Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Popping TAAG(s) at the Thrifty Atlanta Musicians Exchange


Adrian got the band back together for a sweaty good romp at the 2nd Annual Pea Ridge Pop Festival.  This festival may be a bit on the smaller scale, but it was an all-day affair.  The celebration was held at the highly successful instrument retail shop Atlanta Musicians Exchange in Decatur.  Similar to last year, a brass band played in the slot before us.  They wandered the parking lot with "Rebirth"-approved renditions of some great tunes.  Sadly, the only one I can recall at the moment was Herbie Hancock's Chameleon.  The sousaphone player got my vote as being the MVP in that establishment.  Those cats earn their keep!



They were out front and it was past our time to begin, so we just went ahead and started while they were still vamping.  Funny how our opening tune was another Herbie standard: Cantaloupe Island.  It was rather lame of me to confuse this tune (yet again) with Watermelon Man.  I wondered aloud (via email) whether we were playing this in the original arrangement or the more funky version as heard on the Headhunters album.  Oops - wrong tune, fella.  Guy set me straight.  Guy Fenocchi on guitar, Jason Passmore on saxophone, Thomas Olsen on piano, and Adrian Ash on drums, along with your favorite bass blogger...

We finally got around to whipping out Affirmation, that hip George Benson Breezin'-era standard that was actually penned by José Feliciano.  Adrian has been trying to get us to play this for a while now.  Tom was into it as well.  It fell to Guy and myself as far as getting it under the fingers.  Guy ended up killing it.  I learned it in our living room, subjecting Jack to the disco-fied jazzy flavors of George and the boys.  He liked it, actually.  I looped it at work one day, playing it over and over just to get the form into my head.  We left out possibly the hippest part of the track; the syncopated riff near the end with all of those killer kicks.  I wish we had done that.  With three soloists, the form got a little big.  That probably prompted us to get in, get out, and not get hurt.  It went over well; I'm thinking we'll keep that one for next time.  We also did a handful of Steely Dan, including Do It Again  and our closing number, Josie.  They gave me a solo on the latter and I spewed out as many long lines as I could muster.  I was playing my Stingray, which may not be considered a jazz-approved bass but it does deliver a most decent slap tone, even with dead strings.  I felt good about having the tunes in my head and not having to read anything.  It is really so much better to not have a chart in front while I'm playing.  As my friend Allen Cook once proclaimed, "If you need a chart, you don't really know the tune."  Very wise words.  It doesn't mean I won't be using charts next time...

Don't forget to "Recycle, Reuse, & Rock On!!"

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Billy Batts Without Big Time

It had been a while since we've played here, 6 weeks I think.  This time out, Brian couldn't make it.  Keith Hicks sat in, bringing his bonafide straight-ahead tone and 'tude.  We ended up doing a bit more jazz, some blues, a little of everything.  A highlight was,as always with Keith since he knows it, Metheny's Bright Size Life.  Walt is always on.  His technique and note choices are spot on.  How he does it with his schedule and family...  Same for Mark, to be honest.  His sense of groove and the adventurous nature of his esoteric rhythms make for some very entertaining rhythm sparring sessions.  We really do get away with playing anything we want to in this setting.




I had just replaced my strings with black nylon tapewound strings.  I opted for GHS, as I liked the gauges offered in this set.  From what I read online, the strings underneath the nylon wrap are Half Round, that is, round wound strings that are ground to a smooth flat finish.  They provide a bit more mass versus a pure round wound within the same usable diameter, thus keeping the overall diameter with the wrap down.  They do have a red silk wrap on either end, and the tuning peg end is rather fat.  I had to peel off some of the silk to fit the ends into the tuning peg slots.  They sound brighter than I thought they would.  It is a different sound compared to the flats I had on my fretless for so long.  I like it, but the jury is still out.  I do like the look of the black strings on the dark brown neck.  Apparently, the sound of the strings does not change much over time.  They may last a good long while.

Here's a nice comparison that I recommend if you are interested in this sort of geek trivia:

Black Nylon Tapewound Comparison

I Sang at The Fox

Had to load my gear into my rental car, a Chevy Cruze.  Nice little 4-cylinder with some decent trunk space for it's modest size.  I had a rental due to the fact that my beloved Explorer was totaled in a senseless wreck less than a mile from my home.  Wasn't my fault but it sure does take its toll.  I tell myself every day that I'm just glad that Spencer, who had just been picked up from camp and was in his car seat, wasn't injured.  It did make for a month of car shopping and ride bumming, as I didn't have the rental the entire time I was without my own ride.  Well, got it all in the Cruze and fought the traffic.  Traffic has gotten rather poor around here lately.  Repaving 285, the connector, anywhere I'm going at any rate.  We all were a bit late for the soundcheck.  With this being the first job without Kevin and Tony Hightower filling in, that wasn't optimum.

