He’s a player who anchors bands with killer monikers!
Fans of LA hard rock and roll know bassist Johnny Griparic from his long association with the former Saul Hudson, more familiar to the masses as Slash, as a member of Snakepit; and the Guns ‘n’ Roses guitarist’s most recent (as of 2024) incarnation as a bluesman leading his Blues Ball (get it?) collective.
Born in Sweden, Griparic worked his way up, up, up the hard rock / blues food chain anchoring such artists of note including Richie Kotzen, BB Chung King and The Buddaheads (get it?), Jimmy Z and the Z Tribe, Triggerdaddy, Sonofabitch (as I said about band names…), Gilby Clarke, and Nina Hagan among others.
A fine pocket player and soloist, Griparic is a spirited on-stage presence who doesn’t quite steal the show from his bandleader, but he could if he wanted to.
Who loves playing rock and roll more than Johnny Graparic?
Johnny Griparic Sound & Vision…
Slash’s Blues Ball: “The Pusher” https://youtu.be/hnUO5rFG4Tg?si=tO-IhulOMbmk4ioJ
Slash’s Snakepit: “Grand” https://youtu.be/LPL4JFsTgeI?si=FOwZmtA1LU5pGW2L
Richie Kotzen: Live in San Paolo 2007: https://youtu.be/anEYZexJBlg?si=wrhV-JA5CX3Q9kOd
Photo by Elliott Cynthia from Johnny’s Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/johnnygriparic
Photos courtesy Johnny Griparic Facebook
Anchoring an ensemble whose moniker derives from the Thai term for an airplane (hopefully not a Boeing), Laura Lee Ochoa – aka Leezy – takes an old-school doghouse / rhythm & blooze approach to the post-modernist Khruangbin trio.
Renown for her on-stage attire – Leezy leisurely works a classic/vintage J style bass (SX replete with ashtrays and the impractical thumb-rest) akin to the Memphis, Motown, and Muscle Shoals masters – flats, finger pluckage, and a muted resonance with lines that work the pocket and dance around the beat as the situation warrants. And she sings too! Everything old is new again…and vice versa.
Leezy Sound & Vision…
“Texas Sun” with Leon Bridges: https://youtu.be/zSWNWWREtsI?si=Xzw6tZajWqVeP4YS
“Fifteen Fifty-Three” https://youtu.be/ZEPUuOGqjwU?si=Ie8Rm-fGZWitpCJd
“Maria Tambien” https://youtu.be/JtMALA6Gkkc?si=CzQye-AZpbCTP9YA
Photos courtesy Laura Lee Facebook
𝕋𝕠𝕞 𝕊𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕠𝕝𝕚 𝕚ℙ𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕖 ℙ𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕠-ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤…
MY NYC 10 December 2024: “Well I got a foggy notion, do it again. Over by the corner, do it again. I got my calamine lotion baby, do it again…” Sterling Morrison, Doug Yule, Maureen Tucker & Hy Weiss
MY #NYC 8 December 2024: “We understand your paranoia. But we don’t wanna play your game You think you’re cool and know what you are doing… 666 is your name…” John Winston Lennon
’74 @ 50! Rod Stewart / Faces Live! Coast to Coast Overture and Beginners. Bassist Tetsu Yamauchi /Rod Stewart / Smiler. Bassists Spike Heatley, Willie Weeks, Ronnie Wood / Ronnie Wood / I’ve Got My Own Album to Do. Bassists Willie Weeks, Pete Sears, with Mick Taylor / Rolling Stones / It’s Only Rock and Roll. Bassists Bill Wyman, Willie Weeks, with Keith Richards, Mick Taylor / Bill Wyman / Monkey Grip. Bassist Wiliam George Perks RAF O.H.M.S.
MY #NYC 21 November 2024: “Imagine how my daddy felt, in your jet black suspender belt. Seventeen years old. He’s touching sixty-four. You got legs right up to your neck. You’re making me a physical wreck. I’m talking to you…hot legs…” Sir Roderick David Stewart CBE
𝑴𝒀 #𝑵𝒀𝑪 20 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 2024: 𝑨𝒎 𝑰 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏’ 𝒀𝒐𝒖… 𝑨𝒍𝒊 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒂 & 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒊 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒂 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝑵𝒀𝑪 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑪. 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 & 𝑴𝒂𝒄 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒏!
MY #NYC 18 November 2024 “A race of angels bound with one another. A dish of dollars laid out for all to see. A tower room at Eden Rock… his golf at noon for free… Brooklyn owes the charmer under me..” Walter Carl Becker / Donald Jay Fagan
MY #NYC 17 November 2024: “I used to think maybe you loved me now baby I’m sure. And I just can’t wait till the day when you knock on my door. Now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down. ‘Cause I just can’t wait till you write me you’re coming around. I’m walking on sunshine….” Kimberly Rew
MY #NYC 11 November 2024 “He was the king of trees, keeper of the leaves. A deep green god of young… love stained memory.” Steven Demetre Georgiou
MY #NYC 10 November 2024 “…I’m just a raindrop in a bucket. A coin dropped in a slot. I am an empty house on Weed Street. Across the road from a vacant lot… You know life is what you make of it… so beautiful or so what…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 9 November 2024 “…half of the time we’re gone, but we don’t know where and we don’t know why….the only living boy in New York…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 6 Novembe3r 2024: “Tigers don’t growl much unless they’re bored. Or unless attempting to tackle the jungle, Lord… whose face tigers never see… but who still hands out their stripes judiciously…” Sananda Maitreya
MY #NYC 4 November 2024: “If I could live to be several hundred, I could take a walk and really wander. All my ghosts on every sea, in every land…” Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV
MY #NYC 3 November 2024: “I’m a road runner, baby. Can’t stay in one place too long. I’m a road runner, baby. You might look at me and I’ll be gone…” Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Edward Jr. Holland
MY #NYC 1 November 2024: “There’s a downtown fairy singing out “Proud Mary” as she cruises Christopher Street. And some Southern Queen is acting loud and mean where the docks and the badlands meet… this Halloween is something to be sure…” Lewis Allan Reed
MY #NYC 30 October 2024 “November and more, as I wait for the score, they’re telling me forgiveness is the key to every door…” Phil Lesh / Bobby Peterson
MY #NYC 24 October 2024 “Smiling faces sometimes… they don’t tell the truth. Smiling faces, tell lies and I got proof…” Norman Whitfield
MY #NYC 22 October 2024 “Now I own the key to the door, the kingdom of heaven lies inside…I love visions of you…” Jah Wobble
MY NYC 10.10.24: 144 Live at Silvana Harlem “It’s about that time…”
MY NYC 4 October 2024 “Life’s a game of give and take. Early in the morning get your concentration
on your meditation to take the right direction…” Carlos Santana / Michael Shrieve
MY #NYC 26 September 2024 “I’ve been talking to myself…because I’m a little bit crazy…” Stu Richards / Magic Forest Live at AH Presents Otto’s Shrunken Head NYC
MY #NYC 24 September 2024 “My friends are so alarming, my lover’s never charming… life’s just a cocktail party on the street…” Sir Michale Phillip Jagger / Keith Richards
MY NYC 23 September 2024 “In my sensations, I believe that I was born with the things that I know. I want to talk like I read…” David Byrne
MY NYC 22 September 2024 “Something in the night. Something in the day. There’s slaughter in the air protest on the wind… Someone else inside me…someone could get skinned. Someone fetch a priest, you can’t say no to the Beauty and The Beast…” David Robert Jones
MY NYC 19 September 2024 “Only renting. Only subletting. Fences mending. Just pretending. Reality bending. Signal sending. Patent pending. Just inventing. Let’s go ‘round the bend. Get in trouble again. Make a commotion. Drink a love potion. Sweet ’til the bitter end…” John Doe / Exene Cervenka
MY N.Y.C. 16 September 2024 “I am a tree, I show my age when I don’t cry. I have the leaf that will fall off when wind blows by…I am a tree fruitless and free…” Robert Pollard
MY #NYC 15 September 2024 “Speedy Marie, ahead of the now. She’s better built that’s how. She’s built for speed, Speedy Marie…” Frank Black
MY NJ/NYC 15 September 2024 “One day you turn around and it’s summer. Next day you turn around and it’s fall…as a man who has always had the wand’ring ways, now I’m reaching back for yesterdays. ‘Til a long-forgotten love appears and I find that I’m sighing softly as I near September, the warm September of my years…” Sammy Cahn as sung by Francis Albert Sinatra
MY NYC 13 September 2024 “I wanna be somebody’s Chelsea, somebody’s world. Somebody’s day and night, one and only girl. A part of a love story that never has an end. You know that’s what every woman wants to be somebody’s Chelsea…” Reba McEntire
MY #NYC 13 September 2024 “The streets of New York, a maze made of iron and stone. A labyrinth complete, with edges that cut through the bone.” Willie Nile
MY NYC 13 September 2024 “Autumn in New York, why does it seem so inviting?” Vernon Duke
MY #NYC 8 September 2024: “We’re so young and pretty, we’re so young and clean. So many things that we have never seen. Let’s move from Ohio, sell this dam’ old store. Big Apple dreamin’ on a wooden floor…” Vincent Furnier
MY NYC 8 September 2024: “Safe in my garden, an ancient flower blooms and the scent from its nature slowly squares my room…” John Edmund Andrew Phillips
MY #NYC 5 September 2024 “Can we fix our nation’s broken heart? Are we brave enough to try? Can we fix our nation’s broken heart and leave a better world behind?” Stevland Hardaway Morris
MY #NYC 4 September 2024: Groovin’ on the 2 & 4 in 4/4! Diggin’ FAITH NYC Live at Silvana Harlem NYC….
