When I'm not playing bassist-for-hire as exampled in the four uploaded songs, goofing around in a friend's cover band, or lending my five strings to Fear Of Grass (an across-the-planet 'net based musical project) it's simply me, myself, and I. That is, if you don't count 87 6 ever-changing number of basses... but yes, the number actually has gone down since around 2006 or so and after several years of trying out different basses and getting closer and tantalizingly closer to physically and sonically the ultimate realization of what that part of "My Sound" is: specifically my Mike Lull Modern 4 and 5 "Jazz Basses on Steriods" & Spector ReBop DLX 4, 5, and 5-string fretless Basses equipped with Aquilar OBP-3SK/PP Onboard Preamps and Nordstrand "Big Single" Custom Pickups which are particular by far the best instruments that suit my sound that I've ever played and will be a part of my playing as long as I can imagine. I've finally got an amount of truly quality instruments at this point)*, my rig anchored by my SWR Mini Mo' preamp and all the exotic sounds it can produce and Avatar Speakers 2x12" and 2x10" cabinets that reproduce my tone with near-perfect clarity (although this diagram needs to be updated in terms of basses), my MacBook Pro, Pro Tools M-Powered 7.1, FireWire 410 Mobile Recording Interface, Axiom 49 USB MIDI Controller, Key Rig Virtual Keyboard Rack and various other recording, looping, and instrument programs (GarageBand 3.0, Ableton Live lite 4, Sony Loop Euphoria 2006, M-Audio ProSessions Percussion loops, FruityLoops 3, Cool Edit Pro 2.0) and equipment. There's nothing like the sound of overdubbed basses over exotic loops, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
*Okay, you asked for it:
Basses:
Dean Edge Hammer 10-string (5-string with Octave strings in Natural Oil)
Mike Lull Modern 4 four-string in Transparent Red
Mike Lull Modern 5 five-string in Transparent Amber
MusicMan S.U.B. Sterling four-string in Cinnamon (1 of only 100 produced
Spector ReBop 4 Deluxe EX four-string in Zebrawood aka "The ZeBop"*
Spector ReBop 5 Deluxe FM five-string in Black Cherryburst*
Spector ReBop 5 Deluxe FM five-string custom lined fretless in Blueburst equipped with an HG Thor Epoxy Coating"*
Taylor AB-2 four-string ABG (Acoustic Bass Guitar) in Natural Imbuia aka Brazilian Walnut
*All soon-to-be equipped with Aquilar OBP-3SK/PP Internal Preamps and Nordstrand Big Single "Jazz pickups on Steroids" Custom Single Coil Pickups
Former Instruments gone, but not forgotten:
1992 Fender Jazz Plus V five-string in Black
1992 Ibanez SR-800 four-string in Pearl Blue (My first "good" bass, defretted when I decided to learn to play fretless, and current on "indefinite loan" to Chad of Akron's own Mad Crush when he informed me of his desire to do the same. Bassists helping bassists, y'all.)
1996 Ibanez SR-1206 six-string in Natural
2002 Fender Standard Jazz Bass modified with Seymour Duncan Bassline pickups, Gotoh bridge, and white pearloid pickguard
2003 Yamaha RBX-775 five-string in Flat Silver
2003 Yamaha RBX-775 five-string custom fretless in Flat Blue
2003 Spector ReBop 4 four-string modified with EMG 35CS & DC pickups, BQC System preamp, and Hipshot Bass Xtender in Natural Oil
2004 Ibanez RKB-900 four-string in Vintage Fade
Internal SWR Mini Mo' Bass Preamp Effects in signal-chain order
BassSynth Analog sawtooth wave generator/Envelope Filter w/ manual filter sweep control
Mo' EQ "Band-Pass Filter"-type second set of equalization (compared to the preamp-stage "Semi-Parametric" EQ) to alter the tone of the bass and the Mo'-based effects, primarily the Overdrive and the BassSynth.
Chorus
SWR Mo' Control 2 Master Footswitch controlling Overdrive/Distortion, SubWave, BassSynth, Mo' EQ, and Chorus, Preset Groups, Bypass, and Mute preamp functions
Korg DT-10 Pedal Tuner (signal routed through Mo' Control 2 Footswitch's "Tuner Out")
DigiTech JamMan Looper (running through the Effects Loop of my Mini Mo' Preamp as to loop the entirety of my signal, and not just that pedalboard effects if it were run in-line after the last pedal)
Dunlop GCB-80 High Gain Volume Pedal
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2+ pedalboard-mounted power supply w/ eight 9V isolated, regulated, and highly filtered outputs to power above units
Planet Waves and LiveWire cables, straight, and offset 1/4" adapters for pedal-to-pedal connections
*I warned you, didn't I? Much like Voltron, together they all combine to form my home demo recording space "Studio VicoDim". I would also take a moment to thank some friends in the music industry who have been of invaluable help over the years:
Harmony Ellis of Voodoo Lab and her invaluable help with custom cabling for my Pedal Power 2+ power supply
...and last but certainly not least, Bryan Beller & Mike Keneally for their unending support and friendship.
Influences
As a bassist: Bryan Beller, Rex Brown, Adam Clayton, Tony Franklin, Simon Gallup, Mike Inez, Eddie Jackson, Geddy Lee, Tony Levin, Sean Malone, John Myung, Jason Newsted, Pino Palladino, Doug Pinnick, Billy Sheehan, Daniel Shulman, Peter Steele, and Doug Wimbish.
