| Author |
Message |
dannobasso
Intermediate Member
Username: dannobasso
Post Number: 158
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 7:14 pm: |  |
A stabbing that was fatal over a bad drug deal when I was playing in a go go bar in Paterson NJ in 82. The band just finished Judas Priest's version of Green Manalishi. At the end of the riff and final "yeah!" , a woman screamed and a man ran through the bar into the kitchen and was gone. I still had another 2 sets to play. No Alembic for another year but a Ripper L9S was by my side with a Scheduah fretless. Biker bars are also bastions of unusual behavior. Some Pagans were known to frequent some of the gigs in Clifton I played. We were often called upon to play a benefit for a fallen rider. Ah but the cat fights were wonders to behold! Something primal about 2 women thrashing eachother, clumps of hair flying and the promise of a torn bodice! Memories....
Danno |
hollis
Senior Member
Username: hollis
Post Number: 417
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 1:20 pm: | |
I’m usually the one pulling the thread way off course, but allow me to try my hand at restitching....
If I’m one of the few fortunate enough to own Alembics, I just gotta play ‘em! That’s why I bought ‘em. I owe it to myself, as well as the audience to be at the top of my game. Alembics are the best tools I own, therefore I really have no choice but to use them. Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that’s what the folks at Alembic had in mind when they built them.
|
lembic76450
Member
Username: lembic76450
Post Number: 64
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 3:41 pm: | |
"Green Manalishi"??? At the risk of really seemimg old, wasn't that a Fleetwood Mac song back in the day of Peter Green on guitar?
Kenn R. |
hollis
Senior Member
Username: hollis
Post Number: 419
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 4:00 pm: | |
Does it go a little something like this?
Now, when the day goes to sleep and the full moon looks
The night is so black that the darkness cooks
Don't you come creepin' around
makin' me do things I don't want to
Can't believe that you need my love so bad
Come sneakin' around tryin' to drive me mad
Bustin' in on my dreams
making me see things I don't wanna see
'Cause you're da Green Manalishi with the two prong crown
All my tryin' is up
all your bringin' is down
Just taking my love then slippin' away
Leavin' me here just tryin' to keep from following you
I'm pretty sure that Peter Green wrote it.
You don't seem old to me Kenn! |
lembic76450
Member
Username: lembic76450
Post Number: 65
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 5:55 pm: | |
Sounds like the one to me. I have not heard it in years. I had a bootleg version on my old reel to reel, it was a very different band back then.
Thanks for the lyrical flashback.
Kenn R. |
ox_junior
Intermediate Member
Username: ox_junior
Post Number: 183
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 6:08 pm: | |
OK, now to throw a wrench into the machine:
I played mostly Fenders for 20 years - nothing happens. Soundmen don't say a thing except "turn down that Trace Elliot".
I buy two Alembics in 24 months - the more expensive one gets its peghead guillotined off after only 4 gigs. However, at least one soundman has said "The Alembic blows out the Fender (I bring one of each to every gig) - play the Alembic, but will you PLEASE turn down that $%#@! Trace Elliot???" Some things never change.
Am I afraid to bring my Alembics out in public again after that? Well, frankly, yes I am. I seriously doubt I will use my Spyder with my Who tribute band again in very small stage situations. My medium-scale Exploiter, however, might make it out if I stand Stu Sutcliffe-style (i.e. back to the audience and peghead AWAY from the singer).
All comedy aside - I bought my Alembics to PLAY them. They're instruments, not furniture. I PLAY BETTER using them. You bought your Alembic and paid a pretty penny for it. You love it, you know it sounds great, you wanna show it off. Use it. Ignore soundmen who are uninterested in broadening their horizons. Drive your Maserati and be proud.
But beware of microphone-swinging lead singers.
