Like most people over the age of 60, I tend to do the daily crossword. This one can get me looks time to time as you don't see too many young folks doing them in my experience. Sudoku yes, but not so much crossword. I have found this is an excellent tool for keeping your vocabulary sharp, and aids in thinking around corners. I am also a scrabble player, a friend in Ottawa and I have something of a rivalry when it comes to that game. I would say he has the slight edge, as our games get ridiculous (they look like crosswords). I do the Sudoku too, but they are pretty simple patterning and logic (from this academics ivory tower anyway). What do you do with your day to 'keep sharp'?
What band made you drastically alter the way you look at music?
There were a few for me, I initially picked up my fathers bass to play with friends, we played modern music of the 90s, within a week we knew a handful of songs, it was all too easy. Even the most complicated stuff at the time, like Tool would fall into my lap and was easily played. Then I bought a RUSH song book. I had passed RUSH before, even though my father tried to tell me they had really good bass lines, I was not mature enough to appreciate the music, even though I was always more of a rocker, not really into what the bands at the time were playing. The band was just a hang out for me. That song book, paired with my fathers cd's and whatnot really got me thinking about composition, what a bass could do, and improved my playing drastically.
My Favourite Rush song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOyXOOZHcvE (can't make the bloody you tube tags work.)
I never liked shred music much, although nowadays I do appreciate some speed metal (like Racer X). Guys like Yngwie, heck even Vai are a bit much for me, I don't really listen to them as super talented as they are. These guys would pretty much all be passed by for me, if not for Joe Satriani. He opened up this genre for me, I have always found that his solos, of all these guys, get least far from the melody of the song. A lot of the other ones I feel lose the song in the solo. I do listen to some Vai now albeit (but Satriani is go to studying music).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIeCCqWSRnw - revelation, Joe Satriani
Victor Wooten is an insane bass player, him and Stu Hamm once again began to redefine how I looked at a bass guitar, I began to explore more of the chordal and melodic oppurtunities of the bass, as well as the dynamic changes and feels available with thumb and taps styles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcgzpmzCCI0 - Classical Thump
Lastly Arjen A Lucassen or Ayreon as his productions are titled is a ridiculous man. He recruits a horde of singers and occasional guest musicians and puts together Rock Operas. The early ones range more to 1 singer per song, and metal/ambient music, however the farther he goes in his career the more diverse it becomes. They now include genres ranging from metal to folk, they have dialogue style vocals with over 10 singers on an album playing parts, and are truly an adventure to listen to. My favourite albums are 01011001 (y) and The Human Equation (leaning towards that one). The man is brilliant, and I greatly appreciate how he has 'modernized' the opera. Another man who does this, although not as familiar with his work is Tobias Sammett (of Edguy, power metal band, they rock)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkod0GA5Qj8 Loser - Ayreon
And as I almost forget, some more of my noodling, Today will be funk day I guess, I only have 1 'real' funk tune, but the other is just me noodling over a lopper with the bass.
The real one:
The Flight of the Kiwi
The noodling!
Funk Jam
And here it is, out of the closet the bass that started it all for me, it has only 1 working pickup, scratchy pots, finicky input jack, virtually no frets left (didn't have much to begin with old school 1975 style 'frets' and tonnes of battle scars I added to it, with action a mile high. The nut is epoxied as we could not find one that was the right width, and the original strings gauge cannot be replicated nowadays. I played that until 21 when I got my beloved LB75. I plan to fix it up one day, probably into a fretless. It has been through everything, even hit with a ceiling fan (gouge out of back edge of headstock, not in pictures. Light as afeather too, might be 6 lbs, the body is plywood of light and dark (walnutty almost) layers
Enjoy the day folks, hopefully that bass is old enough to interest you 'vintaged' patrons
Kyle
) Duane Eddy introduced me to reverb, man can that guy play!! BTW I'm a Rush fan as well.
. It was a small venue, less than 3000, called Massey Hall in Toronto, beautifully intimate show.