I received my copies of both books yesterday and I'm a few pages in (silly day job but it pays the bills so I can do stuff like buy books...). Initial impression: Is that Times Roman? Sorry - I haven't got very far yet...
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Interviewing Bassists Stories Pt. 3
- Thread starter Arthritic_Tom
- Start date
Amazing book..........review to follow after digestion!
Now I'm ready for the Scott Thunes Tome......
Now I'm ready for the Scott Thunes Tome......
Working on it.
What's it like, you ask? Can't tell you. I've been sworn to secrecy.
But--
OK, here we go.
I had a subscription to Bass Player back in the early to mid nineties. I remember the Unsung Bass Stylists sidebars very well. I appreciated them at the time and thought they were very cool. I suppose under-appreciated bass players are a common interest between myself and the author. Maybe thats one of the reasons why I was interested in reading the book to start with. Its author had written some things that had interested me before.
When I first started the book, I thought I was going to be put off by its structure. Bits of biography interrupted by war stories and commentary by Scott Thunes (exactly who is Scott Thunes?) struck me as a bit odd. I must admit that I have paid absolutely no attention to Frank Zappa during any time period and that I didnt know who Scott Thunes is. But, you know, for reasons I cant put my finger on, the book structure works. After reading for a short while, the format thing just vanished for me. It flows but it doesnt. How interesting.
I certainly havent had as interesting a life as Mr. Wictor has. But we seem to be about the same age and have shared at least some common experiences. Awkwardness in high school, an encounter with John Entwhistles Too Late the Hero album and frustration associated with playing the bass are a few examples. We also share a history of being clueless at times especially when it comes to women. I can totally relate to that. I guess every man has had his poor little heart crushed by a woman at some point in his life.
The war stories themselves are great. But, I sort of cheated on knowing that they would be. Mr. Wictor had published some bits from them on Talkbass and I found them to be fascinating and entertaining. The complete stories did not disappoint.
To sum it all up, I enjoyed reading Ghosts and Ballyhoo very much. It was unique for me to see the seeds of the book on Talkbass, to see the author agree to write it, to see it get accepted for publishing and then to actually read and enjoy it. Nice ride.
I had a subscription to Bass Player back in the early to mid nineties. I remember the Unsung Bass Stylists sidebars very well. I appreciated them at the time and thought they were very cool. I suppose under-appreciated bass players are a common interest between myself and the author. Maybe thats one of the reasons why I was interested in reading the book to start with. Its author had written some things that had interested me before.
When I first started the book, I thought I was going to be put off by its structure. Bits of biography interrupted by war stories and commentary by Scott Thunes (exactly who is Scott Thunes?) struck me as a bit odd. I must admit that I have paid absolutely no attention to Frank Zappa during any time period and that I didnt know who Scott Thunes is. But, you know, for reasons I cant put my finger on, the book structure works. After reading for a short while, the format thing just vanished for me. It flows but it doesnt. How interesting.
I certainly havent had as interesting a life as Mr. Wictor has. But we seem to be about the same age and have shared at least some common experiences. Awkwardness in high school, an encounter with John Entwhistles Too Late the Hero album and frustration associated with playing the bass are a few examples. We also share a history of being clueless at times especially when it comes to women. I can totally relate to that. I guess every man has had his poor little heart crushed by a woman at some point in his life.
The war stories themselves are great. But, I sort of cheated on knowing that they would be. Mr. Wictor had published some bits from them on Talkbass and I found them to be fascinating and entertaining. The complete stories did not disappoint.
To sum it all up, I enjoyed reading Ghosts and Ballyhoo very much. It was unique for me to see the seeds of the book on Talkbass, to see the author agree to write it, to see it get accepted for publishing and then to actually read and enjoy it. Nice ride.
Nice groove.
After all the years of chaos and comedy with Frank Zappa, it's nice to see Scott Thunes finally settle down with a group of musicians that take themselves seriously.
.
Back on the roller coaster!
The Web site was supposed to be finished on the 26th, but it wasn't. When I asked why, I got no response. So today I told the designer that she must turn over to me what she's done so I can try and find a THIRD Web-site designer, or else I'll take legal action against her.
That got a response! Oh, she was sick, and she didn't know that she'd missed the deadline, and she was too embarrassed to respond, and won't I please give her another chance?
Sure! Why not? In fact I'd like to offer thousands of dollars to, let's see... eight random Talkbass readers. How's that sound?
All you have to do is write out a contract; we'll sign it; I'll pay you; and then you can ignore me. It's all right. I'll understand. Life is tough. It's really hard to follow through on promises you make, and besides, why should you?
WHO THE HELL DO I THINK I AM ANYWAY, demanding that people do what they say they'll do? I'm a fascist crapface.
So, if you want free money, just contact me and I'll sign whatever contract you want. In fact, I'll give you all my bank-account numbers and passwords.
The past two months have been truly hilarious. If I told you what's been going on with me personally and professionally, you'd turn around and walk away, furious at me for using you as the test audience for some demented parody of a kindergartener's fairy tale about monsters under the bed, wicked witches, and malignant sorcerers.
Look what it's done to me:
The Web site was supposed to be finished on the 26th, but it wasn't. When I asked why, I got no response. So today I told the designer that she must turn over to me what she's done so I can try and find a THIRD Web-site designer, or else I'll take legal action against her.
That got a response! Oh, she was sick, and she didn't know that she'd missed the deadline, and she was too embarrassed to respond, and won't I please give her another chance?
Sure! Why not? In fact I'd like to offer thousands of dollars to, let's see... eight random Talkbass readers. How's that sound?
All you have to do is write out a contract; we'll sign it; I'll pay you; and then you can ignore me. It's all right. I'll understand. Life is tough. It's really hard to follow through on promises you make, and besides, why should you?
WHO THE HELL DO I THINK I AM ANYWAY, demanding that people do what they say they'll do? I'm a fascist crapface.
So, if you want free money, just contact me and I'll sign whatever contract you want. In fact, I'll give you all my bank-account numbers and passwords.
The past two months have been truly hilarious. If I told you what's been going on with me personally and professionally, you'd turn around and walk away, furious at me for using you as the test audience for some demented parody of a kindergartener's fairy tale about monsters under the bed, wicked witches, and malignant sorcerers.
Look what it's done to me:
Attachments
Sounds like the next book!
Oh, and where do I sign? I gladly offer my lack of services for only $499.97.
How about I send an invoice for the review I still owe you for Ghosts & Ballyhoo?
I'd even promise to post it to Amazon for an extra $10k!
I'd even promise to post it to Amazon for an extra $10k!
Just invoice me for whatever amount, offering me whatever you want. Doesn't matter. I'll pay. Why shouldn't I?
Free money for everybody!
