Being a small business, like so many in America, we are struggling this year because the economy is dictating what we can and cannot do to continue our growth, so that being said we want you our readers to know how very appreciated you are. This has been a labor of love for a long time now and we are still hoping that the floodgates are going to open for us eventually and we will see fruit from our labor. When I get emails from our readers that state how much they love the magazine it always makes me smile and gives me that little extra boost to carry on one more month. Never discount the importance of sending a kind note no matter how small it is always appreciated here at Bass Frontiers. I always enjoy reflecting on the year behind us around this time of year to remind myself of all the wonderful blessings we have. Even though life can be a struggle it is always worth it.

I have a lot of projects I am working on for 2012 and hope to catch you guys very soon on the road or possibly at The Canadian Rockies Bass Bash in May 2012. I plan on being there! It is a great event and I would encourage you to attend if at all possible. Until next month, be blessed! And if you make it to Nashville, TN give a holler and let’s meet up!

Bless you all!

Dave Fowler
Editor-in-Chief
Bass Frontiers

Never fear change, welcome it. This is a good thing to try to keep in mind especially in the economy we are currently experiencing in the United States, and a number of other places in the world. While we all HATE losing jobs that give us security, sometimes it is meant that we get out of our comfort zones (which is sometimes what it takes for us to get motivated) and find things to sustain our well being. Or better yet, create things to make money for our families. Trust me, this is how millionaires are built. Trial and error coupled with getting knocked down are teachers of the best kind. Getting up, dusting yourself off, and facing adversity time and again until you find something that can fill a much needed void in society is what will set you apart from the rest.

The key is when you get knocked down, DO NOT STAY DOWN, FOR THAT IS THE KISS OF DEATH! Do not give up and take a stand that you will not quit until you find success. I have found that the people who win in the music business are the ones who simply outlast the others…so today I would encourage you to please dig deep and keep at your craft until you “find success”, and believe me you will, eventually. You gotta always keep the goal in mind and keep your hand to the plow and NEVER look back! That is the key my friends.

In my last Editors notes I recognized some team members who have gone the extra mile for us and left out a very important “KEY” guy. His name is Jarad Clement, from New Orleans. Jarad is our on staff videographer. He does an amazing job for us here at Bass Frontiers handling all our video needs and assisting with the social networking. We appreciate what Jarad does for us and certainly want to recognize him for all he does at Bass Frontiers.

Please keep in mind to stay focused on your goals remember that with the fall comes Thanksgiving and as for myself I sure have a LOT to be thankful for…what about you?

I was in Washington, D.C. when the earthquake hit the East Coast a few weeks ago. We enjoyed a few days of visiting many awesome places. I would encourage any American citizens, as well as any international visitors, to plan a trip to Washington, D.C. (however if you do so make sure you have lots of days to devote to hardcore tourism) or any place you may be near that has helped shape our great country into what we love and enjoy so much today.

There are many places with so much to offer. I, for one, love my home, the United States, so much I get emotional about her very easily.

I am so appreciative of the public servants who tirelessly serve. I found it very interesting that none of the Army personnel I met ever complained about the job they do. Some of them had multiple surgeries and are struggling to walk and in some cases struggling to even speak. One young man has endured 190 surgeries due to a land mine that had almost destroyed his legs.

Please take the time to visit a national monument or take a special trip to any of the beautiful landscapes of the United States to rekindle your love for our country. I am hopeful that we NEVER forget the terrible events of 9/11 because if we forget the past we are indeed doomed to repeat it. Bless you all till next month!

Sometimes living life like that could be so cool, noticing things that don’t seem that important, being enchanted by even the simplest of them. I guess we all get wrapped up in so many things that we really do fail to see the little things and the importance they can have when given the chance.

I want to challenge each of you to dig deep and make sure you are enjoying life’s journey. Take it all in and stop long enough to breathe in and enjoy where life is taking you. We only pass this way once, so do all you can to make it count.

