Kansas Music Hall of Fame 2006 Inductees

The 2006 inductees into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame have been announced. They are:

• Gene Clark


• Eric & the Norsemen


• Melissa Etheridge


• Jerry Hahn


• Kelley Hunt


• The Jerms


• King Midas & the Muflers


• Spider & the Crabs

My own perennial nominees did not get in this year:

Dawayne Bailey, who began his musical career in the state of Kansas, and went on to play with Bob Seger, Chicago, Veronique Sanson, and many others, as well as his own bands.

Dave Zerfas, who has had a long musical career in Kansas, most notably with his original rock group Plastique, and his cowboy troubadour persona "Zerf."

Vaughn Bolton, who has run a dance band in Kansas since the 50s, and gave me one of my first paying jobs in music.

Performance schedule through the end of the year

Here's where I will be playing through the end of 2005, as far as I know right now:

• Nov 5: Fireside Coffee Lodge 9:00 PM - Midnight
• Nov 12: Fireside Coffee Lodge 9:00 PM - Midnight
• Nov 19: Fireside Coffee Lodge 9:00 PM - Midnight
• Nov 22: Mississippi Pizza 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM
• Dec 17: Fireside Coffee Lodge 9:00 PM - Midnight
• Dec 27: Mississippi Pizza 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM

Fire destroys collection of Kansas music

My earliest musical experiences were in my childhood home state of Kansas. The local bands were big influences. Through the years, a gentleman named Bill Lee in Lawrence, Kansas has been collecting records, tapes, photos, and other memorabilia of these artists, and a few years ago he founded the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. Last week, the apartment building where Bill lived burned to the ground, and Bill's entire collection was destroyed.

Read more about this here.

Fireside Jazz Jam this Saturday

As many of you know, I frequently play in the "house" rhythm section at the Saturday night jazz jams hosted by Darren Littlejohn at the Fireside Coffee Lodge in Portland. This week, Darren has asked me to be the host.

So, I'm casting an open invitation to my friends in the Portland jazz community to come out and play. That's Saturday, Oct 22, 9 PM - Midnight (approximately) at Fireside Coffee Lodge, 1223 SE Powell Blvd, (503) 230-8987.

Six-String Justice

My old friend Zerf has a new CD out called Six-String Justice. Zerf is a walking history book of the frontier days of Kansas, and his new CD has great tunes that incorporate the colorful characters and stories of those days. Zerf's a fine singer, musician, and composer. We go way, way back to my school days in Manhattan, Kansas.

If you'd like to get your own copy of this CD, surf over to Drover's Mercantile (a pretty cool establishment, by the way).

Armonica

The jazz world lost a powerful presence and strong voice yesterday. Portland area singer Armonica died of complications of an auto accident. I only played with her a few times, but I could see that she was a powerful and unique person. She always seemed to be in a great rush to get her thoughts out, and she demanded a very high level of attention and performance from her backing musicians. I am sorry that I did not get more chances to play music with her.

She made a terrific debut CD that you really should give a listen to. She has world-class backing musicians like bassists Ben Wolfe and Dave Captein, drummer Ron Steen. Check it out at her website.

The Mingus Method

Folks who know me know that I frequently cite Charles Mingus as an influence. Of course my own playing and composition can't touch his. But I've also been interested in some of the non-music-related aspects of his life.

One very interesting thing Mingus did was to develop the "Mingus Method" for toilet training a cat. Mind you, this is not a method for teaching the cat to use the litter box. With this method, you teach the cat to use the real, porcelain, human potty!

Here's the page on Sue Mingus' website:

http://www.mingusmingusmingus.com/main/words5.htm

So, this morning I ran across a website called "CitiKitty" that seems to have ripped off this idea entirely, and is selling a kitty toilet training kit for $29.

Judge for yourself:

http://www.citikitty.com/

So, I decided to write to Sue Mingus' website and tell her people about it. Here's what I wrote:

From what I can tell, this outfit has ripped off Charles' "Mingus Method" for toilet training a cat:

http://www.citikitty.com/index.htm

I hope Sue is getting royalties, or at least some props as to who really came up with the method.

