So we're playing at "21" in Galveston last nite, very cool gig, I have played there with three different bands, always a good time. I was using my Bromberg bass>LMII>Schroeder 410L. We had run out of channels on the board, so I had no bass DI- no big deal. I told the guitarist that I was sure it would be OK without the added reinforcement, as it's not that big a room anyway...
So we fire it up from the git-go, the place is completely packed. Lots of women dancing, dragging reticent BFs and SOs out on the floor, there was a line at the bar and they actually had to call in another waitress to handle the crowd. On several songs, I play keys and bass- nothing fancy, just some chord pads, and the occasional signature line that "has" to be there. There were a few musicians in the audience, and at first break, one of them came up to me to compliment the sound. He told me the bass was really punchy and deep, but clear as a bell. Said it was the best mix he's ever heard us have, and he was glad they put me through the mains. I told him I wasn't going through the mains, and his jaw dropped. I had to physically SHOW him my rig for him to believe me! No DI, no link to the board at all...he was amazed at the sound (and frankly, so was I).
A non-musician came up to me and was telling me his buddy played bass as well, but nothing like that...he asked if that was a Peavey B-Quad I was playing. Nope, very observant, though! It's a Dean, and it has a very unique look to it. He said that he was impressed that the bottom stayed intact even when I was playing keys with my right hand, and how did I do that, anyway? So I told him that you could easily play most bass lines with only the left hand if you set your bass up right. He wandered away.
I go to the bar and order a beer, a voice behind me says "I got this one.." It was the same guy, holding a cell phone to his ear in one hand, and a wad of money in the other. "You got time to talk to my buddy for a second?" Sure, why not. I get on the phone and talked to the guy for a couple minutes, he peppered me with questions about me playing bass with one hand while playing keys with the other. I told him it was actually pretty easy, my bass is set up for it. He thanked me for my time and I returned the phone to my benefactor, who wandered away again.
Second set, we kicked butt again, this was shaping up to be a great night. The bar owner came up to the guitarist and told him to turn the band up a little. A bachelorette party showed up, they're always a fun time, and they packed the dance floor. We did a bunch of dance tunes, then announced that we were going to slow things down for a minute, played a slow tune, and I looked up and saw two girls from the bachelorette party slow-dancing in front of me...OK, seen that before, NBD...then they engaged in a deeeep liplock.
I saw the rest of the girls hooting and hollering, then they were blushing and rushing off the dance floor. I just laughed inside.
A few tunes later, I am on keys and bass for "Black Magic Woman", when I notice this guy just off the side a little, standing there watching me very intently. He kept muttering to himself, and was angling himself to look down my bass neck from the headstock. He was right in front of me, just off to the side, martini in hand, watching like a hawk. Next song was "Brick House", and I usually get handed a solo to lengthen the song just a little, and I ripped it up...break time comes, and the dude who was watching me play comes up to me and hands me a drink and tells me that he is a bass player too, and where did I learn to play like that. He tells me that I just talked to him on the phone an hour ago, and his buddy wanted him to see me play...we get to talking, and he says he wants me to do a setup on his bass to make it play better. So now I have a setup job to do next week sometime on his Jazz bass. It's a 77 or 78, he bought it new, and he tells me it has kind of high action, with a little bow in the neck. OK, I'll do it. He offers me $100 to do it!
Last set, we get close to the end, and the guitarist breaks off into "Ain't Talking Bout Love" while we try to figure out the last song. I look at Mark and ask him if he knows the whole tune, he says yes. I've never played it before, but I have a good memory, so I homed in on the key and tried to remember the actual bass line. It was the closing tune, so the other guitarist puts down his guitar and gets off stage and we play it. What a blast! It was fun- I finally got to play a VH tune other than "Jump"! The crowd loved it, too, and as soon as the last note died out, they were cheering!
. They turned the lights on and started to get people moving out of the bar. A great night, especially since we don't have to break down, we're playing tonite as well, our third nite in a row!
So I had a great gig, played well, had great tone, got to play a tune I had never played before, and got a setup job out of it!