MY NYC 3 September 2024 “I wanna run, I want to hide I wanna tear down the walls that hold me inside… I wanna reach out and touch the flame where the streets have no name… Paul David Hewson
MY #NYC 2 September 2024 “There is a rose in Spanish Harlem. A red rose up in Spanish Harlem. It is the special one, it’s never seen the sun. It only comes out when the moon is on the run. And all the stars are gleaming. It’s growing in the street right up through the concrete. But soft and sweet and dreaming…” Ben E. King / Jerry Leiber
MY #NYC 30 August 2024 “Through a fault of our designing we are lost among the windings of these metal ways…” Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno
MY #NYC 29 August 2024 “There ain’t no reason to tell no lie when you’re young and you’ve got a lot of pie… now I slink around like a killer…the things they say are just a lot of filler…” James Newell Osterberg Jr.
My NYC 27 August 2024 “Nothing is planned by the sea and the sand…” Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend
MY #NYC 26 August 2024 “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds…” Marcus Garvey / Robert Nesta Marley
MY #NYC 26 August 2024 “Want some whiskey in your water? Sugar in your tea? What’s all these crazy questions they’re askin’ me? This is the craziest party that could ever be… don’t turn on the lights… ’cause I don’t wanna see! Mama told me not to come! She said ‘that ain’t the way to have fun… son.’ Uh-huh!” Randy Newman
MY #NYC 2018 “The return of the Thin White Duke throwing darts in lovers’ eyes…” David Bowie Is Here Bleecker/Lafayette St. Subway Exhibit
MY NYC 25 August 2024 “And when I see the sign that points one way… the lot we used to pass by every day. Just walk away, Renée you won’t see me follow you back home… the empty sidewalks on my block are not the same, you’re not to blame… just walk away…” Brown / Calilli / Sansone
MY NYC 22 August 2024 lORRAINE lECKIE lIVE @ ilon Art Gallery hARLEM nYC Ilon Art Gallery
MY #NYC 22 August 2024 “No, it ain’t judgement day. No, it ain’t Armageddon… it’s just the apple stretching and yawning, just morning. New York City putting it’s feet on the floor…” Grace Jones
MY #NYC 20 August 2024 “Everyone’s feeling pretty, it’s hotter than July… though the world’s full of problems, they couldn’t touch us even if they tried…from the park, I hear rhythms, Marley’s hot on the box… tonight, there will be a party…on the corner at the end of the block” Stevland Hardaway Morris
MY #NYC 14 August 2024: “In the heart of Harlem, a renaissance blooms. A symphony of voices, in countless rooms. Jazz and blues, a soulful sound where creativity and spirit abound, Langston’s dreams deferred, Hughes’ rivers flow, in every word, a people’s echo…” (author unknown)
MY #NYC 12 August 2024 “The heart is a bloom, shoots up through the stony ground. There’s no room no space to rent in this town. It’s a beautiful day. Sky falls, you feel like. It’s a beautiful day. Don’t let it get away…” Paul Hewson
MY NYC 10 August 2024 “I play the street life because there’s no place I can’t go. Street life, it’s the only life I know. Street life, you can run away from time. Street life, for a nickel, for a dime…” Wilber Jennings
MY NYC August 2024 Random images…
MY NYC 8 August 2024 “Flowers never bend with the rainfall…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 6 August 2024 “I’ve just seen a face, I can’t forget the time or place where we just met…” James Paul McCartney
MY NYC 4 August 2024 “If you want me to stay, I’ll be around today, to be available for you to see. But I am about to go and then you’ll know, for me to stay here, I got to be me…” Sylvester Stewart
MY #NYC 20 July 2024 “Gone are the days, of the seek and the find. All in the name of easy come, easy go merry go round the mind. Step right up, catch it while you can, alligator hugger and the candy man…” Cris Jacobs
MY #NYC 19 July 2024 “All the young girls love Alice…tender young Alice they say…if I give you my number, will you promise to call… wait ‘till my husband’s away…” Bernie Taupin
MY #NYC 18 July 2024 “Walk right out to the four-line track, there’s a camera rolling on her back… I sense a rhythm humming in a frenzy….girls on film, two minutes later…” Lebon / Taylor / Taylor / Taylor / Rhodes
MY #NYC 14 July 2024 “I got the time. I got my feet. Let’s go hit the street. High in the city. I got my mace. You got your knife. You gotta protect your own life. I wanna stay alive in the city…” Lou Reed
12 July 2024 MY #NYC “And undulating always, like the tide, the devil’s bride is calling all toward her skirt. And in the loving folds there we will hide inside from any would-be sneak attack until it’s safe to journey back…” Robert Pollard
MY #NYC 3 July 2024 “I have a positive hot gift, want one? A scoffer’s clutch karma issue, a nursery whip for men who skip. Want one?” Robert Pollard
28 June 2024 MY #NYC “With the sinking of the sun I’ve come to greet you. Clean your hands and go to sleep, confess the dreams of good and bad men all around…” Robert Pollard
MY #NYC 26 June 2024 “A live wire, barely a beginner, but just watch that lady go. She’s on fire, ’cause dancin’ gets her higher than anything else she knows…” David Lee Roth
17 June 2024 MY NYC “Everywhere I go people want to know, who I am. So, I tell them. I am the Serene King in a half-asleep dream, waltz across the battlefield…” Robert Pollard
4 June ’24 MY NYC “And I’m sitting on a bench in Coney Island…wondering, ‘where did my baby go?’ The fast times, the bright lights, the merry-go…” Taylor Swift / The National
31 May 2024 MY NYC “Up Madison, down Park… each time I turn a corner, I walk a little faster, pretending life is sweet, ‘cause love’s around the corner…. I walk a little faster…” Tony Bennett
30 May 2024 MY NYC “Oh, my nuclear baby. Oh, my idiot trance. All my idiot questions. Let’s face the music and dance…” – David Bowie
30 May 2024 MY #NYC “There goes my hero, watch him as he goes. There goes my hero, he’s ordinary…” Dave Grohl
MY N.Y.C. 30 May 2024 “I love women, I think they’re great. They’re a solace to the world in a terrible state. They’re a blessing to the eyes, a balm to the soul. What a nightmare to have no women in the world…” Lou Reed
MY NYC 5/29/24 “I’m in a straightjacket… I’m in a padded cell…a new disease is running through my veins…” Stu Richards
“Mama pajama rolled out of bed, and she ran to the police station. When the papa found out he began to shout, and he started the investigation…” – Paul Simon
MY NYC 24 May 2024 “…kids you better look around. How long you think that you can run that body down? How many nights you think that you can do… what you been doing? Who, now who you foolin’ …” Paul Simon