Steve Pinkston
Bassist
Molalla, OR

And -- surprise, surprise -- Sue herself wrote back:

Have sent your letter on to my son, the lawyer! I suspect that it is one more great idea down the financial tubes. But thanks for the info....... Sue Mingus

To me, this is just about like getting a personal postcard from the Queen. Probably inconsequential, but it made my day.

What's important?

In the month or so since my last post here, we have experienced the awesome power of nature to humble man's constructs, plans, and conceits.

We've also seen the failure of our leaders to respond with the courage, strength, and intelligence that such an event demands. I hope that people will remember these days, and the actions -- and inactions -- of these leaders when they vote next time. Then again, Americans have a pretty short attention span. I know I certainly do.

I just got back from a too-brief visit to Santa Cruz, California, where I stayed with my dear friend Esther and her family. Esther is the widow of my longtime musical collaborator Paul Bass, and is a very gifted healer in her own right. I had some time to myself while there to reflect on a lot of things -- particularly what we value and how we relate to the world around us. Santa Cruz is kind of a hippy-trippy place, so it may just have been the stray patchouli fumes and random energy surges from all the crystals that adorn every car's rear-view mirror that was taking my mind those places -- I don't know. But it's clear to me that one can lose absolutely everything, and if you can still hold on to someone you love, and show them that you love them, then you have absolutely everything you need. Needless to say, I gave June a big hug and kiss when I got home.

I'm taking tonight off from the regular Saturday night jazz jam at the Fireside Coffee House in Portland. I wanted to end my vacation at home, eating pizza for dinner and just kicking back with June.

I thought it was important.

Final concert with 7th Street Jazz Band tonight

Well, tonight will be my final public concert with the 7th Street Jazz Band. We auditioned a new bass player last week, and I think he will work out, and probably be an even better fit (he plays string bass as well as electric).

If you're interested, tonight's concert is at the Carnegie Art Center, and downbeat is at 6:30 PM. For more information, click HERE.

Cool Thing of the Week: Mr. Fastfinger

Spotted by the ever-vigilant folks at Music Thing:


Mr Fastfinger's Guitar Shred Show is a brilliant Finnish interactive flash animation/toy telling the story of Mr Fastfinger, a mysterious guitarist who travels to the Mountain of Tapping Dwarfs. At one point, you have to use your widdly-widdly guitar skills to defeat the devil's accordion playing, before performing for a tribe of pink loincloth-wearing zombie dwarves. Its creator, Mika Tyyskä, is clearly a genius destined for superstardom.

Meshell Ndegeocello on the role of the Bass

I heard an excellent interview with Meshell Ndegeocello this morning on NPR. If you are not yet hip to this gal's playing and singing you have a new opportunity with the recent release of her new album, Dance of the Infidel.

In the interview, she talked a little about her philosophy of bass playing. One of her statements sounded like something I might have said myself:

"If you want foundation and groove, I'm the bass player for you. I don't want to solo -- I just like to groove. I want to create a space and bed for everyone else to do what they do. I'm very traditional, so to speak, as a bassist. I just lock it down, keep the chord changes clear; I'm the foundation -- that's my style"

-- Meshell Ndegeocello

Well, except that I do want to solo once in while. But I can relate to her vision of the role of the bassist. I have infinite respect for the bassists who can solo like Jaco or Vic Wooten. But for me, my job on the stand is to make sure everyone else knows where they're going. You should be able to listen to the bass and drums alone and hear very clearly where the chords are going. The roots and fifths play an important part in defining the chord, of course, but the passing tones and anticipatory phrases help carry the ear through the changes, too. I also have a little rule of contrast that I try to keep in my consciousness; the more "outside" or wild the soloists get, the simpler I will play. If the soloist goes into his upper register, I try to keep down low. If he goes down low, I can walk up to my high notes for a while. If they're keeping to roots, I can play the "flavor" notes a little more. You get the idea. By providing a contrasting musical idea, I think a kind of yin/yang balance can be achieved.

Listen to the full interview with Meshell and hear clips from Dance of the Infidel at NPR's website: CLICK HERE.

Cool Thing of the Week: La Pâte à Son

The nice folks at Music Thing (a very worthwhile addition to your RSS accumulator, by the way) found this "Fantastically strange French Music toy."



Yes, it is strange, and it is very musical and quite addictive. Check it out!

Changes...

