Nick LaBate profile picture

Nick LaBate

About Me

Nick LaBate has been playing bass guitar for some 15 years now. In that time he has played in a number of bar bands before having an epiphany in the mid 1990's and started working exclusively on original music. Since then he has gone on to be a member of Programmed Response , The Jeff Gaynor Band and ShoeMania .
Along the way there have also been a number of recording sessions. There have been recording sessions for records by A Brief Interruption, From The Desk Of Sally and most recently Incomplete Denial . These recordings feature work that is primarily on electric bass guitar, but also fretless bass and electric upright bass as well.
Along with the session work and band positions has come a progression of production roles over the years. Credits include co-production of the second Programmed Response album, Knives Inside Me (unreleased), co-production of the Jeff Gaynor Band CD's, The Jeff Gaynor Band, and Wear A Mask To Face The Daylight, the ShoeMania release of "A Fan To See" plus some production work and playing on the upcoming Incomplete Denial record Our existence is an accident.
There isn't a defined style of production per se. His production philosophy is to try to make the artist and the heart of their material shine. Certainly there are some common threads in the work, but that almost certainly comes from trying to elicit the best performances possible.
If ever there was a stylistic chameleon, it might be the musician whose page you're visiting. He cut his teeth playing all night blues jams and 4 hours cover band engagements. Combine that with 10+ years of playing in an assortment of eclectic original rock bands, and the styles run the gamut. It's a playing style that can range from bluesy, to rocking, to power/indie-pop and beyond. The instrument itself doesn't matter, either. Whether it's on a 4 string fretted bass, 5 string fretless, 6 string fretted or electric upright bass, Nick is a capable player on them all. A current staple of his sound is a muted picking style that's reminiscent of luminaries like bass legends Paul McCartney and Carol Kaye, ala her playing on The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations". But the essence of his style? It's all about playing what's right for the song.
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NOW PLAYING ON MYSPACE
In addition to the tracks that I have posted here, you can also hear some of my work at the following myspace pages. The tracks that I'm featured on are listed under the artist names.
Programmed Response
"Goodnight Mr. Goodbarr" (6 string bass)
"The Porpoise Is In The Can" (Music by Nick LaBate, lyrics by Dan McCarthy; 6 string fretless bass)
"One Big Family" (6 string bass)
"Tire Iron Rag" (Lyrics by Dire & Nick LaBate; 4 string fretless bass)
"Elevator" (6 string bass)
ShoeMania
"Indecision Confessional" - recorded live - (Music by Dan McCarthy; 5 string bass)
"Harder To Breathe" - recorded live - (Music by Dan McCarthy; 5 string bass, backing vocals)
"U-Turn" - recorded live - (Music by Dan McCarthy & Nick LaBate; 5 string bass; backing vocals)
"James" (Music by Dan McCarthy, Kevin Bernardo & Nick LaBate; 4 string bass; hammond organ)
"A Fan To See" (Music by Dan McCarthy; Electric upright bass)
"Sleep (And that's it)" - recorded live (Music by Dan McCarthy, Nick LaBate & Kevin Bernardo; 5 string bass)
Clearcut Recording
"Sample 2" - Excerpt of "James" by ShoeMania (4 string bass, hammond organ)
BANDS TAKE NOTE! I am only accepting friend requests from artists that I know and artists in search of a Producer or session player. I will not be accepting random friend requests. Bands or singer-songwriters that are interested in my Production or playing services should send a message along with any friend requests. PEACE!
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 02/12/2006
Band Website: http://home.earthlink.net/~nicklab/index.html
Band Members: Nick LaBate - Bass guitar(4, 5 and 6 string + fretless), electric upright bass, some guitar
Influences: Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones, The Beatles, Matthew Sweet, Jeff Lynne, Jon Brion, Cake.
Record Label: Unsigned

My Blog

New gear on the way?

Something that seems both old and new at the same time might find it's way into my possesion in the next couple of weeks.  It's something that I've been working towards for a little while, as I clear ...
Posted by on Tue, 26 May 2009 09:25:00 GMT

Tweet! Tweet!

I've been resisting doing this.  But I am now on Twitter!  Check out my Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/nickthebassist . Trust me, I will NOT be micro-blogging on the Twitter feed.
Posted by on Fri, 15 May 2009 15:32:00 GMT

Something new, something borrowed, something blue...

I might have something new (and at the same time old) in the works.  I'm in discussions with some people to do yet another project.  It's not the kind of project that I've been known for over the past...
Posted by on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:03:00 GMT

Be prepared

I know it's the Boy Scout motto.  I was in the  Boy Scouts once upon a time.But in this blog I'm talking about being prepared when  you go out to jam.  I love to play.  And a number of nights every we...
Posted by on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:09:00 GMT

Is music recession proof?

You see it on the news every day.  How the American economy is completely in the toilet, and that our financial system may be on the brink of collapse.  Pretty dour prospects for anyone.  Especially s...
Posted by on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:44:00 GMT

Getting back to work with the band

Lately I've been working on so many different things.  I moved.  I've been working weird hours on my day job.  The holidays are upon us.  I've been jamming with a bunch of people.&...
Posted by on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:38:00 GMT

Ah, technology!

My bass amp rig has been undergoing a bit of a transformation over the past couple of months.  I had been playing through the same amp setup for almost 10 years.  That setup consisted of an ...
Posted by on Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:36:00 GMT

Everything old is new again

Hello all passersby and to all the ships at sea....A brief update.  I've been digging back through the archives of my recorded work with some of the bands and artists with whom I've performed.&nb...
Posted by on Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:28:00 GMT

Going home again

Tonight I did something that I hadn't really done in a long time.  I went to a blues jam that's run by some guys that I used to play with for a long time.  I had sworn off things like that b...
Posted by on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:11:00 GMT

Switching up the playlist

Just a note to folks out here that I'm switching up the play list a little.  "James" is gone for the time being, but you can always check that out over at the ShoeMania page.  I've replaced ...
Posted by on Sun, 04 Mar 2007 22:00:00 GMT