Recently while in St. Louis, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Marco Mendoza. Marco has played with such great artists including Ted Nugent, Whitesnake, Edgar Winter, Bill Ward, Blue Murder with John Sykes, Delores O’Riordan, and countless others. Marco is currently at home with legendary rockers Thin Lizzy. Thin Lizzy is still putting on great shows, as I witnessed later in the evening. Marco also has 2 solos albums (Live for Tomorrow and Casa Mendoza, both available on iTunes and amazon.com) out that are definitely worth checking out and they will not disappoint. Enjoy!

(Ty) Marco, can you share with us your story? Starting with where you were born and raised to what brings you to where you are today.

(Marco) I was born in San Diego, grew up in a family that was bilingual, bi-cultural, so as soon as I came home, I came home to Mexico. So you know, I grew up in a home that we spoke Spanglish pretty much. My whole lifestyle was a mixture of both, which was very cool and interesting. My dad worked in the states as an aerodynamic engineer for General Dynamics. My father always had an instrument playing, his favorite was clarinet, Benny Goodman, the big band stuff, so I got exposed to that very early even before I started playing when I was about 5 or 6. I started appreciating music from that point of view. After that, my parents had a big divorce. My mom is a retired singer, into the Broadway plays, blues stuff like Billie Holiday, Mel Torme, and she had a little bit of a run in Mexico. She had a couple of 45’s in those days. So, needless to say, I grew up surrounded by music. Later on, as I got interested in playing an instrument, the hip thing to do was to play the bugle in the school band. It was a bugle with no valves, so I started to understand how much work it took, the discipline of learning an instrument and practicing. I must have been 8 or 9 years old, so the bugle was my first instrument. I think from then on, I was really digging it so much, the fact that I had to practice to get better and invest time, focus, and then go play with the band. I used to be in the parades and all that, so, it was pretty cool, pretty fun. After my parents had separated, my grandma had come from Mexico City, to raise us, my father’s mom. Along with her came a big old piano, because she’s a piano teacher, and then, another spectrum, another side of music. She was all classical. She had ten to fifteen students at any given time. So there it was, the big band from my dad, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman. The influence from my mom, the blues, the crooners, Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday and the Broadway plays. Then my grandma, and it was classical. My sister, she was going to be the concert pianist. I saw what was involved, being a kid, I saw the time involved, the discipline in order to become a concert pianist. As a kid, I was surrounded by music.

