End of the year...highlights from the last 365?

geebee_r1 · #1 12-31-2009, 12:05 PM

As many others have said...this year went by QUICK! However during the last year I'm sure we've had some very fond (or funny) memories...maybe you'd like to share?

I'll go first...this year marked my return to playing music after a 18-year hiatus. Played guitar as a kid and traded a pick for drum sticks in the 6th grade and played through HS. Pretty much gave it all up after graduation...though I've longed to pick up playing again...just never had the means/time to do so until now. I chose the bass due to my roots in both strings and percussion...and am always into the 'groove' of the music I listen to (never knew why until the light bulb went off)...I have to say it is a perfect fit. I'm having more fun now than I expected!! I've played 8-10 gigs so far and am having the time of my life...it's been a great year!

Oh yeah, I've met a lot of seriously cool folks, both here on TB and at some of the open-mic nights around the area. I'd like to take this opportunity to say Happy New Year to everyone...I hope its another good one!

Cheers!

MatticusMania · #2 12-31-2009, 12:10 PM

Completeing the new lineup for my band! Damn, thought we'd never find a drummer. But I think our band is even more rocking than we were before... Ugly Ape is truly coming into form.

Sizlack · #3 12-31-2009, 01:42 PM

Seriously picked up bass (made a few meager attempts in the past) and love it.

Ubersheist · #4 12-31-2009, 02:29 PM

We had a strange way to end the year... We picked up an extra player with our band about 2 months ago. Things were going fine, but then he started getting a MAJOR crush on our lead singer. (Mind you, she's 1/2 his age, and married with a kid.) He started texting her like crazy, and propositioned her a week or so ago. Turns out, he's absolutely nuts, and dilusional. He kept thinking we were shutting him out, because we weren't responding instantly to his emails, and all these other strange things. He got stangely hostile, and started bitching us out over the phone with these nonsensical messages that left the rest of us scratching our heads, 'cause we couldn't even figure out what he was talking about or referring to...

Oh well...

Ubersheist · #5 12-31-2009, 02:31 PM

On the positive side, we had a TON of great gigs, got on the radio for an interview, got our name out there like never before, and had the best, strongest year as a band. We've recorded our album, and we're just putting the final mixing touches on it for a mid-January release party.

Super productive year for us!

**lowendfriend** · #6 12-31-2009, 03:19 PM

Bought a Warwick $$ 5 string in April; assembled a "pick up band" at work to play company functions (2 or three guitars, drums, bass, trombone, horn, female backup singers doing a mix of blues and rock); it has turned out to be an epic goodtime; did our first gig at a company outdoor barbeque (about 500 people) and it went over extremely well despite only 2 practices together because everyone was so pumped that we were all fellow employees that they just kinda went nuts.

We then got booked at a Marriott Ballroom for a new employee receptions for Q3 (about 500 employees and supervisors) that went over extremely well. For that one I also got to play my first gig with my GK700RB-II/Neo 212 I had gotten a week prior.

My favorite was at a Wyndham Hotel Ballroom as part of a fundraiser for cancer research. We raised $6000 that night for the cam neely cancer research foundation (we did the gig wearing Bruin jerseys...) That night we joked that we must be "getting better" on our third gig because we have better bands opening for us <grin> ) (We'd arranged to have the Leominster High School Jazz Orchestra "open" for us ).

The part of the program that was really awesome was the high school kids were great and we shared "Theme from Peter Gunn" on our songlists, so we got the insane idea to do it together with no practice at all (just hand signals over sound check.) It turned out just awesome with folks just going gaga....We Must Get A Sax Player....

It's not a "paying gig" per se but it is an awesome way to participate in employee and community activities and we actually have created a buzz around different work sites each doing a pick up band. The payback of course is getting to learn live playing with some great fellow employee/musicians (think we have 2 Berklee grads and a former military band trombonist). I'd actually pay for the "lessons", so free is a good deal!

Re-started bass in sep 2008, so this marks the equal length of when I played in a garage band in high school...just separated by 40 years.

All in all, a great bass year.

tycobb73 · #7 01-01-2010, 06:32 AM

Telling my hoar of a lead singer off which led me to leaving the band and finding people who truly want to do something fresh instead of the same old classic rock crap everyone else is doing.

