Filming for Oregon TV Show

Lee Barker · #1 05-09-2008, 04:12 PM

Wednesday May 7: A grueling day under the kliegs for our stars, meaning Barker Basses in various stages of construction and assembly. The crew from Oregon Public Broadcasting was here. That was KC Cowan, the host of the show, along with Tom the cameraman and Bill the sound guy. We had a delightful time, making chips fly into the lens of the camera and capturing the whine and buzz of the planer and widebelt sander.

The show, a half hour weekly, profiles two or three Oregon artists of all stripes, from a world class silversmith who works out of an abandoned schoolhouse in a ghost town in eastern Oregon, to symphonic and balletic enterprises in the population centers like Portland. Included is the Oregon Shakespearean Festival in Ashland, too, and even the Breedlove Guitar Co. in Tumalo. This year, Barker Instruments was chosen. This is a real honor. Oregon harbors some incredible instrument craftspersons including makers of organs, members of the violin family, and even a hurdy-gurdy maker, one of a handful in the country.

The footage--hours of it--will be edited down over the summer and the show will air in the late fall of 08. I'll let you know. As soon as it has been shown, the program will be available on the OPB.org website and, likely, the Barker site as well.

Phalex · #2 05-09-2008, 05:59 PM

Kudos Lee!! You certainly deserve it. What you are doing is absolutley original and deserves recognition. Heck, I've been to your shop and I still really want to see the program! Congratulations!

Can you record it and post it on the interweb??

BartmanPDX · #3 05-10-2008, 10:45 AM

Cool! I've always wanted to stop in and see your place but circumstances have always intervened to prevent that from happening.

Can't wait to see the show.

Leogoff · #4 05-13-2008, 10:23 PM

WOW!!! A tour of the Barker "Inner Sanctum" from the comfort of my big computer gazin' chair! Congratulations....I know it will be great! How is "Always" going for you? Leo

Lee Barker · #5 05-14-2008, 09:06 AM

Thanks for the reflections on the TV segment. It's a long way to air--as in months--so I try not to dwell on what I did or didn't say. It is in the hands of capable editors who, I am sure, will let me be what and who I am, no more and no less.

Leo's question is about the musical production "Always, Patsy Cline" (www.alwayspatsycline.net) in which I'm privileged to be the bass player. It has a 6 day run here the next two weekends.

With the help of our musical director, John Haverly, we've got the Barker Brio I'm playing pretty well dialed in to an uprighty sound with still enough punch for the early rock and roll stuff with lots of dotted quarters and eighths. Five piece group: keyboard, fiddle, guitar, bass, and percussion.

I have flatwounds on the Brio (it's fretted) and I am going to try some GHS brite flats tonight just to see what happens on both ends of what we're trying to get. Lots of that variation is in the hands, of course, but if I can learn something about strings, hey, it's worth the time and trouble to change them out. And back if necessary!

We're on a high-ceilinged stage in a large, hard-walled room.

The rig is a Hartke HA5000 biamp head through a Carvin airhead cabinet with 115,208, 1T. I was having a tough time hearing myself in the mix (we have a very limited PA head) so I switched the biamp to mono and hooked up an Ampeg 115 as a monitor for me (and the percussionist loves it). I can fade between the two enclosures and we've got it just right. I have never had that good a mix on stage before. My thanks to Will Witt and Doug Mancini for coaching me on this.

There are 28 musical selections, 25 of which are Patsy singing. Yes, her hits are there, but she recorded a rather wide range of genres. We cook plenty on the stuff like Rock Around the Clock and the Brio really shines in the lush ballads.

And one more thing. Garrett, our percussionist, is 18 years old. Metal is his thing, but he is a serious music student (first year college) and said yes to this project. I think his first question must have been, "Patsy WHO?" but he is clearly enjoying working with us old duffers and is really carrying the mail for us rhythmically. I love his sense of wonder coupled with his intensity to learn.

