The Dude Pit Blog

Getting there!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:30:00 +0000

I'm working as hard and fast as I can to the the Dudepit back up and fully functional and should have the forum back up within 24-48 hours. Hang in there guys and thanks for your patience! I've purchased a Rocket Themes template club membership and am in the process of installing the new Joomla 1.5 software and deciding what template to go with and will also be deciding to stay with the Fireboard forum software or switch to phBB III software or other forum software. It shouldn't be much longer but I'm learning as I go here and it's not easy so there will be bugs as we go. I'm doing everything that I can to get things running smoothly as fast as I can so just know that nobody wants this to get sorted out any more than I do ok? It won't be long and you'll like the end result.

More Changes Underway - Hang On

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:41:00 +0000

Dosdawg and I are doing more changes here this weekend and getting rid of the current joomla template and will be flipping over to the "Populus" template which includes a community builder. This change should not affect the Fireboard forum but bear with us as we install and comfigure "Populus" as the outer shell. Here's a link to more info which will go over the features it will bring with it:http://www.rockettheme.com/Templates/Available_Templates/Populus_-_Dec_07_Joomla_Templates/

Joomla 1.0+ compatible
Joomla 1.5 Native version available
8 Preset Styles
Ability to flip sidebar from right to left
Fireboard forum integration
Community Builder Integration
GroupJive Integration
Incredible new RokSlide based tabbed module system
RocketLauncher enabled - Create your own site just like the demo site with only a few clicks
6 Hilite module variations for each color style
22 fully collapsible module positions for the most flexible layout options possible
3 built-in menu options - The exclusive RokMooMenu menu system, Suckerfish, SplitMenu, as well as a module position to use your own custom menu module (Module)
RokZoom Integration - custom slimbox variant built from the ground-up with cool zoom effect and a brand new look
Built-in IE6 PNG fix W3C XHTML 1.0 Transitional. W3C CSS Valid
Fully compatible IE6, IE7, Safari 2, Firefox 1.5+, Opera 9, OmniWeb, Shira, Netscape.
Source Adobe Fireworks PNGs included

Well the forum is up and building the rest.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:19:00 +0000

It's almost been 24 hours since I relaunched www.thedudepit.com and things are progressing nicely with the fireboard forum software integration into the joomla platform. The thing that I like about running joomla is that it is modular and I can pick and choose exactly what extension applications I want to add and for every type of extension I have many choices. For example, there are 47 available forum extensions. I just went with what appeared to be the most widely used.

A quick look at this menu of extensions will have any webmaster drooling so now I start the process of building the rest of the site around the core of the fireboard Dude Pit forum one extension at a time. We useed the joomla Pixel Perfect template available at Rocket Theme as part of their template club offerings and I can't be any happier with the products avauilable at Rocket Theme and highly reecommend anyone considering flipping over to Joomla shop there for great templates at dirt cheap pricing. You just join their club for one low price and have unlimited access to all their templates...how cool is that??

Anyway, the registrations are coming back in slowly but I'm sure that will pick up once people realize that I won't be changing software again and can now settle down and build the site and membership back up. Thanks for reading and thanks for sticking in there with me!

Flipping the switch...go check it out now!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:34:00 +0000

Ok most bugs are worked out...go on over and check out the forum. I'll be working on all the news feeds etc on the other pages but go to the forum and post away.

www.thedudepit.com

Almost done...

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:44:00 +0000

Setting up as best I can with useable forum titles instead of "Goobers" style titles. I'm not setting up as many individual/specific forums as before but can add at a later date if anyone wants them. Will be live tonight with the forum at least and I'll build the rest of the site around it instead of the other way around.

There will not be any required fee for memebership but just as before there will be supporting and gold supporting memberships available to those who want to contribute with additional options available for those higher level memberships.

There will also be sponsored forums available at minimal costs to those manufacturers and or retailers who may want one. I am grandfathering in a few manufacturer sponsored forums with a 90 day grace period while we get things rolling but after that even those guys will need to pay to stay.

One last time I will also say that all are welcome to join even those who have been posting bullshit elsewhere or making mock dudepits on ezboard etc...Fresh board, fresh start and I mean that!

Ok, back to finish setting it up but we'll go live here very soon. Hope you like it!

One more time....back up with forum asap

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:18:00 +0000

Ok, I have given up with the Dolphin software and trying to get the forum section up and running as we want it to work so I've pulled down www.thedudepit.com and am in the process of loading up joomla software with a fireboard forum and will pop it back live once I have it setup the way I know you will like it. What you will see will be a forum as you all know similar to this demo.

The main portal page that will contain new feeds and such will look something like this. Too look at all the difdferent plug-ins and templates available go here.

Hang in there and I'll at least have the basic forum up and running later today as it loads on the server quite fast. Joomla is the way to go I feel and there are tons and tons of available additional features and plug-ins available. Look here and start writing a wish list of features you may want me to add.

Thanks for hanging in there. Doing this on my own server without the use of a 3rd party provider using a "canned" setup has been difficult and challenging to say the least but I believe I have now found the best situation and that you will all be very pleased with the results!

Steve

No fix for Dolphin

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:13:00 +0000

Well DosDawg and I are at a loss with the Dolphin Orca Forum portion of the application and will be pulling it down once again and loading up the joomla Populus platform over the weekend. Please wait until we announce it's ready for registraions before registering this time ok?
http://www.rockettheme.com/Templates/Available_Templates/Populus_-_Dec_07_Joomla_Templates/

DPLE II on eBay

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:29:00 +0000

Saw this pop up on eBay. Click here.

