Thanks to Jonathan Plum for shooting this quick clip. Wish there was more, but we'll take what we can get.
Friday, July 29, 2022
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Gig report! 7/23/2022 Planets in the Ocean debut at the Sunset
On the heels of a gig the previous night, I had a show with my new band, Planets in the Ocean, at one of our favorite places, the Sunset, in beautiful Ballard (Seattle), Washington.
This was going to be a cool night for several reasons, bulleted in no particular order:
We got a quick sound check and it was my first time playing the T-Bird "in space" and not simply "in place" at practice. Never having played that big beast in a more physical manner, I was pleased to find out it was not going to be a problem. And it sounded GREAT, not gonna lie.
No food at the club, so Marci and I ordered poké and walked around the corner to pick it up.
Shaun Crawford kicked off the night to a small (20-25 people) but super-appreciative crowd. He was funny, charismatic between songs, and very very talented. He said he's been in Seattle for 3-4 years by way of Texas, and has been in many projects since then. He looped some backing chords and would solo over those, as well as singing some great autobiographical words. I enjoyed him quite a bit.
We were up next and lucky for us, the crowd grew a bit. I was previously in a band called Stereo Embers and we had a nice little following. We wouldn't necessarily sell out a place like the Sunset by ourselves, but with a great rock bill, we could definitely pack the place. The members of Planets in the Ocean are all ex-Stereo Embers (me, singer/guitar and drummer), and as a result, I think a lot of SE fans wanted to see what was up. That, and we're all nice guys and, dang it, people like us!
Another big part of it, though, is because we are in Seattle, we just have people who love to see live, original music. Last Saturday was crazy with its musical choices (Cap Hill Block Party, for one), and for us to draw what we did was pretty cool.
We started the night off with a song titled, funny enough, "Planets in the Ocean." My BL/LG has a double amp setup, running stereo and more effects than he ever did before. He had mentioned how nervous he was, this being a new project and closer to his heart than likely anything he'd done before. He's quite excitable and a really accomplished songwriter with a lot of local cred, so it was cool that he had some nerves.
The nerves did translate to a handful of clams for the first song, as well as throughout the set, but overall, we all had a good time. I also busted out a pedal I picked up a few weeks ago, an Ibanez SB7 Synth Bass pedal. Still trying to decide if it's a cool sound or a distraction, but that's one of the cool things in this band. I get to do what I want, whereas before, we sort of had to support the "brand," if that makes sense.
Another exciting thing about the band is we were playing songs that we dialed in within the last week or two. One really odd timed one called "I Fought a Bear," and another one called "Darla's Song," with words written by the BL's wife. Not only that, he busted out a keyboard, which he just picked up earlier this month. Yet another cool thing to evolve my playing to.
Really excited about this band. Since we started in May, 9 original songs, *some* play on local radio, a write up in American Songwriter, and lots of positive feedback from all over. Hoping to get into the studio soon to do a couple more singles and put those out when they're done.
Last up was Electric NoNo, featuring Jared on guitar and vocals, and his brother, Dominic, on drums and vocals. They have a real indie power pop vibe, tons of energy, super catchy hooks, and a whole lot of fun. Jared wears fairy wings when he performs, and somehow, it works. I stayed for a few songs but had to jump early as I was traveling across the country the next morning. But what I saw was really great.
One of our fans from the SE days was very excited about the PITO potential. He saw how free we all were to explore our sounds and our playing, without a big rock guitar we all had to work with. We all loved what we did in that band, but this band is definitely more liberating and has a lot more potential and momentum, despite the other bands ability to bring people to the club.
Next up: 8/5 with Kathy Moore Band, and then 8/6 with the debut of my yacht rock band, Sunset Grooves, for a private golf function. Loving all the music, but the schedule juggling is pretty annoying.
This was going to be a cool night for several reasons, bulleted in no particular order:
- my wife was attending (she comes to maybe a show a year)
- it was the debut show for the new band
- it was the debut show for my newest bass, a 99 Epiphone Thunderbird
- it was the first show I would be playing exclusively with pick (except one song)
- and 9 brand new songs that we had never played out
We got a quick sound check and it was my first time playing the T-Bird "in space" and not simply "in place" at practice. Never having played that big beast in a more physical manner, I was pleased to find out it was not going to be a problem. And it sounded GREAT, not gonna lie.
