Silver bass post practice report

Before heading to rehearsal tonight, I played the IS bass a little. Yesterday, after I took it apart and put it back together, I plugged in and found that the input jack was a little weird. The signal was super low, despite it playing fine earlier in the night. I fussed around with it and it seemed fine.

When I tried it again tonight, it did it again. I had to crank both my Ashdown and Orange amps to hear it, which wasn't right. I tried a different cable and got the same result. It wasn't until I jiggled the 1/4" end that I heard the full signal.

I had dinner in the stove so I took my e-screwdriver (what a delight to have) and undid 13 screws in no time at all. I redid the washer and nut for the jack, moving the textured washer underneath the pickguard (I didn't clock where that went yesterday when I put it back together). After that, I put it back together and tried and it was fine. All fixed, I guess.

I ended up taking Goldie as a backup in case the jack fritzed out at practice. (dinner was fine, btw: Costco black cod in the oven)

Rehearsal was fine. Robb was a little tired and it showed in his playing; I think his brain was fried (he said so himself). We were all super loud, but none of that mattered because the new P sounded very good. It seemed to ring clear and true, and I really liked that. The intonation may be a little wonky, some notes sounded a little pitchy at times, so I'll check that out before the show.

As I thought, it was a little neck divey, but while I'm playing, it doesn't matter. It's when I'm not playing, but it's easy enough to put a hand on it to keep it steady.

I may have to pick up a new strap for it this weekend, will hit up Guitar Center or something. I don't like the b/w Fender strap I got with the MIM P a few years ago.

Overall, the bass was great and I will be excited to play it at the Embers show on Saturday. Maybe I'll switch out the pick guard for the black one... who knows??

Stereo Embers back at it!

Since the Embers stopped playing together, we've been keeping in touch. Timmy joined Planets earlier this year for a few songs and now we're in full swing for our reunion show, next Saturday, at the Sunset.

Tim had reached out a few months ago to see how we felt about it; we'd be playing with Seola Station and Golden West (with Kim Virant, Kathy Moore and Patrick Porter, among others). I felt a little goofy about having a reunion show for a band that was broken up for only 4 years, but I guess people wanted us, so that's sort of cool.

The show at Conor Byrne with Tim went pretty well, we sold it out, after all! He jumped on for a few Embers tunes and then played Holiday Daydream with us. It was fine and fun. Since then, we've been in touch, really ramping up the last few weeks. We've been discussing a set list, but the truth is, it's not like we have 30 songs to choose from. We'll get a set for maybe 14 songs at most, so we'll play all the regular songs, but are also dusting off some songs I never did with the guys, like Tomorrow, Nearly Forgotten Show and Ways of the World.

Last night, we met up at Tim's space in Belltown and ripped through 8 or 9 songs. I got to play through Andy Stoller's huge GK rig, with 2 410s stacked on top of each other. I brought ol' Goldie along and it sounded so aggro with some overdrive. As usual, we were super loud, but it felt great to dust off the songs and hang with the boys.

We played each song twice, except JYD and Boom. We'll hit the rest of the set tomorrow night and likely go top to bottom a few times next week. And by the time we go next Tuesday, hoping to have the new bass on hand to get some reps!

I recorded last night's stuff and it was definitely fine. Need to clean up some notes and stuff, all of us do, but for a first time back together, it was great.

11/22/24, Planets in the Ocean at the Central

Big show at the Central as part of something called the Cloudbreak Festival. Evidently a group is putting on shows all over Seattle during November. I guess the hook is any tourist staying in a participating hotel gets free admission to the club or something. Good for bands,we all get paid, but with so many great shows, it sort of cannibalizes itself.

Last night while we were playing, across town was Smokey Brights playing one of two nights at the Tractor, and then Riffbrokers and Braly/Sangster playing at Tim's. Other bands in other venues as well, so we were a little iffy on how many people might show.

The Central has turned it around the past few years. It's actually a cool place to play again, but the Pioneer Square location is a little sketchy at times, though I've never had problems there. I love it also because it's the closest club to home, about 20 minutes to get there. I found great parking and in I went about 6:30.

I brought the Hog and Goldie, variations on a theme. I spent some time earlier getting tones dialed in and ultimately liked what I heard. I set my Spark Booster to be a clean signal and matched the output on my Tone Hammer so that when AGS was switched off, I had the same output. However, if I had SB on with AGS, it would push a little harder.

At the Central, they had a GK amp and 410 that I used. Once we got it on stage, I got dialed in and was pleasantly surprised at how it sounded. Last time we played there, almost 2 years ago, I used the same rig, but with the old T-bird and I did not like how it sounded and couldn't get comfortable. I also used my IEMs with Planets for the first time. The sound guy gave me the monitor signal and it actually worked out really well. I think I've been getting used to hearing more definition on my bass from using IEMs at SG practice. I may need to try doing it at Robb's house too, as having the IEMs and some ambient stage sounds bleed through via the wedges and amp at the Central was a nice combo.

