I wish time were so concrete in the magazine publishing world. For starters, there’s the date on the cover of each issue versus the month the issue really comes out (which thankfully have been the same for BP—at least on the newsstand—for the last several years). Then we’ve got a three-month lead time, a one-month deadline, and lots of little milestones in between. (Don’t even get me started on budget months.) It can get pretty confusing: As you’re reading this, ’tis the season for the NAMM show, the Super Bowl, and Valentine’s Day, but as I’m writing this, ’tis (or is it ’twas?) the season to be jolly. 

 Now, thanks to websites and e-mail newsletters, we media folks (and musicians pretending to be such) have a whole new set of deadlines to manage with lead times of widely varying lengths. At Bass Player, that ultimately means we can do more kinds of things—like web exclusives, videos, and events—because we have more ways to give you the groovy goods. Time-wise, though, it can get pretty trippy. For example:

• Associate Editor Brian Fox wrote this month’s cover story on Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones before the iconic rock group’s big December 10 reunion show in London. Then he went to the show, sent us a few final notes for the article, and posted a blog about the show on bassplayer.com and guitarplayer.com that went up weeks before this issue was printed. (Read it—it’s quite cool.)
• On November 27, we dispatched Senior Editor Jonathan Herrera to Nashville, where he moderated an incredible live web clinic with Victor Wooten. It was terrific, but since we scheduled it too late for last issue’s lead time, you might not have known about it if you hadn’t visited bassplayer.com or signed up for our e-mail newsletter. (And if you had, you might have heard about it a bit much; we were very enthusiastic.) If you did miss it, fortunately, we’ve archived the whole thing, which you can watch for 15 bucks. It’s amazingly cool and definitely worth it; head to bassplayer.com and follow the link.
• Then there’s Bass Player LIVE!, our big weekend-long bash of bass clinics, performances, and gear. It happened in New York at the end of October, but this is the first issue in which we’ve been able to tell you about it at length. There was good vibe and great wisdom galore at BPL, and we’re stoked to be able to share it with you. Our report on the clinics, exhibits, and concert begins on page 35.

 It gets better: We filmed much of Bass Player LIVE!, including all the clinics, several of which we’ll be presenting in their entirety at live.bassplayer.com. Head to the BP homepage for details. We’ll also be shooting video footage at the NAMM show, so you can get the lowdown on the year’s newest gear and technology trends on the web, as well as in the magazine, starting next issue.

 Until then, Happy New Year!—I mean, Happy Lunar New Year.