Richard's Bass Bag

I wonder how many people in the world play the double bass?

2012-01-31T22:57:00.000+13:00

In my street I think there is only me. I don't think there would be many double bass players in Nuova Lazio, the suburb I live in, but there could be one or two - let's say three. The population of Nuova Lazio is about 16,000. The population of the world is about 7 billion. That's 7,000,000,000.
So, If Nuova Lazio is fairly representitive of the world with regard to numbers of double bass players per local population, there should be around one double bass player for every 5333 people (I'm rounding things off slightly as we go). So there should be roughly 1,312,582 double bass players in the world.
Holy shit! That's a lot of double bass players!
Granted some would be really good, some would be average and some would need to do a lot more practice.

"Ah, that's Nuova Lazio High for you!"

2012-01-31T17:29:00.006+13:00

A new series featuring one liners from NLHS.
Richard (of RBB) was publicly congratulated at staff meeting this morning, by one of the DPs, for being the first to get his Senior Course Outlines in.

The dancing bear quipped,
"He only had to change 2011 to 2012!"

Richard (of RBB) thought,
"Whatever!" Borrowing a word from the bear."

The Prowse Brothers fight back!

2012-01-31T16:53:00.003+13:00

Amadeus went all out with the image thing for their CD 'UP' - here. (No, TSB, I don't think the title was referring to the effect the video might have had on lonely males.)
Let's face it, The Prowse Brothers were worried, and for good reason!
How could five aging Bluegrass musicians compete with that?
It was violinist Robert who provided the inspiration. With their new image the good ol' boys have gone all 80s - think Magnum PI.
Move over girls from Amadeus, the Prowse Brothers are back on top!
BEFORE...

AFTER...

Pity Rod (mandolin) and Daryl (banjo) can still only grow half a moustache. That's young boys, with no Greek heritage, for you!

The Prowse Brothers are practising Tuesday.

2012-01-29T19:58:00.002+13:00

Who can possibly stand between five aging brothers and success?

World's Largest Violin.

2012-01-29T12:27:00.006+13:00

Question: What was the point of making it?
They (the three men trying to play it) sound German.
Anselm, help!
What is going on over there?

A guy who knows what he likes.

2012-01-28T17:57:00.001+13:00

This is part of a new series where I introduce people on my LINK list.

Akish (his blog is here) has a quite defined taste as to what makes good art.
I guess you could call him old school. Large installations and modern art don't seem to rate as his favourite idioms. Akish seems to promote the philosophy that art should be clearly defined. Love him or hate him, I promise that Akish's site will provide a stimulating read on a wet Tuesday night. Why Tuesday? Why not? It's a good time to ponder the Philistine's artistic thoughts.

Achilles triumphs because...

2012-01-28T12:44:00.002+13:00

...the soldiers on his side have double bass shields.

Just one more example of the double bass shaping history.

Bass in Palmerston North.

2012-01-28T12:09:00.001+13:00

This is part of a new series where I introduce people on my LINK list.
I have a friend in Palmerston North who plays the double bass. He is generally referred to as The The The Guy (though his real name is Ernest Wallerman) because he has a writing impediment - he drops random "The The" hiccups between words.
He hasn't been playing bass that long, but already he is good enough to play with Palmerston North jazz bands. There is a link to his blog on Richard's Bass Bag (it's worth a visit - click here) and, no, there are no extra beats when he plays. His impediment is purely written.

School starts Monday.

2012-01-28T07:09:00.000+13:00

Actually, we start with a teacher only day - teachers come in and practise teaching in their empty classrooms.

On Tuesday the Year 9s arrive and are welcomed onto the Marae. I always go to this ceremony because it is a chance to check out the new troops.

In the good old days Year 9s came in with big eyes and bewilderment. This ceased to be the case a long time ago. There will be a lot of tough little nuts scattered through the crowd on Tuesday, obsessed with being cool; looking like da man.

On Wednesday the rest of the troops come in at staggered times to do a bit of paperwork checking - timetables and things like that. My form class is a Year 13 class this year and I am really looking forward to seeing them. I have been their form teacher since they were Year 9s and it is the first time in my long tour of duty that I have had the same form class for five years. They're a great bunch.

Then, on Thursday, it's down to business.
"Hold the line!"
http://youtu.be/BYtK0C-b0y4

LINKS Update.

2012-01-27T08:45:00.000+13:00

I hope you're using Richard's Bass Bag's LINKS service. We, at Richard's Bass Bag, ask our link-ees to keep their blogs reasonably up to date. Every so often blogs that don't update are unlinked. They are welcome back once they are updated. We do this so that you know you can flit around our LINKS for interesting, up to date reading.
So, please make sure that you check out our LINKS. You'll find some great reading out there.

What's it all about, Alfie?

2012-01-26T21:15:00.000+13:00

Okay, you younger readers (Comeinyourpants is obviously not included in this group because he turns 60 this year) may not be familiar with the 1966 film directed by Lewis Gilbert, and starring Michael Caine, adapted from Bill Naughton's novel, that seems to ask the big question about life.
Well, never mind, for as long as humans, and apes, have wandered around this planet, the question has always been,
"What's it all about?"
The 'Alfie' bit was added in 1966.
We live, we eat, we excrete, we want, sometimes we suffer, and then we wear out; then we expire.

So, what's it all about?
You may not have guessed it, oh young and verile reader, but, in fact, that old curmudgeonly Comeinyourpants is only eight days older than Richard of Richard's Bass Bag! Yes, unfortunately it's true! Even someone as deceptively juvenile as 'mio' must, in the end, pay the fee that old Mr Time time demands.
So, when it's all over, I doubt whether acievements (or otherwise) at Nuova Lazio High School will really swing a deal in any 'godly' summerisation of one's success (or otherwise) in this dimension of the finite universe.
Really one needs to look at the logic behind it all.
Number 1: we all need shelter, food, clothing and a good flushing toilet with a plentiful supply of toilet paper.
Number 2: We need some form of love, or feeling like we fit into some sort of group with our own kind or dogs (not cats), to make the whole experience seem worthwhile.
Number 3: We need something to fill in our days - we need a purpose.

I might try to shed some light on these ideas in future posts; then again, I might just go and practise my double basses.

Okay, you're probably wondering where that last post came from...

2012-01-23T16:07:00.001+13:00

I meet quite a few younger people who say it must have been great living in the 1970s - I assume they're talking about the clothes and the music.
Truth be told, I spent most of the 70s living in the 40s. Around 1971 I fell in love with the music of The Andrews Sisters, along with big band swing.

I still know the words to nearly all their songs off by heart, just like I memorised all the trumpet solos from Glen Miller's band. A decade later I finished up playing in big bands and got to play all my old favourites from the original arrangements - a String of Pearls, American Patrol, Little Brown Jug and, of course, In The Mood. I finished up missing the 80s too!

These days my musical tastes have long since moved on into Bebop, among other things, but I still have a soft spot for The Andrews Sisters - hey, I grew up listening to that music!

What worries me is that if, on the very off chance, I live long enough to make it into an old people's home, they're going to be trying to bring back memories by playing us The Rolling Stones, and the like, and I'm going to be calling out,
"We don't want this modern crap, we want The Andrews Sisters!"
No one is going to understand.

The Andrews Sisters

2012-01-23T10:22:00.000+13:00

For Robert...

2012-01-23T08:41:00.002+13:00

Bob and James

2012-01-22T16:00:00.000+13:00

I blog therefore I am.

2012-01-22T08:02:00.000+13:00

I've taken the title of this post from the Latin Blogo ergo sum.
Without blogging man is left to simply sit around and think.

No, that's not a picture of Comeinyourpants on the toilet before that well publicised bath - here.

Things have been very slow on the blogging front lately and, to top it all off, First Fiddle's comments aren't working properly.
Does anyone remember when we last got a post from Nicola? Or The Pink Paddler?
The Wine Guy has been very occasional too.
Well, at least we can always count on TSB for a post. Well, no. His latest is now five days old - here.
I guess what a lot of people don't realise is that running a blog is a bit like owning a dog - it needs regular exercise.
I'm pleased to report that, on the other end of the scale, Man of Errors is running like an express train! Two posts yesterday alone!

Man of Errors doesn't actually look like this anymore. False advertising really. I think he only used the photo because he was writing about an 80s rock band - here.
Personally I don't know what he sees in these 80s pop bands or why he feels the need to keep revisiting them. Well, not when he could be listening to players like this...

...or this.

Hey, blues in all 12 keys in that last one! Good old Buddy, he didn't need tight red pants, he just did lots of practice.

Max Roach

2012-01-21T15:58:00.001+13:00

Good morning one and all!

2012-01-21T08:22:00.000+13:00

It's a beautiful, sunny day in Nuova Lazio. I'm popping into Wellington this morning as I need to get some leather to raise the height of the strings on The Bob. It's hard to find leather these days - maybe it is all used up making leather jackets?

A picture of leather doesn't make a very exciting picture, unless there is a human body involved.

Oops, sorry, wrong picture, I meant to post this one...

Actually this is starting to look like a TSB post.
What I was really trying to get to was this...

The piece of leather, under the string, raises the string slightly - so that it is a little further away from the finger board. I had the board planed recently and the action finished up a little too low.
As you can see, I've raised the G string, but need more leather to do the other three strings.
That's it from me.
Enjoy your Saturday.
Bye.

A hand written post.

2012-01-20T16:54:00.000+13:00

Bob Wills

2012-01-17T22:41:00.000+13:00

The first comment says,
"Start the video at 1:02 and pretend Bob is just some random drunk guy who wandered on stage. It's fun."
Give it a go.

Joe Zinkan

2012-01-17T16:34:00.000+13:00

Hi Y'all

2012-01-16T16:35:00.001+13:00

I don't know why I said that. Maybe because my car is broken down? I walked to school today. It's a fifty minute walk. I walked home, most of the way, with groceries, but caught a bus instead of covering the final fifteen minutes. I was hot and the groceries were a bit heavy. Going back to school brought back memories that I had forgotten about. I walked into the administration block and there was that smell. Time for a picture.

This picture of a lazy musical cricket and those industrious ants has had quite an effect on my life. The poor cricket is shown as a lazy bugger having a good time and the ants are all about hard work.
"I'd rather be the cricket." I thought at work today.
I bet the ants are really boring. I felt like a bit of a martyr going back to school so early. Maybe I should have left it a week? I suspose that, if I'm a good little ant and get most of my jobs done, I could spend a few more days being a musical cricket before the troops return.