Merry Christmas Fuggers!!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:30:00 +0000

We found the glitch!!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:52:00 +0000

After a weekend of depression and overall pulling of hair we were able to find a glitch in the Dolphin software application installation that was preventing us from having a "forum" as we all wanted on DPv4. Hang on, we're working on it now and should have it back up including a forum as we all wanted without anyone having to reregister within 24 hours.

Dudepit group on Mashable

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 08:32:00 +0000

I started this Dudepit group on Mashable for us to congregate until I get the new Dudepit up and running which will take a little bit to complete. I was very unhappy with the DVv4 using Dolphin software as were most of you so I pulled it down yesterday morning while I search for a better platform. In the meantime you can go to the Mashable Dudepit group or simply read updates I will be posting here in this blog.

http://my.mashable.com/groups/view/id/654

EVERYTHING ON PIT CHANGING!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:02:00 +0000

Ok, I am totally unhappy with this SMF forum software and it's not going to get me where I want to go with The Pit which is far beyond the simple forum we've known it to be for 7 years. Some of you may balk at the changes I plan on implementing here and if so then all I can say is that there are plenty of bass "forums" out there for you to go to.

I have ben looking for a software package that does all I want it to do and I believe I have found it and Dosdawg and I are working at setting it up now.

You will like it (most of you anyway) and it will be up asap and I don't expect too much downtime as we are setting it up offline as we speak and will simply flip it over once it's created. If all goes as planned you will not even need to reregister but you will need to update your new profiles on the new system and all existing forum posts will be lost but the pluses of the new system far outweigh the data loss.

Think of myspace with a forum with a craigslist with youtube, photobucket, a live webcam chat and you'll be warm. Dosdawg found the only software package that does it all and you are gonna be blown away!!

Right now we are planning on going offline Friday and coming back up live with the new site on Monday.

Hang on and bear with us and be prepared to enter Dudepit v4!!

Saturday 9:00pm Update

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 03:52:00 +0000

Dosdog and I have been working on the new sites for about 18 hours now and have a pretty good grasp on things and we'll pick it back up tomorrow but when it comes back up it won't be anything like what you've been used to and I'm afraid to say you'll all have to register again one more time on main page. Still unsure if we're going to stay with Simple Machines for the forum software but we probably will since we're using joomla for the main portal page and ijoomla's own website uses SM for their form so we should be free of bugs. When you go to http://www.thedudepit.com/ you're going to see something very close to this:

or like this

You will log in on this main landing page/portal which will contain a bunch of different bass related news feeds, snippets of the latest forum feeds and user blogs, links to my other websites and links to other plug-in pages DPv4 is going to have like the forum as well as a chatroom again that should be webcam friendly, a featured video off of Youtube, an extensive link page, user profiles in a more detailed social network style with individual blogs, more bass related feeds, a database of my old interviews as well as new ones as we progress. This page will also have some general music links and feeds. The forum won't have 30 or 40 individual forums like DPv3 did.

The Gas Station will be a separate section with only paid subscribers being able to post but able to be read by all. There will be groups as on myspace or facebook and if say you did want to start a Peavey basses or say a WWII aircraft group or something you could.

Instead of more affiliate marketing banners that I've been switching out manually I'll have an ad managment system in place to actually have fewer ad locations but just have them rotating out by themselves.

Those retailers and manufacturers who've been emailing me about sponsored forums or ad placements should talk to me quickly after DPv4 goes live as the spots will be limited and the prices will be going up....you snooze you lose!

Hang in there you're gouing to dig it but now that I've pulled everything down and am no longer making my living from the bass thing it take a lot of pressure off of me to get it back up and running so quickly.

As I stated last week, I am in the early stages of a 15 week outpatient recovery program and that's gotta come first or nothing's going to. This will be a new chapter as I start my 1oth year in the business and I don't intend on going anywhere so the jerks can be jerks all they want and talk smack until they only make themselves look like....well....jerks! It takes one to know one and the only real difference betwwen us is that I admit when I am a jerk or screw up and they don't. I'm generally the first to do so. So to the dink down below calling me a "meth head" I can only tell you "not anymore I'm not" and that's now a documented matter of public record so just pray that one of your family or friends doesn't struggle with similar issues because it's not an easy thing to kick. I also don't have to go very far out on a limb to feel confident that I wasn't the only person in all of the bass community to have a substance abuse issue either so go jump on somebody else becuase as my friend Norm down the road says "That dog don't hunt round here no more".

I'm taking SGB Media Group to the next level in 2008 and branching into several other industries with blogs, podcasts, social networks and a few other surprises I've been working on so stick around, the fun's just beginning!!

