While this may seem obvious, the video gives some nice ideas on accomplishing this.

Some Record Deal Economics

2009-06-10T09:08:00.001-07:00

I have some friends who recently signed a record deal with a "big player" in music. I was asked a bit about my opinions regarding their advance, their cut on sales (i.e., "points"), etc. Having grown up in the San Francisco music scene, I have had several friends sign these type of deals. As an economist, I've had lots of them ask me these questions. Personally, I find the deals too complicated to give any real advice. However, I always refer people to the famous (or maybe infamous) essay by Steve Albini on the "music industry." In this essay, he comes up with the following rough accounting of a record deal.

Since some of you may not read to the end of the quote from his essay (not quoted below), the last statement in Steve Albini's essay is usually what I tell my friends once they have signed these deals.

These figures are representative of amounts that appear in record contracts daily. There's no need to skew the figures to make the scenario look bad, since real-life examples more than abound. Income is underlined, expenses are not.

Advance: $ 250,000

Manager's cut: $ 37,500

Legal fees: $ 10,000

Recording Budget: $ 155,500

Producer's advance: $ 50,000

Studio fee: $ 52,500

Drum, Amp, Mic and Phase "Doctors": $ 3,000

Recording tape: $ 8,000

Equipment rental: $ 5,000

Cartage and Transportation: $ 5,000

Lodging while in studio: $ 10,000

Catering: $ 3,000

Mastering: $ 10,000

Tape copies, reference CDs, shipping tapes, misc. expenses: $ 2,000

Album Artwork: $ 5,000

Promotional photo shoot and duplication: $ 2,000

Video budget: $ 31,000

Cameras: $ 8,000

Crew: $ 5,000

Processing and transfers: $ 3,000

Off-line: $ 2,000

On-line editing: $ 3,000

Catering: $ 1,000

Stage and construction: $ 3,000

Copies, couriers, transportation: $ 2,000

Director's fee: $ 4,000

Band fund: $ 15,000

New fancy professional drum kit: $ 5,000

New fancy professional guitars [2]: $ 3,000

New fancy professional guitar amp rigs [2]: $ 4,000

New fancy potato-shaped bass guitar: $ 1,000

New fancy bass amp: $ 1,000

Rehearsal space rental: $ 500

Big blowout party for their friends: $ 500

Tour expense [5 weeks]: $ 50,875

Bus: $ 25,000

Crew [3]: $ 7,500

Food and per diems: $ 7,875

Fuel: $ 3,000

Consumable supplies: $ 3,500

Wardrobe: $ 1,000

Promotion: $ 3,000

Tour gross income: $ 50,000

Booking Agent's cut: $ 7,500

Manager's cut: $ 7,500

Merchandising advance: $ 20,000

Manager's cut: $ 3,000

Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000

Publishing advance: $ 20,000

Manager's cut: $ 3,000

Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000

Record sales: 250,000 @ $12: $ 3,000,000

Gross retail revenue Royalty [13% of 90% of retail]: 250,000 @ $12: $ 351,000

Less advance: $ 250,000

Producer's points [3% less $50,000 advance]: $ 40,000

Promotional budget: $ 25,000

Recoupable buyout from previous label: $ 50,000

Net royalty: $ -14,000

Now, on the other hand, let's look at the Record company income:

Record wholesale price $6.50 x 250,000 $ 1,625,000 gross income

Artist Royalties: $ 351,000

Deficit from royalties: $ 14,000

Costs of manufacturing, packaging and distribution @ $2.20 per record: $ 550,000

Label's gross profit: $ 7l0,000

The Balance Sheet: This is how much each player got paid at the end of the game:

Record company: $ 710,000

Producer: $ 90,000

Manager: $ 51,000

Studio: $ 52,500

Previous label: $ 50,000

Booking Agent: $ 7,500

Lawyer: $ 12,000

Band member net income each: $ 781.25

The band is now 1/4 of the way through its contract, has made the music industry more than 3 million dollars richer, but is in the hole $14,000 on royalties. The band members have each earned about 1/20 as much as they would working at a 7-11, but they got to ride in a tour bus for a month.

The next album will be about the same, except that the record company will insist they spend more time and money on it. Since the previous one never "recouped," the band will have no leverage, and will oblige.

The next tour will be about the same, except the merchandising advance will have already been paid, and the band, strangely enough, won't have earned any royalties from their T-shirts yet. Maybe the T-shirt guys have figured out how to count money like record company guys.

Following the ISB from a Distance

2009-06-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm following the International Society of Bassists' (ISB) convention from afar, being at home while the meetings are at Penn State. Here's the list of links I'm following to try and keep abreast of what is going on:

Matt Heller's posts form the convention
Jason Heath's blog (I think this is the standard for all bassists to read)
ISB's live convention coverage (set up, I believe, by Jason Heath)

Ron Carter Interviews on Artist House Music

2009-06-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

There are two great interviews (both in several parts) with Ron Carter on Artist House Music. The first interview features Ron Carter discussing everything from technique, tone, playing with Miles, recording, his feelings about jazz, and much more. The second interview (which may be part of the first, but takes place in a classroom) discusses the role of life in the music industry.

Podcast: Gerard Schwarz

2009-06-05T10:53:00.001-07:00

I recently listened to an interview with conductor Gerard Schwarz on a Naxos Podcast. The main thrust of the interview is Arthur Foote (additional information, scores at IMSLP) and why his music isn't played as much as it perhaps should be. However, Schwarz discusses the role of culture, music education, and the role of the arts in American history (or at least its pedagogy) Great interview (and great music).

A Rough Day for Music: Sam Butera and KokoTaylor

2009-06-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

Both Sam Butera and Koko Taylor passed away today. Below are videos of Butera playing Night Train with Louis Prima (check out Keely Smith's facial expression). The second video is Koko Taylor with Little Walter.

Louis Prima - Sam Butera - Night Train
Uploaded by rocknroll50. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

More on Goal-setting and Achieving Goals

2009-06-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

I was forwarded this post on goals and goal-setting. I have an interest in goals, having blogged about it and done research on goals, and use them myself to try and get things done. In any event, some of the interesting points from the post:

1. Start With An Easy Goal And Complete It

Choose a simple goal and get it achieved within the next two weeks. This will start your momentum and get you feeling like you are in full forward motion.Think of a small, achievable goal that only takes four to five hours to complete. Next, set a date when you will get it done by and go for it.
2. Make Lists To Stay On Track

Make daily lists of what you need to do to get your goals met - the night before! Do the hardest thing first in the morning- don’t procrastinate.
Do something everyday that moves you towards the goals
Delegate the little activities that waste your valuable time to other people (you would be amazed what you could do with the 4 hours it takes to clean your house).

