b.c.w. profile picture

b.c.w.

i just keep pretending to live for the game - the show must go on... (chicago - stone of sisyphus)

About Me


Welcome! I'm a professional bassist, mainly an acoustic/jazz player, but I play most any style. I grew up here in the South near North Wilkesboro, NC, and have lived in Asheville since 1999. I went to UNC-Asheville for Music/Jazz Studies and Multimedia Arts And Sciences and have worked as a professional musician since 2002. I am engaged to a wonderful woman named Rachel, and am fortunate to have a lot of special folks in my life, both personally and professionally. Please explore the site and learn more about my music and about ME. Cheers!
I am available for studio/session/live work here in the Southeast and surrounding areas. Contact me here on MySpace, or at my main music website HERE...
After 15 years... Stone of Sisyphus FINALLY sees the light of day on June 17!! BUY IT!
View my page on Scheffland
'Bass In Harmony' Merchandise
Bass In Harmony - T-Shirts/Mugs and More... For the Discerning Bassist or Bass Fanatic!
I Play Well With Others...

Done For The Evening - Modern Jazz
Brushfire - Eclectic Jazz/Bluegrass/Funk Fusion
Lyndsay Wojcik Band
The Leigh Glass Band
Discography/Performance History
*2008- Prep work for Brushfire's upcoming Nashville and other festival gigs for the summer of 2008.
*2008- Began work on new solo recording "Grey Matters", featuring multilayered bass tracks and other instruments.
*2008- Took over the bass chair in the Leigh Glass Band.
*2008- Performed with Brushfire on Asheville's URTV.
*2007- Studio session(s) for the lovely Lyndsay Wojcik and her upcoming record... best time in the studio EVER!
*2007- Studio session(s) with Robert DiMaio, contributing bass tracks to one tune for his upcoming record, "Beauty Junkie".
*2007- Released first CD with jazz trio "Done For the Evening" at the French Broad Brewing Co., Jan. 20. The CD "Live Colours 2006" features live selections from various shows in late 2006.
*2007- Performed with Brushfire Stankgrass on WNCW's "Local Colour". Began work on new studio recording.
*2006- Performed with the Kellin Watson Band at LEAF '06 to a rousing response. Guests included River Guerguerian on percussion, and Aaron Price ..s and vocals.
*2006- Performed with Steel String Theory at the 2006 Albino Skunk Bluegrass Festival in Greer, SC. The bill included the Steep Canyon Rangers, Cadillac Sky, the Circuit Riders (hey Billy!) and other fabulous folks!
*2006- Recorded double bass tracks on "A Silent Lapse of Soul", a new tune on Steel String Theory's upcoming record. Ben Edwards and Chris Kew play bass on the rest of the album.
*2006- Began work on recordings of all-new tunes with Done For The Evening, which is a featured band in the June 2006 Jazz Composers Forum concert series.
*2005- Appeared with the Kellin Watson Band at the fall 2005 Lake Eden Arts Fest with the incomparable Scott Senior on percussion, and special guests Jessee Havey and Tania Elizabeth, all members of The Duhks
*2005- Appeared with the Kellin Watson Band on a co-bill with Sugar Hill recording artists The Duhks at the Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte, NC; the first in a series of shows with these incredible musicians.
*2005- Appeared with the Chronology Trio as a featured composer during the August Jazz Composers Forum concert, along with the Rick Cline Quartet, Cotangent, and the Aimee Sullivan Quartet.
*2005- Played with LA-based guitarist Matthew Von Doran during his east-coast tour to support his record "In This Present Moment".
*2005- Recorded with Kellin Watson at Collapseable Studios for her new EP project in preparation for a new full-length CD.
*2005- Began work with Robert DiMaio to record several tunes for his follow-up to his 2003 release, "Deepin The Mystery."
*2004- Duo recording with NYC Pianist/Composer Bill Gerhardt entitled "Alternate Similarities." CD included all original tunes composed by Bryan, and arranged by Bryan and Bill.
*2004- Appeared with the Chronology Trio as a featured composer during the March Jazz Composers Forum concert, along with Jon Thornton and Bill Gerhardt.
*2004- Appeared with Kellin Watson on WNCW's "Crowd Around The Mic" CD compilation of premier in-studio performances for 2004.
*2004- Performed with Kellin Watson at Alltel Pavilion as a support act for the Jessica Simpson concert. 2001- Recorded with Cassie Sipe for a single song demo, also featuring Ian Cunningham on drums. Check it out here at garageband.com
*2000- Recorded/Performed with Chromatic Vertigo, a rock/fusion trio that featured Ian Cunningham (drums) and Robert DiMaio (guitar).
*1998-1999 Recorded/Performed with 30 Pieces of Silver, alternative rock group from North Wilkesboro, NC.
EQUIPMENT/ENDORSEMENTS
swr amplifiers
johannes köhr basses
lakland basses
monster cable/george l's cables
kolstein heritage double bass strings
ghs strings and lakland strings
aphex punch factory outboard compressors

My Interests

*music
*philosophy
*politics
*running/physical fitness
*cars, auto racing (IndyCar and Formula One)


I'd like to meet:

musicians, old friends, new friends, double bassists, fans of indy car & formula one racing, lakland basses, fans of free jazz, anyone who remotely shares interest in the same things i do...

