Nemoe's in Norcross

Platinum played a rare public performance at Nemoe's Tavern & Grill in Norcross, on the left of 141 just after the split from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.  It was a lot of fun!  I didn't know what to think, but the crowd was a good one and really held in there as far as digging our usual stuff, no matter where we went with it.  Glen had to sing quite a bit as Kevin was on vacation.  It was just the 7 of us.  I had a nice big Guinness (hey, it's product placement), but generally laid low as far as drinking goes.  This band really backfires as far as my reliability if I try to sneak a drink (we all remember that one) or bring my own (Gus knows), and the band really deserves a sober bassist!  Don't they all?  Well, shooters were delivered during the 2nd set, so don't think I didin't enjoy it!  It was just a short margarita, actually, although it's just not a margarita if it's missing the salt.  Anywho, we played our butts off for the club and the people.  I talked with the dj/mc, Mr. Alan White, a very nice fellow who really seemed to dig what we were shovelin'.  I dug his stuff too.  Great mix and he worked the crowd depending on who was there.  We enjoyed nice entrees & salads, sweet tea, and watching all those cars pull up to see us.  How satisfying to know that we can work it in the public arena.  The real big news for me is that I got up the gumption to engage my "bridged mono" switch on my Eden amp.  This provided enough wattage that I wasn't clipping the output amp as before.  These expensive clean sounding amps come at a headroom price.  Now my headroom is really nice and high, and I'm very happy about that.  I didn't want to get a totally clean, antiseptic amp.  This one has a tube pot, as well as the well known Enhancer pot, that can scoop the sound very musically.  I don't think I should ever set that above 12 o'clock.  I sounds great with my SWR GoLight 15, a small little cabinet that puts out some nice big sound, I must say.  Very happy with my rig lately.  Got to sing "Sweet Home Alabama" and then, right afterwards, "Honky Tonk Women" with Glen playing bass!  Well, I gotta go with the flow, so I really try to have fun on it.  Forgot to warn G-Clef that I was using my old Ibenez Soundgear 6 string (don't forget that it has those EMG's - always got to mention that cause it improved it so much - best pickup replacement I've ever taken part in).  He is a great bassist - it's all about the feel.  I have a lot to work on in that department, but I'm gotten pretty far, for a White guy.  Had a decent synth sound on the Lady Gaga stuff this time.  Oh, wish I had a pic but I got to see and speak with Mike Veal after the show.  Great to see him after all of these years.  We used to play at Fat Matt's, of course.  Ah, good times...

PDC Event at the Marriott Marquis featuring Platinum

The gig was in the giant, long Marquis Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis.  The event was for AGA’s Annual Professional Development Conference & Exposition (PDC) this week. In its 60th year, the conference is known as the premier education and networking event for government financial managers and accountability professionals.  These people sound a little boring and stuffy on paper, but they came to party and dance the night away.  Platinum held court with our friend Jeff Burniski, aka DJ Jeff B spinning vinyl before, after, & during our breaks.  We had a deluxe projection screen with our respective logos & psychedelic graphics being broadcast to all who could see the stage.  A very classy way to spend a Wednesday evening in the ATL.

We rehearsed the night before at Crossover Studios in an attempt to tighten up some loose ends and learn some new tunes.  We went over some oldies with which to open the show: Jailhouse Rock, All Shook Up, and Rock Around the Clock.  Guess what?  I ended up singing Rock Around the Clock!  Once in a while, I end up taking one that no one else cares to do.  My first attempt was rather poor.  What's hard about this song is that the vocal doesn't get much time to breathe, so I have to plan accordingly.  The song really needs a deliciously strong upright slap bass.  I'm convinced after listening closely to the Bill Haley version (is there any other that matters?  This song, reportedly written in 1951 & recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954, was the birth of rock 'n roll!  Something to consider.) that a great slap bass sound can really only be obtained with gut strings.  Hmm.  Maybe I could look into this.  So complicated, really, since it's a common thing to mix the gut & steel strings as well (ie steel E & A with gut D & G, for instance).  So anyways, I wish I had worked it up on upright.  The performance came across great, I thought, with a rehearsal again at soundcheck.  I utiltized my Line 6 Relay G30 wireless unit that I picked up back in the spring.  Good news there is that 2 fresh AA batteries got me through soundcheck as well as the 4 hour gig.  I had about 3 times during the night when I lost signal for about 1 or 2 notes.  Not sure why, but being in the Marquis downtown could have been a factor, with multiple wireless frequencies bouncing around.  So, I was able to step up to the front of the stage to sing that song.  Yeah!  Hard song to sing for me, very arpeggiated, you know?  Another song we worked up was Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke", down a half-step to Bb, mind you.  The unison breaks are of the most concern, naturally.  It's been tightened up, but I'm still not completely comfortable quite yet.  Other highlights from the show included the Old Skool Medley with the Digital Underground romp "The Humpty Dance", which has that kooky octave jumping bass line in it - I use an octave effect to make it as dubby-sounding as I can.  The original was in Eb but we do it in D, since that's how Glen taught it to me.  All in all, this was a very positive and powerful gig for us.  My new Eden amp has been pushed rather hard these last few outings.  It has been overloading, with the red lights coming on, no matter what I do.  The fix will come on the following gig, which I'll explain on the new post...
 