It's a hot afternoon in Nuova Lazio and I'm still wearing the tramping boots I wore to work - I thought they'd be good for walking in, which they were. The trouble is that my feet now feel hot.

I guess the sensible thing to do would be to go and take them off.
When I caught the bus, for the last part of my journey home, the bus driver said the fare was $2. I emptied out my change, but I only had about $1.70. I said I had a note, but the driver said,
"That'll do."
I felt a bit like I was cheating him because I had a ten dollar note and the twenty dollar note as well. I guess he just didn't want to have to muck around with change.
I'm off to take them off.
The boots! Weren't you listening?
Bye.

A fallen soldier, in the game we call life, has moved on.

2012-01-15T20:50:00.001+13:00

Ben Hana has finished his gig on Earth (aka Jasper).
He was a bit of an identity in Wellington city because he spent quite a few years of his life living on the streets, mainly around Courtenay Place.
People will tell their own stories about Ben.
Here is mine.
My mother died in 2008 after having to deal with Alzheimer's Disease - it should really be known as Alzheimer's Indignity.
I was relieved when she died because her life had ceased to be a positive experience for her.
I think I wanted to do a little thing that might somehow be a statement, for me, about the feelings I was trying to deal with about my mother.
I was walking along Courtenay Place one evening and saw Ben. I don't know how many people took the time to talk to him, but I had previously seen him eating McDonald's (and consuming other things) and assume that he had quite a few 'caregivers' - Wellington people are like that.
On a quick decision I approached him, gave him forty bucks from my wallet, and ran my fingers through his hair.
He looked at me.
Maybe he was thanking me for the booze I had unexpectedly supplied but, to me, it felt more like a moment of understanding or empathy... two souls, both lost in their own way, both trying to make sense of things.
Ben, you lived your life the way you probably had to - I'm not a huge fan of the free choice theory. I like to think that our thoughts touched briefly that evening; but who really knows? Probably I'm looking through a romantic magnifying glass, as I often choose to. Though, Ben, I suspect you did too.
Rest in peace, my brother.

Back from Raumati gig.

2012-01-15T19:26:00.000+13:00

Warming up with Fiona...

...and doing the business.

I've been learning this song for our band.

2012-01-15T08:34:00.000+13:00

It's funny trying to sing a song about a place you've never been, but it's a good song.
Richard (of RBB) singing? Yeah, well we need some singers in our band and it's a good challenge. The bloke in the video has the same range as me, so the song sits comfortably in G. That's a good key for First Fiddle to play in too!
I've got a gig in Raumati South today with Tandrom Trio, so I'd better go and do a warmup.

Back to work tomorrow. How time flies!

I'm inventing some txt words.

2012-01-13T14:15:00.004+13:00

I got a mobile phone a few months ago and have been using it to keep in touch with my children. I have found it very hard to give up traditional grammar and start using txt spk.
Lately I have used gr8 and 4 u.
Then I invented a word of my own - giiiiii (guys).
I think I might invent some more.
kr = car
/ = hard (think 'erection') - can also mean 'hi' (imagine a wave)
heardwithnoe = hard (alternate spelling)
)))))) = wind
/) = walk
carfxr = mechanic
// = bus (represents the trolleys on a trolley bus)
not= = didn't
eye = I
meye = my
takn = taken

Let's try a sentence.
/ giiiiii, eye had 2 /) 2 get meye kr from the carfxr 2day. It was a heardwithnoe /) in the )))))). I should have takn the //, but eye not=.

6 Neck Guitar

2012-01-13T11:36:00.003+13:00

Not sky, but mind you ought to change.

2012-01-12T10:59:00.002+13:00

The title to this post is an old Greek saying that an old friend used to often quote in the 1970s - at least, I think it was Greek. Anyway it's a good saying. It's a good one liner to try to live your life by. It has sort of stuck in my mind all these years.

Earlier this week I found myself standing in a women's lingerie shop. Okay, if I were TSB there'd be lots of pictures now, but I could only find this one.

I was on a mission to get my ninety two year old aunty fitted with some new brassiers. This was a new experience for me, so I looked up 'lingerie' in the yellow pages. There was an entry for a place called Bras N Things in Lower Hutt - perfect!
Now, since I haven't spent a lot of time in lingerie shops, I don't know whether this shop was a standard lingerie shop or one with a particular philosophy. My job was to stand in the middle of the shop and wait while a pretty young shop assistant dealt to Aunty's needs in another space (behind a curtain). There were rows and rows of, you guessed it, bras and knickers in every imaginable colour. A large portion of the shop seemed to be devoted to things designed to make women look sexy - this wasn't, I don't think, a shop for the practical woman. There were Mother Christmas outfits, a nurse outfit and, my favourite, a police woman's outfit. The amount of material used to make these outfits was minimal.
I wanted to say to the young shop assistant,
"It's a good recommendation for your shop that police women and nurses shop here."
I didn't though.
I didn't want to look (or sound) like an aging pervert, so I tried to look into space. The trouble was that there was not one area of space that wasn't devoted to sexy woman things. Thinking about Aunty being fitted helped me maintain an equalibrium.

Aunty doesn't really look like this, but you get the idea.
Okay, the point is this...
I was there on legitimate business, helping an elderly relative. I had no reason to feel guilty for being there - I had no control over the surroundings. Not sky, but mind you ought to change.

I was driving home this morning, having dropped Shelley at work, and found myself in one of those situations where cars have to merge from two lanes into one. Generally one car from each lane has a turn.

A car pushed in front of me, never mind - it wasn't the end of the world. Then a small truck came up behind me and started to barge past. I tried to maintain my position but he just kept coming and I was forced to cross the middle line to avoid this stupid young cretin writing off my car. I bet he didn't even think about me or the harm he could have easily done.
I felt angry, but what could I do? Beeping wouldn't have changed anything, except that I probably would have received a rude gesture. This cretin probably does things like this all day. Really I should have felt sorry for the people who have to deal with him on a regular basis.
I knew that continuing to be angry was only going to effect me. I reasoned to myself that one has no control over one's surroundings, just like in the bra shop. Well, I must admit that the bra shop had the potential to be a more pleasant experience.
Not sky, but mind you ought to change.
I think that's going to be my philosophy for this year as I return to the challenges that Nuova Lazio High can throw at you.

We're getting the band together...

2012-01-08T14:12:00.003+13:00

What's in a name?

2012-01-07T09:40:00.000+13:00

I just read this on stuff.co.nz...
"Parents who tried to name their child Mafia No Fear are among hundreds who had their choice of name rejected in the past decade.
Justice was the most popular disallowed name, with royal titles, religious references and punctuation marks among names parents tried to bestow upon children.
The list of disallowed names follows the release of the most popular names for 2011 – Liam and Ruby – this week. The most popular rejected name was Justice – 49 people tried to name their child that, along with alternate spellings Justus and Juztice.
Royal titles featured heavily – King, Prince, Princess, Knight, Queen, Queen V, Queen Victoria, Lord, Lady, Baron and Duke were all rejected as were Royal, Royale, Majesty and Majesti. Religious references Messiah, Christ, Bishop, Saint and Lucifer didn't make the cut either.
Mafia No Fear, Anal, V8, single letters, the Roman numerals I, II, III, punctuation symbols * . and / and titles such as President, Emperor, Chief, Constable, Sargent and General were also rejected."

Well, some do slip through. I had a Justice in one of my classes at Nuova Lazio High School last year. I'm also surprised that the McDonalds were able to get Comeinyourpants through way back in the 50s. John-Paul? Maybe his parents tried for Pope first? Or maybe John Paul II?

Anal was certainly not the most positive name choice and I can see that / could cause pronounciation problems at school. Perhaps / could get deeply upset when teachers mispronounced his name and that's why this name wasn't allowed. I'm assuming that / is a male name because it could be taken to represent an erect penis.
Mafia No Fear is really not a lot more provocative than Man of Errors but obviously the name President would sound silly if President actually grew up to become a president.
I think the people who tried to name their child V8 got a rough deal when the name was rejected, especialy if it was their eighth child and V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6 and V7 had already been allowed. I think we need consistency here. Though, if V6 had been allowed, we might be dealing with a name approver who discriminates against bigger cars. That's a bit worrying.
In my time most parents opted for traditional names and the practice of mis-spelling names (Rebekkah, Jayson) had not yet been thought up. Nor had the practice of being more adjectival with labels for one's offspring.
Who knows, if this were not the case, you could presently be enjoying reading Fuckpresent's Bass Bag.
One has to count one's blessings in this life.

The Spirit of Murray Roberts.

2012-01-07T08:22:00.001+13:00

Scene: There is an office with four desks in it. On the walls there are pictures of grapes and bottles of wine. There is also a fading map of France showing its famous wine varieties. Roy Nins is sitting at one of the desks, as is Ivanhoe Soreback. They are both working on computers, and shuffling paper. We can also see the glass partitioned office of manager Bryce Campoli. Bryce is in his office drinking Dry Fly Sherry. Willie Green enters.
Willie: Has anyone seen Comeinyourpants? I've been looking for him all morning.
Roy: Did he come down from Whangarei this week?
Willie: I hope so! It is all hands on deck as usual, Christmas is over now. He hasn't sneaked out in the dilivery truck again? What is it with him and that damn delivery truck?
Ivanhoe: Well, he was telling me that, many years ago, he worked at this wholesaler in Wellington and...
Willie: I'm not interested in what he did when he was young, I've got the Chinese breathing down my neck about those bloody black labels. He is supposed to be the bloody marketing manager! If that Chinese consignment falls over and I find out that he's out in that truck again... [He notices a computer on one of the desks] Hang on, someone's left a computer running. What's this?
[Everyone freezes. The large screen at the side of the stage shows the audience what is on the screen - here.]

Richard (of RBB), how's your practice going?