Dude's Interview with Jack Bruce

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:10:00 +0000

TRANSCRIPTION OF RECORDED INTERVIEW WITH
JACK BRUCE ON JULY 18, 2001, 12 P.M.
SB: You there?
JB: Uh-huh.
SB: Okay, very good, we're ready to roll. How 'ya doin'?
JB: I'm good, how are you?
SB: Oh, I'm getting ready to head out to the Nashville Pussy show tonight in Petaluma.
JB: That should be exciting.
SB: Ah, it's always fun.
JB: Yeah.
SB: Yeah, um...
JB: Well say hello to everybody for me. (Laugh.)
SB: Will do, I've got a bunch of guys. I have my own bass discussion board called The Dude Pit(?) And ah, I've got a bunch of guys lined up just, they've been asking questions and ah, so they've kind of helped me out with what to ask you here. And a lot of them are thirty-five, forty-year fans of yours and they're all very excited that I'm talking to you.
JB: Great.
SB: As I am.
JB: Well, tell 'em to buy Shadows In The Air.
Q Um, they all are running out to get it. They all, and the reviews, yeah I posted a little message on your message board about a month ago when I got the advance from Brad(?) at Chipster(?).
JB: Oh, right.
SB: And um, you know I think that I wrote that message as I was listening to it for the first time. I was only up to Heart Quake and already I just fell in love with the whole CD.
JB: I'm real happy to hear that, thank you.
SB: It's phenomenal, Jack, it really is.
JB: Thank you very much.
SB: Um, so I'd like to talk about ah, ah, I don't do ah pretty much formal question and answers, I just kinda like talk with people and I pull out of there um, um, my, my interviews. I'd like to talk about the current release and then maybe go back in the past a little bit. You know a lot of guys are, you know, I will not ask you about the Cream reunion possibility. You probably get that every day so...
JB: (Inaudible) I mean, you know, you know the answer anyway.
SB: Yeah. Um, and then I'd like to talk a little bit about Hot Flash after that, okay?
JB: Sure.
SB: Um, now the current Shadows In The Air, I see that was recorded pretty much about, it took you over a year to get it in the can, huh?
JB: Well no, it actually was recorded in three weeks.
SB: Really?
JB: Yeah. It was recorded in three weeks, but I had to wait to get a couple of guitar players, namely Eric Clapton and Gary Moore. Because they just simply weren't available. So I had to wait about eight months...
SB: You mean those guys still get work?
JB: Pardon?
SB: They still get work? Those two guys?
JB: Yeah, well I think they were waiting on a bar mitzvah and ah...(Steve laughs)...they, they fitted me in. No, I just simply had to wait for Eric and Gary to be available really and ah, it had to be done really in London. I would have loved it if they could have...I mean originally I hadn't thought of Eric, but when, the way that those two tracks came out I thought well, well I'm gonna get Eric to play on it because it gives it that little final stamp of, of authenticity, if you know what I mean.
SB: Absolutely.
JB: (Inaudible) going to play on more especially to sing on Sunshine because for me that was, that was the key really of the original recording is the fact that we both traded off those ah, those lead, those lead vocals, you know.
SB: Absolutely, sure, yeah, um.
JB: We should do that again. I mean the record came about 'cause I had the idea of ah, the original idea was ah, I'd heard so many versions of those, those songs and I Feel Free done by so many different people from ah, I don't know, from Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix um, God, right up to Belinda Carlyle(?) and Indian Rope Man. Mogo(?) Santa Maria did a really neat Latin version in the sixties. So I thought why, why shouldn't I have a bash.
Q Yeah.
JB: You know, ripping(?) myself off. (Chuckle) No, you know... and so that, the record came by, I did those two tracks and ah, then the rest of the record just sort of happened around it, you know. Um, I wanted to do some of the old things. Ah, I'm, I wanted to, do the new(?) things even more. So, it was very easy to do. That's why I called it Shadows In The Air because it was like, it was a magic, you know, almost everything is a first take, and there was a kind of magic in the air and a lot of love amongst the guys. A love for each other and for the music. And we were just kind of, we just had, we knew we couldn't do anything wrong, you know. We could just grab by it and try and re-grab these shadows, you know. The shadows are there for me are the notes that happen when you're playing live (blurb in tape) playing together with musicians. There's certain notes that suddenly appear in the air and you don't know where, nobody's playing them.
SB: They just come out of nowhere.
JB: (Inaudible) somewhere else, you know. And I've (inaudible) an experience I've had, you know not always but sometimes you just get some magical things happening because everybody's reeling(?) and cheering and the music's really right on. And this other stuff happens and it's not you (chuckles). So that's why I called it Shadows In The Air.
SB: Excellent. Um, now do you, Kip Hanrahan was on this, when you've worked with Kip in the past haven't you?
JB: Yeah, I mean the first time I went with Kip was seventeen years ago. Ah, he sent me this tape, I was living in Germany at the time, and he sent me this cassette tape because that's what we had in those days (chuckles). And ah, it had this amazing music on it like I'd never heard before. Like big band Latin meets whatever. And he just simply said, "Would like to come and sing in this?" And I said, "When does the plane leave?" And ah, that's when I met Kip and I sort of, and I also met some of those amazing musicians who are even, who are now on this record, like Milton Cardona, Andy Gonzalez. And, so they all started from there really.
SB: So those are German guys? Or have they've been...
JB: Those are not, those are, Milton Cardona's from Puerto Rico and he lives in the Bronx. And Andy Gonzalez is similar and lives, also lives in the Bronx (laughs).
SB: Now, now is, are you, is Malcolm Bruce related to you?
JB: German.
SB: Pardon me?
JB: They ain't German.
SB: Yeah, I knew that, but they, you met them in Germany through...
JB: I guess (inaudible) came from New York City.
SB: Yeah.
JB: And then I went to New York City to make the record called Desire Develops in Age(?). That was the first of many collaborations between Kip and myself, culminating in this record, Shadows In The Air, which he co-produced and also contributed a lot of fine lyrics.
SB: Heart Quake is just a phoneme...now he wrote the lyrics I understand on that one, correct?
JB: He didn't. No, that is the one Bruce Brown ah song. But the one new, new Bruce Brown song I should say because obviously Pete Brown wrote the lyrics for Sunshine and White Room, but he also wrote the lyrics for Heart Quake.
SB: It's a wonderful song. I, I, that's that's the one, it's just beautiful. And it really showcases your voice.
JB: Thank you.
SB: Um...
JB: That was recorded live at (inaudible- blurb in tape), it's a live vocal. But we, you know I was playing piano and singing and along with the percussion, that's how that one was done. And I wanted the whole record to be done that way as much as possible with everybody, you know, playing live as opposed to over-dubbing and over-dubbing and over-dubbing. Cause I've done that so much in the past, I think it's very old-fashioned now, it's not the way to make music anymore. The thing is to get the interaction between the guys or the women and the music and whatever.
