Admin Rudolf Wagner
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Hello and welcome, Rick!
Thanks for joining us here and for introducing yourself (and for all the nice things you said!). We share the same taste in music pretty much to a T and unfortunately also share your opinion about the state of most of today’s music. We really wish there were more current acts we’d get excited about. But hey, that makes the journey of recreating some of that sound and spirit that we find so invigorating all the more intriguing and fun. Glad to have you on board 🙂All the best to Georgia!
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I don’t have much to add to Lisa’s comment. Your left hand technique is one that when you practice a lot offers you great musical opportunities. Some bass players like to keep their fingers flat on the fretboard which gives them better damping opportunities and a more ergonomic looking style (Take a look at Paul McCartney and wonder endlessly about how he can play such melodic and distinct bass lines with this technique).
You are using your fingers more like a piano player (rounded) which gives you more flexibility when playing difficult parts. The downside is that this is more difficult and you can’t cheat as much as with the first technique. But you obviously seem to have mastered it, so it opens up a whole lot of opportunities with hammer-on and pull-off techniques.
P.S.: I really had to laugh when I saw the video and the camera going out of focus all the time. That was one of our biggest problems when recording live concerts: To find cameras where the camera optics don’t go ballistic when they get hit by bass waves. Must mean you played really loud 😉
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Hi Jacki,
You probably mean the breath controller. It is connected to a keyboard. While you play the notes on the keyboard you modulate the sound with your mouth like you would with a woodwind instrument. It’s basically a small piece of plastic tube that you put in your mouth that let the sound of the keyboard react to all kinds of actions.
For instance the harder you breathe the louder and more aggressive you sound just like you would with the real instrument. The more you bite on it the more vibrato and so on. It also reacts to head movements on 4 axes.
This is an example that I found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWujyb_Wgjs
We use it to work out demos and the exact lines for the real instruments. Normally, we prefer to replace them with real instruments later on. But sometimes we find the demo version so convincing that we leave it like it is, which saves time and money.
There’s another type of instrument your friend might have meant that Michaela once played: An electronic wind controller. You play it like a recorder (instead of a keyboard):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u1GS4R_EfIMaybe the strange thing about us is that while we adore the songwriting talent of the 60ies period we never regret living here and now with all the progress in technology. We love our computers, cameras, drones and what else just as much as our vintage instruments and the feeling of that period in time. For us it is about combining the best of both worlds.
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That would make a cool picture! The only problem is that we’ve got our guitars all over the place, some in Austria, some in the UK, some stored away to keep safe. It’s like having relatives scattered all over the planet 😉 So unfortunately, a complete family portrait will have to wait but thanks for the idea!
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Hi Rick!
I just asked everyone in the family and the overwhelming consensus is that we indeed shot the video on two different days. It’s been so long ago but I think it was on two consecutive days. The park scenes were shot in Saffron Walden, north of London, while the rest was done on the southern coast of England.
To answer your question about the shoes … I think climbing that tree was safer in those white sneakers than my flimsy blue ones, and we probably chose that over the chance that some extra-keen eyes might spot the difference. Either that, or I accidentally put on my magic colour-shifting pair. As I said, it’s been a while so I can’t quite remember 😉
All the best across the pond, and well spotted!
Mona
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Hi George!
First of all, great job with that “Hush” cover. I think the video is a little bit out of sync but the audio sounds super tight. You have a good feel and nailed those syncopated parts.
I’ll send it to Dad too and will ask him to leave some feedback (he’s the bass man here) but I’ll try to give some helpful thoughts too.Being mainly a guitarist, the first thing I noticed was you using only down strokes on the picking hand which made me feel a little stressed haha. I guess it’s less uncommon with bassists but I feel like you could make it easier on yourself by practising using the “up” stroke to your advantage as well. It would look a bit more relaxed plus you’ll be able to squeeze in twice as many notes in the same amount of hand movement that way 😛
Other than that, I can’t think of anything negative to say about the video! Like I said, you seem to have a good feel for the music. Keep practising, try making it a daily habit and set up some kind of structure and way to measure progress and keep having fun with it. Try songs that seem way out of your league and then break them down bit for bit starting super slow. Before you know it you’ll be playing things you never thought possible.
But it seems like you know what you’re doing and we wish you all the best for your bass journey. “Stay groovy” never seemed more appropriate ;-D
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Our lips are sealed! But your comment actually got us thinking … Those two words, love and time … I mean, try having a passionate conversation about virtually ANYTHING without these concepts popping up. Maybe you just cracked the songwriting code, Howard 😉
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Hi Mike,
Oh how I can relate to that. We usually don’t mind if it happens amongst friends or fellow musicians (depending on the circumstances) but what really grinds my gears is if it happens with strangers or people that wouldn’t have a clue whether it’s something I’m okay with. Get your greasy fingers off my guitar, sir! It always depends on how rude I feel they are, if they’re drunk, etc.
