I Asked for This
Welcome to a Sunday ramble-a window into what making this stuff actually happen looks like when you’ve committed to a lot.
I’ve got three or four DJ gigs this month. Instead of building separate playlists, I’m making one big six-hour playlist of the stuff that’s worked all summer. Greatest hits only.
One summer surprise: deep house really hasn’t worked. Weird- thought it would.
What has worked is switching to Djay Pro. It’s been fantastic. I’m spending way less mental brains worrying about precise tempos and beatmatching and way more on song selection, fit, etc. All because, after years of avoiding it, I’m hitting the Sync button. I feel redic for not doing it sooner.
One Djay Pro thing I really like is that you can set the crossfader to gradually adjust tempos as you move it, instead of always matching them via sync. You still have to know when to bring songs in, so it isn’t automatic, but it smooths everything out. Mix anything with anything--all without chipmunk-ing it all.
Buck Dancer’s Choice plays next weekend, and I’m way ahead on the material.
I bought a dedicated gig bass. When you’re young, you think the pros only play the nicest, most expensive gear. I’ve found almost the opposite. The best pros play the cheapest stuff that’s completely reliable and good enough.
I talked about it a few days ago, but I picked up a Mexican Precision Bass that I absolutely love. It still needs to be played in, so it currently resides in the kitchen, next to my chair. Because it’s always there, I pick it up constantly. Practicing more without really trying.
Songwriting group starts up again soon, so--as a kind-of warm up, I’m finishing a couple of older songs before the nü cycle starts.
Because, if I haven’t been writing, I usually launch a couple of complete turds before I get rolling. But if I’ve been writing consistently, I come out of the gate much stronger. Important since, at least for me, first song sets the tone.
I’m also trying to pick up a few more acoustic solo gigs.
I’ve really enjoyed getting back into them, and I think I’ve finally gotten my singing voice back. Notice I didn’t say it’s good. I said it’s back. These are different things. I’m singing the way I want to sing again, and that’s enough.
One thing that’s helped tremendously is practicing through the Zoom L-6 because that’s essentially what I’m going to hear on stage.
Speaking of gear, I’ve really fallen in love with the Fender Highway Series Acoustasonic dreadnought. Which brings me to Fender.
The internet is busy dunking on the company because of corporate decisions and lawsuits and whatever drama they’re involved in this week. Youtube and Social Media Guitarists (but surely no actual ones) are switching off Fender. The outrage!
Fine.
But I’m a bass player. It’s easy for guitar players to swear off Fender. Bass players don’t really get that luxury.
I once heard a Nashville player say every professional bassist needs an FSO; a Fender-Shaped Object. It’s true.
Ninety-nine percent of the time, a Precision Bass just works. I’m saying this as someone whose favorite bass is a Rickenbacker. I just spent months trying different basses for live work, and honestly I wish I’d started with where I am now, that Mexican Precision.
Overall I guess there’s just something about a good Mexican-made Fender that connects with me.
Maybe it’s the 25% Mexican lurking inside me. Who knows.
I’ve also got the first Mark III Daphne Falls show coming up.
I’m handling synth bass, programmed drums, bass parts, and lead lines. The two guitars create a tremendous shoegaze wall of sound while I cover everything underneath it all.
When we decided to rebuild the band, I spent a long time deciding whether to build the live show around Ableton or MPC. I picked MPC. And looking back, that decision has completely changed my workflow.
Between the Live I and the Key 37, I’ve got everything I need. I’ll still use Ableton, and I’ll probably keep the Push 3, but MPC has become the center of my musical universe because it just works, and it always does so quickly. That’s worth a lot.
So that’s August.
Busy. But I’ve learned that music compounds. Ten minutes every day beats one marathon session every week. It’s the reps. The number of times you touch the instrument. The number of times you sit down to write. It all stacks.
One way to do it all anyway. Follow along here.