6/21/2024, Planets in the Ocean at the Sunset

Note to self: if we play any weeknight gigs, either I switch shifts so I'm off earlier, or we don't go first.

I left work at 5pm and got home at 6. I changed and ate a quick dinner, was on the road to the Sunset by 6:30 or so. I offered my bass amp for backline and hoped to be there by 7. I got called about 6:45 because they wanted to soundcheck the other bands. I was stuck in more terrible traffic. I got to the Sunset around 7:15 and loaded in, only to be told they had a GK bass rig ready to go. :/

I found a parking spot pretty quickly and then set up to soundcheck. I brought my Terror Bass and Ashdown 115, planning to put it on a chair, which is what I did. Only the butter bass made the journey as I wanted to travel light. We did a quick check and then stood down for a little bit, waiting for our 8pm start time.

Crap picture of the Terror Bass and the Ashdown

Same pedals as always

Butter bass makes its PITO debut

Chatted with Darla and Darcy for a few minutes, and then it was time for us to take the stage. 8pm show, we started around 8:05 or so, with a 35-40 minute set time. There was a decent crowd when we started, with about 20-30 people in the room. I wasn't expecting anyone for me, so I was happy to see a couple friends walk in: Taylor, who I worked with many years ago, and Paul, who drums in the Pop Cycle. Jonathan P. walked in as well, though he likes all of us, not just me.

As we were trying to be time conscious, I tried to not talk on mic like I might usually. Robb did most of the chat, so it worked out. With 3 months since our last show and maybe 2-3 rehearsals in that time frame (blame COVID, trips, life events, etc), we did the best we could.

I felt a little sloppy. I couldn't decide if I wanted to hold my pick with the pointy side or rounded side down. While playing, I recently realized that if I rotate my pick 90° and play with the fat, rounded side, I can pick a bit quicker. The trade-off is sometimes I just miss the string due to the shorter angle of the point. Regardless, there were missed notes, there was one instance of a dropped pick as well. Vocals were OK, for the most part. Ron, the sound guy, had my vox dialed in hot up front, so it threw me a little. It's hard for me to remember that just because I hear it loud, most likely the FOH sound is fine. My hair kept blocking my view as well. I have to see the neck at times and on a dark stage with shoulder-length hair, it can be challenging.

During Panic Attack, I tried to take a couple pictures before the bass comes in.

My boy Cass

My man Robb

Ghost me and some people

Before long, it was over and I had great fun. I was moving fast to tear down and the next band's guitarist was already on stage putting his pedals down and getting set up. Even the sound guy indicated it was bad etiquette. I made a snooty comment about the guitarist keeping my water since it was already up there, but I don't think he heard me. Whatever. No need to make enemies.

Despite that, the next band was really good. They were mid-30s, polished, super tight and great singers with great harmonies. They brought a nice crowd and had a great set.

After them, Cass stepped out to the front bar for a drink and I joined him in line. The guy in front grabbed me and told me how melodic my playing was. He then realized that Cass was the drummer (Cass is always "complaining" that he never gets recognized) and proceeded to tell us both how much he, a sound engineer, loved our bass drum/bass lockdown status. It was really cool to get the compliments from him and his friend, so we chatted for a bit with them before heading back into the music area.

Cold Comfort

Rounding out the night was the Maya Experience, a little grunge trio. Maya was a powerhouse singer and her band was ok, but the songs were a little simplistic. It was interesting that for most of her songs (which were mainly of the 2-chord variety), the bassist was fine. He pretty much played root notes and stayed glued to one spot on the stage, practically with his back to the crowd. Then they got to their last two songs and his bass notes were just out. At first, since the entire song sounded weird, I thought it was dissonance by choice, like an artist's decision. Then the next song came up and he was definitely out a 1/2 step, at which time I realized he was either not knowing the song, not knowing how to look at the guitarist's neck, or not knowing how to adjust on the fly. Whatever. No one seemed to care, the kids seemed to like it enough.

The Maya Experience

All in all, despite the stupid traffic, we had a lot of fun. We are booking time with Jonathan to finish off three more songs. I got to play live with Planets, after not having done so for 3.5 months (!), and we actually made some $$ ($284, going right into the recording budget).

