The Blue Collar Bass Player

In this month's episode I got to sit down with one of my best friends and music collaborators, Nick Micheline. Nick is a prolific song writer from Long Island, NY, front man of the band MAYVE, and sole creator of his newest project NOTA. In this episode we talk about how we met, recording at Blackwatch Studios in Oklahoma, and the future we're hoping to create together as musicians. This episode features songs from MAYVE and NOTA's catalog and it ends with an unreleased track from NOTA entitled, "Centerfold".

NOTA: https://itisnota.bandcamp.com/releases
MAYVE: https://mayve.bandcamp.com/

I'm so glad to be back! In this episode I got to talk to bassist Alex Bingham. Alex is currently the bassist for North Carolina's Hiss Golden Messenger as well as a multi-instrumentalist, producer and engineer. In this episode we talk about his early music education, touring with Hiss Golden Messenger, building his own Bedtown Studios and his love for Thai food. 

Mipso's "Arthur McBride" - https://mipsomusic.bandcamp.com/

Alex recommends:
Twain - https://twain.bandcamp.com/ 
T. Gold - https://tgold.bandcamp.com/

Hiss Golden Messenger Live Records - https://hissgoldenmessenger.bandcamp.com/

This months episode features Sean Fisher, bassist of the Philadelphia based band, The American Standard. The American Standard just released their debut record, Stations, today. In this episode we talk about Sean's experience being a bass player in the Philadelphia area and what type of obstacles musicians face today in the current music climate. Thank you as always for listening, check out their album on Spotify here: STATIONS Spotify Link

This month's guest is a bassist from Hong Kong with a truly bass-inspiring Youtube channel and her name is, Jasmine Wong. Jasmine is the mastermind behind the YoutTube channel "deppwaswho". Originally starting as a Johnny Depp fan fan page of sorts, she has amassed an overwhelming fan base from performing bass covers. In this episode we talk about her classical background, the first time she picked up a bass, and her future with her youtube channel and her band, Bamboo Star.

Dean Town Cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGfAjA5j5Ck

Recording with Bamboo Star: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ECZQu9Vpss

In this episode of the podcast I talk to Chris Ryan, bassist of the Rhode Island based band, Deer Tick. In this episode we talk about Chris' experience playing in a band with some of his best friends and the pressure that's brought on by successfully playing a supportive role.

Daytrotter Video referenced in the beginning of the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1M-KyJ2OEA 

Enjoy!

In this episode of the podcast I got to talk to Jon Jameson. Bass player of the California/Brooklyn based band, Delta Spirit. We cover many topics in this episode including the sense of community built around Delta Spirit, his early years attending shows in California, his time as a Theology Student during the band's brief hiatus, and so much more!

Delta Spirit is about to embark on their "Not Dead Yet Tour" buy tickets while they are still available here: www.deltaspirit.net 

In this episode I talk to another SUNY Purchase grad, Dylan Debiase. Dylan is a bass player currently residing in Brooklyn, NY performing in many projects. He has an album set to be released on February 6th with his main project Wreath. Dylan also has a fruitful friendship with Victor Wooten and we get into the details of how their relationship came to be in this episode. As always thank you so much for listening and don't forget to rate and review! 

In this episode I talk to the two members that make up my band, NY trio, amateur movie and literary buffs, The Bellegards. We are fresh off the release of our new album "Lies for Silver - Truth for Gold" and in this episode we go over what it took to create an album that we are all very pleased with. You can stream it now on Spotify and Apple Music. 

***HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR***

In the first episode of Season 2 I get to talk to bassist and luthier, Jake Serek. Jake is based out of Chicago where he builds his custom basses that have recently become a coveted tool among performing bassists on every level. We talk about his early days as a touring bassist with his band, Bad City and how that inadvertently helped him to make a unique life in music. You can visit: www.serekbasses.com to check out his work. Jake is also featured on the new Bass Nerds Podcast which you can learn more about at: www.thebassnerds.com.

In this episode of the podcast I spoke to one of my best friends, Dan Poorman. Dan is a bass player out of Syracuse, New York. We both attended SUNY Purchase together and the night we met our lives changed forever... he was performing with a campus-wide renowned band called Murder By Scooter. They have one full length record out on bandcamp aptly named "Overzealous". I visited him at his apartment when he was getting ready to perform with the High Divers at Funk n Waffles with his new project, Trauma Cat. We go through Dan's early education, his college experience, and his current status as a bass player and writer in Central NY. This marks the last episode of season 1 of this podcast and what a season it has been! Thank you so much for all the support.

