What's new...

Man, I need to start blogging more than once a month! @jomarbassman is cranking them out once almost every other day it seems, and it's all ways fresh! Follow his Twitter and check his blog, it's good stuff!

On the music front: Brooke Nicholls' Set at The Opera House August 7th was off the hook...so much that they asked us to come back Sept. 3rd (all ages, $15 in advance, $20 at the door)) and Sept. 4th at the Rivoli (+19, no advance sales, $10 at the door) We're working on an arrangement where you may be able to purchase one ticket for both shows, more on that later!

Really having a fun time with this band BTW...great bunch of guys (and gal!), and we're having a great time putting together the live show and playing off each other's strengths...that aforementioned Aug. 7 show won us some free recording at Chalet Studio (a division of Chalet Communications); looking forward to spending some time there banging out Brooke's next hit tune!

Checked in with my old pal Matisse this past week (on Facebook, natch); he's a busy guy, not only working on new solo material but simultaneously working on a new mixtape with Keys N Krates; hoping to get a chance to work with either or both acts sometime again, those were good days that I hope will come around again!

Still no luck on locating my missing ZX, or the other three instruments and the pedals that went with it...I've taken up the Electric Upright Bass (EUB) to "comfort" myself in my time of loss...did I say comfort? Let's correct that with CHALLENGE myself! It's a different mindset and a totally different set of finger muscles that are used. I've messed around with EUBs and 3/4 acoustic uprights at the store, but not over any length of time, like now. So glad I started using the SIMANDL method of fingering (1-2-4) over OFPF (one finger per fret) on electric bass awhile back, it's made the transition a LOT easier than what I hear it would have been...however, it's a great stretch (no pun intended, though the term is quite accurate), and I'm looking forward to adding that skill-set to my palette...gotta get a bow and start working on that too!

Capstone Recording Studios is up and running (please note that while it housed in the same building, it is a separate entity of Capstone Lesson Studios, so no worries/concerns about conflict with my day gig, okay?) Contact me at 905-320-3593 or by e-mail for rates and availability, I think you'll be happy with what we can accomplish there!

Continuing to work on stuff for the fall with 24/7...the summer rock series is going really well, come out this Sunday Aug. 22nd, the cover tune is "My Generation" by The Who; immediately after the service, we're going to have a coffee house in the Upper Room Cafe with Bianca Bernardi of Burlington, ON bring us an acoustic set! Don't miss it, this young lady is awesome and you want to say twenty years from now that you were there!

More stuff coming this fall, including a project that I'll give more details on next time around...really excited!!!...until next time, hopefully it won't be too long this time!!!

Sacrebleu!

Wow, what a weekend! An outing with Keys N Krates is never without adventure, and this past weekend did not disappoint!

I left Burlington to pick up the boys at Sole Power around 11:30 last Wednesday...the thought was that rather than driving all day and doing sound check and set up on arrival (being all worn out from driving), we would drive through the night, check into the hotel, and relax for the day. Well, I lasted behind the wheel until about 2:30 and then Flo took over, and I crashed. Next think I know, it's daylight and we're stopping at McDonalds somewhere around Montreal for breakfast...then Tune got behind the wheel (we don't let Matisse drive...long story...) and headed for beautiful Lac-Beauport and the Manoir Sainte Castin Hotel...oh, it's just gorgeous up there, I wouldn't mind heading back up there for business or pleasure at all! Nice clean atmosphere, and one of the best hotels I've ever had the pleasure of staying in!

The staff at the Archibald Microbrassarie was great, great sound, we had a killer party going on...the place was packed out, I heard it was one of the largest they've had at that venue, around 550 or so rocking out to the remix by Keys N Krates! Sounds like they'll be heading back for more, and hopefully yours truly will be along for the ride!

So, after we dragged ourselves out of bed the next morning (the only negative at 'Castin was that there's no late check out, so we had to boogie by 11) to head for the next gig in Montreal. So after tracking down Matisse's jacket at some studio in the industrial area (still not sure of how that story came about...) we arrived at the venue, Tabu Lounge for set up. We had a nice little crowd for a more intimate performance, once again wowing the crowd...BTW, if you're still not hip to what reinventing the remix is all about, head over to http://www.keysnkrates.com and check out what the show's all about...and then make it a point to get out to the next show that's in a venue close to you...or even far!

