Worn and Frayed...

We have a Quinceanera Mass to play for this weekend. After a couple of decades of being on a regular schedule to play every Sunday at church we have been retired from that for a couple of years and now only play when bilingual English/Spanish music is required. We play funerals, weddings, quinceaneras and special Holy Day Masses like St. Patrick's Day this week. Without a constant hand on my music gear I got it out, Cathy and I practiced a bit and with Cathy doing the job of picking and preparing music I made sure all equipment was going to operate without catastrophic failure. I snapped this photo of my acoustic bass neck. 

I received this Fender Acoustic Bass as a Christmas gift from my mother and brother in 2006. I have a Fender Precision electric bass but this is my main instrument for accompanying acoustic guitars. With the overhead choir mics we use I have been using a 5 watt Blackstar bass amp. That amp will fit inside a salad bowl and while it's ridiculously small checking back on some of the live streams of Masses I have been satisfied with the sound. It's kind of the way I do things. I'm different but the amp picks up well with the mics and sure beats hauling a Fender Bassman in to back one acoustic guitar. 

I recall reading an article a few years ago about how with the advent of hi-def TV musicians were going to have to polish their instruments to look good or every smudge would show. Looking at this bass neck I have not worried about that. You can see the dirt accumulated and though it does not show in the photo in person you can see on the strings the notes I play all the time. I change Cathy's strings pretty often but I'm not a big string changer myself. 

Now people call me and ask me about how to play instruments. I don't really know what to tell them because I don't consider myself a player. I have a couple of strong riffs for several instruments I play and I get a good bit of mileage out of those without exposing my weakness. You will never find me out playing the hits. 

So take this bass. Put your fingers in the worn, dirty spots. Steal my riffs. Play for the events of life. In about 15 years of steady playing snap a photo and send it to me.