Burnin' down the house

Howdy Djim,

Thanks for the pdf - this validifies my personal methods of practice

When I first took up bass (as a guitarist), I played really simple stuff - "root whacker" style. I was pretty much just playing the "bass drum" part on beats 1 and 3 (no back beat for me yet). Then, about a year and a half after I started, I found out about Norm Stockton's "Grooving for Heaven" series (www.normstockton.com). It's a series of instructional videos that actually sort of echoes the tenets of this fellow's approach, only much expanded Norm gives workshops for worship teams (thus the title of the series), but the fundamentals of bass that he teaches are universal. I highly recommend his series, and his 3rd and 4th ones are great fun. The third one expounds on working with the drummer, and encompasses "band" concepts. The fourth one is more on all the "spice" of bass playing - various hand techniques and other "tasties" that are great when done with taste (and taste awful when not ;) ).

In my own situation, we don't have a drummer, and I sometimes will play doumbek rather than bass for certain songs. Doumbek is a very versatile hand drum of the "goblet" variety, similar to a djembe, but with more pronounced slap and rim-hit tones. Learning (and continuing to learn) to play doumbek has improved my bass groove, as you might expect after reading the above treatise

One of my favorite practice techniques is doing almost exactly what he talks about, only expanding on it a bit. Using Composer, and "found" drum MIDI files (a lot of them from Rob Goodwin's Midi Drum Files http://www.mididrumfiles.com/index.cfm), I play the file, and do what the fellow says in the pdf above - I practice "being" the drum kit. BUT then, I go back and practice a bass line that is not the drums, but that interweaves with the drums. This is the challenge that bassists have, but by going through first and knowing what the drums are doing, it makes it easier to do something that goes with them.

When I play with the band (with a drummer), it's amazing how much easier my job as bassist is, because now I'm a subset of the rhythmic instruments available, rather than the whole rhythm section I think this aspect is what makes playing with the band so much more fun - I like the "group" thing.

All that said, I don't want it to sound like I've "arrived", because when I listen to some of the great bass players out there, I know how far I have to go. But I figure at least I know how much room I have for improvement (a lot), and I think I have a decent idea of what I need to do to get there. Now all I need are those 36 hour days to get in all the practice .... ;)

Thanks Djim! I'm going to forward that pdf to my Church Bass list - I'm sure some of those guys would find it helpful as I did!

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry
Ain´t it improvement ( lots of )we are looking for in this life ?
Thanks for your comment and valuable links.I will surely check out Norm Stockton´s Grooving for Heaven and the drum files.
BTW,speaking of improvement, I found your link next to John Pattituci´s
( one of my Bass Gods or Buddha´s,so to speak ), so you must be on the way, don´t you ?
Nice chatting with you about bass playing and music instead about bloody staffs and note-offs.
Keep grooving
Djim

Howdy Djim,

Not sure where you found my link next to John Pattituci's, but he's one guy that I'd love to have half the talent he has in his right pinky
Maybe if my link is next to his, some of his talent will rub off on me ;)

I can dream...

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry
"Bleeding staffs " ( good blood though ) after all ?
Djim

Howdy,

Happy pictures! Happy pictures!

Here's one with the siding on (no trim yet)



The windows are now in as well, as is the insulation. Drywaller is scheduled for Tuesday, and then the paint!!!! Then the floor, then the cupboards, then the trim, .... it's getting there ;)

Doors will be a small hold up - we had some that were a special order (the fan topped ones, I presume) so they won't be here til end of next week or following because they're shipping them all together.

And for those of you who are curious, here's a shot of me at the Bad Axe Farmer's Market plying my trade in bass. Yes, I really was having that much fun ;)




The purpleheart doesn't show up so well in this picture, but it's fairly representative in all other respects. And I've got to say that music has helped keep me pseudo-sane this summer what with all the house hassle - so there's the tie-in ;)

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry
Do not worry, the "purple heart " is shining off your face and the fiver. .Congrats on the steady improvements of the Castle.
Keep the groove
Djim

Looks great, Sherry! Both you and the house. Glad to see you're getting close to completion.


Lee

Hi Sherry,

Surely you are playing a medley which would have words like: I'm as happy as a lark, believe me, because I'll soon go rolling home to My Blue Heaven.

Well it's not blue, but it is charming. That feeling of soon done/only finishing details left, is lovely. Unfortunately, finishing isn't quick work, but you know the final touch is a lot nearer than it was. And you don't have to race against cold weather to do cupboards and baseboards, etc.

Looking good.

all best,
mgj

Howdy,

Wow - it's been a very busy month in a lot of ways, and I see that despite my good intentions, I haven't posted pictures lately. I have taken a bunch, but I'll just put up some pertinent ones here

The exterior is pretty much done, except for reinstalling the bell and cupola. Here are a couple of shots of the front of the garage and the porch now.