SB: To capture those shadows.
JB: Yeah, exactly.
SB: Yeah, yeah. Ah, how did Vernon Reid come into the picture on this ah, CD?
JB: Vernon, I first played with on the record I made in 19...ah, 1989, um, called something (chuckles) let me try and remember that. Um, called, I'll give you that name in a minute, I'll have to look it up on the Web site.
SB: And so you, you...
JB: I've known Vernon since that, since those days and ah, really wanted him to play up to be the core player on the record and now he's also joined my band.
SB: Oh, so he's gonna be touring with you this fall?
JB: Absolutely. We're ah, we're tour, touring on the U.S., we start in Europe and then we, our U.S. date is between November the third and December the second. And if you want I can get Brett(?) Adams to e-mail you the dates just so you know.
SB: Yeah, I'm up in the Bay Area, but I'll, I'll definitely catch you several times on this tour.
JB: Yeah, well I guess there's a good chance we'll play somewhere in the Bay Area, you know.
SB: Yeah. I ah, just Vernon just came off the Living Color kind of reunion. I'm good friends with Doug Wimbish and...
JB: Right. Well I mean in fact I played, I had a really amazing gig with my band in the North Sea Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival we call it, although I wasn't playing jazz, I was playing Jack(?). And ah, we um, we had, he was playing with Living Color the same day and we had a kinda great gig that night. I had a ten-piece band and it was, it was a killer.
SB: Um....
JB: Literally (chuckles).
SB: The album was A Question of Time you're speaking of?
JB: That's the one, yeah.
SB: Yeah. Yeah, you had some great people on that one.
JB: Yeah, so Vernon played on, on Life (inaudible), if you remember that track.
SB: Yeah.
JB: It's the first track...
SB: I do.
JB: ...on the album.
SB: Well you had Nickey Hopkins(?) on that one I think, didn't you?
JB: I did. Yeah, Nickey Hopkins, um, I had Tony Williams. I had (inaudible) Huessain(?), I had some pretty good players.
Q Yeah, yeah. Ah, as you do on this one. Now is, is Malcolm related to you?
JB: He's my son.
SB: He's your son?
JB: Yeah.
SB: And he's a guitar player, huh?
JB: He's a guitar player, ah, he's a piano player and he's a violin player and he's a singer. He has his own band. He's making his own record. And he lives in Colorado.
SB: Very cool. Now you, you ah, getting back to your musical history, your background, you started out as a classic ah, a classical cellist, did you not?
JB: I actually started out as a singer. When I was a little boy my mother used to sing to me and she taught me all these Scottish folk songs and so on. Songs by Robert Burns(?) and people like that. And then I started to develop as a singer. I joined the church choir. I became a soloist. And I used to sing a lot of Schubert(?) and stuff like that. So that was really my first ah thing. You know I even sung on the radio (chuckles).
SB: Really? At what age?
JB: I was about ten.
SB: Yeah, oh.
JB: Yeah, that was my first claim to fame, as it were. And then, you know, then I started to, when I was in senior school I started playing cello. And then I, I went, moved to the bass, um, and then the rest is history kind of thing.
SB: Upright bass, first?
JB: Yeah. I started off on upright bass. I had a very fine teacher. A really old guy. He must have been in his seventies. And this was in the fifties. So he was ancient (laughs).
SB: Yeah.
JB: And he was a great teacher. He taught me a lot of great stuff. But probably, you know, it's like the really old techniques of double bass playing, which I don't of course apply to my jazz bass playing, which is what I first started out as doing. I wanted to be Charlie Mingus or Charlie Hayden(?) or anybody called Charlie...
SB: Right.
JB: ...to ah, be Scott LaFowl(?) and I wanted to be Jimmy Blank(?) and all rolled into one.
SB: Is that why you're, you're so comfortable playing fretless(?)? Do you think?
JB: Yeah, I, definitely. Because I think the cello, it makes it very easy because it's a similar kind of sized neck to cello. Fiddle obviously smaller than the double bass. But ah, yeah, it was a lot of relationships between the bass and the fretless bass. But I think the bass guitar is a unique instrument in it's own right. I mean I think the bass guitar actually changed popular music, you know. Like the whole weight of music is written, there's a great book called How the Fender Bass Changed the World.
SB: Oh, yeah. That's Jim Roberts.
JB: Jim Roberts. That's a great book because he points out the fact that because, you know, in the old days of early rock, or even of jazz, the bass was, it was, you know, it was always something you couldn't really hear it.
SB: It was almost (inaudible) percussive instrument.
JB: Yeah. Certainly in a live performance there was a big thumping going on somewhere. But um, when the bass guitar started to come in people then were able to write different kinds of music, because you could actually hear the bass and you could have bass lines and bass melodies and, and different things that were happening. Ah, if you think of James Jamerson, River (inaudible), all these great things that happened because they had a bass guitar, you know. Um, so yeah, so I was just a kind of continuation of that development, the fact that that instrument existed, you know.
SB: Now, you have actually similar right-hand technique to Jamerson. You know a lot of just one-finger plucking.
JB: Yeah, when I got to meet James in seventy-four, I think it was seventy-four, when he had moved to Los Angeles, when he'd been sent to ex...in exile in Los Angeles, he used to discuss that. And I had, I have a slightly different technique.
SB: It's kind of a...
JB: But I studied Davina(?), which is a classical Indian instrument where you just use, you use two fingers, like the bass, but mostly it's the index finger, and there's a tremelo kind of playing that I developed. So normally we called Jameson The Hook, he was called The Hook. But I'm kind of, I grew up (inaudible) and just more or less called (inaudible), grew up(?), you know. So yeah, but there was a lot of similarities in the way that we played, yeah, definitely.
SB: Have you ever used a plektrom(?)?
JB: Ah, on occasion, if I've been, you know, if I want to get a particular sound. But it's not my favorite sound at all. Ah, I don't really like it. And I don't like the feeling of playing with a pick, no.
SB: No.
JB: I always like the old finger, yeah.
SB: Yeah, you do almost like a figure eight with your index finger.
JB: I do? (Chuckles)
SB: Yeah, I've seen, it kind of rotates in, in two circles. I've watched, I've watched your technique for twenty-five years and you probably don't even notice it. But it's almost like you're drawing a figure eight in the sand.
JB: Oh, that's interesting. But I didn't know that. But ah, so now I'll probably, won't be able to ever play again, I'll be thinking of that. (Chuckles)
SB: Um, ah, switching from, from scale length, from a thirty and a half-inch guide(?), I noticed when you were on tour with Ringo, um, you brought out the EB1.
JB: Yeah, well I thought that really out of respect for the music. Because I think it's almost like get this classical ah orchestra that they play on, it's period instruments, you know. So I felt that ah, by playing that it was a kind of non...first of all it was violin-shaped, so it was a nod in the direction of Paul.
