Dim the lights until the crowd roars

Oh, we've got a show coming up.

(Poster courtesy of my awesome friend Megan!)

May 12th, Brainwash Cafe, San Francisco at 8 PM.  Be there. :D

New track up!

Finally got the time to upload one of our tracks to the vast internet, "Don't You Realize How Cool I Am."

Enjoy!

http://ninoblankenship.bandcamp.com/

Thrown down

a conversation between myself and Ms. Plath.

---

Sylvia: I'm in a glass box of emotions right now!

Holden: In Nino Blankenship, we take that glass box of emotions and throw it at the audience.

Clarity

New microphone time!



I've been experimenting with multitracking after a successful full-band recording session with my good friend Sean...and he had this exact mic so I found a sweet deal on it on the web and will be testing it out very, very soon. Woot.

Amplifier fire

So the giant cabinet that I brought to the Cove show, only to not get to use...was deemed impractical.

Had to come up with a better solution, and...opportunity came knocking, in the form of a sudden arrival at Guitar Center, this Gallien-Krueger MB210 combo!




350 watts, 33 pounds. A little bit better than having an ancient 55 pound speaker cabinet, I would say...

Slippin' into darkness

So the ultimate Murphy's Law gig occurred last night.

Equipment that worked 24 hours before refused to work at the show - and worked when I got home.

Very little lighting where we were.

Very little time.

And yet at the end of the day, the smiles on the faces of those there speak for itself. I can totally live with that!

Welcome to our world of toys

So I haven't posted here in a couple of months...and here's basically why:



This 1994 Fender Jazz Bass has taken up most of my time.

It's funny...I originally got into drums (and returned to piano) because I've never been able to stretch my fingers enough to play guitar chords...and yet I ended up playing bass almost on accident.

The original bass we had in this band was a gift I originally got my sister for Christmas 2010...a Samick Greg Bennett Fairlane bass:

When she moved, she decided to leave it in the Bay Area with me, and we incorporated a little bit in time for our very first show -

Days before that performance though, I discovered my current axe at a music store in Citrus Heights and immediately knew it was meant to be. It made it to our second show too!

I've been practicing almost daily with the new addition to my collection since mid-September, trying my best to pick up actual techniques from bassists I like: folks like Marvin Isley, James Jamerson, Aimee Mann, Jack Bruce, Michael Henderson, John McVie...yeah, a pretty diverse list there. Though I won't deny that I tend to naturally slap in much the same way Aimee did for most of her 'til tuesday songs, even if I dream of being as free-flowing as Miroslav Vitous someday.

Just as long as I sound like myself when it's all said and done, I'll be happy with that.

I do love what this adds to our tendency to switch off instruments between almost every song, for sure!