I started picking my grandma’s brain, about the keys, having her explain to me “shortcuts”, chords and majors, thirds, fifths, sevenths, nines, thirteens, and all that. I could goof around on the piano but when it came down to sitting down and doing theory, it was too technical for me. My brother had a birthday and he had shown interest in guitar, so they got him an acoustic guitar. He played it for a little bit and 3 or 4 months later, it was just there gathering dust. I gotta say, when I picked up that guitar, that’s when the page, the book opened up if you will, because I really realized I could apply some of the stuff on the keyboard to that guitar. For me, that was easy. I didn’t have to be in the living room in front of everybody practicing. I could be by myself, pick and learn. I started working on the chords. It came with a Mel Bay book of chords, and everybody had those. I slowly started putting time in and I learned there are only really seven chords and variations thereof, and so then I could play songs, and it became fun. I was hooked. Any spare time I had I would spend on the songs that were out there, and that’s when rock-n-roll came around for me. I discovered the connection. Christmas came, my dad got us Abbey Road, Beatles, and an electric guitar. That was it, that was how my whole musical journey started and I jumped into it even though I wasn’t actually playing in a band. My brother showed an interest in playing drums, so my dad got him a drum set. I was the guitar player, and we had some neighbors that played bass and lead guitar, and we started goofing around. Fast forward to high school, by then, our garage band had already gained reputation and we were doing parties, high school dances, and all that. My brother left to live with my mom, and he was pretty much the cat that put everything together. He was older, so when he left, I kind of got left hanging without a band. It just so happened that another band from where I live, little bigger, little more popular, more gigs, they had a van, PA, a little more organized, and they needed a bass player. They came to me because I could sing and they needed someone that could sing and play bass. I lied, I said “of course”, and I had never played a bass, so, yet another challenge and another step to where the direction I am in today. I fell in love. My dad took me to a pawn shop, got me a no brand bass and that started the love affair. I really dug playing bass and singing, it was challenging. Bands that were a little more organized, had major tours going on, started recruiting me. I did a tour of Latin America with a big time progressive rock band, so I had to grow. That’s what it was for me, I got married so young, at 16, and never finished high school. Playing music became the only way for me to make a living. My father said if you wanna get married, cool, you’re on your own and you gotta earn. It was something that forced me into my journey of learning what I had to learn, skill wise, and showing up prepared to any given gig. I was kind of pushed into it, I don’t regret it, I dig it now. I then started getting recruited by even bigger and bigger bands, bigger names and along with that, being married with kids to support and so young, I couldn’t handle the stress and pressure, and there came the downfall. Alcohol, drugs, the whole thing. I have to say, that was pretty hard what I went through. I lost a lot of great opportunities along the way. It took twelve years of abusing myself with drugs and alcohol. I was just “there”. Somehow I managed to be functional when working, still building a little bit of a reputation, but towards the end, it got so bad that people were not calling me anymore because I was dropping the ball. I went through recovery and I met Bill Ward in recovery. Bill was working with Ozzy, Zack Wylde, and Jack Bruce on this new solo album of his. Amazing how things happen, that was my connection back into the business in a bigger way. Bill had known about my skills, who I was, and that I was trying to get my life in order. Bill said he would love for me to come and play on a track or two. Chameleon records, one track turned into two, three, four and I think I did five or six on that album, next to Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Zack, Ozzy. Next thing you know, he wants to go out on the road to support the album. Bill asked me if I was interested, and I absolutely was interested. We had the common denominator, no matter what happened, we were not going to drink or use. We shot a video with Ozzy and there was a big campaign behind the album. “Ward One” was the name of the album and before you know it, the label goes down, so there goes the tour, promotion, and the marketing. By then I had my own project. I played with Edgar Winter, and John Sykes came and recruited me for his second Blue Murder album. He needed a fretless bass player to replace Tony Franklin, and that was my main thing. Things just started flying from that point on, starting with Bill Ward. I think it had a lot to do with me being sober, paying attention to my career, showing up on time, practicing, and learning the tools of the trade a little more. It started coming together, mentally, socially, spiritually, and psychologically, and I was able to focus more and show up. Sometimes that’s all you need, to show up prepared. It’s become something I love doing. The homework, I really enjoy doing the homework. Looking at where I am going, whether it’s an album, jazz fusion, pop, whatever it is, I put it in front of me, and in the downtime, I shed. Make notes when I have to make notes, which I try not to anymore. It’s a challenge of mine to try and memorize stuff. From the Blue Murder thing, I met Thin Lizzy, and we did a tour in 94 and there’s the whole circle right there. From then on, I got recruited by Ted Nugent, David Coverdale with Whitesnake, and Delores O’Riordan from the Cranberries. With Whitesnake, we had a great time. Tommy Aldridge and I started ending up in the same projects, so we started hanging out. I love Tommy. I think he is one of a kind, one of those drummers that is always on my favorite drummer list. Tommy and I would go from Ted Nugent to Thin Lizzy, Thin Lizzy to Whitesnake, and back and forth and it was a beautiful time. That bring us up to the past 4 or 5 years.