As I was walking back in with my 2nd load, which was only my NS WAV bass, I saw my neighbor Tom Ryan; he was in the wedding and headed to the reception.  I would be singing lead for the father/daughter dance to his good friend: CSNY's Teach Your Children.  I had played and sang it with Sweetwater Junction last year; the consummate professional Andrew Black took the lead and I did the harmony.  This time, I had the lead and Virginia was on the harmony.  The lead is rather low in pitch, so it is relatively easy to hit.  Funny for me to be front and center "leading" the band on one of the focal points of the night.  Never let 'em see you sweat.  It went well, although in retrospect we should address the harmony notes so that everybody is on the same page.  'Nuff said.  Once we got going for real, it became a marathon dance set.  Once again, Gold Digger with our Thrift Shop tag was the highlight.  That was due to the groom delivering the raps, with his bride and the bridesmaids all up on stage with us.  You can't plan stuff like that.  It was a fine performance and the meals at the Fox have really improved - love Affairs to Remember.  Good people and great food.  After the gig, we enjoyed a cocktail next door at Churchill Grounds.  Had to decline Anton's offer for late-night Chinese food chow-down; life getting in the way of the good times.

View from the side of the stage during Make You Feel My Love.
Gold Digger with crowd participation.

Signing off.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Platinum Bids Farewell to Kevin Harry + The Quartet at Greenbriar Mall

Kevin has left the band before;  this time may well be his last hurrah.  He has worked hard to achieve some new lofty goals, currently performing at Gwinnett County's Aurora Theatre production of Les Misérables.  He has left Platinum, but he will always be a significant visual presence, deftly announcing, singing, dancing, and entertaining as no other can.  His dancing in particular has raised the bar for any front person.  Soul Man always won over the most fickle crowd.  On this night, at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead, Virginia wisely chose to feature him on one of his greatest features, John Hiatt's Have a Little Faith in Me.  I watched from out front and it was a strong performance, heartfelt with that magic touch of drama that Kevin can seemingly summon up at will.  He is destined for many great stages and I imagine he will always be welcome should he once again have a change of heart.



Stay current with Kevin Harry and all of his performance stories: Kevin Harry's Blog

I had been working on playing the guitar part to Fleetwood Mac's Landslide.  I was, and am still, hoping to play it along with Derek as 2 guitars playing it more or less in unison.  It's a great "Travis picking" exercise with a nice little pause in each bar.  I've learned that the little pause provides a much-needed rest; this tune is a real endurance test on the picking hand in particular.  It doesn't make it easier that I'm using my 12-string.  The 12-string gives it that eerie studio-quality sound that Lindsey nailed on the 1st Fleetwood Mac album on which he and this song were featured.  The major challenge, and I learned it rather well on the gig, was to synch my finger picking with that of Derek.  At sound check, it went well.  I fumbled a little bit; still getting this pattern under my fingers.  I practiced a bit in the green room.  On the show, I couldn't hear Derek as well.  Should have had DJ put him in Glen's monitor; I don't have one.  It was hard to hear and play and I was very nervous.  Good stuff.  I don't play guitar as much as I used to, obviously, but it is nice to revisit some of those techniques.  I never remember having so much trouble with the open D/F# fingering.  In particular, moving from open G to that chord.  This is all capoed at the third fret, as the song is in Eb and we are playing open C.  I never used to use a capo, that's for sure.  What a great tool the capo is, but bassists certainly don't use one!  Below are some pics taken with Virginia's phone - mine are at the bottom.  Lighthearted all around.  All the best to Kevin!












It was a double header, with 4 of us playing some jazz and oldies at Greenbriar Mall.  Can't say I had ever been there before.  It's in SW Atlanta, and the economy has not exactly helped it a whole lot.  It does still offer a Macy's and some other boutique shops.  We were hired to play a 1 hour set in the middle of the day to supplement a DJ and some other youthful entertainment.  I felt a might bit out of place, more musically than socially.  To Glen's credit, he never makes me feel too bad about knowing certain tunes.  He asked me if I could play EWF's Can't Hide Love.  I couldn't.  I remember sort of learning it years ago for Martay, but we never did it.  Well, I sort of learned it again, but as this blog is being typed more than a month after the fact, I guess I have forgotten it again.  Shame!  The bass is really interesting, with it's neo-chromatic walk-up and the obligatory shortened notes accentuating the slow-burn funk groove.  I gotta relearn and really commit it to memory.  We ended up playing Lonnie's Lament, Easy, & Purple Rain, among others.  It worked out well, and I received a few nice compliments after the show as I made my way to the bathroom and back before loading up and heading up to Buckhead.