Alex's Song

[gmstudio99]

Hey Steve...thanks for the quick email repsonse! Must be nice to have so much free time ...heh...

Anyway...I have a song I'd like your comments on, if you don't mind. I won't go into the details of how it was played or recorded until after you've had a chance to hear it as a song.

It's here: http://www.mp3.com/prlj/

It's called "Alex's Song"...there's the full length version (temporarily up for this purpose) and a "sample" version containing only about a minute long snippet of the song. I hope you have time to listen to the whole thing.

Thanks for your time.

-GM (Paul)

[Steve Lawson]

Hey Paul,

nice tune - yeah, i like it - technically I especially like the little trill ideas, nice folk guitar-ish touch. it's a cute little tune, well played, nice harmonies and you've done well to get that much melody into the tune and keep the chords ringing underneath in all the right places. Good stuff

Steve
http://www.steve-lawson.co.uk

[gmstudio99]

Thanks Steve. It's one track, no overdubs, and played on a MIA Jazz bass. The A, D and G strings are capo'd at the 14th fret.

Up in one of the forums above David Siff called the song "Manring-esque" and I sheepishly admit right here and now that I've never heard any of Michael's music.

Thanks again...if you have any suggestions for improvement, no need to be "polite".

-GM

[Steve Lawson]

Originally posted by gmstudio99
Thanks Steve. It's one track, no overdubs, and played on a MIA Jazz bass. The A, D and G strings are capo'd at the 14th fret.

nice idea - capos are underused on bass, so it's good to hear it being used...

[B}

Up in one of the forums above David Siff called the song "Manring-esque" and I sheepishly admit right here and now that I've never heard any of Michael's music.

Thanks again...if you have any suggestions for improvement, no need to be "polite".
-GM [/b]

The first thing I'd suggest is get hold of any of Michael's albums that you can find! He's taken the whole area of solo bass further than anyone. Also, listen to guitarists working in a similar style, they often have some really nice phrasing ideas that we as bassists miss. Try things that seem impossible, cos the mistakes you'll make may be better than what you intended. And get some gigs - book a gig for about two months from now, and just do it - solo gigs can be terrifying, so much so that you'll never do it if you wait til you're ready, but the world needs more solo bassists. My first solo gig was just cos a friend asked me to do it, and i wrote the set after it was booked! But that set me off, and less than a year later, I've got an album out, and am getting radio airplay and some great press...

cheers

Steve
http://www.steve-lawson.co.uk

[gmstudio99]

Originally posted by Steve Lawson
And get some gigs - book a gig for about two months from now, and just do it - solo gigs can be terrifying, so much so that you'll never do it if you wait til you're ready

You are exactly right...I've thought about doing it for a while now, but as soon as I read that, I realized that I've been waiting to be "ready" for almost 3 years. Time to get off my duff and just do it. Thank you.

Paul

[Steve Lawson]

..Well don't forget to tell me when the gig is so I can post the info to the solo bass network!!

cheers

Steve

[gmstudio99]

I still haven't booked that gig.