This blog is free. And even, if in the future, it draws say, advertising revenue, it clearly my glittering editorial responsible, not the pictures. My photos are stamped and it is enough, should they be reproduced, to be produce adequate returns by advertising my ownership. That would, of course, change, if one of my photos was used by itself to make a lot of cash. But I would not necessarily prevent a copy just because that might happen.Cancel the King Mango, the only time slot to hold a rehearsal was here an hour before the parade starts this afternoon. I know the chances of this new guitarist actually working out are tiny, but it is a too important to risk. Trust me, I’m probably the only musician in the country who has studied the potential returns of the trade before I started. I only need find one guitar player to do what he says and what he’s told to make 2012 a blockbuster.
Ever heard of “Bass Players Buyers Guide”? (The spelling mistakes aren’t mine.) It’s a strange publication dedicated to the premise that anyone who wants a bass is a guitarist and an utter bumpkin besides. It suffers from every imaginable defect of “gitar-think”, right from hero worship across the spectrum to incessant bragging about your instrument. It’s about all the things real bass players never do. But I know, there’s thousands of them and one of me.
They feature articles on comparisons between bass manufacturers, that is, the juvenile mine’s-bigger-than-your’s approach. The reality is 99% of modern basses are the same. Too heavy in the neck, too heavy overall, built like war clubs, with generally too many useless frets above the octave. Useless for grooving, I mean.
Those frets are present for the Jaco Pastorius types who like to weird out in front of audiences too stoned to notice he is missing every third note. I’m the type who still likes bass music to have a beat and make an attempt to play the same as the rest of the band. I’ll grant that Jaco is the master of noodling upper-fret jazz lead patterns on the bass to his own loopings. But I’ve seen all the box patterns before. At least he proves you can be a bass player without slapping and tapping.
The new guitarist arrived, I’ve had encouraging first practices before, this was not one. Musically, the guy needs six months of hard work to get up to speed. But I am the past master of making guitarists sound better than they are. This new guy responded very well to instruction. He is also a professional, so we share a background. Nobody is likely to waste time.
This is an instance where the practices down the line will tell if this is working. We ran through six pieces. Once given direction and method, he played the pieces well enough to be encouraged. Remember, as long as someone is really trying and getting results, I’ll put in the time. If he does the same, we have a band, if he doesn’t, we don’t.
