Friday Night at the Bakery

Last Friday night I had the chance to play a real live gig for the first time in...30 years? I mentioned in my recent post about my fretless bass that I've been playing bass in an acoustic trio, and we had our first gig together at a local bakery (full details here.)

Our job was to play from 6:30-8:30 (two sets with a short break in the middle.) We'd been rehearsing fairly intensively, and I was pretty sure it would go well, but I felt a little nervousness on Friday. I wasn't nervous about not knowing our set - on the contrary, I felt very comfortable with all our songs. I'd rehearsed them often enought that they were all "burned in", and we'd rehearsed together enough that we could make fairly seamless on-the-fly adjustments and stay together.

I'd been told that the "stage" area was small, and it was even smaller than I'd imagined. The three of us were in tight formation - so much so that one had to be careful about swinging the neck of one's guitar, or you'd bonk the person next to you. That wasn't a problem, and it actually turned out to have advantages.

The inside of the bakery was small, with maybe 10-12 tables - and the tables were all full. There was also an outside deck overlooking French Creek, with more tables and more areas to stand.

We launched into our set shortly after 6:30, and it went great. Darling Wife, who was part assistant sound man and part master of ceremonies, gave us the thumbs up about the sound mix. One thing that our rehearsals didn't account for was the background noise. The bakery was full, and people were talking as they ordered food and ate and watched, and it was loud. So much so that it was a little disorienting at first. In our quiet basement rehearsals, I could literally hear the sound of fingers on a guitar string and adjust appropriately. Now I didn't have that feedback I was used to. It wasn't a problem, but I was paying *very* close attention to what the others were doing.

I mentioned that the physical closeness had advantages - the primary one was we could exchange a few words. If one of us said "another chorus", we all got it and reacted appropriately. And we did make a number of adjustments to songs - mostly just reacting to the moment and following the singer. It all worked out great.

The two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and the night was a complete success by any measure. We got many kind words afterwards from people, and the bakery gave us all the pizza and pastries we wanted (and a take-home goody bag of pastries for each of us.) And our compensation wasn't limited to what we could fit in our bellies. We had a tip jar, and the contents at the end of the night were enough to put a little cash in each of our pockets, and we (the band and Yoko Darling Wife) decided to go next door to the St. Peter's Inn and blow the rest of our tip money on a bottle of wine to celebrate an insanely fun evening.

There are a couple of videos and a number of pics of the evening on the Facebook page. Here's one more video.

We'll be back at the bakery to do it again on Aug. 9. And we're working on other gigs. So here's to a fun and musical summer.

Chip, Sandy, Dave

Mandolin Musings

Random thought #1: an aikido teacher I very much like and respect said something that's stayed in my head. "You're a martial artist every day you train. Every day you don't train, you're not." Simple to the point of being simplistic, but a good reminder - if you want to be something, you have to do it every day. And you can replace "martial artist" with "musician", or any other avocation.

Random thought #2: at a recent acoustic jam meetup, I was talking with the best musician (by far) in the meetup. He plays everything, and plays them all well - at a given meetup, he might bring a guitar, a mandolin, a dobro, or a bass. Sometimes he'll jump up and play the piano. He plays the fiddle (though he hasn't brought that to a meetup), and he just bought a set of bagpipes. Anyway, I told him that I'm now playing the mandolin and asked for advice on getting good enough to play in a group like the meetup - how to do the little leads and fills he throws into a song. He didn't hesitate with his answer. "Scales. Over and over and over again."

Well, duh. As he said it, I couldn't believe I'd asked the question. Of course the answer is scales. That's what made the difference for me on the guitar, of course that would be the answer for the mandolin. So I'm now doing a set of exercises with the major and the pentatonic scales on the mandolin - every day. I'm also working on picking speed, and I need to throw some tremolo exercises into my daily routine.

There's also the possibility of playing the mandolin on some songs with the acoustic band. They know I'm playing the mandolin and want me to bring it - and I very much want to, but it's too soon. I need to get better. At the moment, we're rehearsing intently for our first gig (8 days away!), but when that's over, maybe we'll identify a song or two where I can play the mandolin instead of the bass.

Finally, here's a YouTube clip that I simply adore. John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on the mandolin and Paul Gilbert on acoustic guitar playing "Going to California" (a *gorgeous* Zeppelin acoustic song - definitive version here.) If I was forced to pick one musical hero of mine, JPJ might be the guy. He was the musical anchor of the greatest rock band ever, playing bass, keyboards, mandolin, and even a little acoustic guitar.

Enjoy.

Going Fretless

I've been playing bass in an acoustic trio, and it's very exciting. The singer is a woman with the voice of an angel who also plays guitar, and a guy who plays a fantastic lead guitar. We connected early in the spring via the Craigslist musician's classifieds, and have been rehearsing weekly. They've played together for a while, as a duo, and with another bass player. We have some gigs coming up, but more on that in an upcoming post.

