N.O. Pundit

I just bought a Squier P-Bass

I played bass in college (Carleton college in Northfield, MN) with a group called the Talismen (I believe that there is an actual famous group called the Talismen; make no mistake, we were not them). Mainly a cover band, we played "Teacher" and "Locomotive Breath" by Jethro Tull, "LA Woman" and "Roadhouse Blues" by the Doors, "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan, "Empty Pages" by Traffic, "Ride, Captain, Ride" by Blues Image, and a bunch of other similar genre stuff. I owned a Peavey T-40 and a Peavey Combo amp. Nice equipment. I actually have a single photograph somewhere of me playing bass in 1983. If and when I find it, I'll scan and post it. I know of no cassette tapes of our performances (and no burned CDs; they didn't even exist). But I remember us being well liked.

While working in Chicago post-college, I played no music. Moving to New Orleans reawakened my desire to play. It's not just that there are rock bands here (in fact, that there are rock bands in a brass and jazz town still surprises some); you see young people heading home from school having trombone and trumpet competitions at the bus stops. New Orleans is a town that loves to make music. New Orleans is a town where it is not nerdy for a child to have to go home and practice clarinet, or piano, or any other instrument. Indeed, it is not even a question of "have to".

I remember being in Band and Orchestra in high school in the Chicago area (I played trombone), and on the clique-meter, we were definitely a notch down from the athletes. Thinking about a career in music, or even an avocation in music, sure didn't occur to many of my peers. Music was just something that mom and dad thought was a good idea. Maybe there's a flavor of that game here, but it sure doesn't show. Kids want to play music, because to be able to play music well is cool. Isn't it?

Well, I think so. I'm a 42-year old who's about to pick up the electric bass for the first time in 20 years. I shopped for total of 30 minutes (I had an idea that the Mexican-made Fenders were probably the best deal around) and selected a black-body Squier. Great action, great condition, $199! I tell you, I am excited.

As far as giving mom and dad credit for making sure I tasted music, I am reminded of this quote by Mark Twain: When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Posted by nopundit at August 5, 2003 06:07 PM