As a songwriter: A Perfect Circle, Tori Amos, Blue Man Group, Bryan Beller, Celldweller, Clatter, The Cure, Dream Theater, Peter Gabriel, Kevin Gilbert, Mike Keneally, Sean Malone, old-school metal, The Police, Trent Reznor, Rush, Devin Townsend, Type O Negative, U2, and Yogi.
Sounds Like
Tori Amos, Bryan Beller, The Cure, Dream Theater, Mike Keneally, Tony Levin, Sean Malone, Nine Inch Nails, Pantera, Type O Negative, and U2... in a blender. With copious amounts of tequila.
Otherwise known as "scarred2112" around cyberspace, I'm a semi-professional bassist, hack writer, (lapsed) political science student, and part-time cynical bastard. Those four examples will likely give you a good understanding of my viewpoints on music, life, the universe and everything, but here’s a smattering of other words should you desire more knowledge – atheist, disabled, friendly, humorous, a more-than-decent cook, muso, open, sarcastic, and someone's significant other and proud of it. My ego has been increased by 15% simply by typing the above.
As for some background, I'm a former New Yorker who has went through the whole "cover band/original band/goofy band/professional live and studio sideman" circle before finding himself doing time "down south" (some don't consider Kentucky part of the south - from my POV, anything lower than Jersey counts) when he discovered true love true love found his ass and hit him over the head with a BASEketball and he transfered schools so we could be together. The 18 months spent in Lexington wasn't bad at all, being the College Town it is with the prototypical Head shops and better-than-average clubs to prove it, but once the SO graduated (I had an experience where several of the higher-ups of the University lied to my face regarding an ADA issue I'd raised about a professor that turned out to be best friends with my "advisor" and thus had his ass fully well-covered gave me absolutely no desire to attend classes there) moved to Mount Sterling, KY of which I can say only this about the area and inhabitants: it was a place where being called a "Redneck" was a matter of high honor. Three years later, a Master's Degree, and significant loss of my grey matter later our sentence in Mount Sterling was commuted with a move to Akron, OH to continue with the SO's now-Doctoral Studies that suited everyone and their needs incredibly well.
I'm interested in jamming/creating music with anything interesting musically to say - I've got plenty of time to kill... or at least wound (these days I'm far more interested in something "Dresden Dolls"-like: melodic basses such as my fretless or 10-string which is strung in Octaves like a 12-string guitar, a tribal/"Battlestar Galatica"-esque drummer and some type of nontypical "rock" instrument/vocalist far more then your average "prog", "indie", or generically-labeled genre). If you're in a band that actually makes money and needs a bassist, you can even forget about the "interesting" part above. A boy's gotta eat.
Copying some info from your standard MySpace page that isn't included in a "band" profile:
Movies: A.I., Army of Darkness, The Bill & Ted movies, Blade Runner, The Bourne Trilogy, Clerks and Kevin Smith's "View Askewniverse", the vast majority of James Cameron's work, The Crow, Dark City, Die Hard, Fight Club, Fear Of A Black Hat, Heat, The Incredibles, Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events", The Matrix trilogy, Monsters, Inc., Netflix, Office Space, Reservior Dogs, Science Fiction, Seven, Shaun of the Dead, Spinal Tap, Standing In The Shodows Of Motown, Star Trek, Star Wars before Lucus became mad with power, Strange Days, Tank Girl, Titanic, Toy Story and Toy Story II, and generally anything with Kate Winslet.
Television: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Battlestar Galactica, Black Adder, The Boondocks, Breaking Bad, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, Doctor Who, the good (early) years of ER, Forever Knight, Heroes, House M.D., The Kids In The Hall, MST3K, Mad About You, Mad Men, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Mythbusters, PBS, Red Dwarf, Robot Chicken and Adult Swim shows in general, Scrubs, Seinfeld, Sports Night, South Park, Twin Peaks, The West Wing.
Books: Anthony Bourdain, Poppy Z. Brite, Stephen King, Chuck Klosterman, Neil Peart, Michael Ruhlman, and far too many others to list.
Status: In a Long-Term Relationship
Here For: Friends, Networking, Sarcasm
Orientation: Sometimes Vertical, Sometimes Horizontal
Body type: 5'5"/ Muscular / Disabled
Hometown/Places Lived In: Staten Island NYC, Queens NYC, Syosset NY, Lexington KY/Cincinnati OH, Mount Sterling KY, and currently Akron OH
Religion: Atheist
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Smoke/Drink: No / Occasionally
Children: I Don't Want Kids. Never. Ever. EVER. I don't even baby-sit
Pets: Two Cats, Petrucci and Rael
Education: College Graduate (Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice, three-quarters of a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a strong minor in Sociology)
Occupation: Musician / Housefraü
Income: None of your damn business. Not enough, however
PLEASE NOTE: "Viral Promoters" and the like, please don't attempt to friend me as it will be denied. Not that I have a problem with what you do (actually, I do as it's a symptom of a much larger problem within the Music Industry in general as well as the fact that I don't need my ego boosted by having friends numbering in the thousands) but for the much more pragmatic reasoning that I've no actual product for you to currently promote except myself, and you don't seem to be in the business of Selling Ian. If you are, however, feel free to be that exception.
Just droppin' in! I know I still owe you a message about all that's been going on in my life over the years... haven't forgotten... I don't know where the time goes... promise to write soon. Hope all's well. T2YS.
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