Beedster Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 So, late May this year with the prospect of lockdown ending I was invited back to my old band to do a series of DB gigs. Absolute pleasure to be playing music with great guys after almost two years out. Problem was that they're not the most organised in terms of sound management and playing a 4/4 DB in what was a pretty chaotic soundscape at times was proving challenging in terms of feedback and hearing myself. I decided I'd get an EUB, and while ideally searching for an SLB-100, I was very happy to find a Clifton, and even happier when the owner offered to drive from Yorkshire to Kent to deliver it in person. Long story short, we had a great chat, turns out he'd played bass with a lot of musicians I listen to, and it was both entertaining and educational to hear the tales of Nashville perfectionism. I told him a about what we do and he said "Sounds like you're after a Wood Brothers sound", and I seem to recall thinking "Never heard of 'em". He left, and I thought I'd take a quick listen to these guys and see what I think. Bloody hell!!!!!!! No joke, this was the band I'd been waiting to hear all my life. Lovely bluegrass/Appalachian feel, extraordinary musicianship and some fine songwriting. And then there's Chris Wood on bass. The first thing I thought was "Wow he's good". Then I thought "Wow, he get's a lot of space in the mix (what a conversation on Talkbass described as high levels of 'acoustic real estate'), but what I really loved is that he plays a very Jazz oriented style in an ostensibly blues/Americana band, and does so with great style and with great technique. I tried to find stuff on here and wasn't surprised to find that @Clarky had discovered them years ago But it's not just the DB sound he gets, he plays a lot of electric also (a Hofner Violin Bass) with the same style and flair. Do check them out folks, as Clarky suggests, the recorded BD tone is pretty impressive, but so's some of the live playing. Check out some of this for example... I'll post some more when work eases down a little 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 'Ways to Lose' is a great album which a friend of mine once described as his favorite album ever and 'spiritual'. Although to be fair he is a bit of a hippy, lol! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineweasel Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Never listened to the Wood Brothers but Chris Wood made his name in Medeski, Martin & Wood, well worth a listen if you like freewheeling keyboard led funky jazz. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 The video had me with just the melodica and bass, everything after that was a bonus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 I love Chris Wood's playing. The Wood Brothers are great, but I love his work with Medeski, Martin, and Wood. They're a great trio. Also, good score on a Clifton Bass. I love mine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 As I'm listening to this, it reminds me of Clayhill, with the legendary Ali Friend on bass. 'Mine at last' is the album to check out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 A guitarist friend played me the John Scofield album 'A Go Go' not long after it came out in '98. As soon as I heard the rhythm section on the first track I thought it was class. Very organic, great sense of time, lovely feel: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Chris on his Hofner Good interview here https://bassmagazine.com/issues/issue-12/chris-wood-beautiful-danger/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 On 27/01/2022 at 00:40, Grimalkin said: A guitarist friend played me the John Scofield album 'A Go Go' not long after it came out in '98. As soon as I heard the rhythm section on the first track I thought it was class. Very organic, great sense of time, lovely feel: Yep one of my fave JS albums with it's laid back acoustic vibe which contrasts nicely with his Uberjam funky jazz/jazzy funk grooves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 On 31/01/2024 at 22:18, Beedster said: Chris on his Hofner Good interview here https://bassmagazine.com/issues/issue-12/chris-wood-beautiful-danger/ What a great interview. Chris Wood is one of my absolute favorite bass players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy_r Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 On 26/01/2022 at 16:40, Beedster said: .... Bloody hell!!!!!!! No joke, this was the band I'd been waiting to hear all my life. Lovely bluegrass/Appalachian feel, extraordinary musicianship and some fine songwriting. And then there's Chris Wood on bass.... +1 on all that - so pleased to hear that Danny Thompson and John Martyn's style of work is not lost ...love the guitar repurposed as a Cajon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Turns out they’re playing about 10 minutes from my house tomorrow for the princely sum of £15. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 29 minutes ago, Burns-bass said: Turns out they’re playing about 10 minutes from my house tomorrow for the princely sum of £15. Damn, and in London tonight but sold out, hope you get to see them Lawrie, would love love to see Chris Wood playing upright in the flesh 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 55 minutes ago, Beedster said: Damn, and in London tonight but sold out, hope you get to see them Lawrie, would love love to see Chris Wood playing upright in the flesh 👍 Yeah, mad. The venue is tiny, maybe 200 people. Seems weird they’re here, but I’m glad they are. Managed to rope a few people in so I’ll let you know what it’s like! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 1 minute ago, Burns-bass said: Yeah, mad. The venue is tiny, maybe 200 people. Seems weird they’re here, but I’m glad they are. Managed to rope a few people in so I’ll let you know what it’s like! Have great night mate, they’re still pretty niche hence even London gig is small, but you wouldn’t want to see them in an arena after all! Bit gutted to miss them to be honest 😕 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 On 06/02/2024 at 18:08, Burns-bass said: Yeah, mad. The venue is tiny, maybe 200 people. Seems weird they’re here, but I’m glad they are. Managed to rope a few people in so I’ll let you know what it’s like! Enjoy the show Lawrie 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Absolutely did. Hard to describe how good they were… The entire evening was just brilliant. IMG_4575.MOV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 Good to hear mate 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 This isn’t cheap but might be of interest… https://courses.discoverdoublebass.com/p/chris-wood-masterclass (Still one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 1 hour ago, Burns-bass said: This isn’t cheap but might be of interest… https://courses.discoverdoublebass.com/p/chris-wood-masterclass (Still one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to) Thanks Lawrie, I've had it a while and for what you get, it'c cheap (i.e., worth every penny mate)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Maybe I’ll treat myself when work picks up. I’ve got to say, Geoff does some really incredible content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 1 hour ago, Burns-bass said: Maybe I’ll treat myself when work picks up. I’ve got to say, Geoff does some really incredible content. Completely agree, it's a fantastic resource. For me the Chris Wood workshop was as therapeutic as it was instructive 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I enjoyed him with MMW for a long time, right from when they did A Go Go with John Scofield. But it's always fun hearing players who are more than capable of being experimental and adventurous focusing their thing on a song-based setting, as he's doing with the Wood Brothers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super al Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I used to be in a band that covered a few Wood Bros songs. I had a Stagg EUB and it was quite nice to learn and play those songs. Chris has a great sound and style. I can't remember which songs as it was over 10yrs ago now...apart from Make Me Down A Pallet (?) which was a cover of a cover 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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