This all tells me that intergenerational music projects are something to be intentional about.

Just ask Leo about working with Victor Wainwright...

Lee Barker · #6 05-14-2008, 09:15 AM

Can you record it and post it on the interweb??[/quote]

Absotively. And we'll link to it on the OPB website as well. In fact, if you're interested in unusual acoustic guitars, you would enjoy a segment on last week's show. It's about John Doan. www.opb.org
more specifically: http://www.opb.org/programs/artbeat/episodes/view/928

Alex, come back anytime and visit. I think your Central Oregon relatives are saying, "He must not like us anymore...."

Kindly,

Lee

ryco · #7 05-14-2008, 09:24 AM

Congrats!! One of my fave shows along with Oregon Field Guide!!
Look forward to seeing your segment!

I didn't know your company was in Or-ee-gone.

Phalex · #8 05-14-2008, 09:29 AM

Quick note on the Brite Flats Lee. I love those strings, but they get better with time. After about 8 hours of playing time they start to mellow and keep on getting better.

If you are putting on a fresh set and planning on gigging with them right away, I strongly suggest cleaning them up a bit first. They seem to retain a bit of residue from the grinding process when they are brand spankin new. After I put a fresh set on my bass I cover the fretboard with a folded kitchen garbage bag (They come out of the package that way) and use a cleaning patch with either Hoppes #9 or WD-40 on it. You'll notice the residue come off on the cleaning patch, and a little lubrication on those particular strings is a beautiful thing when they are brand new IMHO. (They have a bit of a texture on the surface from the grinding that smooths out with a bit of use.)

Just one mans opinion.

Passinwind · #9 05-14-2008, 11:36 AM

Cool Lee! A couple of friends of mine have been featured on that show in the last few years. It turned out to be great exposure for both of 'em.

BTW, we'd still love to see you up here in the Gorge for one of our GTGs.

Lee Barker · #10 05-14-2008, 04:15 PM

I didn't know your company was in Or-ee-gone.[/quote]

Yep. Throw a dart at the middle of Oregon, miss, and that's Redmond.

We're the knot in the bow tie that's Bend, Prineville, Madras and Sisters. And proud of it.

Good to hear from you. If you're coming north, give me a pre-shout and I'll vacuum the chips up so there's a trail in from the front door.

Kindly,

Lee

Lee Barker · #11 05-14-2008, 04:19 PM

BTW, we'd still love to see you up here in the Gorge for one of our GTGs.[/quote]

Thanks for the encouragement. We've always watched the show, too--there's always some gem in there from someone who's relaxed and talking about her or his art, or creative process, or daring steps into the unknown. It's just impossible to come away from it and not be uplifted.

The show on May 22nd is a first--entire half hour devoted to public art, a subject of common discussion around our table because Linda, my spousal unit, is on the local Commission for Art in Public Places.

And yes, the Gorge is just not that far, and downhill from here to boot.

Kindly,

Lee

Lee Barker · #12 05-15-2008, 09:15 AM

[
If you are putting on a fresh set and planning on gigging with them right away, I strongly suggest cleaning them up a bit first. They seem to retain a bit of residue from the grinding process when they are brand spankin new. use a cleaning patch with either Hoppes #9 or WD-40 on it. You'll notice the residue come off on the cleaning patch, and a little lubrication on those particular strings is a beautiful thing when they are brand new IMHO. (They have a bit of a texture on the surface from the grinding that smooths out with a bit of use.)

Just one mans opinion.[/quote]

And a darned good opinion, Alex. I did as instructed, but I cleaned 'em right out of the envelope, on a piece of cardboard, with WD. And you're so right, there's residue on them. This was very good counsel.

The upside of the change was just what I was looking for: brightness on the front edge of the note. The waltz notes, that I play with the fleshy pad of my finger, are still as sweet as they were with the flats.

The downside was I lost a little evenness across the strings. The flats were better in the D-G string country.