3. Get Help

Build a TEAM to help you!! Get an intern or two - log on to http://www.entertainmentcareers.net and post as an employer seeking interns - you will be amazed at how many bright young people would like to get their feet wet in the business.

4. Remember You Can Change The Goals As You Go

Goals should be looked at as beacons and guiding points for you to keep yourself on track along your journey. I would not recommend changing them every week but the music industry is changing so rapidly it’s hard to know what goals are reachable in this landscape. So if over the course of the year your goals change its OK to cross one off or modify as you go.

5. Don’t Beat Yourself Up!

This is a process intended to take a whole year and you will have your days where you may get frustrated, and you will start to beat yourself up (sound familiar?) Self-criticism will interfere directly with achieving your goals and dreams. So, the next time you are making yourself wrong, take a step back and instead acknowledge the good, and celebrate your achievements.

6. Write Down 5 Successes Each Day

I’m inviting you to write down five little victories a day for this entire year. I learned this powerful technique from T. Harv Eker. Once you start getting into this habit, you are training yourself to put the focus on the positive and get your brain to stop being so critical. So put a notebook in your gig bag or next to your bed and each day write down 5 things. Make one or two of them music or band related.

Upcoming Event in Calgary

2009-06-01T15:58:00.001-07:00

I've been doing some research on charitable giving, not looking at the motives as much as the mechanisms organizations use to raise funds. So its in this respect that I'm posting the following regarding an upcoming event in Calgary to raise funds for Janus Academy, a school specializing in the education of children with autism:

Upright Bass Health Tips from Randy Kertz

2009-06-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

The new issue of the online magazine Bass Musician Magazine has an article by bassist/physician Randy Kertz. Dr. Kertz has written an excellent book on bass playing and health. His current article is specific to the upright bassist:

Upright players will be more prone to have stiffness and tightness in the neck musculature due to the head moving in time with the music and leaning forward to read charts and/or to look at the neck or a conductor while playing. This can lead to soreness of these muscles and often to a pinched nerve. While not always available in an orchestral setting, it is best to have one's own music stand to avoid unnecessary strain while transitioning between these places.

Body weight should be evenly distributed so that it can be shifted as needed to aid the right or left hand. The instrument should be balanced against you so that it can stand without the aid of the left hand (all assuming you are right handed). If the weight of the body is all on the right side the left hand will have no power and vice versa.

When playing the upright, the vibrato should come from the elbow, not the wrist. The hand and arm should act as one in an involuntary motion, using the elbow as a support. The full arm vibrato is a sideways motion and if the hand begins to roll in you will not be able to generate the force required to press the string down. Keeping this in mind can help you to avoid wrist problems.

Make sure the peg height is set correctly so that you don't have to alter your posture, any more than is absolutely necessary to compensate for tight musculature from an uncomfortable stance. This alone can cause you discomfort anywhere in your back which can lead to other areas as the body compensates to try and lighten the load.

This Day in Music History

2009-05-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

May 29 is a busy day in music history:

The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris in 1913.
Bing Crosby recorded White Christmas
Birthdays: Iannis Xenakis, Danny Elfman, LaToya Jackson, Mellisa Etheridge, and Noel Gallager.

Bass photo of the week (May 25)

2009-05-25T20:11:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of the scroll of Charles Mingus' bass. The photo is by (I think) William Ellis. There are lots of great photos on his web site.

Twitter tips for Musicians

2009-05-25T08:45:00.001-07:00

I found this post interesting. I've only recently started using Twitter in any real sense. I'm still trying to "find my voice" with Twitter, not to mention my audience.

Charles Mingus Sings

2009-05-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

I love this video.

In an unrelated note, today is Marc Ribot's birthday and the anniversary of the passing of Vaughn Monroe.

Pop's Foster

2009-05-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't have a chance to write about it, but Monday (May 19th) was Pops Foster's birthday (1892-1969). In my opinion, he has one of the great early jazz and blues bassists who helped develop the slap technique that was taken to new levels by Milt Hinton and others. He originally played in New Orleans, later moving on to working in the rhythm sections of Earl Hines and Sidney Bechet. I've always thought of him as one of the "unrecognized greats" of bass playing.

Writing Music In Your Dreams

2009-05-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

I recently came across this article from a 2006 issue of Consciousness and Cognition. in some of my other research. From the abstract (my emphasis):

Music in dreams is rarely reported in scientific literature, while the presence of musical themes in dreams of famous musicians is anecdotally reported. We did a systematic investigation to evaluate whether the occurrence of musical dreams could be related to musical competence and practice, and to explore specific features of dreamt pieces. Thirty-five professional musicians and thirty non-musicians filled out a questionnaire about the characteristics of their musical activity and a structured dream log on the awakening for 30 consecutive days. Musicians dream of music more than twice with respect to non-musicians; musical dreams frequency is related to the age of commencement of musical instruction, but not to the daily load of musical activity. Nearly half of the recalled music was non-standard, suggesting that original music can be created in dreams.

A lesson from Milt Hinton

2009-05-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

Milt Hinton is one of my favorite bassists. Here's a lesson from him from YouTube. I particularly like his "solo" and his comments that precede it about the need for bassists to have a lot of stamina.

May 13th Birthdays

2009-05-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Gil Evans, Red Garland, and Stevie Wonder. Today also marks the anniversary of Bob Wills' death.

Tuff Bag Review (Better than Moorodian?)

2009-05-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

After about 12 years, I decided to replace my well-worn, ripped, and beaten Moorodian bass case. I had originally thought of replacing it with another Moorodian, but thought of looking around a bit. I had seen the Ritter cases, but didn’t really liked the way they fit around the instrument. (They seem to be too big and don’t have the padding of the Moorodian.)

After some looking around and some discussions with Steve at the String Emporium (from whom I purchased a Finale bow), I decided to try a Tuff-Bag. Steve insisted that they were as good as Moorodian, and less expensive.

When I received the bag, I was a bit surprised: it looks almost exactly like my old Moorodian bag (sans the rips and holes). The material feels the same, although this is a bit hard to judge given the years on my Moorodian. The padding seems to be about 1 inch and there are ample carrying straps.

The Tuff-Bag has the same set of front pockets: a bow pocket large enough to fit bow in a case and two accessory pockets. The back pocket (where most people put their sheet music) is divided, having a stitch down one side thereby providing a pocket large enough to fit your music folder and a smaller pocket (where I keep various notebooks).