I’ve being doing a lot of stuff, including two solo albums, Live for Tomorrow and Casa Mendoza. (both available on iTunes and amazon.com) . I did the last LynchMob album Smoking Mirrors, two albums with Delores O’Riordan from the Cranberries, and hanging out with Thin Lizzy. I feel that I am at home with Thin Lizzy. We have know each other since 94, we’ve been through a lot, and this current lineup is just mind blowing on how good it is. Ricky Warwick is fronting the band, and not only he is a great frontman, he was there for the phenomenon and success of Phil and Thin Lizzy when it was happening. It’s in his DNA, he has lived the whole thing, and now he is in it. He is a great entertainer, musician, songwriter, just a great guy. Brian Downey on Drums which is great. Darren Wharton on keyboards, Scott Gorham at the helm on lead guitar, and Damon Johnson from Alice Cooper. We went through Viv Campbell earlier this year, and he has his gig with Def Leppard that he had to go do. We had the opportunity to hang out with Richard Fortus who is now with Guns and Roses. We have a lot or work scheduled for next year after we finish this tour, I’ll be going Europe to do some solo dates, back home for Christmas, then back out in January with Thin Lizzy.

(Ty) Can you shed some light on your gear?

(Marco) We all have our preferences in gear as it comes along, and I gotta say, I am lucky. For amps, I ended up with Hartke and it is some of the best stuff out there, absolutely, bar none. Dave Ellefson, Billy Sheehan, Nathan Watts, JD and Victor Wooten, there is a reason why we are all there with Hartke, it’s just great stuff. For basses, it’s Yamaha. They are putting out some great stuff, building some great basses. For strings, I am with D’addario. Pedals, I use TC Electronics and EBS. With Thin Lizzy, I have to use the flange/chorus combination that Phil used a lot. I try not to keep to much in the loop, to get the preferred tone I need for me anyway. Gear wise, I am so lucky, privileged and blessed. I am really at a great time in my life and career. I have a great family, wife and 5 children. My son Marco is part of a band that got 3 Grammys a few years ago. He is in the band Jaguares. I love to sing and write, and after Thin Lizzy, that is my second priority right now. We are going to be doing some new music with Thin Lizzy, and we are currently working on new tracks as we speak. I have a new album in the works with Neal Schon and Dean Cassanova, probably coming out next spring and if we have time, we may do a tour to support it.

(Ty) Any Advice that you can share with the readers ?

(Marco) I tell everyone that wants to get serious about their career, to move to LA and give it a chance. It’s becoming increasingly harder and harder for anybody because their is very little industry. Local gigs are cool and all that, but if you really want to pursue the bigger things, I would do that in LA. That’s what happened to me. I finally got to the point in my career where I said I am going to go where the stuff is happening. It took a lot of work, patience, tolerance, focus and auditioning for anything and everything. Getting rejected, it’s part of what we do. Every time I got rejected, I got back and worked harder and harder. Sooner or later, if you have something to offer, you will float to the top and you will be noticed. I see a lot of talent everywhere, mind-blowing talent. Kids, 17,18, and 19, songwriters, singers, and guitar players that will never get a chance. That another thing about the shows, American Idol, X-Factor, and the Voice. People shoot these shows down, and there is the commercial thing going on, but think about all these people that would never otherwise get a chance. I support that 100 percent.

I would change a few things here and there, but the market is full of people that we would not get to see, and there are some amazing artists. Bass players, I would say they need to get to the foundation of where the bass playing is, which is a function in a group be it a 3 piece or 7 piece which we need to address. Before you go soloing and getting all the shredder stuff down, learn about the R&B, blues, the root of bass playing. Listen to the cats that got on the map in a big way, and start growing from there. You will get more calls to do that than the other stuff. It’s a fact. I’ve seen it and I went through that period where I wanted to be Mr. Man and I would lose gigs by overplaying and not applying myself. It takes maturity and understanding about what music is all about. You would be surprised at how many make that mistake and they don’t do the homework because they are on a different path.

(Ty) What are you currently listening too ?