This post is the last episode of the Great Gear Change of '13. When I started playing with them, I wanted a more "upright bass" sound than I was getting through the Fender Precision. I looked at upright electric basses on Musician's Friend, and they look very cool, but the good ones are very expensive and simply out of my ballpark.

I started investigating fretless basses, and set my sights on the Ibanez SR370F. I went into Guitar Center one evening, and they had the 5-string version in stock. I played it and fell in love with it - but I wanted the 4-string version, not the 5. They said they could order it for me and have it arrive in a few days, so that's what I did. The standard 15% off coupon and the GC gift card that brother Eric had gotten me for Christmas made it a very inexpensive addition to the pack.

Trying to make a long story short - I picked it up, brought it home, *loved* how it looked, but didn't like how it sounded. I suspected setup issues, but it was beyond my ability to fix. I took it back to GC on a Saturday morning, and was lucky to find the guitar tech unoccupied. He made some adjustments, and also talked through what he was doing, which was very interesting and educational.

When I told him I was playing in an acoustic band and was looking for an upright bass sound, he recommended flatwound strings, as opposed to the roundwound strings more common on electric basses. I got the set he recommended, and it really does sound more like an upright bass. The sound is less "boom" and more "thump". (which may make no sense, but I know just what I mean when I write it. :-)) Suffice it to say that it sounds really good and was exactly what I was hoping for. And did I mention it's a *gorgeous* instrument?

As for playing fretless, it's an adjustment - but an interesting and fun experience. The frets are why Fender named their first fretted electric bass the Precision Bass. You put your finger anywhere within the fret, and you get the exact note. Playing fretless is taking the training wheels off. If your fretting hand a little bit off, the note is a little bit off. The neck has marker lines where the frets would be, and I've found them to be very accurate - so that helps considerably.

My band-mates noticed the difference in sound right away. So I've been rehearsing with it for the last month, and I'll be gigging with it this summer.

Fender Stratocaster

...or "Part 2 in the Great Gear Change of '13"

The next change was pure whim. I've loved my Mexican-made Telecaster, but I got it into my head that I'd love to trade it for a Stratocaster. It seems like every guitar player should have a Strat at some point. Again, CL made it happen - I listed the Telecaster, and quickly found a buyer who was happy to put cash in my hand.

The next step was figuring out which Strat I wanted. There are various quality levels, starting with the Squier Strats, then the made-in Mexico (MIM), the made-in-America (MIA), and the money-is-no-object custom shop instruments. My budget dictated MIM. These instruments have a good reputation, and my Telecaster was MIM and was a great guitar.

I started on eBay, which has practically unlimited options. I was particular about the color and style I wanted - either a red or a brown sunburst body, and a maple fretboard (for no technical reason - I just really like the look of the maple fretboard over the dark rosewood fretboard.)

I was looking over some factory refurbished MIM Strats that cost just what I had sold the Telecaster for, and was close to pulling the trigger. But the thought then occurred to me that if I went onto Musician's Friend and used one of the 12% off or 15% off coupons that show up in my e-mail just about every day, I could get a brand new Strat for just a few dollars more than a refurbished one.

So that's what I did. I ordered a red Strat with a maple fretboard, and it arrived a few days later (in perfect condition.) It looks great and sounds great, and I couldn't be happier with the trade. I'm still getting familiar with the three pickups and the 5-way switch that activates combinations of pickups. It's a fun learning process, and I'm getting some nice classic sounds out of it.

Epiphone EJ-200 CE

Part 1 of some quick notes from what I'll probably look back on as the Great Gear Change of '13.

I already posted about my mandolin upgrade. I still couldn't be happier with how that's gone. I now have a legitimate instrument, not a starter mando. I'm playing it every day, and I love it. More about that very soon.

I've had the urge for some different guitars, so I followed the same pattern of selling a piece of gear on Craigslist, then using that cash to buy something else. I'm sure I've written here how happy I was with my gear - and that was 100% true. I simply got the desire to change things up, and I was able to do that for a very small cash outlay.

I've wanted an acoustic/electric guitar for a while - an acoustic that you can plug into an amp or PA system. I've been playing much more acoustic guitar than electric, so I thought one of the electrics could make way for an A/E. As much as I loved my Casino (and I really really did), it's the only one that would bring in enough money to get the A/E I wanted. And it worked out perfectly - CL found me a buyer who handed me a fistful of cash.

He was no sooner out of my driveway than I was online at Musician's Friend ordering an Epiphone EJ-200 CE. It arrived a few days later, and has exceeded every expectation. Unplugged, it sounds every bit as good as my Seagull, and the built-in pickups and electronics sounds fantastic.

I was curious to play a jumbo-sized acoustic (and that's what it's called, it's not my terminology). It's supposed to have a bigger sound - and I guess I can't say for sure whether it does or not. With various people's work schedules, someone is almost always sleeping, no matter what time of day - so I'm usually trying to play somewhat quietly. But the jumbo does have a very different feel on my lap, and I'm not sure it could be played standing up (I guess it could, but it would take some getting used to.)

Part 2 of the Great Gear Change of '13 coming soon.