Neal Miner/Dennis Irwin's bass

[Ed Fuqua]

I wasn't sure if I should put this in BASSES, but I think this is probably the most appropriate forum, from Neal Miner:

Hi everyone!

Due to my bass needing to be shipped to a gig in the mid west, I am without a bass for my steady gig tomorrow, Tuesday, with Annie Ross at the Metropolitan Room. I thought I would see if Aria Hendricks would allow me to play Dennis' bass for that gig. I remember her mentioning how she was wanting, and ready to have Dennis' bass be played. I thought this would be a great opportunity to take his bass out of the house for a night on the town and (hopefully) show it a good time.
I went over to Aria's a few days ago just to see that it was, in fact, in playing condition. I walked into Aria's apartment, saw the bass leaning into the corner, and I got the chills the same way I would when I would walk down the stairs and see it on the stage of the Vanguard while they were on break. Knowing very well that much inspiration was to come. That bass has a serious vibe!
The funny thing is it was barely out of tune, considering the bass hasn't been played for almost 4 years. All four of the strings are gut and the action is super high. It's the kind of bass that will give you back exactly what you put into it. But if you're not manhandling it enough it will quickly show your weaknesses. Dennis was naturally a very strong guy and, as we all know, could play that bass like no one else. His case is one of those Joe's House of Sandals cases from the 70s, which weighs about 20 pounds without the bass! The back pocket of the case is a total rat's nest with dozens of gut strings all sticking out crazily. His end is one of those wooden blocks. Unfortunately there was no wheel to be found. Did Dennis carry his bass?! The bass all packed is SUPER heavy.
So, I am writing to you all to first, share this experience with you, and also to invite you to the gig tomorrow if you are around, and not working. With Mike's permission (Dennis' son) I was going to try to document this experience with video. As a hobby I have been working with video and video editing for the past few years and was thinking of making a short video remembering Dennis and his bass. By the way, it's the blond American Standard. If you can come by, either for the gig or afterwards, I'd love to have anyone who's interested check out the bass and play it. If you don't mind, you could say a few words about Dennis for the video.
If you can't come, please, wish me luck, I'm actually pretty nervous! I'm going to try to play the bass as it is and not lower the action.
The show is at the Metropolitan Room, tomorrow night, Tuesday, at 9:30. Or come by after the show, we're done at around 10:40 and we usually all hang around the club for an hour or so. It's a good hang!

Neal

Neal Miner
Metropolitan Room :: An Intimate Concert Venue

[MR PC]

a video would be super cool! maybe with some Lord Buckley for good measure.. when i heard Dennis live with Scofield, he was using a way beat up blonde ply with guts, a C shaped Kay i think. his road bass or maybe a loaner, dunno, but a beautiful player, i was sitting right in front of him and got lots of good vibes....but he was beaming at the whole audience via his music

[philip sirois]

The bass you describe sound like his american standard bass that he played around town, mostly unamplified, I believe. I talked with him about it one day at the kitano. He was playing it unamplified that day, I forget with whom (I think the drummer was Carl Allen), but man he got a HUGE sound out of it. I was listening for a while, before I noticed there was no pickup. He mentioned that although his soloing suffered a bit from the extremely high string height, the big sound was worth it. I think he said he had a french bass as well, which he often used at the vanguard. What a nice guy he was.

Also, a drummer I play a regular session with, Taro Okimoto, who played some gigs with Dennis
once told us with much admiration about watching him humping his bass around town slung over his back, so it seems that he did , at least sometimes, carry it.

[Ed Fuqua]

Hey Phil! Great to hear you're playing regularly again.

[philip sirois]

Hey Ed, Thanks, although I never really stopped. Still a hack generally speaking, but still beating on it. Make sure you clue us in on any gigs you have, I always enjoy running into you in and about town.

[robert.o]

thanks for sharing this Ed

[Ed Fuqua]

Neal's film!
Dennis' Bass - YouTube

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Thanks for posting this, Ed. Nice tribute.

[LM Bass]

Great Saturday night viewing, thanks.

[Uncletoad]

That was lovely.

[Mark Carlsen]

Superb.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Nice! Although none of those folks made it sound the way Dennis did.

[JLubinsky-Mast]

Just watched this, what an inspiring video. Looks like I need to hunt down some of those Arts and Crafts records.

[Johnny L]

Wow what a bunch of great bassists. Irwin looks like he hangs off the bass when he plays. Wow what strength he must have had what a sound!

[Marc Piane]

Great video. I've been on a Dennis Irwin kick for a few days now. He was inspiring.

[Paul Warburton]

I love the "safety" bridge catcher string thing Dennis devised in case the bridge went flying off.
Talk about a hard player.....hooey!

[Marcus Johnson]

Great vid....

[chop_1992]

Thanks, Ed, and many thanks to Neal Miner for doing the extensive video. I used to have an American Standard similar to Dennis's, and they are nice basses -- full of sound and very durable. I played Dennis's bass a few times, and it's true -- it was a bear to play for most of us medium-action players. He had it set up with very high action (maybe the highest practically possible action), which he dealt with in a very musical way.

This is a nice tribute to a great player, who is going to remain in people's hearts and ears for years to come.

[MollyKay]

What a cool video. What a way cool American Standard bass. The humped shoulders, the re-painted pin stripes, the very different tuner plates, obvious neck repair. Not all basses are beautiful…this one has personality and tone for miles.

Thanks for sharing.

[Phil Rowan]

Originally Posted by fingers

He was inspiring.

Still is, baby.

Sigh.. I get real teary-eyed seeing/hearing that bass again after all these years. I miss Dennis a lot.