The Bass Geek

Too Music Music This Weekend

Ryan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:42:19 +0000

The big shows this weekend in Fountain Square is tonight with Toxic Reasons, DV, Harley Poe, and Vodka DeMilo at Radio Radio. Bigger Than Elvis plays there tomorrow. And spiritual Fountain Squarians Born Again Floozies play at the Super Bowl Village tomorrow. Too much going on this weekend with the Super Bowl - I just did the Oak Tree at The Time's show, and a Jimmy Fallon taping is next. Take care and be safe, all!

Dammit, Now I Have To Do Something . . .

Ryan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:52:06 +0000

So I made some noise about solo shows at the end of last year, and I went ahead and signed up for February Album Writing Month as a prompt to write some solo material.

And now I actually have to do it. Crap.

14 songs before the end of the month. Any ideas accepted.

I'm playing with the Loopy HD app for the iPad, which interfaces nicely with the SoftStep - I can choose and mute tracks fairly quickly, and the recording is a simple process. I'm still getting a weird fade in at the beginning of the loops, but I suspect playing with the noise gate will remedy that.

Now I just have to write 14 songs. Dammit.

Welcome, New Friends!

Ryan — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:28 +0000

This post at cnn.com might be driving some new traffic to the site, so let me take a moment to re-introduce myself and state the purposes and intentions of this blog.

My name is Ryan Williams. I write and play bass, not necessarily in that order. And I make my home in the beautiful Fountain Square district of Indianapolis, source of much art, culture, entertainment, fine cuisine, and loud rehearsal noise emanating from my neighbor's house.

The reason that story came out this week was, of course, because of the huge party we're throwing for Super Bowl XLVI this year, and because we want to let everyone know what Indianapolis has to offer. Fountain Square is but a quick trip from downtown, there will be shuttle buses, and I bet the bike taxis will even trek down here. Let me know if you have any questions or just want to hear me lay down a groove for a bit. I will accommodate all reasonable requests.

Fountain Square Music This Weekend

Ryan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:54:38 +0000

Radio Radio has Quiet Corral, Kopecky Family Band, and Jascha tonight.

Indy's Jukebox appears to be off of live music for a couple of weeks, according to their website.

The Hoosier Dome presents The Goodnight Fields w/ White Rock Scratch and Unstable Faultline tonight. Tomorrow, take in We Came From Nowhere, As The Fallen Rise, Of Sights and Sounds, Disaffected, Prague, and It's Safe, I Swear.

The White Rabbit Cabaret brings in Woodstove Flapjacks String Band and the Whiskey Bent Valley Boys tonight

It's Swing Night at the Fountain Square Theater with The Stardusters.

And there's live lounge and jazz music at The Brass Ring and Maria's Pizza all weekend long. Enjoy!

Welcome to Fountain Square, Football Fans!

Ryan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:15:21 +0000

Even though Indianapolismusic.net has been archived, I'm still getting some inquiries about music in Indianpolis. In this case, a reporter from CNN.com reached out and asked for some advice on getting to good live music in Indianapolis both during and after the Super Bowl. I'll post a link later, but it was nice to brag on our local talent and venues for a bit.

Please also note that it's possible to check out great local music in Indianapolis (and Fountain Square, in particular) by taking the shuttle from downtown to FSQ and back - details can be found here. I thought the Super Bowl Village did a pretty good job of showcasing local talent, but there's always more to be heard.

Fountain Square Music This Weekend

Ryan — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:39:40 +0000

Radio Radio has the weekend off. Kick back and relax.

Indy's Jukebox has the Brassknuckle Boys, Off Balance, and the Brothers Gross tomorrow.

The Hoosier Dome gets down with Earthbound, Only OK, Hooper, and Holy Mackenzie tonight. Tomorrow, it's the return of Caelume with Male Bondage, Marital Roles, Teenagers from Outerspace, and Deadghost.

And there's live lounge and jazz music at The Brass Ring and Maria's Pizza all weekend long. Enjoy!

Full recording studio on the iPad? Slow Down . . .