I've decided to give notice on my gig with the 7th Street Jazz Band. I've enjoyed playing with this traditional big-band the past two seasons, but I've found that I just don't have the energy to keep up with the pace of the band any more.

So, if you're a bass player looking for a fun big-band gig, drop me an e-mail!

Podshows

I've recently been introduced to the terms podcast and podshow. I'm sure most of you reading my words are already familiar with those terms, but for those who are a little behind the curve, here is a definition from Wikipedia (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast):

Podcasting is a method of publishing files via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically. It became popular in late 2004, intended largely for downloading audio files onto a portable audio player. However, listening to podcasts does not require a portable device and it is not traditional "broadcasting" to a mass audience at a fixed time.

The word "podcasting" was coined in February 2004, combining "broadcasting" with the name of Apple Computer's iPod audio player (although podcasting was not invented by Apple, nor do podcasts require a portable player or Apple software).

It is distinct from other types of online audio delivery because of its subscription model, which uses the RSS 2.0 file format. Podcasting enables independent producers to create self-published, syndicated "radio shows", and gives broadcast radio programs a new distribution channel. Listeners may subscribe to feeds using "podcatching" software (a type of "aggregator"), which periodically checks for and downloads new content. Some podcatching software is also able to synchronise (copy) podcasts to portable music players. Any digital audio player or computer with audio-playing software can play podcasts. The same technique can deliver video files, and by 2005 some aggregators could play video as well as audio.

I've been introduced to this new media primarily through guitarist Darren Littlejohn, who is the host of the highly successful Portland Jazz Jams series, and publishes a regular podshow on jazz topics. The PJJ podcasts can be found at:

http://portlandjazzjams.libsyn.com/

Darren also includes edited versions of the weekly jazz jam sessions in the podcasts. You may be interested in PJJ episode #11, which features excellent local jazzbos Jack McCreary and Hal Cooper on alto sax, Jesse Feinsetein on piano, Darren Littlejohn and Matt [sorry - I didn't get the last name] on guitar, Joe Hoyt on drums, and Michael Paul on trumpet. Oh, and yours truly on bass.

Also from out of the blue, I got an e-mail from a podcaster from Canada who wants to use a song Paul Bass and I recorded a few years back in his podshow. I'll post more details when available.

How long is yours?

Well, how long is it, really? Mine's kind of short, to be honest.

I'm talking about your neck, of course.

That is...the neck of your bass.

Bass guitars, like string basses, come in different sizes. The primary measure is the scale length -- the distance the string spans between the bridge and the nut. Leo Fender's original Precision bass had a scale length of 34 inches. When Gibson got into building electric basses a few years later, they used a scale length of about 30.5 inches. Most modern basses are built to a scale length of 34" or longer.

For better or worse, my first electric bass was a 1965 Gibson EB-0. I had started out as a cello player, and then played electric guitar in several bands. I became accustomed to playing on the Gibson short scale, and found that I could play with a lot of speed, particularly because I played with a pick. The pick also imparted a brighter sound, partially offsetting the EB-0's deep, dark sound.

Once I got to L.A. and started making some decent money playing, I started seeking "improvements" in my tone, and the primary way I did this was by adding pickups and knobs. First was a Fender Jazz pickup near the bridge. Then came a Gibson EB-3 bridge pickup and a Fender Precision pickup. Pretty soon I had a genuine Frankenbass! I ran each signal out a separate jack to a mixer -- a quadraphonic bass!!!



A few years later, in 1973, I picked up a Gibson Les Paul Triumph bass, and that remains my main bass to this day.

All of this is a roundabout way to come to the subject of tone. Short-scale basses are perceived to be at a disadvantage tone-wise. The shorter string length means the same string will be at a lower tension to produce the same note. Lower tension means less sustain, fewer high frequencies, and a generally more indistinct tone. I do own one 34" scale bass, but I really play my best on the short Gibson. So I have had to learn how to get a good tone out of it in different settings.

