Almost monthly, a group of professional bass players gather in NYC for the Bass Brunch. I have been fortunate enough to have been invited to participate in this gathering. Hosted by Mike Visceglia, the Bass Brunch “has become somewhat of an established means of networking and exchanging ideas in the bass community.” It’s also a great opportunity to eat lunch and drink beers with some of the most experienced working bass players (Mike plays bass for Suzanne Vega, among others) in NYC, and get an earful of their experiences, hear their road stories and find out that despite some of their high profile gigs, they are just like me – always looking for the next gig.Our last gathering, at the beginning of the summer, took a more formal turn when Mike asked us to participate in a discussion for an article he was writing, called “Zen & the Art of Bass Tone,” for Premier Guitar Magazine. The topic of tone, what’s good and what’s bad, is always good for starting an argument, but Mike managed to keep this civil, and we had an excellent discussion of people’s preferences, opinions and experiences. Mike’s article does a really good job illustrating that; tone is a matter of preference, and everyone has a different preference, and handles it differently for every situation. What’s my preference? Read the article! If you are a bass player, any instrumentalist really, you should check the article out at Premier Guitar Magazine; and look for me and my buddy Bradley, from the band Leroy Justice in the group picture (numbers 8 and 9).
