I should have been taping this week's episode of the podcast on Sunday morning, but instead I was making my first visit to Urgent care in 25 years of living in the US. That, and much more in this episode, including the launch of the brand new Giant Steps book!

The technical limitations of playing an instrument that isn’t your first aren’t the only benefit to a more honest writing process, but they definitely help.

Over time my piano chops have become fairly robust, but they are nowhere near my bass playing, and as a result I’m able to sit at the piano and play things that aren’t super technical and baked into my playing. It forces me to simplify my approach to the composition process, and I find many happy accidental changes of direction due to my fumbling of a melody or a chord.

I come across far more things this way than I would at the bass, and today’s episode takes a look at my writing process as I get to grips with composing for a large scale choir ahead of the sessions for my new album in Argentina in a few months.

Be a part of the project by participating in the pre-sale here.

Cheers,

Janek

We’re talking about everything from String Tension to touring pedalboards in today’s episode. A new board build will be coming up in a couple of months to try and prepare for summer touring in the US, and recording the new album in Argentina.

Other things mentioned in the podcast include:

Today's Sponsor: https://www.steigerdynamics.com/

Rick Margitza "Hope":

Bass Books: https://janekgwizdala.com/store

Janek's Bass Studio: https://www.janeksbassstudio.com/

I was so psyched to be back in Santa Cruz on tour again after so many years, and am really glad it worked out to have Jack come by my hotel and tape this interview for you all.

I’ve been a massive fan of the Noble since Jack handed me serial #9 (an unintended prototype) in Santa Cruz when I was on tour with David Ryan Harris in 2014. I’ve used it almost non-stop ever since, have always been curious about the back story to the company, and the ideas that eventually became what we all know and love today as the Noble Preamp DI.

Jack or Noble are in no way sponsoring this podcast. I recommend the unit during the interview out of a genuine love for what it’s meant to me over the years, and this interview came about because of my curiosity in terms of the story of Noble.

Enjoy, Janek

Greetings from the Vital Information 40th Anniversary tour. We’re out on the west coast of the US, and having a blast. Donny McCaslin stopped by our show in Santa Cruz last night and melted a few faces, and we’re now up in Oregon enjoying our first day off, and preparing for the last four shows of this leg of the tour.

I’m psyched to be able to carry a touring podcast setup and still be able to bring you this every week. I know it’s a day late, but travel, combined with an incredibly slow laptop that is allergic to video and audio editing, got the better of me with the workload.

I’m looking forward to being back in my studio and being able to share some video and audio from the shows, but until then, enjoy the episode and don’t forget the pre-sale for the new album is up and running! Get your copy now and follow the journey to Argentina as the project unfolds and takes shape.

From who Peter considers to be his favorite drummer in Weather Report, to how we can all improve our experience as musicians from the simplest adjustments of intent, Peter goes deep into some of the most important stops along the way of his decades-long musical journey.

Steps Ahead, Weather Report, Stan Kenton, and Steely Dan all come up in our conversation as well as details on the importance of his relationship with bassist Marc Johnson and how he reveres studio legends like Jeff Porcaro and Jim Keltner.

We also close the interview with a fantastic Will Lee story that showcases Pete’s humility and sense of humor.

I’m proud to call Peter a friend, honored to have called him a colleague and collaborator for many years, and I’m excited to be able to share this Sunday morning chat with you.

Janek.

Whether as a bass player, keyboard player, guitarist or producer, my time in the studio making records during my career has been some of the most fun I’ve had with music.

Despite the absolute craziness of home-life right now, and the deadlines rapidly approaching on the new book and Steve Smith’s Vital Information tour about to start, I managed to get this episode done late last night, and I hope you dig the trip down memory lane looking at a few of the records I’ve played on.

A good chunk of the songs and albums can be found in this playlist on spotify. I’ll keep adding to the list as I find more.

Cheers,

Janek

This is something I’m very grateful to my early mentors in music for stressing the importance of to me. My biggest early bass influences Laurence Cottle, Phil Mulford and Geoff Gascoyne all had this skill together in a multitude of styles, and that rubbed off on me from day one.

This episode takes a look at using the cycle of fourths, the circle of fifths, half steps, whole steps, and even Giant Steps to cover the full range of your instrument and build confidence in any key, anywhere on the neck.

Don’t forget that the pre-sale for my new album, and possibly one of the most ambitious recording projects I’ve ever embarked on, is now live at my website.

Thank you in advance for all your support, and I can’t wait to bring you more frequent updates on the progress of the project as the recording dates in Argentina approach this August.

It is impossible to cover what makes Markus who he is in a few short sentences. I’ll let you check out his Wikipedia page for the interesting read that is his life story.

This interview could have easily gone three more hours, and I’m glad to have made what I think will be the first installment of many chats on the couch with this incredibly interesting, educated, and thoughtful musician.

As always there is a video version of the interview on YouTube, and if you dare to enter the rabbit hole that is Markus’ discography, make sure you have some serious time to set aside. It is vast, thought provoking, emotional, and innovative, and it really doesn’t matter what you start.

Cheers,

Janek

Thank you for all the feedback on YouTube, and most importantly for all your questions. They vary from the always-asked, to the never-even-thought-about-that, and they all get me thinking!

From three finger technique on your picking hand, to the dos and don’ts of transcription and learning musical vocabulary of any style, your questions are much appreciated and fun to answer, so please keep them coming in the YouTube comments below each episode’s video version.

And don’t forget, I’m really putting my foot to the floor on this mission to get to 100k subscribers on my main YouTube channel by the end of February, so if you have a second to SUBSCRIBE, it’s free and would be much appreciated.

The wheels are turning behind the scenes here with concerts planned all over the world, and I can’t wait to present new projects to you in person.

Cheers,

Janek