Well, South by South West (or should I say “South By…”) was even more full on that I had imagined, and I had imagined it being very full on. Oddly, the thing stuck in my mind isn’t a gig, it was looking across at a rig. It got me thinking about having back ups and avoiding bass disasters…
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Having posted recently about house concerts, I’ll also point you to this great post by Steve himself on the matter: House Concert Hosting: a Beginner’s Guide. A number of recent posts have some great discussions in the comments, which are worth checking out if you haven’t seen them: [More…]

Recently I played bass for a musical. It was one of those lessons in how valuable being able to read a bass score is. I know many bassists who play by ear very well, it’s a great skill to have. However, when there are 20 songs to learn over two rehearsals, being able to read the bass lines off of the page is definitely a win. [More…]

The design of the bass has been pretty much set in stone since its birth. There have been one or two notable exceptions over the years, so when I saw and read about the Orchid bass, it really caught my attention.

The bass was designed and built by Luthier Rich Toone. It has a 32″ neck, a Trapezoidal Neck Profile, and was specifically designed for it’s player, Halie (aged 16 when the bass was made). [More…]

May be you can’t get out to hear your fave musicians play? May be your town doesn’t have a music venue? Here’s an idea: Create your own music venue.

House concerts are becoming more and more popular. Open your home to a favourite musician and your friends. There is an interesting post on music think thank about house concerts: For the fans, by the fans…are fan driven private concerts the next big movement? They have a venerable history: [More…]

Not heard of the three finger technique before? Steve Lawson pointed me to this lovely Qik interview he did with Alex Webster , bassist with death metal band Cannibal Corpse. [More…]