It's been awhile - With Intent notes; Olympic White 70's P-Bass Report

Wow, I sure have taken a long time off from blogging. Just want to get back in the groove, here's a few updates as to what's been going on:

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"With Intent", the rock band that I belong to, has been going through quite a bit of changes lately. In early September we lost our lead guitarist Dan and drummer Mark. Dan left on pretty good terms, but there were some venues that we lined up that he didn't feel comfortable with. So he finished up our scheduled gigs and turned in his notice. Mark and Ed, on the other hand, didn't quite see eye-to-eye and that hastened Mark's decision to leave the band too. I personally liked these two guys very much, both as musicians and people (and I believe Ed did too), but in the end the fit wasn't quite right. Everything seems to be on good terms with those two and I hope to see them and possibly play with them in the future.

During a one-week stretch in early September (before Dan and Mark left the group) we had three gigs lined up during Labor Day week. The first gig was on Labor Day, and it was a private party for an owner of an avocado grove in Valley Center. That gig netted us $600, not bad. We played pretty well, but most of the party goers didn't really pay us any mind, though afterward they were heaped us much praise. It was a hot day and I had a few issues with a sticky neck on my Olympic White P-Bass, but other then that all went well.

The second gig was at a biker bar called Pounders in Escondido. It was a Wednesday night gig that started at 9pm. I went into the gig sort of tired, but by midnight I was pretty rejouvinated. There were some concerns within the band (not with me I must add) about the "roughness" of the venue, being a biker bar and all, but I knew we would be all right. And we were. In fact, we were pretty damn good, and we had won the crowd over by the end of the night. It was a great gig. And we were just starting to gel as a band too.

Our third gig that week was on Friday night at the newly re-opened Metaphor. Yes, in a previous blog I lamented the closing of the Met, but it is under new ownership and back for business. Alas, Jim Nemish is no longer involved with the venue (and we miss his presence dearly), but nonetheless it is open again with the same theme, and our favorite venue is back in business. We played very well given that we were all tired from the Pounders gig. At the end of the evening is when Dan gave us the news he was quitting, and on next Monday Mark gave us his notice. Phase 2 of With Intent had come to a close (Phase 1 was just Ed and myself playing as a duo).

Undeterred, Ed set out to find sub players. We found two guys that came in and started rehearsing on a temporary basis. The drummer is a member of Ed's wife's (Mona) church, and his name is Allen Robinette. The guitarist we recruited was none other then Tony Taravella, who has a few CD Releases to his credit - check out his website here - and currently works as a solo jazz guitarist. Ed had lined up one more Metaphor gig on September 24th. After only three rehearsals (one rehearsal I had missed so I only participated in two) we set out to do the gig. And there were some hiccups, but the owner and managers of the venue liked us so much they insisted on us coming back in October. Which we will on October 22.

Tony and Allen only agreed to sit in on one gig, so we had to find two more replacements for the Oct. 22 gig. Ed found an 18 year-old kid to play the drums for us. His name is Jason Borisoff. He has a gig with a Christian band lined up, but has agreed to sit in and play with us. The guitarist we found is a guy who works in the same company as Ed and I, and his name is Tony Vigo. Tony V is an excellent guitarist, and it looks like he may be sticking around permanenently. We have had one rehearsal together, and although there were some rough patches, we were cohesive enough in that one practice that I felt we could have gigged that night at the Metaphor. We have a couple more practices scheduled, then off to the Met.

Going forward, it looks like Tony V will probably be sticking around for the long-term - Ed will need to discuss the details with him, but all indications I'm getting shows that Tony wants to stick around, and Ed and I are definitely interested in having him. Ed has been in contact with several drummers, and hopefully we can find a permanent drummer soon.

These past two months of bringing in subs and constantly rolling with the punches have seemed to make me a better bass player. At least I feel like I am. I played with my church group for the first time in a month last week, and I noticed a couple of things - my sight reading, though very rudimentary, is improving, and my confidence in just playing what's presented is much improved. I feel I've turned a tiny corner in my playing. Now if we could just keep the lineup consistent we will be on our way.

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My Olympic White Fender "70's" P-Bass:

And I'll close on one note regarding my Olympic White FSR 70's Fender P-Bass the thing has become my #1 bass as of late. I absolutely love my Fiesta Red '57 reissue (manufactured in 1982, which makes it an original first-run of the series and made in Fullerton before Fender moved their facilities to Corona, CA) but the Oly White is something special. First off, although it's a "B Neck" Precision Bass (meaning it has a 1 5/8" nut width) it has a slimmer profile throughout the neck. It's almost, dare I say it, "Jazz-like" (Fender Jazz basses have a very slim neck with the 1 1/2" nut width).

There was something speical about it from the first time I played it on Mothers Day of 2003. I went to Guitar Trader and I had the salesman pull it down from the wall. I played it unplugged, and the notes sounded and felt very "milky". Not sure how else to describe it, but it just sounded very rich and full, and the tone eminating from my fingertips felt very rich and full too. It was a bass that truly spoke to me, and I can't recall that ever happening with any instrument I've ever played. I plugged it in, and it had that enourmous P-Bass thump. I bought it on the spot.

I was very happy with it, but I managed to get ahold of the Fiesta Red '57, and I was very enamoured with it. The tone was a little better on the Fiesta, but over a period of time the "C Neck" (1 3/4" at the nut) started wearing on me. For grins I went back to the Oly White P and it was like playing a Fender Jazz, the neck was so comfortable. The tone was deep and rich, but not quite up to par with the '57 Fiesta. So I went out and dropped some dough into a set of Lindy Fralin P-Bass pickups, and this baby just rocks now. Deep, rich tones that aren't microphonic in quality. Very vintage tone. The notes are deep but defined, as are the highs. And on the stock Fender pickups (this is true with my '57 Fiesta as well), turning up the tone all the way up results in a clanky tone. Not true with the Fralins, the tone becomes trebly and defined, but it does not result in a clanky tone. A very good upgrade on a bass that I truly have been enjoying as of late.

I still love the Fiesta Red '57, but the Oly White seems to be the one right now.