Lakland Basses: A shameless plug
I’ve been playing a Lakland Skyline 55-01 for a couple years now. It’s my only 5-string bass and it sees a lot of action for precisely that reason. Leading up to finding it, I had been on the hunt for a 35″ scale 5-string with really even-sounding Bartolini or similar pickups, but that also had a bypass switch to go from active to passive for some more tonal variations or if the 9v battery ever gave up the goat during a gig. The 55-01 was exactly that, and it sounds great, plays great, and looks great – simple as that.
So, fast forward to last month when I sacked-up and wrote an email to Dan Lakin with a brief resume outlining some of the highlights of my music career thus far. I figured that musical instrument and equipment manufacturers considering artists (not that I would ever seriously refer to myself as an “artist” in public, but whatever) for endorsement want to know that their gear is going to be seen first and foremost. Being heard is also not a bad thing. That means that if you can tell them there have been, and more importantly will be TV appearances, big concerts, and music videos where you are using their stuff, you’re helping your case. So that’s the kind of info I gave, and I’m pleased to say it didn’t require any embellishment or exaggeration on my part. The same cannot be said for other aspects of my life, but I digress.
Obviously, if you’re a hugely famous and successful musician all of the big dogs like Fender and Gibson (not necessarily the best – just sayin’) will likely come to you and start giving you stuff in hopes that you’ll use it in a highly visible way. The next step up from that is if you partner up with a manufacturer to help design an instrument or other piece of gear with your name on it. That privilege is usually reserved for legends, although there are exceptions.
Neither of those scenarios are applicable to me at present, but I’m certainly thrilled to now be on the list of endorsing artists for Lakland Basses. There are some really heavy dudes on that list. My thanks to Dan.
Music video: “You Make Me Feel”
The first single, “You Make Me Feel”, from Jessie Farrell’s upcoming album and the music video were released a little while ago to radio and CMT. The video was directed by the talented dude named Colin Minihan who has directed heaps of videos for other rock and country acts. I make a small appearance with the rest of the the band towards the end, which is fine, although our choreographed dance in the style of Janet Jackson’s “Control” evidently didn’t make the final cut. Maybe next time. It’s too bad because I really limbered-up for that.
604 Records also put together a fun little Behind-The-Scenes video. If you listen closely you can hear us making off-colour jokes while Jessie tries to talk to the camera.
I’m excited about the new album coming out. The new tunes are really fun to play and after the terrific year or so that Jessie has had with her CCMA Awards, Juno nominations, and BCCMAs, there seems to be some really good momentum ramping up to this record’s release and all the shows that will go with it.
You can also check back here for tourdates.
Nominated: Bass Player of the Year!
Just when I’ve convinced myself that it’s time to pull up stakes and join Cirque Du Soleil as a diminutive Chinese contortionist, I get word that the Canadian Country Music Association members have nominated me for Bass Player of the Year for a second time.
I wrote a fair bit about the CCMAs last year (didn’t win in my category, FYI – please, no tears), so I’ll just say that I’m quite pleased to be working with an artist like Jessie Farrell (nominated again this year) who is building a career with lots of hard work and guts, and also with Tucker and JGo — both excellent players (nominated in their instrument categories) and high-functioning social deviants who make working in the band such a tremendous pleasure.
The CCMA Awards are in my home town of Vancouver this year and I’m looking forward to doing my part to show all the industry’s out-of-towners a good time when they get here. The CCMA’s are from September 10-13, with live shows around the city and other schmoozy industry events happening here and there. I’m performing with Jessie at a Universal Music party on Saturday the 12th, but just go to CCMA.org for all the info.
Many thanks to all the CCMA members who are responsible for my nomination!
Jessie Farrell nominated for a Juno
The headline pretty much says it all. If I can add anything it’s that she has been nominated in the “Best New Artist” category. This is pretty cool, because country music traditionally doesn’t have a particularly strong presence at the Junos. Jessie won a bunch of awards at the CCMAs and the BCCMAs which is terrific, but the Juno nomination is a pleasant surprise.
The Junos are being held in Vancouver this spring, so I’m looking forward to being able to sleep in my own bed after attending a schmoozy party or two. I’m being presumptuous now, but I like the idea so I’ll just go with it right up until I get turned away at the door. Also, I’m not yet sure what the plans are for Jessie performing at the awards show or at another venue in the city as part of JunoFest, but I’ll be sure to post it here when I find out.
In the meantime, congratulations to Jessie, and to the rest of the band for all of their hard work in the past year. Crossing fingers…now.
Winter Review
Is early February too late a date to look back at December? No? Good, I didn’t think so either.
I had a phenomenal time with the family over the holidays, and because this website is supposed to be about the musical activities I’m involved in, that’s what I’m going to talk about.
