Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

I think that all men in classical music look at the concert attire worn by our female colleagues with a little bit of envy from time to time. Not that we men all want to wear heels and make-up (though some of us probably do….not that there’s anything wrong with that!), but putting on [...]

Author note: One of my favorite things about summer is getting the chance to finally spend some time outside, and writing on my MacBook sitting under a tree with the birds chirping and the sun shining in the sky (which I’m doing right now) has to be one of life’s great pleasures.
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Check out Part [...]

We’ve got a bunch of interesting links for you this Friday! First, we’ll be featuring Pat Metheny bassist Steve Rodby on this week’s Contrabass Conversations episode. This interview, which is conducted by special host Kells Nollenberger (from the Jazz Exchange podcast), was initiated on episode 58 of the podcast.

The Grillo Grape
My blogging colleague and frequent [...]

 

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Here’s the latest episode of Story Time with Contrabass Conversations. These stories recount some of the funny, sad, poignant, and painful moments in the life of a freelance road warrior. Find the text version of this story here, and check out Contrabass Conversations for more weekly double bass content.

I’ve really got a great one for this week’s “Fun Friday” post! I found this video through the excellent podcast net@night. It’s got one guy who’s never used Facebook and another who’s very into Facebook–a quite common scenario based on my experience. Check it out!

As a blogger, podcaster, and all-around new media guy, I have found that most people assume that I am on a Mac.  I frequently have people ask me if I’ve installed Leopard yet, how to perform a specific task in iMovie, or tips on assembling podcasts in GarageBand.  This is a pretty reasonable assumption–a [...]

….at least, that’s what this internal Microsoft video would like one to believe.  Microsoft has a decades-long reputation of releasing utterly inane internal videos.  I hope that they were kidding with this one, but they probably weren’t.
By the way, check out the short-haired woman in the audience.  She really likes Vista Service Pack 1!

Hydraulic stages are both a blessing and a curse!  I’ve played on them in a  variety of venues, and while they’re usually a blessing for stage and pit logistics in multi-use halls, they can yield some amusing (and potentially disastrous) unintended results.
Up, down, up, down…
I have played performances with a variety of groups in Milwaukee’s [...]

Anyone who’s spent some time in Chicago on a Wednesday morning knows that this is when the city tests its emergency alert system. These loud sirens can be heard all over downtown Chicago for a few minutes each week, letting folks know that the city is ready for emergency situations.
The Grant Park Symphony [...]

I’m trying to make sure and post something light and fun every Friday, and this video certainly fits the bill.  Paul and T.J. have the sort of dry humor you’d expect from engineers, but they are absolutely hilarious in this video, breaking down exactly what social implications result from having one cat, two cats, three [...]