Parts are arriving….this is a reasonable $7.99 part to use for just the knobs and the metal control plate. The soldering job is pretty bad though. Thankfully, I was already planning on gutting the electronics on this plate and soldering my own choice of pots and caps in there. Onward…

So, I decided to knock two things off my bucket list. I’ve never owned a jazz bass, and I’ve never built a bass. Plenty of project guitars have come and gone from my care, but I’ve never really built a bass guitar. Time to correct this oversight. The unfinished body was purchased on eBay from Read More …

Part two of the previous blog post….thanks for staying with me to part 2. 🙂 Another new bass joined my cartage of instruments recently. MANY THANKS to Chris Willcox and LightWave for this beauty! It arrived as a practice with my drummer was concluding. Man…after the unboxing, and a lot of “ooos and ahhhhss” from Read More …

Thanks for joining me here! Things have been busy, so I’ve got quite a few news items to run down. That being said, I think this will be best served as a two-part blog. I’ll try to do this as succinctly as I can. Here goes… It’s been a great week of news about former Read More …

Lady Bass Music Schedule of Shows and Events Spring /Early Summer 2017 Sat. 5/6 –(with a rain date of 5/13)- Will- Stock! A House Concert with Scott Varney, the Brittany Frompovich Trio, Austin Crow, Josh Trump, Ward Warren, and more! 3 PM to 10 PM – email me at lady.bass.music@gmail.com for location info. Sun 5/7 Read More …

So, it’s been a great week of news about former students. One student has announced that he is going back to school working on his master’s in composition at Bowling Green State University. Congrats Stephen Hennessey on that opportunity and decision. I keep hearing great things about your progress through the grapevine. 🙂 Another great Read More …

Thank you interwebs for the nice rush of orders in my Etsy store this weekend. 🙂 I just completed this bracelet…and it may well be the last one I create in this style/combination of materials. I can no longer get the chain I used to make these bracelets. So, if you already own one of Read More …

Have bass, have pet sitter, have cases of cat food stockpiled from BJ’s (it was a good sale)….it’s time to go play shows. I’ll be on walkabout shortly; Fredericksburg, Richmond, NoVa, down into Tennessee. For the schedule of shows with all the details, head to my website at www.ladybassmusic.com. Here’s what’s coming up over the Read More …

Last week, I decided to do something different for my solo bass show at Adventure Brewing Company South. I invited special guests Bruce Middle (guitar) and Bart Balderson (drums) to join me on the gig as a trio. We covered my solo bass arrangement of Eleanor Rigby, which someone described as “the Eleanor Rigby superjam”….running Read More …

I sometimes get to thinking…I’m just not doing nearly enough with my life. And then the phone rings. It happens. It’s a good thing. So let’s talk on what the net result of that particular day was…. THURSDAY MARCH 9TH at ADVENTURE BREWING COMPANY SOUTH – ALL AGES SHOW First off, it’s my birthday this Read More …

I haven’t blogged in a while. Life is moving too fast right now. But I saw this old entry in a journal pop up. I normally don’t post very personal things. But somehow..just a feeling today…maybe this will help someone. I don’t know who…I actually have no one specific in mind as I repost this. Read More …

Among a long list of tasks kicking off the new year; get some good promo pics for Warwick. The folks at Warwick have treated me really well. Early January is usually not so busy, so I scheduled a photoshoot for myself and fellow Warwick artist Chris Welborn. That being said, many thanks to the multi-talented Read More …

It was a busy Christmas “break”; two rehearsals and then lessons on Monday,  a 13 hour day in the studio on Tuesday, and then Wednesday night a “promotional” appearance at Doughtery’s Tavern to generate interest in our New Year’s Eve show. Here’s some video from the promo event;  

12/22/2016 – A few weeks back in my blog posts, I mentioned that Michael Dimin and I did a jazz cover of a Jim Croce song for the holiday season. (That video is over on my YouTube channel if you haven’t seen it/heard it yet. Swing by and give it a listen). And now I’m Read More …

Hey friends….I am delighted to be in such good company for the Fall 2016 issue of FLAR. This is a piece on Amy Bayne about the songwriting process using interviews from quite a selection of amazing local and NoVa talent. Honored and grateful to be included…and for the opportunity! Click here to download an issue Read More …

In recent days, I posed this question to friends on Facebook; “What the best piece of advice you offer to folks that have real difficulty finding the time to practice?” Folks ranging from hobbyists all the way to nationally known working musicians responded to my question. The answers were varied, and no one answer is Read More …

Quite honored and quite grateful to Joel McIver and Bass Guitar Magazine for the opportunity to be interviewed for “Bassically Speaking”…look for it in the December 2016 issue.