Playing position:

Today I mainly play with my first two fingers (and occasionally my thumb) when playing in a jazz setting. I anchor my thumb on the neck pickup, and pluck the strings at different spots varying from directly over the neck pickup to almost directly over the bridge pickup. There are several "sweet spots" in there that maximize the tone for each string. Of cours, the closer to the bridge you pluck, the richer the tone will be in upper harmonics. One trick I use a lot is that if I'm trying to play a really sweet low note on the E string, I'll shift my fingers to play it closer to the bridge. This brings out the pitch and really lets it sing. Conversely, I'll sometimes play high notes on the G string by plucking near the neck to give them a mellow tone.


Strings:

Ah, the eternal quest for the perfect strings. When I started playing, flatwounds were all you could get. I always looked for the brightest-sounding flats possible, particularly for the E string. I often had a mis-matched set, if I found a particularly nice E. String technology has advanced a great deal since those days. I find that I get a nice full sound with modern roundwounds, and a good set that's made explicitly for short-scale instruments has just as much tension and sustain as a long-scale set.

Amp:

Your choice of amplifier is as personal as your choice of instrument or strings. There are choices to be made: tube vs. transistor; single big speaker vs. multi small speakers; and on and on. I have owned huge tube rigs (and I do mean HUGE -- my biggest rig had 2 18" speakers and 4 15" speakers, and 400 watts of amp). I've also owned a 2x15 Kustom transistor amp, a 2x15 Traynor tube amp, and I currently play through either a Roland Cube-30 (transistor, 1 10" speaker) or an SWR combo amp with a 15" speaker. Something I like to do is to crank the input level up and the output level down. This lets me "dig in" and get a little edge of distortion on the attack of the note if I want it. The Roland also has amp-modeling, a little compressor, and a couple of effects which is very cool.

Also, I have found that getting the amp up off the floor and tilting it back a little has a very positive effect on the tone, at least to my ears. I bought a collapsable stand that lifts the little Roland amp and tilts it back. For the larger SWR amp, I installed removable casters. If I pop the rear casters out, it tilts back quite nice nicely.

Well that's my little rant about bass tone. Feel free to post comments, rebuttals, etc.

Perseverance on the bandstand

The Seventh Street jazz band played last Saturday outdoors at the Visitor Center at Multnomah Falls. We played this gig last year, too. Last year it was viciously hot, and I nearly got sunstroke from the sun beating down on my bald head! This year was decidedly different.

There was a forecast of rain, as there had been for several days previously. Here in Oregon, we realize that rain comes and goes, and you can still schedule events for rainy days. We got set up at about 1:00 PM, and the park rangers provided a couple of canvas shelters, about 12x12 feet each. We squeezed under these, and just as we started the first tune at 2:00 PM, the rain started coming down.

Through the first set, the rain increased in intensity. The flashes of light that I first thought were fans taking pictures, turned out to be lightning. Thunder rolled through the gorge, and the temperature started dropping.

We took a break about 3:00, and huddled under the shelters. There was a place where the two shelters came together, and of course, that's where the water ran off in serious quantities -- right onto the trumpet section. We kicked off the second set, and by then, the only audience members still listening were under umbrellas. Our drummer Joel was defending himself from insects that were leaping off the nearby underbrush onto his drumheads and onto his face. All the players were fighting the cold and wet, and our fingers grew more and more numb. We kept pulling the amps closer into the shelter to try to keep them dry.



Finally, we finished about 4:00 PM and started to pack up. This, of course, was the cue for the rain to stop, and we managed to load out without getting too soaked.

I'll be interested in how some of the younger players in the band react to this less-than-ideal gig. It certainly is not the worst I've had. I recall in the '70s, our band went to Detroit to play a one-nighter on an island in the river between the US and Canada called Bob-Lo Island. We had to ride on a barge with the equipment to get there, and it was hailing the whole way. When we got onstage, we found that our gentle prog-rock melodies were being drowned out by the next band -- Brownsville Station -- "warming up" backstage at more-or-less full concert volume.

I think no experience is truly bad if you get a good story out of it.

A few more pics from Fireside

Here are a couple more photos from the Fireside Jam last Saturday:



To see more pictures, take a look at the Portland Jazz Jams Blog.

Los Angeles and old friends

[This is a re-post from May 25]

I think I've finally recovered from my trip to Los Angeles enough to write about it! I was down there May 7th through 14th. This was my first real trip back to Southern California since June and I left there in 1989.