Terrible red lighting

As we got dialed in, the other bands showed up. We thought the club would backline, but both bands brought drums. Dragontail Peak (love that name) brought a bass rig of doom, a 410 and 115, powered by an Ampeg something or other. Jim from The "NO" 3 brought an Orange head, but used the house cab.

Speaking of TN3, it is always cool to play with local legends. Kurt B. on guitar and vocals, Jim on bass, with his Ric, and then Dan Peters from Mudhoney on drums. I've played with Kurt and Jim before, but never Dan, so that was cool.

Anyway, before long we got started. 10 songs and 42 minutes later, we were done. I think we played quite well, with a couple of goofs at times. Robb went into his guitar solo a little early in the first song, but Cass and I were able to latch on and follow along. He did something early again in Panic Attack, so Cass and I had to watch each other and count through the bars.

Tone-wise, I really liked what I heard in my IEMs. Vocals for me were nice and bright, but as the gig continued, I had a harder time hearing myself, not sure what that was about. I did set my phone up to record on the side and after the show, I took a look and we sounded pretty good. Really good performance.

Off stage, I had an old friend/co-worker show up, so her and I chatted for nearly all of the Dragontail Peak gig. I didn't even get a picture of them, but tried to listen during our convo and what I heard was blusey, articulate, precise and a little proggy. They have a video online from Darrell's that didn't well represent what I heard last night. I don't even know if it was the same dudes. But they were tight and sounded good.

Side note: was great to chat with Whitney. She is one of the OG's from the MS Store and we've kept sort of in touch over the years. Her husband, Taylor, has been to a few shows, and now it was her turn. I know how tough it can be to get out with 2 little ones, so for her to show up by herself in her badass leather jacket and lookin' tough, was appreciated. Loved seeing her.

We were also graced by Tim, fresh off his tour with Duff McKagan in Europe and the US. He just played a triumphant show on Wednesday at the Showbox and I'd asked him to come, but wasn't sure if he would. Turns out, he and Kay came, as well as Muzz. I'd seen Tim a few times and talked with him on the phone a bit, but this was his first time seeing Planets and he said we were great. We all had a great time catching up outside and hearing his tour stories, as well as a really cool life update that we couldn't be happier about. Just great stuff. Talking about dusting off some Embers stuff in 2025, so we'll see how that goes.

After chatting, we went in and caught the last couple songs of TN3. I could hear a bit outside and it sounded great, but inside it was loud and muddy. I would have liked to have heard more songs, but catching up with Tim was worth it.

The "NO" 3

All in all, another great night. Playing live music, seeing old friends, hearing wonderful tunes, can't wait to do it again.

Next up: Sunset Grooves at the Aurora Borealis. Stay tuned.

Starting over

Enjoying my coffee on a Saturday morning, thinking about music and bass. My last show was a few weeks ago now, with PITO at Slim's. Still thinking about how these last two shows with that band have gone well, but with lower turnout than I'm used to.

Having the luxury (for me, at least) playing in a semi-successful band was a welcome change after having only ever played a handful of shows with more than a handful of people at them. When I joined Stereo Embers in 2018, my first show with them was in June, at the Sunset. I'd be lying if I said I remembered a full house, but if it wasn't a full house, it was at least 75% full.

This band introduced me to many new friends, most of whom I'd never met before. Having Tim in the band really helped put us on the map, especially with the Pearl Jam crew. Those fans are rabid for anything PJ related and having Mike McCready wear our shirts and put out our records (all before my time, sadly) got us on the fans' radar.

As SE built their following, the PJ fans started coming out. They pretty much all became SE fans, and especially Tim and Robb fans, and I was able to join that club when I started in the band.

Over the next few years, we played more shows, but did get hit with the COVID shutdown, where we just stopped for 18 months. In all those shows pre- and post-shutdowns, they were well attended. Actually, we had one show at El Corazón on a weeknight, opening for an old hard rock guy (Graham Bennett?), where we didn't have many people there, but overall, they were well attended.

And now, with PITO, we are starting over. Our first show was at the Sunset and we had a good turnout, but it felt light to me. Part of it can probably be attributed to first show jitters, new music, etc. Everything has been revamped, all the way down to number of people on stage. Not having Tim by me meant having to bring the energy and vibe when Robb was tethered to the mic.

Our next show at Slim's a few weeks ago was pretty sparsely attended. Maybe 20-30 people there? We were outside so it definitely looked light. But, there were tons of bands playing that night and Slim's is a bit out of the way. Also, that weekend, I90 westbound was shut down so it's possible people stayed away from traveling because of that.

