#1482, Tuesday, August 4: Showing off

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Post 1482, Day 216 of 2015
- 1,677 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I don't think of myself as being that good a bass player.

I regularly see people with technical skills (and modern sensibilities) doing things on bass that are beyond my abilities. I hear lines that are refreshing because they wouldn't occur to me. I give credit and respect to many other bass players, locally and, of course, those who've risen to the top of the business for their talent and skill.

I'm fine with that. The things I do very well aren't so much about technical ability as about feel. My particular outstanding skill isn't one I see exhibited regularly, and isn't really a money-maker.

I am an excellent ensemble player with a very good ear. Ensemble playing is really the only kind of playing that interests me. Decades of playing at open mics (from a disdain for band politics) had developed my listening skills to the point where I can usually do a pretty credible job of faking my way through any kind of music.

One time, I got to a multi-band show very early, because I did not know the schedule. I met a fellow-bass player there who had come to see my band and another friend's band that played earlier than us.

The promoter of the show knew both of us, and asked if either of us could sub for the bass player of the lead-off band, who had bailed at the last moment. My friend hadn't brought any equipment, looked at me, I said, "Sure!"

The band turned out to be an all-original goth/death metal band. I asked the guitarist to give me the first chord to each song, then tried to read off his fingerboard to get the rest. It was a great success. I hit every single stop, and I didn't play anything jarringly wrong.

At the end of the set, my friend asked when I had heard the band, let alone had time to practice. I told him not only had I never heard the band before, I had never met any of the players before. My friend said he assumed I had known their stuff, I seemed to fit in perfectly - he would never have gone up there not knowing anything about what was going to be played - and he still tells that story to other bass players.

That's one of the two things I do well on bass. I reliably find a good line. I make up arrangements on the spot. That's my real bass-playing skill, and probably the reason I like, almost exclusively, playing in group settings.

The other thing I do well on bass is create, find, and sit in the 'pocket'. I'm a 'feel' bass-player, and a friend to all drummers. I like the bass to disappear into the rhythm section, and create a groove. It feels good (no pun intended). It just does. It makes me smile. It makes it effortless when I'm in the groove.

That is the part of what I do that makes people come up to me after a set and tell me it looks like I'm having a great time.

I'm a show-off, and, as far as playing bass is concerned, that is really what I have (all I have?) to show off.

Food and Diet Section

Today's Weight:                   207.4 lbs

Previous Weight (8/3):            210.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:                - 2.6 lbs

Diet Comment

One good day, and back on track. More to lose, but back. I think I want to hang out under 205 pounds. And I think that's pretty arbitrary, but healthier than 210, which is about 10 pounds under the max for a 'Normal' BMI for me.

Food Log

Breakfast
A Quest bar.

Lunch
Roast beef and a big mixed baby greens salad with cole slaw blend, shaved cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack
A Quest bar.

Dinner
Wild-caught salmon patty on Ezekiel 4:9 Flax sprouted grain bread with guacamole and a Quest bar.

Snack
A Quest bar.

Liquid Intake
   Espressos: 2;  Coffee: 24 oz.; Water: 88+ oz.

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