Where was I? Oh yeh, so we hooked up with Flo's boy Kevin and headed back to the Prisonlodge...oh yeh, let's talk about that for a minute...

...as nice as the Manoir Sainte Castin was, the Travel Lodge on Rene Levesque in Montreal is it's polar opposite in my experience and opinion. The room was maybe 100 sq. ft, with bunk beds...the bunks were bolted to the wall above the regular bed...the picture didn't get saved unfortunately, but wow, we all felt it was like a prison, for real! They ran out of underground parking, so we had to unload all the gear into storage overnite and park on the street...yeh, hopefully we'll get the Delta next time again!

So yeh, we unloaded, chilled for a quick bit...then decided to go get some chinese food. I was going to stay in and catch up on sleep, but I'm a total mark for chinese, so off we went. Kevin is from Montreal, going to school with Flo in New York...so he knew of this place that had pretty good deals...and what a deal it was...a HUGE (think two medium-full size) plate of spicy pork chops, with fried rice, leeks, and a fried egg (on top of the rice...)...um, WOW! Greasy, Chinese goodness, I couldn't finish my 6-7 good sized pork chops, so I had to get a doggy bag...finished them for "breakfast", and they were just as good then! Big thanks to Kev for taking us there!

So, the return trip was largely uneventful, we took turns driving and snoozing. The guys are heading to Germany next month, I'll have to decline that as there's a work conflict with my day job, but if you're in Europe, check the Keys N Krates website for the venues and try to make it out! There's a West Coast tour towards the end of June that Matt (West Coast bass guy) will most likely be handling unless things change, Van, Calgary, Winnipeg, check it!

So, unless things change, I have no gigs outside of church schedded for the next little bit...yikes! I really want to try doing Berklee Online this fall or Winter semester to get their Bass Specialist Certificate, so help a brother out: if you know or hear of someone who needs a bass player, HAVE THEM CALL ME! Check out my website or contact me at andrew.jacksonsmith@gmail.com for contact info and creds. I'm a quick learner, and work really well with people and different genres, you won't be sorry!

(Oh, just a plug for Mrs. Groove's new blog, "Dancing on Jupiter" , she talks about some of the family stuff going on, check it out!)


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Now playing: dc Talk - Dive
via FoxyTunes

Rev Groove Update

Just a quick update on what I'll be doing this month (so far):

Playing bass with Keys N Krates next Thursday Mar. 12 at The Wrongbar.

TEAM CANADA | KEYS N KRATES | WONG BOYS | EH TEAM DJS @ WRONGBAR LAST GANG | TREMENDOUS RECORDS | IDEAL FRIENDS | CMW EXTENDED LAST CALL 4AM
Hosted by:	WRONGBAR
Type:	Party - Club Party
Where:	Wrongbar
When:	Thursday, March 12 from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am

If you're in TO on Thursday night, make this the CMW Event to attend. Keys N Krates IS re-inventing, and REINVIGORATING the re-mix. Check out the Keysnkrates.com for more details, videos, booking, and downloads. Love working with these guys...


Then on Saturday, it's off to Montreal for another Keys N Krates Gig at the Academy:

FUEGO! ☼ KEYS N' KRATES + GUESTS @ ACADEMY MAR14 "We Re-Invented the Remix"
Hosted by:	LOOKOUT
Type:	Music/Arts - Jam Session
Where:	Academy Club
When:	Saturday, March 14 from 9:00 pm to 3:00 am

Then at the end of the month, I'll be the guest clinician for the Halton Board of Educations's Band Extravaganza, shaking the Burlington Music Centre with 10-15 bass playing students...one of the tunes they're doing this year is the Transformers Theme, I'm pretty excited about it. That's March 26-27th...not open to the general public though. If you would like me to roll by and do a clinic for you, drop a comment and I'll be in touch!

