TalkBassists Profiles V: KATHY VALENTINE

[rickbass]

Originally posted by JimK
...Regarding 'showmanship'-
I realize I'm in the minority. For me, the MUSIC has gotta come first....

Aw. c'mon, Jim, Be nice .... I never said it didn't come first, never inferred that, and I think the overwhelming majority of Talkbassers wouldn't either.

It's just that I like a refreshing change from reading about how "Michael Manring played the song on 6 Zon Tesla-Fractal Paradigm basses in Egyptian geometry tunings using an ADAT with a separate telepathic pickup for each string on its own channel and the transducers on another while NASA engineers monitored the signals in an anechoic chamber that simulated the sound wave transference characteristics found on Pluto." The occasional interview about "business" or personal history aspects can be interesting, too, (at least to me).

BTW - on your pup search, did you see how BP described the various Basslines P's a few years ago? If you'd like the info, just let me know.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

re. which bass used on Go-go's records, Kathy Valentine was interviewed in Bassist magazine - she said she used a P bass with a shaved neck on the old stuff, and an Ibanez more recently.

[NewWaveBasser]

Uh you got me there Flyerboy (Flyers are cool but what happened to the orange jerseys?? )

Heh heh

But really a lot of the songs I like have a P-bass on them. I'm a serious fan... now if I had money a used, say, 70s P would be my choice.

Oh yeah, if I had an all silver glitter Tele-style P-bass like Ms. Valentine that'd be something!

[JimK]

Rick-
I wasn't talking about you or NWB or most of the posters here("OK", maybe lump!).
And I agree with you regarding the 2nd part of your post...I ain't into that gear/theory Fractal Paradigm Fourrier Series mumbo-jumbo that's also kicked about. Crissakes, ya put a finger(s) on a string a make some noiz; it ain't rocket science!

I do have all the issues of Bass Player neatly arranged in chronological order(wish I had everything else as orderly)...I'm gonna go look thru 'em, thanks for the head's up & your offer.

NWB-
Philly still has the Home Whites, Road Orange, & the Alternative/3rd Jersey in Black.
We(Norfolk of The AHL)just spanked the Flyers' AHL team(Philly Phantoms) last night, 6-0. A month ago, the Phantoms were in 1st...now they're about to fall into 3rd. Stick a fork in 'em, they're done!

P-basses...yeah, I cut my teeth on them. I bought my '64 in '75 for $200. It was NOT original, it had a terrible home job of a sunburst finish. I had the paint removed about a year later(I always dug natural wood basses, anyway). In '78, I bought a Schecter P-bass.
In the '80s, I added a Jazz pickup in the bridge position to BOTH.
Now, I think I wanna 'restore' the Fender(I bought one of those re-issued sunburst '62 bass bodies).

[rickbass]

Originally posted by JimK
Rick- I wasn't talking about you or NWB or most of the posters here("OK", maybe lump!).

Your comments about being in "a minority" due to your "music first" principle seemed like you were making a distinction between my comments and yours.

But even then, I was also thinking, in all honesty,
"But that just doesn't sound like Jim ??" So, thanks for confirming that wasn't the message.

As I was de-accelerating after last night's gig, I was listening to a tape of a recent interview with Rickie Lee Jones where she had interesting comments regarding the "music first at all costs" attitude.

She was talking about one of her albums and said none of the cuts were written or performed to be "hits." It was just all the musicians doing the work as meaningfully and well as they could.

So the interviewer asks her, "Well, what would you say goes into a hit today???"
She responds, (this is almost a direct quote, so I'll use quotation marks), "Well, with what are being called `hits' today, I just don't get it. I mean, I just don't hear it."
"It's like with music today, everyone says, `Yeah, we know this isn't real, but we'll buy it anyway.'"

I wish I hadn't heard that at 4:30am. My head was already hurting from the drums all night.

[JimK]

Originally posted by rickbass
But even then, I was also thinking, in all honesty, "But that just doesn't sound like Jim ??" So, thanks for confirming that wasn't the message.

I re-read my post & I see can see how that happened.
Sorry, Rick...believe me, you're one of the few I've 'met' here that knows the deal.

BTW, it's too bad this Internet thing didn't exist back when I was between 17-23 years old(Jazz-Nazi daze).
Man, you guys woulda run me outta here!

Regarding Rickie Lee Jones-
I'm not sure how 'hits' are determined in today's world; Billboard used to track SINGLES' sales...how's that done nowadays since 45rpms are history?
About her comment, "...this(music today)isn't real, but we'll buy it anyway".
Is she sayin' that, on a whole, Pop has become so processed & is marketed at such a very specific/target buying group, the music has become "unreal"? If that's the case, then I can't really disagree with that.
BTW, I always enjoy reading about Jeff(RIP)Porcaro's first attempt at recording with Rickie Lee...
(Basically, he got so pissed he stabbed his toms with his sticks & walked out).

Later & sorry again...
(that goes for NWB & even lump).