Lady Bass Music

Sunday’s office was the Sitzprobe at UMW’s Wonder Bread Studios for their production of Fun Home. Consider yourself warned…this post is FULL of bass nerd stuff. Continue on at your own risk. This musical *requires* five basses to play the show. The different basses are called up to help move the story through different decades Read More …

The run of UMW’s production of Fun Home is coming up. This Wednesday, 10/23, from 10 am to 10 pm, all tickets are $15. You can use the code MAPLE to save at checkout. Go to FredTix.com to get tickets. Show opens 11/6 with a “Pay What You Can Preview” performance. Tickets are regularly $25, Read More …

The “beater” 12 string that appeared in my last blog is ready to prove out against a stock Dean 12 string. I’ve always wondered how a Dean 12 string would sound with a different electronics / pickup package other than the stock set. It’s expensive (and disheartening on some level) to yank pickups out of Read More …

At the end of July/beginning of August, a donated project bass arrived home with me from work one day. It was a pretty beat up Dean 12 string bass. There were some significant scuffs on it, the pickups were missing, and I was told the truss rod was shot. That’s a promising start, right? LOL… Read More …

THIS Friday, September 6 “Whiskey & You” The Songs of Bonnie Raitt & Chris Stapleton The Tin Pan – Richmond, Virginia GET TICKETS HERE! Call the box office to avoid TicketFly fees. This is one of the videos Ted and Ashleigh did for a behind the scenes look at the show. More are on Facebook Read More …

This video was shot by bassist Scott Montague of The Ginger Bass Mafia performing during Roy Vogt’s Thunder Row Bass Invitational in July 2019. These are excerpts from “Oracle Rising” by Brittany Frompovich. The band is; Chris Welborn using a Warwick 7 string Custom Corvette $$ with GHS strings. Our special guest drummer was the Read More …

So…two major changes in the past week. Last Wednesday was my first day at my new Wednesday studio home, The Sound Post. It’s really well thought out space, with a lot of attention to how detail, colors, and design work together. Making it feel like a warm, welcoming sweater in the fall. Thanks to Bill Read More …

Last week. Last day. Last hours. Last carloads of office items being packed up. Last time in this teaching office. Thanks to Chris Welborn; he helped me get four carloads of items out before we headed to NAMM. All the Rock For Strings gear; drumset, PA, practice amps, electric violins, sound reinforcement, percussion, music stands Read More …

Maybe there’s a reason I’m nicknamed the Red Tornado. Here’s the week so far. Hang on folks…it’s a ride. Monday – taught lessons, dealt with major construction on the street outside Lady Bass Music that caused major, major delays for students. Tuesday – got stung by a wasp, 5 minutes before my first lesson. Yeah, Read More …

This is my original tune, “Exploratory Flight”. But this is the first time I’ve used a bass other than the mighty Blue Spector Euro6LX to perform it. This was the first gig with Anora, the first “Exploratory Flight” of that bass. This Prat 7 Original II was built for solo bassist Edo Castro, and it Read More …

Here’s where you’ll find me…and my bass guitar…in the coming weeks. 7/18 – 7/20 – Next week is Summer NAMM in Nashville. If you are attending, swing by booth #1133 for a demo of the Gizmotron from Aaron Kipness or myself. www.gizmotron.com 7/18 – Chris Welborn and myself are very proud to be part of Read More …

I am saddened to see the closure of Forte Music this month, I have a lot of history in that building. A lot of great bass players performed or taught in that ensemble room in the basement as part of the Virginia Bass Forum. However, as that chapter in my story ends, another begins. I Read More …

The August issue of Bass Player Magazine arrived in my mailbox today. Page 33…full page ad. So much gratitude to Aaron Kipness and Gizmotron for the continued support. The last few months have been “full steam ahead” for myself on a variety of gigs and projects. There are a lot of people who have stepped Read More …

804-617-7086 is the number of the Snake Identification service from Virginia Wildlife Management. I shared this resource some time ago in a Facebook post, and then saved the number to my phone. This morning gave me an opportunity to test it out. A friend posted on social media that he needed help IDing the type Read More …