SB: Right.
JB: Fine bass player. And also ah it's, it's sort of a limiting instrument, you know, that you can flash around in the EB1, it's got such a powerful woofy(?) sound that you can't, you can't mess around with it, you know. So I brought that out, out, really out of respect for the music that we were playing. You know if I was playing A Little Help From My Friends and um, I would play on that, you know, because it really seemed to, to fit the bill. But you know my first love is my (inaudible) Fretless(?) if there is any doubt, you know. In fact I'm making a CD of Jack Bruce ones(?), fifty (inaudible) fifty fratless(?) based on the one I used.
SB: Yeah, with your, I've seen them, with your signature inlaid on the body in Mother of Pearl or something I beleive.
JB: Yeah, it's gonna, but apart from that it's actually going to be a really fine instrument, you know, because they don't mess around, (inaudible). They make, they use of great materials. And being, being a German company they're pretty well, they're really well made, you know, in the same way they make the Mercedes or something.
SB: Oh absolutely.
JB: But definitely very well made, beautiful. And they take a lot of care. I've been to the factory several times and ah, they're really, they're craftsmen, you know, it's wonderful. So yeah, I'm very happy with their idea. Very happy that they're gonna do it.
SB: And I understand you don't miss the EB3 at all?
JB: I don't even have an EB3.
SB: That one that was stolen was found a number of years ago, was it not? And somebody...
JB: It was indeed, yeah. Ah, and ah, and I gave it to a friend of mine, Bruce Gary(?).
SB: Right, it's that, there's a lot of guys trying to emmulate that sound now. And ah, I see on the downline discussion boards people asking, and, even on your boardh, people asking how to modify the electronics to get that sound and they're, they're breaking out the marshal(?) CADS and...
JB: Well I mean certainly the ones that, some modifications I couldn't tell you exactly, but things were definitely done to my EB3 by Dan Armstrong. Cause he used to look after Eric and my guitars, whenever we went to New York we'd go along and see Danny Armstrong. And he would certainly tweak them up, you know. Um, I couldn't tell you what the modifications were, but I think basically they were just, they're just harder(?), you know? Um, I certainly never used any effects cause they hadn't been invented yet (chuckle). And ah, I ah, all I did was to plug in and play and that's still what I do. And as Jackel(?) said, when he was asked, well how do you get that sound? he says, it comes from the fingers. And that's, is there any doubt where the sound comes from? I don't use any effects now. It's (inaudible). I went through a period in the seventies and eighties, sort of (inaudible) of using a certain amount of effects because it seemed like the thing to do at the time.
SB: Do you use...
JB: (Inaudible) I've grown out of that.
SB: You used the bass six, the fender bass six quite a bit during the Cream days also, um...
JB: I started off because I was playing, before Cream I was in a wonderful band called the Graham Bond Organisation. But Graham Bond (inaudible) Ginger Baker and myself. And the original band, the band originally had John McLaughlin on guitar. But John left and so we had no guitar player. And so I thought, well I'll get myself, I saw this six-string bass in a music store in London, and I thought, well that's an idea, if I have, if I played that I could sometimes play little guitar solos, ah which is what I used to do with that band. And then Cream came along I still was playing that instrument. But I found it rather limiting because I didn't want to play obviously guitar lines, having a certain Mr. Clapton in the band. So that's when I decided to move to, to the four-string. And I decided on the, on the EB3 because it was, played like a guitar. You know short scale. I could put Labella strings on there, quite light gauge so that I could bend the strings. This was really the technique that I wanted to use at the time.
SB: Yeah, there's an excellent video clip ah, ah, I'm not sure whether it's Fresh Cream or one of those where it's just the three of you live in a room and you, it really shows your technique and...
JB: Yeah, I know the, I know the clip that you mean. That was a wonderful French film maker. He just used a hand-held camera, just one hand-held camera. But somehow he managed to get around everybody. It was quite incredible the way he did that. And that was done in the Revolution pub(?) in London. and I'm wearing a caribou(?) hat.
SB: Yes. That, this really captured for me the essence of Cream and what the band was and...
JB: Well that was the pretty early days of the band. And I think that's probably a bit, I think that and there's a version of Crossroads, I don't know if it's from that same, I think it's from a different...
SB: Ah, the track that you're playing that stands out for me is Spoonful.
JB: Yeah, we do a version of that. But I think the best I've ever recorded as being the Cream (inaudible) was a live version of Crossroads I think from the playing point of view. But I think it's ah, it definitely comes close. That version of Spoonful is very good, I agree.
SB: Yeah. Um, prior to Shadows In The Air, what was, how long had it been since you actually recorded with Eric? I mean it's been...
JB: He played on ah, I did ah, again, I should have kept my Web site up actually. It was about ninety-fo...it was ninety-three I think. Around about then. Ah, I did an album called Somethin Els. And he plays on about three tracks on that. There's a good song called Willpower. There's another really good ballad called Ships in the Night that he plays great on. That was the last time that we actually recorded. And then I think, right about that time after that probably we, we were inducted into Bay(?) Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. And that was the last time we actually, in fact the only time that we played officially as a band together. Um, so yeah, there you go.
SB: What's Ginger up to these days? Is he still beating away?
JB: No idea. He's living in South Africa. And I've got no idea what he's actually doing. I haven't spoken to him in awhile, to be honest with you. Ah, no, he's living in South Africa. And I'm afraid I can't give you much information apart from that.
SB: Um, as a bass player, how much do you key into the, the kick drum and the drummer in any live situation?
JB: Well, I don't deliberately sort of play along, along with the kick drummer. I think that's just one of the drums. And I don't think it's necessary really for that to happen. Because I think if you're playing properly that would be a natural thing that you feel as opposed to actually listening to. I never went on playing live. I never have monitors because I don't like them. Um, I like to actually feel the music as opposed to hear the music. And ah, for me it's better to just have my vocals and the monitors as opposed to instead of having a snare or a snare and a kick or a high hat or something playing at me. And I think, I think the bass, the bass, essentially the bass is somewhere between the kick drum, which is a very basic, obviously that's the very basic pulse of the music. The bass is somewhere in-between there and, and whatever else is happening, as far as like lead vocals or guitars or whatever. The bass is, in its own little area. And it relates of course to the kick drum, but I think it's a bad idea if you just get locked into that kind of playing. Because that's only part of what the bass does.