Wine Tasting at Java Monkey on July 7 with the Adrian Ash Group, once again

I have done this gig quite a bit over the last year and a half.  I hope I can keep it up, but the job may start to get in the way.  Trying to figure it all out, and I'm not that good at that...  This night, July 7th, we had Mr. Tommy Mays on sax and flute.  He sounded great and fit right in, but I had the sense that he wasn't too excited to be there.  Gigs like this are hard to sub out, I suppose, since the money isn't large, so it's really about getting together and playing for the sport of it.  We musicians have to make a living, but not every gig is lucrative, that's for sure.  Who makes a lot of money playing jazz around here?  Plenty do, but plenty are itching to play as well.  I brought my NS and got a nice thumpy dark tone with my Fishamn Pro Platinum EQ.  It was overloading a lot, so I kept reducing the input gain till it was around the 9 o'clock position (barely on 2, perhaps?).  It seems that when I boost the 5 band eq, particularly the lowest band in conjunction with the deep rolled up, that affects the preamp gain and overloading occurs.  Wish the eq was after the input gain stage.  My camera/phone was not cooperating that night, so I decided to process some of these drabby pix with some cheesy effects.  I'd rather have them up here than throwing them into the cyber-dump.

Yeah, it's happened again

I have to publish the bad with the good.  It's a release to get it out there.  Perhaps this blog will be stumbled upon by someone who may have some of the same fleeting lack of good judgement.  I can help by sharing my tales of woe & questionable decisions.  I was late to soundcheck today.  It's a horrible thing to be late, as late as I was.  It sets the tone for the rest of the gig.  Nobody wants to go through a gig with mental baggage in their head.  Well, sometime during the 3rd break I wandered off on a phone call.  The call itself was just over 15 minutes long.  A long phone call by my watch.  Well, it was 3 songs too long, as the band had started without me around.  Oh, that's a bad feeling.  It's really hard to have a live band without a bass player.  A couple had apparently come to see us in my absence.  I take it they were not impressed.  I've been given 1 more chance to stay on course.  This I will not take lightly.  I do want to prove to myself that I can improve my life so that I can be considered dependable & good to have around.  All right, enough said.  It's late & I just want the day to be behind me now.  You never stop learning in this life.

We had some guest vocalists up with us who succeeded in putting a new twist on the Garth Brooks chestnut "Friends in Low Places".  I will never think of that song again without this unfortunate mental image I have of a man running his hand down the leg of the his buddy at the end of that song, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Some pix from this otherwise rather forgettable gig...

June 23rd: Just Another Fine Wine Tasting at Java Monkey

Back in Decatur for a most excellent evening of semi-adventurous jazz musings for a Spanish themed wine tasting. It was great weather for the quartet of Adrian, Jason, special guest Randy Honea, & myself. Randy has some remarkable straight ahead chops. He plugged into an older Pod (the red one) & employed a terrific Leslie patch, giving us a MMW/Sco/Hunter vibe that made for some great fusion forays. We got through Ade's chart of "Fred's Life", you know, the 1st tune on the 1st Charlie Hunter album. It is supremely hard to play, and no offence to Adrian 'cause I don't have the drive to completely figure it out, but I don't think it's 100% accurate transcription-wise.  At any rate, it's one of those heads that incorporates sharps & flats and is blazingly fast.  We also played Scofield's "Hottentot" which is a great jam.  I love those chords in the bridge, the ones that are decending with the bass pedaling.

 According to this, they are Bb7, Bbdim7 (think A7(no root/no A)/Bb, Bb11 (Ab/Bb), Ab11 (Gb/Bb).  Cool stuff.  Other things we played were more in line with what we usually do.  This was the day I picked up my Eden head from ABG, but I played through my old Genz Benx ML 200-112T.  By the way, when I say old, mine is the older design when it was a wedge/kickback shape.   Apparently, that design has lost favor since it apparently is not conducive to low end box design.  I've been happy with mine over the years.  I would try to find something close to it when it comes time to replace said combo.  Perhaps a 15 would ultimately push more air, but the 12 is almost as low in frequencies & the footprint is nice & small.  Sometimes that is an important consideration on a small, crowded stage.  Well, I was excited to try out the new rig, which I did at home the next day and on the gig the day after that.

