Mark Sandman - Howzhedoit? - Page 2

Matt Till · #21 12-08-2004, 11:01 AM

OK, my comment was slightly in jest, everytime someone famous dies, I say that. I don't assume it, but I say it.

Ala, Mr. Rodger's passed away, probably drugs...

My style of humour isn't... nice... sorry. But guessing by his lifestyle, I had a feeling.

corinpills · #22 12-08-2004, 12:58 PM

OK, and exactly what do you know about his lifestyle? You think David Bowie knows how to pilot the space shuttle because he wrote "Space Oddity"?

This what I know about his lifestyle; I saw him a hundred times at clubs and gigs and he never looked ****ed up to me, never stumbled or slurred his words when I spoke to him and never looked out of control in any way.

Again, I'm trying not to jump on you because you're young and you probably didn't mean any harm (and having grown up in the same part of Pennsylvania as you, I realize you don't exactly live in an enlightened area), but what you wrote isn't cool.

**j-raj** · #23 12-08-2004, 01:31 PM

Matt,

Even in jest, it wasn't a good idea... Especially about sensitive subject matter such as substance abuse related death.

....OK glad that's over.

Now has Any body heard Orchestra Morphine? I'm interested to hear more about it.

Matt Till · #24 12-09-2004, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corinpills

Again, I'm trying not to jump on you because you're young and you probably didn't mean any harm (and having grown up in the same part of Pennsylvania as you, I realize you don't exactly live in an enlightened area), but what you wrote isn't cool.

you're right, I'm not from Boston, so I'm not enlightened.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go **** a pig, shave my sister's back, and go laugh at dead rock stars. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

If a person says they want to give up drugs, I can only assume they do drugs. That's my stupid ass pennsylvania logic for ya though.

Matt Till · #25 12-09-2004, 02:36 PM

So since no one wants to tell me why, I'm looking around and all I'm finding is he had a heart attack... he had no heart problems and he was 46... how is this possible?

Matt Till · #26 12-09-2004, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corinpills

OK, and exactly what do you know about his lifestyle? You think David Bowie knows how to pilot the space shuttle because he wrote "Space Oddity"?

No, I think he wrote on acid... and he did.

Mon Rominee · #27 12-10-2004, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

So since no one wants to tell me why, I'm looking around and all I'm finding is he had a heart attack... he had no heart problems and he was 46... how is this possible?

iirc, someone told me he had a heart defect.

**j-raj** · #28 12-10-2004, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

you're right, I'm not from Boston, so I'm not enlightened.

Easy Capt, you missed the point. Our immediate environment has a lot to do with shaping the way we see the rest of the world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

iirc, someone told me he had a heart defect.

(iirc)Mark was attacked one night many years ago and complications of that attack harmed his heart. It is believed that his heart never fully recovered and that damage might have been responsible for his collapse many years later on a gig in Italy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go **** a pig, shave my sister's back....That's my stupid ass pennsylvania logic for ya though.

ok, well good luck with that...

BTW here is a couple tech page sfor some of your questions regarding rig:

http://www.morphine3.com/mark/hndstudio.html
http://www.morphine3.com/front.html

Shomy · #29 12-12-2004, 11:33 AM

I just wanted to hear some of your opinions on minimalism (not just Sandmans) in music, some pros and cons and stuff. I already have some opinion, but TB is always full of good insights and reflections

corinpills · #30 12-12-2004, 07:47 PM

Well, that's a pretty broad topic (minimalism), and it's all a matter of taste and context, but I've never heard anyone complain that a bass line wasn't complex enough or didn't have enough notes. I think, in general, the more bassists do to underpin the music and not stick out, the more most musicians and audience members appreciate the bassist.

What Sandman did was a different kind of minimalism in that he purposefully imposed limitations on his bass (in the most positive of ways) and that became such a huge part of the band's sound. Oftentimes, working within conceptual boundaries can unleash one's musical strengths in a way that total freedome doesn't.

erm, I think, anyway.

Matt Till · #31 12-14-2004, 07:06 AM

The way I look at the situation, you can never underplay, but you can (and many do) definatly overplay.