SB: Um, obviously now after so many decades of playing in, playing bass and singing at the same time, it's second nature to you, but was it difficult to play the bass and sing at the same time in the beginning for you?
JB: Yeah, it was, it was quite tricky. It's a little bit like that thing of patting your head and rubbing it.
SB: Yeah, exactly.
JB: It's a little bit like that. Ah, I didn't have any problems, any real problems up until, I remember when we did Politician, the way that that was written was ah, it was a BBC recording and ah, we simply came up with the rest(?), laid down the track just playing the rest(?) and the blues shape. And then I overdubbed a vocal um, because believe it or not in those days the BBC had three-track recording (chuckles).
SB: Wow.
JB: So you could actually over (inaudible) do it in one over-dubb. So I always got(?) the vocal. And then when we came to do it live, but we hadn't really, (inaudible) when it came to actually playing it live I realized I couldn't do it because the, the vocal and the bass bar are completely at odds with one another. You know the bass bar is very on the beat, the vocal's very off the beat. So ah, (inaudible) a little practice. But then when I played with Lifetime(?) I found I was doing things, which is a bit later on, that was like early seventy, seventy-one probably. Um, I was doing things which were also (inaudible), so I was playing kind of against my voice and against the harmonics (inaudible) of the voice too. You know I would be singing, I would be singing in C and playing the bass in E, um, this was a challenge as well.
SB: But ah, you don't, obviously don't have any problems doing it now?
JB: Um, not really, no. I mean I think we compliment each other, you know. I think that's a point, that, you know, the point is that obviously when you, if you're doing, making a record you usually, or I will usually if I'm playing the bass, I'll probably overdubb the bass (inaudible), that's the way I like to do it. Ah, so then you might find that you can play a little bit more than you can in a live situation. But what you do is compliment. One compliments the other. I love to play in the same way, almost like somebody like B. B. King or, you know, any of those great Blues players, Albert King, Albert Collins, any of those guys. They would kind of sing and then answer themselves, would sing and answer themselves. And althougth the bass, when I'm playing the bass I can't exactly do that, I can sort of do it because I can play, I can accompany, support my voice when I'm singing, and then when I'm not singing I can decorate in-between. So that's more or less what I do. Obviously you can't stop playing very often, because the bass has got to be there almost all the time. But sometimes it's nice also to stop ah, you know. And when I'm doing, if I'm doing a Blues thing that's exactly what I'll do. Um, so yeah, I mean, I mean something like (inaudible), we were talking about that song. It's a killer song. I've forgotten about it. That's got a very (inaudible) tongue-like(?) bass line and a very fast kinda (inaudible) vocal. Things like that you just have to go for it. It's just like jumping into the deep end and you have to sort of not think. The first thing you mustn't do is think. If you think all is lost.
SB: Yeah, you have to go on auto pilot.
JB: You just got to go for it and it happens because it's the magic in the music that makes it happen.
SB: Um, flipping to, I'd like to talk about Hot Flash and what's going on with that project?
JB: Well that's just simply on hold. Andy Summers and myself have written a lot of material and ah, you know that's something that I got absolutely no doubt that I will so somewhere down the line. At the moment I'm very excited at the prospect of touring with my own band. It'a a great band. You know Vernon Reid, (inaudible), ah, Richie Flores, Robby Ameen and Horacio Hernandez, so three drummers and myself. I'm very excited about it.
SB: And how extensive of a tour is that gonna be?
JB: Pardon?
SB: How extensive of a tour are you gonna...
JB: Ah, we're doing Europe, the States, Japan, Australia from September til up til Christmas time. And then we'll kind of have Christmas off and regroup (chuckles).
SB: Ah, any...
JB: I like, I want to do the big festivals in Europe and so on next summer.
SB: Any plan for ah, ah, another recording with this same line up?
JB: Yes, there's gonna be another two records in this, CDs at least. Ah, the next one will have less of the old material. I want to do, definitely want to do I Feel Free with my band. And I want to do Theme From An Imaginary Western because I think that'd be a killer with this band.
SB: Oh, yeah.
JB: And the the third one will be all new material and that will be recorded in Cuba, but with my band.
SB: Very good. So, so, this is, this is, you're gonna keep this line-up together for awhile it seems then?
JB: That's my plan. I mean the basic core band I'm gonna try and keep together. And ah, you know, the next project will have other guests. I mean for instance I might do Theme(?), I can see (inaudible) (end of side A)...I can actually see the names of who I'm planning to have on this second record. There's some very exciting ideas, but ah, you know I'm looking forward to.
SB: So after the tour your gonna probably head into the studio? Or do you...
JB: Yeah, I'm planning to do some, you know, to do some things round about January, February because that's a good time to do, it's not a time when you want to be touring too much really. It's a good time to head for the warmth of a nice studio in New York or maybe even sort of Eddy Grant's studio in Barbados or somewhere, or maybe Hawaii. Who knows?
SB: Very nice. Yes. Um, so ah, so that's, so the Hot Flash is kinda on hold. Do you have much of that? I just saw Dennis Chambers playing with a, with a Niacin and the man is just a killer drummer. I mean...
JB: Drummer, yeah he's a really good drummer, yeah. But I, you know at the moment I'm just concentrating cause the two guys that I've got are quite incredible together. I mean they're quite outstanding together. And ah, Horacio Hernandez is absolutely got to be seen to be believed.
SB: You know what, where's, what's his background? I'm not familiar with him. Where did he...
JB: From ah, he's from Cuba.
SB: Oh, so then you're gonna record ah, ah, the one project in Cuba?
JB: Yeah, that will be the third record. I want to go back and record there. So that will be great fun.
SB: Great. Um.
JB: I think that's really about our time now. I don't want to rush you but I've got another...
SB: Yeah, I think that's about, I think that's about it, Jack. I really appreciate it.
JB: (Inaudible)
SB: I will contact Brett and um, I'm gonna promote the heck out of this and ah, I'm gonna get you cover, I'm gonna twist my editor's arms to get a cover, which I won't have to twist too hard considering it's you.
JB: Right, well I hope so. But ah, whatever. I'm very happy to have spoken to you and I wish you all the best of luck.
SB: Thank you, Jack. I'll see you on the road.
JB: Very good. Cheers.
SB: Cheers.
JB: Thanks a lot, man.
SB: All right, bye.
END OF INTERVIEW

