Tag Archives: bass

ima punk ima punk ima punkpunkpunk (bass edition)

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It might be a few days before i get back on the drums (as i am waiting for some materials to do some further soundproofing)… i miss playing- a lot, but playing other things, that’s fun too!

i don’t have a lot of space (or a lot of money), so i feel like i accomplished something with building a mini studio (with the help of Casey, who is much more tech oriented than i am. i have been extremely grateful for his knowledge, and his assistance). i’m using a Behringer U-Phoria UMC404HD audio interface (for the drums and keys), and a Spark 40 amp (which is technically a practice amp, but again, i don’t have money like that to get both a bass and guitar amp. The Spark works for both). For vocals, i have a Shure SM7b.

Now that you know the equipment, you can now hear what it does (HA)! Today, i’m playing some punk rock on the Ibanez GSR105EX 5-string bass. The interesting thing about the bass is that i kind of play it like a guitar, and i play the guitar kind of like the bass. i cannot tell you why. i know i also don’t play songs like how they’re ‘supposed’ to be played; my guess is because i’m just playing by ear, as opposed to reading the tabs… but then again, from what i hear a whole gang of tab books are wrong.

Recording all of this was an interesting process. Usually when i film drum stuff it’s recorded directly from the phone (until i get a better/more dedicated camera some day). i realize that filming piano stuff isn’t that easy, because there’s no good place to put the camera. In terms of guitar or bass, the Spark app is on the phone, so i have to record the song, then film myself playing to what i played. It’s not ideal, but if i’m gonna be on film then that’s what i gotta do for now. (i may opt for just audio later, who knows?). i know there is a way to film through the Spark app, but i haven’t explored that yet.

One thing that’s a bit different about this post is that you also see my legs… well the one and a half of them. Say hi… i see my legs all the time, but i don’t look in the mirror much, so i don’t see ALL of me. So seeing this is kinda interesting and strange. i have to prop the right leg (her name is Mbuya) on a pillow, so the guitar or bass won’t fall.

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i was doing some writing and cleaning, and i was listening to Agnostic Front’s United Blood EP (which to me is one of the greatest hardcore records of all time) and i said to myself, i’m gonna play some AF. i remember being 15 years old and seeing them for the first time at CBGBs- someone gave me their wristband, and the rest is history. i had a few of their albums at that point, but Victim In Pain was the one i wore out.

So the title track it is.

This next song is definitely one of my favorite hardcore songs of all time, from another record i wore out. i had Out Of Step on vinyl, and the Minor Threat compilation on cassette. The folks i was in my first band with, we actually met at a Fugazi show. We covered the song ‘Minor Threat’ in that band (where i played guitar).

And now, i play ‘I Don’t Wanna Hear It’ on bass. It comes full circle.

And finally… we actually have a repeat here- but not really. A number of posts ago i played drums to the final live performance of (the) Ramones’ ‘Pinhead’. Here, i’m playing bass to the album version. In between, there are posters of the film Freaks, which the song is based off of. i haven’t seen it in almost 20 years, but i remember that it was a big deal, because it’s one of the few movies that have folks in the disabled community as clear protagonists. That of course was a big deal at the time it was made. Does the film (and its promotion) have contradictions? Of course. Still, the film industry hasn’t greenlit many films with disabled actors as primary characters to this day; and when they do, the stories tend to be tragic.

Yes, i know i play it more like Johnny than Dee Dee… i have met Dee Dee though. He was quite nice.

The Memories Come Flooding Back…

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i was listening to El Estepario Siberiano speak about his experience as a drummer, and reaching the point between just doing it as a hobby, and doing it because he wanted to be a DRUMMER. He showed his experiences over the course of six years (beginning at the age of 16) and he spoke about how horrible he was as a drummer at that age. Obviously in six years’ time he got much better (and even saying that is an understatement), but from my vantage point those videos he showed were excellent.

And while i am definitely doing this as a way to have fun (as well as a means to counter a mental health crisis as much as i can) listening to him was inspiring. Whether it’s playing an instrument or organizing, in order to get better at anything you must be open to making mistakes and learning from them. You have to be accepting of the fact that there’s no easy or quick solutions to being ‘good’ at anything.

But before any of that there must be a first. i asked myself… what song have i not done before that i can try out?

‘Hedgecore’. Operation Ivy. Because why not? The one other song i have played to by them was ‘Hoboken’.

And because i hadn’t done it before i didn’t even do any fills here. Aaaaaaaaaand i mess up a few times. i think i did it only two times before it got filmed here. Dave Mello’s style is NOT easy- at least for a basic drummer like me.

Maybe in six years i’ll finally get this one (smiles).

The first song i ever learned on the drums from The Clash (Operation Ivy’s obvious inspiration) was ‘Clash City Rockers’. i had the U.S. pressing of the first album on vinyl, and ‘Rockers’ was the first song on that edition- i didn’t hear the UK edition until some months later. i was aware that the song was pitched higher, but that (nor the not that great production) didn’t stop me from enjoying the song.

i end up having an unintentional duet with Topper Headon here.

Time for a bass break… i wanted to post me playing bass alongside some stuff, but unlike the drums i haven’t set anything up in terms of a mic (in order to capture some decent direct sound). i did plug the Spark amp directly into the computer, but it was a plug and play situation (meaning, whatever background noise is there, you’re gonna hear).

