The BASS PLAYER crew barely had time to cast ballots after returning from a seriously awesome Bass Player LIVE! Thanks to everyone—attendees, clinicians, exhibitors, and staff—we had an amazing weekend that we’re just beginning to process. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be putting all sorts of highlights on bassplayer.com, from concert photos to clinic videos and product demos. For now, here are Top Highlights from the editors:
Bill Leigh, Editor in Chief:
• Flea’s moving speech presenting the Bass Player Lifetime Achievement Award to Mike Watt, which emphasized Watt’s example of selflessness, and the importance of each person expressing their individual voice.
• Going to Carol Kaye’s house a few weeks before Bass Player LIVE!, where Music Player video maven Tim Tsuruda and I shot her Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance, as well as some additional video and lessons for future release on Bass Player TV. Carol was extremely gracious, genuinely appreciative, and a heck of a badass on bass.
• Meeting many grinning BPL attendees, many of whom offered thoughtful and thankful feedback about Bass Player LIVE! and Bass Player magazine. One told me, “I came here from Australia, and this is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
• Watching actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner eagerly listening to Mike Elizondo, during a chat after Elizondo’s clinic. Warner, known for his role as Cosby Show son Theo Huxtable, is a devoted bassist who has just completed his second disc under the name Miles Long.
• Digging drummer Ronald Bruner (brother of Suicidal Tendencies/Erykah Badu bassist Stephen Bruner), who played with Stanley Clarke during Clarke’s Sunday afternoon session. Bruner completely threw down during Clarke’s clinic-closing number, laying down incredible polyrhythms, fills, and flourishes, each one more incredible than the last. I was at the side of the stage with Steve Bailey, Jeff Berlin, Chris Jisi, and Jonathan Herrera—we were all waiting to transition the room to the Bailey-Berlin debate—and every one of us was completely captivated by Bruner’s playing.
• Mike Watt’s powerful performance with the Secondmen. A punk rock set is pretty unusual for a typical gathering of musician’s musicians, and from scanning the faces the crowd, it was clear that some folks didn’t really get it. Plenty of others, though, were mesmerized and inspired by Watt’s emotional delivery and dynamic approach to bass. The vibe was further enhanced by painter Nathan Wisdom, whose amazing evolving artwork both added to the emotional scene and interpreted it in real time.
• Working with the tremendously helpful S.I.R. crew, who seemed to be having as much of a good time as everyone else.
• Dialing up a variety of freaky sounds on Dunlop pedals while Andrew Gouche jammed.
• How Jeff Berlin and Steve Bailey started their tense but polite debate with a beautiful impromptu jam on a pair of Beatles tunes: “Day Tripper” and “When I’m Sixty-Four.”
• Verdine White’s set of Earth Wind & Fire tunes with keyboardist Jeff Babko, drummer Keith Carlock, guitarist Greg Moore, and bassist Nathan East. Verdine and Nathan generated enough energy between them to light up all of Los Angeles. An added bonus: Dancing with Tal Wilkenfeld during “Boogie Wonderland.”
Chris Jisi, Senior Contributing Editor:
• Participating in the emotional Dave Carpenter remembrance, which led Tal Wilkenfeld to dedicate her set to Dave and switch around her songs to open with her moving ballad, “Truth Be Told.”
• The spontaneous jam that broke out in the Aguilar room, with Nathan East, Rickey Minor, and “Ready” Freddie Washington—just the sort of scenerio we envisioned by helping to create a “perfect storm” of bass.
• The amount of L.A. drum royalty at a bass event: J.R. Robinson, Ronald Bruner, and Gary Novak slamming it down at clinics, Ricky Lawson hanging out stage-right at the Key Club, and especially standing a few feet from Keith Carlock’s ridiculous foot and Gregg Bissonette’s riveting hi-hat during the concert.
• Learning in Nathan East’s clinic that his memorable fretless bass line on “Tears in Heaven” was inspired by his having known the late Conor Clapton personally.