Murder By Scooter "Overzealous" www.murderbyscooter.bandcamp.com

Strange To Look At "Self Titled EP" 
https://strangetolookat.bandcamp.com/

This episode of the podcast features Matt Maust of Cold War Kids. Cold War Kids are a prolific rock band from Long Beach, California. Apart from playing bass, Matt is also an artist and clothing designer with his brand, Luv Clothing. We talk about his influences as an artist and with him being one of only two original members in the band, we discuss how him and lead singer, Nate Willett have kept the group going for so many years. You can visit www.luvproduct.com for some of his work as a designer.

In this episode of the podcast I talk to Jeff Hill who is currently the bass player for the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, he's also toured and recorded with Rufus Wainwright and Shooter Jennings among many others. We talk about his early education as a tuba player and how that influenced his bass playing, his early gig landscaping for Gary Karr, and his infamous move from Chicago to New York. A lot of my research for this episode came from No Treble.

Here's a link to their interview with Jeff:
No Treble Interview with Jeff Hill

A special thanks to Kevin Calabro for making this episode happen!

This month's guest on the podcast is California bass player and producer, Dan Horne. Dan is most notably known for playing bass with Circles Around the Sun as well as Jonathan Wilson, Cass McCombs, and The Growlers. In this episode we talk about his relationships with other musicians and his take on the future of the music industry. You can check out more of his credits at www.lonepalmstudio.com.

In this episode of the podcast I talk to Virginia musician, Cameron Ralston. Cameron is the house bassist for Spacebomb, a recording studio in Richmond, Virginia successfully following the old model of a recording studio that provides in house musicians for artists. You can hear his playing on many different records including Fight the Big Bull, Matthew E. White, and Natalie Prass. His hunger to progress as a musician and expand his vocabulary to match a 6 inch thick music dictionary, sets him apart from other players in the music world. We discuss his early education and how he came to be such a versatile player. Go to www.spacebombrecords.com to see their current artist roster. Thank you for listening!   

In this month's episode I talk to Minnesota's own, Trampled By Turtles' bass player, Tim Saxhaug. Tim tells me about his life as a music major, the salad days of meeting Dave Simonett, all the way to the formation of TBT and beyond! We discuss his decision to ultimately play an acoustic bass opposed to an upright bass and the difference between recording live instead of tracking one by one and how that can shape a record. Their latest album, "Life is Good on the Open Road" dropped in May of 2018.  

In this episode of the podcast I talk to Toby Leaman who is the bass player and co-lead singer of Philadelphia based band, Dr. Dog. Toby tells the story of how he got into playing bass at a young age after meeting future band mate Scott McMicken. He also talks about how they took it upon themselves as a band to build a functioning studio that allowed them to track records that are completely unique, setting them apart from the bands emerging at the time. Dr. Dog just released their latest full length "Critical Equation" in 2018 with the follow up Critical 7" single dropping a couple of weeks ago.  

In this episode of The Blue Collar Bass Player I talk to Austin, Texas musician Brendan Bond. Brendan plays Trumpet, Piano, Bass, and sings and is the touring bass player for Matt Vasquez aka the font man of Delta Spirit. Brendan talks about how he came to attain such a coveted gig and the road that led him there. Brendan and I are both twins and we get to talk about that quite a bit in this episode, he has a project with his bother under the name Bond Twins. Brendan also tours with Black Pumas and Golden Dawn Arkestra. Thank you so much for listening!

In this episode of The Blue Collar Bass Player I talk to the bassist of Lydia Loveless' band, Ben Lamb. Ben is a musician and graphic design artist from Columbus Ohio. In this episode we talk about the negative mentality of selling out, what it means to be in a band on an indie label (Bloodshot Records), and what it means to service a song writer as the bass player in their band. We set up at the Wilky in Brooklyn to talk about Ben's relationship with the instrument and how he came to make a life in music.

This episode's guest is Scott Hirsch. Scott is a musician arguably best known as the bassist and producer/engineer of North Carolina based band, Hiss Golden Messenger. However, in the past few years he began releasing music under his own name. In 2016 he released his first solo album "Blue Rider Songs" and he's due to release his second album "Lost Time Behind the Moon" December 2018. Go to www.echo-magic.com for all of Scott's credits.