(Marco) I’ve been listening to some of the work I have been doing in the past. I’m a big Kings of Leon fan so I’ve been listening to them. Listening to the mix we have been doing with Neal Schon. Right now I am in the middle of a period of a lot of work, so it’s all work related. I’m a classic rock cat, so I always go there. Always refreshing myself with Thin Lizzy stuff.

For tour dates, events, discography, etc, please go to marcomendoza.com

Marco’s two solo albums, Live for Tomorrow and Casa Mendoza are both available on iTunes and amazon.com.

Bass Frontiers Staff Contributor Ty Campbell

Bass Frontiers is extremely proud to announce that as part of the introduction of their newest model, the Emperor 5 Standard, the amazing folks over at Fodera will be giving YOU the chance to win one of your very own! Unless you’ve been living as a hermit for the past few decades, you’ll know that Fodera has a commitment to the quality of their instruments that few, if any, other companies out there have. That same commitment applies to the brand new Emperor 5 Standard, which was unveiled at Bass Player Live this past October.

The Emperor 5 Standard is called just that because using one set of specifications, no options, provides for speed, efficiency, and affordability in a bass that is made by the same hands and tools right in the same Brooklyn, NY shop where basses for Victor Wooten, Tony Grey, Richard Bona, Anthony Jackson, Janek Gwizdala, and our very own Managing Editor, Matt O’Donnell’s basses have been made. The impressive list of specs on the Emperor 5 Standard include:

-Medium weight Ash body
-Bi-color 5A Flame Maple top
-Premium Pau Ferro fingerboard
-1-piece Hard Rock Maple neck (quartersawn)
-Bolt-on neck construction
-34″ Scale with 24 large frets
-Mother-of-Pearl dot inlays
-Fodera dual-coil pickups
-Fodera/Pop Standard 3-band preamp
-Emperor Standard control layout
-45-125 Fodera stainless steel string set installed.

So, it goes without saying that this is an incredibly special giveaway for all of us at Bass Frontiers and Fodera. The question you’ve got to be asking yourself is, “how do I win this thing and get to join the elite ranks of bass players?”

Glad you asked!

In the past, we have made anyone who is signed up for our Newsletter eligible for any/all of our future giveaways. With this being such a game-changer, there are a few steps that you need to take for eligibility. Follow these easy steps…

You must be signed up for both Bass Frontiers’s newsletter and be a Member of Club Fodera. Membership in Club Fodera is free of charge.

1. The signup form for our newsletter can be found here.
2. The signup form for Club Fodera can be found here.
3. Please fill out this form for the giveaway which will ask you for the e-mail that you used to sign up for our newsletter, as well as your Club Fodera member name.

Once you’ve done that, then just hold your breath until March 31, 2012! That will be the day we announce the winner of the giveaway.

Excited yet? We sure are.

Game on, low-enders!

“Nathan would stroll over to Motown’s Hitsville Studios to watch through the basement window as the Funk Brothers worked their magic. Another passion was the rock & roll of Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Rare Earth, Mahogany Rush, and Steppenwolf, many of whom played at the nearby Grande Ballroom—a rock club in the middle of the ghetto.” (From natewatts.com)

Born and raised in Detroit, Nate was immersed in arguably the best musical era the world has ever heard. We recently caught up with him in Anaheim to get a video interview. Enjoy!

It is evident that bass amp manufacturers have recently been focusing a lot on making the normal heavy, back straining and massive amplification a thing of the past. Ampeg is no exception, and at last years Winter NAMM they introduced a new line of bass amps made with a heavy influence of a past legend, the B15 Fliptop. Visually, everything is almost identical from the original fliptop in exception for the head, which is a smaller, lighter and a more compact version.

The design of the amp is beautiful, like the B-15 the head is hidden until “flipped” into action. When it is flipped and ready to be transported it looks exactly like a speaker cabinet, with everything safely inside ready for the next gig or session. I have also used the inside as a storage container for a few small things, of course making sure I take them out when I fire on the amp. The checkered fabric wrap that Ampeg chose for the look of the cabinet is very handsome, and looks as good sitting in the corner as a decorative piece as it does on a stage in its purple/blue glowing glory.