Anyway, people know about PITO and we have connections. We have to go out and prove it now and with Cass doing Love Battery, it being summer winding down, and other issues, gigs seem to be hard to come by these days. Our next gig isn't until Jan 6, but hoping to get something lined up between then and now.

We did some demo tracks at last rehearsal and hope to be able to put those out for consumption soon, get the word spread that we are progressing. Here's the rough tracks, straight to my phone. I played my L1K for the first time at PITO practice, along with my new Orange Terror Bass amp. Sound was overdriven and gnarly. Robb recorded with a mic right at my cab (no DI), and it sounds pretty great.

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:

• 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

My wife and I headed in and I got my gear on stage. We were playing second due the first band having to bail for COVID reasons. The sub was a guy named Shaun Crawford and he was doing a solo guitar thing. We would follow, and then our pals in Electric NoNo were up to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first album.

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.

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:

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.

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.

As I brought it home

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.

Planets in the Ocean

Last night marked the physical beginning of Planets in the Ocean. Cass, Robb and I convened after a couple misfires (I was out of town; Cass was out of town; Robb was sick) and it was pretty awesome.

PITO started during the 2020 lockdown due to COVID. Stereo Embers had a show or two on the books for March and April 2020, but then we went on worldwide lockdown. This led to me buying a Scarlett Focusrite DAW (digital audio workstation) so I could record bass into my PC. Cass bought an electric drumset and Robb already had studio equipment at his house, so he was good. Tim bought one, but never set it up/figured it out and wasn't too keen on the music we were working on.

Robb started sending Cass and I tunes to play in our homes. Sometimes they were fleshed out with bass, drums, guitar and vox, but most times it was just guitar and vox. We put our own parts to them, and after a few back and forths, Robb would put them together in ProTools or something and after a month or two (?), this is what came out of it:

Music | Planets in the Ocean (bandcamp.com)

After some initial love from the socials (just friends, mainly) that was that and time marched on. Come July of 2021, Embers had our first show in about 15 months and we continued down that path. Shows were successful and fun, but Embers continued walking in place. We'd rehearse, but nothing evolved or came out of getting together.

Earlier in 2022, Robb said he was done with Embers, wanting to do his own thing. We discussed, had some back and forth, played our last show in April, and that was that.

Sometime after that, some friends' bands, Electric No-No and the Hoot Hoots, reached out to Robb as they remembered the PITO stuff, asked if PITO would be up to open a show in July. Since we'd never played together and hadn't discussed post-Embers plans, Robb contacted me and Cass and we agreed to give it a shot. The music was good, we know the hang is good, we'll see about any money, and the decision was made.

Over the next couple weeks, Robb continued doing what he does: write songs. He kept sending Cass and I tunes, but then I went out of town, and then Cass was out of the country, and then Darla was really sick, and, among other things, we just couldn't get together as a trio until last night.

I brought my rig and the Thunderbird, having never played it in a band setting before. New strap also, to help with neck dive. I also tried plugging my pedals into the Effects Return on my amp and it seemed to sound different? Maybe it was the bass, I just don't know.

But. Playing that Tbird, and playing the entire night (except for maybe one verse of a song) with pick was a bit of a revelation. Normally I give up, but playing with a pick on that bass just feels more natural than playing with fingers. Something with how my arm/hand naturally lands on the strings makes it way more comfortable with pick. So pick it was.

We played through something like 6 songs and it was pretty awesome. There's a unique familiarity with playing completely different music with the same dudes you've played with for 4 years. I knew what to expect from Robb's songs and structure and vocals. Hearing Cass in a non-rock only style was pretty awesome. He played passionately; heck, we ALL played passionately. For the first time with new songs, it's only going to get better as we evolve and the songs grow.

Robb has a new twin guitar amp stereo setup and some spankin new pedals. Really trying for a sonic landscape rather than chunky rhythm guitar, and it is working for him. It was a lot of fun watching and listening for changes, following, and then having those progressions set in.

(And, can I mention how good it was to have some volume in the room? After playing with the Grooves via headphones for weeks, I forgot how great it is to have an amp pushing air, feeling the drums and guitar! Can't wait to do that with the Grooves!)

Playing with Cass and his true style will be great. I tended to simply follow his drumming in SE as his parts were pretty ironed out. However, since all this PITO stuff is new to all of us, he and I can develop our parts together and really work on the drummer/bassist telepathy. I sensed some moments last night, but I will need to work on actively listening to him even more once I get the song structures down.