I've talked to our yard guy (aka, landscaper/mower/snow removal, etc) about grading post-construction and reworking the herb beds, so hopefully we can get that done before the snow flies. I'd like to bed my perennials rather than having them in pots all over the house this winter.

Inside, the insulation and drywall are all done, and the floor is installed in the kitchen. It isn't finished yet, because the guys are installing cabinets for the next couple of days. I'm a little taller than the average chickie, and we had built platforms to raise the cabinets up a couple of inches before, which really helps my back. So, it will take them a bit to do all that. Then the floor guys will come back and polyurethane the floor, and hopefully we'll get the indoor/outdoor carpet installed on the porch as well. We're also hoping we can get the lights and other electrical work finished this weekend.

Here's what the interior looks like right now:

(part 2)

And here are all the cabinets and appliances sitting in the garage. Thank goodness it's a three bay



Last but not least, our two new black lab puppies. You may recall that we lost our chocolate lab Sonya in the fire. We had talked about getting a couple of dogs this time, so they could keep each other company, as well as keep each other warm, thus eliminating the need for a kennel heater (the apparent cause of the fire). Here they are, Rascal (red collar) and Eyeshine (purple collar).



We got both of them the same day from the animal shelter. Rascal appears to be a purebred (or close to it) black lab, while Eyeshine is a mix of possibly terrier and black lab. They're both a bundle of energy, and we have a small kennel area set up for them in the garage (behind all the cabinets ) currently. We'll probably keep that for the winter, and then set up a "go out" place for them in the spring.

So, we're moving along It looks like the party will be Saturday December 1. We're planning to have an open house probably from about noon til 6. You're all invited - seriously!!

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry
Thanks for sharing the great improvements in the rebuilding of your castle.Keep them working on it !!!
I would love to join the party at Saturday December 1, but I afraid that I can´t afford hiring in some roadies to move and install my rig nowadays ;).
BTW, would it be possible to have your adress to send you a a small present I had in mind for the occasion ? Also a delivery adress to your
nearest Post Office would be fine.
Keep the groove
Djim

Howdy Djim,

Come on over - I'll even let you play my ThunderStick on my big rig, gratis!

For those who would like to attend (or whatever, just don't paint the windows ;) ), we live at

154 S. Pinnebog Rd.
Bad Axe, MI 48413
USA

And go ahead and make jokes about "Bad Axe" - it always gets a chuckle from my music connections, especially my bass buddies

ttfn,
Sherry

Hey, Sherrie, it's great to see your house progressing so well. Are you back to living in it at this point?

Your new family additions are really cute. I have recently adopted a Chocolate Lab myself (in training as a real bird hunting dog) whom I have named Jojoe (Full name: Merlin's Jomocha Joe).

Pictures can be found here:

http://www.ashgrovevisualarts.com/gallery/index.php?album=My+New+Puppy


Lee

Howdy Lee,

We've been living in the house since two weeks after the fire, but with the kitchen boarded off from the rest of the house at the entry point of the "butler's pantry" to the dining room. It's a sort of small passage where we have some cupboards and shelves for the dishes, as well as a sink and the dishwasher, so fortunately the fact that it was a narrow access helped minimize the smoke damage to the rest of the house, though it was still pretty nasty. I can't imagine what a house with "extensive smoke damage" must be like. Sheesh.

I should take pictures of my current "kitchen" - it's the spare table set up in the dining room with my hotplate, toaster oven, and microwave When I get that moved back into the kitchen, then we can move everything out of the dining room so they can come in and paint the walls in the dining room and replace the ceiling tiles. It's all smoke damaged, but we were able at least to clean off the smell enough to make it livable, though it looks pretty crummy right now. However, I'm thankful we could be home even so - I'd have lost my sanity by now if we'd had to live in a hotel room all this time

Re. the dogs - we're also training ours for bird dogs. Ishtar, our first dog (golden retriever) was an excellent bird dog. Sonya (the one we lost in the fire) was gun shy, and while she was great with the kids, she wasn't squat for hunting. We're hoping that at least one of the current brood turns out to be a good bird dog. Mahala (10 years old) just completed her hunter's safety training this fall, and has her provisional license and has been out a few times already with Bill. However, guess what was in the garage? Yep, I had to make a hasty order for a good bit of his hunting gear

JoJoe looks like a sweety - he's cute on his own merits, but I do hope he makes a good bird dog! What kind of birding do you do?