The power of the amp would be a little underwhelming for someone looking to gig in any situation besides a smaller bar show. Although there is the great addition of a XLR Line out on the rear of the amp, I for one need a little stage “rumble” to get me going. One thing that I was really impressed with was the overdrive that was apparent when I cranked the gain. It was not harsh or brittle, it was full on beautiful bass fuzz of the likes of The Black Keys. So for session work I found the PF500 to be incredibly versatile, covering all ends of the spectrum of my needs. I should mention that the fan is pretty loud, so you would have to separate the cab from the head when recording. The PF500 includes the normal (and reliable) Ampeg 3 band EQ, 5-position mid control and ultra-hi – ultra-lo switches. Being an Ampeg guy myself, I was glad to see such familiar controls and was able to easily get the sound I was needed without much searching.

I should also mention that the line out on the back of the amp has some very useful parameters. Those being; post-pre EQ, 0dB-40dB output and a ground lift. Essential controls that are left out of a lot of amps. Next to the line out is a tuner output that just serves as an amp “thru” and keeps your signal chain nice and pure to the amp.

For the casual player, the amps front has an input for “audio” and an output for headphones. So if you are wanting to rock out to some tunes in silence as your baby sleeps in the next room, you now have that option within an Ampeg all-in-one package!

Overall I think that the PF500 and PF-210HE stack is a really cool product. It serves its purpose as a low wattage, but toneful package from Ampeg. If you are looking to melt some faces with volume on a stage this is not the right amp for you. But if you are looking for a light weight all in one package that has the flexibility of several genres of music in a recording or small gigging environment, this is for you.

The Peavey Headliner is a 600-watt max bass amplifier head that puts an incredible range of features at players’ fingertips. The amp features a seven-band graphic EQ spaced at optimized frequencies, with each slider providing 15 dB of cut and boost, to provide comprehensive tone shaping at precise frequency bands. Players can use the graphic EQ in conjunction with the low and high shelving-type tone controls, or bypass the graphic EQ entirely.

A built-in optical Compressor with level control and bypass allows players to add the right amount of compression to the mix, while the Crunch feature adds a vintage tube effect that distorts only the high frequencies, preserving the all-important fat low end. The amp also features Bright and Contour switches, effects loop, master volume and headphone out. The Compressor and Crunch features are footswitch selectable.

The Headliner features a built-in XLR direct interface that routes the signal to a house sound system or recording device, and an active/passive pickup switch that compensates for hot inputs. Peavey’s exclusive DDT™ speaker protection circuitry senses the onset of clipping and responds with slight compression that allows the amp to retain the tone, headroom and dynamics (bypass included).

Designed to match the Headliner amplifier, the new Peavey Headliner 410, Headliner 210, and Headliner 115 bass enclosures are made with premium loudspeakers and components for superior tone and reliability.

The Peavey Headliner bass amplifier and enclosures are available now from authorized Peavey retailers. Please visit www.peavey.com/dealerlocator to find the dealer nearest you.

600 watts maximum lightweight class D power
Seven-band graphic EQ
High and low EQ controls
Pre-shape contour switch
Bright switch
Active/passive pickup switch
Footswitchable optical compressor
Footswitchable crunch
Effects loop
Master volume
Headphone output
Exclusive DDT™ speaker protection
XLR direct interface
Combination twist-lock and ¼” external speaker jack
1 ½ rack spaces
10 lbs.
U.S. MSRP $499.99
Features, specifications and pricing are subject to change without notice.

Review by Ty Campbell
Bass Frontiers Contributor

Bass Aerobics by Jon Leibman, as it states on the cover, is a 52 week, one-exercise-per-week workout program for developing, improving, and maintaining bass guitar technique. Yes, there are 52 exercises, and each exercise covers 2 full pages.