Here’s something that I’ve known for a while, but is maybe something that you don’t know: There are some very musically talented people in my family. Such talent was on display at a family event known as Nick’s Taverna – an annual talent show of sorts featuring the Haggis family and assorted friends, held at my uncle Nick’s place. Each year, some people come prepared with a song or a dance. Some people drink too much ouzo and are only able to experience their impromptu performance through embarrassing photographs. All are welcome.
What is far from embarrassing is how much fun it was to jam with my cousins and uncles and aunts. There was a fairly consistent “house band”, of which I was part, and then a steady stream of relatives singing songs, dancing, telling off-colour jokes, making stuff up. Talent isn’t a prerequisite for fun, but it is fun to see talent in my younger cousins grow every time I see them. Playing music with them is pretty cool. Hell, seeing my cousin Cody grind his way up with his hockey team to win the Macs Midget Tournament is pretty kickass, too, but that’s another story. My uncle Adrian is a piano player, and some of the first jazz I played was with him. Fifteen years later it’s just as fun to do. My cousin Ella, 13, is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist now. My cousin Reid, 16, is a singer/dancer/choreographer. One of his pieces was performed by a group of something like 90 dancers at his school. These kids are the real deal.
Photos by Sally Haggis
On New Year’s Eve I had a gig with Jessie Farrell at The Ranchmans in Calgary, AB. That was pretty cool because there was a bit of an ‘X’ factor – a wildcard, if you will. Our regular drummer Jesse Godin wasn’t on the gig because he was playing another one back home in Vancouver. Also, Kylee Epp (backup vocals and guitar) was away on another gig, too. The other act on the night (playing 6 sets, no less!) was Craig Moritz and his band, so Craig’s drummer, Ben Bradley graciously agreed to help us out by playing some drums with us. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing, Ben had known about this for a few weeks and had learned most of the material – at least everything we gave him and then some new stuff we threw at him at soundcheck. Still, you never really know what is going to happen when there’s no rehearsals and everyone is still kind of getting to know each other.
In the end, Ben is a great drummer and did a tremendous job. Bass and drums locked up really well and we crushed it. Good gig. I personally love the power-trio format: Bass, drums, guitar. It affords a bass player to fill up the space with lots of funky/wanky 16th notes, if one is so inclined, or to hold back and really use the space for effect. In other words, the trio setup lends itself well to dynamics, which is something I think we all can appreciate.
Photo by Sally Haggis
Photo by Nicole Ecarnot
(Thanks to Sally and Nicole for the use of their photos!)
…And let there be Music
My “Music” page is up and at ‘em, so check out the little jukebox to hear a smattering of recordings that I’ve done for a handful of different projects.
Post a comment and let me know what you think!
A bit of Jessie Farrell news!
I’m heading to Whitecourt, Alberta (outside of Edmonton) tomorrow to play Friday and Saturday night with Jessie Farrell at the Eagle River Casino. If you’re in the area why not pop over to say ‘hi’? Heck, while you’re there you may as well laugh in the face of widespread economic crisis with a couple hands of blackjack! Come on people — ride the lightning! Don’t ask me what that means.
At about 1pm on Friday afternoon, Jessie will be performing a tune or two live on the radio on XM105 Country, so tune into that if you can’t make the show.
Also, head over to Jessie’s website to check out her newest music video for “I Guess“. It’s #13 on the video charts, but you can always do your part by requesting at CMT to give it a bump.
Looking ahead a little bit, Jessie and the band will be spending New Year’s Eve performing at Ranchmans in Calgary, AB, along with Craig Moritz. Contact Ranchmans to find out about tickets. It will be a humdinger of a night to be sure.
Nominated for a BCCMA!
The ballot for the British Columbia Country Music Association Awards came out this week, and I’ve been nominated for Bass Player Of The Year!
I’m thrilled to be recognized for the work I’ve done as part of Jessie Farrell‘s band in the past year, and just as thrilled to be nominated alongside some great musicians like Shane Hendrickson and Darren Parris. As one might suspect, Jessie Farrell has been nominated in pretty much every category she could have possibly been considered for, so it’s looking like we’ll all have another kick at the can like we did at the CCMAs last month.
The BCCMA Awards are being held at the end of October. For more info and to get tickets and such, visit their website.
Winnipeg Whirlwind
Photo by Mike Norman
It’s been just about a week and the dust has settled after an exciting weekend at the Canadian Country Music Awards in Winnipeg, MB.
The big stories have already been widely published and probably wouldn’t benefit from me writing about them again, but the headlines are essentially as follows: Doc Walker cleaned up, winning every award category in which they were nominated, Johnny Reid won in Male Artist of the Year and Best Selling Album, and Jessie Farrell, whom I refer to affectionately as “boss”, won 3 out of her 7 nominations – Best New Female, Rising Star Award, and Female Artist of the Year.
