John Hendow

I don’t know what I did to appease the bass gods. It might be the practicing I’ve been doing, or maybe just my recent whining about the desperate need for a better amp. Either way, good fortune has visited upon me and I’m mightily pleased. Last night I purchased an Ashdown half-stack consisting of a MAG300R head and a MAG410T cabinet. This setup produces a huge fundamental bass tone with clarity and authority. I’ve been looking at Ashdown amps for months and trying to decide how I could possibly afford to purchase this rig.

I was lucky to find such a great deal on this amp. It’s used, but in great condition. It’ll be a welcome improvement over my previous amp, which will now be relegated to the practice space. Actually, having my old amp sitting in our practice room will save me the back-breaking work of hauling it up and down the stairs. Amazingly, this 4×10 cabinet still fits into my trunk, so I’ll be able to haul it myself. It actually might weigh less than my old amp. I came home from work tonight and cranked it up in the garage just for fun. So far, I’m delighted with this amp and can’t wait until our next gig. Hooray for awesome tone!

Lately I’ve been looking around for a better case for my trusty Warwick Corvette fretless. It came with a reasonably sturdy gig bag, but I wanted something that would offer a little more protection for this instrument. I do have access to an Anvil flight case, but that is overkill for local gigs and adds substantial weight to an already heavy bass. I recently decided to purchase one of the newly redesigned SKB 44 bass cases, which seems to be a good fit for my needs.

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The Preons will be playing at The Sunset Tavern in Ballard on Saturday 11/10. We’ll be on the bill for the early show, probably hitting the stage around 7:00 PM. If you’ve always wanted to hear us, but need to be home before 9:00 PM, this seems like the perfect opportunity…

On Thursday 10/18, reggae star Lucky Dube was fatally shot in a hijacking attempt in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was a legitimate reggae superstar, long regarded as the “Bob Marley of Africa. He was South Africa’s largest selling reggae artist, and through his music preached tolerance and peace. During my years in Jumbalassy, I often listened to Lucky Dube and admired the strength and courage he radiated through his conscious music. We were fortunate enough to perform with him and I enjoyed his live music immensely.

His tragic death is sad news on so many levels. I recognize that reggae has long been the voice of oppressed people. Most great reggae artists live in politically unstable environments where desperation is rampant and crime is accepted as a means to getting anything. It breaks my heart that so many visionary reggae musicians have pointlessly died. 

If you are moved to do so, you may send a message of condolence to his family at Lucky@gallo.co.za

I quite enjoyed our show this Saturday. It was an evening of seeing great friends and wrapping up Friday’s birthday fun (I somehow turned 44… I’m still not entirely certain how that happened). My friend Edgars made an appearance, having recently earned his computer science degree and joined the brethren of programmer geeks. He is one of those smart guys who knows his way around in the insides of hardware and software. Also making an appearance was my god-daughter Sarah, who isn’t 21. She hung out in the Venus lounge next door and peeked through the doorway to see us play. Her father Patrick is a friend of mine since childhood, and he was visiting us this weekend with his fiancee, so they were both in attendance as well. My good friend Frank made an appearance and provided moral support, along with smart musical observations. Right after we finished loading our gear off the stage, Kellie and Cynthia showed and asked what time we were going on…. it was lovely to see them, and I’ll look forward to seeing them at the next gig.

The Mars bar is cozy and always has a great vibe. Being in a small bar, on a bill with multiple bands always makes for an interesting logistics challenge. We managed to get ourselves set up without much trouble, and left our gear in place since the opening act was a solo acoustic musician. Midway through his set the third band arrived, loading in an impressive mountain of equipment… multiple amps, a big drum set, a cello, Fender Rhodes… the loads of gear kept coming and coming. I wondered if they had knocked over a pawn shop or something. Fortunately they found room for all those items in the various nooks and crannies of the club.

Our set went very well. Josh was full of energy and dug into the songs with passion. Life events have a way of showing up in how we express ourselves. I was glad to see him so intensely “in the moment” at the gig. Janie did a nice job of driving the songs and was especially groovy on Charlie Munden. Brad was great as always. He seems to have a solid sense of when to go for it, and those moments (especially trumpet solos) were wonderful. I had a lot of fun. This may be have been one of my favorite gigs with this band.

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This has been a great week of Preons rehearsals and we’re sounding better than ever. It was also a week of interesting adventures… on Tuesday it seemed the equipment gremlins paid us a visit.

• Brad’s trumpet mic was acting up and he decided to abandon it until he could spend some time troubleshooting. This meant we used his horn without any sort of processing, which is still pretty cool since he’s a good trumpet player. Brad uses interesting effects and explores tonal shading with a very music sense. But his “straight” trumpet tone is really tasty.
• Janie’s snare head was on its way out. Minor stress cracks had begun appear around the edges and I wondered if she’d make it through the rehearsal with it intact (fortunately it did survive).
• My instrument cable started making occasional skronking noises. It’s a Whirlwind cable that I have had for a few years, and I’m guessing the solder joint is failing at the plug (this seems to be the weak point on these cables). Also, my bass amp sounded thin and crummy. I couldn’t EQ it in a way that felt good and sounded musical.

Last night was much better.