Hello! Hopefully everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day weekend. I’m happy to say that the studio at Lady Bass Music got a major makeover over the past weekend. New carpet, new paint, good overall cleaning job….there’s a nice energy to the place now. Students and visitors are calling it inviting and “a bit serene”. The Read More …

We’re backstage, at the start of a show. The Edwin Drood pit orchestra. We’re in a “loft-pit”, as I’ve come to call it…a second-story loft that is above the stage area. This pit is not visible to the audience, so shenanigans do occur. I’m sitting on the floor next to my bass. It’s a two-show Read More …

“There’s a blaze of light In every word It doesn’t matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah” RIP, and thank you for the music. You created one of my favorite songs to cover.  A song that harkens to spacious scaredness of a heart rendered tender by brokenness, a heart rendered tender by Read More …

Life changes us. Wear your scars and arrows. They landed to scar you, change you, create something new…to change the course of your life for the better. I usually don’t post memes, but this resonates this week as I watch people around me struggling with various but necessary changes in their lives. My favorite part Read More …

11/6/2016 – Tech week for Drood has passed, plus the opening night and the first weekend…8 days.  Last Saturday feels like a solid MONTH ago.  A million things have happened….teaching, tech week, load-in, sound checks, preps for a recording session, practicing, another gig in Leesburg, booking gigs…the list goes on. Looking in my recycle bin, Read More …

11/3/2016 – Tonight was the opening night of The Mystery of Edwin Drood at UMW. Tech week has concluded, and we tumble into opening weekend. One show down, 13 to go. The pit for this show is on a platform above the stage about 5 to 6 feet wide, maybe 25 to 30 feet long Read More …

Happy to give a shout out here in my blog to my friend Roger Munch, a former student and an amazing artist.  He’s just got his website up, and I’d encourage folks to check it out here.  He does some great work…very organic and tapped into the natural world.  I’m a fan, and maybe you’ll Read More …

This article was originally posted in 1997.  While my website is under re-construction, I’m going to post a copy here.       “A Talk With Edgar Meyer”   as featured in Bassic magazine and Bass Frontiers Online in 1997     Amendments and corrections provided by Dr. Bruce Hyman.     Date: Sun, 25 Read More …

10/24/2016-  Another busy weekend in the books…taught on Saturday morning until 3 PM, then packed up and was loading in at a private party by 4:30 PM. This was sometime around 7:00 that evening.  I was so glad I set my rig up by the fire pit. The wind had picked up and it was Read More …

I can’t believe it’s been five years since I met this little one! Warning…seriously cute cat video ahead….

I did this interview almost a year ago, and I am seriously grateful to Brent-Anthony Johnson for the opportunity. The published version is online here. The original interview I typed out was almost 10 pages long….way too much for an interview online and shorter attention spans. However, a few folks saw the original copy and Read More …

Putting a link here to mostly keep track of these articles I wrote a few years back. As time goes on, they are getting harder and harder to find in the indexing unless you search the title. Here’s a listing of the articles I wrote during my time as a blogger for MTH. These articles Read More …

DKRE got to perform as a guest last Wednesday night. We were at a local open mic run by Headstone Circus. Mike Hope got some video of the group performing a lot of new material arranged for this lineup. Sweet Child of Mine and Kashmir were brand new additions to our set list and had Read More …

“Can you share an experience in the Bass Kune Do group where playing your instrument and honing your craft lead you to the self-discovery of who you are as a bassist and more importantly a person?” (Photo by Aaron Gibson, taken at the 2016 LoDo Bass Bash.) Self-discovery is always ongoing. But playing my instrument Read More …

10/14/2016 – So, this was my Wednesday night…. This group really tore it up with strings forward versions of classic rock tunes…lots of interest in them now. Once my guys approve the videos Mike Hope shot (thank you Mike), I’ll have some videos up. It was a long journey to get here. I teach a Read More …

10/12/2016 – If you’ve caught my live show, you might recognize the end credits music to this video (starts at 25:55). Thanks to JB Hope for the guitar parts on this version of Exploratory Flight. What was fun was sending it to the show’s producer to see if it would work for the show. He Read More …

Interesting read (see the article at the end of this post). I’ve seen this “devaluation” most clearly in some of the attitudes of the music students I have taught. This isn’t all the students, obviously. And if you’ve signed up for lessons, you probably care more than most folks.  But there are these folks….as someone Read More …

A long time ago, someone interviewed me about being a female bass player. I replied, “we’re all just spirits in bodies, I just happened to get this body.” I don’t think they quite expected that answer. That being said, I’m really happy to see this video today. Just because society and well-intentioned parents tend to Read More …

This is a continuation of the previous post. File this under doing good AND things that freak you out…we need to invent a word for that. I can’t exactly call this serendipity, but in some ways, it feels like a form of it. Climbing into the wayback machine for a moment….to a younger version of Read More …

I really wish I knew who did this image, I would happily credit them. This was definitely worth a share…for those who are struggling through the first steps…

This my solo bass cover of Alun Vaughan’s arrangement of “The First Noel”, broadcast on SuperHits 95.9 “The Christmas Station”. The track was recorded for the Hometown Holidays segment. Much appreciation that they played this track for me!

