Jonathan
05-04-2007, 04:35 AM
The last week or two has been pretty crazy!
I did my first out of town gig with my new band, the Rose City Kings,
and it was a good show. It's a "hold it down" blues rock gig; no bass solos
or room for chops, not even a funk tune or a good bouncy groove to be had.
New territory for me, but probably a good experience in the long run. This
band draws much larger crowds than my previous bands and plays very nice
venues, heck half the clubs even give ME a monitor! I don't remember the
last time a band or sound man gave a crap what I heard or thought.
My first real tour starts at the end of May, traveling from Portland
down to Redding, San Francisco, and Sacramento. I've never played further
away from town than the Oregon coast, or up in Seattle. I'm still not sure
if it's an exciting adventure, or just a damn long ride in a car.
This week Victor Wooten brought his Soul Circus band to Oregon, so I got
tickets to see him both in Portland and 2 hours south in Eugene. In
Portland I attended a clinic and it was incredible, I know Vic pretty well
and even I was surprised by the format. Very little technical playing, no
"here's how you thump the bass" lessons, and Vic handed his bass over to a
half dozen other people to play. He just let someone start playing, he
would listen, then stop them to offer some advice in different ways to think
as they play, or new ways to approach their playing, and then he'd let them
play again, and ask the audience if they heard a difference.
The things Vic did talk about were very cool and in a similar vein to
the lessons he gives at the Bass / Nature Camps. He talked about things
like listening to the drums when you play (even when they are only in your
head), to focusing on the music instead of the techniques you are using, and
accepting your mistakes. It was a great clinic and a lot of people got to
get up there and play with Vic, which I'm sure they will remember.
The show that night was great, the band is doing about 75% new
(unreleased) material, and doing less instrumental material than any
previous tour I can think of. The new songs have great vocal hooks and a
very positive message, it's a long way from the solo bass pyrotechnics of "A
Show of Hands."
The next day I went down to Eugene with a friend, and we missed the
clinic but got to hang out for a while before the show. I got to see Vic's
rig up close and get a little run through of how they manage 7+ basses every
night, and suddenly my own rig seems much less complex than it did before!
In the middle of the show Anthony Wellington (the tech and second
bassist for much of the show) pulled me up on the stage mid-song. Vic
leaned over while playing and told me what the chords were, then gestured at
his bass and said, "It's yours if you want it." I said, "Okay" and next
thing I know, I'm wearing Vic's bass and grooving along. After we played
for a bit I suddenly felt Vic steering me up to the very edge of the stage
and he told me to solo, so that's what I did. I am surprised with myself, I
didn't feel nervous or unsure at all, I just played what I was feeling and
did what I would have done at any gig. It was super fun to get to play with
that band, and a great honor that Vic trusted me enough to let me abuse his
bass. Now I want a Fodera (or seven).
After the show I got to hang out and talk music with the band for quite
a while before heading back to Portland. They gave me a lot to think about
and helped put some things back into perspective for me.
I lost track but I think this was my 17th or 18th time seeing Vic do a
gig. It might be the 19th, come to think of it. It's been so much fun
watching his playing evolve over the years and seeing the changes his own
band has made. The technical bass stuff gets a little less emphasis every
year, this time around those techniques are coming out for melodies more
than solos, and Vic's solos have a lot more music and a lot less technique
than some people would expect. He's even playing his bass with a slide a
little bit, bringing out some sounds I've never heard him go for in the
past.
There's going to be some cool stuff to watch for in the future too; Vic
is doing two Bass Camps this summer, touring more, adding very cool stuff to
the Bass Vault, and there's rumor of a project involving three bass players.
His book "The Music Lesson" is worth checking out if you haven't seen it
yet, it covers a lot of the ideas and concepts touched on at the Camps. I
recommend you guys check out the tour when it rolls through your area, it's
a lot of fun.
Well, tomorrow it's back to playing a blues gig and remembering how to
shuffle in C. After a week of mind-blowing music and over-the-top bass
performances it will be hard to come back down to Earth. Or maybe it will
be even easier than before, I guess we'll find out tomorrow!