Mike Bisch |
haddimudd
Member
Username: haddimudd
Post Number: 88
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 1:18 am: | |
I had Alembic make me a doubleneck for one reason: So I have to carry only one bass to gigs and to have all the musical freedom I'd ever need. So yes, my Alembic is my favorite work horse, not a museum piece. I would be a fool if I paid all the money and then not play it. |
811952
Advanced Member
Username: 811952
Post Number: 275
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 6:40 am: | |
Hartmut,
I had forgotten what a beautiful instrument you own. Wow. And I'm with you. I sold something like a dozen nice basses to buy my Series I, and I bought it because I really, really, really wanted to play it!
John |
jet_powers
Intermediate Member
Username: jet_powers
Post Number: 192
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 12:53 pm: | |
I played a gig recently where the sound man took a look at my Rogue 5 and my rig and said he wasn't going to put me through the PA as he wanted to save it for vocals, guitar and kick. He said, "Your set up and bass is going to come through just fine. Turn it up a hair, that's all." He was right. He is also actually a very good engineer, well respected in the area and has worked with some name people and is himself a former bass player.
Never had a fatality at a gig although I thought one should have died after taking a glass beer pitcher full in the face, which of course sparked a small scale riot. I just stood on stage with my Persuader, waited it out and figured it would make a very effective weapon had it come down to it before the police cleared things up.
John Paul |
rraymond
Intermediate Member
Username: rraymond
Post Number: 143
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 11:57 pm: | |
I'll never forget this gig at a Navy base, in which a sailor used a pitcher of beer from a Marine table to douse his lady friend with whom he had been arguing. The Marines jumped to their feet, and then this ripple affect happened, and they jumped on the sailor, and then the rest of the room rushed in and jumped on them. Just like a Looney Tunes cartoon, there was this big pile of humans on the floor and all you could see was this pile of flailing arms and legs! Then the Exit doors were flung open, and in rushed the Shore Patrol! What a hysterical scene, it was great and I'll never forget it! And what a study in the effects of violence upon the viewer. The band had been playing this slow spacey bluesy tune when the fracas started, and by the time we got it under control and ended it, we were doing near light speed! The tune was "Bridge Of Sighs" by Robin Trower, it actually makes for good Speed Metal, I know, I've lived though it! ;-) |
rraymond
Intermediate Member
Username: rraymond
Post Number: 144
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 12:02 am: | |
I'll never forget this gig at a Navy base, in which a sailor used a pitcher of beer from a Marine table to douse his lady friend with whom he had been arguing. The Marines jumped to their feet, and then this ripple affect happened, and they jumped on the sailor, and then the rest of the room rushed in and jumped on them. Just like a Looney Tunes cartoon, there was this big pile of humans on the floor and all you could see was this pile of flailing arms and legs! Then the Exit doors were flung open, and in rushed the Shore Patrol! What a hysterical scene, it was great and I'll never forget it! And what a study in the effects of violence upon the viewer. The band had been playing this slow spacey bluesy tune when the fracas started, and by the time we got it under control and ended it, we were doing near light speed! The tune was "Bridge Of Sighs" by Robin Trower, it actually makes for good Speed Metal, I know, I've lived though it! ;-) |
rraymond
Intermediate Member
Username: rraymond
Post Number: 145
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 12:05 am: | |
Whoops, double post! Mea culpa! |
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic
Post Number: 1687
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 1:28 am: | |
Hi Reid,
maybe I am not a serious musician but I never heard of those fighting things thias side of the pond. Well ...not the places/bars where I've played. OTOH we never play that late at night (or better: early morning) our gigs are mostlly between 22:00 and 01:00.
Now I am think off: the only head that have been wacked involving Bonnie ws the head of our singer/guitarplayer Luc in Blue Stuff ...well ..huh ..."wacked" ...it was a really bad "bump into" and Luc was really hurt. Bonnie ...cool as ever.
