Damian profile picture

Damian

BASSMAN

About Me

Experienced bass player

Currently working with Double Zero and looking for groovy projects.

Forums I run

Cambridge World Music - a forum for musicians and afficionados; a home for lovers of World Music in the East of England.

Enthusiasms

Funk, blues, african, dance, electronic, melodic jazz, crossover, world music.

Best musical experiences

  • Backpacking through Indonesia with a $10 guitar, playing reggae with local kids, busking with an American army dentist and playing blues with mad Scots
  • Joining the house musician at a hotel deep in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya for his after-dinner set - the white guests didn't notice; the black staff watched, all wide-eyes and grins, and told me afterwards they had no idea that white people could play (their) music!
  • Busking improvised ambient music with MARMALADE PANIC on the streets of Cambridge.
  • Live sessions on local radio with CASH as acoustic duo.
  • Sound Check for my first gig with a big PA - thinking my bass was sounding pretty good onstage - then the engineer turned on the PA!
  • Playing oldschool funk to packed houses with student band LOOSE BOOTY, especially with a murderous 60kW PA in an enclosed hall.
    • Recording, engineering and mixing an album in a day in my home studio for my folky friends PUCK.

    My Interests

    Eclectic

    I'd like to meet:

    Musicians

    based within striking distance of Cambridge, England for formation of a groove-based music-for-dancing-to project.

    Vibes

    Ideally I'd like to hook up with percussionists/drummer with funk/latin/african vibe, then see what happens.

    Dancing

    I want to be playing dance music to people who want to dance.

    Music:

    Funk, dance, trance, techno, blues, jazz, gipsy, ambient, world, acoustic, roots, folk, guitar, classical, choral, rock, grunge, OK, look, the list of genres in my music library fills about 2 screens...

    Movies:

    Blade Runner, The Wrong Trousers, Buena Vista Social Club

    Television:

    I prefer YouTube

    Books:

    John Peel: Margrave of the Marshes; Nelson Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom

    Heroes:

    Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, Jaco Pastorius

    My Blog

    Rubbish on the Radio

    So it was time for music.Can we play a disc, please, Daddy?Yes, sure.  Let's see what we can find.Carter, the Unstoppable Sex Machine?Great choice.A classic 12" single. 45rpm.  On my vintage...
    Posted by Damian on Thu, 23 Nov 2006 02:15:00 PST

    Bass Lessons for 5-year-olds

    I'm quite excited.My little girl has suddenly taken an interest in bass-guitarism.  We've always had instruments about the house, and she has often tinkered with them.  She sounds quite good...
    Posted by Damian on Wed, 15 Nov 2006 02:18:00 PST

    Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

    I'm the kind of old vinyl junkie who takes great pleasure in the age of MP3 in showing my little girl (who is 5) how to use the record player.  She's just as comfortable with records (she calls t...
    Posted by Damian on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 03:17:00 PST

    Rodrigo y Gabriela killed my HiFi

    It was looking good.  I had the house to myself.  I had the new "Rodrigo y Gabriela" CD.I turned up the volume on my (admittedly, rather vintage) hi-fi, and sat back.15 minutes of audio nirv...
    Posted by Damian on Tue, 24 Oct 2006 06:02:00 PST

    First gig for 4 years

    Well that was a blast!  I thoroughly enjoyed my first gig as performer for about 4 years.Here's how it went:My mate Ashley has decided at the age of 40 that he is in fact a great undiscovered GU...
    Posted by Damian on Fri, 20 Oct 2006 01:06:00 PST