I have lurked on TB for years, finally signed up in 2013, but never did notice this "new people" forum. Better late than never. I don't know if I'm supposed to tell my story or not, but bandwidth is cheap and I guess it wouldn't hurt.
My name's Dave and I live just outside Chattanooga, TN. I've had the pleasure of playing some bass in quite a few areas of the US over the past few decades, but for the most part my focal regions were Colorado and Michigan. My screen name is adapted from an unrelated lifelong obsession: collecting antique beer stuff. Brewster Rooster was the mascot for an old Detroit beer brand called Goebel. There were just so many creative screen names on this forum that I opted for something totally unrelated to music, instead of BassDudeNumber277839 or something equally lackluster.
I started playing music (piano) at 5 and picked up bass when I was 13, so I guess that's 33 years so far. I also fingerpick a little acoustic from time to time. I was in my first band from 13 to 16, mostly 70s and 80s pop-rock, then branched out stylistically. In high school I played in the pit for a couple of musicals, messed around with several bands playing everything from fusion to originals, and was also picked up by a professional Christian-themed outfit that was getting around central CO pretty well. I had my first studio experiences with this group and grew tremendously in all aspects of music, though I never actually realized how influential that experience was until years later when I finally had the maturity to measure where I was against where I'd been. In college I fairly well lived for music, doing everything from improvising piano accompaniments for modern dance classes to teaching to playing bass in various theater productions. I also had the pleasure of spending some time in a jazz trio that was doing standards and some original/exploratory stuff, coupled with a little studio work. In the spare moments I did pickup gigs from Denver to Wyoming, mostly rock and country. I went home to the midwest out of college in 1991 with a degree in music therapy, and wound up using the degree for a couple years while working on staff in a phychiatric facility. I whiled away the evening hours playing with two separate bands, one being a funk/R&B/Motown outfit that was gigging regularly from Toledo to central Michigan, and the other being a power blues trio that was active for a time around Ann Arbor. State budget cuts forced the layoff of quite a few health care workers in late 1993 - myself included - so I wound up taking a job in automotive manufacturing to pay the bills. It turned into such a nice gig that I entered an electrical apprenticeship, earned a journeyman's card, and began shop-hopping to expand the resume'. While still in Michigan I played weekend gigs with a couple different bands - mostly blues, rock, and oldies - but then transferred to Chicago and found myself without a lot of time to make music.
Like a lot of folks, I found that married life ate up the time once devoted to music. I stayed in a married "condition" for nearly 20 years and was mercifully divorced in 2013. I won't waste time on the details, but suffice to say I'm a lot happier, and free to indulge in music again. If anything, the experience of letting music slip away for the last 10 years of that marriage did nothing but reinforce the notion that musical ability, like any ability, is a gift from [fill in the name of your favorite supreme deity here] that should always be shared, never neglected and never taken for granted. Although I had been called upon in the "dark years" to play the odd wedding, pickup gig, or studio engagement, there was no regularity to it. If I had it to do over again, music would have been a precondition and requirement of life - not a disposable option.
The career path took me from Chicago to Indiana Harbor, then to Memphis, and finally to Chattanooga. A couple years ago I dusted off the equipment I had left, added a few pieces, hit a local jam to start meeting the other area musicians, and now I'm back into gigging when time allows. I've been part of some enjoyable music endeavors in Chattanooga, Alabama and north Georgia, and although I'm in no way committed to it on a full-time basis (I still have a boy to finish raising, and he'll always top the priority list), the musicians around here immediately made me feel welcomed. I'm having as much fun with music now as ever and will be interested to see what pops in the future.
Rig-wise, I've been through a lot of equipment over the years. Amps have included Ross, Peavey, Fender, Sunn, GK, Ampeg and Hartke rigs...probably forgetting some others. But over time, with bass amplification moving from refrigerator-sized rigs to FOH, I decided to bust myself back to an Acoustic combo amp for the utter simplicity of it. It fits in my little vehicle, it's easy to sling around, I'm not out much if it gets damaged, it serves as a great stage monitor even when running through FOH, and it actually sounds excellent with my main axe (Fender American Standard Jazz, 2012 Limitied Edition). I had some trepidation given the things I'd read about Acoustic quality issues, but I've really been fortunate with it. I love the "notch" knob - I can dial the thing in to any room in a flash, and by favoring the bridge pickup just a bit while running a little bit of the amp's built-in overdrive, the whole rig just sings, barks, snarls, and oozes vintage. I've been approached by a number of musicians, wanting to know what sort of effects I'm running to get "that sound," and the answer is none. I usually don't even use the compressor on the amp itself. I've had a couple of them call BS on me, and so in jam situations I invite people to try it and see for themselves. The last guy fell in love with the rig to the point that I almost didn't get to play the rest of the night. As much as I love the looks and sound of boutique equipment - at least in the hands of others - I've always been all about simple. I have sold off my other amps and am currently considering a Mesa rig to have on hand for larger venues, but I'll still keep this little Acoustic combo running until it finally pukes.
For all the years I've read the TB forums, I've enjoyed all of it. There is a world of experience and knowledge in here - fascinating to read and learn from. It's a great online community and an invaluable resource. So, to the mods and everybody who keep TB up and running, many thanks!
