Weird bass @ Union Sq.

ユニオン・スクエアで見かけたヘンなベース。ベースおたくは、写真をクリックしてヘッドが切れてることと、写真では分かりにくいけどテイル・ピースの付け根が10センチぐらい飛び出ている事に注目。（前者はただ持ち運び用に長さの節約のため、後者は弦のテンションを軽減するためと思われます）。音量はそこまで出ていなかったものの、ちゃんとアコベの音はしてました。


A Weird bass at Union Sq.. Its shape is really unique but the sound was actually the sound of an acoustic bass, not the sound of one of those silent bass or baby bass. Hey fellow bass-freaks, click on the pic and take a look at the head and the tail piece. The head is cut off for the portability and the edge of the tail piece is moved five inches forward by putting a piece of wood on the bottom of the bass to soften the string tension. The volume was not as loud but I think it's a better alternative of the full-sized bass.

Sarina Suno Quartet @ Thailand Cafe

サリナちゃんとハラとのギグ。今週からThailand Cafeではドラムを入れてカルテットでやることになりました。ベーシストとしては大変ラクになりました。調子にのって弾き倒してしまいました。

Wedding @ Stony Hill Inn

Me (Bass), Sarina Suno (Violin) and Marek Dykta (Guitar)

今日はニューヨーク近郊のニュージャージー州ハッケンサックでロシアン・ジューイッシュ（ロシアのユダヤ教）の結婚式のギグでした。多分、私にとっては今年一発目のジューイッシュの仕事だったと思います。ジューイッシュの音楽は一般にクレズマーって言うんですけど、これは彼らのダンスミュージックでして、全員で輪になって踊ります。いやー、自分が弾いてる曲で大勢のお客さんが踊ってるのって、本当に気持ちがいい！ジューイッシュのギグは結婚式でもピューリム(Purim)でも、みんな踊ってくれるので好きです。今日も楽しいギグでした。

Magic Eye

Do you guys remember "Magic Eye?" My memory goes back about 15 years or so. I and my college-mates in Australia were trying to figure out what the heck the "magic" was all about. The only things I saw on the book of the rather strange pictures were just a bunch of different pattern of some computer graphics page after page. I thought it's some kind of weird psychological test (like Rorschach test). Then my bass instructor at the college told me that I had to see through the pictures and set the focal point further back of the pictures. After he told me that, I finally got it and was amazed with all those three-dimension stuff on two-dimension flat papers. Not too many people know but there were the videos of Magic Eye and you can see tripy moving 3D Magic Eye stuff. I borrowed the videos from a Blockbuster and was burning my eyes whole day. The Magic Eye totally knocked a country boy in Australia down.

Now, fifteen years later, my band-mates, Takeshi (pianist) and Sanae (calligrapher), found this rather strange pictures on a calender hanged on the wall at the rehearsal. Surprisingly this couple have never seen Magic Eye in their lives before.

Takeshi didn't have a clue.

Still working and reading the instruction.

"Oh yeah, I know this. You have to find a little guy in this messy picture." That's "Where's Waldo?" Sanae. Anyway she got the Magic-Eye concept in a couple of minutes.

After a couple of hours of rehearsing, Takeshi picked up the calender again in the break. Still no clue.

Another couple of hours later and after our rehearsal is done, again, he picked up the calender, stood still without blinking and only organs moving in his body were his heart and the apples of his eye balls trying to set different focal point. When we were almost done packing up, suddenly we all heard a middle-aged man in the next room screaming "AAAARRGGGHH! I got it!!" So he finally got it. Congratulations Takeshi. Good job. By the way, we all were enjoying watching you struggling.... for four hours.

Aruba

Hara(Gt), Nick(Dr), Sarina(Vln) & Me(Bs)

Times Sq.にあるArubaというバーでのコンサート。いやー、楽しかったこと。ジャズ、ラテン、それにファンクを弾き倒してやりました。

Thailand Cafe

サリナちゃんとハラとでイースト・ビレッジにあるThailand Cafe でのギグです。店員さんはいい人ばっかだし、なにしろご飯がウマい！お勧めはダンプリングよ。

Rehearsal @ Sarina & Hara's

サリナちゃんとハラのうちでギグの前にリハです。なんか停電してしまったそうで、ロウソクの灯りでリハ。うーん、ちょっとロマンチック。電気はギグが終わる頃には戻っていたそうです。良かったね。

My first entry

This is my very first entry. I have had the idea of starting a blog (for about three years) but I was too laz...... busy to put it together. Well, by knowing myself as a work-shy guy (in other words, "lazy bastard"), I don't know how long I can keep it going but I'll do my best.

I'm hoping my old friends in Japan, Australia, the States and all over the world will find this blog someday and drop a line to me. I want to know what you guys are doing too.

Love you all!

Ippei