Contrabass Conversations

I've been dreaming about having Gary Karr on Contrabass Conversations ever since starting the show. We got a chance to sit down and chat during the 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention, and that's what you're hearing today.

Gary is the reason that so many of us (myself included) play the bass. He and I chat about my first experience seeing him perform in Sioux Falls South Dakota. This had a profound impact on me and is a key reason why I play the bass today.

Gary Karr founded the International Institute for String Bass (IISB) in 1967. During these early years, he published sixteen issues of Bass Sound Post and two issues of Probas. He also hosted three international conferences in Madison, Wisconsin.

Seeing Gary at this 50th anniversary convention was a treat for everyone involved. We saw him in concerts. He spent time chatting and taking photographs with countless bassists during the week. Having him at this event was significant for everyone attending.

• Gary's new book Life on the G String
• the 1962 Young People's Concert with Leonard Bernstein that launched Gary's career
• how retirement changed Gary's playing
• why he started lifting weights recently
• why he went into public school teaching in Canada for a period of time and what that did to him as a performer
• the challenges Gary had in breaking in the Koussevitzky bass, and tips for breaking in basses in general

...and much more!

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

This is a "best of" episode from three classic Contrabass Conversations episodes. Back in the early days of the podcast, John Grillo and I recorded two episodes that dissected various excerpts. He and I talked through each excerpt and then played a recording of John performing it.

These have been extremely popular resources over the years, but they came out not he podcast ten years ago. With so many episodes of this podcast and so many new listeners to the show, bringing these classic offerings to light is important to me, so I'm planning on doing a few rebroadcasts of this cornerstone content every now and again.

• Beethoven Symphony No. 9
• Beethoven Symphony No. 5
• Brahms Symphony No. 1 and 2
• Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
• Mozart Symphony No. 35 and 39
• Mahler Symphony No. 2
• Schubert Symphony No. 9
• Strauss Ein Heldenleben
• Britten Young Person's Guide
• Verdi Otello

• Strauss
  • Salome
  • Rosenkavalier
• Wagner
  • Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
  • Die Walküre
• Britten
  • Peter Grimes
• Verdi
  • Otello
  • Rigoletto
  • Falstaff
• Weber
  • Euryanthe
• Mozart
  • Magic Flute
  • Marriage of Figaro
• Beethoven
  • Fidelio
• Humperdinck
  • Hansel and Gretel

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

This listener-generated episode came from a question posed on Facebook in our Contrabass Conversations Community group.

You can view the original thread and add your own thoughts. Also, be sure to join this Facebook group if you haven't already!

1. Leave at a time that would make you 45 minutes to an hour early given typical traffic. (Brandon Mason)
2. Bring extra strings. You'll probably never need it, but if you do there's no other alternative. (Paul Cannon)
3. Be a good communicator. Respond to emails/phone calls in a timely manner. Personnel managers will love you. (Mike White)
4. Do take a moment to really feel thankful for any gig you have been offered and for the hard work you did that got you to this point. This will put you in a good mindset and help to set you up for success. (Heather Miller Lardin)
5. Nail the part every gig. (Jeremy Baguyos)
6. Be Prepared. Be Punctual. Be Polite. (Peter Tambroni)
7. Treat every gig with the same level of respect, ask all of your questions before you say yes, have a great time and make sure everyone knows you had a great time. (Douglas Mapp)
8. Listen to everyone playing, including yourself. (Eugene Ciccone)
9. Do follow the 'chain of command' - if you're playing with a section and have a question, ask the the next bassist or principal bassist.(Peter Tambroni)
10. If you are asked for recommendations, always mention the best you know. Recommending lesser players to make yourself look good will usually backfire for obvious reasons. (Ron Wasserman)

1. Don't complain about the gig. You agreed to it. (Adam Booker)
2. Don't show up late to rehearsal with a cup of coffee in your hand. (Jerry Fuller)
3. Don't show off. Don't play all of your flashiest riffs during setup and between songs to try to impress people. (Nathan Elmer Ives)
4. Don't be a drag. (Douglas Mapp)
5. Don't turn down a gig you already agreed to in order to do a "better" gig. (Conrad Cornelison)
6. Don't ever believe that there are other things that can compensate for not nailing the part. (Jeremy Baguyos)
7. Don't just raise your hand and ask the conductor questions. (Peter Tambroni)
8. Don't take a gig you don't want (if you can afford that, of course; I know not everyone can). (Chantal Incandela)
9. Don't tell the contractor you will get back to them as to whether you can make it, and then when you realize you can't make it, neglect to get back to them.(Ron Wasserman)
10. Do not ask questions that show how "smart" you are. (Douglas Mapp)

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

James VanDemark just celebrated his 40th year of teaching at the Eastman School of Music. His students have held positions with many of the world's major orchestras, including the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Minnesota, San Francisco, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Rochester Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and the orchestras of Syracuse, Buffalo and Wichita.

• boxing and what it has done for James as well as his students
• the experience of being a principal bassist of a professional orchestra at 17
• how he came to join the Eastman faculty in his early 20s
• studying with cellists like Paul Katz and Leonard Rose
• learning how to play for a bigger hall - lessons learned from Leonard Rose
• learning how to vary sound and color to blend in or to project out

There's also a great feature on Backstage Pass from Classical 91.5 celebrating James and his 40 years at Eastman.

