• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Janek Gwizdala: This is pretty interesting.

#21
These are artists. Some artists do not have the social acumen to back away from a confrontation like MG vs JG.
It sounds like Janek took the high road and got out of the way quickly. It was an Imperial Single-Cut, not an MG bass.

Ironically MG went on to create a new signature bass that looks like something Ned Steinberger had a hand it. Does that mean Ned start trashing MG? Nah...
 
  • Like
Reactions: nonohmic
#22
It is an interesting video. Clearly, Janek wants to game the algorithm to generate more clicks for his channel and push his numbers up. Like a lot of people in the bass world, he seems to be gearing up towards YouTube being a main money-making platform. Certainly, it's not something you can really afford to sleep on unless you're a mega name in the business.

The Matt Garrison anecdote is interesting. I think he alleged attack on Janek was pretty uncool. Perhaps there was a little jealousy at play as Janek seemed to be gathering steam at the time and he was getting a lot of time in the spotlight holding the bass that Matt thought he should have been credited for. I had remarked elsewhere that Matt almost seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. A few years go, prior to this incident, he seemed to be on the up. His bass was probably the third most recognisable Fodera signature after the Yin Yang Monarch and the AJ Contrabass. Players everywhere were talking about playing with the 'Matt Garrison technique' of four finger and thumb plucking. Matt was busy, musically, and had even got to play on a few tracks on a John McLaughlin album (although that album, Industrial Zen, was the album that broke Hadrien Feraud to the world, my commiserations go to whoever had to play on the tracks Hadrian didn't play on!).

After that, around 2010 onwards or so, he seemed to take a step back from the business at large. I know he had taught at some points and toured but he is only 52. It feels kinda like he retired at about 42, roughly when he had this falling out with Janek. Now I don't even hear people calling his signature technique as 'the Matt Garrison technique'. I'd like to see him get back to playing in some great fusion again and being busy. I'd like to see Janek enjoy the success he is working hard for too, it's a tough game as ultimately it becomes about personality and charisma rather than just music.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Cheese and Les Fret
#23
India_Sierra said:
It is an interesting video. Clearly, Janek wants to game the algorithm to generate more clicks for his channel and push his numbers up. Like a lot of people in the bass world, he seems to be gearing up towards YouTube being a main money-making platform. Certainly, it's not something you can really afford to sleep on unless you're a mega name in the business.

The Matt Garrison anecdote is interesting. I think he alleged attack on Janek was pretty uncool. Perhaps there was a little jealousy at play as Janek seemed to be gathering steam at the time and he was getting a lot of time in the spotlight holding the bass that Matt thought he should have been credited for. I had remarked elsewhere that Matt almost seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. A few years go, prior to this incident, he seemed to be on the up. His bass was probably the third most recognisable Fodera signature after the Yin Yang Monarch and the AJ Contrabass. Players everywhere were talking about playing with the 'Matt Garrison technique' of four finger and thumb plucking. Matt was busy, musically, and had even got to play on a few tracks on a John McLaughlin album (although that album, Industrial Zen, was the album that broke Hadrien Feraud to the world, my commiserations go to whoever had to play on the tracks Hadrian didn't play on!).

After that, around 2010 onwards or so, he seemed to take a step back from the business at large. I know he had taught at some points and toured but he is only 52. It feels kinda like he retired at about 42, roughly when he had this falling out with Janek. Now I don't even hear people calling his signature technique as 'the Matt Garrison technique'. I'd like to see him get back to playing in some great fusion again and being busy. I'd like to see Janek enjoy the success he is working hard for too, it's a tough game as ultimately it becomes about personality and charisma rather than just music.
Click to expand...
I mean, Tony Grey played on that album too...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Cheese and m2k2p
#24
India_Sierra said:
After that, around 2010 onwards or so, he seemed to take a step back from the business at large. I know he had taught at some points and toured but he is only 52. It feels kinda like he retired at about 42, roughly when he had this falling out with Janek.
Click to expand...

Remember, social media is just a highlight reel and often doesn't really represent what's happening in someone's life. At some point many musicians fall into a working groove, and not always as a virtuoso. Once in that groove, why hustle on social media as much? The Pandemic also reoriented a lot of professional musicians.
Matt runs Shapeshifter Lab, which is a performance space.

Here you go - you couldn't find this?
"I'm really tired of the stagnant music scene..." he says...
Invalid Link Removed
 
#26
frankie5string said:
Remember, social media is just a highlight reel and often doesn't really represent what's happening in someone's life. At some point many musicians fall into a working groove, and not always as a virtuoso. Once in that groove, why hustle on social media as much? The Pandemic also reoriented a lot of professional musicians.
Matt runs Shapeshifter Lab, which is a performance space.