2012-01-05T08:09:00.001+13:00

Well, I've been chugging along doing an hour a day so far this year. I've been a bit off colour (I seem to have a visus that's working its way through the various parts of my body; my bowels were not spared) and I know I need to get a few hours in the bank if I'm going to have a real chance of getting to 366.*
I started recording my practice in the late 80s/early 90s and, for some reason that I now forget, I have kept a record (in my diaries) of practice since 2003. I used to also practise the bass guitar and, for most of these years, had it in tenor tuning. From 2003 to 2011 I did 2068hr 30min practice on the double bass and 901hr 40min on the bass guitar. Over the last three years I only did 35hr 20min on the bass guitar - the trend over the nine years has been to gradually phase out bass guitar practice.
Don't get me wrong, I love the bass guitar, it's just that I decided to concentrate my efforts onto the double bass.

So, back to today, I'm going to knock off an extra few hours today - well, at least, that's the plan. I'm trying to do a lot of work with the metronome.
I hope your practice is going well.
I'd better get on with mine.
Ciao.

* my goal for the year (double bass)

A little friendly competition on a sunny Tuesday.

2012-01-04T07:28:00.001+13:00

I had a really nice afternoon at Man of Errors' place yesterday. We had lunch in the garden.
His older daughter, Eleanor, regarded the spots on my aging arms and hands and asked,
"Are they sore?"
I said,
"No."

Eleanor challenged Shelley, Cathy (her mum) and I to some games. Young people! Always so competitive!
We played a game where you had to identify pictures on cards. While Eleanor won, she struggled with the picture of an igloo. She called it an ice house. Incorrect! I won that card.
Sometimes Eleanor showed the cards too quickly and I didn't really get a good look. I didn't think that was fair. Eleanor won the most cards but, after all, she started school late last year and they probably play these picture games all the time. Shelley did pretty well, but she does work in a library. Cathy won a few cards, though I thought she would have done better.
Man of Errors only played the game for a short time, but he wasn't very good. He didn't win any cards. I now know why he's called Man of Errors.

Next time Eleanor comes to our place, I'm going to get out my Chess set. Let's see how good she is at a game I know!

Good morning.

2012-01-03T09:31:00.000+13:00

January 3rd.
I slept in.
I've been on holiday long enough now to have stopped the need to arise at 6am - in short, I'm getting lazy. Ah well, I'll be back at school in less than two weeks, might as well enjoy it.
2012 is a leap year, which means that The Olympics will be on this year. The Olympics seem to be coming around quickly these days, so quickly that I have trouble remembering where the last one was held. Doesn't really matter, I could always Google it.

It certainly is easy not to look stupid these days.
I mean, ask me a question, I can find the answer to just about anything...
How is house paint made?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint
Well, pretty close...
"Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film."
...and on it goes about pigments, binders, vehicles (vehicles? yes, vehicles - binders are commonly referred to as vehicles), resins, solvents and additives.
Yes, I could easily find out where the last olympic games were held but, to be honest, I don't really care.
Okay, okay! Let's see, type in olympic games 2008, Beijing. Happy now?

Really the importance, for me, of 2012 being a leap year, is that I intend to try to practise for the equivalent of one hour per day on my
double bass(es). As I materialised my goal, I checked my diary for the existence on Feb 29. There, as I suspected, it was.

I knew, without even thinking, that I would be aiming for 366 hours this year - not really hard mental arithmetic, 365 + 1 = 366.
Almost immediately I thought to myself,
"Olympics this year."

As a younger person, my memory of The Olympics was endless days of swimming on TV - that and bloody equestrian. It was like they were trying to get the boring stuff done first. Now there are some things about The Olympics that I've always loved - the 1500 metres, 10,000 metres, the marathon - actually, those are the main ones, though I do watch other things too.
The diving is particularly boring - reminds me of paint (drying).
Sorry, I didn't mean to get onto The Olympics. It's just that they seem to have taken over the leap year concept. New Zealand's best medal hope is a lady throwing a shot put.

Not exactly the glamour event of the games. I think I might leave it there.
There's practice to do, as always.

I'm off to see Man of Errors today. I wonder how he's going with all those New Year's resolutions?
Read about them here.
I'll take a bottle of Chardonnay, just in case.

0

2012-01-01T10:45:00.003+13:00

This old double bass player got to bed at 3.30am this morning. You'll notice that the log is back to zero. I played for four pretty solid hours last night/this morning, so any practice today will have to be much later.
There again, I might do some soon - I'm sort of in the mood.

I feel surprisingly good this morning. New Year's Eve is done and I received a text to say that the kids got home safely - they were at some Heavy Metal thing at Trentham Race Course. I think I worry about them too much. Hey, but that's what parents do. Man of Errors (a man with two daughters) has still got many New Year's Eves stretched out in front of him, poor bugger. I'm off to the movies with Shelley soon. I don't really care what we're seeing, it'll be nice to sit quietly. Quietly is a nice way to welcome in the new year.
I hope things are well at your place.

I think I'll aim for 366 hours this year.

302

2011-12-31T19:01:00.000+13:00

I don't like New Year's Eve.

2011-12-31T06:56:00.001+13:00

Okay, I'm sick (flu or something) and I have this silly really late gig tonight. I don't like New Year's Eve because everybody, especially the younger people, go a bit mad.
I ~~didn't~~ couldn't sleep last night. I got up to empty my bladder around 6 and thought, out of the kindness of my heart, that I'd feed the ginger bastard. I thought that was a very kind act, but I did shut the bedroom door as I returned to bed.
Okay, it's wet outside, but I left him the whole house (except the bedroom) to lie around in, and let's remember that's all he does - when he's not eating.
I bet he stopped, as he scoffed down his meat, to spare a thought of gratitude for his poor sick pride leader.

No.
The next thing he was whimpering at the bedroom door. Shelley had earplugs in and heard noyhing. My chance for sleep was ruined.
I chased the ginger shit outside.

Now, here I am, up and on Richard's Bass Bag (the blog everyone loves).
I'm playing in the middle of party central tonight - Courtnay Place.

It'll be packed and everyone will be getting pissed. I'll be stone cold sober, sick (sweating and shivering alternately) and protecting The Bob from wobbly people with things to tell.
Fun.
Well, that's it from me this morning. I might go and try to get some sleep.
I hope that, unlike me, you're able to be in bed by 10 tonight,

and are soon sleeping like a baby.

30/12/11

2011-12-30T07:58:00.001+13:00

Just two days left of the year. I have a gig on New Year's Eve that starts at 10 and finishes at 2. I'm not looking forward to it because it will take me about two days to recover from the late night. I'll take The Bob. Also the late night will make it hard for me to kick off my new year of practice, on the first day of the year, with a strong start.

I'm putting together a special band, next year, to do a few concerts. It'll be called 'Band of Brothers' and will be made up of me and all my brothers.
We'll be playing bluegrass/newgrass. I plan to have the band videoed, when it plays in August, and I plan to put the videos on YouTube. It's funny that the word video is still used when, in fact, one is making a DVD. I'd better take the time to invent a new word. Here we go - DVD'd.
Let's start again...
I plan to have the band DVD'd, when it plays in August, and I plan to put the DVDs on YouTube.
There, that wasn't so hard.
Well, that's it from me this morning.
Enjoy the rest of the year.

300

2011-12-29T19:13:00.000+13:00

299

2011-12-27T19:03:00.000+13:00

Tuesday after Christmas.

2011-12-27T07:57:00.005+13:00

It's Tuesday morning and I have a headache and a bit of asthma; and TSB got a ~~model~~ toy helicopter for Christmas.
I'll try to deal with these three events seperately.

The Wine Guy (here) was a bit late telling me about the counting thing. I admit that I consumed too much of what Shelley calls 'The Nectar of the Gods' yesterday. This morning I must pay the price.

I think old age is catching up with me a bit - I've been aware that the old lungs have been a bit temperamental lately. Maybe it's the weather?
Now normally this post would be about me and my problems, but I have a friend with a much more worrying condition.
You can read about it here.
TSB is playing with ~~model~~ toy helicopters.

Now I'm not being mean when I refer to TSB's helicopter as a toy. Toys are bought in toy shops and models are bought in model shops. I've seen these toy helicopters and I have to tell you that you don't get them from model shops.
Remote controlled toys are a trap for any aging man because they can lead to things like this...

Some men may think that playing with models is a cool thing to do.

Well, it's not.
It's only a short time before many of these 'model engine' men get a desire to move up to the real thing.

Before you know it they're joining clubs that restore old trains and they're hanging around on stations where the trains are only designed to take you on a short joy ride. But, worst of all, these men wear train driver hats - just like real train drivers do.
How long will it be before TSB askes his beloved to look out for a helicopter pilot's helmet?

Remember that this is the man that Nuova Lazio High School put in charge of designing their timetable. This man was once in Her Majesty's Service. This man has worked as a microbiologist.

Now he dons a helmet and flies a toy helecopter.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T08:11:00.000+13:00

Here we go.

2011-12-25T07:51:00.000+13:00

I've had a weird start to Christmas morning. Uncle Steve has rung twice and now a neighbour is playing ACDC at full tit; and it's not even 8am!
Steve decided he'd stay home this Christmas but I guess that, if he is going to ring twice every hour, he might as well be here.
The ACDC music has stopped now. Maybe someone was given a new record player and just wanted to try it out?
I've got a feeling that this could be a mad mad mad Christmas.

Happy Birthday Angry Jesus.

2011-12-25T07:31:00.002+13:00

Merry Christmas everyone. We, at Richard's Bass Bag, thought it would be nice to get Angry Jesus into our studio to wish him a happy birthday.