24 May 2024 MY N.Y.C. “Life, a transient odyssey, weaves a mysterious tapestry of moments that mold our very essence….”
Spaghetti Eastern Electro Dub Live @Silvana with MARK MURO in MY N.Y.C. HARLEM 24 May 2024 “If you’re tired of walkin’ around and getting nowhere, I know, there’s a path that’s leading towards the master. Love, devotion and surrender…” Carlos Santana
MY #NYC 23 May 2024 After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang out. We’re gonna cause talk and suspicion, give an exhibition, find out what it is all about…” JJ Cale
MY #NYC 16 May 2024 Sign Language …
MY #NYC 14 MAY 2024 “The king is gone, but he’s not forgotten. This is the story of a Johnny Rotten… it’s better to burn out than it is to rust…” Neil Young
MY #NYC 12 May 2024 Paul Collins, Sal Maida’s Bottom’s Up Band live at Bowery Electric with Mike Fornatale, Dennis Diken, Dave Amels, Dave Foster…
MY #NYC 8 May 2024: “We’ve got to judge the judge. We’ve got to find the finds. We’ve got to scheme the schemes. We’ve got to line the lines. Try to place the place where we can face the face…” Pete Townshend
MY #NYC 8 May 2024: “Sign, sign. everywhere a sign. Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind. Do this, don’t do that. Can’t you read the sign?” Five Man Electrical Band
MY #NYC 7 May 2024 “See her picture in a thousand places, ‘cause she’s this year’s girl. You think you all own little pieces of this year’s girl…” Elvis Costello
MY #NYC 6 May 2024: “Now this is a song to celebrate the conscious liberation of the female state…” Annie Lennox
MY #NYC 4 MAY 2024 “Somebody took the papers, and somebody’s got the key. But me, I’m down around the corner, you know, I’m lookin’ for Miss Linda Lee…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 3 May 2024 “I’ll say goodbye to all my sorrow. And by tomorrow I’ll be on my way, I guess the Lord must be in New York City…” Harry Nilsson
MY #NYC 3 May 2024 “I know what I know. I’ll sing what I said. We come and we go. That’s a thing that I keep in the back of my head…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 2 May 2024 “I get all the news I need on the weather report… hey, I’ve got nothing to do today but smile. And here I am, the only living boy in New York…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 1 May 2024 “For there’s Basie, Miller, Satchmo, and the king of all, Sir Duke. And with a voice like Ella’s ringing out, there’s no way the band could lose…” Stevie Wonder
MY #NYC 30 April 2024 “Watch out world, comin’ at you full throttle. Better check that sausage before you put it in the waffle. And while you’re at it, better check that batter, make sure the candy’s in the original wrapper…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 29 April 2024 “Well I’m beginning to see the light. Some people work very hard, but still they never get it right….” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 4.27.24 “I have my books and my poetry to protect me. I am shielded in my armor…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 26 April 2024: “I want the principles of a timeless muse. I want to eradicate my negative views. And get rid of those people who are always on a down…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 4.25.24 “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Please won’t you be my neighbor?” – Fred McFeely Rogers
MY #NYC 15 April 2024 ‘Twas a sunny day…not a negative word was heard from the people passing by. All the birds in the trees, and the radio’s singing songs, all the favorite melodies…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 8 April 2024 “Blue, blue, electric blue, that’s the color of my room, where I will live…waiting for the gift of sound and vision…” David Bowie
MY #NYC 5 April 2024 “Every day you’ve got to wake up and disappear behind your makeup. Take away your calendar watch and you can’t keep track until your heart attack…” Jimmy Destri
MY #NYC 4 April 2024 “In the big apple, scars embedded like tattoos. Ghetto love, protection from what’s coming at you. Keeping our heads up, maintaining self-esteem, and reminiscing on the Harlem Nights scene…” Luther Vandross
MY #NYC 4 April 2024 In the Heights….
MY #NYC 4 April 2024 “I was staying at the Marriott, with Jesus and John Wayne. I was waiting for a chariot, they were waiting for a train…” Warren Zevon
MY #NYC 1 April 2024 “Somebody took the papers. And somebody’s got the key. And somebody’s nailed the door shut that says, ‘hey, what you think that you see?” …” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 30 March 2024 “Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari. Can you dig it? Yes, I can. And I’ve been waiting such a long time. For Saturday…” – Robert Lamm
MY #NYC 29 March 2024 “If you want me to stay, I’ll be around today, to be available for you to see. But I am about to go and then you’ll know, for me to stay here, I got to be me…” Sly Stone
MY #NYC 28 March 2024 “I’m going uptown to Harlem. If a taxi won’t take me, I’ll catch a train. I’ll go underground, I’ll get there just the same….” Duke Ellington / Nick Kenny
MY #NYC 27 March 2024 “Is is. Therefore you are. I am. That I am. Let me be….” Leon Thomas
MY #NYC 21 March 2024 “Take a risk and listen to the radio, click your heels at the bi-polar disco. Fly down the villa destination sign, everybody feels the days but waits for summer nights…” Scott Weiland
MY #NYC 20 March 2024 “Caught between the twisted stars, the plotted lines, the faulty map that brought Columbus to New York…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 19 March 2024 Three Views of a Secret… Jaco Pastorius
MY #NYC 18 March 2024 “Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning, and the first thing that I heard, was a song outside my window, and the traffic wrote the words…” Joni Mitchell
MY #NYC 13 March 2024 “Mama’s got a lover, a painter I am told. She’s getting out of real estate, for the art scene down in old Soho…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 13 March 2024: “Ah, but remember that the city is a funny place, something like a circus or a sewer. And just remember, different people have peculiar taste, and the glory of love… might see you through…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 12 March 2024: “You know the day destroys the night; night divides the day…” Jim Morrison
MY #NYC 7 March 2024: “As the twilight sunburst gleams, as the chromium moon it sets, as I lose all my regrets, and set the twilight reeling…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 3 March 2024 “Oye cómo va. Mi ritmo. Bueno pa’ gozar…” Tito Puente
MY #NYC 28 February 2024 “Old friends, old friends… sat on their park bench like bookends…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC 27 February 2024 “Man makes machines, to man the machines, that make the machines, that make the machines. And man and machine, will make a machine, to break the machines, that make the machines…” Pete Townshend
MY #NYC 25 February 2024 “Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten, from the Battery to the top of Manhattan, Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin, Black, White, New York you make it happen…” Beastie Boys
MY #NYC 23 February 2024 “I couldn’t escape this feeling with my China girl, I’m just a wreck without my little China girl…” Iggy Pop
MY #NYC 23 February 2024 “They fought with their words, their bodies and their deeds, doin’ the things that they want to…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 18 February 2024 We’re an American brand…. Bleecker & Bowery
MY #NYC 27 January 2024 “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” Oscar Wilde
MY #NYC 14 January 2024 “I’ve got nothing to say but it’s okay, good morning, good morning, good…” John Lennon
MY #NYC 13 January 2024 “…just a perfect day, drink Sangria in the park, and then later, when it gets dark, we go home…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 7 January 2024 “Rainy day, dream away, let the sun take a holiday…” Jimi Hendrix
2021 – 2023
MY #NYC (June 2023) A Great Day in Harlem 1958 is a black-and-white photograph of 57 jazz musicians in Harlem, New York, taken by freelance photographer Art Kane for Esquire magazine on August 12, 1958 at 17 East 126th Street
MY #NYC (31 December 2022) “Drop me off in Harlem, any place in Harlem There’s someone waiting there, who makes it seem like Heaven up in Harlem….”
MY #NYC 26 May 2022 “Eyes without a face / les yeux sans visage… I’m on a bus on a psychedelic trip reading murder books tryin’ to stay hip, I’m thinkin’ of you, you’re out there so, say your prayers…” Billy Idol
MY #NYC (17 January 2022) ‘Neath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp, when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light, that split the night, and touched the sound of silence….” Paul Simon
MY NYC 23 January 2024
MY #NYC (May 2022) “It’s up to you…New York, New York” A Mansion Diner denizen since I migrated to the Upper East Side in ’85… my sanctuary replete with black coffee, apple pie, and Sinatra on the sound system 24/7. A monument on York & 86th since June 1945…chatty waitresses, culinary anonymity, egalitarian reception no matter what condition I enter… says Ed Levine: “Diners are so important because they are the greatest bastions of civility, service, and dare I say grace available to all economic strata in this country.”