I attended UMW’s graduation last night at the invite of two dear music students (who also performed at graduation I might add). There was a young woman who gave a speech at graduation. She had to learn English very rapidly at one point, in order to get the classes she needed to get on the Read More …

What a long, crazy wild ride these past six months has been! Flash mobs, house concerts, our preps to open for Heart, then the show at Catalyst, Will-Stock, the Warehouse concert, filming for a documentary and CVTV in Concert,, a recital for Forte Music…and more! The group practiced outdoors tonight in prep for some of Read More …

Ananda checks out Alec’s string change…and waits to be serenaded.

Just saw the trailer for Ricki and the Flash. Loved this one single line; “It really doesn’t matter if the kids love you or not. It’s not their job to love you. It’s your job to love them.” Describes anyone in my life who has ever turned me away or hurt me for whatever reason, Read More …

Many thanks to Stewart McKinsey for sharing this with me. A giant carillon that plays a tune when struck in sequence was built on a San Diego bridge in 2003 and remains relatively unknown.

Good morning! What a fabulous past few days. Arrived on Wednesday afternoon to play a gig at Arthur’s Public Market. Thursday I took the NS electric string instruments from my RFS Orchestra to a school in the area and demonstrated them to the kids. And then I had the opportunity to do a solo bass Read More …

I showed this to my mother…she said it reminded her of me as a little one.

Tonight’s office…Arthur’s Market and Cafe at 35 N. Ferry Street, Schenectady. Many thanks to Zen Reinhardt for sending me this pic from my show at Arthur’s on Wednesday night. Thanks for coming out Zen, it was great seeing you.

Visited BU yesterday…spent a lot of time in these practice rooms and on this old Kay bass. That Kay was the fostering grounds for several amazing bassists.

From the Facebook feed of the BassBreak LIVE crew! BassBreak LIVE 2015! Headed back to the Northern VA / DC area! May 29 & May 30! Going to be a great weekend of music, learning, sharing, inspiration, jaw-dropping performances, prizes & giveaways, and more! Enjoy the supportive atmosphere BBL is known for! Excitement is at Read More …

I’m starting off the new week by moving from my old Livejournal blog to one hosted on this new website. So since you are reading this….welcome. My old blog is still located here. I may or may not keep updating it at this point…there are only so many hours in the day. For now, the Read More …

I saw this great note on Facebook today, and definitely wanted to share it; “It’s gotten to be an epidemic on Bass Forums. Someone posts a picture of a 6, 7, 10 or more string bass. Someone else posts, “Get a harp! What is that, a skateboard? That’s not a real bass!” I have little Read More …

This was a great clinic on looping and songwriting for all who attended. The clinic was followed by a concert with Scott Varney and Brittany Frompovich. Many thanks for Forte Music for sponsoring the event.

I had a student walk up to me after rehearsal tonight, and ask me to autograph a copy of the article that appeared in Front Porch Magazine. #honored

What an epic night at the Warehouse! Great music, great food, a campfire, great drinks, cigars, wonderful new friends, bass geekery for those who enjoy that, lovely woods, perfect weather, s’mores….pure magic! Live music by myself, Michael Dimin, and Black Powder Blues, a firepit, beers, wine and cigars. Setting up the DIY stage…I made this Read More …

Next weekend we have a ton of great events scheduled for Michael Dimin’s visit to the ‘burg! Join us Friday 4/18 at 7 pm for a house concert with myself and Mike! (Message me if you want to attend, and I’ll send you info). Here’s a pic of the venue we’re setting up in for Read More …

I’m in Piscataway, NJ this weekend, getting ready to fire off some solo bass performances and good grooves at day 2 of The Geek Creation Show. I’m also doing a looping clinic this weekend for any musicians in the con crowd who might be interested. Interesting times. Let’s face it, it’s not every day that Read More …

As a well-traveled touring musician veteran friend said, “Touring is like nothing else.” It’s true. Living like a gypsy with a band of brothers. The kindness I was shown by complete strangers on the road was amazing. This was a short tour; I was out for 13 days and traveled from Fredericksburg Virginia to Denver Read More …

Just got this lovely piece of feedback in an email from a parent; “I also wanted to say thanks for all you do! My son has developed an interest in guitar building and repair and just all the gadgets and things that go along with electric guitars. You have been a wealth of info for Read More …

Thanks to guitarist James Desanto for taking these fantastic pics for Kerry Lathon and Lathon Bass Wear.

