Richard's Bass Bag: On the job early.

We have a plumber coming sometime around 8am, so I've been out moving my car onto the road, delivering my elderly neighbour's paper and taking out some extra rubbish - the rubbish man often shows up at about 7am or slightly after. In about an hour I need to drive a car to Seaview for my daughter. She's selling her pink Barbie car because she is heading to Melbourne in a month or so.

Hey, Peter, no need to start calling me Ken. The car is going.

I practised for 30 minutes on the double bass yesterday. I've decided that it's time to get my double bass going again. I have five unaccompanied solo pieces that I will concentrate on. They are all originals.

Sii Gentile
Almost Blues
Gypsy Feet
My Gentle Giant
Shelley, My Dear

Sii Gentile translates to Be Kind and is dedicated to our past prime minister who really coined that phrase. Almost Blues is a 14 bar blues. Gypsy Feet is an up tempo swing tune in the Gypsy Jazz style. My Gentle Giant is a piece I wrote for my double bass. Well, next to my violin, he/she IS a giant. I often refer to the last piece as SMD so as not to embarrass the person who bears its name. It is a piece, in the Bluegrass tradition, that I have played for many years.