MY #NYC 26 January 2022
MY #NYC 1 February 2022 “And I’m laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone.. where the New York City winters aren’t bleedin’ me…leadin’ me…goin’ home…” Paul Simon
MY #NYC (May 14, 2022) “You don’t know what you’ll do until you’re put under pressure…across 110th Street is a hell of a tester…” Bobby Womack
MY #NYC 11 December 2023 “I think it’s the best, when I’m locked in the middle of New York city on Central Park ‘n’ West, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know it’s a mess, but you’ve got to be crazy to live in the city, and New York City’s the best….” Ian Hunter
MY #NYC (April 2023) “Ask the angels who they’re calling, go ask the angels if they’re calling to thee, ask the angels while they’re falling, who that person could possibly be…” Dave Grohl
MY #NYC 9 December 2023…out on the edges they’re mixin’ the colors, some they don’t like it, but me I don’t mind… Iggy Pop
MY #NYC (July 2023) “Caught between the twisted stars, the plotted lines, the faulty map, that brought Columbus to New York…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC 19 December 2023 “…everyone’s gazing at some body part. That’s the nature of art..” Iggy Pop
MY #NYC 12 December 2023 “Until you’ve seen this trash can dream come true, you stand at the edge while people run you through, and I thank the Lord there’s people out there like you…” Bernie Taupin
MY #NYC 20 December 2023 “Sunday morning brings the dawn in, it’s just a restless feeling by my side…” Lou Reed
MY #NYC (November 16, 2023) Dusk on the Upper East Side NYC…
MY #NYC (November 2023) Morning on the Upper East Side…
MY #NYC 8 April 2023 “The traffic’s so noisy it’s a shock, sounds like fireworks or a gun on the next block, ah, hooky wooky with you…” Lou Reed
The Know Your Bass Player Interview by Tony Senatore
Recently, one of my Facebook friends, who happens to be a fine bassist, posted that although he started his days with great optimism, after checking out his Facebook feed, he realized that either he was a substandard musician, had made bad decisions, or had any combination thereof. My reaction to his words was quite the opposite. My daily social media habits have reinforced my view that the world is more vapid, vacuous, and morally bereft than I ever imagined. Whether I searched for quality journalism, music, or depictions of humankind at its best, it seemed as if there was none to be found. When creative people are faced with such obstacles, they have choices. They can go with the crowd and follow trends rather than set them or try to uphold all they hold sacred in everything they do, no matter what the cost.
Moreover, they could either remain aloof and unsupportive for fear of losing whatever notoriety they have or be nurturing and try to align themselves with like-minded people who toil away in relative obscurity, unwilling to lower their standards. In my life, when faced with such choices, I have decided on the latter. When I learned of Charles Nagtzaam via my friend Tony Renaud, I was pleased to see that many individuals are still willing to uphold the time-tested tenets of music while resisting the latest fads, and I wanted to be acquainted with him. Charles is the type of bass player that I admire. He doesn’t live in the past. Charles is constantly trying to break new ground on his instrument. What I like most is that, like me, he always tries to move forward while tipping his hat to the great bassists like Anthony Jackson, that inspired him.
Things ranging variously from technology to guns are decidedly non-moral. Whether they are used for good or nefarious purposes is ultimately in the hands of the user. While I have come to despise social media, without it, I would never have learned about the brilliant playing of Charles Nagtzaam. Moreover, if it wasn’t for my friend Tony, there is a good chance that I might never cross paths with him. The lesson is clear. We must stop thinking about ourselves and instead put some effort into others. Social media should not be a place to question your worth. On the contrary, it should be a place to confirm what we are doing right and to help people that we are in a position to help. That said, I would like to introduce Charles to the KYBP family. – Tony Senatore
When and where were you born?
I was born in June 10, 1967 in a small town called Cuijk, near Nijmegen, which is in the Netherlands
Did you study music in college? I am curious as to your educational background, and/or specific teachers who guided you, not limited to only music teachers.
From where I grew up, there was not much of music in Elementary School. My parents discovered I had affinity with music and made me play the wooden flute (recorder?) at the local music school, thinking that learning how to read notes was the most important base. After two years of this (I was around 9 years old), I wanted to play drums or electric guitar, but my parents decided to put me on classical guitar lessons first, most likely to prevent complaints of our neighbors.
In 1979 when I was twelve my dad died, and I was tired of classical etudes and wanted to be able to just play a song. Preferably songs I heard on the radio or on those records which my four-year older brother had. By then I was heavily into all kinds of music. The first time I briefly picked up the bass, it felt like home to me. Due to my classical guitar training, my left hand was already a bit familiar to a wider neck and where the notes were. I didn’t own a bass yet and started playing along with songs on the lower strings of my classical guitar. A year or two later, my mom got me a cheap bass guitar (Kumika P-bass clone) and I started playing with friends from school. That’s when it all started.
After high school I wanted to study at the conservatory and wanted to play (preferably) jazz funk. However, in order to get admitted, I had to play upright bass. After some upright bass lessons with Ruud Hendriks I got admitted to the conservatory of Arnhem to study upright bass with Henk Haverhoek (http://www.henkhaverhoek.nl) a great musician and teacher who has played with many famous jazz musicians.
Two years later the school contracted Lené te Voortwis as the main subject electric bass teacher, and I finally got my first real electric bass guitar lessons. Both Lené and Henk had a huge part in my development. After my graduation I got a lot of wisdom from artists which whom I’ve worked with.
If you studied music in college, did your family support your decision to study music at the college level? Are there any musicians in your family?
My dad used to sing in the church choir. My mom (85) was a housewife and used to sing all the time. When I was in college she was already a widow and did everything she could to make ends meet. She somehow found the strength to carry on, take a part time job and found a way to give us everything we needed. She came from a large single parent family too and, just after WWII, only her brothers could study due to financial reasons. So, she never got the chance to study and was determined to give her children the chance to be able to become anything they wanted. She was very supportive in my decision to make a living from music. I only had to get my high school diploma first, which was kind of a struggle for me after I took up the bass guitar. She had to lock it away in a closet at times in order to make me finish high school first.
My brother plays drums but isn’t a professional musician. My older cousin taught me the first barre chords on guitar but is also not a professional musician.
Do you make your entire living playing music, either live or in the studio, or do you have an alternate source of income?
I make my entire living with music. I’m still playing a lot live, and get the occasional calls for a studio gig. I’m also teaching bass and band-coaching at the conservatory in Arnhem (https://www.artez.nl/en/courses/bachelor/jazz-pop-arnhem) and at Rockacademie in Tilburg (https://rockacademie.nl). This mixed practice is enough to make the ends meet. I have two daughters of 18 and 17 years old and they’re somewhat at the start of their college education.
Who influenced you coming up, regarding bassists that caught your ear?
Verdine White, Bernard Edwards and Leon F Sylvers III were a huge influence. I’ve always loved soul music! When I picked up the bass, Mark King was conquering the charts with Level 42. So that was a huge influence at first. My brother pointed out Stanley Clarke and bought his first two albums. And I got more and more into jazz rock and serious about music. Marcus Miler, Anthony Jackson and Jaco Pastorius were the main influences during the time before I got admitted into the conservatory.
But also so many other great bass players like Nathan East, Louis Johnson and Will Lee caught my attention. Marcus, Anthony and Jaco however would really “make my jaw drop” more than a few times whenever I heard something “new” of them. And I never stopped listening to them ever since. There was no Spotify neither CD’s, so discovering new music was really a thing you couldn’t do by surfing on the internet. You were relying on good friends who bought a lot of records. And you had to buy some yourself. And of course, we had Maxwell and TDK, which made it a little cheaper for a music freak like me.
During my study James Jamerson, John Patitucci, Pino Palladino and Francis Rocco Prestia were very much of influence, and of course upright bass players Ray Brown, Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro. And I have to mention Gary Willis and Jeff Andrews.
When you listen today, do your early bass influences measure up to your perceptions of them when you were young?
I think my perception of how to experience those early influences changed. At a young age one is full of questions like “how do they do it,” “how do they get that sound,” “what’s happening harmonically/rhythmically” etc. As you grow older and understand that there are no real secrets in music, and that it’s also hard work and understanding of theory, analyzing, studying and more, a lot of those early questions might have been answered. But each one of those early influences are very authentic players with a signature sound. Something one only gets out of that unique individual person in combination with a certain instrument. And that still holds up to me with each and every one of them, while in the meantime I’m still searching for my own signature sound. That might be a downside of transcribing and analyzing too much of almost everything.
Are there any bass players or musicians in general that inspire you today?
For sure! It’s amazing to see how some newer players still grow into “their thing” which appears to be another new way of approaching the instrument. Like Victor Wooten, MonoNeon is a second to none authentic player, as is Thundercat. I also like bassists Michael League and Joe Dart who are influenced by stuff from the era I grew up in (mid 70’s), giving it a fresh new formula. Also Hadrien Feraud and Dario Deidda are very inspiring bassists. And, of course, Pino Palladino.