Richard (of RBB): Angry Jesus, happy birthday and welcome.
Angry Jesus: Yeah, thanks.
Richard (of RBB): So what did you get?
Angry Jesus: What?
Richard (of RBB): You know, presents. What did you get for your birthday? What did God the Father get you?
Angry Jesus: Well, we don't really do presents. It's a bit of a sore point. Well, it was his idea for me to get born and then die on that friggin' cross. There's not much to celebrate when your bloody old man sets you up like that. Also he's not that happy with the way it all turned out. I mean church numbers are falling, people are not following the ten commandments, the lessons from Sodom haven't been taken on board. Anyway I've had a lot of birthdays.
Richard (of RBB): So, you're 2011 this year?
Angry Jesus: It's just a number.
Richard (of RBB): It's a big number though.
Angry Jesus: Well, not that big when you compare it to how old the world is. 6000 is a much bigger number.
Richard (of RBB): Hang on. Are you saying that the world is only 6000 years old?
Angry Jesus: Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's when we had that trouble with Adam.
Richard (of RBB): I wish I'd invited Richard Dawkins! Scientists would fiercly disagree. The world is millions of years old!
Angry Jesus: (smirking) Yes, and I'm the pope! Look, I've heard all that scientific clap trap. The truth is that dad made Adam first, then Eve. He gave Adam a test and he failed. I guess the moral is never listen to a woman.
Richard (of RBB): A lot of people might find that remark a bit sexist.
Angry Jesus: Read the bloody bible. It's all in there; you know, how Eve bit the apple first and then told Adam to take a bite.
Richard (of RBB): Look AG, I don't want to start sounding like Richard Dawkins but it is a bit absurd to believe that the world is only 6000 years old.
Angry Jesus: Okay, I'm prepared to stretch it to 6500.
Richard (of RBB): Now you're just being silly.
Angry Jesus: No I'm not.
Richard (of RBB): Yes you are!
Angry Jesus: No I'm not. I'm just being democratic.
Richard (of RBB): Adding on 500 years is not being democratic. Anyway, you'd need to add on millions of years if you're trying to be democratic with me!
Angry Jesus: (smirking and talking under his breath) Don't hold your breath, Richard of Richard's Bass Bag.
Richard (of RBB): I heard that. Not funny, you know I'm an asthmatic.
Angry Jesus: (puts on a baby voice) You know I'm an asthmatic! I'm tho thorry to hear that!
Richard (of RBB): Well AG, I think we'll have to wrap things up there. Enjoy your birthday. At least you won't have to waste time opening presents.
Angry Jesus: Richard, of Richard's Bass Bag, you're a bit of a comedian. Do you know any asthma jokes. Here's one...
Richard (of RBB): (interrupts) I'm turning the writing switch off now.

All aboard for Christmas.

2011-12-24T06:37:00.002+13:00

Here we go on the fast ride they call Christmas. Today is the day for last minute fine tuning of the Christmas experience and tomorrow we do it. So, how is it done? Well, the idea is to pack as much fun into one day as possible.

Then it's all over, but then it's New Year!
Back on the train!

Arise, First Fiddle!

2011-12-23T20:27:00.002+13:00

Hey, my brother Rob is a special guy. I often refer to him as Second Fiddle because, as kids we both learned to play the violin. We often played duets and I, as the older brother, got to play the 1st parts and 'Second', well he got to play the 2nd parts.

This evening I read this on his blog...
"Oliver had to be put in care this morning. His mum was home but had other things to do. Me and Sue had work as did his dad. It was sad seeing his mum cool and detached as she sat in her dressing gown smoking on the front porch in the sun. Oliver worships her, naturally. I had to call him away finally as she obviously didn't want him around, and it was our day. He was down, I took him to New world and let him choose a lunch, poor little chap, a big chocolate covered swerl bun and apple chewy things he loves. I was responsible and said no to salami sticks."
Second is this kid's Grandad and I think he's doing a fantastic job. He takes him fishing and provides things in this little guy's life that are making a huge difference. I'm proud to say that he is walking in the footsteps of our own dad - no easy shoes to fill!

I left this message on his blog,
"Rob, the stability you bring to this little guy's life is something quite special; you lay a foundation for Oliver to stretch out and exceed all expectations. You are giving him something very special and I salute you. Your act of generousity to this boy makes me want to celebrate Christmas. You do indeed deserve to be known, from now on, as First Fiddle. I have renamed your link on my site - the famous Richard's Bass Bag.
Arise, First Fiddle!
To use Nuova Lazio speak,
"You da man!"
Yes, arise First Fiddle. I am very proud of the man you are. Bob will be smiling, wherever he is now.

Bob is the guy on the left - our dad.

Cats keep away mice and birds.

2011-12-23T19:32:00.000+13:00

Unless your cat is a cowardly ginger bastard.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-22T08:02:00.004+13:00

It's just after 7 and the sun is shining. Well, that's what the sun does - shine. It always shines; it's just that clouds get in the way. I did some Buddhist chanting at a friend's place yesterday. I've got to say that it did nothing for me; except make me a bit breathless - I'm an asmatic. On the way into Wellington, for some strange reason, I thought about the big question... How did life start?

I was driving towards the Nuova Lazio hill as I had this thought (question) and the surprising thing is that the answer to my question popped instantaniously into my head.
Life just is there, otherwise there would be nothing.
That's it! Things exist. They just do. If they didn't I wouldn't be driving towards the Nuova Lazio hill, heading into Wellington to do a spot of chanting.
Okay, I know René Descartes beat me to it with his "I think, therefore I am" but, to be fair, he had his thought in French. Mine could have been the first realisation of the solution to the question of how we came to be in English.
Anyway panting out "Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō" felt a bit pointless, if not breath taking. Sitting there with a few friends, and other people I didn't know, I couldn't help thinking of the term Hocus Pocus and had to resist the urge to smile. I felt silly. I left. Sorry Buddhism, I still like your philosophy.
I bought a second barbeque yesterday to celebrate my new understanding of things. It's the same machine that I bought for the kids - naturally I was able to assemble it faster. Actually it's a shit little barbeque, too small to cook much on. I finished our tea off in the oven. Never mind, existing is fun.
So, now we have Christmas getting close. I had a second outstanding thought (two in one day!).
I remember, as a kid, how we only ever had chicken at Christmas and it was something very special. These days, though, one can afford to eat chicken whenever one wants - the stuff is everywhere. We had decided to get three chickens to go with our Christmas offering to the gods of retail. Then I had this thought...
Why not get about fifty bucks of chicken bits (not frozen ones) and bake them up, thus eliminating the need for carving, disposing of chicken carcasses and various unneeded bits - why not let the men in the shop cut up the meat before we cook it?

Okay, okay, steady on! Don't start celebrating me as some kind of new prophet or messiah! I'm still just plain old Richard (of RBB)!

Go forth, oh meager, ordinary people, and enjoy your Christmas. Richard (of RBB) has spoken.
So be it.

You can count on a duck showing up once you feed it.

2011-12-21T07:55:00.001+13:00

I swore I'd never feed ducks again because they repay you by shitting everywhere. However, a few weeks ago, a duck showed up with a solitary duckling and started tapping on our glass door. I think this duck is one of the ducklings we fed a few seasons ago. I couldn't turn my back on such a plea from an old friend so I give this duck and its single offspring gluten free bread. If this duck is a Celiac disease sufferer, I'm probably doing the right thing. If not, oh well, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of ducks around here.

I got up early this morning because I'd written on the calendar that I'd promised to go walking with an old friend at 7am. This friend is notorious for forgetting appointments and being late.
"Never mind," I thought, "she was really fired up about improving her fitness levels and I can't let her down."
I got to her place at 6.55am. I knocked on the door and rang the doorbell numerous times. No reply. Oh well, at least that gets me out of having to walk tomorrow because around 7am is practice time in this household.
I wonder if, later on, she will look at her calendar and think,
"That damn Richard (of RBB)! He always forgets to turn up!"?

I'm off to see a Buddhist friend this morning. He likes us to have a chant together, no problem.
"Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō"
I'd better go and bite off some practice - getting very close to those 300 hours.
Ciao.

The Finite Universe Compared To Assembling A Cheap Barbeque.

2011-12-20T17:25:00.008+13:00

Okay, the pieces are all there. There is something written about the pieces being made by people in China. I have no real evidence that this is true.

There is a book, supposedly written by the people in China, that gives a plan of how things will unfold. The book can be interpreted in lots of different ways and has probably lost its original meaning in translation.

Evolution starts. It takes a very long time and there are some hiccups along the way.

If the people in China actually exist, and if they have a grand plan for these pieces, there is something that they have overlooked. I need to take the completed barbeque to Newtown because it is a present for my children. I check and find that there is no way that the completed barbeque will fit in my car. I use the science of 'things having a size and car doors being only so big' to determine this. There is nothing about this in the book.
I load the frame, the rest of the pieces and my tools (also not mentioned in the book) into my car.

On arriving in Newtown, I assemble the barbeque on the footpath because I need to watch out for parking wardens. There is no mention of the threat of parking wardens in the book. Although the book can certainly be said to have given a plan for the basic construction of the barbeque, it has been no help with real life challenges. Also the book assumes that the barbeque assembler will bring previous costruction experience (and tools) to the task at hand.

The barbeque is finally finished. So what part did the book play? To be honest it certainly helped, but much native cunning had to be used by the assembler. If the Chinese people actually made the parts, was the book written at that time or was it put together at a later date, long after the pieces were made? I suspect the latter. The finished barbeque will continue to evolve - it will experience heat and it will experience the happy din of people drinking beer. It will also experience long quiet periods and long months of being cold out in the weather. I hope, for the barbeque's sake, that it gets to wear its cover.

Eventually, even if it is well looked after, it will start to rust away and fall into that state known as disrepair. It would be nice to thing that it will make it some place of recycling but, more likely, it will be left in the back shed of this Newtown flat when the occupants eventually move out.
As it sits in that damp shed, during the bleakest months of winter, will it dream about China? Will it wonder if there was some grand design, or was being a cheap barbeque all that there ever will be?

Christmas is closing in on us.

2011-12-20T07:27:00.001+13:00

And then it will be gone, like a trip to the tip, or a gig, or anything really. I'm presently doing something that I have never really done before - I'm working on some licks. Okay, before Comeinyourpants or TSB or Valley Girl jump in with some witty comment, a lick is a learnt musical idea that can be thrown into an improvisation. One lick that I've been fooling around with is the first five notes of the tune Honeysuckle Rose. Over a G minor chord it would be C Bb D F A. You can get a feel for this lick by singing "Every honey bee" - check out the tune HERE (listen to the melody he plays at the start) if you don't know it.
I'm trying to get away from running scales and using more chordal patterns. The trick really is to think of G Bb D F A C E instead on G A Bb C D E F. This Honeysuckle Rose lick starts on the 11th, then goes to the minor 3rd, followed by the 5th, 7th and 9th.
But that's not all folks, it can also be played over dominant 7th chords
(C7 = D# Db F G# C) and major chords (Fmaj7 = C Bb D F A). Notice that, for the C7 chord, I moved the lick up a minor third (and got #9, b9, 11, #5, 1). Cool notes.
Okay, I hear what you're saying, this lick has probably been played lots of times, by lots of people. Yes, but I'm just using it as a starting point and I'm developing my own ideas from it. Step one is to learn 9 licks that fit over the II V7 I progression (obviously in all keys).
Sorry, I seem to have slipped off the topic of Christmas.
A picture should put things right...