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

Tom Mendel is currently playing bass for the Chicago production of Hamilton. He has performed on over 100 musical theater productions like Wicked, The Lion King, Billy Elliot, and Book of Mormon. Tom is also the President Emeritus of the Theatre Musicians Association.

Tom uses most of the same gear that Richard Hammond is using for the New York production of Hamilton:

• Lakland Joe Osborn 5 string bass
• Lakland Hollowbody 4 string bass with flat wounds (to emulate the Hofner Beatles bass sound)
• Arturia KeyLab
• Poellmann upright bass with low C chromatic extension (low notes are required for Hamilton book)
  • Thomastik for lower strings and Pirastro Flat Chromesteels for the super strings
• Avalon U5 Direct Box for electric bass
  • GHS Super Steels
• OPUS 1000 Direct Box for acoustic bass
• DPA Microphones
• Additional upright gear:
  • Visual Sound Volume Pedal
  • Wilson Pickup
• Pedal board (used mainly for two tunes: Blow Us All Away and Washington On Your Side):
  • Pedaltrain Jr
  • Voodoo Lab Switcher
  • Aguilar Tone Hammer
  • Peterson StroboFlip
  • BOSS TU-3 Chromatic Tuner
  • BOSS CE-3 Chorus
  • MXR Octave Divider (two of them)
  • Fulltone Supa-Trem
  • Passive volume control and true bypass from Tom Erwin of Peregrine Effects

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

Derek Jones is the bassist for Cirque du Soleil's show KÀ. He joined Cirque after spending time playing with Chris Thile and Nickel Creek and then with Jerry Douglas, and he has played over 5,200 performances of this show at this point.

• challenges of dealing with the low humidity in Las Vegas
• Derek's unexpected chance to see Gary Karr play live in Las Vegas recently
• his 12 1/2 years on the Cirque show
• why it's better to cut frequencies than boost
• growing up in the Bay Area and getting his break on the salsa music scene
• the decision to move to Nashville
• the three ways to experience a culture (language, food, music)

...and much more!

You can get Derek's albums Run With Me and Dusk 'til Dawn in hi res audio from Blue Coast Records!

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

iPhone app

Android app

This short episode features Allegra Hale describing the features of the 2017 ISB Convention app. Download it and find us on the app to connect with us during the convention!

Check out more ISB-related podcasts at contrabassconversations.com/isb

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

This episode is also brought to you by Rosin Saver, a revolutionary storage device that keeps bass rosin feeling as fresh as the day it was made.

Rosin Saver is used by members of the New York Philharmonic, the MET orchestra, the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, and many others.

Use the promo code 'HEATH' at checkout for 10% off any and all orders from rosinsaver.com.

Joey Naeger recently wrote an article for Bass World titled Fingerboard Geometry. Optimal fingerboard set-up is a major topic of interest for all bass players, and I reached out to Joey to chat for the podcast.

• scoop
• why fingerboard buzzes occur
• what bass makers can do to help

...and much more!

Look for Joey at ISB 2017, and check out his article for diagrams and further reading on the topic of fingerboard geometry.

Check out more ISB-related podcasts at contrabassconversations.com/isb

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

This episode is also brought to you by Rosin Saver, a revolutionary storage device that keeps bass rosin feeling as fresh as the day it was made.

Rosin Saver is used by members of the New York Philharmonic, the MET orchestra, the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, and many others.

Use the promo code 'HEATH' at checkout for 10% off any and all orders from rosinsaver.com.

The 2017 International Society of Bassists Convention starts a week from today! We begin our ramp-up to this 50th anniversary event with perspectives from past guests.

Today's episode features highlights from the following past guests:

• Nicholas Walker
• Madeleine Crouch
• Douglas Mapp
• Gary Karr
• François Rabbath
• Paul Ellison
• David Allen Moore

Check out more ISB-related podcasts at contrabassconversations.com/isb

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

This episode is also brought to you by Rosin Saver, a revolutionary storage device that keeps bass rosin feeling as fresh as the day it was made.

Rosin Saver is used by members of the New York Philharmonic, the MET orchestra, the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, and many others.

Use the promo code 'HEATH' at checkout for 10% off any and all orders from rosinsaver.com.

Heather Miller Lardin leads a diverse career performing and teaching on historical and modern double basses and viola da gamba. Heather is also the editor of Bass World's column 'Rumblings' and directs the Temple University Early Music Ensemble.

• becoming Suzuki certified
• teaching bass using the George Vance Progressive Repertoire books
• teaching gamba to young students through a grant from the Viola da Gamba Society
• studying with Roger Scott at Curtis
• being introduced to the concept of performance practice while at Curtis
• what a career in early music looks like

Check out more podcasts covering early music at contrabassconversations.com/earlybass

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Kaplan strings, which have versatility and control throughout the dynamic spectrum, rich tonal color palette, superb bow response, and beautiful balance.

Enter our latest string giveaway for Kaplan strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Thank you also to the Bass Violin Shop, which offers the Southeast's largest inventory of laminate, hybrid and carved double basses. Whether you are in search of the best entry-level laminate, or a fine pedigree instrument, there is always a unique selection ready for you to try. Trade-ins and consignments welcome!

This episode is also brought to you by Rosin Saver, a revolutionary storage device that keeps bass rosin feeling as fresh as the day it was made.

Rosin Saver is used by members of the New York Philharmonic, the MET orchestra, the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, and many others.

Use the promo code 'HEATH' at checkout for 10% off any and all orders from rosinsaver.com.