Bass Aerobics has 5 chapters, which cover a wide swath of information. Chapters 1 and 2 cover chromatics, scales, and arpeggios. Chapter 3 gets into string crossing exercises, and chapter 4 covers slapping and popping. Chapter 5 is the advanced bass chapter, and covers everything that you learned in chapters 1 – 4. All 5 chapters build each and every exercise around a groove for a particular style. Bass Aerobics gives you a lot to advance any level of playing to the next level. Even after you complete Bass Aerobics, you can still use the exercises going through them as often as you wish.

Bass Aerobics covers a lot of styles including rock, reggae, jazz, blues, funk, disco, and more. Techniques used are plentiful including string crossing, playing off beat, rhythmic variations, articulations, hammer-ons, etc. To add to all this, the grooves cover all key signatures.

There is a CD included which provides demos and play along grooves, guitar and drums on the left channel, bass on the right. The CD track listing is listed in the front of the book with the coordinating exercise, which is really helpful.

If Bass Aerobics were a video game, the replay value would be extremely high and can be done over and over again. This book will definitely increase your groove library, and improve speed and dexterity. Bass Aerobics should be a necessity for every bass player out there and is endorsed by many great notable bass players. This book is amazing to say the least, as are all of Jon Leibman’s books. Bass Aerobics is available at http://www.forbassplayersonly.com/ and Amazon for $17.99

“Peavey’s AmpKit LiNK electric guitar adapter provides users with a powerful way to play, practice and record high-quality tones anytime, anywhere,” wrote Music Inc.’s editorial staff in the December 2011 issue.

AmpKit LiNK connects an electric guitar or bass directly into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.Together, AmpKit LiNK and AmpKit—the guitar amps, effects and recording app for iOS devices developed by Agile Partners—provide guitar and bass players with a powerful and convenient way to jam wherever they go.

“AmpKit and the AmpKit LiNK set a high standard for realism and fidelity on the iOS platform,” said Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation. “We’re excited that our retailers have found so much success with AmpKit LiNK, and we’re honored to be among Music Inc.’s Best of 2011.”

Peavey and Agile Partners recently celebrated the release of AmpKit Version 1.2, which includes major tone advancements that enhance the iOS guitar-playing experience for Peavey AmpKit LiNK guitar interface users. Next-generation tone advancements such as dual-stage amp simulation, convolution-based cabinet simulation, adaptive input compensation, a significantly upgraded noise gate, and solo and mix output shaping deliver by far the best-sounding, most realistic guitar tone on the iOS platform.

Adaptive Input Compensation technology, new in AmpKit 1.2, automatically identifies frequency variations among the headset interfaces of iOS devices, and compensates for the differences by adding slightly attenuated bass frequencies to the output. The results are an amazing increase in the fidelity of the incoming guitar signal and much richer amplified guitar tone regardless of the chosen virtual amp or playing style.

With its new dual-stage amp simulations, AmpKit 1.2 also doubles the simulation fidelity of all Peavey amps in AmpKit when running on newer iOS devices, including iPhone 4, iPad 1 and 2, and the fourth-generation iPod touch. The combination of dual-stage amp simulation and convolution-based cabinet simulation in AmpKit 1.2 delivers an unparalleled level of realism.

AmpKit is available in two versions—AmpKit, a free app, and AmpKit+, $19.99 U.S.—on the iTunes App Store. AmpKit’s in-app Gear Store offers the largest gear selection of any amps and effects app, including 19 amps with 35 separate amp channels, 22 effects pedals, 20 cabinets, 8 mics and more gear on the way. The Peavey amps in AmpKit include the Peavey 3120, Peavey 6505 Plus, Peavey 6534 Plus, Peavey Classic 30, and Peavey ValveKing.

The AmpKit LiNK (U.S. MSRP $39.99) is available now from authorized Peavey retailers, and AmpKit 1.2 is available now for download on the iTunes App Store. Please visit www.peavey.com/dealerlocator to find the Peavey dealer nearest you.