Geek Bassist · #8 01-01-2010, 10:18 AM

Got serious about bass after two years of fiddling around by myself butchering RATM tunes. Got lessons, started reading music, tried out for bassist in jazz band and made it.

Bought my first decent bass!

JBuckley · #9 01-01-2010, 12:59 PM

2009 sucked for me in pretty much every way EXCEPT musically.

Last year was the first time in a about 7 years that I've been able to be in a band, and the first time that I really started taking my playing seriously (after 20 some odd years of playing less challenging music on a more casual basis). I've been listening to a lot more music too as I've been broadening my influences and listening to the people who influenced my existing influences.

The year started off with a bunch of us local dads of toddlers starting an evening playgroup where we'd bring our acoustics and jam. Then one of the other dads scored a gig at our local music festival and we scored access to a great jam room that we didn't have to pay for. Playgroup moved there and became practice for our friend with the gig. Then we had another open jam night there, and I decided to open the room up for an invite-only prog rock jam on another night which evolved into my current band. We started practicing at my drummer and singer's studio just before the old jam room got rented out to somebody. We have been practicing our asses off with some really difficult songs through the summer, culminating in our first gig at my town's fall music festival.

Last year was a good year for gear, too. I've been wanting an electric upright bass for about 10 years and finally got one this year (NS Design Wav4). And although I lost a favorite uncle, I inherited his rig (Peavey Century Series 200 head and 118BW cab).

Here are my musical resolutions for this year...
Get better at playing arco
Getting Long Distance Runaround good enough to gig with
Learning Lark's Tongue in Aspic Pt 2
Being able to get at least most of the way through Heart of the Sunrise and/or Phantom of the Opera
See more live music (starting a week from tonight with Allan Holdsworth, Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin (!!!) and Pat Mastelotto)

Dubadays · #10 01-01-2010, 03:58 PM

Ah, it was a good musical year for me (I'm in high school, so keep that in mind through the list

):
Got my first new bass (I used the same bass for 5 years). Still have to get a post up for that one.....

I started playing upright bass in Wind Ensemble, and started using it primarily in Jazz Band
Won Battle of the Bands at our school with a couple of friends
Won 2nd place at Battle of the Bands in our town (This band is recording next week. Wish me luck!)
Our band got asked to play at another school because we had 'fangirls'
I became senior drum major of our marching band
I discovered HEAPS of music I vastly enjoy
Them Crooked Vultures album. Nuff said.
Our Jazz Band had a phenomenal year, and we closed it out with recording a CD (a first for our school)
I got to see my first rock concerts (if you don't count Weird Al

) back to back (Them Crooked Vultures one day, and Wolfmother the other)
Our Wind Ensemble got selected to participate in a couple of festivals in which only 3 schools were selected (in both cases)

So, looking back, I had a pretty dang good year. Here's hoping for the same for this year!

kxt · #11 01-01-2010, 04:07 PM

got married and loving it! wouldnt go back for anything.

as proof of my wife being the right choice, i got an SX P and case for my birthday. love the bass almost as much as my wife! :P

in a band again, acoustic gig that challenges me and is incredibly fun.

Munjibunga · #12 01-02-2010, 01:25 AM

I quit work for good last week.

Passinwind · #13 01-02-2010, 01:34 AM

My highlight was probably bailing from the band that made me play Brown Eyed Girl on stage for the first time ever, 35+ years into playing bass.

plankspanker13 · #14 01-02-2010, 04:22 PM

2009 started and ended well, but was riddled with angst in the middle. I went thru a very painful breakup in March, and it had a lingering aftereffect into July, but by then, it had bled into my day job, and my career went down the toilet in September. In October, I returned to steady gigging for the first time since 2003; there were one-offs in the interim period. Those steady gigs have been a lifeline for me fiscally and emotionally. At least years ending in zerohave always ended well for me, despite rough starts to them, so I am very ready for things to start turning around. At least I play with a great bunch of cats in what amounts to a pool of musicians. I'm just the first-call bassist, and the variety keeps it fresh, even if it is being a cover-band whore.