If anyone is reading this in China, or some country that doesn't do traditional Christmas things, let me explain.
This is a picture of baby Jesus being born in a manger so that he could later die to save us all. Joseph and Mary (his folks, though Joseph is more like a step-dad) are there and there's probably an angel or two. There are also lots of animals because this is, after all, a manger.
A manger is a trough that is used to feed animals - see HERE. The link also tells us that a manger can have religious significance. I guess the song "Away in a Manger" works better with those words than something like "Away in a Sort of Barn" or something similar.
So the story goes that God the Father (let's call him Boss God) sent God the Son (Son God) down to earth (Jasper) to be tortured to death to make up for Adam's sin of biting an apple. Boss God obviously takes the sin of biting an apple very seriously. Well, to be fair, Adam was told to leave that particular apple alone. I suppose Boss God could just have forgiven Adam but, no, he decides that Adam's horrendous sin (biting an apple) will be inherited by all of us - Boss God names it "Original Sin". So, to get rid of Original Sin, Boss God has a plan...
He gets Son God born as Jesus with the intention that he will be tortured until he dies and then all will be forgiven.
It must be noted that Boss God has a slightly mean streak. One could probably use the word sadistic to describe Boss God; remember the facts as we know them...
Adam is told not to eat an apple. A talking snake tells Eve to have a bite and then Adam takes a bite. Boss God becomes very annoyed and makes them aware of their nakedness. Boss God names Adam's little muck up Original Sin and we, Adam's descendants all get a dose of it. Things are sort of fixed up, however, when Boss God has the idea that, if Son God comes to Jasper and is tortured to death, all will be forgiven.

So, at Christmas, we celebrate Son God's birth as Jesus. The story goes that Joseph wanted to call him Fred, but three wise men showed up with gifts. As one of the wise men was presenting his gift, he put his sandled foot into some cow shit and exclaimed,
"Jesus Christ!"
Evidently both Mary and Joseph liked the name.

I played at a French restaurant in Thorndon this evening.

2011-12-18T00:52:00.002+13:00

I actually played The Gloria for over six and a half hours today...
->Two hours of practice
->Two and a half hours playing with Shiney
->Two and a bit hours at the French restaurant playing with Wade and doing a short solo stint.

Playing the bass is my thing, I guess.

The Beginner's Guide to Bluegrass.

2011-12-17T07:14:00.005+13:00

1) When awards are given out, the bass players get nothing - here.
2) The main line up is fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and double bass - here. And, of course, vocals.
3) New Zealand has a top class bluegrass band called The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band - here.
4) Bluegrass has a child known as Newgrass - here and here.
5) The Prowse Brothers will be ready to go in eight months.
Here's a famous tune to finish off - here.

And finally, never forget the difference between a banjo and an onion - noone cries when you chop up a banjo.

Oh, and something a bit more 'international' to finish - here.
And let's not forget the Swedes - here.

A band, a tooth out and that bloody cat.

2011-12-16T13:21:00.000+13:00

I'm getting a tooth out this morning. Good job I have a few to spare.

I got into a spot trouble with my much better half last night. The ginger bastard got past all my defences and made it into the bedroom. I was not impressed and tried to evict him.
Shelley doesn't condone cruelty to animals (but don't they have fur so that they won't feel the cold?) and decided that a heartless person like myself should sleep alone. She left for the other room. She was quite right and my fate was fully deserved. One little problem though, she forgot to take the ginger bastard when she left. I followed her to inform her of her little oversight, but it seemed that tgb was to stay. Part of the punishment, I guess.
Later that same day.
The dentist decided that the antibiotics [he had given me] had tightened up the tooth and it could stay; for now. I didn't argue. I was mentally ready for the pain but I'm not a bloody martyr!

I'm putting together a pretty special band to play around August next year. This, coincidentally, is around the time I turn sixty.

It'll be a bluegrass/newgrass band and will be made up of my four brothers and I - Rob on violin, Rod on mandolin, Chris on guitar, Daryl on banjo and yours truly on double bass.

We'll be just like the Jackson 5, only a little older and playing a different style of music. Maybe we won't have afros either. Okay, we've all played a lot with each other in various combinations, but this will be the first time we've all come together to do some serious gigs. I hope to organise a little 'fairly local' tour, culminationing in a free, party style performance which will be open to any interested persons. I also intend to have the band videoed and, if it sounds okay, I'll post tunes on YouTube. This should be a really fun project.
I'd better go - our new dishwasher is due to arrive at any moment.
Ciao.

A song about a grave stone.

2011-12-14T07:21:00.001+13:00

Here's brother Rod* in action with a song he wrote about a grave stone he took home from Uncle Ian's place.
We at Richard's Bass Bag say,
"We likeo mucho!"

* actually christened Rodney

The Exciting Times of Richard (of RBB).

2011-12-13T19:27:00.001+13:00

I bought a new dishwasher today, a cheap one. It took me most of the day to sort things out. The first time I went across to The Hutt there was a power cut and most of the shops were shut. I went across a second time, but forgot to check how big our dishwasher 'hole' is. So it took me three trips in all. I'm not going to show you a picture of the dishwasher because, basically, they all look the same.

Our last dishwasher broke down quite a long time ago but, with more pressing expenses, its replacement was postponed. Really I don't feel an urgent need for a replacement.

So how are you all out there? I've done 1 1/2 hours practice so far today, which means that I only have to do 17 1/2 hours more to reach the grand total of 300 hours of double practice this year.
Okay, practice is an intangible thing - who's to say what hours were productive and what hours were just wiggling the fingers?

Well I really don't know, but I did some good practice today. I was working on jazz licks.

Must go now.
Be safe and enjoy what ever down time you have.
Get a dishwasher if you need more.
Ciao.

The Invisible Man...

2011-12-12T19:35:00.002+13:00

New Haircut - with and without glasses.

2011-12-12T16:32:00.003+13:00

All tidied up and ready for Christmas.

THIS IS A RATHER POINTLESS POST

2011 Christmas Letter - THE MUSICAL!

2011-12-11T09:34:00.000+13:00

Richard and Steph are sitting in the living room sipping chardonnay. Shelley is reading in the bedroom and George is in another room using the computer.
The orchestra is playing. Richard suddenly stands up and starts singing in a bass voice.
Richard:
Is he coming?
When will he arrive?
Will he come with Santa
Or will he simply drive?
I know there's been a problem,
Something about a fence,
Will he bring us presents?
Oh please let him arrive!
Steph stands up and joins in the singing.
Steph:
Is he coming?
When will he arrive?
I remember that last Christmas
He decided to drive.
I hear in Himatangi
He needs to build a fence,
Because, although he has some junk,
It could be treasure to some punk.
Richard and Steph (duet):
Steve please come!
What treasures will you bring this year?
Himitangi will be safe,
We need your Christmas spirit down here.
George enters the room and breaks into song.
George:
Come on dad,
Do not despair,
You'll still have Aunty
And Uncle Ian here!
Richard:
Yes, good son,
I'm a lucky man,
We get them as part of
Some eternal plan.
Okay Aunty does go on a bit,
and Uncle has been known to shit,
while still comfy on the couch.
The smell is just
A minor thing,
Like the tip treats
That Uncle Steve might bring.
Richard, Steph and George (trio):
Steve please come!
What treasures will you bring this year?
Himitangi will be safe,
We need your Christmas spirit down here.
The music continues. Richard pours Steph and himself another chardonnay.
George starts to reminisce in song.
George:
I remember, as a boy,
That Christmas was a time of joy.
You could count on Steve
To make the trip,
One year he brought chocolates
From the tip.
Another year he brought some cheese
That was meant to feed the pigs.
He saved that dairy food for us,
Much to poor old dad's disgust!
Richard, Steph and George:
Steve please come!
What treasures will you bring this year?
Himitangi will be safe,
We need your Christmas spirit down here.
Shelley comes wandering into the room with an empty wine glass.
Shelley:
Aunty's done so well, it's true,
To make it through to ninety two.
Her tales to tell are never done but
Now she's got them down to one.
Richard:
I've heard it many times before,
I enjoyed it more when there were four.
She used to run them in a string,
Now she gets by on one thing.
Shelley:
She does tend to repeat herself,
I agree there's truth in that,
But she is a very generous soul,
She did give us her cat!
Richard drinks his chardonnay very quickly and all four sing a quartet.
Richard, Steph, George and Shelley:
He's a creature as dark as Satan himself,
Does what he likes, without a care.
He lives to eat and sleep,
And sheds fur everywhere.
Richard:
His meow is really raspy,
He is indeed a ginger bastard!
All four sing:
His meow is really raspy,
He is indeed a ginger bastard!

Angry Jesus pops in.

2011-12-10T07:18:00.000+13:00

"Hi, Angry Jesus here, coming to you from Richard's Bass Bag*.
Next stop Christmas.
It's time for you all to start praising me. You can skip the Santa bullshit because you can rearrange those letters to spell Satan - thanks to my loyal subject Second Fiddle for pointing that out on his blog.
Richard (of RBB)'s not here this morning. He buggered off early to take The Bob to a luthier in Wellington. He's doing a Christmas Carols gig tomorrow - that's good to see. He wastes far too much time playing that secular jazz.
That's it from me this morning. Don't forget, I'm looking forward to a bit of worshiping - both me and my alter ego Andy Jesus (over on Facebook) like it when you do that."

* The original bass bagging site.

2011-12-09T07:02:00.000+13:00

Time to move some gear.

2011-12-08T06:02:00.000+13:00

One question that is seldom asked, by the general public, at a concert, is how did all the gear get there and who takes it away afterwards? It's the same at Nuova Lazio High School. We have a show today, and a thing called a minor prizegiving. The stage needs to be set up by about 8.30am. We'll need a PA (two speakers and stands, a mixer, mikes, mike stands and a thousand leads), two guitar amps, a bass amp, a drum kit, instruments, music stands and another five hundred leads.
I'll get things kicked off at 7am. My first job will to sort out all the leads - power leads, spider boxes, guitar leads, speaker leads, etc. The gear is only about twenty metres from the stage, but each piece of equipment will have to be carried there. Students like to perform but, being teenagers, they see 9am as a ridiculously early start. For them 7am is somewhere in the middle of the night.
Unfortunately there are steps, so a trolley is of limited use. Peter will be there early too to set up the stage - we have a moveable stage, so I will have company.
Time to go. The band must go on.