• Watching Rickey Minor get business cards thrust in his face at every turn (and his cool decision to play keyboard bass in the jam, on “Let’s Groove”).
• In clinics, the always-present obscure questions from hardcore fans, such as the woman who asked Neil Stubenhaus about his bass line on “L’Espirit De Joie,” from Patrice Rushen’s album, Signature, and the fellow who wondered about Larry Klein’s use of crickets for a click track on a cut from Joni Mitchell’s album, Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm.
• Seeing the ten-year-old, talented and adorable Brandon Rose wow folks with his gospel-inflected bass moves in numerous exibitor’s booths.
• Artist Norton Wisdom painting Tal Wilkenfeld and Flea, among other interpretations, during Mike Watt’s liberating set.
• Jeff Berlin taking Beatles requests for those gathered in clinic room A, before the debate was moved to clinic room B.
• Brand-new dad Larry Klein meeting Nathan East and his son outside clinic room B, and discovering that both progenies are named Noah!
Jonathan Herrera, Senior Editor:
• Larry Klein’s clinic. Anyone who knows me—especially my BP coworkers—will attest to my borderline obsession with Joni Mitchell, so the chance to hear Klein speak was a special chance to learn about my favorite artist from her close associate (they were once married, and he continues to be a frequent musical collaborator). But the calm and poised Klein did more than satisfy my fan-boy urges; he proved to be one of the most thoughtful and inspiring clinicians I’ve seen, describing the work ethic and positive attitude the helped him create an extraordinary, enduring career.
• Keith Carlock’s drumming was supremely awesome at the Saturday night concert. I’ve seen him perform many times, but his front-of-stage placement meant I could stand about 18 inches from his drums, with his feet at eye level. Standing there, hearing his drums acoustically though reinforced by the monstrous subs, gave me a primal feeling of connectedness to his monstrous groove.
• Freddie Washington popped up in various places throughout the weekend: at Rickey Minor’s clinic, in an impromptu jam with Nathan East and Minor, and at the Saturday-night jam. Watching and hearing him should be required of all aspiring professional bassists. He sets a high bar for taste, tone, and stage-swallowing pocket.
• Mike Watt’s performance was a concert highlight. I’m a fan from way back, so I would have dug it no matter what, but seeing his raw passion, genuinely emotional appreciation of his Lifetime Achievement Award, and bass-bashing energy would have sold anybody. I think some attendees weren’t sure what to make of him, instead favoring the evening’s fancier, funkier, fusion-er offerings, but whatever … it was good for them.
• So many attendees came up to me to show their appreciation of the event and the magazine. Opportunities to interact directly with our readers are rare, but each time one occurs, I’m reminded what a gracious, generous, and passionate bunch you are.
Brian Fox, Associate Editor:
• Working the registration booth, I was among the first to greet those arriving on the scene. It was inspiring to see both the excitement of attendees and the humility of personal heroes like Mike Watt, Phil Chen, Lige Curry, Ready Freddy Washington, and Bob Glaub.
• WATT! The pleasure of interviewing Mike Watt for his Saturday clinic was eclipsed only by that of watching him work his “boomstick” at that night’s concert. The dude plays from the heart, and the band he brought was amazing.
• I confess, when I hear the words “bass jam,” I usually head for the door. But Steve Bailey did a fantastic job shuttling players on and off stage to close Saturday’s concert, expertly keeping momentum and focus in what could be a complete trainwreck.
• Oddly enough, it’s a drummer who really made my jaw drop at the concert: Keith Carlock. With Tal Wilkenfeld and Wayne Krantz, his groove was viscous and vicious.
• For me, P-Nut’s clinic was among the coolest. His reflections on how learning music actually changes the architecture of our brains was deep, and it was refreshing to hear him turn the tired cliché of “serving the song” around to say that sometimes there’s just one thing a song needs: more bass!