The first thing to go on my Moorodian (many years ago) was the zipper. So that was the first thing I checked on the Tuff-Bag. I'm happy to say that the Tuff-Bag zippers are strong and double stiched in place. Moroever, the Tuff-Bag bag has padding between the main zippers and all points at which the zipper could come in contact with the instrument. This is somewhat different than my old Moorodian which only had padding between the instrument and the zipper on one side (where the longest zipper is) and then only until about halfway down the lower bout.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the Tuff-Bag. The true test will come when I look back (maybe in another 15 years) at how the bag held up.

New Guitar Hero Bass Controller

2009-05-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

I was forwarded this by a friend. It seems that the makers of Guitar Hero and Rockband have come up with something to satisfy those of us playing the double bass.

Happy Birthday Ron Carter!

2009-05-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today is Ron Carter's 72nd birthday. I've always been a huge Ron Carter fan. I love his phrasing and his ability to choose notes and rhythms in a walking bass line that literally drive the line forward, embedding a song with an emotional foundation.

I recently read his biography (by Dan Ouellette). I've thought about writing a review of the book, but have avoided it. Overall, I liked the book, but the book never grabbed my like other biographies and autobiographies (e.g., those of Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Miles Davis). At times, the book painted Mr. Carter as a bit of a curmudgeon who feels slighted by his position in the jazz community. Many years ago I had the opportunity to see a masterclass by Mr. Carter and had a short conversation with him (maybe five minutes). The masterclass demonstrated his incredible technique and his desire to help others. In the conversation, he was friendly, kind and funny. The book tells a great story, but I felt it left out some of the story of Ron Carter. At times, the book seems like a laundry list of recordings and accomplishments, without telling the story of Ron.

Bass photo of the week (May 3)

2009-05-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here's an ad for Polytone that I came across featuring Ray Brown.

Wynton Marsalis testifies before congress on the arts

2009-05-02T14:19:00.001-07:00

Wynton Marsalis testifies before a Congressional Committee from Americans for the Arts on Vimeo.

Bass Photo of the Week (April 20th)

2009-04-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my favorite photos of Scott Lafaro. It a great photo of him, and his famous Prescott bass.

The bass currently resides at Kolstein's where it was repaired after being in the same crash that killed Lafaro. A photo of the bass as it stands at Kolstein's is below.

Bass Photo of the Week (April 14th)

2009-04-14T08:47:00.001-07:00

I don't know what this is a photo of. I've done my share of damage to basses, but I've never used duct tape.

Miles and Me (Quincy Troupe)

2009-04-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

I've always been a big Miles Davis fan. The first record I actually wore out (literally to the point it would no longer play) was Miles' album Tutu. I also wore out (although a few tracks still play fine) Cookin' and 'Round Midnight. I saw Miles Davis live three times in the late 80's and early 90's.In each case, I was completely drawn into his playing and that of his band. I've also read his autobiography (with Quincy Troupe) a handful of times.

Over the weekend I read Quincy Troupe's follow up book Miles and Me. I've had it for years, but had never read it. Let me say that this is a great book. Its an excellent story of the story behind the writing of the autobiography. I loved the stories of Miles and those of Quincy's own development as a poet/artist. I was particularly struck by his use of jazz players to develop the cadences and tone of his writing and poetic voice.

Jeff Bradetich Videos

2009-04-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a couple of great pedagogical videos by Jeff Bradetich, one of my favorites. While there are several videos of Mr. Bradetich performing on YouTube, I found these videos from University of North Texas very useful. Plus, both videos highlight his great technique and musicality. The first video is about left-hand techniques; the second is on practice methods.

Bass photo of the week (April 6)

2009-04-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a great photo of Paul Chambers playing with the Miles Davis group (of whom he was a member from 1955 to 1963). The photo is from the Life Magazine archives. Chambers has always been one of my favorite bassists and I love his bowed solos (many of which are transcribed by Jim Stinnett).

A couple of interesting things about the photo. First, note the carved scroll on the bass he is playing. I'm not sure what type of bass he played (he probably had several over his career; cf. Scott Lafaro and his Prescott bass). Secondly, notice there is a second bass in the corner. On my last trip home I visited my grandmother who lives in an assisted-living community. There I met a friend of hers, Julius Gill, who played piano for some really biggies on the West Coast in the 50's and 60's. When I told him I was thinking about tuning my bass in fifths (more on this in another post) he mentioned that there was a time when many jazz players were experimenting with alternate tunings. I wonder if the second bass in the corner is a spare, someone else's or perhaps an alternate tuning. One can only conjecture.

Feeling/Finding the Pulse

2009-04-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

I came across this nice article on the importance of pulse in bringing musicians together as an effective ensemble. I recently played at a rehearsal for an ensemble. I'm sure I won't get a call back as the band (maybe more precisely, the rhythm section) never gelled in such a way as to find a unique and binding pulse. I'm not sure if it was my sight reading or that of the others, a bad vibe between us, or just ne of those days. In the end, it never clicked.

I got me thinking about how an effective rhythm section operates. One of the groups I play with (a trio) has a great pulse. I'm always amazed at how we click when playing together and how we anticipate one anothers' fills and rhythmic changes.

I think one important part of developing a pulse is having one yourself. This is more than just being alive with your instrument. It takes practice. For this, I think a metronome and the ability to sight read rhythms are essential. Myself, I try to spend some time during each practice session sight reading rhythms. One tool I use is rhythmpatterns.com. This site has lots of rhythms that you can just pull up and read. I also like grabbing books of latin music or atonal etudes as each has its own rhythmic perculiarities. Reading this music (or at least the rhythms) not only improvies your sight reading but also your musical knowledge base.

Another important aspect of having your own pulse is using a metronome. Many people I know eschew a metronome when practicing as they feel it will interfere with there sense of "musical flow" or "swinging". I believe that all music requires a pulse and that training yourself to play with a pulse means using a metronome in the background to, at a minimum, remind you of the need for a pulse. Here's a nice article on the use of a metronome. Personally, I think too many peoiple believe that using a metronome means hearing a click on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. These people forget the flexibility of using a metronome: putting the clicks only on beats 2 and 4; putting the click only on beat 1 or beat 4. Using a metronome in a more creative fashion can only improve your musical flow and ability to swing.

Peter Tambroni's edition of Bottessini's Elegy

2009-04-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

To celebrate his 100th post on MostlyBass.com, Peter Tambroni has made his edition of Bottessini's Elegy available free for download. This offer expires on April 3rd so you better move fast.

the R-Word

2009-04-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

As a parent of someone with special needs, I always have some trouble with the use of the word retard or retarded, regardless of the context. My friends know this and avoid use of the word.
The Special Olympics has launched a campaign to eliminate the use of the word. I encourage everyone to pledge on their website: R-word.org.