Bus Stopping.

2011-12-07T18:45:00.000+13:00

I spent quite a bit of time waiting for buses today - the final day of NLHS's activities programme. I was involved, for two days, with a bus trip into Wellington. At the bus stop, near the mall in Lower Hutt, they play piped classical music. I enjoyed standing there. I recognised Mozart and Beethoven. Youthful memories came flooding back because I spent much of my youth listening to these two composers. A student informed me they play this music to stop young people congregating near the bus stop.
They do what?
Stop the world - I think it's time for me to get off.

Two days at 'Our Place'.

2011-12-07T06:56:00.000+13:00

I think the staff at Te Papa have had enough of school trips (activity days).
It pissed down yesterday and a lot of NLHS expeditions into Wellington ended up at 'Our Place' because, among other things, it's a big, dry space. We weren't the only school seeking refuge from the elements - there were youngsters everywhere. The good thing was, though, that the museum staff had no way of knowing who were teachers and who were not. This meant that one was able to indulge in a lengthy cup of coffee, with one's colleagues, as exhibits were dismantled and museum rules tested. I may have mentioned yesterday that only well behaved students had chosen our activity. Incorrect. We took one particular girl who was up there with Mr Guildford.
We're back again today. I bet they'll have put on extra staff and maybe they'll have taken security camera shots of adults who were there yesterday, in order to spot a pattern - who other than teachers would turn up two days in a row? I might wear a fake moustache.

Ah, activities week! Don't you love it!

Scritch scritch scratchin'

2011-12-06T06:56:00.002+13:00

We're going to the zoo!
Judy tells us that the monkeys will be "Scritch scritch scratchin'". I can identify with that. You see, I'm a bit of a scratcher.

It's not something I'm proud of, but I do scratch.
Anyway, what I intended to say is that I'm off to the zoo today - it's a school activity day. I'm looking forward to sitting on the bus. We have to catch three buses to get there. We catch the first in Nuova Lazio, the second in Lower Hutt and the third in Wellington. You have to be a patient sort of person to go on this trip. It takes us about two hours to get to the zoo. That's fine by me. Probably the bus trip will be the best part.
I'd better go, I'm running a bit late this morning - don't want to miss the bus.

Last Monday of the school year.

2011-12-05T06:39:00.002+13:00

We have a rehearsal for the school variety show this morning then I get to hang around at Cultural Day. Better than teaching, I can assure you. Tomorrow I'm off on a trip to Wellington Zoo. Hours on buses. Fine by me. Better than teaching, I can assure you. Same deal Wednesday, but heading to Te Papa. Only geeky kids choose to zisit places like this. That's why these two trips are a great option.

Thursday is prizegiving practice, variety show practice and then the actual show. I'll need to be in at school really early to move and set up gear. Still, better than teaching, I can assure you. Prizegiving is on Friday; then staff have farewell speeches. I'll miss most of the speeches because I'll be moving gear back to where it came from. Still, better than teaching, I can assure you.

Franco Petracchi

2011-12-04T08:09:00.000+13:00

I've added links to a documentary about bassist Franco Petracchi on the right of this blog. It's in Italian; mainly because Franco is Italian. Makes sense really. If Franco was an Eskimo, it would probably have been in Eskimo - is there such a language?
I copied this from Wkikpedia...
"Franco Petracchi (born September, 1937) is a famous Italian double bass player soloist and teacher. He is a native of Pistoia and the author of Simplified Higher Technique. In his method, he introduces some conventions to playing in the thumb-position. He uses names chromatic, semi-chromatic and diatonic for different hand positions. He plays a Gaetano Rossi bass, which is unusually large for a soloist."
So, check out what Franco has to say, if you're interested - and can understand a bit of Italian. If not, well tough luck - go and do something else.

When danger reared its ugly head...

2011-12-02T17:39:00.005+13:00

Okay, I had yet another dentist appointment at 3.45pm today. The dentist was running late (poor bastard before me!) and, when I finally made it to the chair, the dentist informed me that the root of my prolonged niggling pain would have to come out.
His assistant asked,
"Do your have any commitments tonight, because we could take it out now?"
I lied and said that I had a music practice.
I immediately thought of this scene from The Holy Grail.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4SJ0xR2_bQ
I can't stop singing that bloody Monty Python song in my cowardly head! The tooth will now come out on the 16th of this month.
Sorry everybody who ever thought I had a scrotum.

The End Time.

2011-12-02T06:18:00.001+13:00

No, sorry, I'm not talking about the end of the world; just the end of formal classes at NLHS.
You see, today is the last 'teaching day' before activities begin on Monday. I'm putting some new strings on one of the two school double basses today. Remember those Bel Canto strings I took off The Bob? Well, I'm donating them to NLHS. The strings on that school bass have probably been on since the bass was originally bought so, even though I'm happy to part with the Bel Canti, they should give the school bass quite a lift. School basses have a hard life and, these days, have few students interested in playing them. Earlier this month a student did show interest in the big fiddle, so I lent him one to practise on and Daryl (our guitar itinerant) very generously took the other one home and fixed it up so that the boy will have a bass at school to play as well.
It takes a little while to change bass strings, especially if the machine heads are a bit old and tight. I'll probably get the job done in about an hour.

I'll take in my string winder to make the job a bit quicker.
We've also got some prizegiving practices today but, all in all, it'll be a day of winding down (no pun about string changing intended).
I had my year ten class for the last time yesterday. An hour always seems longer when it's your last time with a year ten class. Of course I did what any battle hardened old teacher would do and had them doing "book learnin'" for most of the period. It's always better to have a class like this doing lots of writing, rather than relaxing, because relaxing = the onset of caos.

So there we have it. The weekend approaches. Prizegiving approaches. The end of school approaches. Christmas approaches. Old age approaches. All things in the future approach.
Enjoy your Friday.

String Test.

2011-11-30T17:36:00.002+13:00

Okay, how well have you been listening to what I have told you about my double strings?
The Gloria is presently flying there colours...

and The Bob is flying these...

Can you remember what strings are on which bass?
Well The Evah Pirazzi Weich strings are still on The Gloria (multi coloured at the scroll end, and green and black at the tailpiece end), but I've just taken the Bel Canto strings (orange at both ends) off The Bob and put on the Tomastik Spirocore Weich strings (purple at the scroll end, and red at the tailpiece end) that were on The Gloria before I put on the Evah Pirazzi Weich strings.
Both basses are sounding really good. Hey, this has been a bit of a journey for us all. Who was it who said that talking about bass strings is boring?
That poor sod doesn't know what he it missing!

Jazz is fun.

2011-11-29T21:40:00.001+13:00

Just back from playing a two hour background gig, with brother Daryl, at Nuova Lazio High School. They had an art display thing tonight and wanted some jazzy backgrounds. It was fun to play jazz standards for a couple of hours, especially since I've been doing a lot of work on my jazz playing lately. Those Evah Pirazzi Weich strings are certainly sounding good. Daryl, who is a very good bass player (he was playing guitar tonight), played them before the gig and said they were the best jazz strings he had ever played.
Hal Galper is certainly right when he says 'let the melody be your guide'.
That's what I worked on tonight. Jazz is fun.

Good old Hal.
Oh yes, and check here for a truely wonderful experience.

Today is quite a prophetic date.

2011-11-29T15:50:00.001+13:00

The 29th on November 2011, on first site, doesn't sound that special until you delve a little deeper.

Okay, set the date out like this...
29th, 11th month, 2011.
Now replace all the letters with numbers (using a = 1, b = 2, etc) and we get...
29208 11208 131512208 2011.
Next we add all the digits to get the number 21 + 12 + 23 + 4 = 60.
Okay, let's get to the significance, I turn 60 next year - it will be the year 2012. If we add up the numbers in 2012, we get 5.
A coincidence because I was born in 1952! (notice how the 5 is contained in my birth year)
Now, if you add all the digits in 1952 together you get 17, the age I turned in 1969. Now add 1+9+6+9 = 25!
What's so special about 25, I hear you ask?
Let me show you...
Go back to our original set of numbers:
29208 11208 131512208 2011.
None of these four groups add up to 25, so we have introduced a new component; a sort of negative to the original, and a date we all passed through four days ago!
Coincidence? I think not!

A kick, or three, in the teeth.

2011-11-28T17:50:00.001+13:00

On the day that I discovered that the powers that be have decided to put 29 students into my year 11 Music class for 2012 at NLHS (this is a practical class that struggles to have enough hands on gear for about 15 students); I get home to find The Listener has arrived.

Okay, so after a long hard year, Christmas is nearly upon us.
Christmas = picking up and returning elderly relatives from across town. Christmas = feeding said relatives, doing lots of dishes, then getting them home safely.
The one compensation is that the evening affords a bit of time for wine drinking and talking shit (the two seem to often go hand in hand).
So, why did The Listner decide to break this news right on Christmas?
What a lot of sad saps!
Well, The Listener, I can assure you that this bass bagger will be stepping through cancer and stroke possibilities this Christmas evening.
Sod you all at The Listener for your incredibly bad timimg.
Sod you all!
Then, to top off a perfect day, some idiot sends me this picture.

I find this objectionable because it suggests that ginger cats are cute. Utter fucking rubbish. I'm sorry for the use of a profanity.
I don't stoop that low often.
Desperate days call for desperate measures, I guess.

Anyone remember this Frank Fyfe song?

2011-11-27T08:05:00.003+13:00

"Come all you lads of twenty
We've news for you a plenty
We've got Kiwi Keith back again
Now that Holyoake's been elected
We'll all be neglected
We'll be standing in the breadline once again."

Was it 1966? Click here.

Want to hear something pretty amazing?

2011-11-26T16:26:00.002+13:00

Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi0EjOEVavs&feature=related

You can also find it under Autumn Leaves Bobby McFerrin in my Video Links.

A question for Comeinyourpants.