After not playing with PITO on stage for so long, I forgot how great it is to do so. Very satisfying and I can't wait to do it again. Sadly, we have nothing on the books until August, for a private party, but I'm trying to drum some shows up with other bands. Stay tuned.

6/8/2024, Sunset Grooves at Beacon Arts Fair

Did a quick jaunt across the water today for a show. A small outdoor arts fair, taking place in a little courtyard off a side street in Seattle. Weather was nice: warm and overcast. I had spent a few hours in the morning doing yardwork, pruning some bushes and trees, and then it was time to jump in the car for a 20-minute drive into town. That went well, except for the 10-minute backup due to a crash on the bridge. But, I digress.

Behind the awning we didn't use. I stood close to where the PA speaker is.

I was pleasantly surprised to have some people show up to the show: Marci, Cass & Kim, Mike & Amy, and then Andi and I think Jen (?). Otherwise, it was whomever was at the fair, people walking around, and the like. There were some folks in the tent and chairs across the way, but overall, turnout was a little sparse.

For the first time in a long time, I had no G&L bass with me. In fact, since I got my SB-2 in 2007, I think I've always had a G&L at a show. The SB-2 was my main bass for close to 12 years, until I got the gold L1K in 2019. Then the Gold was #1 and pretty much still is, despite me getting a second L1K (the Hog) in 2023.

Anyway, today, I brought two Fender Precisions: a black 1999 with Custom Shop 62 pickups and a buttercream 2020 Player with Mojotone 70s Clone pickups. Over the past week or two of owning the butter bass, I have been putting it through its paces at practices and in recording to the PC. I have come to the realization that I just bought a $900 P bass, when the $400 one I had at home sounds nearly the same.

The good news is, they both sound really good. The differences are subtle, but there, and probably not noticeable to anyone but me, and even then, just barely. Regardless of that, though I dialed in the black P, I ended up taking the butter P for its maiden voyage.

The basses and the borrowed gear on the chair behind (TC Electronics > Carvin 15).

After talking to Dusty last week, we were concerned about the sound situation as we learned that the outboard mixer only could do 4 channels or something, and we need 5. After arriving and talking to the sound guy, I decided to not use my IEMs and instead use a floor wedge and earplugs, and then a borrowed TC Electronics head and Carvin 15 for bass stage monitoring. It took a bit to get set up, but we got rolling soon after our glorious 2:30pm start time.

Playing the butter bass is something of a revelation. I am usually a hard hitter on the strings (fingerstyle). I didn't realize it until someone had mentioned it to me on a video or something; I never gave it a second thought, it's just how I play. With the butter bass, the action is low, which means any super hard hitting is mega noisy, which for some of the yacht rock songs, is a no-no. With IEMs, it allows me to play lighter, but without them today, I definitely played lighter anyway. My hands aren't as tired afterward and I feel all powerful when I do it, it's hard to explain.

Additionally, those Mojotone pickups have really sharp corners to them. No rounding like the MFD G&L pups, and the Fender CS pickups seem to be a little less sharp. Something about these Mojotones is very unique and though I probably won't cut myself on the edge of the pickup (it is plastic, after all), it's a little uncomfortable to hit it too hard, so I'll be careful.

Playing without the IEMs wasn't too bad today. My earplugs allowed me to tune into my inner voice when singing, and the floor wedge helped to support that as well. Surprisingly, the Carvin 15 and the TCE were super adequate behind me. I didn't have it too loud, as I didn't want to blast it out in the crowd, so I did have to stay in certain sweet spots to have best monitoring of my bass.

And that bass sounded really great! With my Zoom B2Four on the floor, I have a different sound or amp mod dialed in for each song. Overall, I felt great about how it sounded through the Carvin into my earplugs. It was sort of a "set and forget" type scenario, which was awesome! No goofing around with knobs or anything, just play and sing and enjoy the day.

We had a few dancers and got a few tips. We will get paid in the next few days for a few hours of our time today and I think it was well worth it. It may not result in future shows, but we got great feedback and it's always super fun to debut a new bass, play some great tunes, and be outside to enjoy the fresh air.

Unbeknownst to me, the butter bass matched the yellow in my shirt perfectly!