I was watching on a monitor at the side of the stage at MTS Centre with Kylee for the most of the awards ceremony, except for when Jesse Tucker and I performed with Jessie her nominated song “Best Of Me” with the stellar CCMA house band. I was thrilled at Jessie’s wins, and even a bit surprised despite my high hopes. Jessie is relatively new to the country music scene and was up against some veterans with dozens of albums under their belts and awards already on their mantles. Awards or no awards, this year’s CCMAs clearly indicated that Jessie has made her mark, she has been recognized and welcomed, and that it’s now up to her and her team to continue building the momentum.
On the day before and the day of the broadcast we met at MTS to rehearse the tune with the band and so the stage crew and TV crew could rehearse all of their camera moves, lights, and transitions. Working in a venue that size, with the added complexity of a live national broadcast, means that a lot needs to happen in the three-and-a-half minute duration of a song.
Do you know what else happens? A whole lot of waiting around. Now, I accept the fact that my job is not really any different than when we perform the song at other shows. The differences are that I’m dressed a bit nicer, that I’m wearing a bunch of makeup, and that I’m trying harder to not screw anything up. In other words, not really difficult. We went through the song about five times on Sunday, worked out the kinks, and then again once on Monday afternoon at the dress-rehearsal for the broadcast. The rhythm of any soundcheck tends to be a lot of waiting for whoever is before you, waiting for the change-over after they have finished, setting up, waiting for everyone else to set up, making a bit of noise, waiting for other people to make noise, waiting while people fix things that are making noise that aren’t supposed to make noise or while they fix things that are supposed to make noise that aren’t making any noise at all. And I love every minute of it, in the grand scheme of things. Everybody is doing something and building up to a performance and contributing to a show where musicians get to make music and fans get to experience it, and that’s a great thing. The theory that the cream rises to the top is given further corroboration by the fact that the people working on a show as big as the CCMAs are not only really great at their jobs, but really fantastic and helpful people to work with. This fact is enough motivation in and of itself to keep working hard and to get better so that the big shows are the only ones that I do.
Photo by Lisa Bettany
To be completely honest, though, the “work” was not the only thing on the agenda for the CCMAs, because when you get a bunch of artists and industry types to together in a room and toss a couple cocktails into the mix, lo and behold, you got a party on your hands. That’s actually a bit misleading, because these parties weren’t accidents. Record labels and management companies hosted these parties at great expense, showcasing their artists, recognizing and praising their people for significant accomplishment, and generally trying to impress everyone. I was impressed with myself that I was able to keep going given the sleep deprivation and ruined vocal chords from trying to carry on conversations in noisy bars. It was unavoidable, however, because it seemed like somewhat of a luxury to have in my immediate vicinity at once a whole lot of people who I had met in different parts of the country over the last two years, plus a whole lot of interesting and talented people whom I had never met before.
And that is the best part about all the waiting around. Because you’re not waiting by yourself, you’re waiting around with Emerson Drive, George Canyon, Deric Ruttan and The Wilkinsons. You’re talking shop with Dave Cohen and John Dymond and Matty McKay. There are worse things than being in the midst of talented people such as these, even if we glance at our watches and cell phones from time to time.
It’s true that I was nominated for Bass Player of the Year, and that Tucker and J-Go were nominated for their instruments as well. It is also true that our egos shall, for now, remain at their current disproportionate, yet not ungainly, size until next year when the possibility of nomination presents itself again. The CCMAs are here in Vancouver next year. The West Coast contingent of country artists, Aaron Pritchett, The Higgins, and Jessie among others will play host to the whirlwind weekend, and that will certainly be something to look forward to.
One last thing: I am an idiot and didn’t take any decent pictures last weekend at all. So there’s that.
Also, next month we’re doing six dates with Aaron Pritchett and Toby Keith, so I’ll have something to say about that sometime soon.
Off to the CCMAs in Winnipeg
The title of this post is pretty self-explanatory. I’m on a 7:30am flight to the ‘Peg in the morning (less than four hours from now — last minute packing!), and the first a handful of performances this weekend at Canadian Country Music Week with Jessie Farrell will commence Saturday night, with the big televised awards show going down on Monday night.
Jessie herself is nominated for 7 different awards, the video director for her song “Best of Me” is nominated for her work on that, and guitar player Jesse Tucker, drummer Jesse Godin, and myself are have been recognized for the way we abuse our instruments, so we’ve been nominated in our respective categories.
That said everyone knows that awards-oriented gatherings are less about the awards and more about the schmoozy parties, so no matter who wins there will be those to look forward to.
The next post will be about how it all went down. If you were there, you’ll already know, but for now just wish me luck!
