2015 Wrap-up: What Was, & What's To Come

What was:

August marked the end of my Summer Project. Yes, there are a few things on the projects To-Do list that didn't happen... but fear not! I will mark from the list as many of those elusive items as I can in the months to come. 

Thankfully, much of my To-Do list was accomplished.  The kitchen remodel is completed and everyone seems happy with it.  I did complete several videos that haven't yet made it to the blog, because YouTube changed their upload criteria-- I now have to keep each video under 15min.  Which means I will either have to edit those I have, or simply film new versions.  I am leaning toward the later...

September through December I embarked on an adventure in the sound booth.  I was fortunate enough to land an internship working with our church's audio/visual team.  Though it was tough leaving my place next to the drummer on stage for 3 months, the new perspective was interesting.  Our "sound-guy" is really good at what he does, so gaining an understanding of his priorities in the booth hopefully helps when I return to the stage. As they say, "the more you know..."

What's to come:

"108 Days of Practice."  

While thumbing through the Holiday issue of Bass Player Magazine I noticed the GHS advertisement featuring Angeline Saris.  Her name was familiar, so I visited her website. 

 Angeline's home page

That's when I remembered hearing an interview with her on the Amps & Axes Show.  Anyway, her website includes a blog got my creative juices flowing "108 Days of Practice."  

The concept is similar to what I've been attempting here, although it seems much more realistic than the 2-hours/8-weeks format.  It was easy relate to her story and I enjoyed reading about someone else's journey... 

...then she mentioned one of my all-time favorite books; Philip Sudo's "Zen Guitar."  That was the last nudge I needed to take on the challenge of 108 days of practice.  Once I begin, you will be able to find updates here under it's own page here.  

Another exciting adventure on the horizon is trying flatwound strings for the first time.  I've already been researching what's available, tone expectations, and of course the necessary evil-- cost.  
Considering that I now have a pair of P-type basses, it seems logical that one of them should be strung with flats, at least long enough for me to develop enough hands-on experience with them to decide if they're for me or not. 

As we prepare to close the books on 2015, I am looking forward to the new year with optimism and a new list of accomplishments to achieve.  Whether or not I'm able to complete them all is honestly of little consequence-- it's the journey, not the destination that matters most.  Hopefully you'll join me on this ride, and together we might have a bit more fun than last year~

Stay tuned & in tune...!