I am sure that like me, you have many basses. I have about forty, but I could exist with only my 1973 P bass if I had to. What bass that you currently own is your main instrument that you would never part?
I have enough basses, although not forty. I have to say my STENBACK FIVE will probably be that bass. Amazing response, great tone. A five string that feels like a four string somehow. Well balanced. When I bought it, it probably hadn’t been played that much, and the bass really had to come alive through playing. After two months it definitely did, a day and night difference.
If it wasn’t for the need of a five string, I could exist with only my 1972 Fender Jazz Bass, too.
Your YouTube channel has a vast array of very accurate transcriptions of some of the greatest bass lines ever recorded. Of all of the transcriptions that you have done, which was the most difficult?
Thanks for the compliment. I try to be as accurate as possible. There are a few of those videos which I had to do in more than one take. “Voice” by Hiromi was three takes, “M&M studio” had a cut right before the solo, which I still can’t play as accurate as the original. “You Got It!”, “Some Sharks” and “Island Magic” were all a one straight take eventually, but that doesn’t mean that those were less difficult. It has to do with focus, staying relaxed and, of course preparation.
Also, “difficult” evolves to “getting a little bit more comfortable” every day with a good practice routine. I wasn’t able to feel odd meters in an even flow yet, for instance. After transcribing and practicing it, it just gets more fluid because it starts to feel natural and balanced. You just have to put in the hours of practice, which are harder to find at a later age. But I’ve still managed to put in the work to do it, so far. Difficulties come in all areas. Even a “simple” 4/4 groove has its difficulties if you don’t understand the feel or the pocket. So it’s not only a matter of a lot of notes or odd meters. Switching from pick to fingerstyle playing could easily call for hours of practice. So Leon Sylvers’s bassline of “Here I Am” by Dynasty also took some time to get a little more comfortable with.
Can you recommend any specific method books that have helped you to become the bassist that you are today?
When I studied, I probably checked out anything I could get my hands on. “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”, “The Funkmasters”, “What Duck Done”, “Sitting in with Tower of Power”, “Modern Electric Bass” & Oscar Stagnaro’s “Latin Bass Bible” of the more style-method books. As for improvisation, David Baker’s “Bebop Era”, Adelhard Roidinger’s “Jazz improvisation & pentatonics”, “Charlie Parker Omnibook”, “John Coltrane Omnibook”, Hein van de Geyn’s “Comprehensive Bass Method” were all great books to discover and get ideas from. And there’s so many more of which I probably took a few excerpts from in my daily study routine.
As a recommendation to upcoming players I would say: explore the stuff that moves you yourself first. Whenever I hear a great melody with a great chord sequence, I want to know what that is. And not by ONLY looking up a YouTube tutorial or (maybe even worse) a quickly written TAB sheet. The same with basslines, drum rudiments or odd time signatures. When I hear something great, I’ll bury myself between the speakers or headphone until I exactly know what it is that moves me. Train your ears and carefully listen to what you really hear, not taken all of those videos and websites as an instant truth. The blessing of having all the acces to all the material with just one click can also set you on a detour when watching an incorrect explanation.
When I went back to school from 2008 to 2017, my goal was to teach history or social studies at either a public or a charter school. This changed when I consulted with some of my friends who have been educators for many years. They informed me that changes in the education system, and the advent of Common Core standards pushed them into early retirement, and that if I had any ideas about teaching with my own style in my effort to change the world one student at a time, I should reconsider teaching.
In a similar way, I feel the same obligation to be honest which young musicians that often ask for my advice regarding a career in music. It is more difficult to survive playing music today than in past eras. Reality is not negativity, and I feel an obligation to young musicians to make this clear. If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring bassists, what would you tell them?
At Rockacademie, where I also teach, each student is forced to choose a learning path from the perspective of a mixed professional practice. So, next to a skill (main subject) (vocals, bass, guitar etc) one has to choose for either “session musician”, “artist”, “audio engineer”, “skills- & band coach (education)” and “business manager”.
At Artez Jazz & Pop, we stimulate all students to be as artistic and authentic as possible (more like the “artist” direction), which makes it probably harder to get instant work that pays the bills once a student graduates. Some students rather do a different profession alongside their career so they can carry on with their own intrinsic creativity without any concession to commercial succes.
Both schools have alumni who are really successful, so I would advise a student to really look around, check out each school’s curriculum to know what appears to be the best thing for your own growth. And by this I most certainly don’t mean “the easiest path to making money”. One should know that, if you’re in it for the money, it will never pay off. I believe Wynton Marsalis said something like: “You really have to be obsessed with making music, otherwise it’s barely impossible to put in the amount of work you need to make it a successful path”. Or Woody Shaw: “So you’ve tried to play the trumpet but didn’t have the talent? Really? Well, start practicing three hours a day for one year, come back, and then we’ll talk about talent again”.
Since you really have to love what you do, it’s probably a good idea to have a wider palette of options, but only if those options are almost equally joyful as playing your instrument. And with some of these options you might just want to try it first.
Keep an open mind and if a different direction doesn’t get in the way of your development as a musician: do it. It’s better to quit after trying than wondering how it could have worked out a few years later when that ship has already sailed and chances have passed. You’ll probably never have the same amount of time to explore other options. If you still want to make a living only through making music, though: be ready to sacrifice and put in the hours. And remember that success should always be measured by the things you have had to give up for it.
Charles Nagtzaam Renders Anthony Jackson’s classic Chaka Khan bass passage “Sleep On It”
Charles Nagtzaam Website : https://charlesnagtzaam.wordpress.com/
Charles Nagtzaam YouTube https://youtube.com/channel/UCZ-rbZYrz45_WgbqAaosV7w
Photos by Frank Boeigen, Kathie Danneels
As an electric bassist, the late Michael Henderson played a major role in the evolution of jazz and modern music. As a pop singer, Henderson topped the charts numerous times with his unique blend of rhythm & blues, soul, and funk.
Anchoring an opening act for Stevie Wonder at the Regal Theater in Chicago while still in his teens, the headliner summoned Henderson as his new bassist. Michael served as Stevie’s catalyst on stage and in the studio during the Motown legend’s initial transformation from a pop singer into one of the greatest forces in modern pop music.
Whilst Wonder scaled artistic and commercial heights at the dawn of the 70s, Miles Davis was seeking an anchor who came from a pure ‘electric’ approach in contrast to Davis’ most recent bassists Ron Carter and Dave Holland who were upright jazz players first and foremost. According to legend, Davis poached Henderson from Stevie during a Copacabana appearance in New York City in 1970 – allegedly informing bandleader Wonder with the utmost subtlety “I’m taking your f***ing bass player!”
Though Henderson’s membership in the electric Miles ensembles raised the ire of many a jazz journalist (Stanley Crouch) and a few of Davis’ employees (Keith Jarrett) – Henderson was the most crucial piece in Miles’ electric puzzle. He was the only bassist Miles used in the golden era of his jazz fusion career spanning 1970-75.
Henderson’s repetitive, staccato bass passages borne of Sly Stone and James Brown’s vamp-oriented influences– though ‘deceptively’ simple to jazz purists, provided the bedrock for the harmonic, rhythmic, and sonic explorations forged by Davis, Gary Bartz, John McLaughlin, Jarrett, Airto Moreira, Dave Liebman, Jack DeJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Reggie Lucas, Pete Cosey, Sonny Fortune, and Al Forster to cite a select few. Every time Henderson repeated a line – it grew bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s impossible to gauge how many hip-hop artists sampled Michael’s passages.
When Miles went into hibernation circa 1975, Henderson forged a successful career as a singer. Collaborating with Phillis Hyman (“Can’t We Fall In Love Again”), Jean Carn (“Valentine Love”), Norman Conners (“You Are My Starship”) – Henderson never fully abandoned his funk jazz inclinations – using many of Davis’ former players including Herbie Hancock, and young lions such as Ray Parker Jr. on his solo slabs.