All in all, a wonderful night. Darla said she was crying listening to us from upstairs. We all felt liberated, energized, validated and excited about what happened. After years of being told that we were too busy, or we needed to sound like someone/something else, to simply play and all be excited as the last notes rang out was something joyful. I forgot what that was like sometimes with SE. I didn't even realize it was missing, to be honest. Our live shows were so much fun that it masked the lack of fun we had a rehearsals.

But, as they say, onward and upward! What was the past is the past and PITO is our current and future. Let's go!!

Surprise gig

On a rare day at the actual office, I got a message from Kathy Moore asking if I'd play bass with her on Saturday.

This Saturday. As in three days from yesterday.

Of course I told her yes. Only problem was she had no drummer. Both Faith and Alyssa were going to be out of town supporting their other band, Acid Tongue. I suggested Robb as he does play drums, but he's out of game shape so he declined. Then I paged Gregg Anderson, who is fresh off some studio time and is in game shape, and he agreed to do it.

Kathy then got in touch with both of us and we started getting the details. We'd be playing her Super Power Trio stuff, opening for a guy named Hector Tellez, Jr., out of Cuba? I watched a few videos but didn't get a feel for him other than he's smokin' guitarist. What's interesting is he's being supported by Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Barrett Martin from the Screaming Trees. The bassist is a guy named Dune Martin, who I saw play with General Mojo's and I think he was in Duke Evers (?) and he's a beast on bass.

Another interesting tidbit, of course, is Gregg and I have never played with Kathy. I don't know if Gregg even knew who Kathy was before. Plus, Gregg and I haven't played together since right before I got together with Stereo Embers, so over 4 years ago now.

Nevertheless, it will be a fun gig. I've seen KMSPT several times and they always deliver and it will be an honor to stand in for Alyssa (who is also a beast on bass). We are practicing tomorrow in Seattle, at Tim's shared space. We should get a good feel for each other then, and then we light it up on Saturday night in Tacoma at Jazzbones.

Kathy has booked me for 7/22 also, the night before Planets debuts at the Sunset, which is the night before I travel to Boston for work. It's gonna be a busy July!

Updated band list

Stolen from a FB memory I guess:

For my own records.
1986 Pandemonium (Aaron Coe - Drums; Marc Sims - Guitar)
1987 The Roundabouts (Dave Hill - Drums; Jon ??? - Guitar)
1987-1990 lots of Follies bands

1988 cover band in Bellevue basement (never played out, Todd Clineschmidt - Drums; Andre Maguire - Guitar; Nicole Verbois - Vocals (??))

1987-88 (?) DTG (Andre, Todd, me, recorded songs with Jonathan Plum)
1990-1991? Jazz group that practiced in Magnuson Park area (past Children's)
1993? C&A House Hydro band
1995? Whiskey Dick (Jim Young - Drums; Daryl Johnson - Guitar/vox; Jason Lightfoot - Guitar)

1995-1997? Grasshopper - Her Majesty's Secret Service (Rob Jones - Drums; Emilio Banda - Guitar/vox; Jason Lightfoot - Guitar)
1998-2000 While Away (Michael Cotta - Drums; Jerry Banner - Guitar; Crie (forget her last name) - vox)
2001-2003 Ethyl (Johnny Low - guitar/vox; Rob Jones - Drums; Brett Richards - guitar)
2003-2004 StarChief (Johnny Low - guitar/vox; Brett Richards - guitar/vox; Nelson Estes - drums)
2005-2013 Lund Bros. (Chris Lund - guitar/vox; Sean Lund - drums/vox)
2007-2013 The Scheme (David Thompson - guitar/vox; Gregg Anderson - drums)
2013 Shake Some Action! (James Hall - guitar/vox; Dusty Hayes - drums; David Bos - guitar; Perry Morgan - Drums)
2014-2018 The Navins (i was in this band for 4 years??) (Corey Knafelz - drums; Caĩn Morehead - guitar/vox; Gary Thorstensen - guitar)
2017-2018 Service Animal (Gregg Anderson - drums; Emma Staake - keys/vox; Andrew Bailey - guitar/vox; Justin Joyce - guitar)
2018-2022 Stereo Embers (Cassady Laton - drums; Robb Benson - guitar/vox; Tim DiJulio - guitar/vox)
2019 Lund Bros. (reunion)
2020 Planets in the Ocean (virtual)
2022 The Sunset Grooves (Dusty Hayes - drums/vox; Eric Junge - keys; Jen Richardson - vox; Patrick Porter - guitar/vox)
2022 Planets in the Ocean (for real) (Cassady Laton - drums; Robb Benson - guitar/vox)
2022 Kathy Moore and the Super Subs (Kathy Moore - guitar/vox; Gregg Anderson - drums; Raoul Hardin - drums)

Other guest spots

2012, 2014 Sightseer
2011-2012 Yakup Trana
Static Radio
2022 Kathy Moore Super Power Trio

Stereo Embers/Wagon/Sunset Tavern 4/9/22

 Here's video from Saturday night. Look up Bob Mattson on YouTube for more.