I’ve been spending the morning notifying students that a transition is on the horizon. Forte Music Studios is closing August 3rd. I’ve had both emails and phone calls about this news over the weekend. So here’s an observation I made to someone in my inner circle this weekend during a phone call. I felt it Read More …

So, I have a friend who has been working this particular hoarding situation for several weeks now. Yesterday brought a new level of success in securing help for these animals. These animals were finally removed from he home of the hoarder and taken to a safe place. Along the way, there have been many late Read More …

A student at Penn State Harrisburg, reached out to mel (along with other female musicians) to ask a few questions about what it means to be a woman in rock music today. Here’s some excerpts from my portion of the interview…. Can you think of a time that your music or credibility as a musician Read More …

“Unrequited love does not die; it’s only beaten down to a secret place where it hides, curled and wounded. For some unfortunates, it turns bitter and mean, and those who come after pay the price for the hurt done by the ones who came before.” Saw this in my FB feed a few years ago…someone Read More …

A few years ago, I was looking for material on Musescore to use with a Rock For Strings class. I stumbled on a string quartet version of “Killer Queen” and saved it to my hard drive. And it sat dormant for many years as it simply wasn’t used that much. Fast forward a few years Read More …

I had a few sick days recently. Most people binge watch something. Nope… instead SuperVan gets a spa day with new plugs and an oil change. See, SuperVan doesn’t get many breaks either. If I’m grounded with a cold, that means the car has actual downtime to be serviced. So I bought parts online on Read More …

I decided to write this blog after two different conversations with friends this week. Folks *apparently* know I’m busy from seeing my weekly social media calendar updates, but sometimes keeping all the various projects straight can be hard. As nice as it would be for folks to come to every show…I realize most folks have Read More …

A parent came in yesterday; a rather cool fellow. Ex military, a drummer, a single dad with two young ladies he’s raising. He’s been following my stories of DIY exploration on Facebook. He told me about a bit of drama that unfolded last weekend. On a major evening. PROM NIGHT. FOR HIS DAUGHTER. AND THE Read More …

I added this cover to my solo bass show in 2018. The arrangement came to life for this trio with the addition of a fantastic bass part by Chris Welborn and powerful drums from Tom Sapp. #teamwork Sadly Tom is off camera but you’ll definitely hear him tear it up. The Gizmotron is at work Read More …

It’s been a good week. A very good week. This picture pretty much sums it all up. It’s not everyday I get to play in Ryan Martinie’s office. Seriously…big thanks to Ryan for being the kind of guy who would let me use his rig. Unbelievably, we use EXACTLY the same bass rig. Roll call Read More …

Video is still coming out from the Pearl Street Warehouse show at the start of March. Still very honored and humbled to be part of such a special evening. This is video of Ashleigh Chevalier performing Z’upo when the band opened up for BMA Winner & Grammy Nominee Danielle Nicole Band in Washington, D.C. Jon Read More …

Here’s the sound of an open seam on a string instrument. This is a good check to do during seasonal weather changes.

This time the Gizmotron is at work with my black Spector Legend NT through a Morley Dual Bass wah. Tom Sapp is on drums/percussion and Chris Welborn is on a gorgeous 7 string Warwick bass. Catch us on 4/11 when we open for Soften The Glare. And…we’ve got a new banner graphic with the lineup! Read More …

This is always a fun event. For me, it’s more like a family reunion than an expo. I was an instructor at the Gerald Veasley Bass Bootcamp for a few years. There’s two “schedules” of instructors at the camp; the daytime instructors and Night Owl instructors. The campers would be so excited at this event, Read More …

The first of some video teasers from the Ginger Bass Mafia rehearsals. Chris Welborn – bass Tom Sapp – drums Brittany Frompovich – bass – with a Gizmotron and a brass slide in play First shows are coming up soon; April 8th in Fairfax VA, then April 11th in FXBG opening for Soften the Glare. Read More …

Dear universe, you are simply showing off this month, and I thank you so much for it. Most importantly, I gratefully thank Christopher Cardone and Edo Castro. These gents made this moment possible. Edo wrote me with this thought that resonated deeply; “…weird as it may sound…but it’s like handing someone maps of places they Read More …

Video by Jonathan Wiley. A great clip of the Ashleigh Chevalier band in action last night at Pearl Street Live, opening for the Grammy nominated Danielle Nicole and her band. With Ashleigh on raw, soulful vocals/acoustic guitar, Jon crushing it on lead guitar, Toby Fairchild on drums, and yours truly holding down the bass chair. Read More …

I didn’t create this, this is just something I liked. This is very useful and methodical way to examine that life factors that generate happiness. That being said, pardon the ad at the end.