Michael Henderson Sound & Vision:
Stevie Wonder live “Signed Sealed Delivered” https://youtu.be/VvHV2Ityb1E
With Miles Davis:
“Right Off” https://youtu.be/3U_jem9q_mg
“Ife” live: https://youtu.be/PruMPJTsqvo
Live in Tokyo 1973: https://youtu.be/rOsP24FwcYw
Michael Henderson solo:
“Wide Receiver” https://youtu.be/BuO0TuvH-3c
“Take Me I’m Yours” https://youtu.be/mV6eLrNHtuI
Norman Conners “You Are My Starship” https://youtu.be/7S2HNjfeaj4
Phillis Hyman “Can’t We Fall In Love Again” https://youtu.be/w43yQQ5kZNg
Jean Carn “Valentine Love” https://youtu.be/3KXVJl7knFo
Photos Courtesy of Michael Henderson Facebook
Know Your Bass Player Q & A with Joe Gagliardo & John Abbey
How/when/why did you start playing bass guitar?
I kind of started playing by “accident” when I was 13 or 14. Two of my older brothers play bass. One summer, my friends and I would hang out at my house listening to records and play air guitar along with them. One of my brothers was home from college, and on a whim one day, I pulled his bass out of the case and figured I’d play “air bass” while actually holding a bass. I guess the accidental part was this, he played left-handed. I assumed he had a left-handed bass but he’d learned to play upside down, and when I strapped on the bass it was “set up” for me and from that day on that was it.
Any formal training?
At first no. I’d ask my brother(s) when they were around to show me some stuff. I bought Mel Bay’s Volume 1 bass book…learned the names of the strings, notes on the fret board but mainly just listened to records and tried to figure stuff out. In elementary school I played violin for a year, and in junior high, you had to be in the chorus, but I had no formal training. I didn’t take any music classes in high school at all, but by my senior year I wanted to learn to read music and understand theory etc etc…unfortunately none of the music teachers were interested in having someone who knew nothing join band or orchestra.
That summer, between senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I took a basic music theory class at a community college, and I ended up staying there for my freshman year. It was a classically oriented program and after a year I wanted to learn other stuff. I switched to SUNY Old Westbury. At the time it was one of the only jazz programs around. The head of the department was Ken McIntyre and faculty included Warren Smith, Charles Persip, Jack Jeffers, Dick Griffin, Jimmy Owens…super heavyweights, although at the time their impact was lost on me.
After that, I went to B.I.T and studied with Potter Smith, Bob Magnuson, and Jeff Berlin. I was there during a very transitional year for that school..it was just starting to lean away from the jazz/fusion side of things and towards the “metal/big hair” of the mid-80’s. The guitar program still had Joe Pass and Joe Diorio on board and they were thrilled with guys that were into what they did vs what they thought was the “flash”
Bass players who influenced you…
Man..so many!…Jack Casady, Bill Wyman, Willie Dixon, John Entwistle, Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus, James Jamerson, Jerry Jemmott, Duck Dunn, Larry Graham, Marcus Miller, Jaco, Rick Danko, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, George Porter Jr..I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch.
Summary of bands/years—and recordings…
Alright, let’s see I’ll probably be off by a year or two and I’ll skip the “early years”and apologies in advance for stuff I’ve missed and therefore omitted.
1984-85 Lauren Smoken-self titled debut record produced by Jack Douglas, 1985-1990?-Outback..came this close :-), recordings with Rob Fraboni, Lori Carson 1988-1990, Carolyne Mas 1989, Todd Kray 1990-1998?
Stevie Cochran 1985-1992, David Poe 1995-2003-self titled debut produced by T-Bone Burnett, The Late Album, Love Is Red, Dog’s Eye View-1994-1996(?) debut album Happy Nowhere, Amy Rigby 1994-97, Mike Errico 1996-Pictures Of the Big Vacation, John Cale-1996-1998, Ray Davies-2000, Hubert Sumlin and David Johansen 2004-2005, Amy Speace 1999-2002, Neal Casal- 1995-1997, Moe Tucker 2000, Mark Geary 1998-2001.
Current musical activity…
Let’s see-since 1998/99 I’ve been producing and engineering…so since moving from NYC to Chicago in 2002, that’s been a majority of my work.
Throughout my 20 years in Chicago, I’ve been playing (on and off in some cases) with Robbie Fulks, Steve Dawson, Sons Of the Never Wrong, and Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls.
Partial “recent” discography Producing/Engineering- Emily Hurd -her full discography, The Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Volumes 1-4, Robbie Fulks-Revenge of the Doberman and 16, Funeral Bonzai Wedding self-titled, and Last Flight Out, Martin Lang-Bad Man.
Your go-to basses back in the day, and now…
These are the basses I used to have and play(very rarely more than one at a time)…that I regret selling; 1978 Fender Jazz Bass, Ken Smith 4 string serial # 109 (smh), early 80’s Steinberger, 1973 Fender P-bass-fretless, mid 80’s Tobias 6 string.
I had a GREAT late 18th century German upright bass that suffered a broken neck on the last day of a tour..after it was fixed, it was never the same and I sold it…still haven’t found an upright I like as much as that one.
In 1986 I got a 1966 Fender Jazz bass…it took about 6 months for it to get and stay in shape…that’s been my go to bass ever since. I also currently have a 1967 Guild Starfire (the bass I grew up playing courtesy of my bro!) a 1968 Vox violin and a bass made by a great luthier here, Bruce Roper. It’s a short scale hollow body based on Starfire specs. My upright is a German carved bass from the 50’s but made in Italian style..Oh almost forgot, I also have a Guild Ashbory.
Describe your approach / style…
Hmm..another tricky one to answer. I’d like to think that I always serve the song, stay in the pocket and react to what’s happening in the moment.
What are you up to when not playing bass?
I am a Producer-Engineer (and Bass Player) at Kingsize Sound Lab and I have taught at the Old Town School of Folk Music.
Similar to how I started playing bass, I got into producing and engineering kind of by accident. A buddy of mine from M.I.T. days, Joe Carter III, a great jazz guitar player, said “You know all these singer/songwriter, rock guys..I want you produce a record for me.
I wrote a bunch of tunes on piano and I want to make a record that’s a cross between Tumbleweed Connection and Exile On Main Street.”
Without skipping a beat, I agreed..and not knowing ANYTHING, but with the help of a lot of super talented people I started to learn and TJ Swan-Redemption was the result.
Fast-forward 12 years and a few random spaces in Chicago, Mike Hagler and I partnered up and got our current space together in 2010.
It’s a great set-up. We work independently of each other…but we share a huge live room, gear, etc.
A partial list of stuff I’ve been lucky enough to work on: Robbie Fulks-Revenge of the Doberman and Sixteen, Funeral Bonzai Wedding-self titled and Last Flight Out, Freakons-self-titled, Mike Allemana-Vonology, Martin Lang-Bad Man, Jonas Friddle-The Last Place To Go, Belle deLouisville, Use Your Voice
Emily Hurd-(pretty much everything) most recently- Underkill, Nightshades, Josh Berman-A Skip and a Hop….
John Abbey Sound & Vision…
“New Pony” live w. Robbie Fulks https://youtu.be/xEduxa3J4UA
“Oh Chocolay_Sons of the Never Wrong” https://youtu.be/uS5uxjj5ZVk
“Heart of Snow” Emily Hurd https://youtu.be/3qAcYG6NECM
“Reunion” David Poe https://youtu.be/scS2xlIcIIo
“Love is a Blessing” live w. Steve Dawson https://youtu.be/uYYZWiydtUI
Said the late, truly great Morris “B.B.” Dickerson to Rolling Stone magazine circa 1974 “some people call it ‘ass music’…others call it street boogie…rhythm…our rhythm is different.”
As the rhythmic and harmonic anchor of War, a collective which forged a seamless fusion of funk, rock, soul, jazz, Latin, blues, and permutations thereof – B.B. Dickerson grooved a generation. Literally!
Dickerson’s career started in a Harbor City Los Angeles church – singing in the choir. He took up bass and guitar at 12. When his brother Scott returned from Vietnam service, he formed Night Shift – backing NFL football star Deacon Jones who was dabbling in a soul music career. When former Animals singer Eric Burdon caught their act in 1969, he enlisted the ensemble as his backing band. Scott summoned B.B. for the bass chair in the newly christened Eric Burdon & War – and the rest, as they say, is history.
With a Fender Jazz as his primary weapon of choice, B.B. exuded a sharp, blunt tone wherein he worked the pocket and rendered melodies and motifs which served as hooks for the hits and album tracks. An accomplished lead and backing vocalist, B.B.’s lines often danced around the beat with a relaxed Southern Californian vibe: indicative of their environs.
