Yank

Miles Davis- Bye, Bye Blackbird Anything with Ben Webster playing sax.

Now you'll look good covering "Purple Rain" or "Purple Haze".

So sad. Aretha's favorite drummer.

She's adorable. Enjoy the moment, they grow up too fast.

Here in New England, bass necks stay fairly stable and rarely need to be adjusted, even with cold winter temps and central heating. I spent two years in Arizona and with the desert heat and ac in homes, had to adjust constantly. Bass necks were like noodles! Two years in Austin, Tx. was in between. What's it like where you live?

gig tip. Have a medical kit in your car. i.e. bandaids, aspirin, anti-diarea pills.

Congradulations. That's always fun. Hope you were driving and could crank up the volume.

I've been to shows where I wished SOMEONE in the band had a watch so they might have started ON TIME!

Wow! This is getting complicated. Who knew there were style police watching to see if I have a watch. What's next, wedding rings?

Humble Pie or Sly and the Family Stone

Anouther sad year beginning.

Never change 'em. I keep a spare set for each of my two basses an there they sit.

and the Pips weren't shabby, either.

One of a kind. God save the queen.

Any reggae version of Greatful Dead songs.

What songs do you like a cover version better than the original? Here's two, Wilson Pickett's version of Sugar, Sugar and The Scorpions version of Tainted Love.

You spent a lot of time on these and etched them into your brain. Learn some new ones or force your brain to play an old favorite. Time to re-program.

O.K. The guitarist wrote the music and the singer wrote the lyrics. They should stick to that.It's arrogant of them to tell the bass player what to play. If they don't like his style, fine, find someone else. This is pop or rock, not an orchestra or Broadway pit band. Bunch of w***ers.

My numbah 1 is a Douglas, Chinese made short-scale unlined fretless violin bass. I got a double bass case for Christmas, so my spare, a MIM Fender lined Jazz is always on deck in case of trouble.

I find practicing first thing in the morning to be best for me. Get up earlier than usual and your mind is clearer and less cluttered than at the end of the day.

Although Leo didn't invent the electric bass, he made the first commercially available one. He came up with the 34" scale. Gibson came out with their electric bass the EB a year and a half later and decided on a 301/2" scale. They were both trying to come up with an instrument so guitar players could double easily and get more work. Leo also put foam under the bridge cover which coupled with the flat wound strings mimicked the tone (thump) of the upright bass. Most players back then did play with their thumb so a finger rest was logical for the new instrument. Even by the mid sixties, the electric bass was still in it's infancy, as far as instruments, strings, amps and playing styles. A lot of bassists just sounded like whale farts to my young ears.

Any music store or a drummer specific store should be able to order. In the U.S. we have mail order companies like Casio.

Who could be cooler than a guy named Kool? Kool and the Gang.

Although certainly not the worst, one that has me running for the off button is Rush's Tom Sawyer. Makes me want to throttle the singer.

Eva Cassidy- Somewhere Over the Rainbow