RE: LA Loop Feste Review

["Steve Lawson" <steve@steve-lawson.co.uk>]

>>>Steve was up next. The problem with Steve is that he makes it all look 
>so
easy that, for a second, you *almost* find yourself saying, "Yeah, I could
do that too." But, I can't, I know that. I feel like a hacker next to 
Steve.
He is very gifted, obviously. And he is a master of his gear. He was 
running
through two Line 6s (I think) and that expensive Lexicon effects box. He 
did
some *really* interesting things with his loops, starting with a backing
loop, soloing over it, adding new supporting loops and effects, soloing 
some
more, etc. And all the while, playing the sweetest, *cleanest* melody lines
on that bass. Truly, they were about as clean as I've heard in a good long
while. And, as a sometimes bass player myself, I can attest to the fact 
that
it ain't easy to play that smoothly! Watching his hands, you can see that
this is a guy who's done his shedding, and then some. Also, I noticed a lot
of vibrato in his fingers. Very, very few bass players use their fingers 
for
vibrato. I was pleased that I, at least, do.

I also liked the way Steve talked with the audience between songs about 
what
he was going to play next, even offing a few humorous lines here and there.
I especially liked the intro he gave "Bittersweet"... that's the song he
wrote for his uncle who passed on. It was great to know some of the
background for what he was about to play, and it's a nice touch to
communicate with your audience in that way. It brings us all closer 
together
and makes us feel more a part of the performance. All us loopers would do
well to learn by his example. It works.<<<<

Kevin,

thanks so much for that - I love getting feedback on gigs (musically as 
well
as in the form of reviews... :o) and I'm really glad you enjoyed the show.
Telling stories before songs is something that sometimes I do once like 
last
night, and sometimes takes up almost half the gig (the 'clinic' that I did
at the Bass Exchange in January was more like the latter... :o)

Playing wise, I focus on control and awareness - chops of any kind are just
there to offer more control of the sound, so getting a great tone and
placement on one note is far more important than stringing together a load
of half-assed fast stuff. I love it when people's conception of music 
starts
with 'sound' not 'notes' - Andre's string bending thing was stunning and
original - I'd recognise his playing anywhere after having only heard two
CDs and a one gig...

BTW - Andre's CD is fantastic. anyone anywhere interested in avant-guitar
should have it. He's a fine programmer to, as the cool drum stuff on there
will attest to... And Ric Hordenski's band Monk are great too - a cool
singer/songwriter vibe with soem great tunes and really great lyrics... do
yourself a favour and buy one of each! :o)

cheers

Steve
www.steve-lawson.co.uk