No food at the club, so Marci and I ordered poké and walked around the corner to pick it up.
Shaun Crawford kicked off the night to a small (20-25 people) but super-appreciative crowd. He was funny, charismatic between songs, and very very talented. He said he's been in Seattle for 3-4 years by way of Texas, and has been in many projects since then. He looped some backing chords and would solo over those, as well as singing some great autobiographical words. I enjoyed him quite a bit.
We were up next and lucky for us, the crowd grew a bit. I was previously in a band called Stereo Embers and we had a nice little following. We wouldn't necessarily sell out a place like the Sunset by ourselves, but with a great rock bill, we could definitely pack the place. The members of Planets in the Ocean are all ex-Stereo Embers (me, singer/guitar and drummer), and as a result, I think a lot of SE fans wanted to see what was up. That, and we're all nice guys and, dang it, people like us!
Another big part of it, though, is because we are in Seattle, we just have people who love to see live, original music. Last Saturday was crazy with its musical choices (Cap Hill Block Party, for one), and for us to draw what we did was pretty cool.
We started the night off with a song titled, funny enough, "Planets in the Ocean." My BL/LG has a double amp setup, running stereo and more effects than he ever did before. He had mentioned how nervous he was, this being a new project and closer to his heart than likely anything he'd done before. He's quite excitable and a really accomplished songwriter with a lot of local cred, so it was cool that he had some nerves.
The nerves did translate to a handful of clams for the first song, as well as throughout the set, but overall, we all had a good time. I also busted out a pedal I picked up a few weeks ago, an Ibanez SB7 Synth Bass pedal. Still trying to decide if it's a cool sound or a distraction, but that's one of the cool things in this band. I get to do what I want, whereas before, we sort of had to support the "brand," if that makes sense.
Another exciting thing about the band is we were playing songs that we dialed in within the last week or two. One really odd timed one called "I Fought a Bear," and another one called "Darla's Song," with words written by the BL's wife. Not only that, he busted out a keyboard, which he just picked up earlier this month. Yet another cool thing to evolve my playing to.
Really excited about this band. Since we started in May, 9 original songs, *some* play on local radio, a write up in American Songwriter, and lots of positive feedback from all over. Hoping to get into the studio soon to do a couple more singles and put those out when they're done.
Last up was Electric NoNo, featuring Jared on guitar and vocals, and his brother, Dominic, on drums and vocals. They have a real indie power pop vibe, tons of energy, super catchy hooks, and a whole lot of fun. Jared wears fairy wings when he performs, and somehow, it works. I stayed for a few songs but had to jump early as I was traveling across the country the next morning. But what I saw was really great.
One of our fans from the SE days was very excited about the PITO potential. He saw how free we all were to explore our sounds and our playing, without a big rock guitar we all had to work with. We all loved what we did in that band, but this band is definitely more liberating and has a lot more potential and momentum, despite the other bands ability to bring people to the club.
Next up: 8/5 with Kathy Moore Band, and then 8/6 with the debut of my yacht rock band, Sunset Grooves, for a private golf function. Loving all the music, but the schedule juggling is pretty annoying.
Saturday, July 23, 2022
Friday, July 22, 2022
Gig report! 7/22/22 Kathy Moore Band at Drunky's Two Shoes
This gig with the Kathy Moore Band has been on the books since the last one in May, but we had to pivot to another drummer due to a medical issue. No matter, drummers are drummers, right?
We got to have two rehearsals together and met at a place called Drunky's Two Shoes in the White Center region of south Seattle. It's a BBQ place that has a covered outdoor stage and a real good biker/dive bar feel to it. Men's room is completely outfitted with sad/creepy clown paintings, but I have a thing about whipping out the camera in bathrooms, so use your imaginations.
