"Bassicly" Speaking / January 2018 Update

2018 has kicked off with one hell of a bang! So heres a little update to let you guys know whats going on in the world of a bassplayer in Wales.

The Special Brew

The 2-Tone Tribute Tour will be returning 10th March at The Leadmill - Sheffield.

As always we'll be playing with Special Kinda Madness and touring together a lot this year.

As I'm writing this I am packing my rig up for the 6th Anniversary Trojan extravaganza in Merthyr Tydfil tomorrow.

We will be playing along side such greats as Dub Pistols & my mate Tom the drummer in 2Rude (formerly Sankara)

We are currently working on a couple of new tracks to add to our Bad Manners repertoire, plus a few more Ska/ 2 Tone classics.

Plenty of shows coming up all over the UK for us plus a nice return to Porthhcawl with local ska group Skacasm! We will be playing at The Pavilion 09/02/18

Stay tuned for some new Bad Manners tracks and a great energised set as always!

Tupelo Highway

We recently hosted the weekly jam night at Miss Jones in Cardiff as a last minute replacement. We all really enjoyed it and will be added to the roster to run it every few weeks or so. I bumped into my old examiner friend Viv, who examined my grade 8 bass, DipRSL & LRSL qualifications. He came up for a jame & hhis band is also hosting the jam night frequently too!

We have quite a lot of shows coming up in the Cardiff area too. I'll list upcoming ones in the shows section below.

We're adding lots of new tracks to our sets including some jazzy pieces & some Stevie Wonder!

Dead Method

I left Dead Method late December 2017 on good terms. All the best to the guys in the future. I wish them all the best.

Glen's Blues

I've been rehearsing with Glen, The old singer of Red Bug. We are working on putting together a nice little trio covering lots of great bluesy influenced tracks and artists. The set is coming together wonderfully. Sort of early Cream stuff & some nice 60's bluesy pop stuff so far.

We played our debut at The Junction's New Years day event as Glen & I were in the house band. It was a great success with some more work in the pipeline for 2018.

Dep & Session Work

I've got some dep work coming in recently for Jtrio & some other groups, including a ska band based in Bristol.

I'm currently working on a bass instrumental project with Curtis Papworth, a bass player from Yorkshire. I've recorded a rough of my part & will complete my part later next week. After piecing it together we will record a video so stay tuned for some great bass chops! Check him out here!

Heres a sneak preview!

Private Tuition

Firstly I'd like to welcome the magnitude of new students studying under my tutelage!

I've been busy coaching all my students for upcoming exams. Before the new year all of them passed with flying colours. Well done to all. The next exam period is nearly with us so a lot of hard work & practice is needed all round.

I have limited spaces left for tuition this start of the year for Bass, Guitar, Vocals, GCSE, As & A-Level Music either in person or via Skype.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss titian if your'e interested.

I'll be adding a new category of tuition maybe two in the next couple of months which will hopefully appeal to many musicians pro & amateur. Stay tuned!

Composing/Solo Album

I'm trying to put as much time into it as possible! It's an eclectic mix of genres but spanning out of the one bass. It's tough but I'm very proud of it so far. Unfortunately I'm behind on the overall schedule, but I'm trying to find my own pace with it. I'm looking forward to the actual compositional element of it.

Other Bits & Bobs

Equipment

I've recently punched this Moog Sub Phatty - Bass Synthesiser. The main reason was an upgrade to my key/synth bass capabilities which is very rapidly becoming an industry standard prerequisite for bass players. I'll be using it a little bit in Tupelo but will mainly be using it for EDM/Pop sessions live & in studio.

Optima Strings

I'm so happy with the recent endorsement from Optima! Hopefully (fingers crossed) I will be attending music trade shows in Uk & mainland Europe to work with Optima. Although I'm only using the RB Flatwound strings at the moment, I am really interested in trying the double bass & standard roundwound strings on offer too. Reviews coming shortly on Youtube/Soundcloud. Check out Optima here

Practice

I've started a new practice regimen this year, fully dedicated to electric, double, piccolo, key/synth bass & theory. I'm trying to run about 8 hours of shared practice between electric, upright & theory at the moment with great success! I'm using a range of resources from online studying, videos, private tutors & a range of method books I've purchased & re discovering from my old lessons. I may update and post practice logs up here to sleep track of my progress and success??? Just to give you an insight into the life of a professional musician/bass player.

Jazz

I'm putting a jazz trio together with Morgan Rees (Upbeat Sneakers/The Special Brew) & James Minas (Dead Method) Trum pet &Keys respectively. We will be building a setlist up and will be looking for residencies in the Cardiff area shortly. It will be Jazz standards with our own take, own compositions & a lot of improv scenarios. I'm very excited to be working on this and to actually be a band leader in the world of contemporary Jazz.

Website Updates

I've added download links on the links page to my professional portfolio which includes, my qualifications, career highlights etc. Basically it's CV for professional musicians. I've also added a download to my technical specifications rider which details all the things you need to know about tech specs when hiring me for dep/session work.

Upcoming Shows

27/01/18 - Trojan All Day Event, Merthyr Tydfil - The Special Brew

09/02/18 - The Pavilion, Porthcawl - The Special Brew/Skacasm TICKETS

17/02/18 - The Royal Oak, Whhitchurch - Tupelo Highway

23/02/18 - TBA, Tonyrefial - The Special Brew

24/02/18 - Earl Haig Memorial Club, Whitchurch - Tupelo Highway

I hope you have enjoyed this update & thanks for reading!

Please like, share & comment!

Please feel free to contact me regarding booking my services etc.

Phill.