Bass Picture of the Week (March 30th)

2009-03-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Here's another photo from the Life photo archive on Google. The caption reads "A man playing the bass at the Refuge Temple.(New York, NY, April 1958)"

The R-word

2009-03-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

As a parent of an autistic boy, I've always been sensitive to the use of the word "retard" regardless of context. With the recent brouhaha regarding President Obama's reference to the Special Olympics, there has been increased attention to the Special Olympics, and particularly their campaign to eliminate the use of the "R-word". Here's the article from CNN, and the web site of the Special Olympics where you can pledge to stop using the word.

Bass Picture of the Week (March 23rd)

2009-03-19T15:51:00.001-07:00

I'm out of town next week so here's and early posting of Edith Piaf. I can only hope she's expressing her intense joy over the bassist engaging in what looks like a slap.

Another Great Paul Chambers Video

2009-03-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's another video of Paul Chamber (a follow-up to a previous post). This one with the John Coltrane Quartet playing On Green Dolphin Street. Again, check out Paul's acro solo. I found it interesting where he placed slurs and hooked bowings. I'll have to watch it a few more times to get the ideas written down in my transcription of this solo.

Great Video of Paul Chambers

2009-03-19T12:28:00.001-07:00

I recently came across the video below of John Coltrane with Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb and Paul Chambers. I've always thought that Paul Chambers deserves more credit than he receives (something echoed by Marcus Miller in a recent blurb in Down Beat).

What makes this video intriguing to me is that Chambers takes two solos in the video. The first (at about 3:00) is an arco solo. This gives a chance to see his bowing technique. There are books of transcribed arco solos (e.g., Jim Stinnett's books), but these don't tell you much about how Chambers articulated the notes or what his bowings looked like. The second solo (at about 6:30) is a pizzicato solo. Both solos are great, along with the playing of Kelly and the others. Enjoy.

Solo to Orchestral Transcriptions

2009-03-15T14:52:00.001-07:00

I'm often faced with the following problem: I play in orchestral tuning but have a piece I want to play (e.g. Hindemith sonata) that is written for solo tuning. I don't want to re-tune my bass and can't afford the time/money of switching to a set of solo strings (which I think sound much better than an orchestral set ratcheted up a notch) just to play a few pieces. So what do I do?

For Bottesini's Elegy, there is a Frank Proto edition in which he includes two piano scores: one to accompany each of a bassist in orchestral and solo tuning. This seems to me like a great solution. Well, I just cam across Douglas Mapp Music which offers piano transcriptions for many of the pieces in the repetoire. The pieces look good and seem, to me, reasonably priced.

I'll let you know how my first order goes.

Double-Stops Masterclass

2009-03-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some new techniques, including slapping and developing my technique with respect to double stops. I found a useful "masterclass" written by John Goldsby in several 2007 issues of Double Bassist magazine (now defunct and incorporated into the Strad). The Strad has been kind enough to make these articles available on its web site. The articles by John Goldsby are great. Lots of good ideas for developing a good double-stop techique. I've been doing scales using thirds and fifths double-stops (something suggested by Goldsby). While the articles focus on jazz playing, the ideas are equally applicable to other genres (classial and rockabilly).

Also included on the site is a masterclass by Owen Lee on the double bass solos in Mahler 1 and Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije suite.

Finale Carbon Fiber Bows

2009-03-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

I have been using a Finale carbon fiber bow (from the String Emporium) for a while now. I have to say that I am really impressed with this bow. The bow is very responsive and produces a great sound. For off the string playing, its great, much more alive than other synthetic (non-wood) bows. Plus, the price is awesome ($350 or so plus a great case and the rosin of your choice).

Here's a video of Jason Heath (Contrabass Conversations) demonstrating the bow and demonstrating its sound relative to a more expensive bow.

Great Jazz Video Site

2009-03-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

Have you ever spent more time than you expected searching through YouTube videos? I've lost hours of time seeking out footage of Mingus or watching Ray Brown's masterclass on YouTube. Well, now someone has done the searching for you. (The viewing is all up to you.) A new site by Brad Sharp lists all sorts of great artists and their YouTube video performance. Best of all (I think), its sorted by instrument. Warning: Make sure you have some time set aside before getting started on the site.

I've suggested that he add Scott LaFaro to his list. Although there is not a lot of Scott on YouTube, there are a few videos. The one below is short, but dynamite! What a bassist!

And my parents tought a regular degree in music was worthless

2009-03-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

When I was an undergraduate, I wanted to pursue a degree in music. My parents were totally against it and, under pressure, ended up pursuing a degree in accounting. Talk about a 180. Anyways, its long story and has a happy ending.

Moving beyond my parents, imaging what they would have thought if I pursued the following:

Liverpool Hope University has launched a brand new MA in The Beatles, Popular Music and Society, the first of its kind in the world.

The new course, which can be studied both full and part time, covers four modules with specific issues relating to The Beatles and Popular Music, consisting of four 12-week taught modules, plus a dissertation.

Mike Brocken, Senior Lecturer in Popular Music at Hope, said 'There have been over 8,000 books about The Beatles but there has never been serious academic study and that is what we are going to address.

'Forty years on from their break-up, now is the right time and LIverpool is the right place to study The Beatles. This MA is expected to attract a great deal of attention, not just locally but nationally and we have already had enquiries from abroad, particularly the United States.

''The Beatles, Popular Music and Society' marks a seminal advance in popular music studies. For the first time in the UK and possibly the world, a postgraduate taught course is offered to research into The Beatles, the city from which they emerged, the contexts of the 1960s, technology, sound and songwriting and the industries that have set up in their wake to capitalise on tourism in the city of Liverpool.'

For further information, please call the postgraduate enquiry line on 0151 291 3389.

Bowmaker Zdzislaw Prochownik

2009-03-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

I've been looking to buy a new bow for some time now. I came across the bowmaker Zdzislaw Prochownik, who happens to also be the principal bassist in Winnipeg. After I inquired about is bows, he sent me two bows: a 119g pernambuco bow and a 123g massaranduba. Both bows are exceptional: great curve, excellent balance and a real life to them. I ended up purchasing the massaranduba as I preferred the feel of it and it made my bass sing. I really liked the feel of the wood. I was not familiar with massaranduba before.

If you're looking for a bow in Canada, particularly a Canadian-made bow, check out Mr. Prochownik's work.

R. Murray Schafer wins the Governor General's award

2009-03-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to R. Murray Schafer who has been awarded the 2009 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Mr. Shafer is a composer and educator who I first encountered when studying the World Soundscape Project. This project was, at least initially, driven by Shafer's studies of noise pollution. I later read his book The Soundscape which extended these ideas into thinking about an evironment's soundscape as a compositional tool or an orchestral component. (I've tried to use some of these ideas in my own compositions, with much less success that those of Shafer.)