You’re right, the Cavern Club can get very crowded and a bit chaotic at times. Right after finishing our set to go on a break we once had a guy run on stage and grab one of our guitars to pose with it for a photo. Thankfully security sorted it out quickly or he would have had to fight off two livid twins 😉 You wouldn’t go to a dentist and start playing around with the equipment or fix yourself a sandwich in the kitchen of your favourite restaurant, would you? 🙂
Thankfully those incidents were few and far between, and most people are very respectful and polite. Secure backstage areas help too!
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Hi Jacki!
The approach of recording guitars in the studio vs. a live arrangement can be quite different.
In the studio we can layer different guitars (sometimes more than two), choose the perfect guitar for the sound we want and generally play around much more with licks and layers than during a live performance. When playing live, the overall groove and energy becomes a lot more important than intricate details we would focus on in the studio.
When you do a live show you are limited in a couple of ways. You can only bring a certain amount of guitars and gear on stage, so different songs that have originally been recorded on our Gretsch, Epiphone Casino and Les Paul (maybe even with some effects) will all have to be played on the Grestch as it’s not feasible to bring and swap that many guitars to a gig only for a little bit of tone variety. The sound engineer will be thankful too 😉
Also, we normally have to change up a lot of things for live shows, especially when we perform as a duo. Since you are suddenly missing the bass & drum parts (and whatever else we put on the record) we’d occasionally have to make up for that with a more solid guitar arrangement. That could mean adding a more rhythmic acoustic guitar part or dropping certain intricacies in exchange for a more solid groove.
On the other hand, live playing can sometimes allow for a lot of improvisation, and the added adrenalin might add an extra touch of energy that can be more tricky to access in the studio.On our earlier songs (most of the “When We’re Together” album) we tried to make the recordings “playable” live so we didn’t go overboard with effects, different instruments and arrangements that you couldn’t reproduce as a 4-piece band on stage. With ORANGE we obviously went a bit more experimental, so we certainly have to adapt arrangements and our guitar playing styles to do those songs live. 🙂
All the best to Canada from Liverpool!!
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Hi Rick,
Yes, that red (or “fireglo”, as the official term would be) Ricky was a gift from Steve from Miami and is a 350v63, just like the black one I own and usually play. So yes, in a way they are identical, except for the colour and the few small adjustments I’ve made on the black one.
They are not 325’s … that’s the short scale version and the one Lennon played. The 350V63 has the same pickups and look as the 325 but is a “normal” length and plays like most other guitars.
I’ve never used the red one live, not because it’s inferior but just because I don’t want to wear down both and want to keep one of them in perfect condition. My black one has taken quite a beating over the years from all the live playing! 😉
I often have to pinch myself that we somehow got to own so many of our absolute dream guitars. In the case of the 350v63 … TWO of them. Of course, thanks to Steve. This still blows my mind every day!
I hope you’re well and send all the best,
Mona
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Surprisingly enough, we still don’t know them well … 😉 If we ever will, we’ll have to write a sequel!
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Hi Tom!!
“Smile Songs” you say? We love hearing that, thank you!! 🙂 Connecting with people like you and knowing that there’s an audience out there that enjoys the music we create makes us smile in return. So it’s smiles all-round, … perfect!
We’re glad you joined the Club and hope you’ll enjoy it here! We hope you’ve had a chance to have a look around and if you’ve got any questions for us feel free to post them in the Ask The MLT forum.
Groovy greetings!
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You’re very welcome, Steve! Thank YOU for being part of the Club ♥
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That depends on the specific song and if we think we can do the song justice. Although it might look like we have a preference for a certain genre we in fact are quite open to any style. It’s just that we feel some genres fit us better than others.
Live we’ve already had a go at some old R&B tunes like “Hit The Road, Jack” or “Please Mr Postman”. If you mean Motown as a more generic style we can say we even tried a James Brown (who refused to sign with Motown – Gordy’s “…acts were a little too soft for me: too much pop, not enough soul”) tune but the result was rather hilarious. We remember doing „I feel good“ and trying to sound like James Brown at the age of 13 rather unsuccessfully 😉
For now, our main focus lies on our original music again (though we will definitely put out new covers until the next album comes out).
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Hi Rick,
Yes, that was a snippet from when we recorded the song in the studio. He was so cool about it and did such a great job, so that the whole thing was done and dusted in just a few takes.
I managed to snap a few pictures while he and Dad were at work 🙂
Good memories!