In the hip-hop age, B.B. and War’s grooves provided a bedrock for such artists Kanye West, De La Soul, the Beastie Boys, and Janet Jackson to cite a select few.
Notes War super-fan Reina Laguerra: As one of WAR’S biggest fans it was my extreme honor to get to meet BB and call him my friend. BB was not only a legendary bass player, he’s the one singing lead on one of WAR’S most iconic songs, ‘The World Is A Ghetto’, which was Billboard Album of the Year 1973, and is #444 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.
“BB”, along with six original members of WAR and Eric Burdon, were the very last artists to jam with Jimi Hendrix the night before he died. WAR has been nominated 3 times for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, only to get snubbed while they induct artists who sample or cover WAR; The Beastie Boys, NWA, Janet Jackson, 2PAC, and others. Because of WAR name legalities back in 1999, by producer Jerry Goldstein, the remaining WAR originals have been divided into two bands that perform WAR music. Goldstein’s faux “WAR” with one original, and the Lowrider Band, what with BB’s passing, is down to three WAR originals. True WAR fans stand with the Lowrider Band. Declare WAR at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame NOW for 2023 induction.
B.B. Dickerson Sound & Vision…
“Spill The Wine” https://youtu.be/3i0DMbCKnAg
“The World is a “Ghetto” https://youtu.be/VIIbT89V7EI
“Where Was You At” https://youtu.be/PSBWtq4evTw
“All Day Music” https://youtu.be/U5pX4mRQcFo
Joe Iaquinto, Tom Semioli, Tony Senatore, Mark Polott at John’s Italian restaurant, New York City 2021
Joe Iaquinto: A Guy Like Me
In 2006, I spoke on the telephone with my friend John Conte, who is currently the bassist for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. We discussed bass equipment and our never-ending quest for the ultimate tone. John was telling me about a non-Fender vintage bass he wanted to buy. He told me it was an excellent instrument for “guys like us.” He did not have to elaborate on the meaning of the phrase guys like us because I instinctively knew what he was talking about. Members of this group would probably regard the Acoustic 360 as the most outstanding bass amplifier of all time and have no problem explaining the difference between Gibson EBO, EB-1, EB2, or EB3 basses.
Moreover, it was likely that one of these basses is the instrument they currently play most often. Most importantly, group members likely started playing bass guitar in the 1970s, which they consider the most significant period for creativity regarding the electric bass. In many ways, being a member of the guys like us club was analogous to Henry Hill’s definition of being a good fella; “you’re going to like this guy Joe Iaquinto. He’s all right. He’s a good fella. He’s one of us.” He plays an EBO-L through a Marshall Major. More practical individuals ponder the great mysteries of life.
On the other hand, guys like us are more concerned with things they deem more important, like what bass guitar and amplifier did Dee Murray use on Elton John’s 11-17-70 vinyl masterpiece. The guys like us club is an exclusive club along the lines of Yale’s Skull and Bones. To gain entrance, we might trace your bass history back 100 years. If you owned a bass that requires 9-volt batteries or owned a bass with a million knobs made out of fancy wood that looked like a coffee table, your hopes of admittance are slim to none. Finally, if your bass tone sounds like the theme music from Seinfeld, that is grounds for a sit-down with the heads of the five New York City Bass families with Don Semioli at the helm.
When Know Your Bass Player head honcho Tom Semioli permitted me to interview Joe Iaquinto; I took advantage of the opportunity to get to know Joe better. To the staff of KYBP and me, Joe is no stranger. When he is in New York City, he is always a guest of honor at the KYBP dinners that “Don” Semioli puts together. Often, there is not enough time to ask him the types of questions I want. I messaged Joe, and he agreed to a lengthy phone conversation. When it was over, I was amazed to learn that Joe was not only a genuine member of the guys like us club, but our life stories were incredibly similar. Whether in person at a Semioli-hosted dinner or during a Zoom call with KYBP stalwarts Joe Gagliardo and Mark Polott, Joe Iaquinto amuses us. He is extremely funny and makes us laugh, but to be clear, he is not funny like a clown. I think he could have a career as a stand-up comedian if he ever chose that career path. His humor is undoubtedly a by-product of his days observing comedians while performing with the Brooklyn-based band Hollywood during their 1976 stay at the Brickman Hotel in the Catskills.
Joe only had one private music instructor. Between 1971 and 1975, Joe studied bass guitar with a guitarist named Jack Leone. I find this intriguing, as I only had one instructor, primarily a jazz and classical guitarist. Joe was so proficient that by the time he was 13 years old, Leone was using Joe on his own gigs with The Noblemen. This was made possible via a pencil applied to Joe’s upper lip. Charlie Dere was Joe’s high school stage band director. Dere was a mentor to Joe and was the person that introduced him to the legendary bassist Jeff Ganz. This was another exciting revelation, as Mr. Ganz was also a great inspiration to me. He was a close friend of my father’s, and my dad held Jeff in the highest esteem as the type of consummate bassist I should seek to emulate.
Perhaps the most important commonality between Joe and me is that our parents did not expend tremendous energy to guide us on a career path. In Joe’s case, it was unavoidable. When Joe was 11, his mother and father passed away. My father was a professional musician who toured the world with Tito Puente and was quite involved with my development as a young musician. Unfortunately, my father dissuaded me from attending college when I was about to graduate high school. He told me that after graduating, I should get a job and start helping around the house. This contrasts with most of my friends whose parents urged them to apply to Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. Joe and I were on our own when it came to creating our destiny. We both agree that, unlike many of our peers, we already knew how we wanted to spend the rest of our lives, so we were blessed. Spending our days practicing and nights wielding a Gibson Ripper while plugged into an Ampeg SVT seemed much better than four more years of education. Besides, we both concluded that most of our heroes did not study music in college. We had no interest in getting into the double bass played arco or studying serial composition, or becoming the next Schoenberg. The only context in which the word serial meant anything to us concerned David Berkowitz, the serial killer whose reign of terror defined the 1970s and our neighborhoods.
Perhaps you have heard of a college student that never wants to leave school. Becoming a perpetual student is much more palatable than getting out into the real world as soon as possible and perhaps failing. Unlike these types, Joe and I had no interest in higher education and immersed ourselves in the NYC music scene. Jeff Ganz offered to take Joe under his wing and groom him for the Broadway scene. I had similar offers from NY bassists, most notably Paul Adamy, the primary bassist for Mama Mia, one of the most successful Broadway shows of all time. It was essential to convey that while we appreciated the offer, Joe and I wanted to be a part of an original live band, and all of our efforts were on securing a major label record deal for the bands with which we were involved. In retrospect, this was shortsighted and the wrong plan for me, but as we all have learned, hindsight is 20-20.
While I remained tethered to the NYC area, Joe decided to try his luck in California. He left New York in 1978, returning only once in 1982. Ultimately, Joe spent from 1978 to 2017 on the West Coast. While there, he did a stunning array of singer/songwriter gigs and live performances with a who’s who of the music business: Earl Slick. Rita Coolidge, Stephen Bishop, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Patrick Simmons, Wayne Newton, Bobby Kimball.
Joe’s tenure as the bassist for Branscombe Richmond, the star of the well-known television series Renegade, is perhaps his most enduring musical relationship. Joe started with Branscombe in 1995 and is still the band’s bassist. Joe told me the band’s direction was country-inspired before he occupied the bass chair. Joe’s funky bass playing was the catalyst for a new direction for the band. Joe also confided in me that between 1985 and 1988, he made quite a bit of money doing the soundtracks for porn movies. The libertarian in me has no problem with that. I find it offensive that those who clamor about the dangers of big government seem to be preoccupied with what consenting adults do behind closed doors. I think Joe should have starred in some of the movies he created soundtracks for. I will save the political commentary for another time because Semioli likes to keep these conversations private and within the family. Perhaps head honcho Semioli is getting a little soft in his old age, with all this talking about SEO optimization this, algorithms that, and dumbing things down for a semi-literate audience. As philosopher Jimmy Conway once asserted, “what is this world coming to?”
Joe conveyed that having a five-string bass was mandatory for most of the work he did in California, and a Music Man Stingray was his primary bass guitar. These days when recording, Joe uses and endorses long-scale basses built by Pat Wilkins of Wilkins Guitars. He prefers short-scale basses in live performance situations; a 1970 EB3 and a Fender Mustang P/J reissue. Like many of my KYBP brethren, Joe has moved to light (40/95) strings. I am the sole holdout with my 55/110 flat wounds. The first reason is that I prefer the feeling and tone of heavy strings. The second reason is that Don Semioli always advocates using “manly” gauged strings. I don’t want Semioli to whack me, so I adhere to his wishes. Also, a 110-gauge E string can be a deadly weapon. Just ask Carlo Rizzi and Clemenza.