Hey gang, there’s some noteworthy shows coming up. First off, the Ashleigh Chevalier Band is hosting a “Women In The Blues” show at Colonial Tavern in Downtown Fredericksburg. Then we’re headed into DC to open for the Danielle Nicole Band. Lastly, the Ginger Bass Mafia (a project with Chris Welborn and myself) will be opening Read More …

So, this is not a typical NAMM video. No product releases, no gear geek out. This is a behind the scenes of the show itself…

WANTED: String players for a Winter/Spring 2019 Rock Orchestra Class! WE ARE LOOKING FOR acoustic & electric string players; violinists, violists, cellists, & double bassists of all ages & skill levels. We will be performing rock, pop, and original music in an orchestral setting that uses a rock rhythm section (drums, guitars, and bass guitar). Read More …

Headphones or better speakers are recommended for this video. The built in speakers on most mobile devices won’t show the differences very well.

So, one of my 2019 goals is to make some of my string orchestra arrangements available online. I might also post some of my solo bass arrangements as well as time goes on. I’m kicking things off with “Geronimo”. This is a string orchestra arrangement of The Wedding of River Song, The Doctor Who Theme, Read More …

Oliver Kriska – electric violin, viola Dave Hills – electric cello Brittany Frompovich – bass guitar Many thanks to NS Design, Willcox Guitars (makers of Lightwave basses) GHS Strings, Nitewalker Bass Guitar Tube Preamps, and Gizmotron for making this possible. Please visit these sites and check out what they have to offer: NSDesign: https://thinkns.com/ Willcox Read More …

In 2009 I joined the MTH team of bloggers and contributed articles over a few years. This is an index of what was contributed. Nov. 2008 – Using Audacity As A Practice Trainer Dec 2008 – MusicPro Magazine Jan 2009 – Taming The Sheet Music Tiger March 2009 – Keeping Tax Paperwork Organized May 2009 Read More …

Today’s Gizmotron/Lightwave report…. I wanted to use the “diesel truck coming for your soul sound” of the current Gizmotron setup in a track. I had already been searching for a sustained “alien war machine” type of sound. Mechanical, sustained, unsettled, intense, and authoritative. This just nailed it. I don’t want to share the whole track Read More …

Betcha you didn’t see this combination coming…. The wheels are not aligned quite correctly yet. However, the noisy, clattery sound begged to be explored before I finished a proper alignment. Add two distortion pedals….yeah, it’s like a diesel truck, coming for your soul. 😈 Gear on and off camera used in this clip; Lightwave Saber Read More …

Here’s a snippet of Ben Titus working on a track with me in my home studio. He’s got a Skjold Drakkar Catacomb 6, a Line 6 Helix pedalboard, the Plus pedal by Gamechanger Audio, and GHS Progressives on the bass. #skjold #skjoldbasses #ghs #ghsstrings #ghsartists #skjolddesign #skjolddesignguitars #ghsprogressives #ghsprogressivesbass #gamechangeraudio #gamechangeraudiopluspedal #pluspedal #line6helix #thesewalls

This is one of the best parts of my job; pairing up donated gear with students. Aiden very recently started playing bass. She’s already a very talented cellist. However she came to the realization that playing bass will better serve her musical goals. And better yet….she wants to be a doubler so she can be Read More …

Part 3 takes us to an entirely different pit setup than in the two previous videos. The orchestra for this production is onstage, behind a prop wall and a black curtain. At the end of the production, both the prop wall and the curtain will fly upwards, revealing the whole orchestra to the audience. This Read More …

Well, I decided to give isolation wedges a try on my Mackie HR824 monitors. If you are like most folks…it’s a bit natural to wonder “Do these really work?” Physics stands behind the idea that they should. But let’s face it…most folks (myself included) need to see (or in this case…hear) the proof. The science Read More …