Many of his ideas are included in what I think is his most famous composition, The Princess and the Stars. This piece is based on Native American folklore and must be performed around a lake, therby incorporating the natural soundscape of the lake. In fact, it was once performed in nearby Banff National Park. I've heard that a bootleg recording of that performance resides somewhere on the University of Calgary campus.

Thirft Stores and the Recession

2009-03-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

As people start grappling with the recession, they look for means of saving money. This usually means cutting back on purchases and holding on to items a bit longer than maybe one would in more abundant times. As a result of this behavior, thrift stores in Calgary (and elsewhere) are feeling a pinch. Paraphrasing from an article in the Calgary Herald (March 1 2009):

Calgary's social agencies are issuing calls for donations of household items as the recession begins to pinch city residents.
"We've noticed that people are not going out and buying new things; they're hanging onto what they have," said Sparrow. "We're also seeing new faces in our stores." At the same time, the agency has experienced a 20 per cent increase in demand for its Free Goods Referral program. Women in transition or coming out of a crisis are referred to the program by one of 60 community agencies and provided a voucher to obtain clothing and household items at a Women In Need thrift store. Sparrow's organization especially needs dishes, pots and pans, linens, flatware, as well as clothing and accessories, she said. Its Dover-area store also takes furniture. "We're hoping that when people start thinking about spring cleaning, they think about us and donate," said Sparrow.
It's an about-face from the boom, when thrift stores struggled to cope with a flood of donations. Some turned donors away and a few hired security guards to prevent people from dumping unwanted goods on their doorsteps.
Beth Heyd, operations manager of The Salvation Army's Thrift Stores, estimates donations of household goods have dropped by half. Normally, there'd be a dozen sofas in the furniture section of the Salvation Army's Horizon Heights stores at 36th Street and 32nd Avenue N. E., she said, but only one or two couches were available on Thursday. "My theory is that you'll give second thought to buying that new sofa if you're worried about getting laid off," said Heyd. Donations of used clothing remain strong, but she's noticed an increase in professionals, especially women, shopping for used business wear at the thrift stores.
Likewise, the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre put out a call for donations of linens for the 2,000 homeless people who pass through its doors every day. "We are in desperate need of towels and blankets," said Louise Gallagher, director of public relations and volunteer services for the drop-in centre.

Personally, I get most of my gig clothes from thift stores. My wife and I did a big clean out of our closets today, taking several bags of clothing to a local thrift store. Next time you're struggling to get through your closet, think about doing the same.

Max Dimoff interview

2009-02-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

I recently listened to the Contrabass Conversations interview with Max Dimoff. I've been using Mr. Dimoff's warm-up exercises for a long time. I like them for the purpose of working on my intonation. I also do the exercises (when I have the time) using pizzicato in order to focus on getting a strong pizz sound.

In the interview, Mr. Dimoff is quite detailed aobut the role of the warm-ups and what he thinks about while going through the exercises. While I worry about intonation, he's considering getting a good sound, how he's carrying his weight, and other more fundamentals on the bass. Great interview.

Double Bass Pic of the Week (March 9)

2009-02-17T13:57:00.001-08:00

Here's a photo of a bass belonging to Finnish bassist Alpo Koivuranta. You can read details about him and the bass here and here. I love the inlay work on this bass.

March 16 Bass Picture of the Week

2009-02-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

I came across this trading card of Scott LaFaro from the 1958 Monterey Jazz Festival. I'm curious if this was a series of cards. If anyone knows, please let me know.

March 9 Bass Photo of the Week

2009-02-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of Henry Lewis (1957, photo by Allan Grant). Lewis was a member of the L.A. Philharmonic, being the first black instrumentalist in a major orchestra. He founded the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in the late 1950's and became the conductor of the New Jersey Symphony in 1968.

March 2 Bass Picture of the Week

2009-02-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

Ray Brown and Oscar Peterson in 1955.

Feb 23 Bass Picture of the Week

2009-02-17T08:31:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of Bobo the gorilla from 1953 (photo by Nat Farbman). Notice he's smashed just about everything EXCEPT the bass. 'Nuff said.

Feb 16 Bass Picture of the Week

2009-02-17T08:25:00.001-08:00

The Life photo archive has some great photos of bassist. Here's one I find interesting. Its a photo taken by Carl Mydans in New York, 1958. The photo has taken at the Refuge Temple. I love the expression on the kids face.

My favorite Quote of January

2009-01-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hone your talent and realize there is a place for you. Not everyone is a Quincy Jones, The Beatles, or a Bruce Springsteen, but if an artist like Tom Waites is a vocalist, then there is definitely room for you too. (Peter Spellman,"5 Essentials of Music Career Success," International Musician, January 2009)

Leading ther Band

2009-01-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

So, for the first time, I've taken the lead on putting together a band to play a series of shows. I've always been a sideman, never really wanting to by in charge. Well, now I have been given a regular gig for a few months and needed to put together a band. I chose a couple of the best players I know and a few sets of material. I scheduled a couple of rehearsals and wrote out some charts.

In short: Man, what a lot of work. And playing a show as the leader, I never realized how much thought you should put into calling out songs to create a flow of music. Plus, singing and soloing as the leader created a whole new sense of anxiety.

My apologies to all those leaders who I may not have been up to par at their gigs. I get it now. I get it.

Gilbert Kaplan and the NY Philhormonic

2008-12-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

I recently came across this article in the NYT about the guest conducting of Mahler's 2nd by Gilbert Kaplan. I was quite surprised at the public nature of the criticism against Kaplan by members of the NY Phil, particularly the blog post by David Finlayson. The controversy is about Mr. Kaplan having created a reputation for conducting Mahler's 2nd with, in my opinion, only limited qualifications as a conductor. The deeper controversy is about funding for the arts. Should a patron like Mr. Kaplan (who donates around $10K per year to the Phil) be able to "buy" a shot at conducting for a night? I guess it depends on the priorities and resources available to the orchestra. However, I think this sets a bad precedent. While I'm in favor of trying to make classical music more accessible and attracting larger audiences, allowing an individual to "play conductor" at an actual performance seems a bit disrespectful to the musicians who have honed and rehearsed their parts. Who will the next donor/conductor be? What will the next major donor ask for in return for their monies? If I give some money will the NY Phil play one of my pieces?

Unanswered Musical Quesitons

2008-12-15T12:24:00.000-08:00

This is the link. My favorites (i.e., the ones I think about the most and discuss most with others) are the questions on harmony.

