Me with Bowzer

JimmyM · #1 12-21-2008, 01:20 AM

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/4/...0Mow%20Mow.mp3

Thought you guys might enjoy a little rockin' doo-wop. This is me on bass with Bowzer, the ex-frontman of Sha Na Na. We did some shows earlier this week and the soundman gave me a board tape of two shows, so I thought I'd post a song here. This is our opener, "Papa Oo Mow Mow."

This is my SX PJ with the J pickup off strung with new D'addario XL's. I ran it into my 77 Ampeg B-15N set flat, and mic'ed it with a Heil PR 40, no DI. The soundman said he left it flat. I used 4 basses on this gig because I knew we were recording and I wanted samples of each. All of them recorded great except the Dean Rhapsody 8-string. You need a pretty bright amp to make it work and the B-15's with the Thiele cabs are all about the low mids. It sounded fine but I kind of lost the 8-string effect.

The thing I love about this particular B-15 is that there's pretty much no high end past 2k, and the low mids get a boost in just the right freqs to make it sound pants-flappingly fat without being muddy. My 64 B-15N is a little more full range so it's more versatile, but the way this amp has this big low mid and just enough definition to keep it from being muddy is a thing of beauty that I've never gotten from anything else.

So get ready for a whole 30w of hot buttered bass comin' atcha!!!

hbarcat · #2 12-21-2008, 02:38 AM

FUN STUFF!

**bassybill** · #3 12-21-2008, 02:58 AM

That's a great version Jimmy - I bet that has the punters rockin' out big time. Nice job on the bass. You doing any of the vocals there?

JimmyM · #4 12-21-2008, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

That's a great version Jimmy - I bet that has the punters rockin' out big time. Nice job on the bass. You doing any of the vocals there?

Thanks Bill....nope, no singing. Bowzer brings his own singers and we just play for his shows. Fine with me...I was getting burned out on singing with all the gigs we've had this month

Darkstrike · #5 12-21-2008, 12:38 PM

Cool.

ProfGumby · #6 12-21-2008, 02:44 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed7kwC-_PGw

Jimmy, is that you hiding in th back?

JimmyM · #7 12-21-2008, 03:09 PM

Yep, that's me hiding way way way in the back. I'm really not that far back, but it looks that way with that angle.

nortonrider · #8 12-21-2008, 03:40 PM

I saw Bowser a couple of weeks ago on a late night infomercial selling some oldies cd collection.
I was actually suprised to see he was still alive. I haven't seen or heard anything from him since the sha na na tv show.

JimmyM · #9 12-21-2008, 04:14 PM

Yep, Jon is the spokesman for the Truth In Music thing. There's a guy in New York named Larry Marshak who through some shady means claims ownership of the names of the Coasters, Drifters, Platters, Marvelettes, and maybe one other group I can't think of. He hires singers off the street who have no connection to the originals, sends them all over the country and pays them zip, undercuts the legit versions of these acts, and he'll book as many as 5 or 6 of the same group on any given night. People didn't care at first until Jon got out there and explained how it's conning the unwitting audiences, and they have legislation passed in 28 states, including pretty much all the big entertainment states.

Darkstrike · #10 12-21-2008, 04:18 PM

Is this the reason the actual Drifters go by a different name now?

The American Drifters, is what they're called now, if I'm thinking right.....

JimmyM · #11 12-21-2008, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Is this the reason the actual Drifters go by a different name now?

The American Drifters, is what they're called now, if I'm thinking right.....

Those aren't the real Drifters. There is only one group in America with the legit rights to the name "Drifters" and they're called Charlie Thomas' Drifters. There used to be Bill Pinckney's Drifters, too, as he was the original bass singer for the original set of Drifters, but he died a year ago and the act continues as a tribute to him, which is OK as long as you inform the public that it's a tribute act, and they do. Marshak claims that his acts are the real thing, and they're not.

Darkstrike · #12 12-21-2008, 04:44 PM

I see, thanks for clearing that up for me.

mrjim123 · #13 12-21-2008, 04:55 PM

Nice retro groove. Nice playin'. I'm sure I would love your show.

My wife asked me, "What does 'Papa Oo Mow Wow' mean?" I said, "I don't know, but I think it's French."

pedro · #14 12-21-2008, 05:29 PM

Jimmy that sounds awesome. I recall the Beach Boys doing a version but I can't recall who did the original - Rivingtons?

JimmyM · #15 12-21-2008, 05:34 PM

Yep, the Rivingtons. They slowed it down a lot, though. We do it more like "Surfin' Bird" tempo.

pedro · #16 12-21-2008, 05:36 PM

Is that a set band Bowzer has just for South Florida area things or do you travel nationally with him? Just curious how it works.

JimmyM · #17 12-21-2008, 05:40 PM

We do all his gigs now except for the cruise ship gigs he does with Royal Caribbean. There was a time we were just doing occasional gigs with him, then he started flying only our drummer out for them and it kind of put a rift in the band, so now we all go.

pedro · #18 12-21-2008, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

We do all his gigs now except for the cruise ship gigs he does with Royal Caribbean. There was a time we were just doing occasional gigs with him, then he started flying only our drummer out for them and it kind of put a rift in the band, so now we all go.

Were you all a 'band' that he hired or were you all just hired individually? How did you guys get the gig?

Steve · #19 12-21-2008, 05:55 PM

First concert I ever went to, Sha Na Na opening for The Guess Who. I was 13.

That was 36 years ago.

Bowzer was great then, he's still a classic.

Thanks. Cool listen.

pedro · #20 12-21-2008, 05:57 PM

BTW Jimmy please feel free to post more clips if ya got them.