Davemarks

BTw chaps... the audio and video files for my latest style file are not up online yet. A bereavement threw a spanner in the works, and we couldn't get everything done before the print date. All I need are the keys parts... then a mix.. then it'll be up there. It's sounding wicked so far :-) d

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='640949' date='Oct 30 2009, 12:59 PM']Admit it Dave, you still rock those Extreme records.[/quote] Awww hell yeah. 3 Sides? Classic... d

Oh dude - that's a big pity. You should have emailed me during the day as the deadline drew nearer... I could have walked you in officially :-) It seems the office got a bit buried under a networking / computer crash that day... stuff like that kinda becomes the end of the world and everything else gets shunted way down the priority list.... Please accept my apologies on behalf of the college - in future, I'm gonna take a guest list through my own site and that way I'll be able to make sure that people get connected up properly. d

Oh yeah.. don't forget to mention that you got the link through from me on Basschat :-) d

Hey guys. I have 15 seats allocated to give away on a first come, first served basis for reggies masterclass on Monday 16th at 7pm. If you wanna come along, email the college direct at [email protected] it's that simple... D

Right. My site is back online and all of the bits relating to this issue's Style File are on this page: [url="http://davemarks.com/?page_id=762"]http://davemarks.com/?page_id=762[/url] Enjoy... :-) D

The video lessons are online now... [url="http://www.youtube.com/davemarks"]http://www.youtube.com/davemarks[/url]. d

The video lessons are online now... [url="http://www.youtube.com/davemarks"]http://www.youtube.com/davemarks[/url]. d

In the midst all my webcrashing drama... I've uploaded the track Style File track to my myspace: www.myspace.com/davemarks feel free to pop along, have a listen and if you like the track, you know where to pick the files up.... I've also just posted a series of lessons showing you in detail how I played the parts on the tune. www.youtube.com/davemarks Bass solo transcription coming soon.... d

In the meantime, amidst all of the webcrashing drama... I've uploaded the track to my myspace www.myspace.com/davemarks feel free to pop along, have a listen and if you like the track, you know where to pick the files up.... I've also just posted a series of lessons showing you in detail how I played the parts on the tune. www.youtube.com/davemarks Bass solo transcription coming soon....

Hey guys - Sod's law. I worked really hard over the last few weeks to get the backing track for Skattershot ready and wouldn't you know, after getting them up on deadline last monday.. my site gets a massive bug and crashes. For those of you who'd like to get hold of the audio files, just click on this link and you can download the full track and a backing track for only £1! [url="http://store.payloadz.com/detail_html.asp?Id=760719"]http://store.payloadz.com/detail_html.asp?Id=760719[/url] I'm working hard to get the site back up and when it does, I'll have the transcription of the bass solo, along with a video lesson to teach you the parts to the song. Let me know what you think of this new format for style files and also, if you like the tune... d

Hey guys - Sod's law. I worked really hard over the last few weeks to get the backing track for Skattershot ready and wouldn't you know, after getting them up on deadline last monday.. my site gets a massive bug and crashes. For those of you who'd like to get hold of the audio files, just click on this link and you can download the full track and a backing track for only £1! [url="http://store.payloadz.com/detail_html.asp?Id=760719"]http://store.payloadz.com/detail_html.asp?Id=760719[/url] I'm working hard to get the site back up and when it does, I'll have the transcription of the bass solo, along with a video lesson to teach you the parts to the song. Let me know what you think of this new format for style files and also, if you like the tune... d

Hey guys - the guitarist plays the main riff with open strings and his guitar is tuned down a semitone. So in this instance, it's a matter of matching up with him. Also, it makes it a little easier for the singer (a lot of GnR songs and Extreme - I remember from my teens - all tuned down a semitone) d

As luck would have it - 2 days in and my Wordpress site has crashed. massive drag... I'm trying my best to get it back up and running, but it's a new version and it's being a little moody. I'll try to post links here or send stuff over to the BGM website if I can't gte it resolved in the next hour or so... d

Sorry to be inviting guinea pig-ism.... could you give it another blast and let me know if it works now? Also -was it the wavs or the mp3s that you went for? I updated a few settings on my account and was able to buy them.... I'll send you next month's one's for free for helping out... Thanks d

[quote name='OldGit' post='637795' date='Oct 27 2009, 01:25 PM']"There is a problem with this shopping cart. Please contact support." [/quote] ouch. Day 1 with payloadz. Will check it... thanx, d

For anyone that might be attending the UK Bass Day: Every hour, I'll be at the ICMP stand, doing a little mini clinic for a select number of people (however many we can fit on the stand :-) I have a bunch of topics I could talk about... but wondered if any of you have any issues or challenging concepts you'd like to get some thoughts on? Let me know here or email me through my website [url="http://www.davemarks.com"]http://www.davemarks.com[/url] and I'll do my best to get a schedule drawn up in the next 2 weeks. many thanks, d

Hey guys - Just letting you know I've got the audio tracks for this month's BGM up on the web. If you fancy gettng your ska on, it's a measly £1 for the full track and a playalong backing track, which you can download as full quality WAVs or Mp3s. [url="http://s63821.gridserver.com/?page_id=762"]http://s63821.gridserver.com/?page_id=762[/url] I'll be posting a video lesson and a transcription of the bass solo on the site next week. I'd be interested to see what you think of this interactive format (putting a cd on the cover still isn't an option... but I'm trying to find alternatives...!) Next month - it's Brit Funk! I've been plundering the Zender influence :-) d