On a final note we held a GREAT bass luncheon here in Nashville on July 20 with EMG pickups and Bobby Vega we had a wonderful turnout and some folks walked with some very nice door prizes from EMG & Peterson Tuners.We will continue to host these luncheons and everyone is invited to attend. We hope to make them bigger and better every time we do one. Stay tuned for many details.

Until next month, stay healthy and safe.

I was blessed to be asked to attend and participate in the Canadian Rockies Bass Bash last weekend along with Adam Nitti, Bobby Vega and Hutch Hutchinson to name a few. The host and creator of the Bass Bash, Randy Gray, took such great care of us we didn’t want to leave! It made me recheck where I am with everything and how lucky I have been in my career. The attendance was a little low, but each person that attended was very intent on making sure they took it all in. This really made me feel good.

Many companies participated in giveaways, and almost everyone who came was able to walk away with something. I wanted to thank Randy Gray for his vision and I am in hopes to be a part of it for years to come.

This can be our little secret (hehe), but Bass Frontiers is in the planning stages of doing something with Randy Gray in Nashville, TN in the near future. Maybe we will call it The Nashville Bass Summit? We will keep you posted on the progress of this event.

We are SO pleased to now have Bass Frontiers t-shirts! We will be posting information on how you can get one in the coming days, so keep on the lookout for that.

Take care, and always let us know what we can do to help you!

Dave Fowler
Editor In Chief
Bass Frontiers

It took me a while to think of what I wanted to talk about this time around, but a few different things came at me today and kind of circled around to a no-brainer.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on a gig with a Nashville-based artist named Brandi Thornton. (Shameless plug: she’s awesome. What a great vocalist. What a great songwriter. What a great performer. She truly knows how to make it work from the time we get on stage until the time we get off of it….which is sometimes 4 STRAIGHT hours. Talk about chop-building! Check her website here.) There were a few guys planted at the corner of the bar right in front of the stage. I found out later that they were a band from MA in town on a tour. But I could tell…they LOOKED like musicians….you know what i mean. Anyway, the unfortunate reality is that easily 75% of the time another group of musicians are staring at you on stage, they’re picking you apart thinking “Whatever. I could do that.”

Literally not 15 seconds after I carried my bass off-stage to pack up, they descended on me and lavished me with compliments about my playing. The reason the one dude couldn’t stop staring was because he’s the bass player and was totally focused on my pocket playing! Truly, it was so nice of them to say how well I was playing. I’m never sure about how locked in the groove is unless the show leaves NO doubt. That night I wasn’t sure. I was tired. I had been pretty hung over the day before from another gig. I had friends who came out, and I always feel awkward when I play in front of people who know me in-between the gigs. So the reassurance was huge for me. Especially because I’ve been practicing well lately…..

Something I’ve always fought with is being lazy about practice. Since I started playing bass during the 8th grade (Circa January 2000), I’ve always wanted to stop where my current situation did. This was a huge problem while I was a student at Berklee. Not to toot my own horn, but in a lot of ensemble/lab classes I was nearly always getting all the tunes right and grooving really quick. In my head that always translated to patting myself on the back and not touching the bass as often as I should have in a week’s time. This not only meant that I wasn’t making myself better at what I could already do well, but it led me to SERIOUSLY neglect things I couldn’t do already. If I never heard criticism on any of my gigs, what did I need to learn new skills for?

At the beginning of this year, my former private teacher (who I still learn so much from, just not on a face-to-face weekly basis), Jim Stinnett began a program called “Year of the Reading Bassist”. (You can read the press release we posted here.) Anyway, I wanted to be involved, so I’ve begun practicing my reading again. I have always been a “successful” reader of music. By that, I mean that I play the right notes on the page, and play them in time. That level of skill has gotten me a LOT of reading gigs so far. From that explanation, you may or may not have gathered that I am terrible at position shifting on my fretting hand. My fretting hand FLIES around the fretboard. But if I get hired again and again to read at the level I’m at, why do I need to work on that?

