Gigs Coming Up

Ok, as the Welcome post said, time to delve into my gigs & gear.

The next few shows I have coming up are with David Wycoco/Spark Shop Music and then the Shout Section Big Band.

David Wycoco/Spark Shop-
David a great singer/songwriter that I met in 2006 during a gig with Collage Productions at the Gunder Mansion. He came up to the drummer-Nils & I and asked if we were interested in performing with him. What has followed is a great musical friendship. Not only is David's music fun to play, but he's a genuinely nice guy. Great to find. We are performing at Subterannean [i always butcher the spelling] on July 3rd as part of INDIEpendence which features many of the best Asian-American singer/songwriters in Chicago. The doors open at 8:30, the first performer goes on at 9PM & then we perform 3rd at 10:15PM. It's going to be a fun show.

Gear connection: With David, the music can get quite dense and evolve into many layers where there can be a sampler w/synth tracks, guitar, drums, vocals, AND bass all going on. Dense in the sense of there's a lot going & it all slots together like a log cabin-everything has to fit together just right or you just have a fancy shack instead of a great home/structure.

I've favored my 2003 Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay5 w/swamp ash body, maple board, and is strung with Ernie Ball Power Slinky 5s. For the rest of the time-i will address that bass as either my Ray5 or StingRay5-no need for the EBMM stuff. The Ray5 in this setting really fits the bill. The tone is still aggressive, but it slots into the mix-not super bassy, but not thin. I fill up the bottom without adding mush. EQ wise-i do a classic "StingRay" tone-treble boosted barely, bass boosted barely, mids flat. Coil selector on the single coil w/dummy coil. I adjust the onboard EQ to fit the specific venue.

Check David out at www.DavidWycoco.com

Shout Section Big Band
This is the latest project that I have joined. I've had 2 rehearsals with the ensemble and will be doing my first gig with them on July 4th as we play in the Wonder Lake, IL 4th of July Parade.
2 of the members knew/were aware of my sister from their time at Butler. I was quite surprised when they made that connection as I never mentioned it. I've had a great time thus far & am looking forward to the future. The band is a mix of middle school/high school band directors from around Chicago-land, jazz enthusiasts, and free lance musicians. I fall into the later two categories.

Gear Connection: The gear I'm using with Shout Section varies a bit-namely on transportation & the location of the gig. When transit is an issue [e.g. I have no car up here]-I play my Fender P-bass w/Sadowsky Regular Gauge flats. This drives the band like a mofo. The tone sits ever so perfectly in the mix. When transit is not an issue/the gig isn't too sketchy, my bass of choice is my New Standard Cleveland. Yes, my DOUBLE BASS. I love that thing. It's got a huge sound, plays nicely, and responds better by the day. I've said it many times on the Talkbass.com Message boards [user name: Cam McIntyre - surprising ain't it?], the better I get, the better the bass sounds.

I am doing numerous shows with Shout Section over the course of July & August. Check the myspace.com calendar for specifics.

Shout Section Online