Hey guys - just to clarify, the college that I teach at is the ICMP in Kilburn. [url="http://www.icmp.co.uk/courses/bass.aspx"]http://www.icmp.co.uk/courses/bass.aspx[/url] It's a very fine school and I've yet to meet a bass student that went and didn't have good things to say about it. If you want to study and you're looking for a school, it's definitely worth checking out. I'm not even gonna engage in the debate about school of life and all that stuff. If you study and you gig at the same time, you get the best of both words. I know a couple of very fine self taught players. I also know tons who are god-awful - study is a good plan - if not at a college, then perhaps with a private tutor. Best of luck with it, d

Hey guys - for those of you who like to get hold of transcriptions on the net, I've just bunged a new batch up, with more to follow when I get the time. I've been posting a lot on my blog recently and have added loads of video content to the site. I'll be putting more lessons up soon and will be releasing my first DVD in September. :-) Exciting times for me.... Also, if you check the 'recommendations' pages, you'll see some incredible performances that I've cherry picked from YouTube. John Mayer, Herbie Hancock and Joan Osbourne (among others) but the best thing I've seen in years.. a sand sculpture / performance piece - it's absolutely breathtaking. If you have any feedback or advice on the kind of thing you'd like to see on the site, comment below and I'll check back before I start back to work on it... btw... it's all free... [url="http://www.davemarks.com"]http://www.davemarks.com[/url]

I'm only gonna jump in on the issue of Janek very briefly on this... I will preface this by saying he's a mate of mine, but aside from that.... He is a terrifying musician. Think about that. Musician. His ability as a bassist is ridiculous, but this man is a fantastic musician. He plays beautifully, writes with depth and soul in his compositions, can read and transcribe fluently and has a fabulous ear. He plays a wide range of styles with confidence and authority and can put on different hats as a performer, whether as a bassist or playing drums or guitar, and also as a teacher, producer and arranger. How many of us can hit the standard across so many skills simultaneously? I find it hilarious that some musicians who (with no disrespect AT ALL) cannot hold a candle to his skill set, see fit to rubbish on him because he shares his opinions on the world that he finds before him and he does so unapologetically. When a man dedicates himself to an ideal and strives day in and day out to achieve that ideal, that should be an inspiration to all of us, even if that particular ideal isn't one that we hold close to our heart. People think of him as arrogant, because they assume that we're all on the same page and all of our contributions are equally valid. (opening floodgates..... now.) They are not. The problem with the internet is that it allows billy armchair to jump up from his position of limited experience and go head to head with experienced professionals (in whatever field) as if we are all equals. WE AREN'T. I love that fact. Some of us are further down the road than others. I make no apologies for my abilities. I've worked fkng hard over the years for them. A lot of my students look up to me. I know that the level I hit inspires them. I look up to Janek. He inspires the sh*t out of me. I saw him play the last time he was in London and I was blown away. Honestly. It was euphoric. The whole band and the music they made was beautiful. If we assume that we are all equal and nothing is better than anything else, then what do we have to aspire to??? Also... some members ask for reviewers who will 'tell it like it is' about the assembly of a piece of wood and some metal. Don't hold back -we'd respect your honesty and integrity.. etc etc... When a player starts to 'tell it like it is' about actually being a musician for a living and trying to play your instrument well, (wherein they might rubbish some of the ideas of said members) Suddenly you're an arrogant prick. I love it. I stopped contributing opinions on forums a while back for the same reasons. It seems like a lot of people ask questions, not because they want the truthful answers, but because they hope enough (other, similarly uninformed) people will agree with them that they can continue to justify their bad habits and counterproductive philosophies. I love knowing that there are players out there who would clean me out. I read about them, I go to their masterclasses, I try to hang out with them and absorb their vibe if I can. It all makes me a better musician. Fk the bass. Bass is irrelevant. Music is where it's at. To quote my friend richard Niles: "The word 'instrument' is significant. A guitar or piano (or a computer) is an instrument that facilitates expression, like a spoon facilitates drinking soup. The important thing is the soup, not the spoon." He's a great musician. If you don't like his opinion, disregard it. But stop ragging on him. end of rant. d

[quote name='Faithless' post='558520' date='Aug 2 2009, 02:44 PM']Am I missing somethin', or your gig was 'declined', Dave? [/quote] Yeah.. the manager told me because I was late.. to get stuffed basically... poo. d

[quote name='Mike' post='550053' date='Jul 24 2009, 12:16 PM']File not found Dave - any thoughts? Tried to save but only 2.2kb![/quote] Epic fail on my behalf there. I have had to start using public folder on my iDisk as the security on my website is so super good, it won't let people download reasonably small files (3 - 5mb!!!) Have another blast later this evening (pages aren't refreshing instantly for some reason...) and let me know if it works now. I'll be wrapping up this little series in the next issue. [url="http://s63821.gridserver.com/?page_id=591"]http://s63821.gridserver.com/?page_id=591[/url] On another note, I'm shooting my first DVDs in August... I'm interested in what kind of things people would like to be able to buy DVDs on... I'm thinking 01 - A solid approach to bass techinque: Exploring hand and body positioning, finger technique and exercises to build robust, solid fundamentals for fingerstyle, pick and slap playing. 02 - The minor pentatonic in 5 positions for bass guitar - an approach to the fingerboard that will revolutionise how you play, regardless of style. Any thoughts? d

Hey chaps - thanks for the good vibes here. After some delays (some family issues with other musicians) and me being halfway round the world playing with people... I finally got the backing tracks for my Bb Jazz Bues Series recorded and uploaded to my website. Hopefully, they should be a massive help in getting the sound of the chord changes in your ears and giving you some inspiration for practicing... Feel free to grab the tracks from: [url="http://s63821.gridserver.com/?page_id=591"]http://s63821.gridserver.com/?page_id=591[/url] enjoy... d

Hey chaps - if any of you would like to read the full details of my bass flight horror story, you can check it here: [url="http://s63821.gridserver.com/?p=457"]http://s63821.gridserver.com/?p=457[/url] d