Traffic was a breeze getting there, took about 30 min. Contrast that with Kathy, whose commute took around 1.5hrs and I felt quite good about things. I grabbed a quick plate of pulled pork and cornbread (sadly, not as good as I hoped), and settled in for the night.
I was a little surprised to see a bass rig already in the place as I had discussed letting everyone use mine. It wasn't until just before the show started that I saw a text indicating that the bassist for the first band was out with the 19 and the bassist from the last band was sharing his rig and pulling double duty. No big deal, however. I didn't get a picture of the rig, but here's a video capture. Little Genzler ministack.
The first band was the Tyler Hamilton Band, singer/guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and they were quite good. Though the bassist, Dylan, was not part of this band, he had charts and was a great fill-in. He held it down quite well despite the unexpected circumstances. The keyboard player was fantastic and he also pulled double duty, but I think he is actually a member of both bands. Their set ran a little long, which cut into our set, but it wasn't too big a deal.
I plugged my L-1000 and we got to work. We started with a song called Swallowing, in drop-D. Stage was wide and roomy, but it took me a bit to get into it. I felt exposed and not 100% comfortable. I was playing the music but not feeling it just yet.
What's cool about playing with Kathy is that her songs are basic and really open to the musician's own interpretations. Though admittedly, I am not a great improviser or jammer, to be free to do my own thing has been quite liberating and challenging. It's great getting out of my comfort zone a little with this project.
For the rest of the set, Alyssa, who is Kathy's usual bassist, sat in on sax. Alyssa is a super talented multi-instrumentalist (sax, keys, drums, bass, HARP (?), banjo and more) and I'm just keeping her seat warm when she's out on one of her many other projects. Having her sit in on sax was very cool, but I couldn't hear her all that well as the sound guy didn't have her piped in the monitors.
Speaking of sound, FOH sound was great. Everything sound pretty good out there. On stage, I could hear the bass, but as the 2 cabs (15's or 18's?) were so low, I couldn't hear as much as I wanted to. I kept turning down because it seemed my bass was really boomy, but on the video playbacks, seemed quieter than I would have liked.
As we progressed, on one song, Kathy brought up a couple singer friends, Annie and Shaina. I saw Annie in soundcheck for the last band, and she was fabulous there. Shaina is a local star on the verge of breaking big (or she has already, I don't know). Anyway, they got up there and we were all improvising on a poetry thing Kathy did with loops on her guitar. I busted out my new-to-me Ibanez SB7 bass synth pedal and noodled around in Am. My pal Ted caught it on video, check it out here:
We got to have two rehearsals together and met at a place called Drunky's Two Shoes in the White Center region of south Seattle. It's a BBQ place that has a covered outdoor stage and a real good biker/dive bar feel to it. Men's room is completely outfitted with sad/creepy clown paintings, but I have a thing about whipping out the camera in bathrooms, so use your imaginations.
Traffic was a breeze getting there, took about 30 min. Contrast that with Kathy, whose commute took around 1.5hrs and I felt quite good about things. I grabbed a quick plate of pulled pork and cornbread (sadly, not as good as I hoped), and settled in for the night.
I was a little surprised to see a bass rig already in the place as I had discussed letting everyone use mine. It wasn't until just before the show started that I saw a text indicating that the bassist for the first band was out with the 19 and the bassist from the last band was sharing his rig and pulling double duty. No big deal, however. I didn't get a picture of the rig, but here's a video capture. Little Genzler ministack.
The first band was the Tyler Hamilton Band, singer/guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and they were quite good. Though the bassist, Dylan, was not part of this band, he had charts and was a great fill-in. He held it down quite well despite the unexpected circumstances. The keyboard player was fantastic and he also pulled double duty, but I think he is actually a member of both bands. Their set ran a little long, which cut into our set, but it wasn't too big a deal.
I plugged my L-1000 and we got to work. We started with a song called Swallowing, in drop-D. Stage was wide and roomy, but it took me a bit to get into it. I felt exposed and not 100% comfortable. I was playing the music but not feeling it just yet.
What's cool about playing with Kathy is that her songs are basic and really open to the musician's own interpretations. Though admittedly, I am not a great improviser or jammer, to be free to do my own thing has been quite liberating and challenging. It's great getting out of my comfort zone a little with this project.
