Salutations From The Land Of Cows

I began my musical journeys playing Piano around age 6. Compulsory lessons weekly with Mrs. Hartsook. The first song I ever learned to play was “The March of the Woodsy Wood Folk” in 1969.

My two brothers and I had weekly consecutive lessons. Her 100lb Great Dane used to sit on our feet on the pedals and make everything sustain. That would of course enrage the grumpy Mrs. Hartsook who always accompanied us at the grand piano with her back to us. She kept shouting “take your damn feet off the pedals!”

I picked up the trumpet at age 9 and played it in school bands and orchestra. That led me to Jazz and Big Band Swing music. I played trumpet for several years after high school graduation in a big band called Chalice. Being born in the Land Of Cows, Ohio State University fanaticism is compulsory. As a young boy I ushered folks to their seats in the stadium wearing my Boy Scout uniform. I always stopped what I was doing when the Marching Band came out. One of my early life goals was to play in that band. I auditioned for the OSU Marching Band in 1980 when I arrived for college. I marched for 2 years in C row on Flugelhorn. I started my college time as a music major but learned quickly that I didn’t get along with musicians or teacher in music school. I was more interested in Rock and Roll and at the time the college was not.
I took up the Electric Bass at 14. Stuck with the bass as one could Rock with the bass without spending to much time practicing. Turns out I practiced anyway and became pretty good at it. I always sang and never took a lesson. A natural I guess. I started playing in basement bands. One band led to another and then gigs and the typical things young musicians struggle with. During college I started playing in some cover bands. One of them was Inasense where I met Matt Mees a drummer from Bexley Ohio. He knew Lance Ellison a guitar player from Bexly High School and we three ended up writing music and performing together for 10 years as Drumzand Wires.

I spent most of the late 80’s and early 90’s with Drumzand Wires. The Land Of Cows product that traveled a bit, recorded songs but never released them. This was still the days of 24 track analog recording where Records were king and the CD hadn’t really become popular yet. You HAD to get a record deal to be heard and that biz was all tied up to most average persons. That meant lots of low pay gigs and lots of travel that didn’t amount to much. The band had great critical acclaim and a large loyal following.
A couple shots from that time.

As the 90’s wore on that band disintegrated into various cover projects with each other and without. Each of the three including myself trying to make a living playing music but bowing out of the brass ring record deal thing. Luv Hed and Lost Dog were the most significant of them. Coverbands of heavier rock tunes. Lots of the Seattle 90’s thing like Soundgarden. P bass and an SVT were my constant companions.

During that time I joined Stonebyrd, a Grateful Dead cover act that had been around for decades. I did 6 or so years with them. I learned how to let go of arrangements and preconcieved notions of structured playing with the freewheeling jam band. I played Duos with the guitarist singer Joe Stone and really honed my guitar chops on those gigs.
The guitar thing led me to a short lived singer songwriter period where Uncletoad was hatched. I Played 12 string guitar and sang with John and Bob Bellas on Drums and Bass and Andy Harrison on guitar. That project also had great critical acclaim and a loyal following. Our advancing ages, commitments, and other things caused that band to peter out as well.
A bunch of small side jobs I can’t remember led me to sub on a gig with Delyn Christian. I was beginning to get the reputation of the last minute fill in who wouldn’t blow the gig. After a show I supped for his regular bass player he informed me I played the gig better with no prep and no rehearsal then the fellow doing it for the last 3 years and would I like to keep doing it. His gig is still my main gig.
For the last couple years in the ’90’s I had been dabbling on gigs with a ’60’s Ampeg Baby Bass instead of my usual bevy of Fender Basses. It was the next step in moving towards the bass sound I’d been shooting at for awhile. First flatwound strings, then the Baby Bass with the super long strings and big thunky sound. I had no idea where I was really heading.

The Ampeg Baby Bass with a towering SVT in the back. Devastating!

Soon after I started messing with the Baby Bass a friend of mine sold me a cheap 40’s German Plywood Double Bass. I thought it might be fun to bang around on. I thought perhaps learning the big bass may help my Baby Bass playing. I had no idea It would change the way I played music forever. I became a Double Bass junkie. Several years after I would rather play it on gigs than anything else. I realized that this was the sound I’d been moving towards all along and never recognized it.

In 2005 when I was in Cincinnati visiting Nick Lloyd for a fingerboard dressing on the old guy he had me play a New Standard Cleveland bass by Arnold Schnitzer and Will DeSola he was consigning for them. It was made in August of that year. I fell in love instantly. After selling some stuff to come up with the cash I bought it and never looked back. I’ve had and sold some Kays since then but never had anything sound like this new bass.

I’ve been going through a strange and fun string changing adventure over the last year and a half where I keep trying new things. I have a running dialog on TalkBass. I have realized that the sound I’m going for is part Ray Brown, part Jimmy Blanton, part Country/Bluegrass, part heavy Rock. It’s a weird mix. I’ve been settling in on Spirocore steel E and A strings and plain Gut D and G strings by Gamut. I change a lot but it seems to be where I’m parking to get that mix I’m going for.

I continue to study Jazz and Arco on the Double Bass as my busy days allow.

I enjoy a regular gig schedule with Delyn that pays well and keeps me out several times a week. He lets me play pretty much whatever I want. Cushy gig. I also work on occasion with the frenetic and ever freakish Maneri Brothers. My piano playing brother and I with a selection of musicians du jour playing standard jazz tunes to bad TV show themes. We play every Tuesday at the Rumba Cafe in Columbus at the now famous “Maneri Brother’s Jam Session” where each night is a freek show of local talent and lack theroff. It’s a reality TV show in the flesh.

In addition the “Sartorial Trio” plays quiet sensitive wallpaper jazz. That gig is on hold while I and the guitarist live through our baby’s infancies. I’ll get back into that more later no doubt.

Here is a great photo of a the bass

In the summer of 2008 I made a full commitment to playing Double Bass exclusively and sold a bunch of my music gear to fund the purchase of my newest bass friend.  It’s a French or German creation from around 1860.  It’s been through quite a lot and has the scars to show it.  It was owned by Steve LaSpina, great jazz bassist for 20 years and I’m still trying to find out more about it before that.  It’s an outstanding bass.  Excellent tone both arco and pizz.  We are just getting to know each other.