Woo freaking hoo! I got more accomplished in the last 4 days on my CD than I have in the previous 2 years!,, A lot of what I have on my tunes are pre-recorded loops and samples that came with the recording program, but what the hell? The bass playing on the tunes is all me...along with some conga rhythms and melodic stuff. But...matching my stuff with the right drum rhythms, synth patterns and effects, and other instruments is an art in itself. And pretty fun, too. I am not trying to make a complete, ready-to-go-on-the-market album, anyway. Just a demo to present to potential bandmates. It isn't SUPPOSED to be complete. I WANT to get input from other musicians. If the people I get to work with me can't come up with anything better than some recorded samples on a computer program, I don't want to work with them. But, the samples at least provide a clue for how the finished music will sound like...a general idea...a direction to go. This is gonna be a hoot! Can't wait to have some finished demos to send out.

Technical problem solved!!! I can now plug my bass into the computer and hear it when I play...which means I have officially run out of excuses not to finish my demo CD. Shit!!!! I have all the lyrics written (although they could probably use some work), and quite a few ideas for basslines and melodies, and some intros and what-not. There are definitely enough ideas to finish the CD. There was some brilliant person in history (I think it was Edison) who said, "Genius is 1% inspiration...and 99% PERSPIRATION." I have come to believe that all it takes to begin making great music is one good idea...one cool sounding bassline, one hot drum lick, one nice riff, motif, or melodic snippet. Think about it. What Hendrix did with the National Anthem, what Victor Wooten did with Amazing Grace (and other less-than-impressive in their original form tunes) on his bass, and what Jaco did with America the Beautiful is all the evidence I need to believe that. As long as it sounds musical (even if it is something as lame as Mary had a Little Lamb)...it can be developed into an awesome piece of music. And NOW...I plenty of that all-important first percent now for a complete CD. NOW...gotta get busy on sweating out the remaining ninety-nine. I have the beginnings of 4 of the 10 songs. Quite a ways to go on them all. I am JUST a bass player...yet, I have to wear the hats of composer, lyricist, arranger, sound engineer, producer. This music program on the computer should make it a little easier...once I figure out how to work it. Slowly -- but surely -- getting there. Have been listening to some great prog today. Mainly, ELP, Frost*, and Eloy. If THAT stuff can't inspsire me...NOTHING can. If there are any available Bay Area PROG musicians out there (or Bay Area bands currently without a bass player), feel free to email me. I am not arrogant enough to think I can make an amazingly awesome prog CD all by myself, (at least not on my first attempt at making music...and only playing bass for 8 years without ever having had a lesson in my life.)

I can't believe it has been a year since I made an entry on this thing. A lot has happened in my life since then: marital split, relationship drama, moving to the east coast, back to Phoenix, and finally...to the WEST coast. In all that tumult, there has not been a lot of progress made on my music project. But now that I am settled...there is time to work on it. This computer upon which I type these words has a pretty cool program for recording and editing music, downloaded on it. Now I'm in the process of getting familiar with it, and getting some technical issues worked out. (Mainly, how to hook up my bass into the program. Anyone out there know about such things? Please email me!!!!!) My lack-of-progress on my CD project does not upset me too much. Mainly because, aside from all the drama and upheaval I have been through the last year...I just needed to practice and get to the point where I feel my musical abilities are up to a project such as this. Whether they are now or not, I don't know. But I have come to the realization that do not have to learn and master every bassline of Geddy, Chris Squire, and Tony Levin to make a decent prog CD. All I really have to is master MY OWN material...and that's just what I have been working on. As long as I can play my own shit...as I can totally suck on every else's. LOL