Peace!
-Jonathan
I did my first out of town gig with my new band, the Rose City Kings,
and it was a good show. It's a "hold it down" blues rock gig; no bass solos
or room for chops, not even a funk tune or a good bouncy groove to be had.
New territory for me, but probably a good experience in the long run. This
band draws much larger crowds than my previous bands and plays very nice
venues, heck half the clubs even give ME a monitor! I don't remember the
last time a band or sound man gave a crap what I heard or thought.
My first real tour starts at the end of May, traveling from Portland
down to Redding, San Francisco, and Sacramento. I've never played further
away from town than the Oregon coast, or up in Seattle. I'm still not sure
if it's an exciting adventure, or just a damn long ride in a car.
This week Victor Wooten brought his Soul Circus band to Oregon, so I got
tickets to see him both in Portland and 2 hours south in Eugene. In
Portland I attended a clinic and it was incredible, I know Vic pretty well
and even I was surprised by the format. Very little technical playing, no
"here's how you thump the bass" lessons, and Vic handed his bass over to a
half dozen other people to play. He just let someone start playing, he
would listen, then stop them to offer some advice in different ways to think
as they play, or new ways to approach their playing, and then he'd let them
play again, and ask the audience if they heard a difference.
The things Vic did talk about were very cool and in a similar vein to
the lessons he gives at the Bass / Nature Camps. He talked about things
like listening to the drums when you play (even when they are only in your
head), to focusing on the music instead of the techniques you are using, and
accepting your mistakes. It was a great clinic and a lot of people got to
get up there and play with Vic, which I'm sure they will remember.
The show that night was great, the band is doing about 75% new
(unreleased) material, and doing less instrumental material than any
previous tour I can think of. The new songs have great vocal hooks and a
very positive message, it's a long way from the solo bass pyrotechnics of "A
Show of Hands."
The next day I went down to Eugene with a friend, and we missed the
clinic but got to hang out for a while before the show. I got to see Vic's
rig up close and get a little run through of how they manage 7+ basses every
night, and suddenly my own rig seems much less complex than it did before!
In the middle of the show Anthony Wellington (the tech and second
bassist for much of the show) pulled me up on the stage mid-song. Vic
leaned over while playing and told me what the chords were, then gestured at
his bass and said, "It's yours if you want it." I said, "Okay" and next
thing I know, I'm wearing Vic's bass and grooving along. After we played
for a bit I suddenly felt Vic steering me up to the very edge of the stage
and he told me to solo, so that's what I did. I am surprised with myself, I
didn't feel nervous or unsure at all, I just played what I was feeling and
did what I would have done at any gig. It was super fun to get to play with
that band, and a great honor that Vic trusted me enough to let me abuse his
bass. Now I want a Fodera (or seven).
After the show I got to hang out and talk music with the band for quite
a while before heading back to Portland. They gave me a lot to think about
and helped put some things back into perspective for me.
I lost track but I think this was my 17th or 18th time seeing Vic do a
gig. It might be the 19th, come to think of it. It's been so much fun
watching his playing evolve over the years and seeing the changes his own
band has made. The technical bass stuff gets a little less emphasis every
year, this time around those techniques are coming out for melodies more
than solos, and Vic's solos have a lot more music and a lot less technique
than some people would expect. He's even playing his bass with a slide a
little bit, bringing out some sounds I've never heard him go for in the
past.
There's going to be some cool stuff to watch for in the future too; Vic
is doing two Bass Camps this summer, touring more, adding very cool stuff to
the Bass Vault, and there's rumor of a project involving three bass players.
His book "The Music Lesson" is worth checking out if you haven't seen it
yet, it covers a lot of the ideas and concepts touched on at the Camps. I
recommend you guys check out the tour when it rolls through your area, it's
a lot of fun.
Well, tomorrow it's back to playing a blues gig and remembering how to
shuffle in C. After a week of mind-blowing music and over-the-top bass
performances it will be hard to come back down to Earth. Or maybe it will
be even easier than before, I guess we'll find out tomorrow!
Peace!
-Jonathan