Sound Problems

2008-12-15T12:02:00.001-08:00

Over the last couple of weeks I've been gigging regularly, averaging three gigs and one rehearsal per week. At a gig a couple of weeks ago, an awful high-end buzzing noise started coming from my amp. I tried everything to isolate the cause or get rid of the sound: switching cables, bypassing my pre-amp, using a different speaker. Needing to play anyway, I EQ-ed much of the high-end out and tried to avoid the notes that seemed to aggravate the buzz. After the first gig, I brought my gear home and tried to recreate the sound as much as I could. However, I couldn't get that noise no matter what combination of EQ, volume and playing style I tried.

The following week, the sound was back. The worse thing was note the noise itself (I had found ways to EQ and play in such a way as to minimize it), but rather the look in the eyes of the other players I was working with. They looked at me as if I were some unprofessional goof, not taking care of or not knowing how to manage his equipment.

Again, the sound was intermittent and I was unable to track down a cause. FInally, at a gig this week I decided just to take my whole rig into a technician and play for the technician until we found the problem. I scheduled an appointment for Monday and had one last Saturday night gig to play.

Show time came. I went to tune up and there was the sound again. However, as I looked at my tuner, I noticed my amp was not on. How could I be hearing the noise without my amp on? I stared at my instrument and slowly my eyes focused on the culprit.

For years I've been using Underwood pickups. I think they provide the most full sound for my style of playing and have a lot of versatility (e.g., moving the pickup around on the bridge can give very different sounds, the pickup can be easily removed and switched to another instrument). The pickup itself is held to the tailpiece by a plastic cable tie. As I stared at the pickup, I noticed that the end of the cable tie was touching the body of the bass. Whenever I gave the G-string a good slap, the end of the cable tie vibrated against the body, producing a sound that, when amplified by the piezo pickup, sounded as if my amp was shorting out or the crossover in my cabinet was shot.

I borrowed someone's knife and in about 5 seconds eliminated the noise (i.e., cut the cable tie so that the end would not touch the soundboard). Cost of fixing the problem: zero; cost to my sanity and already high levels of stress: priceless.

I'm always surprised how easy it is to overlook the easiest of solutions to these kind of problems. It reminds me that oftentimes the problems we have with our sound are not due to equipment failures, but often to our instruments themselves or our personal playing style.

NYT Article on Charlie Haden

2008-12-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

Charlie Haden has always been one of my favorite bassists. As many may already know, he's moved into more of a country/roots music style from his freer jazz moments with, among others, Ornette Coleman. Yet, being such an accomplished player with such a rich reputation, he appears to have been able to make this transition without too much of the scorn of critics. The complete article is here. This is my favorite part:

Mr. Haden still maintains traces of both his hillbilly and hipster sides, speaking with a flat Midwestern inflection but in a jazz musician’s argot. His aesthetic has been shaped in large part by sympathy for what he calls “the struggle of the poor people,” which allows him to draw a connective thread between the music of his birthright and the music of his calling.
“The beauty of it is that this music is from the earth of the country,” he said. “The old hillbilly music, along with gospel and spirituals and blues and jazz.”

Google archiving Life Magazine

2008-12-09T13:12:00.001-08:00

Google now hosts the photo archive of Life Magazine.There are lots of great photos, including these of Slam Stewart: photo one, photo two.

Sound in Motion (David McGill)

2008-12-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

I recently finished reading Sound in Motion by David McGill. This is a great book. Originally written for wind players, the book discusses the fine points of phrasing and performance. The central theme on phrasing generally follows that put forth in Thurmond's Note Groupings, but in a more enjoyable and clear presentation. My read on McGill's directive of putting motion in your playing is that one should focus on grouping notes much as one groups words into sentences when speaking. In doing so, one must not look to the bar lines as indicating the end of a phrase (just as one would not look to the end of a line of written text when grouping words into sentences), but to the natural completion of the musical idea. In Thurmond's book, he focuses the reader/player on looking at the upbeats in a phrase as indicating the demarcation points of phrases and notes that should be emphasized. McGill presents this idea in a more illustrative way, with many clear examples.

As a bassist who spends most of his time accompanying others with walking lines, I found McGill's book an enjoyable and insightful read. After having finished the book, I tried to implement some of the ideas in the coarsest form: at a gig I tried guiding my playing by playing the root on the down beat of each phrase (I was playing with a jump blues group) and used the rest of the bar to phrase a line that moved towards the next chord. This a musical phrase was not walking over a chord, but rather a series of notes that brought me to the start of a new chord. This did not always mean playing other notes in the chords. In fact, I tried to avoid playing the other notes in the chord by focusing exclusively on creating a series of notes (starting on the second beat of the measure) which formed a complete phrase ending on the root of the next measure (first beat of subsequent measure).

The results were mixed. While the guys in the band commented that I sounded great that night (a noteworthy event as these guys are pretty short on complements) there were some grinder blues numbers that it did not work. In retrospect, I know why... and should have known at the time. That said, the gig was a success: I got a complement from the band, learned something, nobody got hurt, nothing got broken.

The Cherry Lounge, Grande Prairie Alberta

2008-12-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I was in Grande Prairie AB. We played a show and had dinner at the Chery Lounge (10833 100 Street, Grande Prairie, AB T8V 2M7, (780) 832-0494‎). The food here is exceptional, a real fine dining experience. Our first meal was steak, served with cucumber infused mashed potatoes. Our second meal (the next day) was bison steak with braised cabbage. Very creative menu, excellent food. If you're in Grande Prairie, check it out.

Milt Hinton on NPR

2008-11-17T10:00:00.001-08:00

NPR has re-presented their podcast on Milt Hinton. You can access it here.

Three Finger Pizzicato

2008-11-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

I've been working on developing a three finger pizzicato technique. NHOP had a great technique as can be seen in this video.

I've been trying to develop this skill with some success, but wanted to develop some more refined techniques and a less ad hoc sense of when this type of playing is best (read: when to use my ring finger for agility and speed). The problem, as I see it, has been on developing my ring finger to play more than just ornaments on the G-string.

I came across Sigi Busch's Jazz Bass Compendium and it has some exercises to get one thinking about how to incorporate your ring-finger (denoted with an "a" in the exercises) into your playing. I have found these exercises useful in getting started. The next step is to develop your own exercises, scales, etc which incorporate your ring finger in a systematic way. Here are his exercises:

Page 1:

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Garubo's Inside

2008-10-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

Last year I bought a copy of Kenneth Gaburo's "Inside" from Frog Peak Music. Its a great piece, but recordings of it are rare. Here's a video of Bertram Turetzky et al playing the piece (about 20 minutes in). In a related vien, while searhcing for recordings I came across Modbit, a weekly radio show of new music. Great stuff, including some Gabro works.