2011-11-26T07:48:00.001+13:00

I'm going to come right out and say it, I'm worried about Comeinyourpant's lawns.
Here's the scenario; both Comeinyourpants and his good lady are working in Auckland through the week and return to ~~Wang~~ ~~Whanger~~ up north for the weekend. Last weekend Comeinyourpants was home alone. This would have been a good opportunity for him to get the mower out. I rang to give him a gentle reminder, only to find that he buggered off out to play golf or something.
Okay, Comeinyourpants, here's my question for you...
What would happen to the golf course if no one bothered to cut the lawns?

It's nearly that time again.

2011-11-25T07:05:00.000+13:00

Everyone says that Christmas is sneaking up really quickly on us this year. Even the young are commenting. I suspect that someone is tampering with time. Could it be God? God who? Well a few people, over the ages, have claimed that title - the surname of God, with a capital G.
I suppose that Christmas is all about the celebration of the birth of God's son; at least that's what the Christians tell us, and they're the ones who celebrate the 25th. I don't think Muslems do Christmas - if they did, it would be a bit like people in France celebrating us winning the rugby world cup.

What, then, is the relevance of Christmas for us more secular souls? Well, there's always Father Christmas, or Santa, as he is often called.
For some reason he likes to reward all the world's children with gifts, though I suspect that he misses most of them. He probably concentrates more on Western countries. To be fair, that's where he was invented.
I guess you have to buy into a general concept of Christmas if you want to celebrate it.
Actually most of us celebrate Christmas out of habit. We do it because we always have. Little kids enjoy it. As you get older it's a chance to spend time with older relatives. When you're quite a bit older you get to pick up and return very old relatives.
There are two types of people at Christmas lunches and dinners - the hosts and the guests. The hosts cook the food and everybody eats it. Hey, that's a good metaphor for life!

But, let's get back to my original thought - is time speeding up? It could be. Maybe time in the finite universe is malfunctioning? Maybe a planet has got out of alignment and is wedged in the time mechanism, making some little bits spin freely and therefore making the finite universe clock turn more quickly?

The ~~senior management team~~ senior leadership team at Nuova Lazio High School is pretty smart; maybe they'll look into it? No, wait, they might all be off on courses. Who can we turn to? Angry Jesus might know. Second knows a lot about religion, he'd probably know if Mr God is involved - it would be mentioned in The Bible somewhere if he was.
In any case, Christmas is coming up fast. I'd better go and get ready for it.
Ciao.

It's getting near that time.

2011-11-24T06:49:00.003+13:00

I have two prizegiving practices today at NLHS, which is a good sign because it means the end of the year is getting close. It'll soon be time to write the famous Richard's Bass Bag Christmas Letter.
Stay tuned dear readers.

I was asked, last night, to play on Helen Dorothy's second CD (I was on the first). We start practising in a week and we are recording in December, so things are about to busy up.
Here's a link to her first CD.

A Physical Attraction.

2011-11-22T16:45:00.003+13:00

Hi, I'm Richard and I run a bass bagging site called Richard's Bass Bag - incidently, the first ever bass bagging blog.
~~People often ask~~ A person once asked me why my blog is called Richard's Bass Bag. I guess I could tell you that it is because, as a bass bag shelters a bass, this blog is a haven for things to do with bass playing. Well, it's not really true. Naming this site was more an intuitive thing.
~~Everyone seems to want to know how I came to take up the bass~~ Have you ever wondered how it was I became a bass player? Well, I'll tell you.
I began violin lessons at the age of eight, in 1960. My mother had unexpectedly brought home two violins at a school fair. She showed them to Second and myself. To this day I remember seeing my first violin close up - they were beautiful. She asked us if we would like to learn to play them. Needless to say, we both jumped at the chance.
Okay, the reality was a bit different - the violin is not a comfortable thing to hold, under your chin, when you are starting out. There seemed to be lots of things to remember. Don't forget, I was initially drawn to the violin by its physical beauty, not its sound. To be honest, practice was a pain in the arse. Our mother (I've since named my main bass after her) got very upset when we didn't practise, and I often seemed to be in trouble for not doing any/much.

If you regularly attend lessons, and do minimal practice, you eventually get better. I definitely came to enjoy playing the violin - it was what I did that made me ~~stand out~~ be seen a little differently at school. I enjoyed playing in school shows because it was a good way for an unconfident, spotty and slightly overweight boy to get involved and to smell the grease paint. I loved the theatre. I spent many a show, in the second violins, secretly falling in love with the leading lady.
I made it into the Wellington Youth Orchestra and made the decision to study violin at university. I still wasn't practising. I sneaked through Performance I and realised that I was having more success with composition. I retired from violin playing. The musical world did not mourn.
I was successful with my composing and was encouraged to do honours, which I did.
In 1975 my older brother suggested that I should take up the bass guitar because it was tuned the same as the violin. He was wrong. A violin is tuned (from the highest string) E A D G and a bass guitar is tuned G D A E - a really big difference because the violin is tuned in fifths and the bass in fourths.
I did something different when I took up the bass guitar - I started practising. I don't know why I started practising, but I really caught the 'practice' bug. I didn't take lessons on the bass guitar, but took a logical approach to playing the instrument (based on my previous musical experience). The years of violin playing certainly helped. I took my first double bass lessons in 1976, but it was to be quite a few years before I had the confidence to believe that I could get on top of this instrument. I spent quite a few years practising the trumpet before I started to really work on the double bass. My playing just seemed to grow over quite a few years. I was a bass guitarist who played a bit of double bass. I think my progress was slow on the double bass until, one day in the late 1980s, when I started to take it seriously. I remember it taking years to get on top of bowing. The double bass is not an easy instrument to play. I still practise a lot these days because I'm continually trying to improve my playing.
I often look at my basses and admire their physical beauty. They're just big violins, after all.

Hold that tiger!

2011-11-20T17:07:00.001+13:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2KA13YBWzI&feature=related

How to look nonchalant when carrying a double bass.

2011-11-19T19:45:00.000+13:00

Okay, so I played in the Beehive today. For those readers from overseas, the Beehive is part of our parliament buildings and I played in the room where important foreign dignitaries are entertained. I turned up at the door but couldn't enter before going through the metal detector thing. The main guard was actually a Bosnian (a lovely chap) and I couldn't help drifting in and out of James Bond movies.

They checked all the pockets on my double bass bag and I wasn't allowed to carry it in myself. Once inside I had to wait for the violinist. For some reason I started to feel like an undetected terrorist. I reached for my ventolin inhaler and thought,
"This must look like I'm worried."
I tried to look as normal as I could.
The gig went well. Although numerous mistakes were made, we played with a lot of energy and the crowd was very appreciative.

Check this out...

2011-11-19T13:58:00.001+13:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moGTiE_YMFY&feature=related

The Science of Coloured Pencils.

2011-11-18T22:55:00.001+13:00

Teachers of different disciplines often take light hearted pot shots at their colleagues who teach different subjects. Physical Education teachers generally take the most flack, along with Maths teachers. I mean, can you imagine the conversations that must take place in the Mathematics resource room? Another favourite group are Social Studies teachers. That's because, in the old days, Social Studies classes always seemed to involve a lot of colourful picture drawing and underlining of salient words. Generally speaking, in those days, the student with the prettiest, most colourful book, with the most creative underlining, took out the Social Studies prize at the end of the year. When I trained to be a teacher (in 1976), the only subject I had studied at university was Music, so the Teachers' College powers that be automatically listed my second subject as Social Studies. I'm sure that Man of Errors (a Social Studies teacher) would protest that things are very different these days.
I'd like to congratulate Man of Errors for his appointment to Head of Department (Social Studies) at his new school in Port Nicholson. Port Nicholson East Girls' College has made a very good decision.
As we say at Nuova Lazio High School,
"John-Paul, you da man!"

Getting Better At Jazz.

2011-11-18T06:57:00.001+13:00

I've added a new feature to the right hand side of this blog called "Getting Better At Jazz".

You'll find a couple of links to Hal Galper giving a master class - they're labelled "Hal Galpher" and "Let the melody be your guide". I was lucky enough to play in a combo that was tutored by Hal, in the early eighties, at a jazz clinic held in Wellington. You'll also get to hear the views of bassists Ron Carter, Carol Kaye, Rufus Reid (he was at that clinic too - a lovely guy), Dave Holland and others. There are plenty more links and I'll keep adding to them. So, whether you are looking to brush up on your improvising or you are just interested in how jazz works, you'll find a lot of interesting information here.
Ciao.

Nostalgia can be an empty ice cream cone.

2011-11-15T22:33:00.001+13:00

Check this out, those of us who are old enough to have experienced The Monkees in the 60s...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YKfMK5DgQI&feature=related
Look at the chicks who are cheering for them now!
Time catches up with every dream.
I went to a fundraising screening of a new movie (Tintin) this evening. Evidently it was the first screening after the world premier (in Wellington).
I've got to say that the comic books (not an American term as these cartoons were actually presented as 'comic books') were better.
These days nothing is impossible on the big screen.
The original Tintin books originated in some obscure European country (it might have been Belgium, but I'm resisting the urge to hand things over to The Internet) and had a peculiarly foreign magic for us young antipodean readers. It was like a glimpse into an alien world. I guess that was part of the magic - unusual cars and locations... seaplanes, as I remember, were an important feature.

Tonight's film was slick and there were subtle references to the original reason why these stories worked.
No room for foreign feeling/culture though - people all seemed to speak with English accents.
Like I said, very clever - any effect seems possible these days.
Call me old fashion but I feel an inclination to smell the pages of those original comic books.

Fluffy III - Cat at Large - still

2011-11-14T06:36:00.001+13:00

It is 2024 and Fluffy III has managed to avoid capture, thanks to his clever disguises - much cleverer disguises than his father used.

Oops, hang on Fluffy III, do you think the dog disguise is really that wise?

Fluffy III - Cat at Large... Fluffy II's sad demise.

2011-11-13T08:23:00.001+13:00

It was Fluffy II who first came up with the idea of adopting a disguise. This was around 2017 when cats and dogs were first outlawed. Unfortunatley he didn't do his animal research and he was soon caught in a trap. 2017 was a sad year.

To be honest, his second choice didn't show much promise either.

Fluffy III - Cat at Large

2011-11-12T16:23:00.001+13:00

November 2023 - I don't remember the actual day because I am now 71 years old. Life was easier in the old days when cats and dogs weren't outlwawed. At least, in his present disguise, Fluffy III can't get through the cat door at night, and he's keeping the lawns down.