Impressions:

• Well, it seems to me that they have not repaired any of the freeways since I was last there. They have gotten very, very ratty.
• Governor Ah-nold is on TV all the time. I don't know who's paying for it, but every single commercial break on every channel has at least one ad with him imploring the populace to "Help me to fix Calli-fawn-ya."
• During the day, you can get a break from soap operas by watching one of the many car chases live on TV. This has become such a big draw that the TV stations compete with each other for who covers car chases the best. Some stations have equipped their choppers with HDTV cameras, so you can get a really good look at the perp when the cops shoot him. And yes, they will definitely shoot him. If there's anything they understand down there, it's the importance of the "money shot."
• More than half the broadcast TV stations are non-English, particularly in the UHF band.

Not that I actually spent much time watching TV. I spent the majority of each day hanging out with my 87-year-old Mother-in-law, running errands with her, and swapping stories. She's a terrific person, and I'm glad I got to spend so much time with her at the retirement home she lives in. He home is in Alhambra, which is south of Pasadena. Alhambra has become a largely Asian community in recent years, and at one local market I was able score some rather rare Chinese spices for June to use in cooking (which, of course, benefits me directly!).

In the evenings, I got to visit with some old friends from my LA days. It was very interesting to me that -- almost without exception -- each of these folks seemed to be at or getting close to a turning point in their lives. These are all people who are very special to me, and it was a wonderful gift to be able to spend time with them, share a few laughs about the old days, and catch up on what's been going on in the last few decades.

I'll try to get some pictures posted soon.

UPCOMING GIGS:

• I'll be at the Fireside Coffee Lodge with Darren Littlejohn and lots of other great Portland Jazzers most Saturdays through the end of Summer at least - 9:00 PM to Midnight.
• May 18th, 2:00 - 4:00 PM the 7th Street Jazz Band will play at the Multnomah Falls visitor's center out in the Columbia Gorge. We did this last year, and it was a lot of fun.
• June 30th, 8:00 - 11: PM at C-Bar with guitarist Darren Littlejohn and jazz singer Armonica.
  
• July 4th, 5:00 - 7:00 PM the 7th Street Jazz Band will play at Clackamette Park in Oregon City. I don't know too much about this gig, but it's Independence Day, so there will probably be hot dogs, beer, and sparklers.
• July 16th, 7th Street Jazz Band will play at the Hubbard Hops Festival. I know this sounds corny (or maybe hoppy?), but it's a fun gig.

Getting fired...

Like a lot of musicians, I work a (non-music-related) day gig. Today we had a big layoff. In corporate-speak, that's a "RIF" (Reduction In Force). I still have my job, but a lot of good people don't.

It made me recall the two times I was actually fired from a band.

The first time I was fired from a band was in the mid 70s. I was traveling in Canada with a trio that was backing a lounge singer. It was New Year's Eve, and we were playing the Banff Springs Hotel. The piano player and I decided to drive to Calgary (about 100 miles away) for the day, and drive back in time for the gig. Well, winter being what it is, the drive that took about two hours on the way to Calgary in the morning, turned into a five-hour slog through a blizzard in the afternoon (and evening). We showed up about an hour and a half late, to find the singer doing his best to entertain the audience with just drums for accompaniment. We were both fired the next morning.

The second time, it was such a bizarre scene that I sometimes wonder if I remember it accurately. I was touring in a band that was backing a singer who had been famous at one time. We had been booked into a lounge in Vegas, and I was kind of looking forward to it -- I was going to get a Vegas union card and everything. However, the lounge manager came to hear us rehearse, and she minced no words. I was too tall and too "funny looking" to play in her lounge.

So, fired twice -- once my fault, once due to genetics.

Fun at the Fireside

I'm having a great time jamming with Darren Littlejohn and the other great musicians that come to the Fireside Coffee Lodge on Saturday nights. Last week we had FOUR terrific sax players and a fine young guitarist from California sitting in, as well as the luscious singing of Armonica.

Here's a snapshot of me and the aforementioned young guitarist (Eron) from June 4th:



Part of the fun for me is the variety, and the challenge of playing tunes that I have not played in years (or in some cases have NEVER played). Also, as a bass player, trying to establish a pocket with the variety of drummers that play at the jam really keeps me on my toes. They are all good players, but they are also very different from one another in their approach.

Happy birthday, June

Happy birthday to my beautiful, smart and creative wife, June!