Paul the bad one
BTW Reid ...I reqlly liked your "personal quote" on your profile. |
dnburgess
Advanced Member
Username: dnburgess
Post Number: 327
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 3:04 am: | |
"Bridge of Sighs" is a great tune - was your guitarist able to pull off the Troweresque guitar tone? |
davehouck
Senior Member
Username: davehouck
Post Number: 929
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 6:06 am: | |
I've always liked Trower's stuff, although I don't have any of his recordings. For a while now I've been thinking it would be interesting to try an instrumental jam version of Day Of The Eagle. I like the way he uses the unison line in both the fast and slow sections and as the transition between the two. Or at least that's how I remember it; I haven't actually heard the song in quite a while. I guess I need to get a copy of that song. |
rraymond
Intermediate Member
Username: rraymond
Post Number: 146
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 9:49 am: | |
Hey Paul, from the amount of humor you throw around on the site here, I'd say you are a very non-serious musician - just the kind I like. Serious musicians are no fun! The quote in my profile is one of my favorite Frank Zappa bits. I've even got a T-shirt with that quote on it and I think you can still get them from the Zappa website. FZ was a guy that believed that Humor Does Belong in Music! That dovetails neatly into the Daves' questions about the Trower tune. Yeah, our guitarist pulled off the tone-thing masterfully. He still plays the '62 Strat and (I forgot the year) black-face Fender Super Reverb that a local repair shop hot-rodded with a Master volume. Beside Bridge of Sighs, we used to do Day of the Eagle, too. What a great high-energy tune that is - pedal-to-the-metal from start to finish. That particular guitar player holds a special place in my musical experience, because besides being one of the funniest people I've ever known, he's the only musician I've worked with who could play funny. I don't mean the stock little sound-bite riffs like you hear at a baseball, or hockey game, this guy can play the most inventive - and funny - stuff on guitar you ever heard. It's like having a musical stand-up comic in the band. We had this goof-off band back in the '80s in which we played our "Tribute to Law Enforcement." This consisted of me playing - endlessly - the Peter Gunn bassline while the two guitarists tried outdoing each other by throwing every known TV or movie theme concerned with law enforcement, at each other. What a jam! Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, Mission Impossible, Andy Griffith, Car 54, Hawaii 5-0, Barney Miller, James Bond, etc, etc, etc. It was never boring for me 'cause I laughed so much!
BTW, Paul, I don't know if you are a Robben Ford fan, but his album "Keep On Runnin'" has a tune called "Bonnie" on it. The Bonnie in the song doesn't sound like a real nice lady. She breaks hearts, and maybe heads, as well!
Have fun, all, I've gotta go play the Peter Gunn theme and laugh a few minutes! |
rraymond
Intermediate Member
Username: rraymond
Post Number: 147
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 6:05 pm: | |
Hi David Burgess, I noticed in your profile that you play Acme cabinets. I have a B2 and a B4, but am wondering what are your thoughts on the little B1? Does it also pump out lots of bass and clean mids and highs? Coming from Acme, I'm guessing that it does! |
lbpesq
Member
Username: lbpesq
Post Number: 70
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 7:34 pm: | |
Reid(rraymond):
I completely relate to your comments about the guitar player who could play "funny". That is a trait - the ability to make me chuckle with playing only - that I have rarely observed and always appreciated when I had the good fortune to see such a guitarist. Jerry G could do it.
A few years ago I was in NYC visiting family. Returning to our hotel, the doorman saw me pull my baby Taylor from the car and told us that Les Paul was playing in 45 minutes in a tiny club in the hotel basement. I think he was about 82 at the time. He probably wasn't as good as he used to be (I had never seen him live), but he still was incredible. And he played funny - a couple of times I actually laughed out loud! One of my most treasured musical memories.
Bill, the guitar one |
dnburgess
Advanced Member
Username: dnburgess
Post Number: 328
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 10:13 pm: | |
Raymond - the B1 was my first encounter with Acme. The bottom end was so much better than my 15" EV T-line box that the latter was immediately listed on ebay and I created Green Square Music to sell Acme speakers in Australia.
The tonal balance of the B1 is very similar to the B2 and B4 - in fact the 3db and 6db down points are identical - pretty amazing for such a tiny box. The trade off is efficiency.
These are great boxes for practice or acoustic bass reinforcement or mellow, small group scenarios - but a single B1 doesn't really have enough grunt for louder electric bass applications - which is where the B2 is such a versatile box.