He's finding that he can't adopt one disguise for too long because neighbours start to get suspiscious and it only takes one person to spill the beans. Ah, it was so much easier keeping a cat a few years ago, even if I did complained about the ginger bastard at the time. It was even easier for much of Fluffy II's time. I'll tell you about that in the next post.

Fluffy III

2011-11-12T12:19:00.002+13:00

It's the year 2023 and all domestic cats and dogs have been banned (well exterminated really) because of the damage they have done to native bird life. Fluffy III lives secretly in Nuova Lazio and avoids extermination, along with a few surviving comrades, by adopting many disguises. He is the grandson of the ginger bastard (a notorious beast who supplied the necessary sperm before losing his genitals in what wasn't really an accident; more a medical procedure).
Richard's Bass Bag is proud to bring you the adventures of Fluffy III - Cat at Large.

Good morning from Nuova Lazio...

2011-11-12T08:19:00.000+13:00

...land of opportunity, where any kid can grow up to claim the dole, where there are always jobs at The Warehouse and BP.

I see we've got elections coming up. I'm not much of a political person but it was ~~interesting~~ scary to see the PM rubbing up to John Banks on the news last night. Okay, Banksy isn't quite as scary as Donny Boy Brash, but it didn't leave an easy feeling. This is going to be a hard one for labour to pull off. I guess all we can do is rally around and vote for the boys in red.
I've actually got a gig at parliament (in the beehive) next Saturday playing for, of all things, a Buddhist meeting. There'll evidently be about 400 Japanese style Buddhists there - that's all I know about it. Maybe I'll bump into Shonkey (name stolen from here) and will be able to whisper a bit of advice in his ear. I wonder if he listens to bass players? Probably not.

Well, It's Saturday, my favourite day of the week. I'll try to get some decent practice done today. I'm loving those EP Weichen strings. They're particularly good unamplified. I love both the arco and the pizzicato sound. I guess you could say that they have a dark/almost gut string quality.
Time to go.
Enjoy your Saturday.

It's soooo quiet around here!

2011-11-11T06:18:00.000+13:00

Teeth... eating without them is quite hard and can shorten your life - ask Nana Nanook.

2011-11-10T18:01:00.001+13:00

I remember seeing a film called Nanook of the North many years ago. The scene I vividly remember is about the grandmother, whose teeth are now too worn down to chew her own food, being left out in the cold to feed the polar bears - the Eskimo theory evidently being (at the time the film was made - 1922) that a polar bear would eat her and later, when the Eskimos ate the polar bear, her spirit would return to her family. Well, it was something like that.
You can check out the film here.
Okay, back on topic, I had toothache (really more like jaw ache) today and took the day off school. I wasn't able to get an appointment until next Monday - dentistry is a thriving business. I think I will survive and probably won't face the same fate as Nana Nanook. Anyway, I'm not unaccustomed to handling a bit of pain. As it turned out, the day off was put to good use, as there was a 'minor' family issue that needed dealing with.
So, back to the front lines tomorrow morning. Actually this has been my first sick day in years and was made easier to manage by the fact that I actually had no classes to teach - due to the seniors having gone off to sit exams.
Tomorrow, as they say, will be another day.

A post without much purpose.

2011-11-09T06:56:00.000+13:00

Low cloud in Nuova Lazio this morning.

Further north it's raining as The Wine Comeinyourpants thinks about getting out of bed to face another day of wine avtivities.

By now he should be starting to fit back in to working life. Ah, the stress of it all!

In Nuova Lazio we have low cloud this morning.

I'm looking out the window and the ground looks wet. It's not cold though. Summer must be finally on the way.

There aren't many people who don't like summer.

Bob Newhart was born in 1929, so he has experienced a few summers. Good old deadpan Bob.
I generally like summer, as long as it is not too hot. Unfortunately the lawns grow more in summer.
I might wrap this post up now.
The Wine Comeinyourpants gets up at 7. He'll probably get to work some time between 8 and 9.

I wonder if they drink wine instead of morning coffee?

Kicking Self 2 Out.

2011-11-08T23:04:00.001+13:00

Prizegiving this evening at Nuova Lazio High. It was a busy time for the old music teacher because each musical item needed a different set up. It was hot and then the PA system being used for the on stage banter broke down. This system is run by different people; not me - I set up my own system for the music.

I quickly organised an alternative mike through my system. This required some quick thinking (finding long leads and compromising my system) and a quick mike change as the dancing bear took a breath.
He looked at me as if to say,
"Your sound system has broken down. Can't you get it right?"
Well, the dancing bear, it wasn't my mistake, I was just saving you.
Ah, but no point telling him that, he'll be thinking about dancing and other things.
I thought the musical items were good tonight, though I'm sure others will disagree. I don't mind what they think though because those kids who performed tonight can play better than anyone on the staff. Also, I had only two weeks to get this show together - we'd just finished the school show at the end of last term and that took hours and hours of work.
I mentioned, a few posts back, that I'm trying to shut out my self 2. Let me explain for those who don't remember my earlier posts.
It's like this...
Self 1 is the subconcious mind that works much like a computer - it processes information in the way it is told to. It basically believes what you tell it. Put in positive messages and it will endeavour to carry them out.
Self 2, on the other hand, asks all the questions...
"Do they know how much time this is taking?"
"Am I good enough?"
"Do I look fat?"
"God! I'm a pathetic excuse for a human being!"
I've been working hard lately on shutting down Self 2.
I think this will really help my musical performance.

For me the most amusing thing about tonight was when the dancing bear again referred to The Senior Leadership Team as The Senior Management Team. Only in Nuova Lazio could so much be made of a name change and then forgotten. The Student Leaders (another new name) were announced and then given prefects' badges. Nice. The classic line was that the badges had been printed before the name change was thought up. Sometimes I wonder about who is calling the shots in our daily lives - I suspect that Angry Jesus has too much of a hand in all of this. To celebrate here is a picture of a Ford Prefect.

Time for bed, methinks.

Senior Rewards Ceremony tonight at NLHS.

2011-11-08T17:12:00.001+13:00

This year the Senior Leadership Team (formerly the Senior Management Team - how short sighted was that name?) has decided, in its infinite wisdom (accountable only to God), that the term 'prizegiving' implies simply tossing out prizes to smart kids and the occasional kid who has built something in Hard Materials (includes iron and wood products).
In reality, they believe, we need to be distributing rewards over a larger horizon of activity.
This year they have included Best Smoker, Best Truancy Effort and Best Reason For A Stand Down. The pleasing result is that NLHS have much more cups and awards to give out this year.
They have also decided to rename the prefects. Next year they will be known as 'pimps' - not the ones who organise prostitutes, but students who dob in their classmates.
Further along this line of renaming things, in the hope that it will miraculously fix ongoing problems, the principal will now be referred to as...
Wake up Richard (of RBB)! You fell asleep! You have prizegiving items to organise! Get back to school!

When the wine must get through, The Wine Comeinyourpants will be there.

2011-11-08T06:41:00.002+13:00

Poor old The Wine Comeinyourpants will be getting ready for work soon. He'll be thinking about wine problems as he heads off. He'll probably take a second to smile about that pregnant waitress who once gave him a beer when he asked for a fancy wine - ah, but that was a few years ago now. His mind will flick back to the present - wine orders need filling, why won't the Russians try the 2007 Sav Blanc and why is that damn Chardon still so bloody popular down in Nuova Lazio? Then he'll snigger briefly as he remembers that some in Nuova Lazio omit the C when talking about the strengths of that bubbling delight.
He'll park outside the building, next to a sign saying 'Marketing Manager', and head in via the main entrance.

There'll be challenges to face. No time to blog this week; not for this purveyer of pleasure bringing beverages - that will have to wait until the weekend.

6am means different things to different days.

2011-11-07T06:38:00.001+13:00

I sprang out of bed at 6am yesterday. I don't know what it is but I hate wasting weekends sleeping - there is so much that can be done.
I dragged myself out of bed at 6am today. I literally dragged myself out. Fortunately I'd shut the kitchen door, last night, so that the ginger bastard couldn't get into the kitchen or the bedroom. I could hear him outside.

"Nick! Nick!"
He was keen to get in, but I had the upper hand this morning. I was able to find his spoon and get his raw meat to his bowl without him darting around my feet like a large ginger rat.
I wish he could manage a meow, like normal cats. That's the problem - he's not a normal cat. He's the spawn of satan.

On a lighter note, tomorrow is the last day for our seniors; though I'm expecting to see a lot of mine back as they try to complete work that they should have done months ago.
We have senior prizegiving tomorrow night. I always enjoy prizegiving because I get to move amplifiers, instruments, music stands, drums and assorts leads to the auditorium and then I get to move them back again. It's all good exercise.

Okay, must be positive now. It's Monday morning and it's time to get ready for work.

So, Richard (of RBB), how did your gig go last Thursday?

2011-11-06T16:18:00.000+13:00

I thought you'd never ask.
Well I can tell you that we had 25 paying customers, plus a few others - not too bad for a Thursday.
I kicked the evening off with four solo pieces - The Immigrants; My Gentle Giant; Shelley, My Dear and Autumn Leaves. Then Chris joined me for Byebye Blackbird; Nefanie and Bill Bailey. It's hard to comment on how your own set went, but it seemed to hold together pretty well. Then Chris played a solo set. His songs are very well crafted and he delivers them very well. I'd have to admit that I gained a new respect for my older bro's work. We played the last set together - all his songs, with two pieces featurieg me, and, near the end, we were joined by his daughter Eva...
the middle person in this photo.

Chris had an encore tune put aside, but noone asked for an encore, so he decided to play it anyway. A lot of his tunes are very catchy and, as I said before, they are all very well crafted.

We on stage had a fun evening and are hoping to repeat the experience some time in the future.
A guy from the Upper Hutt folk club was keen for us to play at one of their evenings, so who knows?
That's it. I'm off to do a bit of practice. The EP Weichen are sounding great and are fun to play.
Ciao for now.

Check this out...

2011-11-06T09:32:00.001+13:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0nsxCsJgdg

Here's how to play a solo over Autumn Leaves...

2011-11-06T08:12:00.003+13:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnxeKl-Kbqw&feature=related

and here's another way...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsz3mrnIBd0&feature=related

and yet one more...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX4i9CieZYk&feature=related

Oh, and watch Miles get pissed off at the end.