Ryan — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:32:21 +0000

It's NAMM time, so a ton of press releases are going around regarding new products and software, including this rather surprising announcement about a 48-track recording program that could host VST plug-ins and recording 24 simultaneous tracks of audio. As noted here, these claims are a little misleading and the software hasn't really arrived yet. It's easy to get caught up in gear announcements and the remaining fall-out, but a little calm would be nice here. The iPad is running hardware roughly comparable to the machines that were running Pro Tools many years ago, so it's not impossible to make these kinds of things happen. It's also true that this app will require the traditional studio equipment around it (an audio interface, good monitors, a good-sounding room, etc.) to make it work. And then there's the question of where all these audio recordings will live. Local copies synced with a cloud storage location?

The main appeal of this app to me is being able to record in a studio and then just grab the iPad and do edits and modifications elsewhere. But it's not a one-stop solution in a box, and the ad materials need to be a little more clear. And, of course, we have to actually get our hands on the app and test it.

Fountain Square Music This Weekend

Ryan — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:54:07 +0000

Radio Radio takes the week off. I suspect the owners are on vacation. They deserve it. Calm down.

Indy's Jukebox gets loud and metallic tonight with Dead Birds Adore Us, Goliathon, Dogs of Fortune, and THE MIGHTY KIDD COMET. Tomorrow brings Deezen, Dead Man's Switch, Skyhunter, and LifeBeforeCars.

The Hoosier Dome presents the huge lineup of Affiance, Serianna, Us, From Outside, Sirens & Sailors, As The Fallen Rise, All Roads Lead To Rome, I Will Define, and Haruspex.

It's Swing Night in Fountain Square with The Blue Skies Big Band.

The pianoke of NOISE! takes place tonight at White Rabbit Cabaret.

And don't forget live jazz and lounge music at Maria's Pizza and the Brass Ring tonight. Enjoy!

Online Bass Lessons Across the Frickin’ World!

Ryan — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:21:46 +0000

Hat tip to Jon Silpayamanant for bringing this article to my attention (although I question the wisdom of enabling future bagpipe players). I've been collecting names of bassists that teach lessons via iChat, Skype, or similar online means for awhile - both for my own learning purposes and to share with others. The one thing that strikes me about this is that these are extremely talented and noteworthy players who otherwise people wouldn't have access to unless a great deal of travel and scheduling was involved. I can personally attest to the wonderful insight and value Todd Johnson and Anthony Wellington have brought to my playing, but there's no doubt that any of these folks would be of great assistance to you, provided you take the following steps (that apply to all lessons, Internet or no, really):

Listen
Ask good questions
Prepare for the lesson beforehand
Practice diligently what you've learned
Don't waste their or your time

So here's the list - I'm still in disbelief at some of these names:

These are just some of the famous names, and it certainly doesn't discount the other talent available out there - feel free to add additional resources in the comments. It also doesn't address sites like the Funk University or Music Dojo, either (although these are great resources and I'm currently using FU). These are one-on-one lessons - amazing what technology can do, isn't it?

EDIT: Just found out Dave LaRue is on this list, too - I used to watch his instructional video all the time, and just going back to it reminded me of all I learned from him. Great stuff!

Fountain Square Music This Weekend

Ryan — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:56:05 +0000

Radio Radio presents a big weekend, kicking off with Clemency, Neon Love Life, and The Bonesetters for tonight's First Friday events. Tomorrow, Bigger Than Elvis returns along with PK and the Big Stir.

Indy's Jukebox puts on a big loud show tonight with Photian Schism, The Midnight Ghost Train, The B-Movie Monsters, Coffinsville, and Dead Man's Switch. Tomorrow gets a little punkier with Made Alive, The Guilford Blackouts, and Dastard Lee.

Three big shows at the Hoosier Dome this weekend - tonight features Atrocities, Sonofabitch, We Must Dismantle All This!, PissArtist, Crude Prunes, Tainted Wisdom, Iafrate, and Smegmaloids. I think that means each band gets a 10-minute set or something. Tomorrow, take in the much more reasonable numbers of The Years To Come, Against the Ropes, Up 2-11, and The Savage Life. Finally, Sunday brings 'round Living and Wrestling, Atlas, Pessoa, and Marital Roles.

And there's always live jazz and lounge music at both Maria's Pizza and the Brass Ring this weekend. Enjoy First Friday!