I’ve got these two new video uploads to share this week from the production of “Hello Dolly” that I’ve been involved with. I had a LOT of questions about how a remote orchestral pit works and why my rig is set up the way it is. Hopefully we can cover all of that in these Read More …

Lots of time with a bass in my hands tomorrow. (Saturday 9/22/18). First off, I’ll be performing as part of Art Attack in downtown Frederickburg from 10 AM – 2 PM. I’ll be located near or in front of 902 Caroline Street. I’ll be leaving Art Attack a little early (the entire event ends at Read More …

9/7/2018 I am VERY proud to announce I’ve joined the GHS family of artists. Thank you to Jonathan Moody and GHS for working with me. Over many months of extensive and exhaustive searching along with Ben Titus, Chris Welborn, and Jaymi Millard through multiple string brands, I’ve tacked down a great match in great strings Read More …

After a few months of using the Nitewalker Preamp in both live shows and in my home studio, using a range of electric basses and electric strings, I’m proud to announce I’ve joined the Nitewalker family. Thank you Cliff Latshaw! Stay tuned for more about the Nitewalker…in the meantime, check them out here.

First off, here’s the things to look forward to. I’ll be performing next weekend in Lakewood Colorado at Festival Italiano. How does a gingery bassist who plays “cosmic” bass (quote from a fan at the recent Porchfest show) get a gig at Festival Italiano? Well, lucky for me, they added an International Market Stage this Read More …

Thanks for all the positive feedback from folks on my Memorial Day weekend shoot at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery. Really appreciated the shares and the kind words. My phone was blowing up for a few days across social media, email AND text because of these pics. Glad it inspired folks. It was a bit of Read More …

A post with my photos from the 23rd Annual Memorial Luminaria. More than 15,300 candles are lit for this event; one for each solider buried in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery. Photos were taken on a Canon EOS 50D with a Sigma EX DC 10-20mm wide angle. The camera is running Magic Lantern. I used long Read More …

Friday night, during the recent storms, there was a car accident on Courthouse Road. A car got T boned. The car struck; that guy was very lucky to be alive and walk away. The girl in the other car was sitting on the road when I arrived, bleeding from her right leg. I’m no doctor, Read More …

We’re in the home stretch with the mods on this. When this bass came in, it had a cracked nut, a broken 3 way switch, a warped backplate, a missing knob, no shielding, some interior wiring done with twist nuts….(yikes)…you get the idea. Good intentions, poor execution. A previous owner pulled the original pups and Read More …

A parent came in yesterday; cool fellow. He’s been following my stories of DIY exploration on Facebook. He told me about a bit of drama that unfolded last weekend. On a major evening. PROM NIGHT. FOR HIS DAUGHTER. AND THE CAR BREAKS DOWN. This is BAD folks. He’s telling me the story of the ordeal…and Read More …

‪ No tweaks to my tone or pedals today; this mod was purely to make me smile. #diypedalboard The LEDs add a little bit of noise to the signal chain; but it’s barely noticeable when playing at volume, and certainly not noticeable in a rock setting.

This seems to happen every 6 months…the pedalboard undergoes another evolutionary step. Or an experiment happens. Either way, it’s a good thing, ultimately. I’m sure this board will go on a diet (which we all know…those never last..LOL), or perhaps I’ll endeavor to put together a pair of travel boards at some point. Before: After: Read More …

Last summer, I left this bass off with new parts. I managed to concoct a coat of paint that was a blend of copper and bronze, so it would simulate aged copper. However, I didn’t really know how to get other aspects of the look I wanted. Like the reflective surface of copper and the Read More …

Here’s more info about the Glass City Get Down / Glass City Low Down in Toledo in April. Honored to be in this lineup of great players for the bass showcase…and what a cool cause! ‬I’ll be bringing Lady Bass Gear to the party as well.