Tal Wilkenfeld has been widely hailed as “the rising star of the bass guitar”. She achieved international acclaim as the bassist for Jeff Beck. She has also accompanied Herbie Hancock and toured with Chick Corea at the age of 21. Jeff Beck has described her as “an astonishing talent”.

Abe has chosen the Kala Mahogany acoustic-electric while Tal favors the California Series USA made solid body natural finish 4-string. The U-Bass is Kala’s revolutionary line of 21 inch scale bass instruments that include the California, S-U-B, and acoustic-electric series.

For further information please contact Rick Carlson at rick@kalaukulele.com

As a bass player I have been working on my craft for 28 years. Near the end of high school I began playing with FIRST GLANCE which played locally around Los Angeles, we eventually reformed as HIGH NOON and proceeded to take over Hollywood’s SUNSET STRIP…. fast forward a few years and I was taken in by Blues Great OSEE ANDERSON and became a member of the HIT SQUAD touring the US and CANADA for 7 years. Fast forward again and I found myself backing up Blues artists and female songwriters most Notable ANDY WALO who was the last permanent Guitarist for JUNIOR WELLS before he passed. The last 2 years saw me back in Hollywood as the house Bass player at the RAINBOW BAR & GRILL with Richard Martin-Ross and next SOCIAL POISON. I have since moved to Nashville,TN. and hope to continue my study and player career.

At age 13 I wandered into a Kung Fu school and have never really left…. Though the rooms have changed I have continued to study and learn for 30 years and I don’t believe that I really know anything at all….Around every corner there is new things to learn, old things to remember and the polishing up of what I’ve digested so far!
Eight years ago I came back to study with Master Manuel Marquez who was my Senior teacher at Grandmaster Kam Yuen’s Tai Mantis school in Torrance,CA.

Through him I was exposed to much more about martial arts than was available to get through any of my previous training, taking seminars with great Masters like Zhu Tian Cai, one of the 4 tigers of Chen style Taijiquan, Grandmaster Wai Hong of the Fu Jow Pai black Tiger System, Wen Mei Yu – the Queen of Taijiquan in China and Shaolin Monks from China. I have been competing since I was 16 years old in the World famous LONG BEACH INTERNATIONALS ( which made Bruce Lee a household name ) and won 1st place numerous times, since then I have competed for TEAM USA (winning 1st place a couple of times) overseas since 2007 in Taiwan, South Korea and am preparing for the IMAF World Championships in september in Argentina.

Presently I have just completed the goal of moving from Los Angeles,CA. to Nashville,TN. to open a Kung Fu school in my Masters name – SHAOLIN TEMPLE KUNG FU – COOL SPRINGS. I also hope to continue my music career in Music City as time goes on. The school is now open for business with classes for youth and adults as well as health & wellness programs, nutritional counseling, weight loss and FREE Fitness programs like P90X and INSANITY!

I am looking forward to showing the music community the Strong connection between Music & Martial Arts, most bass players I know either are or have done some form of Martial Art…. I feel that the time is now to show the benefits of adding Martial Arts training to your music regime not just for health & wellness – specifically for hand strengthening, stretching the ligaments and tendons of our moneymakers and conditioning so we can play Longer- Harder and with less effort!

I look forward to sharing some of these methods with you!

Sam Persons

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Sam Persons runs Kung Fu Cool Springs in the Nashville, TN area. STKF Cool Springs is the first satellite branch of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu schools outside of its headquarters in Lomita, CA. Celebrating 20 Years in the same location STKF LOMITA is the Leader in Traditional Kung Fu & Taijiquan training in Southern California! Sifu Sam Persons has brought Shaolin Temple kung fu to the area to help better the community at large by providing Quality Traditional Training and Guidance at Affordable rates! If you have any questions or comments, make sure to get in touch through the Contact Us section or call 615-628-8015.