Gig report! 4/9/2022 Stereo Embers at the Sunset

Welp, that's a wrap. Just after 4 years of joining my band, we called it a day last night at the Sunset.

There are some dynamics involved as to why the band is no more, but to me, it had run its course and the pandemic and lockdown certainly didn't help. But this is about the gig, not why we stopped.

We had this gig planned for March of '20, and then it got put on pause, and then the Sunset remodeled and then pushed us back from December until last night. I showed up at load in time (5:30) as we were backlining our gear and wanted a sound check as well. We were headlining and had a solo act (Caleb Thompson) and band (Kathy Moore Super Power Trio) playing before us.

Setup was pretty breezy. I brought my usual rig and my black P and L1K. I learned the night before that I'd be sharing my rig with a local bassist named Julie Slick. The regular bassist in KMSPT was out sick and Julie was called upon to play. I looked her up and, guys, she's what I call a "professional musician." She has gigs and plays with artists we've all heard of. I searched her here and she's been mentioned a few times on this site. I also checked her on YouTube and was floored by how she played. Pickstyle on a Lakland DD (I think) and just shredding that thing to bits. Super technical and fast and wow, just great.

After setup, it was to a burger joint down the street (Great State Burgers). Very good and greasy. I added the caramelized onions for .50, no pictures, though.

Back to the club and a nice turnout was happening as it was our last show. And maybe first show since the lockdown for many clubgoers. We had some old friends fly in from as far as Tennessee and Arizona to see us play, that was pretty cool. The opener was an old soul; it looked like he rode in on a horse-drawn carriage. Sadly, no pix of him, but if you saw The Power of the Dog, imagine someone from that era. Voice as clear as a bell, effortless fingerstyle on acoustic guitar. Really excellent.

Following Caleb came KMSPT. We have played with them several times and they never fail to excite. As mentioned earlier, their usual excellent bassist had to sit out and, well Julie just killed it. Seriously, look her up.

As my drummer, Cass, and I watched them, their drummer, Faith, kept looking over and shrugging and mouthing, "I'm sorry," about something. After all, she was playing Cass' kit. Once they were done, I helped her off the stage as her hands were full and she mentioned that she had hit her finger on a drum and cut it, which caused her to splatter blood all over the snare and floor tom. It was pretty epic, not gonna lie. No pictures of that, sadly.

I had a friend come out who records some shows, and has recorded some of ours as well. What bass is to us, videography appears to be to him. He brought something like 8 GoPros, stands, clamps, etc. He had a little rig to clip on the end of my P bass. Due to that, I ended up opening the show with the P and swapping to my L1K a few songs in. The camera really messed up the balance of the P, but it was manageable. I just had to make sure not to whack anyone or anything with it.

People were super excited to see/hear us. The new stage at the Sunset is bigger and sounds fantastic. We played SUPER LOUD and it was almost too much (even with earplugs), but we soldiered on. Literally the 3rd note I played was wrong and overall, it was a pretty sloppy night, despite practicing twice this week. I really amp up the physicality of playing when I'm on stage and that can cause some problems at times. Also, my hair gets in my face and makes it hard to see, but overall, I think the performance was pretty solid.

We played 16 songs, which is the most we've ever done. Even that amount makes me realize what a marathon it would be for bands doing sets that last a couple hours. Gotta pace yourself!

The videos I've seen from the crowd made me feel good about the bass sounds I got from my stuff. Signed a few posters after the show (always weird to me), talked to a lot of friends old and new, and made a few bucks too.

Onto the pictures!

Outside the Sunset.

Fresh new green room at the Sunset.


My stuff and setup.

Merch stand.

KMSPT

Julie Slick and her matching white Lakland.

Updates and thoughts

Lot of music the past week or so. Took the Tbird to SE practice last week and really liked how it sounded. Neck dive for sure, but I could deal with it as when I'm playing, my hands are on the neck, duh! But overall, the tone was clear and would ring. The huge headstock was a little awkward, though, especially with something next to my amp. Once I moved it, though, we were good to go.

Then it was off to SG practice last Sunday night. The instrument parts are coming along nicely. Ilya, the new guitarist, is a metal (?) guy at heart but he is just a great player overall and is learning the parts like a pro. Would love to get some vocal harmony tips, but I'm working on watching YT videos and trying to hear the parts in all these classic songs.

Monday was SE again, since we have a gig this Saturday. Played through all the oldies and they are what they are. Crowd pleasers, but wish we would have evolved or brought new tunes. I get it, though. Despite that, the songs sounded really good. But now that I think about it, I actually brought the Tbird on Monday. I don't think we actually got together on last Thursday... but, I digress.