We do a full dress tonight and I'll decide after that. I expect I'll leave them on (the MD was wanting more attack in the Bill Hailey tunes) and see if I can eq those frequencies into the ballpark.

They sure felt good. I had no real sense I was giving up the legendary slickeriness of the flats.

Thanks again for the insight. I just learn a whole bunch of stuff from the very smart contributors to this forum! I count myself fortunate to have this resource.

Kindly,

Lee

JKT · #13 05-15-2008, 10:47 AM

Exciting news all around Lee. Is this Oregon PBS part of the larger PBS market? I don't suppose there would be a chance it would get picked up in other markets. Boy, it would be great to have that all come together out here and have the Barker on the in-house promo we just finished, a PBS affiliate, and the local festivals we have booked. Just dreamin' and schemin'

Joel

Lee Barker · #14 05-15-2008, 12:37 PM

Hi Joel--

I like the dreamin' and schemin' part.

OPB is affiliated with PBS, and I did sign a paper (yep, and spelled my name right this time, too) saying that if PBS wanted the footage, they could jolly well have it.

I don't know of any imminence to that idea, but the possibility is there. OPB does some innovative and quality Oregon stuff, especially some local history shows a la Ken Burns. And another that, I think, originated here is History Detectives. I'd better fact check that.

Kindly,

Lee

Tom7 · #15 05-19-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Barker

Can you record it and post it on the interweb??

Absotively. And we'll link to it on the OPB website as well. In fact, if you're interested in unusual acoustic guitars, you would enjoy a segment on last week's show. It's about John Doan. www.opb.org
more specifically: http://www.opb.org/programs/artbeat/episodes/view/928

Alex, come back anytime and visit. I think your Central Oregon relatives are saying, "He must not like us anymore...."

Kindly,

Lee[/quote]They may have changed where that link is.

If you are referring to the piece on John Doan, that link is here now. I just checked it out and it was very interesting. Thanks for giving us the heads up.

Andy P · #16 06-09-2008, 09:35 PM

Hey Lee,
I check your site out now and then just for fun. Wow you got a spot on OPB! Good for you. We watch that show as regular as we can along with Oregon Field Guide. You got to love em.
Anyway I am still alive and in Bend still trying to " blow the sawdust out of the lungs". Let me(us) know what week it will be on tube.
Andy

Lee Barker · #17 06-14-2008, 06:55 AM

Andy P! Great to hear from you. This close, we ought to cross trails more often you'd think. I always appreciate it when you stop by the shop.

The Oregon Art Beat show: Sometime in the fall, as you read. I suppose it will be mentioned in the Program Guide ahead of time. Should we rent the Tower Theater do you think, hmmm?

Take care.

Lee Barker · #18 12-26-2008, 10:39 PM

Well, after a couple of postponements, the show now is scheduled for January 8. If you're outside of the Oregon Umbrella (which includes southwest Washington), you'll be able to access the show from the OPB.org site as well as, eventually, barkerbass.com (after it airs on the 8th).

If you enjoy the segment, I welcome you to let OPB know.

Kindly,

Lee

Passinwind · #19 01-07-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Barker

Well, after a couple of postponements, the show now is scheduled for January 8. If you're outside of the Oregon Umbrella (which includes southwest Washington), you'll be able to access the show from the OPB.org site as well as, eventually, barkerbass.com (after it airs on the 8th).

If you enjoy the segment, I welcome you to let OPB know.

The ads for the show look good Lee! Looking forward to seeing the whole segment.

Lee Barker · #20 01-07-2009, 04:12 PM

Thanks Charlie. When I talked to KC on Monday she was quite pleased with the results of the editing. Converting 4 hours of tape to 8 minutes of program would give me the heebiejeebies. I'm glad that was in the hands of pros.

Now all I have to do is practice writing a not quite inscrutable autograph. I want those people who sell them on eBay to get full value.