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Kyle Greene, Improv Bassist

basspirate777

basspirate777

Mar 21, 2009
116
19
Latrobe, Pa
www.soundcloud.com
#1
Hey folks, thanks for reading! I have been a talkbasser for 5+ years now, I go through phases where I am glued to it constantly, but I have been away for about a year. I have been raising twins though, so most spare moments, seconds, milliseconds go to playing bass. :cool:

I have been doing recordings of some improvised solo bass loop stuff though that I have wanted to share on here forever.

If any of you folks like improvised music, you might dig some of this!

Here are a couple videos:

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http://youtu.be/-mECK3s0rO8

I also have some cool tunes up on a SoundCloud page:

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Any thoughts would be appreciated! I haven't shared this music with many bass players, so it would be a real honor to have some of my low-end associates lend their ears! Cheers! :)
 
#2
I liked both pieces you posted to youtube. Very cool; Finger Paint in particular felt like a soundtrack.

Two things struck me: you might want to invest in a different looper, and get yourself a band! Also make the band dub-y. I can see something with you, a drummer, some muted horns, and maybe keys. You've already nailed the guitar tone/style with your M13.

... which, unfortunately, might not the be looper you want. As I understand it, the M13 looper lets you stack loops, but would require significant tap dancing to completely switch tones from the (pretty sweet) reverb/dub guitar tones you've got going. For me, those pieces sound like they'd really benefit from a massive, subsonic dub bass line; a different looper might help with that sort of tonal switching.

As for finding a band: some of the pieces (Sunburn I and II) sound like they'd benefit from having other musicians on them. As I said, my experience with loopers is limited; when I've used them, however, I find that I end up playing things just because (owing to the fact that the looped nature of the track can make it sound static), rather than because playing something is actually necessary.

The greater the number of people playing on something, the less I need to play something totally new to move a track, and the more I can focus on moving a track with dynamics. I totally get the moving-a-track-with-dynamics feel from the stuff you posted, and think you're in a similar headspace.

TL;DR version: it's good! more sub lows! get a band!
 
#3
Thank you for listening and your thoughts!

I love my M13 as far as the practically near endless tones I can create, but it does have some hangups as far as a looper goes. One thing that drives me a bit batty as well is that the buttons can be noisy, which is a drag. You are right about tap dancing to get a totally different tone rolling as well, too. Does /not/ play out well for me when I'm already trying to improvise, listen and play already at the same time! 8)

As for a band, I totally would join the band you described above!!! 8) My location, which needs changed, would indicate that I'm near Pittsburgh, which actually has a fair amount of players...but these days I live in the middle of a cornfield in Indiana state, so it's been hard to find other like-minded players. It's hard to find other people, period, out in the little patch I live in.

I spent a years gigging a lot, touring as a backup musician, living in Nashville, and playing in some awesome instrumental improv/funk/jazz trios that dabbled in the dub. I really miss the scene down there. I think once I finish my degree here in IN, I am going to have to move the family somewhere with a bit of a better music scene.

I still want to work with this solo format, though. It has its definite limitations, but I think the looper allows musicians to express a lot while by themselves. I think you're dead on about the need to expand the tonal palate of these tunes. I also need to figure in some interesting changes when I start adding in guitar parts (I am somewhere around as proficient with the guitar as the bass).

Seriously though, thank you for the very thoughtful, constructive response!!
 

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