Thanks for more of your origin story. Thank you Dad! Always drawn to bass... Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Sting, Esperanza Spalding... but maybe am just a C.O.W. ?! 🤔 🤣😁😉 Glad you decided to sing and write songs too !!!
Not directly, though maybe second hand by people who were influenced by him. He's a great player though and hearing the stories about him on that Standing In The Shadows Of Motown movie were really great to hear. It's sad what became of him though
Man, what a trip down memory lane! It was an honor and a privilege to get to be on stage with you all those years ago. It was clear from the jump you were built differently. To this day I’m still astonished at how gifted you were and obviously still are. I always thought of you as McCartneyesque for so many reasons. Yes, your bass playing was always creative and tasteful. But it’s that ON TOP OF of your lyricism, sharp sense of melody, your singing chops, and your versatility as a composer and songwriter to conjure magic no matter the genre or tempo. Any of these skills in isolation are impressive, so the fact that you excel at doing all of this AT THE SAME TIME I still find utterly mystifying.
Man, thank you so much, it’s good to see you on here! I wanted to show people a little of what we did and I thought that video was a good example. I wish there was some video of the Brown Bean gigs but Valentine’s was good. And I appreciate all those kind words. Our band was a formative experience for me and you and BG were a great guitar team. If anything it made more sense for me to play bass because you guys were like left and right hands on a piano, just perfect.
I love this post! Sting is one of my favorites. I also put the bass down last when recording because I feel like I can kind of glue things together with it. I fell into it, like so many, because a friend’s college band needed a bass player, but bass is definitely my main instrument!
Interesting that you consider the bass your main instrument! It really does glue everything on a recording together though, and I've had more than a few instances where I had everything else but had to pay down several different attempts at bass tracks because it just wasn't working.
Well, it really has been my main instrument for decades, but at some point I realized it definitely suits me more than any other instrument. I’m grateful I found it.
Excellent stuff. I am rather fond of the bass. It's how I started out playing in bands. Here is a link to the worst-performing post on my Substack, about my bass, so don't look at it and bugger up my statistics. I don't want this to become popular. https://goodboyrecords.substack.com/p/the-no-name-bass-that-never-left
Over the past two years, listening to tons of songs for my substack, I've become enamored with the sound of the bass. So I really get it, AJ. There is something primal, fundamental, and spiritual about it.
Yes, yes and yes again. Different influences, but the same spiritual journey with bass. The only major difference is that I nail the bass part early in recording because it IS the groove and everything else has to be arranged upon it.
Interesting perspective. Also, I really like the reggae riff you guys pulled off.
C.O.W...cracked me up!
Thanks man! We did a lot of different things in MU120
I started on bass, too, also wanting to be Sting. Hearing Jaco made me put the instrument down.
Hahah Jaco was very inspiring to me too but I get it!
Thanks for more of your origin story. Thank you Dad! Always drawn to bass... Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Sting, Esperanza Spalding... but maybe am just a C.O.W. ?! 🤔 🤣😁😉 Glad you decided to sing and write songs too !!!
😂 Those are some phenomenal names there, looks like your ears were always being treated well where low frequencies are concerned!
Charlie is one of my favorites!
No disagreement. They all have strengths and are amazing humans! 👋🏻 Jeff! 🎶✨
That whole list is incredible, of course
Was there any point at which James Jamerson was an influence?
Not directly, though maybe second hand by people who were influenced by him. He's a great player though and hearing the stories about him on that Standing In The Shadows Of Motown movie were really great to hear. It's sad what became of him though
He’s my absolute all time GOAT
Man, what a trip down memory lane! It was an honor and a privilege to get to be on stage with you all those years ago. It was clear from the jump you were built differently. To this day I’m still astonished at how gifted you were and obviously still are. I always thought of you as McCartneyesque for so many reasons. Yes, your bass playing was always creative and tasteful. But it’s that ON TOP OF of your lyricism, sharp sense of melody, your singing chops, and your versatility as a composer and songwriter to conjure magic no matter the genre or tempo. Any of these skills in isolation are impressive, so the fact that you excel at doing all of this AT THE SAME TIME I still find utterly mystifying.
Man, thank you so much, it’s good to see you on here! I wanted to show people a little of what we did and I thought that video was a good example. I wish there was some video of the Brown Bean gigs but Valentine’s was good. And I appreciate all those kind words. Our band was a formative experience for me and you and BG were a great guitar team. If anything it made more sense for me to play bass because you guys were like left and right hands on a piano, just perfect.
I love this post! Sting is one of my favorites. I also put the bass down last when recording because I feel like I can kind of glue things together with it. I fell into it, like so many, because a friend’s college band needed a bass player, but bass is definitely my main instrument!
Interesting that you consider the bass your main instrument! It really does glue everything on a recording together though, and I've had more than a few instances where I had everything else but had to pay down several different attempts at bass tracks because it just wasn't working.
Well, it really has been my main instrument for decades, but at some point I realized it definitely suits me more than any other instrument. I’m grateful I found it.
Excellent stuff. I am rather fond of the bass. It's how I started out playing in bands. Here is a link to the worst-performing post on my Substack, about my bass, so don't look at it and bugger up my statistics. I don't want this to become popular. https://goodboyrecords.substack.com/p/the-no-name-bass-that-never-left
Enjoyed reading that!
Another bonus - never met a bass player who did not always have a gig!
This was awesome.
Thanks Taz! It's something I've really come to enjoy over the years and I really appreciate how playing it has made me hear music differently
Have you read The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten? If not, I highly recommend it. Totally changed how I think about music.
Over the past two years, listening to tons of songs for my substack, I've become enamored with the sound of the bass. So I really get it, AJ. There is something primal, fundamental, and spiritual about it.
That's a really good way of putting it Ellen!
That was an enjoyable look into your history.
Glad you enjoyed it! Where have you been lately?
Yes, yes and yes again. Different influences, but the same spiritual journey with bass. The only major difference is that I nail the bass part early in recording because it IS the groove and everything else has to be arranged upon it.
Love this - especially your reflections on being the bass line in real life. My husband has been learning bass. I think it fits him.
Are you familiar with Joe Dart from Vulfpeck?
Nice how long has he been at it?
I've seen a few Vulfpeck videos but beyond that I'm not familiar with the individual members much.
A year and a half - he can almost play Billy Jean at full speed and he’s quite proud. Check out Deantown by Vulfpeck.
I shall, and Billie Jean is a hell of a bass line, he should be proud of that!