For the rest of the set, Alyssa, who is Kathy's usual bassist, sat in on sax. Alyssa is a super talented multi-instrumentalist (sax, keys, drums, bass, HARP (?), banjo and more) and I'm just keeping her seat warm when she's out on one of her many other projects. Having her sit in on sax was very cool, but I couldn't hear her all that well as the sound guy didn't have her piped in the monitors.
Speaking of sound, FOH sound was great. Everything sound pretty good out there. On stage, I could hear the bass, but as the 2 cabs (15's or 18's?) were so low, I couldn't hear as much as I wanted to. I kept turning down because it seemed my bass was really boomy, but on the video playbacks, seemed quieter than I would have liked.
As we progressed, on one song, Kathy brought up a couple singer friends, Annie and Shaina. I saw Annie in soundcheck for the last band, and she was fabulous there. Shaina is a local star on the verge of breaking big (or she has already, I don't know). Anyway, they got up there and we were all improvising on a poetry thing Kathy did with loops on her guitar. I busted out my new-to-me Ibanez SB7 bass synth pedal and noodled around in Am. My pal Ted caught it on video, check it out here:
I felt better as the night went on and I got warmed up. We played through Moonage Daydream and the rest of our set and I got off that stage. Overall, having only played with Raoul, the drummer, two times prior, I felt really good about what we did. We will likely play more in the future and that will just strengthen our chops together.
The final band, Nick Taylor Band, got on stage and layed down some sweet sweet harmonies and tunes. Nick, and his wife, Annie, sang beautifully together and I was smitten with their sounds. The rest of the band was good too and overall, very enjoyable.
The gigging continues tonight, with my band, Planets in the Ocean, playing our first show ever, at the Sunset in Ballard. I'll be traveling tomorrow morning to Boston but hope to have a gig report sometime soon.
In the meantime, here are some pix.
The final band, Nick Taylor Band, got on stage and layed down some sweet sweet harmonies and tunes. Nick, and his wife, Annie, sang beautifully together and I was smitten with their sounds. The rest of the band was good too and overall, very enjoyable.
The gigging continues tonight, with my band, Planets in the Ocean, playing our first show ever, at the Sunset in Ballard. I'll be traveling tomorrow morning to Boston but hope to have a gig report sometime soon.
In the meantime, here are some pix.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
1999 Fender Standard Precision Bass
I forgot to write about this bass!
After playing a few shows last year and then having some fun bux saved up from Christmas and Chinese New Year, I thought I wanted a bass. In the $300-700 range, there's a lot of options, but mainly, I was looking at getting a P bass.
Back in the early 2000s, I bought a purple P off of eBay. Someone had repainted it and when I got it, I tried to use it, but for whatever reason, I could never get it to feel right. Maybe it was the wide maple board on it, but I think more likely, it was because I couldn't get it to sound how I thought it should. I ended up selling it somewhere to someone and I can't remember where or when. I do have a video of it, I think, in the Ethyl days, maybe at a club in the U District? I did do a recording with Starchief with it, take a look:
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| That's a purple P with a black pick guard. |
Listening to it now, with one of my favorite Johnny Low songs, And You Lean, and the bass sounds freakin great. Sits in the mix and is fat and round. Maybe I shoulda kept that bass.
Then sometime in the late 2000s (?), I traded away my Sterling for a Lakland Skyline (Korean) Duck Dunn P bass. It was beautiful! Candy apple red, rosewood neck with block inlays, matching red headstock. The original pickguard was white but the previous owner put a black guard on it and it looked incredible.
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| That's a good lookin' bass! |
Same thing happened with that DD, though. I couldn't figure it out. I'd bring it to shows, but I'd end up playing the SB-2 instead. Since I was in 2 bands at the time, Lund Bros and the Scheme, I ended up using the DD with the Scheme (LB would tune down to Eb, so it was easier to have a bass per band).