It’s the night before the Bass Coalition Summer Workshop. The van proves it is a Tardis for double basses….and there is still room in the backseat.

Hmmm…I might have been too aggressive on the electric upright during today’s show. Fortunately, it is an easy fix. Totally inspired by today’s concert…Scott Varney’s original music with varied textures featuring mouth trumpet, scatting, percussion, funky basslines, looping, vocal harmonies, effects…well, damn. Aaron Gibson’s stripped down approach…who needs effects when you can plug in a Read More …

Looking forward to Bass Break Live in May 2013! Have you signed up yet?

Three days before a gig. I’m changing the batteries in my electric upright. Nothing like the feeling of seeing the wiring harness fall clean off into your hand. Gratitude to my dad and my friend Chris for teaching me how to solder….the Lady Bass repair shop is open for emergency repairs at 2:30 am.

This will be a concert featuring phenomenal musicians from both the East and West coast. The phenomenal Aaron Gibson will be coming in from Portland, Oregon. The amazing Scott Varney will be coming in from Williamsburg, Virginia. Rounding out the roster is Frederickburg’s own Ben Titus and Brittany Frompovich. “Aaron blows us away with each Read More …

I recently started using a plugin for Gmail called Boomerang. This has been a great asset in managing my Inbox. Boomerang allows you to do multiple tasks; 1) Write an email now and then send it at a later date. 2) Schedule reminders so you don’t lose track of important emails in your Inbox. 3) Read More …

Alright LA – I’ll see you soon!

Just finished my clinic for Bass Break Live. Ace Livingston is up now…. Norm Stockton and Adam Nitti are in the house. Concert at BBL…..the song is appropriately titled, “Lover’s Duet”… The Beltway Batman was in the house for another event, as evidenced by his sweet ride being parked outside…

One benefit of teaching at Pickers; if a student has stage fright, I’ll take them outside the store and show them how to busk on the street. The class should be called “overcoming stage fright while making extra cash.” 🙂 Some students get pizza afterwards at Benny Vitali, some folks donate the proceeds to a Read More …

So, the journey of Space Shuttle Discovery ends. When I was growing up, my dad worked as an aerospace engineer. He has parts on the moon…that’s all I know about that. I also know he designed some parts for the Space Shuttle program. Dad lent me one of the explosive bolts for the SRBS to Read More …

Yesterday was a great day of lessons here at Lady Bass Music with Bryan Beller and Kira Small! All the students left their lessons inspired and sounding/playing better than when they arrived. That evening, I made a lovely homemade Italian dinner for Bryan, Kira, singer songwriter Ashleigh Chevalier, and myself. 🙂 We had some growlers Read More …

So this is an article about a great camp in Richmond that I’m involved with. The article was published in the Central Virginia Women’s Sourcebook 2012. The title says it all; “GirlsRock! RVA – Teaching Young Women Self-Esteem, Cooperation, and Respect Through Music.” This is one of the best camp experiences I have ever been Read More …

We’ve got some great things planned for May 15th. And the party keeps getting bigger and better…here’s some breaking news on the Bass Forum’s 2-year birthday party. First off, we celebrate our new partnership with Fredericksburg Academy. I’m sending a huge thank you to Fredericksburg Academy and their Music Department for hosting and partnering with Read More …

Our next KJFK show is December 12th, 2009. We are teaming up with Guitars Not Guns and the Fredericksburg Food Bank. Guitars Not Guns helps at-risk kids by supplying guitars and lessons. They are a community-based organization that provides youth a positive alternative to the self-destructive behaviors of substance abuse, truancy, crime, and gangs.

Open mic pic from October 2009. The Virginia Bass Forum was doing an open mic at William Mason’s Fine Stringed Instrument Repair, in Fredericksburg, VA. Photo by Amy Bayne.

This is a series of video clips from a Virginia Bass Forum workshop taught in 2009 on walking bass lines. All video shot for this clinic by the multitalented bassist/videographer/photographer Billy Wooten.

Hanging out in Times Square. We were in town to see Les Paul play at the Iridium. He was 91 years old at the time.

The first time at GVBBC! Some photos from that first weekend…many thanks to Charles Ford for these pics. I’ve just successfully finished my first Groove Exam. At the Groove Exam you can play whatever you want, but they do ask that it be something you learned at camp. So for my Groove Exam, I opted Read More …

This is a short clip of Trasna, dubbed “blueridge celtic fusion”, performing at the 2006 Potomac Celtic Festival! Thanks to my drum instructor Kevin Powell for joining us on congas for this show. Unfortunately my tenure was short lived;I came into the band as a hired gun to complete the last of the contracted shows Read More …