Cheers!
BrewsterRooster
My name's Dave and I live just outside Chattanooga, TN. I've had the pleasure of playing some bass in quite a few areas of the US over the past few decades, but for the most part my focal regions were Colorado and Michigan. My screen name is adapted from an unrelated lifelong obsession: collecting antique beer stuff. Brewster Rooster was the mascot for an old Detroit beer brand called Goebel. There were just so many creative screen names on this forum that I opted for something totally unrelated to music, instead of BassDudeNumber277839 or something equally lackluster.
I started playing music (piano) at 5 and picked up bass when I was 13, so I guess that's 33 years so far. I also fingerpick a little acoustic from time to time. I was in my first band from 13 to 16, mostly 70s and 80s pop-rock, then branched out stylistically. In high school I played in the pit for a couple of musicals, messed around with several bands playing everything from fusion to originals, and was also picked up by a professional Christian-themed outfit that was getting around central CO pretty well. I had my first studio experiences with this group and grew tremendously in all aspects of music, though I never actually realized how influential that experience was until years later when I finally had the maturity to measure where I was against where I'd been. In college I fairly well lived for music, doing everything from improvising piano accompaniments for modern dance classes to teaching to playing bass in various theater productions. I also had the pleasure of spending some time in a jazz trio that was doing standards and some original/exploratory stuff, coupled with a little studio work. In the spare moments I did pickup gigs from Denver to Wyoming, mostly rock and country. I went home to the midwest out of college in 1991 with a degree in music therapy, and wound up using the degree for a couple years while working on staff in a phychiatric facility. I whiled away the evening hours playing with two separate bands, one being a funk/R&B/Motown outfit that was gigging regularly from Toledo to central Michigan, and the other being a power blues trio that was active for a time around Ann Arbor. State budget cuts forced the layoff of quite a few health care workers in late 1993 - myself included - so I wound up taking a job in automotive manufacturing to pay the bills. It turned into such a nice gig that I entered an electrical apprenticeship, earned a journeyman's card, and began shop-hopping to expand the resume'. While still in Michigan I played weekend gigs with a couple different bands - mostly blues, rock, and oldies - but then transferred to Chicago and found myself without a lot of time to make music.
Like a lot of folks, I found that married life ate up the time once devoted to music. I stayed in a married "condition" for nearly 20 years and was mercifully divorced in 2013. I won't waste time on the details, but suffice to say I'm a lot happier, and free to indulge in music again. If anything, the experience of letting music slip away for the last 10 years of that marriage did nothing but reinforce the notion that musical ability, like any ability, is a gift from [fill in the name of your favorite supreme deity here] that should always be shared, never neglected and never taken for granted. Although I had been called upon in the "dark years" to play the odd wedding, pickup gig, or studio engagement, there was no regularity to it. If I had it to do over again, music would have been a precondition and requirement of life - not a disposable option.
The career path took me from Chicago to Indiana Harbor, then to Memphis, and finally to Chattanooga. A couple years ago I dusted off the equipment I had left, added a few pieces, hit a local jam to start meeting the other area musicians, and now I'm back into gigging when time allows. I've been part of some enjoyable music endeavors in Chattanooga, Alabama and north Georgia, and although I'm in no way committed to it on a full-time basis (I still have a boy to finish raising, and he'll always top the priority list), the musicians around here immediately made me feel welcomed. I'm having as much fun with music now as ever and will be interested to see what pops in the future.
Rig-wise, I've been through a lot of equipment over the years. Amps have included Ross, Peavey, Fender, Sunn, GK, Ampeg and Hartke rigs...probably forgetting some others. But over time, with bass amplification moving from refrigerator-sized rigs to FOH, I decided to bust myself back to an Acoustic combo amp for the utter simplicity of it. It fits in my little vehicle, it's easy to sling around, I'm not out much if it gets damaged, it serves as a great stage monitor even when running through FOH, and it actually sounds excellent with my main axe (Fender American Standard Jazz, 2012 Limitied Edition). I had some trepidation given the things I'd read about Acoustic quality issues, but I've really been fortunate with it. I love the "notch" knob - I can dial the thing in to any room in a flash, and by favoring the bridge pickup just a bit while running a little bit of the amp's built-in overdrive, the whole rig just sings, barks, snarls, and oozes vintage. I've been approached by a number of musicians, wanting to know what sort of effects I'm running to get "that sound," and the answer is none. I usually don't even use the compressor on the amp itself. I've had a couple of them call BS on me, and so in jam situations I invite people to try it and see for themselves. The last guy fell in love with the rig to the point that I almost didn't get to play the rest of the night. As much as I love the looks and sound of boutique equipment - at least in the hands of others - I've always been all about simple. I have sold off my other amps and am currently considering a Mesa rig to have on hand for larger venues, but I'll still keep this little Acoustic combo running until it finally pukes.
For all the years I've read the TB forums, I've enjoyed all of it. There is a world of experience and knowledge in here - fascinating to read and learn from. It's a great online community and an invaluable resource. So, to the mods and everybody who keep TB up and running, many thanks!
Cheers!
BrewsterRooster