The most important part of my conversation with Joe was that by 1990, all of the sex, drugs, and rock and roll had wreaked havoc on his mental well-being. He was at an all-time low and decided to seek therapy. This wise decision enabled him to thrive as a musician ever since. He also agreed that after a lifetime of temporary day jobs, he could only be pleased if he was not a part of the 9 to 5 world. He credits his therapist for helping him realize this. He took a short time off, going out on what he refers to as stress leave, which was similar to disability. During this period, his bills were paid, which enabled him to focus on getting well.
Similarly, I am no stranger to how untreated or resilient mental issues can destroy lives. My sister had a traumatic experience at 16 that ruined her life. I would rather not publicize the event and relieve the pain, but it also affected me. In 1993, I had to raise my sister’s child with the help of my family when my sister was unable to do so because of her illness. When she passed in 2007, like Joe, I was at a crossroads in my life. During my career as a musician, I met some of the most unsavory and unethical people imaginable. They mistreated me, and I took it from them for fear of losing my gig. I was unhappy but felt that I did not need to seek therapy, as I instinctively knew what I had to do to reclaim my life. When one can do that, it is a blessing. I decided to retire from the music business in 2004 and get a government job. By 2008, my lack of a college education was the chip on my shoulder that I needed to deal with. It took time, but by 2017, I graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University at 55. The take-home message here is that if you are unhappy, you need to make the necessary changes in your life.
Most importantly, there is no one size fits all approach for success in life or mental well-being. You must do what is right for you, not for your friends or family. Telling individuals under extreme mental duress to “man up” is similarly unhelpful.
The final piece in the puzzle for Joe’s quest for happiness was his decision to play and teach music full time and relocate to Madison, Wisconsin, which the Iaquinto family did in 2017. Joe’s wife Kristine, to whom he’s been married since 1995, was born in Wisconsin, so it seemed like the right move, as they were both disillusioned with life in Los Angeles. As a young boy growing up in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Joe was surrounded by some of the best food available anywhere. His favorites were places such as L&B Spumoni Gardens on 86th Street and Randazzo’s on Emmons Avenue. He also used to load up on littlenecks and cherrystones at Lundy’s, but now it is all over. There’s not as much action or good food in Madison as in Los Angeles or Sheepshead Bay. Larry Storch Boulevard has supplanted the Belt Parkway and US 101. I wondered if when Joe ordered spaghetti with marinara sauce the first time he had dinner in Madison, the waiter gave him a bottle of ketchup and egg noodles. I promised to ask him that the next time I spoke with him. One thing I know for sure is that he is not an average nobody living the rest of his life like a schnook.
How Joe’s life took shape was not only the best for him, but for Kristine and his sons Kevin and Jordan, who are 23 and 19, respectively. I can say the same thing regarding how my life ultimately took shape. We concluded our conversation that there is no musical artist alive today who could convince us to alter the lives we have both built for ourselves. We are both making music on our terms. We also spend a lot of time with our families because, as Don Semioli famously asserted over dinner at John’s of 12th Street, a man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man. For more information about Joe, please visit his website at
http://joebass.squarespace.com/
Now go home and get your shinebox!
By Phil Spalding – June 2022
The Albert Hall all to myself; who would have ever thought it?
What a journey from starting to play with the pub rock and north London (before Bernie Torme Band) soul scene of whom Gonzalez and Kokomo were undoubtedly the leaders. You had Headquarters (Steve Salvari) who then, in time, morphed into Central Line and Lynx, the oft forgotten Moon lead by Noel McCalla at The Brecknock, also FBI and Osibisa who often supported Kokomo at The Roundhouse.
God knows what they’ve done to the Roundhouse as, in its amphitheater type state sounded fabulous out front; it now sounds ‘poor’ and ‘tinkly’ at best. I saw Heaven 17 and B.E.F. there not so long ago and the sound was bloody abysmal. The Average White Band who, if you were lucky to get in, used to fill The Marquee to bursting but started, like The Stranglers, at The Torrington (just after North Finchley on the Finchley Road where I was later to meet The Toyah Band’). If it hadn’t have been for these bands and venues I’d have probably stayed at Lloyd’s Bank and retired FAT and 50. Instead I’m just FAT !!!
The doctor has asked my to try and lose 20kgs as the conditions I have may kill me before the next 5-6 years pass. So it’s back to the gym, hard work rowing, walking, cycling and whatnot. This is the reason I’m not with Roger on tour; they couldn’t get me insured having Multiple Myeloma and COPD. The blessings that have arrived though; Rome the week after next, Toulouse in August and I’m having my 65th birthday at The Backstage in Paris (for those of you who can make it Saturday Nov 4th !!). YES (with my friend Shanne Bradley) in Birmingham Symphony Hall were an absolute delight last Friday. I’ll never get tired of “Close To The Edge,” “Heart Of The Sunrise,” “Starship Trooper” et al, et all. All the way through the gig (every 5 minutes) I could hear a lick that I’ve incorporated into my playing.
Saw the lads afterwards (even though Steve insisted we speak from 6 feet away!) and they’re still chugging along, not prepared to get off of the hamster wheel YET !! BUT BE CAREFUL … This business kills you, if you’re not careful!!!
I wanna get my books done before I cop it from these f*****g conditions; at least I’m ready to meet my maker, something from which I take solace. Pray people, PRAY and live your life ONE DAY AT A TIME … praying will get you through the worst times and open up spaces for … well, WHO KNOWS?
Only him up there knows AND I’m not spending the rest of my life in vans, on coaches, in airports, limos, on airplanes, living off ‘the rider’, sound checking and endlessly playing the same f*****g songs I’ve played for 40 years.
There’s a life out there .. time to go and GRAB IT and enjoy the years I have left. Thank God for PPL which gives me, come what may, a comfortable living. PHEW THATS IT FFS … I’m already f****d and it’s raining cats and dogs here in South Wilts.
Ashley Suppa… A Know Your Bass Player Q&A by Joe Gagliardo
Borne of a musically talented brood, and hailed as the “female version of Cliff Burton,” bassist Ashley Suppa caught the eyes and ears of Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley who recruited her to sing backing vocals on his Anomaly album, released in 2009.
Ashley anchors PLUSH, all-female rock collective on a mission to bring rock back to the forefront of the music industry. This female rock force is fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Moriah Formica with drummer Brooke Colucci, guitarist Bella Perron and bassist Ashley Suppa.
How/when/why did you start playing bass guitar? I started playing bass guitar at age 11. I attended a local music performance program as a guitarist, and they needed a bassist for one of the songs. The director of the program asked if I had a bass. I wasn’t entirely familiar with what a bass even looked like… so I said that I would check when I got home. Sure enough, my dad had one and the first song that I learned was Death or Glory by The Clash!
Any formal training? I took lessons that were mandatory with the program, but I consider myself to be self-taught!
Cite the bass players who influenced you. Paul McCartney, Bootsy Collins, Mike Inez, Mike Starr, Robert DeLeo, and Gail Ann Dorsey are some of my greatest influences.
Current musical activity/tours… In the past I have toured in Plush with Slash, Sevendust, Evanescence/Halestorm’s arena tour, Mammoth WVH and played festivals such as Rocklahoma and Welcome to Rockville. Our upcoming tours include Alice In Chains as well as the Kiss Kruise.
Your go-to bass(es) and rig…My latest favorite is my Fender Meteora bass, but I also play many Fender jazz basses and sometimes a Fender Vintera ‘50s Precision bass. I use a Fender 810 cabinet and a Fender TB 1200 head.
A description of your playing style… When I write bass lines, I like to play what I think will best complement the song. I typically go for solid grooves and tasteful runs where I feel that they fit. I also feel that my backing vocals are an aspect of my overall playing and that my bass parts must be able to cooperate with my vocal parts!
Ashley Suppa Sound & Vision…with Plush
“Better Off Alone” https://youtu.be/YOCU5IcDbxQ
“Hate” https://youtu.be/5jx1cpNY6v0
Live At Rocklahoma 2021 https://youtu.be/vgo_UyuqvqQ
For All Things PLUSH https://plushrocks.net/