Music:



Favorite Bands/Musicians:

-=BASS=- Charlie Haden, Jason Scheff,, Peter Cetera,, Larry Grenadier, Scott LaFaro, John Patitucci, Ron Brendle, Viktor Krauss, Pino Palladino, Stefan Lessard, Matt Golombisky, Mike Holstein

-=GUITAR=- Pat Metheny, Eric Johnson (the tone god), Ben Monder, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Hart, Bill Frisell, Doug Wamble

-=DRUMS=- Bill Stewart, Brian Blade, Billy Higgins

-=SAX=- Wayne Shorter, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Gary Thomas, Greg Osby, Ornette Coleman

Chicago, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, R.E.M., Eric Johnson, Weather Report (anything with Jaco), The Duhks (my Grammy-nominated compadres!) Richard Marx, Dave Matthews Band, Jeff Buckley, John Mayer(any of his work with Pino & Steve), Alison Krauss, Mindy Smith, Ron Block, Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer,The Mavericks, Diamond Rio, Don Henley, Mr. Mr., Lauryn Hill, Black Eyed Peas, Tool,Steely Dan, Spin Doctors, 311, Van Halen, Dave Matthews Band,U2, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Led Zeppelin, the list goes on...

Movies:

James Bond: Casino Royale, Good Night and Good Luck, Love Song For Bobby Long, Almost Famous, Singles, Bourne Identity, Mulholland Drive, Butterfly Effect, The Pianist, The Red Violin, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Garden State, Lost In Translation, The Order, Pieces Of April, Johnny English, The Ring, Signs, The Wedding Crashers, Havoc, Syriana, Thank You For Smoking, The Island, Mr. Bean's Holiday, The Family Man, Memphis Belle, Hunt For Red October

Television:

Not much of it... BIG IndyCar and Formula One fan, MTV's Real World (i know, i know... spare me the lectures), Any of VH1's Behind the Music specials, or anything on VH-1 that deals with artists of acceptable caliber.

Books:

Kerouac: On The Road, Big Sur, Book of Blues, Scripture of the Golden Eternity

Baudrillard: Simulations, Vital Illusion, Spirit of Terrorism

Rorty: Philosophy and Social Hope

Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner

The Truth of Catholicism

Thinking In Jazz by Paul Berliner

The Essential Foucault

Masaoka Shiki - Selected Writings

The Selected Writings of T.S. Eliot

An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore (EVERYONE MUST READ THIS BOOK AND TAKE ACTION)
A People's History of the United States (in progress)

Heroes:

Charlie Haden and Jason Scheff for showing me the way in both music and other aspects of my life. I'm fortunate to have met both of them, and their influence is profound. My late Uncle Dean for inspiring me to live a healthy, responsible, productive life, my parents (they really are right about a lot of stuff, as much as you hate to admit it), Eddie Pendry (my first bass teacher) and my best friend Charlie.

My Blog

Bass & Coffee THURSDAY, MAY 29th! 8 PM Eastern!

Yo gang!  We have a fun-filled Bass & Coffee for the 29th, so pack up your to-go mugs and join me for an evening of music and discussions.  Please come in and join me in the chat room......
Posted by b.c.w. on Thu, 29 May 2008 08:30:00 PST

Catching Up, Moving Forward..

Hey friends!  I wanted to write a quick post-workout blog here to catch up with everyone and let you know what's happening and where my head is.I've been in a really weird state of mind the last ...
Posted by b.c.w. on Mon, 12 May 2008 10:41:00 PST

New New New!

Today was quite the productive day... I finished the first song for my solo record early this morning, had a killer workout, a great rehearsal with Leigh and the gang for Friday, and I just got the ph...
Posted by b.c.w. on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:20:00 PST

From TalkBass: Originality in Bass/Music - REPOST

There's a heated discussion on TalkBass about why there are so many bassists out there who are content to simply copy another player's style/sound and function in that realm, as opposed to absorbing y...
Posted by b.c.w. on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:39:00 PST

Grey Matters - UPDATE

Hey gang!  So I wanted to post the revised 'concept sheet' for my new solo album.  I have already started writing one of the tunes, and the rest of the album is coming together in terms of t...
Posted by b.c.w. on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:16:00 PST

Grey Matters

hey gang...  this whole idea of a new solo bass album has really gotten me excited... i have so many ideas that i really feel confident about, and i already have a vision for how it’ll be c...
Posted by b.c.w. on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:22:00 PST

The Rattle & Hum In My Head

What a loaded title, no?  I quote it only because that really is where my head is focused right now.  I have a lot on my plate musically, but in many ways I finally feel like things are fall...
Posted by b.c.w. on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:25:00 PST

Bass Geek Stuff: 55-01 Love (from TalkBass)

Hey gang... for the bass nerds out there, this is a repost of something I put up in a discussion re: Lakland 55-01’s on the TalkBass boards.  It seemed like something folks here might want ...
Posted by b.c.w. on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:56:00 PST

UStream Issues - Nov. 20

Hey gang.  SO... I wanted to get back in the swing of things tonight with Bass & Coffee, and it seems that UStream decided to, as we say in the biz, "take a dump" and fritz out tonight. I not...
Posted by b.c.w. on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:53:00 PST

Bass & Coffee TONIGHT @ 9PM!

Hey friends!  Bass & Coffee returns TONIGHT, March 20th at 9:00pm for an evening of bass-centric music creation and discussion.  8pm is the usual time for the chat, but we’re rolli...
Posted by b.c.w. on Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:58:00 PST