Marci is off at Ted & Judy's this week, her second visit this year. The in-laws are having a tough go these days, not feeling great and not willing to seek support locally. So that means Marci and Alison have been taking turns visiting them. It's good to get the help, but it can be a strain on our resources, etc. But I understand their reluctance to seek help from people they don't know.

Haley has been running in some track events finally and is doing really well, to me. She'd prefer better times and finishes, but I think she has really evolved mentally. It makes me so happy to hear her accepting where she's at, and wanting to get better, and knowing it's a process, instead of beating herself up and self-sabotaging. She is maturing and I'm here for all of it.

Last night was SE practice again and, again, like a comfy pair of shoes. Always like playing the songs and hearing the same old observations and stories over and over again. :D Comes with the territory, I guess.

Really looking forward to the next show, but with C19 rearing its ugly head again, hoping the show goes off without a hitch or people deciding not to show up. Infections seem to be increasing as people are pretty much maskless these days (myself included; went out for a work thing the other night and had a mask but didn't wear it).

Tonight should be a blast though. Will be bringing the L1k and the Tbird to spice things up. Steve R came over yesterday and we had a cool hang and gear geek out. He redid my pedal board so from R-L it goes Compressor, Tuner, OD and DI, swapping the places of the OD and DI. In doing so, having the overdriven signal first allows the DI to then EQ that sound, allowing the signal to be fuller. Duh. Unsure why I didn't think of that but it really does work.

Oh yeah, I also turn 50 next week. And travel to Colorado. It's gonna be busy and exciting and maybe I'll do a mid-life recap sometime.

Gig report: 3/12/2022, Stereo Embers at Slim's Last Chance

Last night, Stereo Embers returned to form with our first show and second to last show in 2022. We were asked to play a 50th birthday bash for a friend and local scenester. The theme was Elvis vs Elvis (Costello vs Presley), but we just did our set, as requested.

One of our favorite places to play, Slim's Last Chance in the SODO area of Seattle.


I was loaning my rig for the backline, a Trace Elliot GP 12, powering an Avatar 2x10 and Ashdown 1x15. Believe me, it's buried back there somewhere.


I showed up a little early to get set up and get some dinner, which was sort of a disaster. I ordered a chili dog at 7:45 and waited, chatted with friends and others. Then I saw a couple who showed up 20 minutes after me get their food. I told the bartender and she apologized profusely and said it would be ready shortly. About 10 minutes later, someone at my table also got her food, so I said something again. The bartender apologized profusely again and said my ticket was the only one that was messed up all night. Not much of a consolation, but I didn't care too much, wasn't there to make a stink, just wanted to eat before I played.

Finally, after some more time, my chili dog came out. I sat down to eat and realized... there was no chili on the chili dog. I checked the menu to verify that indeed, it should have chili, and yes, it should've had chili.

One more apology and I had my chili dog, finally. Sadly, no photos of said dog.

At this time, though, I just had to power through the meal as we were gonna hit the stage soon. But, enough about my food adventures. Let's just say there was no intestinal drama or food related mishaps.

Onto the show!

Tonight was the first time playing my MIM P at a gig and it performed wonderfully. Super thick and full via my rig.

We started the night with a ballad. Singer and guitarist start it, it's a little blues based number. Drummer and I come in at the second verse and we close it out with a nice build. From there we started some rockers. As this is our second to last show, we were determined to make it a slobberknocker.



Not only that, since it was our first gig in nearly 6 months, it was great just to be back on a stage (no matter how small or cramped it might have been). March 12th was also the day our state's mask mandate was rescinded so masks were optional inside. Though I did some grocery shopping earlier in the day (what a rock star!) and wore a mask, at the club last night, I didn't wear one off stage at all. There was plenty of yelling into peoples' ears and faces and also the same right back at me. It was a little weird, but the weirdness quickly wore off and it felt like old times again. So awesome!!

As it was our 2nd to last show, turnout was great and there was a lot of love in the air. Couple that with the fact that I had to put my 14 year old dog to rest the day before and it was just a cathartic evening.

The next acts to follow were a bunch of Seattle scenesters getting on stage to play Elvis or Elvis tunes for a local legend's aforementioned 50th. A wonderful time was had by all. Take a look.



And one last one of my girl Bella, RIP.

Gig report! 10/22/2021 Stereo Embers at Darrell's

We were offered this show sort of last minute, another band had to bail. Luckily, the middle band's bassist was a former bandmate of a few of my mates and offered us the opening slot on this show at the family friendly time of 8:00pm up in north Seattle.