Alex Ross on politics

2008-10-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Alex Ross' blog. Here's a brief post on music in political ads. I'm still laughing at his accompaniment to Sarah Palin's response below. Enjoy. (In case you didn't know, Mr. Ross recently won a genius award from the MacAurthur Foundation. Congratulations Mr. Ross)

100 Guitarist in Saint Louiss

2008-10-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

I friend forwarded me this announcement:

Experimental composer Glenn Branca is seeking 80 guitarists and 20 bass guitarists for his upcoming performance of Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City). This performance will be at The Pageant in St. Louis on Nov. 13 and is part of the SLSO Guitar Festival.
• Two rehearsals at Powell Hall: Nov. 11 from 2pm to midnight & Nov. 12 from 5pm to midnight

• Sound Check at The Pageant: Nov. 13 from 1:30pm to 5:30pm
• Concert at The Pageant: Nov. 13 at 8pm

Compensation is not possible, but food and drink will be supplied at all rehearsals and the performance. All musicians will need to be able to read standard staff notation and follow a part measure by measure.

If only I was in Saint Louis. I'm sure that this will be better than the 1800 guitarist who played "Smoke on the Water" or "the most air guitar players on stage."

Judging the Candidates by Their Musical Preferences

2008-10-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

There's a fair amount of research out there about how musical tastes reflect deeper personality traits. Here's a look at the candidates is the U.S. election:

Barrack Obama: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder,
Johann Sebastian Bach (cello suites), Marvin Gaye, The Fugees

John McCain: ABBA, Roy Orbison, Merle Haggard, the Beach Boys, Louis Armstrong, Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra

Joe Biden: all he says regarding his favorite music is "My sister's playlist."

Sarah Palin: all I found is this:

Federal Funding of the Arts

2008-09-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to note on a couple of things going on locally and federally with regards to funding for the arts.

Here in Calgary, there has been a big push by the mayor to get increased provincial funding for law enforcement. A recent letter to the editor in the Calgary Herald ("Get Tough" September 19 2008) states one view on the issue (HT to Sean Perrin):

Overhaul the justice system so it no longer hugs a thug and starts treating criminals like criminals. They gave up their "rights" when they broke the law, so treat them the way they have treated the good people of our country. Build more jails and get the criminals in them faster and for much longer periods of time. How to pay for that? No fancy bridges, no high-dollar art in government buildings. Funnel all the money that is spent on art, culture and other non-necessary things. In some Caribbean countries, there is no leeway -- you break the law, you go to jail and you serve hard time for a long time. The penalties are too harsh to even consider breaking the law. We need a federal leader who will grow the backbone to seriously shake up the justice system. Come up with a budgeted, realistic and believable promise to do this, and you'll get my vote.

The view espoused here (to put it somewhat mildly) is that the arts should come second to other public goods. Some of this debate (and I believe the piece the author is referring to) has developed with the arrival of "A Device to Root Out Evil" in Calgary.

One of the questions raised by this debate is "What is the benefit of public funding of the arts?" Many have argued that funding of the arts is essential for preserving and developing a group or nation's idea of identity. In this sense, support for the arts supports Calgarians' sense of identity or pride in their city. (As a note, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research research group on Social Interactions, Identity, and Well-Being thinks that discussions of identity are often missing form policy debates and economic analysis. Issues of identity have been important in the Council of Europe's research on social exclusion.) Evidence from psychology and economics is that a shared sense of identity can increase cooperation, well-being, and more generally, social capital. In terms of public policy, increases in feelings of shared identity or community could reduce some criminal activity (through increasing the concern individuals have for others or reducing individuals' desire to eschew the law) and increase the productivity of public goods (by reducing the extent of free-riding problems).

Below is a video which takes aim the cuts to arts funding that have occurred under Stephen Harper's government. The message in this video is, I think, one of the importance of arts in preserving (here) Quebecois culture. A couple of notes on the video:

Michel Rivard is a a Quebecois singer-songwriter. He is one of the founding members of Beau Domage.
The French word for "seal" (the animal) is "phoque". It is pronounced f*ck.

An Introduction to Atonality

2008-09-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

I was trying to explain atonality to someone. After failing, I found this:

Tradegy of riches

2008-08-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Right now, there are five double basses in my house. One is up for sale, one will be in a couple of weeks.

Writing a Fugue

2008-07-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I've written anything for this blog. Partly, its because I've been so busy with work and gigs. In any event, I have a couple of posts coming up soon on Stampede gigging (i.e., the Calgary Stampede, also known as harvest time for the musician, especially if you play an upright bass) and some biographies I've been reading on jazz players. Until then though, here are a couple of videos I came across while writing a couple of fugues based on songs by the Dead Boys. The first is by Glenn Gould, the latter by Daniel Pi.

What I'm Not Reading (to save my knees)

2008-07-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

I'm currently sacrificing a book to save my knees. In a previous post I wrote about how I lock my knees while I'm playing (a result of nerves and habit I think). Well, this, combined with hiking, wrestling with my son, and yoga, have resulted in my right knee being in a lot of pain. I was told that the pain was, in part, due to locking my knees as it puts greater pressure on the knee. Now that I'm in a bit of pain, I lock my knee all the more when playing and then have to hobble away in even greater pain.

A solution: In trying to break this habit, I've been carrying Three Nights in Havana Pierre Trudeau, Fidel Castro and the Cold War World by Robert Wright to gigs and rehearsals. I put the book under my right foot. This forces me not to lock my knee, but rather have a small bend in my knee. (The book is about 300 pages.) As a result I'm taking notice of my knee-locking habit and, so I'm told, keeping a small bend in my knee will strengthen the muscles around my knee.

"The World's Greatest Bass Player"

2008-06-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Bill Milkowski's biography of Jaco Pastorius, The Extraordinary and Trag ic Life of Jaco Pastorius. I was a little skeptical aobut the book when I started reading it, expecting it to be a tribute of sorts, glossing over the sadder parts of Jaco's life. That said, I really liked the book. Milwowski does a great job detailing the life of Jaco and demonstrating how bad his mental illness really was. The book isn't at all hagiographic, but rather portrays Jaco as he was, a gifted musician with a severe and troubling problems. Part of the problem he faced was the way his behavior alienated everyone around him and the extent of his denial that he needed help. I found myself emotionally moved at times, experiencing anger, sadness, and frustration. Its a good read for any Jaco fns or jazz fans in general.

It got me thinking. I've always been a big Jaco fan. Following him, my electric basses are Fender jazz basses. I have one (a '78) that's been with me for years. I used to have a '69 fretless. I sold it when we moved to Canada and it became a significant portion of the down payment on our house. One of the first pieces I learned was Teen Town and in high school I was always chided for playing the opening of Birdland as false harmonics rather than following the bass line as written.