L.A. Impressions

I think I've finally recovered from my trip to Los Angeles enough to write about it! I was down there May 7th through 14th. This was my first real trip back to Southern California since June and I left there in 1989.

Impressions:

Well, it seems to me that they have not repaired any of the freeways since I was last there. They have gotten very, very ratty.

Governor Ah-nold is on TV all the time. I don't know who's paying for it, but every single commercial break on every channel has at least one ad with him imploring the populace to "Help me to fix Calli-fawn-ya."

During the day, you can get a break from soap operas by watching one of the many car chases live on TV. This has become such a big draw that the TV stations compete with each other for who covers car chases the best. Some stations have equipped their choppers with HDTV cameras, so you can get a really good look at the perp when the cops shoot him. And yes, they will definitely shoot him. If there's anything they understand down there, it's the importance of the "money shot."

More than half the broadcast TV stations are non-English, particularly in the UHF band.

Not that I actually spent much time watching TV. I spent the majority of each day hanging out with my 87-year-old Mother-in-law, running errands with her, and swapping stories. She's a terrific person, and I'm glad I got to spend so much time with her at the retirement home she lives in. He home is in Alhambra, which is south of Pasadena. Alhambra has become a largely Asian community in recent years, and at one local market I was able score some rather rare Chinese spices for June to use in cooking (which, of course, benefits me directly!).

In the evenings, I got to visit with some old friends from my LA days. It was very interesting to me that -- almost without exception -- each of these folks seemed to be at or getting close to a turning point in their lives. These are all people who are very special to me, and it was a wonderful gift to be able to spend time with them, share a few laughs about the old days, and catch up on what's been going on in the last few decades.

Upcoming gigs

I'll be playing every Saturday in April with Darren Littlejohn and Black Samba at Fireside Coffee Lodge, 1223 SE Powell Blvd in Portland (near the Aladdin Theater). The same group will also be appearing April 22 at C-Bar, 2880 SE Gladstone in Portland.

Also, I'll be performing with the 7th Street Jazz Band in a public concert at Tigard Community Church on May 21st. See the 7th Street web page for more details.

Winter update

Lots of music happening these days! Of course, I'm still playing regularly with the 7th Street Jazz Band. I've also started playing occasionally with a fine local guitarist named Darren Littlejohn. He runs a regular Tuesday evening jazz jam at the Bethany Village Grill, and plays most Saturday nights at the Fireside Coffee Lodge in Portland. Lots of jazz standards, and there are always great local musicians sitting in.

Well, winter has turned out to be a non-event! We've had hardly any rain or snow. Los Angeles got all our weather this year! Frankly, it is a bit of a worry, because without our regular winter snowpack in the Cascades, there will most certainly be a shortage of drinking and power-generating water this summer. Blackouts and forest fires are the likely result.

Happy new year!

Happy new year, everyone. There are a number of things to talk about now.

First of all, it is clearly NOT a happy new year in southeast Asia. I hope a lot of people will donate to the groups that are helping out. Links to two worthy groups are on the right. Northwest Medical Teams is a particularly good group -- about 96% of your donation goes to direct relief.

Well, I've finally released The Ivory/Bobbidazzler Archive Project. This is a 3-CD set containing -- as far as I know -- all of the material released on vinyl by the 70's groups Ivory and Bobbidazzler, including singles and a strange hybrid project called "Departure." There's also some fun "bonus material" on the CDs. I've been collecting the vinyl records for several years, and finally had enough material to complete the project. I am more than happy to send copies of this to anyone who requests them.

Speaking of the old band(s), I've had terrific phone conversations with some of the guys from Ivory lately. That was a very special time in my life, and I'm really happy that I can still talk to these folks who meant so much to me, and still do. Brian Whitcomb, the pianist from Ivory and Bobbidazzler, just sent me a copy of his new CD, and it's terrific! He's taken a group of songs and re-worked them into very beautiful, simple arrangements that are both very accessible and musically very solid. Brian has a knack for finding the beauty in songs that others may have missed. I can also send copies of Brian's CD to anyone who requests it.

I'm still recovering from my back operation, and I think I've stabilized to the point that I can function pretty well, and know my limits. At least I can carry my own instruments into rehearsals now.