I don't quite get the minimalist approach in terms of the removal of strings, it's a statement, or as the guitarist from the POTUSOA refered to it "just another gimmick."

It all depends on your view. I think it (at least in Sandman's case) forces you to be more creative, more thoughtful.

**j-raj** · #32 12-14-2004, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

It all depends on your view. I think it (at least in Sandman's case) forces you to be more creative, more thoughtful.

I agree.

James Mobius · #33 02-28-2011, 08:13 AM

I'm building a 2 string slide bass so I can play Morphine music properly, I asked Monique Ortiz, Mark's protoge' about the action at the nut, but she just told me to experiment. d: anyone have any advice about how much clearance I want there? I ripped the frets out already to avoid buzz. ( if interested you can see the project in the works here: http://mobiusbandwidth.com/luthiery.html )

also here's the trailer for the film about Mark, now in limited release, heartbreaking but inspiring;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KW3G5pb9zM

ZombiCrow · #34 02-28-2011, 08:45 AM

Holy zombie threads, Batman!

I have zero help to offer regarding the technicalities of building a Sandman-style bass, but I would like to say that my two-piece bass/drums group opened for the remaining members of Morphine, calling themselves "The Ever Expanding Elastic Waist Band" or something very close to that, last summer at Gabe's in Iowa City, IA. The saxaphonists' voice is very close to Mark's, and playing Mark's parts was a gentlemen who used to open for them and played delta-blues guitar, and for the tour specifically he was playing a couple obviously inexpensive basses/guitars modded to be two string, and he was using actual strings from Mark's collection. It was without a doubt the most humbling show we've ever played, and they were all astounding musicians.

**j-raj** · #35 02-28-2011, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Mobius

I'm building a 2 string slide bass so I can play Morphine music properly, I asked Monique Ortiz, Mark's protoge' about the action at the nut, but she just told me to experiment. d: anyone have any advice about how much clearance I want there? I ripped the frets out already to avoid buzz. ( if interested you can see the project in the works here: http://mobiusbandwidth.com/luthiery.html )

also here's the trailer for the film about Mark, now in limited release, heartbreaking but inspiring;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KW3G5pb9zM

Wow I haven't heard the name Monique Ortiz for years... Gosh it has been 12-13 years since I have even talked to her in person. She used to work at a copy shop near the split of Mass Ave as you go into Harvard sq. from Central. This was during the days that she had a group Bourbon Princess. She put a group together with Dana Colley and the drummer from Morphine a while back called AKACOD. Has any of y'all seen one of their shows?

monkeyking · #36 02-28-2011, 01:56 PM

Oddly, I still equate Sandman with Treat Her Right more than with Morphine. Nothing I didn't like about Morphine, but his earlier band was just plain great and I really wanted more of that "reaching back while moving forward" approach they seemed to have. (I think I just made up that phrase, so I don't know who I'm quoting there.)

If I remember correctly, Sandman played guitar with THR and shared the vocal duties. The song "I Think She Likes Me" from the first album was a minor hit in Chicago, but I don't know about the rest of the country. For those of you unfamiliar with them, they are more than worth checking out and one of the few bands I recommend without reservation. Glad to see there is still interest in him and I sure wish he had made music for a longer period.

James Mobius · #37 02-28-2011, 08:58 PM

She's livin in TX now, I've talked to her a few times at shows, messaged her on facebook the other day about the nut. luckily I found good info in another thread on here plenty of food for thought. I remember seeing one of her earliest shows at the Middle East, and saw her down the street in Allston not that long ago.

**j-raj** · #38 03-01-2011, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James Mobius

She's livin in TX now, I've talked to her a few times at shows, messaged her on facebook the other day about the nut. luckily I found good info in another thread on here plenty of food for thought. I remember seeing one of her earliest shows at the Middle East, and saw her down the street in Allston not that long ago.

I remember seeing her at Middle East and Plough and Stars a few time... It was as Bourbon Princess. I always dug her no BS/Kick ass attitude. It really has been many years since then. I wonder if the Mother Brothers are still doing their 2-man band thing.