Things are starting to calm down from the family's health issues, so I'm hoping to get back to finishing the track I'm working on for my uncle's poem and laying the tracks for my dad's stuff. Hopefully we'll have that posted for you guys in the next week or so...that's all for now, back to the poke war with my west coast buddy Marianne...






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Now playing: Diana King - Shy Guy
via FoxyTunes

Writer's Block

Yup, the big WB. I'm supposed to be composing tunes for my debut music project, and I've got two ideas in mind, possibly a third....tracked one of them for a Leland Sklar tribute that isn't going to be used (I'm not bitter or upset about that, it's not right for the project...) and was supposed to track a second for another shot at it, but I have no desire suddenly to create.

Stress at work I think has something to do with it. It's the end of our year and I need to shave $2k more from overdue accounts...kids are sick...gotta take my oldest to the doctor's first thing in the morning...

...now, see, I should be able to take that stuff, and generate a GREAT album! Lots of material for some bluesy, soulful angst driven tracks! But I'm tired of that. I don't want to write anymore love songs...even though I'm married to the love of my life, it's no reflection on her...I'm just feeling "meh" about everything.

Decided too, not to buy or rent (unless it's specifically needed for a one-off gig) any new (or used/new to me) gear for at least this year, with the exception of rental buyouts...partially a financial thing, partially to discipline myself to learn chops rather than gear. The thing is...I LOVE gadgets, and the thought of not giving into G.A.S. (see previous blog) is kind of depressing...no G.A.S for a year? Hopefully there's some prototypes coming down the pipleline from Traynor to try out...

Heck, even this blog is a result of the 'block, I couldn't come up with anything to write, so I'm writing about that!

So, I have a bar mitzvah gig this weekend, first one in awhile. Haven't played the Playground material in some time, so when I'm done this, I'm going to familiarize myself with some of the more difficult tracks, though all of our stuff is jammed out. The Playground is my favourite gig, I'm hoping this weekend will spark some creative juices flowing.

Also, I need to see if I can put together a jam band for a local establishment on a weekly basis. Used to show up there and actually sat in as part of the houseband a couple of times before the gig got shut down. The owner is looking for another band a different night of the week...if I can find the right guys...well, the right front person to build a band around...then a great drummer to hook up with to get a tight rhythm section...a sick guitarist, who's capable of leavng his ego at the door...and hot damn, we have a jam band!

So yeh, I'll sign off before I start writing nonsense. It's 2 PM, I need to flip the laundry and run some tunes...love that the studio is semi-detached from the house...hopefully I'll have something more interesting to write next week, peace!



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Now playing: All-Star Tribute - What's Going On
via FoxyTunes

Gig Report

Just got in, literally, from a gig in Montreal with Keys N Krates (http://www.keysnkrates.com/), man, I haven't been to Mo-Town north since I was 11...that's way too long ago...and woosh, it was off the hook. Eli and Jesse at the Academy were awesome, and as per usual, KnK (Flo, Tune, and Matisse) put on a great show. The after party was ridiculous (in the good sense) and we made some new friends to boot that we'll look forward to hooking up with again at future shows.

I was going to put up a video blog last night, but we didn't roll into our hotel room until 6:18 this morning. The Delta Montreal is a class joint, I think it's the nicest hotel I've stayed in, on a par with Adams Mark hotels in the states. We were SUPPOSED to leave around 11:00 this morning, but after a roll in at that time, fuggedd aboud it! Flo flew from MO straight back to NY, and so it was just Matisse, Tune and I on the way back for some spirited discussion on the lovely women in our lives (or the lack thereof in one particular case), music, production, and future goals we each have as far as our musical endeavors.

It was indeed a late arrival, all my kids except for the baby were up to greet me...sounds like she's about to get up though. Some stuff happened today before I got home that I won't get into, so daddy coming home to slay the bad guy is an especially big thing this time around!

We'll get back to a bass-centric or musical blog post in the next several days. If you have any ideas on specific topics you'd like to hear my take on, post a comment!



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Now playing: Rev. Groove - The Breakdown
via FoxyTunes

Until next time: The Rev. AJ Groove