Darrell's Tavern was the venue up in Shoreline, a suburb north of Seattle and a stone's throw away from Robert Lang Studios, where a lot of bands you all know have recorded. Darrell's is known for its dive bar vibe and, now that I've finally played there, I can confirm that rep.

If you think the outside is dated, wait until you see the inside. Like a timewarp into the 70s, only minus the smoke (indoor smoking in Seattle has long been a no-no). Walk inside and you are greeted by a pool table, a bar, some tables and a tiny stage in the corner. No TVs, one arcade game and pretty much just a place to hang out and drink drinks.




The night before, I asked my drummer to contact the other band's bassist to see about borrowing his rig. I was lazy and didn't want to load my 3 piece out in the rain from my BL's basement. Luckily, the other bassist obliged and I was fortunate enough to play through this:


with this:


No soundcheck that night, which I found odd, but whatever. We also deviated on our setlist, calling audibles for the first 3 songs. We ended up debuting two "new" old songs. These were tunes that the BL recorded on his own, but we repurposed to spice up our set.

One of the tunes, To The Field, was written a few years ago as a tribute to the BL's dog, who had passed. We did it that night, having learned it the night before, as his other dog was also not well and was scheduled to cross the rainbow bridge the following day.

As a result, in the moment, I found some parts of our show to be a little rough, possibly due to scattered minds and hearts. On a technical level, I couldn't hear my vocal monitor very well and didn't think of saying anything until 75% through our set, so I ended up saying nothing. I'm also trying to pick tunes to play with a, er, pick and am starting to realize I need to practice more. Or practice with more verve. At rehearsals, I can manage fine, but on stage, everything is juiced up and while trying to pick and perform, I find I'm missing strings and generally being less precise.

Overall, our energy was good and the crowd (all masked when not drinking) was appreciative. If you are so inclined, here's a bunch of our set recorded by a fan. If her phone's audio is indicative of how it sounded, we might have been SUPER LOUD.

Next band up was an old Seattle favorite, the Radio Nationals. I don't know much about them other than they sounded really cool and were super tight. Richard, the bassist, I knew from way back, when he was in a band called the Young Sportsmen. He's out and about these days in many other projects, including a Fleetwood Mac tribute that played last night at the Tractor.


The final band was called the Shivering Denizens and I think they were a rockabilly outfit. Regrettably I didn't get a picture of them, which was a bummer, because the bassist rocked an upright. I saw him lug it in, it was huge!

Overall, a fun night. Dry out, so we could talk outside sans masks and still hear the bands well. Unfortunately, that also led to all 4 of us leaving separately assuming the others had gotten paid... which none of us did. Time to reach out to Darrell's to see about getting made whole.

Gig report! 7/31/2021 Stereo Embers at Sleight of Hand Winery

It's been 20 months, but we're back out there!

Last year P.C., we were booked to play at a local wine room and of course, that got sidelined. The owner of the wine room is a huge PJ fan and got acquainted with us as our guitar player is a close friend of one of the PJ guitarists. Long story short, the gig was still on the table all this time later and we played yesterday.

The show was sold out and SRO as it is not a traditional music venue, but a tasting room. As a result, when I showed up for load in, there was a solitary sound guy setting up the PA. But what the room lacked in amenities (sound baffling, carpet, free drinks, lighting, multiple monitor speakers), it made up for in heart and kindness and support.

It was a 2 band bill and 120 tickets were sold. For many of the people, it was their second night out in as many nights as there was another shindig the night before just up the street. Many of our fans are huge fans of music and they go wherever there is music playing. That said, it was wonderful to see them all.

Performance-wise, I think we did well. Admittedly, I was sort of in my own space as I was processing so many things:

• The physicality of playing. We have had 6 rehearsals or so the past few weeks and at sound check, I felt great. Muscle memory is back and the tunes were sounding on point. However, there's nothing in rehearsal that simulates playing for 100 people in a tight space. Movement, guitar moves, dodging/weaving with other bandmates all become a thing and must be handled. Luckily, no falls, clunks or otherwise.
• The emotion of playing. During said sound check, I was watching my guitarist and I started getting a little choked up. Realizing it had been 20 months since a large part of my identity and life had been put on pause sort of caught up with me. I thought I might lose it when we played for more people, but I didn't.
• The logistics of playing. Since the pandemic, I have acquired a new bass (Reverend Thundergun), new DI (Aguilar Tone Hammer DI) and new compressor (MXR M87). Also, I started to learn how to play with a pick and brought some to the show. All 4 components made their debuts last night. I will have to learn how to use the compressor as it does make things sound more "present" but I felt like the sustain was too long and boosted during our quieter moments.
• The return of playing. Just being on the floor (there was no stage, just the drummer's carpet) and multi-tasking on the live element was enough to make me not actively listen to my mates. I knew what we were all doing as a whole, but I can't remember any points in the songs that jumped out at me as WOW moments because I was so focused on myself/not focused on them. And then, to top it all off, my old TE GP-12 decided to start buzzing/shrieking intermittently during the second half of the set. At first, I thought it might have been power related, so I tried a different outlet. No dice. Then, maybe my phone causing interference (I had placed it in my gig bag on the floor behind my amp), so I moved that. No dice.