But in the meantime in between time, i felt like playing a little ‘Boris The Spider’, which is one of my favorite things to play on the bass right now. i’m not that great, but what is it?

I’M HAVING FUN! i played it very much not how John Entwistle plays it, and i wasn’t playing along with the record. The bass line more or less follows the vocals, so it’s a little easier to play (for a basic… wellllll… you know what i mean).

Back to drums… The first Prince song i ever heard was ‘Soft And Wet’ (yes i was one year old when that song came out, but it’s strange, the things one remembers at that early an age). The first songs i remember in TOTAL though (even though i was about to turn 3), was ‘I Wanna be Your Lover’ and ‘Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad’. i remember when he was on American Bandstand with the (first incarnation of the yet to be named) Revolution. He had a blowout and some speedoes on. It was the first time i ever recall someone trolling (as the kids say) on the teevee.

i remember how they used to play the full version of the song on the radio (with the jam), despite the video (and any subsequent compilation entries) being only 3 and change minutes. ‘Mountains’ (from Parade) was the first song where i began to appreciate Prince, but ‘I Wanna be Your Lover’ was the first song where i thought he was cool. i think it was the jazz phrasing in the verses.

And finally… i remember seeing Ministry live around the age of 15. It was one of the most brutal pits i have ever been in in my life. i loved it. ‘Thieves’ came on- anything else you were doing before then, you could forget about it. i know they got pegged under the ‘industrial’ label, but to me they are a metal band with ‘industrial’ references (that is, if you don’t count the first three albums). i mean, they ended up even touring with Slayer on Slayer’s farewell tour. If the music wasn’t sample-laden they’d probably be called a thrash band.

i know much of the focus is on Al Jourgensen (for obvious reasons, and to a lesser degree Paul Barker) but i used to always watch drummers Bill Rieflin and Martin Atkins. Rieflin was the anchor to keep things steady, and Atkins was the jolt. i met Rieflin very briefly some years before his passing, where i told him he was a great drummer. He said ‘thank you.’ That was all.

Lars Ulrich. Yeah, i said it.

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My favorite band in the whole entire world is Earth Wind & Fire, my favorite artist is Michael Jackson, my favorite music is jazz, and my favorite drummer is Art Blakey. i’m a punk kid who gravitates more towards post punk, and political/anticapitalist hardcore and punk.

i know, i’m pretty mixed up. So where does Metallica fit into all of this?

i enjoy metal music but i would not consider myself to be much of a metalhead. However, Metallica has been my favorite metal band since the age of 14. When i was regularly playing in bands i never played any of their songs in my life. Remember, i was (and still am) a basic drummer (and guitarist, and everything else). But something happened- i got hit by a truck, broke both my legs, and got one of them amputated. My journey with Metallica has been massively different as a whole adult in her 40s, than it was as an angry teenager.

Just like Earth Wind & Fire and Pharoah Sanders are healing salves for me when i am down, Metallica’s music has taken me on a journey in my healing in this period of my life. Not only are the songs well crafted, but they have an emotional resonance i didn’t necessarily grasp when i was younger.

Clyde (as i mentioned in the introductory video) was the catalyst for me getting back into the drums; Lars Ulrich was the inspiration. i was inspired to be up for the challenge.

The first Metallica song i ever learned on these here drums was ‘Blackened’- perhaps one of their most difficult songs in terms of time signatures. It’s also my favorite song of theirs.

Some days are better than others (obviously) but i practiced the song almost every single day… and then one day i got the timing. Is it perfect? Nope. But i continue to practice so i can get better at and refine it. i don’t know if i will ever be on the level of the type of drumming on …And Justice For All (my 2nd favorite Metallica album of all time; Load is no. 1) and i obviously can’t do double bass (i have one leg, remember?), but i figured out ways around it, and did it in a way which fits the basicness that is my drumming.

(pssssssst… there’s nothing wrong with being a basic drummer. And yes, those are Ahead/Lars sticks.)

All the tracks i played to were drumless (which you could find on Guitar Hero). i’ll probably come back and have a ‘Metallica Fridays’ post or something (not Mondays- that was already taken. HA!). Who knows?

Lars… duder, if you ever see this, thanks.

Master Of Puppets was my favorite Metallica album for 30 years (until Load knocked it out the spot), and to teenaged me, ‘Battery’ was the jam. It was the greatest song i ever heard about the thrash scene and moshing (still is; D.R.I.’s ‘Thrashard’ comes second). The play on words is excellent. James Hetfield’s pen and riff game are dope, and the solo is one of my favorites from Kirk Hammett. i remember seeing Metallica on the first leg of their Wherever We May Roam tour in 1991, and just turned 15-year old me was waiting all night to see ‘Battery’. And when they finally did it at the encore, i lost it.

So of course… i wanted to be up for the challenge. This is another song where the timing is not the ‘usual’ 4/4. i messed up a few times, but SO WHAT! (no pun intended).

‘That Was Just Your Life’ is one of my most favorites to play to. Sometimes i play along to the live version, which is almost twice the speed of the album version!

And finally… A LITTLE BASS!