the soundtrack to the day you wish you'd had
Two bits of news just now:
Firstly, my endorsement deal with Markbass is now official – someone asked the other day on Twitter whether it was me endorsing them or them endorsing me. In this case, it’s definitely both – they make amazing bass amps, and I show off what they can do 😉
Here’s the Markbass press release about it, and my artist page on Markbass.it – as it says on both of those sites, I’m delighted with how these amps sound. Continue reading “Markbass News + A New Interview”
Over the last couple of years, the joys of parenting have meant that both Lobelia and I have gigged less than we’d might… Which has the knock on effect of people thinking we’re not available for gigs…
Time to fix that. 🙂
So, what’s happening?
I’m available for gigs. Simple as that. Continue reading “Book A Gig!”
Just over a year ago, I released 11 Reasons Why 3 Is Greater Than Everything. My first studio solo bass album in 5 years. It’s already my most successful digital album ever, but now it’s been completely remastered (and in a couple of cases, remixed).
Why Remaster? Continue reading “11 Reasons Why 3 Is Greater Than Everything – Remastered!”
Recently, Steve Albini posted an ‘AMA’ on Reddit. I’ve never spent any time on Reddit, but a few people sent me the link to it, and I read it. The basic idea is that someone notable says ‘hey I’m here, ask me anything’. And what you get at the end is part hagiographic fan-boy nonsense and part really cool interview with questions that magazine and radio people would quite possibly never think to ask. In Steve’s case, it’s lots more of the latter. Here it is, if you want to read it. Continue reading ““Ask Me Anything” – Interview idea, Inspired by Steve Albini”
Time for a quick round up of some of the fabulous stuff I’ve found of late on Bandcamp. Please hit play on the ones that sound interesting to you, and if you like ’em, buy ’em. 🙂 Continue reading “Some Great New Music I’ve Bought Recently…”
I’ve got new recordings backing up here – too many lovely things that need releasing into the wild. Next on the list is definitely the album with Mike Outram (now over 2 years over due!) but later this year, I’ll be putting out a recording taken from the two shows I did with Daniel Berkman in San Francisco in January. Continue reading “Brand New Music With Daniel Berkman”
Last month’s Bass Player magazine had a feature, written by the excellent Ed Friedland, about Looping. (great choice of writer for such an article – Ed’s played some amazing music himself using looping devices.)
Anyway, there’s a section within it about players that you need to check out, and first on the list is me 🙂 Hurrah!
here’s a link to the whole article
And here’s the quote about me:
“Several bassists have taken looping to new heights, and Steve Lawson (stevelawson.net) is certainly at the forefront of the scene. Steve has toured the world as a solo bassist for years, and has released a trove of CDs featuring his unique blend of musicianship and effect mastery. Steve says, “Looping has enabled me to soundtrack the inside of my head without outside interference. I would not be playing solo if it weren’t for looping—it’s as simple as that.†“
Which is nice 🙂
If you remember, three years ago (I know, 3 years on the internet is like 500 years in normal life – sorry ’bout that) Andrew Dubber and I made a lil’ video talking about Twitter for musicians.
It’s proved very popular over the years, and has been incorporated into the curriculum on a number of music courses.
So a couple of weeks back, we recorded a follow up. Here it is. Enjoy 🙂
Twitter – 3 years on from Andrew Dubber on Vimeo.
This last weekend was all kinds of fun – I had two days at the London Bass Guitar Show and a wonderful improv gig in Derby…
The bass guitar show was my first ‘official’ outing for Markbass – Having been using the Markaudio PA gear for about 3 years (those incredible tiny speakers you’ve seen us use on UK house concerts? Mark Audio), I’ve just got a pair of unbelievable combos from Markbass – the Combo 121 Lites, designed in conjunction with Alain Caron. Continue reading “London Bass Guitar Show and My new Markbass Amps(with video!)”
“What Happens Now For Music?†is a growth area of exploration, both for academics and industry analysts, consultants and representative bodies.
The old machine that has controlled things for the last 40-50 years have their lobbyists and their clumsy, internet-ruining political agenda, but for the rest of us who give a shit about little things like ethics, art and culture, the questions are WAY bigger than ‘how can we pretend we’re making less money while actually making more money so that we can make EVEN more money, and still blame the internet for our made up failure?’
No, the bigger questions start with challenging the foundational principles of what the relationship is between a culture and its soundtrack, and how we can define success for those musicians who are somehow meaningfully engaged in the process of creating that soundtrack. Continue reading “What is Success? Starting from scratch”