What I had to do was turn the amp off between songs and then during songs, give it a solid whack at times, which would cause it to stop. For the most part, because we are a LOUD ROCK BAND, the sound was mostly camouflaged, but still annoying.

Anyway, there was food (lousy pizza) and drink (a wine room, after all, but water for me (don't drink)), and most importantly, friends, family and lovers of music.

It's good to be back... and we get to do it all again next weekend!


my POV before people started coming in.


my office and supplies for the night.

Gig report: 8/9/18 Stereo Embers at the Tractor Tavern

Today is 8/12, 3 days later, and I'm still buzzing from playing the Tractor on Thursday! We had a great practice on Monday to get ready. So good that Tim was thinking about calling it, lest we jinx our performance on Thursday. But we kept going and I think the practice did us good!

We'd been hearing that the show was close to being sold out. Turns out, as the night progressed, they had to turn people away as, yes, it was sold out!

Cass, Tim and I showed up around 5pm or so for sound check, got dialed in, then went to dinner. Show started promptly at 8pm, with Kim Virant and her band (all Seattle music scenesters) putting in a sweet and soulful set.

Following Kim's band was Danny Newcomb & the Sugarmakers. A power-pop/rock trio, featuring more scenesters and Seattle legends on stage. They were highly entertaining and pro on stage.

This was my second show with the Embers. Usually when I play a show, I get on stage after the previous band, set up, strap in, we count off and we play. This band does things a little differently, as we get on stage, set up, then leave the stage. We headed off stage and then did a little pep talk in the green room. After that, it was go time.

We got up there, Tim started us off with Wagon, and off we went. For this show and the first show at the Sunset, I forget just how much energy Tim starts with. Any other band I've been in, it's always just us starting and we sort of ease in. With Tim, once he hits that big C chord, I better be ready. And I might have to start wearing my hair down at practice! When I play with it down, I can't see anything and some of those Cs and Fs at the beginning of Wagon are a bit off.

Wagon is the song that drew me in in the first place. I've always loved playing that tune and Thursday was no exception. The highlight is hitting that big 3rd harmony in the second chorus. Love that part. Check it out!



We continued with Pull, which we always butt up against Wagon as Tim plays both with a capo. This is a song I thought would need a backing vocal in the second half of the chorus. I tried a few times, but it's pretty unnecessary, as it turns out. The song is a slow burn and really highlights Tim's solo chops, as well as his delicate side during the verses.

The past few weeks at rehearsal, we were able to dial in two new songs! They are still evolving, but the basics are in place. Things like backing vocals and possibly minor arrangements still need to be done, but they're finished enough to play out. One of the songs, Things That Go Boom, is a barnburner, with a shuffle feel. It's always a crap shoot for me, as I gotta move my fingers fast, but under all the noise, precision isn't always necessary. Tim really tore this song up, but he did suffer some technical difficulties, with his guitar strap coming loose right before his solo. Luckily, our pal Brian (guitar tech for a lot of these Seattle scenesters!) was on the spot and able to swap Tim out with little delay. Take a look.

The other song we premiered is tentatively called Tom the Longboarder. Tim came in with a Tom Petty type riff and we built around that. A little alt-country, but with a little SE tag at the end of the song. Really love how this tune builds and we've really fallen in love with it.

We played a bunch of other songs, with one more newer one called Heavy, as well as standards like It, Wrong Way, Chimp, Sideline and Break This Down. We ended the night with a couple covers, Cheap Trick's Downed and Bring It On Home by Zeppelin. Check out Downed here.

Since the show, things have been blowing up on the Facebook page, and our newly created Instagram page. I've been curating the videos above as well as pictures taken by friends and fans. It's been a lot of fun "meeting" these friends via social networking. I was able to meet several in person at the show as well.

In all the years I've been playing around town, this is the first time I've been in a band with some juice. Sure, I've played in great bands before, but for the most part, we'd play to the other bands and a handful of people at the shows. With SE, (granted 2 show sample set) I've played to 2 sold out A-list clubs in town. People are loving what we're doing and everyone has welcomed me with open arms.

The love has been overwhelming and appreciated, both from the bandmates, their families, and the fans. I have had so much fun the past several months, even getting excited to sit in traffic to go to practice.

Moving on, I hope the momentum continues and we just keep trending upward. Can't wait until practice on Thursday and then our next show in September.