I remember when I first learned of Jaco's death. I was in college at rehearsal for the jazz ensemble. The piano player told me about it and we talked a bit about him. The band had a few (well, more than a few) purists in it who either weren't impressed by him or (in one case) didn't know who he was.

It makes me wonder what he could have accomplished had he gotten (and accepted) his the help he needed.

Levitt in the Blogosphere

2008-06-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

I follow, very loosely, several blogs regarding economics and economic research. Given my past run-in with Steve Levitt (editor of the Journal of Political Economy and co-author of Freakonomics) I found this article interesting (originally referenced here).

There is a common question about the abuse of editorial powers in the economics profession, with a lot of gossip and stories circulating right now. On my recent trip to Europe, I was taken aback by how many people had stories about editors at various journals abusing their power or holding grudges against certain groups of authors. These stories have always been out there, but on this trip I heard a lot of very recent (within the last year) stories of editors behaving badly. It seems like we might be hitting a critical mass. Maybe some checks and balances will finally get implemented.

50 Days

2008-06-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

I keep a log of my practice time, something to remind me what I'm working on and (on those days when I need a boost) to show me that I'm making progress. Yesterday I sat down to write something in it after practicing. To my shock, it had been 50 days since my last practice.

I had a lot going on over the last two months. I had a lot of deadlines at work and a trip to Europe to plan and get prepared for. I also have a busy family life that needed attending too. But 50 days? What happened?

It sounds worse than it may actually be. I had a lot of gigs in the two months, but not more than twice a week. Is that a lot? Do I have any other excuses for missing 50 days?

I'm trying not to think aobut it. Its inevitable that time can get away form you. For me, music is an avocation rather than a vocation. As a result, it sometimes must take a back seat. The last 50 days are a sunk cost. I'm putting it behind me and moving on.

However, I'm suffering for it. While I'm not back at step one, I feel like I'm re-training muscles to move in a disciplined manner, re-learning pieces, and generally struggling with intonation. (at least relative to where I was). On top of this, my callouses are gone and the Calgary Stampede is on the horizon. This is a busy gigging time for just about every musician in town. Without my callouses, it will be 10 days of pain so I'm on the rush to get some good time in with my bass.

Overall I'm quite surprised at how far my skills had dropped off in over 50 days. (As an aside, I started yoga again after at least a 3 month break. I'm having the same realizations there as I am with my bass playing.) Maybe I shouldn't be, but its striking how many things (particularly playing the bass) are not like riding a bike: you can and do forget. It reminds me of the old quote (which I heard as attributable to Louis Armstrong)

If I miss one day's practice, I notice. If I miss two days practice, the critics notice. If I miss three days practice, the audience notices it.

Cure for Color Blindness

2008-06-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

For the last 41 years I've been color blind. As a kid, I colored in things wrong and failed (to everyone's amazement) those tests where you have to pick out a number or letter from a circle filled with colored dots. As an adult, I've made fashion faux pas, mixing the wrong colors so many times that my wife now checks to make sure I'm not a walking eyesore of color.

Anyway, I recently got a new pair of sunglasses: a polarized pair of Oakley Hijinx. These replace a pair of Arnett Hot Cakes that I've had for over 10 years. After all that time, my wife and daughter convinced me that they looked silly; I looked as if I was a fly or maybe wearing goggles.

The polarization in these new glasses is incredible. I can see colors! At first it was a bit overwhelming. Everything just jumped out at me. Yellows were too bright. I'd get mesmerized by the different shades of green in a tree. I could tell the difference (for the first time) between the amber and red lights on street light. (I used to gauge the light's color by its position.)

I took an online color blindness test just to confirm that the glasses were helping. I scored 3 of 10 without the sunglasses., 6 of 10 with. I think I might have done better without taking the test on a computer: with the glasses on, I can barely see the screen.

Advance:	$ 250,000
Manager's cut:	$ 37,500
Legal fees:	$ 10,000

Recording Budget:	$ 155,500
Producer's advance:	$ 50,000
Studio fee:	$ 52,500
Drum, Amp, Mic and Phase "Doctors":	$ 3,000
Recording tape:	$ 8,000
Equipment rental:	$ 5,000
Cartage and Transportation:	$ 5,000
Lodging while in studio:	$ 10,000
Catering:	$ 3,000
Mastering:	$ 10,000
Tape copies, reference CDs, shipping tapes, misc. expenses:	$ 2,000
Album Artwork:	$ 5,000
Promotional photo shoot and duplication:	$ 2,000

Video budget:	$ 31,000
Cameras:	$ 8,000
Crew:	$ 5,000
Processing and transfers:	$ 3,000
Off-line:	$ 2,000
On-line editing:	$ 3,000
Catering:	$ 1,000
Stage and construction:	$ 3,000
Copies, couriers, transportation:	$ 2,000
Director's fee:	$ 4,000

Band fund:	$ 15,000
New fancy professional drum kit:	$ 5,000
New fancy professional guitars [2]:	$ 3,000
New fancy professional guitar amp rigs [2]:	$ 4,000
New fancy potato-shaped bass guitar:	$ 1,000
New fancy bass amp:	$ 1,000
Rehearsal space rental:	$ 500
Big blowout party for their friends:	$ 500

Tour expense [5 weeks]:	$ 50,875
Bus:	$ 25,000
Crew [3]:	$ 7,500
Food and per diems:	$ 7,875
Fuel:	$ 3,000
Consumable supplies:	$ 3,500
Wardrobe:	$ 1,000
Promotion:	$ 3,000

Tour gross income:	$ 50,000
Booking Agent's cut:	$ 7,500
Manager's cut:	$ 7,500

Merchandising advance:	$ 20,000
Manager's cut:	$ 3,000
Lawyer's fee:	$ 1,000

Publishing advance:	$ 20,000
Manager's cut:	$ 3,000
Lawyer's fee:	$ 1,000

Record sales: 250,000 @ $12:	$ 3,000,000
Gross retail revenue Royalty [13% of 90% of retail]: 250,000 @ $12:	$ 351,000
Less advance:	$ 250,000
Producer's points [3% less $50,000 advance]:	$ 40,000
Promotional budget:	$ 25,000
Recoupable buyout from previous label:	$ 50,000
Net royalty:	$ -14,000

Record wholesale price $6.50 x 250,000	$ 1,625,000 gross income
Artist Royalties:	$ 351,000
Deficit from royalties:	$ 14,000
Costs of manufacturing, packaging and distribution @ $2.20 per record:	$ 550,000
Label's gross profit:	$ 7l0,000

Record company:	$ 710,000
Producer:	$ 90,000
Manager:	$ 51,000
Studio:	$ 52,500
Previous label:	$ 50,000
Booking Agent:	$ 7,500
Lawyer:	$ 12,000
Band member net income each:	$ 781.25