Learn Bass Guitar Online

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:42:00 +0000

By: Fame Ahmed

The Internet is a great resource for all things and as you will find guides to learn to play bass guitar online is one of them. Most people think it is impossible to learn to play bass guitar online but with the multimedia world we live in it is far from it.We will start with some steps to get you familiar with the basic aspect of the bass guitar and the fundamental’s behind it. Hopefully by the end you will be ready to play wonderful music and all from the comfort of your own home.

Choosing you Guitar

The first step when you learn to play bass guitar online is the only thing you can’t do online and that is choose the instrument, I recommended to pick up and hold it before buying, try and choose one that feels comfortable it will become very hard to learn bass to play bass guitar online if you are uncomfortable the whole time. It does not have to be the most expensive one on the rack because these days even the cheapest ones are very good so don’t let the price tag fool you.

Resources

The bass guitar is one of the simplist instruments to learn to play but it can take a life time to master, but if you choose to learn to play bass guitar online you will have the knowledge of a thousand life times at you door step and there is not one single guitar teacher that can produce that. You can purchase video tutorials online that are as good if not better then having someone in you house pointing every thing out and you have the added advantage of being able to pause and rewind at your will which will become very useful as time goes by.

Your environment

Try to choose the room you practice in very carefully, when you learn to play bass guitar online try to find somewhere quite and free of distractions and unnecessary noise because you will need full concentration all time. If you do decide to learn to play bass guitar online by downloading video’s try to get good quality versions, ones that will require you to watch fine movements and to listen to very precise sounds, which is where the environment comes in again choose a room with lots of furniture and drapes as this will stop echo which can become very annoying.

Confidence

Now you know how to learn to play bass guitar online it is always a good thing to get a group of friends or family together and and play something for them it does not have to be anything special but something you feel confident playing in front of people this will help build you confidence and will make your decision to learn to play bass guitar online seem a lot more rewarding then you first thought.Well I hope you enjoyed this information and I hope you stick with it as when you learn to play bass guitar online it is one the most rewarding things you can do. Don’t forget to reward the people around you by letting them enjoy your music to.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:Fame Ahmed is a well known author worldwide. He has written numerous works on various topics. He is an expert in research and writing reviews and articles based on his findings. gmail google

Buying A Bass Guitar – Parts Of A Bass Guitar You Should Know About

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:33:00 +0000

By: Josh Scalf

Buying a Bass Guitar – Parts of a Bass Guitar You Should Know AboutSo you feel that you are ready for buying a bass guitar, but your not quite sure where to start? Well before you just walk into a guitar store and buy the first bass guitar they give you, it would be wise to gather up a little knowledge about the different variations you will likely encounter.Here are some important terms and features that would be a good idea to get familiar with before you choose your first bass.Scale LengthThe scale length is measured in inches and refers to to vibrating length of the bass strings. The longer the neck is on the bass will mean that the scale length will be longer. A bassist with small hands will want to look for a smaller scale, because large scale bass guitars have more distance between each fret, and this will make it difficult for them to stretch their fret hand far enough.

