Jonathan Randall

Musician / Bass Player

BLOG Entry - 2008 December (Thursday 25th)

Well - having survived Christmas day and planning my NYE celebrations, the few quiet days I have off seem to be a good opportunity to update my last blog for 2008.


So much has happened this year I dont know where to start so here is a list of thoughts / comments / events that were significant for me in 2008 :


1. January - started to get busy with my bass teaching - something I dearly want to continue with in 2009


2. March - I left VEX and was effectively ‘bandless’ - having also just recently left ‘The Shane Diiorio Trio’. Both groups are still going strong and I hope I continue to get to ‘sub’ in every so often.


3. April - I joined a start-up coverband called “Kounterfeit” and we put together around 28-30 songs, but didnt quite make it to the road. I believe the guys are having another shot, so look our for this great band.


 4. May/June - I joined “Fighting For Friday” another relatively new covers band. These guys are fantastic and I really had a great time playing with them. 


 5. June/July - I joined “SoulTrain” which is a very professional soul/jazz band and has really forced me to work on my chops and musicianship. This has been a double bonus in that I have had the opportunity to work with an old school mate who is a fantastic keyboard player / musician. Im hoping SoulTrain pushes ahead in the new year and we take it to the road


6. Aug/Sept - I started a new band called SoulDeep with some players I met on Melband. Again a great bunch of people and some music that is a bit stretching....I think they had their first gig about a month ago.


7. Sept-Oct - I joined “Contraband” and think I have finally found what I have been looking for in a covers band. Nice guys, good music and a pretty healthy gig schedule. I think my first gig with Contraband was one week after my audition, and we are booking up fast in January 2009. 


8. Oct - Nov - Dec has really been about gigging with Contraband. Im starting to get pretty comfortable with the tunes and have been using our gigs as a way to collect media (video, audio) etc to further develop my web and media authoring skills.


GEAR - new Mackie DFX12 mixer (the best !!!!), new icolor4 DMX lighting system (awesome), 8 channel preamp, 4 channel headphone mixing amp, backup Trace Elliot bass head, new iMac 24 computer,....and I have placed an order of a new Treker Extreme Bass (from the US) I must follow that one up as it is due


OTHER STUFF - I have changed jobs this year and started contracting, In 2009 I hope to convert to a permanent position and increase my leave so I can spend more time doing music....Music is what I love...especially gigging


GEAR FOR 2009 - Im thinking about maybe picking up another Kubicki bass, as well as a Musicman stingray/sterling and possibly a Yamaha Attitude bass. Of course it all depends what music I am predominantly playing. On the amp front Id like to pick up some of the new Trace Elliot compact cabinets.


THE FUTURE - I guess my ambitions for 2009 are to gig heavily with contraband, increase my bass teaching, develop the double thump technique on bass, keep healthy and happy (hence the idea of increasing my annual leave time)...


Thats about it for 2008...2009 is only 5 days away and my first gig is only a couple of days after that so...peace and c u in 2009.


Jon


Edit 2016 ….. Re-reading this is really interesting for me….I can’t believe 2008 was such a year for start-up bands that never quite made it to the stage. That said, Contraband was one of my favorite bands to play in….Who knows what will happen in the future maybe there will be a chance to jam again with these folks.

2008 December Blog Ballarat playing bass live with CB