• Brad’s mic is working perfectly. We have no idea what caused all the noise and issues. Brad attempted to recreate the original symptom, and it wouldn’t manifest itself.
• Janie replaced her snare head. The new batter head is slightly different than the previous one, and it sounds more crisp to me, with better fundamental tone and less ringing overtones.
• My cable is attempting to redeem itself by performing noiselessly, but just to be on the safe side I’m going to retire it. My amp is still a little underwhelming, but I can live with it for another gig. This week I did some looking around and found a nice deal on a potential replacement amp that is for sale as a used unit. Unfortunately it’s a little more expensive than I can currently justify and I will probably need to pass on it.

Rehearsal last night went very well. On the way home, both Brad and I were observing the positive energy and musical solidity that permeated the room. We’re looking forward to playing tomorrow. I’ve decided to play fretless on two more songs in our set, and we may even throw in a brand new song that we’ve been using as a warmup / soundcheck lately.

It’s a strange thing to be on stage, wearing a suit and tie, before dawn. This morning 80s Invasion played a show at Seattle Center with a 7:00 AM downbeat (!). The show was a kickoff for the United Way’s “Day of Caring” program, hosted by Lori Matsukawa of King 5 News in Seattle.

For this gig I decided not to haul my guitar rig, opting to use my smaller bass amp. It actually works out pretty well, and since the amp is designed in the shape of a wedge (like a monitor), it sits nicely and projects directly at me. I got a little far afield on “Take On Me” because it was our second song, and (more likely) because I hadn’t succeeded in finding any coffee yet. Fortunately, the Seattle Center has a Starbucks location just a stone’s throw from the stage and I managed to get my morning inspiration between sets. The Mural Amphitheater stage was covered with a big all-weather plastic tent, which means the stage sound was something like being inside a hamster ball.

Overall, I’d say it was a succesful gig. People got up and danced. They sang along. Some people even “walked like an Egyptian” which is amazing considering the early hour.

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A few years ago, OLP introduced the Tony Levin model bass. I was intrigued by Tony’s comments about the planning and design of this instrument, and was in the market for an affordable fretted 5 string so I ordered one from a local dealer. In the two years I’ve owned it, I’m happy to report I’ve really enjoyed this instrument. It has been solidly performing on all my gigs with The Preons, and sounds great on my various recording projects. This is the only fretted bass I currently own; my other basses are a fretless Warwick Corvette and a fretless P-Bass.

The Tony Levin model is based on a 5 string Music Man Stingray, but this model has a slightly narrower neck profile. OLP produces these instruments in China under license from Ernie Ball / Music Man. It’s not a Stingray, but it’s a decent instrument and is a very good value. To get an appreciably better bass, you’d need to spend a lot more than the $349 suggested list price (a 5 string Stingray is priced at about $1,000 more than the OLP version). In my limited email interactions with OLP, they’ve been responsive and helpful. One a scale of 1 to 10, this instrument rates an 8.5 from me. It’s a great balance of value and features.

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Our show at The Comet Tavern last night was interesting and enjoyable. The Comet is a justifiably celebrated venue in Seattle’s punk / DIY music scene, and many great local bands played there on their way to either stardom or obscurity. It’s one of the those places where great energy still fuels the creative output of musicians.

The stage is small. So small, in fact, that it’s really more of a triangular drum riser. After Janie set up her drums there was sufficient space remaining for my bass amp and for me. So I had a cozy spot on stage right, which is opposite my usual outpost. I turned toward Janie so I could watch her; she hits her drums with a lot of energy and it’s easier for me to sync up if I can see how she’s playing. Josh and Brad set up on the floor in front of us, more or less facing each other, which was a cool staging idea. There were four bands on the bill last night, with the Preons playing second. I really enjoyed hearing “Gozer” (local band with awesome name) and “Bear Hunter” (on tour from Chico, CA). Unfortunately I didn’t stay long enough to hear “Knives” play. One of the disadvantages of working so early in the morning is that I just can’t stay out and hear music on school nights. Josh was fighting some kind of cold bug but he persevered, bolstered by a cup of hot herb tea.

Overall, I’m increasingly satisfied with how the Preons are coming together. Last night’s show was musically satisfying, and I think we did a good job of putting the music first and finding new ideas in the more exploratory sections of our songs.

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I have always gravitated toward interesting musicians who deliver a compelling, well-crafted groove. One of my favorite musicians is Tony Levin, and he always seems to be at the center of music I’m listening to. It’s largely due to Tony’s playing that I bought a Chapman Stick. My first attempts at transcribing bass parts were a result of hearing Tony’s recordings with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. I consider myself blessed that I have been able to spend time with him and chat over an espresso. Heck, I’ve even loaded his gear down a couple of flights of stairs… guesss that makes me a fan / friend / roadie / guy.

Tony recently sent me a pre-release copy of his forthcoming CD Stick Man. I own all of his solo releases along with a large number of his band releases (I don’t make any attempt to collect everything he’s recorded… the man’s discography is immense). The upcoming release is a bold and musically adventuresome recording, and it’s become my favorite CD of the year. Among Tony’s gifts is the ability to always create an interesting tone and a well-crafted bass line.

Based on the CD title you can guess that Tony plays a lot of Chapman Stick on these tracks. It’s sometimes difficult to determine the bass from Stick tones. There is some very interesting processing on these instruments, and I hear a little of Tony’s classical training showing up in these sounds. Overall, it holds together cohesively as an album, which is every bit as important as the individual songs. I’m also intrigued by the vocals on this CD and look forward to hearing the material played live.

This release is stellar. Get out there and love this CD immediately!