Most Common Scale Lengths For Electric Bass

Xtra Long: 35+ in.

Long (Standard): 34 in.

Medium: 32 in.

Short: 30 in.

Check The Nut WidthThe nut is usually a white colored plastic component with grooves that guide the strings to the tunning pegs. The nut width is simply the width of the neck at the nut. Again, a wider nut will only give the small hand people a disadvantage.

Four String, Five String...?

The very first bass was a four string bass and for many decades, it stayed that way. Today, a bass guitar is available in 4, 5, 6, all the way to 12 string. The four and five string bass are the two most common configurations, but it will depend on what style of music you play. The difference between the four and five string bass is that the five string adds a lower string. Here are the tuning for each:Four String Tuning:E(top)-A-D-G(bottom)Five String Tuning:B(top)-E-A-D-G(bottom)

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/

About the Author:Josh Scalf is and experienced guitarist that offers information to the aspiring guitar player. For more quality articles check out Bass Guitar.

No perfect pitch? Blame your genes

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:33:00 +0000

Perfect pitch, the ability to identify the absolute pitch of musical notes, looks to be the product of a small number of genes, according to a new University of California study.

Many traits, such as high blood pressure or height, have genetic links but span a broad spectrum with relatively few people having extreme measurements. But with perfect pitch, also called absolute pitch, a person either has it or doesn't, according to UC researchers in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"This striking, bimodal distribution resolves the question of whether absolute pitch ability lies in the tail of a continuous perceptual spectrum or, rather, defines a distinct perceptual trait," the researchers said in a report in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Judging by the fact that most people score either very well or very poorly, though, the researchers suggest that "AP ability could be governed by the influence of only one or a few genes."

Perfect pitch may seem an amazing gift, but as the study authors point out, the visual equivalent isn't. Humans generally are pretty good at identifying the frequency of light they're seeing with a color label.

Although perfect pitch appears to be a genetic trait, early exposure to music or musical training appears to influence its development in those with the right DNA.

The study tested 2,213 individuals, recruited via advertisements and a Web site, and 981 of them were categorized as having perfect pitch. The study found that about as many women as men have perfect pitch--47 percent and 53 percent, respectively--and that those with perfect pitch tend to err on the sharp side as they get older.

The researchers also found that people with perfect pitch appear to recognize tones produced by pianos' white keys--perhaps because of early exposure to music using those notes more often.
And researchers uncovered what they call a "perceptual magnet" around the note A, generally defined as a 440Hz vibration. Orchestras and instruments often tune to A, and perhaps as a result of that and some variation about which precise frequency is used for A, people with perfect pitch are likely to hear it even when it's not quite there.

"A statistical analysis shows that G-sharp is uniquely error-prone," the study said. "This widening of the 'bin' for frequencies perceived as A can be likened to a perceptual magnet effect previously described for speech."

In speech, people can distinguish among vowel sounds remote from perceptual magnets, but they have a hard time doing so with sounds that are close to them. "The perceptual magnet effect is a consequence of exposure to a specific language during infancy, when babies learn to bin ranges of vowel sounds into categories delineated by their native language," according to the study.

The Dude Pit v3 goes Live!!

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:44:00 +0000

Ok I just bit the bullet and went live with Dude Pit v3 this morning. Much to build out and setup but you are free to register and start posting.

http://thedudepit.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php

Bass Musician Magazine Launches Online August 1

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen G. Barr) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 23:35:00 +0000

Vancouver, WA (PRWEB) July 25, 2007 -- (http://www.BassMusicianMag.com) Bass Musician Magazine, a bi-monthly virtual publication, launches this summer with a world-class staff of bass industry professionals. Each issue will cover not just the more or less "how to" approach of bass playing, but looks into the methodology and personal experiences of professional players as well as expert advice from industry professionals.

"Bass Musician Magazine will feature articles on the most influential players (known and unknown) of the day," comments Editor Jake Kot. "Our regular columns will cover a vast amount of musical territory with a diverse look at any and all pertinent info that will aid what we feel should be the main focus of any aspiring bassist, finding "your own voice and becoming a better musician."

Our regular columns will cover a vast amount of musical territory with a diverse look at any and all pertinent info that will aid what we feel should be the main focus of any aspiring bassist, finding
Creative Director Raul Amador notes, "Our team of staff writers and contributors are professionals working in the field as musicians, clinicians and bass industry support. Their focus, experience and dedication to the bass world will be seen in every virtual page as they speak not only to the professional community, but those players just getting started."

Members of the editorial staff include: Bill Bartolini, Gary Willis, Billy Dickens, Alain Caron, Ray Riendeau, Michael Manring, Nathan East, Avishai Cohen, Adam Nitti, David Dyson, Todd Johnson, Al Caldwell, Phill Baker, Mark Wright, Dennis Moody, Chris Brandt, Damian Erskine and Chance Walte.

As a virtual publication, Bass Musician Magazine will also go beyond the printed page by presenting an unprecedented audio and video architecture. We look to blend the "You Tube" experience with the educational process to better enhance musical awareness and growth.

Kot shares, "As far as Bass Musician Magazine reviews are concerned, whether it is CD's, DVD's, books, or musical gear, we will take the time to prescreen for our readers whatever has been presented to us, and review only what in our opinion is a viable option for our readers to consider, so it becomes not just a "review" we're offering, but a "recommendation" as well in hopes of guiding our audience to some alternatives they may or may not have known about that we feel deserves attention."