As usual, Jim has essentially just told me to shut up, do it, and thank him later. Which is what I’ve been doing for a couple months. Today I was reading a prose piece that’s Batman-related (yes, I’m a comic book geek/collector…don’t hold it against me), and the author said it in a way that knocked it out of the park! I won’t put it in context, but here it is:

“Don’t think that way. Love the part you’re worst at…If you dread the hard parts, it eats your will. It forces you to make the decision a hundred times a day. That’s too hard. You just make the decision once. The rest flows like water.”

Again.

Love the hard part.

Whoa! What a mantra to introduce into one’s life. In terms of reading, I have to learn to LOVE shifting. Instead of deciding that I know better and shoving the groove into the drummer’s ear, I have to LOVE finding the smooth ground. Instead of deciding that I can eat better and work out tomorrow, I can LOVE making it happen today. When I’ve lost a very important person in my life and I don’t know what to do, I need to LOVE having to figure out how to make it past that.

And when I have to go play a 4-hour nonstop gig, and I’m tired and feeling out of it, I have to LOVE each and every note that I get to play that night.

Sometimes, I’ll get great people who will come up and tell me that loving the hard part shined through.

Love the hard part.

We had a great time at NAMM in LA and saw a lot of new, interesting, and stunning products that will be coming available from many manufacturers. So stay tuned to your favorite magazine (Bass Frontiers, hopefully…) and your local retailers for the latest and greatest on new products and releases from many great bass artists.

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the fact that we are living in a great time period. However, it is a time where, more than ever, it is important that we learn to lay individualism aside and “play for the team”. If you cannot play to serve the song, it will be impossible for you to find work. I was talking with Rhonda Smith about this once and she said to me (when she was under Prince’s employ) that he doesn’t care about ANYTHING other than “HOW IT FEELS”. That is everything to him.

Many younger players and kids learning how to play the instrument now spend so much time on chops and have the “me, me” attitude that it just ruins them when having to go out and work on something with others. When does the madness stop? T.M. Stevens also spoke a great deal about this in his forthcoming interview with Bass Frontiers. I think computers and video games (I am always up for some Madden football) are wonderful tools, but we must learn to master them and not let them master us and our time. I know I personally take some heat from my wife over this same issue but at the end of the day I know she is right. I would encourage each of you to take time to do the things that matter most and learn (as I must learn) to make great use of your time. Being a new dad is going to help me in this area for sure. I can already tell when my wife walks into my home office with our little boy, my world stops because they are the most important people in my life and I need to show them daily to back that up and I am trying to do so.

Work is a wonderful thing but, again, learn to master your skills and make them work for you. Take the time to learn songs when you have a gig and play them right. Don’t be trying to slap on AC/DC songs and don’t be playing boring driving 8th notes on the funky things. Listen to great players and copy them. You know what to do. Apply these principles to your playing and your everyday life as well. You will grow exponentially and before you know it, you will be getting a lot of calls to do much more.

I wish the very best to you as we continue 2011, and as always, reach out to us if we can be a help to you in any area of your life. Blessings to you all.

Dave Fowler
Editor In Chief
Bass Frontiers Magazine

I would like to write this month’s editors notes about motivation and doing what you have to do when called to step up for duty. I am writing this after watching my wife (Heidi) care for our newborn son. She came off major surgery and was up taking care of this baby in no time at all, letting me sleep at night because that is what wives & moms do without question or complaint. Life requires and often asks a lot from us and we need to be willing to step up and take the reins. This is how millionaires are made and built: trial, error and exercising a great deal of effort, even when it is not easy, uncomfortable, or inconvenient. I once heard Gene Simmons say, “If opportunity knocks at 3am, will you be willing to throw the covers back and go get it?”

