"Bassicly" Speaking May 2023 Update

A bit of neglect never hurt a blog did it?

What a rollercoaster of a few (lots) months it's been since the last one of these. Plenty of work updates & as usual, plenty of gear updates too.

Work with artists (live)

Caitlin Mae

Had a great run of shows with Caitlin earlier in the year & was great to re connect with guitarist Paul Wilson from my old Sankara days too! I've moved on from bass duties as of late due to conflicting schedules & working with many, many artists.

The Honest Poet Society

We've been rehearsing & rehearsing & writing & played the first of our shows too! I'm doubling up on my Moog & bass. Honestly I do believe this live show we've been woking & performing is one of the best too! As I'm finishing this up, we are off to Scotland for a show!

A headline show & another great show in Swansea saw us playing what may be possibly out best performances (IMO) so far.

I will be laying down the bass & synth bass next at Knochengorroch Festival - Castle Douglas - Scotland 26/05

Bryony Sier

Loads of shows played! More to come too. It's such a tight set & so varied too! Bryony had her headline show in Newport and its all followed on from there. More festivals & shows coming soon. Always a pleasure to work with Bryony & the team.

I will be on bass duties next at the Devauden Festival 28/05

The Navarones

Always a pleasure to dep/sub with The Nav's loads of sold out shows & I get to relive my good ole' Ska days too! Headlining the big Farm Festivals 10th anniversary in August too, along with plenty of Welsh dates around South Wales too.

Charlie J

A show I sadly had to dep out due to illness but we've got rehearsals booked ready for some more shows coming up. New tracks, a new cover & some great vibes al the way through. Always great to play with these talented musicians & get the crowd bouncing.

Mr Bewlay

The Black Reason Tour saw us depart and travel all over the UK for a great run of shows with some cool visuals & choreography too. An amazing tour and it was shared with some amazing people & superb musicians too! More studio stuff coming up soon too & some live recording.

Feralman

A lot of planning & rehearsals followed by an outstanding show at The Moon - CDF with the full 8 piece band. Got some great audio/visual too as it was recorded. Writing & some recording hopefully coming up too. What a crowd response from that show along with loving the fretless sound throughout.

Thoughts on an Australian tour? haha! Heres some tracks from the show :)

Liza Baker

An outstanding performer who was featured on BBC's The Voice. A theatre tour has been put together & I really can't wait to get out on the road with Liza & the team! I'll be playing bass, synth bass & possibly fretless or upright also. A very well put together set which will suit all audiences over many generations.

Tom Emlyn

So I met Tom while on tour with Mr Bewlay as he was one of the two guitarists. I got hired after the tour for his own shows as he wanted a full band sound for a few of them. Great tracks & such a unique style too. It was very enjoyable along with the rest of the band.

Auditions

Had a few auditions here & there for some future work & recording session, but more to come on that shortly, including an interesting interview XD

Special Kinda Madness

A blast from the past! As part of the 2 Tone Tribute tour I used to see these guys very regularly as they were on the same bill as my band The Special Brew as we toured the UK. I was contacted after seeing them not too long ago to dep/sub on a show recently in Hemel Hempstead

Work with artists (studio)

Feralman

With Feralman's release of his album Allegories a lot of of my bass playing has been released again! I've played on quite a few of his tracks over the last few years and to see/hear them out in the public is absolutely amazing!

Mr Bewlay

Always an event to be in the studio with Mr Bewlay, somehow its always very hot too! A few tracks were laid down as per, including a "blast from the past" in terms of tracks I've played with him, along with some more wild ones as usual!

Also the music video for track - Samurai Dancer that I played on has just been released! Along with the track Live, Laugh, Love

Other Work

Roadie

A little bit of roadie work came in for Jo of The Navarones as she was depping/subbing with SKM & Gold Steppers earlier in the year. I'm not too bad at carrying stuff so I was happy with the work!