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry,

The third picture--the current interior--is the one I like. Back in the days of building and remodeling houses, I liked this state of affairs best. It meant all the hard work was done and the few days of finishing up would be like a paid vacation (except for installing baseboard, which I hated). It will be pure joy when the crates in the garage are gone and you have your kitchen back, I would imagine.

all best,
mgj

Hi Sherry,
Congratulations on the progress of your ongoing work. Sorry I have not been around much lately. Having a few health issues of my own. Nothing to overly concerned about but being held back from a lot or activity. Dealing with extreme dizziness and loss of balance due to constricted blood vessels. The problem is being worked on and I will be fine in due time. Was some worry about carotid artery blockage but that turned out to be undue concern. Again, congrats and best of luck with construction.
Cheers,
Fred

Sherry, I live Cave Junction in a rural valley (the Illinois Valley) in Southwestern Oregon (take a look with GoogleEarth or other map program). Here we have upland game galore, valley and mountain quail, ruffed and blue grouse, pheasant, and even turkey. We also have "A River Runs Through It" type fishing for trout, steelhead, and salmon (but you can't keep the salmon caught here right now).

Just a short drive away, we can hunt chukar and huns (Hungarian partridge) and sage grouse and also find fishing where you CAN KEEP the salmon.

Wherever there is water, there are also opportunities for waterfowl hunting, ducks and geese. A Lab is one of the finest waterdogs there is and they ain't too bad at flushing upland game either. Jojoe has a great retrieving instinct and does quite well in the water for his tender age, as did his mom and pop before him. He is 5th generation chocolate but you may have noticed the spot on his right side, his JoMOCHA spot!

Looking at Bad Axe, MI, via Google Earth, you're seem to be in a pretty nice rural area yourself. I have a good friend that moved from here to the Upper Peninsula a few years ago. Perhaps sometime in the future, I could visit her and stop off at your place too, during hunting season, of course.

I hope you do well with your new pups, and Bill's new hunting gear.


Best,
Lee

Howdy,

Lee, my husband will be out directly to go hunting with you What a great location!

Fred, I'm sorry to hear that your health has been an issue, but we've been keeping you in our prayers that "this, too, shall pass." And be done with.

In other news, we're making it official - today was the last time I had to wash dishes in the bathroom tub!! We now have functional sinks in the kitchen, and I'm moving the rest of the dirty dishes there to wash The dishwasher will get powered up this weekend after the electrician makes his final visit ;) The tile guy will be finishing the backsplashes and the mud area this week as well, hopefully. The porch indoor/outdoor carpet is supposed to get done some time next week, I think. Window and door wells should be done and painted next week, and then the remaining trimwork can be installed. Woohoo!!!

And with that in mind, we're making The Party official as well!! We're going to have an open house on Saturday December 1, 2007, from noon til 6 p.m. for our annual Christmas celebration, and this year to celebrate getting the kitchen back. All are invited, and you can make your way to 154 S. Pinnebog Rd., Bad Axe, MI 48413. The directions are even right on MapQuest (after sending them oodles of letters for two years because we were "located" too far north ).

It won't be back to perfect (well, it never was perfect ;) ), but it will be functional. There's still the dining room to re-do (walls and ceiling), but after what we've been putting up with, it will be wonderful

And if you can't come, I'll be posting more pictures

ttfn,
Sherry

Howdy folks,

Well, the last of our guests just left, and we had a great time. It was so nice to be back in my kitchen (even though it's not "finished" yet) and doing one of the things I love best - having friends around the big kitchen table, visiting while I cook. I just got the table up yesterday (I still have the webbing clamp around the apron and legs - I haven't got it screwed together yet), and the top wasn't on for fifteen minutes before Mahala and Tom had out the ingredients to start baking for the open house. I had to whoop when we got the top on (it's a 4' x 6' x 2" thick solid maple butcher block top, so it's heavy), because that was sort of the "YES! I have my kitchen back!" moment

Thanks to those of you who have sent good wishes and such, and since we didn't have everything finished for this soiree, we'll just have to have another party when it's _all_ done. So if you missed this party, you get a second chance ;)

I'll include some pix later of the current incarnation....

ttfn,
Sherry

Howdy folks,

Here's your second chance if you missed the party in December

We're celebrating two things this Saturday - Tommy turns 8 (he was born at home in this house) and we've finally got everything structurally and landscape-wise done to the house and grounds! We had to get a lot of dirt removed and replaced because of all the glass, burn debris, and construction debris. We now have the herb/garden beds all redone, the driveway is not a dodge-a-rama for holes, and there is officially grass growing back, so we call it "done"

Here's how it's looking now:





Needless to say, I'm very very very thankful that we're at this stage )

If you're around the area this Saturday or anytime,do give us a holler

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry
Congratulations on this happy event.All is well that ends well ( old chinese saying (: ).
Sorry to say that there is no direct flight to Bad Axe ( quite a place to live in for a bass player !) from Portugal,so I won´t make it in time to arrive at the party.
May the Lord Buddha be with you and your family and give all His blessings to Beanfield Castle.
Regards
Djim