That statement is strong if you really read it and take it in. We have a LOT to be excited about in 2011 as we have had over 1 million impressions in the past 30 days (THANK YOU READERS)! As always we strive to bring you the best in bass. We have a lot of exciting interviews coming your way sooner than later this year, including Neil Stubenhaus, Hutch Hutchinson, Nate Watts, Dug Pinnick, Michael Anthony and many, many more.

Please stay in touch with us and let us know what you want to see and we will always do our best to bring it to you in 2011. Bless you all and we hope to see you at winter NAMM this week!

We have enjoyed a good year at Bass Frontiers and as always we are so very grateful for your readership. We continue to strive to bring you all things relevant to bass guitar on all levels all the while keeping respect to all gendres and types of music and bass playing we come in contact with.

This being said we sometimes get some emails that are tough to answer and even harder to swallow. Please know we really do try to bring all things to all people but when you are undertaking such a task there is bound to be an unhappy camper somewhere. Thus is the case this month. I would ask each of you to please think before you send in emails that contain less then desirable content, we (AGAIN) do our very best to reach out to everyone we can to keep you well informed of all things bass. Yes, some guys get a lot of attention, some more so than others, but at the end of the day there is a reason for this and we simply are under no obligation to have to answer to anyone on why we choose to feature a said bassist. We love what we do but it is a tough job but one thing is for sure it is always enjoyable! We take a great deal of pride in what we do here at Bass Frontiers and we do want to make you happy but at the end of the day making “everyone” happy is an impossible task.

I wish each and every one of you a very blessed Christmas from all our staff at Bass Frontiers and we hope to see you at Winter NAMM. I hope 2011 holds more blessings than you can contain for each of you. Wishing, hoping and praying for the best for you in 2011.

Dave Fowler
Editor-In-Chief
Bass Frontiers

With all that craziness, it’s easy to see that at this time of the year Dave and his family will have lots to be thankful for. For those of you who are reading in Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia (and there are a lot of you! Thanks!!), this month we in the United States have Thanksgiving towards the end of November. It is a time for spending with our families and loved ones and are reminded of all the things we have, especially each other.

The Bass Frontiers staff are very thankful for all of you who have started visiting the site and participating in Bass Frontiers over the past year. We are growing this labor of love into what we hope is and will continue to be a great resource for all things low end-y. Stick with us and keep providing feedback to our articles. It’s only going to get bigger and more exciting!

I wanted to very quickly talk about a concept that I have been finding more and more to lack among established musicians. This is the concept of upkeep to your playing. In my notes back in June, I was talking about fundamental musicianship principles that will help you land gigs. These notes, if you missed them, can be found here. However, I think it’s important to talk about keeping your skills sharp even though you’re on the gig.

Has your mother/wife/partner/roommate ever said about cleaning, “It’s not about the things people see. It’s about what people don’t see”? My roommate has said that to me numerous times about cleaning. Each time I hear it, I think to myself that it truly applies to musicianship. Even if you’re gigging a lot, you’re not doing anything but playing songs. For the most part, if you did your homework right to begin with, you won’t have any trouble with what you’re playing. However, it is very important to practice your fundamentals (scales, arpeggios, études) all the time. I always seem to find that when I’m practicing and pushing my technique and physical ability to make sounds with my instrument, even the fastest licks of any gig will start to feel like I’ve got ALL DAY! Of course, when you do that, it’s much easier to play all the right notes and interact with your crowd. True musicianship can come and go just like remembering a language you studied in high school.

If you’re playing a lot, keep working yourself hard. You may think it’s needless to play hard and fast behind closed doors when you’re only playing half notes on stage. To counter, I’ll always remember something Jim Stinnett said to me when I was studying with him regularly. “Just because you own a Ferrari doesn’t mean you have to drive 200 miles an hour.”

I’ll leave you with another quote to end, this one from the immortal Louis Armstrong.

“If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, the critics know it. And if I don’t practice for three days, the public knows it.”

Let us know how we can help you……

Matt O’Donnell
Managing Editor
Bass Frontiers Magazine