Here you go - you couldn't find this?
"I'm really tired of the stagnant music scene..." he says...
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

After making my post I decided to do some searching to see what Matt had been up to and I realise now I was wrong. He hadn't disappeared or retired, and he was still getting gigs. I guess it was the channels I was listening to (Talkbass, facebook, YouTube and the bass playing community) that made me think he had vanished. With all that said, I do feel as though his profile had declined during the post 2010 years, perhaps without good reason. I say this because, prior to that, if you said you were getting a five string strung E to C and a ramp, people would say "oh, like Matt Garrison?". His influence in terms of technique and instrument was palpable, even if a lot of bassists couldn't name a record he'd played on. I would maintain that his profile at large had diminished despite his evident talent.

It's all academic, to a degree. For everyone who says that Matt was a pioneer in terms of 'tenor tuning', I'd point them towards Dominic Di Piazza, who I'm confident was playing E-C prior to Matt. And from there I'd point them to Yoshihiro Naruse, who was using tenor tuning in the 80's. Naruse even had a beautiful piece of music called 'Tenor for you', using such a bass.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Cheese
#27
India_Sierra said:
It's all academic, to a degree. For everyone who says that Matt was a pioneer in terms of 'tenor tuning', I'd point them towards Dominic Di Piazza.

Click to expand...


I think Steve Swallow goes even further back using E-C tuning... My first reference to Di Piazza was that wooden "fretless bridge" he was using in the early 2010s. Nifty gadget but I think he's moved on from that now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Cheese, India_Sierra and WG Plum
#29
India_Sierra said:
After making my post I decided to do some searching to see what Matt had been up to and I realise now I was wrong. He hadn't disappeared or retired, and he was still getting gigs. I guess it was the channels I was listening to (Talkbass, facebook, YouTube and the bass playing community) that made me think he had vanished. With all that said, I do feel as though his profile had declined during the post 2010 years, perhaps without good reason. I say this because, prior to that, if you said you were getting a five string strung E to C and a ramp, people would say "oh, like Matt Garrison?". His influence in terms of technique and instrument was palpable, even if a lot of bassists couldn't name a record he'd played on. I would maintain that his profile at large had diminished despite his evident talent.

It's all academic, to a degree. For everyone who says that Matt was a pioneer in terms of 'tenor tuning', I'd point them towards Dominic Di Piazza, who I'm confident was playing E-C prior to Matt. And from there I'd point them to Yoshihiro Naruse, who was using tenor tuning in the 80's. Naruse even had a beautiful piece of music called 'Tenor for you', using such a bass.

Click to expand...

Matt has been quite active playing with Ravi Coltrane and Jack dejohnette, so it would be hard to say that he's declining based on the people he's playing with. I think that he's quite selective of the people/projects that he wants to participate and doesn't crave the likes or the attention of other very prominent bass players. I think that he's of the very few that have developed a unique voice in the instrument, in my opinion.
 
#35
I think many are missing the undertones of what Janek said. I don't think the main issue was with MG. He mentioned his issue with the business side and partner of Fodera (not by name). But he spoke fondly of Joey and Vinnie. But not the business partner. I think his main issue of contention was with Jason.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Cheese
#36
sean_on_bass said:
No disrespect to the players because they have great chops, but i kinda feel like this style of playing bass with these sterile "modern" extended range bass designs is losing it's relevance. Am i the only one that would love to see someone like Janek just play a plain old Fender?
Click to expand...
Honestly the Fodera MG in the hands of MG and Janek is one of the most gutless, compressed unremarkable bass tones I've heard. Especially on the C it sounds like a guitar with a head cold. Just my $0.02, fantastic players and all that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eidolon0274, Lo-E, sean_on_bass and 1 other person
#37
winston said:
Honestly the Fodera MG in the hands of MG and Janek is one of the most gutless, compressed unremarkable bass tones I've heard. Especially on the C it sounds like a guitar with a head cold. Just my $0.02, fantastic players and all that.
Click to expand...
They ARE fantastic players, but I just can't hang with the tones, either. Makes me want to hand them a Hofner plugged into a B15 turned up all the way ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: shojii, Paul New, Lo-E and 4 others
#39
JimmyM said:
I don't mean to be a curmudgeon, and if people get joy out of the expensive stuff I'm all for it, but I wasn't feeling the expensive stuff. Janek is fantastic, but while I tried to fight it for years, I just prefer your garden variety Fenders and FSO's, though some require pickup swaps for me to be happy.
Click to expand...
I've gone around and around and always come back to garden variety Fenders and FSOs. It's kind of comforting actually - You don't have to worry about getting something new and having it not what you want which is happening a lot to me lately.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JimmyM

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back