That expression in the first pic was me on Friday night. SuperVan picked up a nail in a tire while I was rolling towards Philly, lost pressure, and then had a major sidewall blow out. My destination was the G3 concert in Philly…I was meeting friends there. This is an example of the fine humor Read More …

I’ll be getting on the road again…my looper in one hand, bass in the other. My next trip takes me to Toledo, for the Glass City Get Down and Bass Showcase. They are assembling an impressive lineup of players for the event, and I am honored and humbled to be included. Here’s some info from Read More …

Just a head’s up…and making this official…about a week ago I made it known that I have resigned as the bassist for the Headstone Circus Band. I wish Bart and Mark the best of luck in all their endeavors. This started for me as a subbing gig, and I greatly appreciate that they called me Read More …

I’m back with another installment of DIY projects for musicians. Here goes… I’m big on DIY pedalboards, which works very well at this time in my life. I’ve been having discussions with folks online about DIY boards. So here’s a few projects that surfaced… Pedalboard one was built by a guitarist who is a huge Read More …

Someone just lent an electronic tabla to me. It’s proving to be big fun for writing and practicing odd time grooves. Normally, it’s a metronome to help Indian classical musicians train and practice. For me, it’s breaking up some writer’s block and stretching me into areas that I’ve wanted to explore. I wrote a quick Read More …

This is a blog that folks have requested to see…the story and the video footage of the tornado that spun up during the trip to the LoDo Bass Bash. I’m learning Adobe Premiere right now, so this created a great reason to practice video editing and get this blog written. Here’s the gigs. At least Read More …

I’ve been working on the documentary project, which bring me to recall pivotal points in my history…and sometimes contemplating them. So, we’re going to hop into the wayback machine again for a moment for this blog. I’ve just graduated college. I’ve signed up for a master class performance with Edgar Meyer. Ok…no pressure on myself. Read More …

We’ve got a second guitarist who has joined the lineup for one of my ensemble classes. Best part; he is very DIY inclined, which makes for a great fit with the personality of the rest of the group. This is his DIY pedalboard. Click on the text link above each picture to see a larger Read More …

Warning…the music geekery is strong in this post. Abort now if you hate pedals, pedalboard geekery, and the like. So, I’ve been geeking out, like everyone else over the 2018 new product releases from NAMM. And this lovely piece of gear turned up in my newsfeed. Mind blown, right? And guitar pedals have been migrating Read More …

Hi folks, Things have been intentionally pretty quiet on this front (matters regarding the documentary) for awhile, so I appreciate your patience. Given some events in the past six months, I’ve decided to take creative control of this project. Things like that sometimes happen. I plan on giving my former partner for this project credit Read More …

I gotta admit, this looks a bit intriguing. Looking forward to seeing one of these in person to give it a try. I like how the designers finally just “own it” that a looper is pretty much a performance friendly, portable mini-recording studio in the design and layout of this unit. #win

During Winter NAMM 2017, I started connecting the dots on the family tree for most my instruments. I came up with this; Ned Steinberger designed most of the bass gear I lay my hands on; my Spectors and the NS strings that I use. He also quite indirectly caused the opportunity for Warwick amps to Read More …

No, not your wife or hubby…(though congrats if that’s your situation). I actually mean your next instrument purchase. And usually, this is a purchase that happens much later in life..beyond the point of the “starter” guitar purchase that someone buys for their kid. Instruments come into our lives for many reasons. When we find a Read More …

Well this is a great way to kick off the new year. Sending a thank you to the folks at NoTreble for featuring our video! As my partner in crime, Ben Titus has said of this, “If you like The Tedeschi Trucks Band, bass, and vocals… or even if you’re unclear, check this!” Add looping, Read More …

Let’s take this moment to welcome in our AI overloads; this is a video blog movie that was entirely generated, automatically, from my iPhone. That being considered, it did a fairly decent job, assisted with just a bit of editing on my part. I used this same format for the November 2017 video blog. To Read More …

WE ARE LOOKING FOR acoustic & electric string players; violinists, violists, cellists, & double bassists of all ages & skill level with an interest in performing rock, pop, and original music in an orchestral setting that uses a rock rhythm section. We use both electric & acoustic string instruments. We are also looking for one Read More …

Apple generated this movie on my phone today. It works well enough as a blog for the last few weeks. There’s a few editing choices that did frustrate me. The program split screened some pictures without giving me an option to have them display otherwise. There were closeups on some of the photos that were…strange, Read More …