I did do an EP recording with the Scheme and though not as fat as the Starchief song, it still sounds pretty good. Maybe I shoulda kept that one too. I ended up trading that one straight up for a Lakland Skyline Decade, which I just did NOT bond with, so that ended up getting traded in and cash for the Reverend Thundergun.
Anyway, all that to say, I decided I wanted another P.
I started looking at Reverb.com, Facebook Marketplace and, ugh, Craigslist. There were plenty of options, but I was thinking if I wanted something worthwhile, maybe I needed to buy new, like a Squier or something. Lots of great reviews of the new Squiers, but I also sort of wanted something "vintage."
After some searching, I found a really cool looking black P with a killer pickguard and pickup and bridge covers. The seller was in Tacoma and he was letting it go for $400. I ended up going down on a freezing late January night and met him in his garage.
He had some old flats on it and I played it a bit and really liked it. He said he put in some '62 Fender Custom Shop pickups in it (though I couldn't tell one way or another). I was a little bummed to see that though the bass was black, it was spraypainted that way. Not a great paint job, but from far away, one can't tell.
After a few minutes, I bought the bass. He threw in the Fender strap it was on, as well as a white pick guard. But the whole reason it caught my eye in the first place was the cool aftermarket pick guard he put on it.
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| As I brought it home |
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| Paint run |
I went through a quick phase of buying some tools and the like to set up the bass. I kept the flats on it as I kind of liked how they sounded and felt. It was never meant to supplant the L1K, but man, I kept playing the P and I liked it more and more.
When I checked the serial number, it indicated it was made March 1999 (despite leading with an 8, which would mean 1988), which I love.
It is Mexican and it just sounds great. The s/n also says that the original color is brown sunburst, which equates to this:
I don't hate that, but I do hate what I'd have to do to try to unearth that. Maybe I'll leave it to the professionals. Or maybe I'll try it sometime. I just don't know. Right now, that bass is a great #2. I'll most likely use it in the Sunset Grooves as I'm really riding the T-Bird hard in PITO.
The P did get its moment in the sun when I played it at the SE final show. Bob M. made a cool GoPro video out of it.
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Planets in the Ocean updates
Outside of the American Songwriter article and airplay on a local station, not much has happened to the band. But, it seems every day brings new news and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Since we recorded at Bob Lang just about 3 weeks ago, the following things have happened:
- Mixed and mastered the 2 songs, Splinter and Decisions
- Write up in American Songwriter
- Splinter played on local station KBCS
- Video created by Robb for Splinter
- Ball is rolling for 7" vinyl for Splinter/Decisions
- Possible vinyl interest from local label
- Splinter to be played on KBFG on Friday, and possible sister stations in Whatcom County, Bellingham and Ocean Shores
- Robb to be on a few podcasts in the near future
- Potentially working with local TV show
- New logo and art to be created by local up and coming artist
Aside from the top 4 bullets, everything else is in an "upcoming" phase. It may all fall through, or, it may all pan out! On top of it all, we have some studio time still to use from Cass, as well as potential discounted studio time with Plum.
It will all work itself out, but I also can't wait for it to go down. So far, very exciting.
Friday, July 08, 2022
American Songwriter Daily Discovery: Planets in the Ocean
American Songwriter Daily Discovery
Well, this is cool.
After getting our start during the pandemic since Embers was stagnant, Cass, Robb and I got together in May finally as Planets in the Ocean. Songs ensued, and then some studio time at Robert Lang Studios a few weeks ago.
With stunning ease and quickness, we got two songs done and mastered, and now a write up in American Songwriter. It's amazing how things can progress when we are all on the same page!
Last night, we had a cracker of a practice. The songs are coming along nicely, evolving every time we get together. We really honed in on a song called I Fought a Bear, which has a KILLER rock ending as well as some mathiness in it. It's a departure from anything we've done in the past, but it is fun and we will kill it when we really get it dialed in.
Right now, it's all about spreading the word for the American Songwriter thing, our show in a few weeks, and any other momentum we can gain. Irons are in the fire for trying to get into Band in Seattle, as well as a new logo and artwork (from @drawitinone) and hopefully more shows down the road.
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| Look at the company we keep! |
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