Tuesday June 21: A Night With Bill Hunter aka DJ Billy Vinyl

A night celebrating the Summer Solstice: June 21st, 2011.  This is a tribute to my old friend (ok, he's younger than I ever was) Bill Hunter, an associate & bud from the old RGB & MMS days.  We had some crazy times together, as any co-worker can attest (to).  I had hinted that I'd come to check out some tunes he would be spinning on this night, & so I kept my promise, with Sabina's kind support, of course.  The place was located on Boulevard south of I-20, kinda near Grant park, naturally.  A little bit scary, but not for me, ya see.  This isn't related to bass playing or musicianship, per se, but it is an example of how we are all supported by others when you get down to it.  By my presence, the crowd increased by 1, but a mighty 1 in my opinion.  Hey.  I had a good time & Bill looked great.  A blast from the past.  He also performed great.  A good DJ can really make the night a true experience by reading the crowd, reacting to the vibe, & pushing the expectations beyond the norm.  Bill does that every time I hear his spinning magic.  He employs a lot of vintage vinyl, inclusing 45's!  I really enjoyed what he played.  He even threw in some Jackson 5 joint.  An old friend of a friend, Kent (from Binnie's friends Jules & Craig) was there as well, also DJ'ing and being part of the hang.  These are good people who I haven't seen in a long, long time.  Life gets away from me & it is good to get out just to see an old comrad doing what he loves to do.  Hope to see Billy again soon.

Platinum Performs at Capital City Club Times Two

We were at the same place 2 Saturdays in a row.  I find that remarkable.  Atlanta is a big city with so many options for wedding receptions & other celebrations.  What are the chances?  It's a nice venue with unusual load-in arrangements, under the main parking lot.  The first week I had more problems with my beloved rig.  I had been in denial about my Hartke amp.  The amp has served me well and it sure had beaucoup power.  Yet every so often, usually during the quiet portion of the early evening, it would start to distort & with a flatulent frequency not so desirable on a ballad.  Of course, this doesn't always happen.  I don't really enjoy shopping for new equipment.  For one thing, bass amps are not cheap.  There are so many brands, and I wanted to consider what would work best with my cabinets, which are SWR with an impedence of 8 ohms.  The impedence dictates how many amps (amperes) are ultimately converted into loud musical bass tones.  A 4 ohm cab will be considerably louder than an 8 ohm one.  Two 8 ohm cabs may be connected in series which would be seen as a 4 ohm load.  This I considered.  I went with my bud Charles Mishalaney over to Atlanta Bass Gallery, headed up by Jim Rubio.  I had already looked around at Guitar Center and was not too impressed, although they have some great gear there.  It's hard to describe to someone else what I was looking for, but I believe I found it: the Eden WTB1000.  This is one powerful (not so) little head.  I wanted a full-sized, 2 rack-space head.  Call me old-fashioned.  I didn't want a newer model that is 4 lbs. soaking wet.  Maybe next time.  The weight of the head is insignificant next to the weight of the cabinet.  They did have a monster SWR head that was 3 rack spaces tall and weighed more than my Golight cabinet!  I would have been the same price, and it had everything!  I didn't really care for the SWR effects, like the subwave, but I suppose it would be better than nothing.  I almost always have some effect pedal in line anyways.  This amp is stereo at 440W into 4 ohms per channel, or it can be bridged for something like 1000W!  Kind of dangerous, actually.  I pray that it's reliable.  Jim observed that Eden is now manufactured in China and that David Eden sold the company.  Oh well.  It looks good, at least.  It sounded great on the 2nd gig at CCC.  Plenty of power, unlike the SWR 750 I was considering.  Charley was more adventurous in the amp department.  he was checking out a small Aguilar head that really sounded good.  I don't know, but I felt I had to go with my impulse for cosmetics, volume, tone, & the fact that I've always thought of Eden and SWR as coexisting in the same rig, for some reason.  Well, it's good to think that perhaps I've finally ended some rig issues and that I've stepped up to some more professional gear.  I'm happy!  Here are some pics from the 1st Saturday night there.  Both weeks we had Michael Ray on the front line, since Kevin had been starring in Rent at The Strand Theatre.

Here are some from the 2nd night - notice that I'm smiling here (with new amp in tow).  Needless to say, we were louder this night.  I just had to test it out, you know.