Jeffrey K. Elkins – The Bass Blog

This kind of blog is what comes of getting hopped up on pancakes at, yes, you guessed it, IHOP (they should change the brand to iHop – everyone’s doing it) and Do-Si-Dos. Ooh… did you know…

       HAPPINESS

I LOVE Girl Scout cookies. And milk.

Every Saturday morning I wake up to my stomach growling. It’s cheat day on our diet – the one day each week (we chose Saturday) that we get to eat whatever we want. Sounds like a fad, but the “Cheat to Lose” diet is actually pretty good from a motivation standpoint. I’ve lost 10lbs in less than two months, and what we’re doing is sustainable. I’ll write more about that later.

Daynellen is practicing The Lion Sleeps Tonight on her piano. At the end of each phrase, there’s a left-hand pattern that reminds me of the horn hits after “The long and wind-ing… road…” Bap bah… bap baaah…

Or maybe I just think they do. It seems to happen more often with The Beatles’ songs than any other – I hear them on the radio, and am surprised that the rhythm or instrumentation doesn’t match what’s in my head.

My folks owned all kinds of vinyl when I was growing up. I especially remember The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul & Mary, and Joan Baez. The album that sticks in my head the strongest from back then is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Might be why I like doing the Dark Side of the Rainbow so much.

I listen to it now, though, and wonder why it didn’t freak me out back then. It’s a pretty spooky album, especially the beginning with the machine noises and psycho laughter.

But strangly… I’m discovering that it might not actually be that album in my head. In my head I hear the Speak To Me/Breathe intro (a heartbeat) as footsteps, or water droplets…

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We had a good gig at The French Quarter on Thursday. Jack mixes very well for his room, and no one can accuse him of putting in too much bass (over at Fuel they have a different philosophy about bass, which is great if you’re dancing, or drunk, or both). I made the mistake of joking with him about that as I asked him to watch the bass in the mains, complaining that the volume sometimes got away from me when I was bowing Emma.

Well he watched the bass right OUT of the mains on a couple songs, so there’s my lesson for the month. Be careful what you wish for.

But the gig was good. We could hear the audience, and by all accounts they could hear Anna, so goal #1 of the “organic” change has been accomplished: Put Anna Ross and the songs back out front.

When we were playing electric instruments and a full drum kit the band was burying the songs – people often complained of not being able to hear the lyrics. And the lyrics and melody – not to mention delivery - are what make her art so artistic. The rest of us are really incidental; not even a magic feather – she’s got days-worth of solo material, and plays out often by herself or with Jon.

But face it, the band is fun to jam with… :) And I hear potential. The songs won’t be like they were when we cut the full electric versions. And they’re still different than they are solo. Maybe these versions will help them stick in folks’ heads. There’s definitely something there.

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Daynellen says it’s time for lunch. We’re going to the Chicago dog place up on 31-E. Hopefully the lion sleeps for the next six days, but right now… it’s cheat day! Growl.

Be free,

Jeff