Interestingly, I have had my short scale S1 set up with picolo tuning for a while and have played through a TC Electroncs stereo chorus peddle into a stereo power amp and 2 B1s. With at least 3m separation between the speakers it produces beautiful liquid stereo sound.
Re Trower: One of the things that really impressed me about Bridge of Sighs was the tension that Trower created between his guitar and the rythm section. |
musikdept
New
Username: musikdept
Post Number: 10
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, November 26, 2004 - 5:52 am: | |
Matt, I just joined the discussion forum and saw your question about collector or player. I just acquired a 1998 Custom Rogue and played it out on the first gig I could. Truthfully, my wife (singer in the band) the other band members, and some of the crowd which follows us REALLY noticed the difference. WE are a 5-piece classic rock band and only play in our tri-state area (DE, MD and VA) and know the places we are playing....so I definitely have no problem taking my Alembic out on gigs. We also run our own sound from stage...therefore no asshole soundmen to tell us what to play. I say...just play your bass man...show it off!!!
Take care,
Wayne |
somatic
Junior
Username: somatic
Post Number: 26
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - 11:48 am: | |
I buy my basses because they bring me pleasure, both because they appeal to me as instruments and as pieces of modern industrial art. The few gigs I play, I don't consider to be worthwhile risks to my Alembics (damage or loss, insurance is expensive) most of the time, so they stay home and I take others.
My SC is in perfect condition, so I can have it on a stand, and visitors invariably comment on it's appearance first because it's so pretty, muso's and non-muso's alike. My S1 is all beaten up, has poor finish and looks like it's been used all over the world (which it has), but it's still beautiful to me, in the same way Stevie Ray Vaughn's Strat or SC's original Brown Bass is beautiful from the wear they have from years of playing being used the way they were meant to.
I also usually do FOH and/or PA so I don't have issues with sound no matter what I'm playing and none of my other instruments are so poor as to compromise the sound that much compared to either of the Alembics. And sometimes they even sound better. |
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic
Post Number: 1806
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - 11:58 am: | |
Boys and Girls ....
I AM BACK IN THE GAME!!!!!
'When it becomes clear that no one else shares your level of passion, you are where you belong"
...
quite good huh!?!?!?!?!?!
Paul the bad one |
palembic
Senior Member
Username: palembic
Post Number: 1807
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - 12:00 pm: | |
Ok...ok ...
I admit ...I stole that quote from a Rolex advertisement.
But Rolex and Alembic ARE quite close.
IMHO of course.
Paul -still- the bad one |
andrewknight
Member
Username: andrewknight
Post Number: 55
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 11:59 am: | |
Bill,
Guitar that makes you laugh: I went to see the Dead at "The Downs" in Santa Fe, NM. It was Bob's birthday. Bobby was feeling particularly rock and roll that day and was really hamming it up complete with the arching back solos etc. I was surprised he didn't put his guitar behind his head to play it at least once. Garcia was playing his rythm stuff while Bobby played the Little Red Rooster slide solo. Jerry slowly transformed his playing into a rockabilly riff that had the entire band laughing, and me. I was up front and I was watching Jerry as usual so I laughed early...but not much earlier than Phil who threw his head back in hysterical laughter. I think the only band member than never heard it was Bob because he was so focused on his solo. Priceless. |
beelee
Junior
Username: beelee
Post Number: 14
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 2:27 pm: | |
I am more of a player than a collector, although I have quite a few basses....15 going on 16 once my new Alembic is built, and depending on the gig I'll bring up to 5 instruments to play, fretted, fretless, 5, 6 ,7 string etc. I cover a wide variety of music, so the bass fits the song.....not just for show.
If it was a choice between a Rolex or an Alembic.......I'd sell the Rolex and get another Alembic without a second thought.
Such beautiful instruments are meant to be seen, heard and played not sit in the case, under the bed or in the closet.
playing such an instrument is like being in heaven. |
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page