The UMW production of Little Shop of Horrors closed it’s doors Sunday after a three week run of shows. Fifteen show total. I had a few other gigs sprinkled in between those shows as well because..well, yeah…what’s running another half mile when you’ve already a marathon? That being said, sometimes you are ready to shift Read More …

It seems that both Ben Titus and I are on a roll cranking out new material lately. Ben is my partner in musical mischief; we used to gig together locally as a duo. That has slowed a bit since he has relocated to Wisconsin. However, we still get together as we can, as seen in Read More …

I’ve got a new track up on Reverbnation. This one features Mark Leigh on guitar and Bart Balderson on drums…basically the other two folks that make up the core of The Headstone Circus Band. Many thanks to my recording student, JB Hope, for being the engineer on this session. This is NOT the usual cover Read More …

Heya gang, seems like it’s going to be a pretty prolific week for video clips. I assure you, this was not planned, so enjoy the burst of videos while I can supply them. 🙂 I have a copy of a clip from my performance with Ben Titus at Roy Vogt’s 7th Annual Thunder Row event Read More …

Working on demos between lessons tonight. A good excuse to try another DAW for a few hours and see if I like it. One of the bands I’m in liked a cover from my solo show, so they decided they wanted to join in. This is a cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine”, performed with the Read More …

This past weekend, I had my first outing with the Ashleigh Chevalier band in a long time. We had roughly six months off as Ashleigh had fractured her wrist while we out on the tour earlier this year. And then she fractured it…again. What were the chances, right? Well, thankfully, she’s been on the mend. Read More …

And, we’re back for part two in the the evolution of the Intergalactic Ashula. Brief recap of part 1; Maiven McKnight, the Aerosol Queen, and the Ashula drew quite a crowd during Fredericksburg’s Art Attack. You can see Maiven painting the back of the bass here. I got the bass home and it was apparent Read More …

This has been a great reference I’ve been using almost since it came out in 1996 to help people understand the level of playing they need to be doing to achieve the desired results they want. Written by a trombonist…but it goes a long way to help all musicians be more aware of the work/results Read More …

Art Attack 2017 lives up to the name….art attacked my Ibanez Ashula and left it for the better. Dave Hills, Caroline Ayers and myself were performing, networking and socializing next to artist Maiven McKnight. (Video of some of that performance in an upcoming blog.) I liked Maiven’s work, so I invited her to use the Read More …

So, August 9th, Double Koru Rock Ensemble did our final show with Oliver Kriska as our violinist. Here’s a clip from our final show with this lineup of musicians…a cover of “Every Breath You Take”. I’ve done this tune with a lot of groups on bass and on vocals. I have to admit, I fell Read More …

Right before I headed out for Summer NAMM, a used 5 string Spector Legend neck through showed up at the Sam Ash store in RVA where I teach. I turned in some of my old gear for store credit, used my employee discount, and this lovely followed me home for all of $100. We’re still Read More …

So, by request, I put together some footage of the new bass in action this past weekend. I’m still getting used to the neck, so forgive the moments where I’m still getting my footing with this bass. The first 1:22 is all pics from the build, including some new ones. Jump to 1:24 to see Read More …

The summer session of Rock For Strings kicks off this week. Here’s some pics from our most recent performance at the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon; http://www.blog.ladybassmusic.net/?p=616 We are looking for acoustic and electric string players, violinists, violists, cellists and double bassists of all ages and skill levels. We will be performing rock, pop and Read More …

This bass had a hard life, so here’s hoping it’s going on to better things. Since I’m waiting a few more days for the pickups to arrive to finish the walnut Jazz bass build, I figured I would start the next project bass in the queue. This poor thing has been through A LOT before Read More …

Fri. 6/2 – deadline for students to register for the Rappahannock Summer Music Camp – More info at www.rsmusiccamp.com. Fri. 6/2 – The Headstone Circus Band – Adventure Brewing Company NORTH – all ages show, no cover. 8 to 10 PM Sat. 6/3 – The Headstone Circus Band – private party event Wed. 6/14 – Read More …

Reading about Wonder Woman today. I’m a long time fan…her story just resonates with me. So like many folks, I’m looking forward to the movie release this week. Her story is long overdue to be told on the big screen. BTW, all the Wonder Woman images are copyright Warner Brothers, not mine. I’m just borrowing Read More …