Gear Rundown

Basses, in & out. Its been a rocky road as of late! A lot in but also a lot out as I'm trying to compress them all into categories that I'm actually going to use. Highlights would be my new Overwater 6 & a Fender American 5 string P! Ive put together a little list following on from a Twitter thread about my bass collection which can be found here

I've also just switched some basses over to Labella Strings. Specifically the Deep Talkin' White Tapewounds which are on my Green Overwater P5 & old 66' P bass.

Design A Cable have been great at making some very nice (as usual) custom cables for basses, boards & my synth recently.

Pre Amps

The wait is over & I finally have my beautiful Noble Bass DI! I'm using it constantly at all live shows now & I can't turn back! 100% worth the cash and the near 2 year long waiting list too. Big shoutout to Jack who hand makes every one!

After visiting Andertons Music with Spencer, the guitarist of The Navarones I fancied trying out the Origin Effects Bass Rig Super Vintage. Although its not my number 1, I'm using it to get the old SVT sound when needed for recording sessions at the moment. I'm very happy with it too. I also spotted a few tasty basses ;)

Pedals

Not an exciting update unless you're a pedal nerd like me, but I've recently acquired the Lehle volume pedal for a theatre tour. Its a volume pedal & that's it, but It honestly is one of the best built & sounding ones out there. Plus very user friendly & easy to change settings.

With Tom Emlyn, I also got to use a Phaser for the first time, The Small Stone EH4800 by Electro Harmonix. Very happy with the sound & can't wait to get it out again.

Pedalboard

I've deconstructed all 3 of my boards as Im hoping & changing each one for different shows/sessions. With my very small board I'm constantly running the cali 76 compressor & Noble but with one free space for a different effect as & when needed. I'm not piling on effects as much these days either which is quite nice! Usually an octave or drive depending on the gig etc.

I'm working with String Racks again on a new custom board, this time with a cover (specifically to protect the Noble) and a special DI out. I want it to hold 34 pedals including my Noble & small Cali 76 from Origin FX.

Goliath FX

The special DI above has been designed & manufactured by Goliath FX, essentially it takes the 1/4 out of the Noble and turns it into a balanced DI out. I'm honestly overwhelmed with the service & personal touches Matt has out into this & the bits he's sent with it!

Amps & More

I recently called back my cabs as I'm hardly using them! I only have my limited edition Aguilar SL112 in green which i use for some things but not all.

I took in an Ampeg Micro - CL herd & matching 2x10 cab for my studio. Just to have more options for micing up when doing remote sessions as this does not have a line or DI out.

I still have my two Markbass heads, the LMIII & Ninja which I use for recording in my studio. Plus my Tonehammer 500 for some live stuff here & there.

I "modded" my Moog Sub Phatty synth with the help of a company call Synths & Wood, with these aesome looking end pieces too! Adds a touch of class.

Teaching

I opened up the gates for more bass students as of May to offer my services. Had quite a few people starting up which is great! Along with my APMM Mentoring I also provide. Following this with some amazing results for my Teaching & Performance Diploma students.

I still have some available slots for one to one tuition in person & online so please don't hesitate to contact me, as these will go quickly.

Guitars 4 Veterans

I'm still running & teaching the Blackwood group of veterans on a Tuesday. We're gearing up for some performances later this year to coincide with some Armed Forces Day celebrations.

Other News

New Studio has been completed after a house move! I'm more happy with the initial & personal design that has gone into this one. Although it is smaller there is an element of everything is at hand. So my workflow has increased quite a bit too! Heres a little look at the inner sanctum.

Another post goes into more detail, but I recently made the trip up to Carlisle to visit Overwater Basses & the team to pick up my latest custom bass! Here's the post all about my latest Overwater Bass

Shows Coming Up

A few shows coming up in the next few weeks for you all to peruse.

26/05/23 - Show - THPS - Knochengorroch Festival - Castle Douglas

28/05/23 - Show - Bryony Sier - Devauden Fest - Devauden

17/06/23 - Show - The Navarones - Sherwood

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

Phill.