Art is slow
Art is low
Let yourself flow and push the tempo
Art is slow
Art is low
Let yourself flow and drag the tempo

It's always old school but still brand new
So everybody catch the BassaJam flu
Not like disco fever not like Ice T
Scary Beast is heavy the ReeBass is neat
What you hear is what you get
And you ain't heard nothing yet...

(er, I'll shut up now)

What's New in September/October:

Listening:

er, definitely too much to list; been listening to how keyboardists approach playing progressive rock and fusion so I've been listening to ELP and stuff. My conclusions are: I want a mini-Moog and a Rhodes stage 88. Now. Unfortunately I'm po' so I'll probably continue to fritter my money away on drugs and ho's like the rest of my ghetto-mates (translation: video games).

• Chase, Ennea & Pure Music - Thank God this stuff has been re-released. Some people think the biggest tragedy in rock is when the Big Bopper and Richie Valens et al went screaming to their deaths in a place. I'm here to tell you they're wrong. The worst is when all nine members of Chase died at once before conquering the world. Now Aerosmith will never open for the Mahavishnu Orchestra again.
  
  
• Sepultura, Roots - The most crushing mix of power metal and anthropology ever.
  
  
• I've also been listening to a lot of Vai. And Ozzy. So sue me.

Playing:

As many games as I can, as that cursed Master Crisden has wakened my dormant desire to build the ultimate V.G.L. (Video ... Game ... Lair) However, I'm busy, so I haven't actually gotten to PLAY these games so much as sample them. Here's a short list of things I've been missing that I can now play if I so choose:

• PC: Warlords Battlecry II, Age of Empires, Evercrack! - yes, all this stuff is old, but I haven't had a PC in 5 years. No, I'm not and have never been an Evercrack-head, but I've looked long and hard into the mouth of that abyss before.
  
  
• Sega CD: Dark Wizard - There have been imitators like the painful Brigandine but this is the best. Not to mention the vampire's theme is the best video game music I've EVER heard.
  
  
• NES: Dragon Warrior - "Dost thou love me?" No. "But thou must!" (repeat)
  
  
• I got "Star Wars KOTOR" for my birthday last month but haven't been able to play it, as my Xbox has been inaccessible lately. Hmmmmm. Watching someone attempt to actually FINISH a Bethesda game is like watching someone read "L'Morte du Artur" front to back in its original language. When's the last time you saw that, huh?
  
  

Seeing:

• The New Deal, live at the Troc - This band makes a good case for disco deserving to make a comeback, which I don't mind as long as it's with live instruments. These guys can play, which matters, and sound very fresh. White people still can't dance. Stop doing aerobics and listen to the effin' music ya dirty hippie!
  
  

Reading:

• Stephen King, "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" - alright, it only takes a couple hours to read, but his writing is evocative here, and I miss the woods.
  
  
• Someone stole the "Gormenghast Novels" from me, so I never did even finish "Titus Groan"
  
  
• I also have been reading too much "Game Informer" for my own good.
  
  

Watching: B Movies!!!

• Kill Bill, Vol. 1 - The Ultimate Chick Flick! I love the plot and the writing, but I especially love that a mainstream movie can be this extreme. Very non-Hollywood. Besides all Quentin's usual influences, I also detected a Peter Jackson vibe, which brings us to the controversy:
  
  
• Cabin Fever - Totally up my alley, as I've loved gore-comedy ever since Jackson's "Bad Taste", and this has some of the funniest moments since the salesman slipped and hit his head on a rock in that. The cabin kids are actually not the usual 5 teens that you always hate in recent horror flicks like the abysmal "Blair Witch 2" (they're much more hideous), and the plot is surprisingly much more realistic than the supposedly more serious "28 Days Later". Finally, the anti-hero is probably my favorite since Lionel, though no one will probably ever best Ash in the role of "Man Who Lives Through One Thousand Horrors In A Short Amount Of Time" I have to agree with the small fraction of people who stayed to see the punchline and gave a standing ovation.
  
  
• Millenium Actress - Ooooohhh. An anime which I loved. A stunning piece of work simply because it's a great plot richly told with personality to spare. More akin to a modern literature classic than the usual style-first visual spectacle.
  
  

Gear

Divided Sky Bass Gear:
Scary Beast - Steve Bailey model Aria Pro II (6-string Fretless)
ReeBass - Ibanez SoundGear SR4006 (6-string Fretted)
HardLine - Ibanez Soundgear modded 5-string (fretted) thanks to Shawn grafius
Roland RD-700 Stage Piano - used on "Slightly Ominous Cheeseburger"
Monster cables - I now officially endorse these since I realized that playing bass through cheap cables is like singing through a telephone.
Generic Peavey Amp with 15" cab
Various silly effects like the Snarling Dog with the light-up eyeses!

Other Low Stuff:
El Capitan - Epiphone Acoustic/Electric Bass Guitar (5-string fretless)
Frumpy Bitch - no-name Upright Bass (4-string fretless)
Young Bently - cheapo 5-string fretted
Other basses that I let other people use

I just got a Cello to play chamber music with... I figure by the time I start tackling Bartok with it I'll have figured out the tuning enough to learn to improvise with it.. Then it's electric cello time! Of course, I'd rather have an electric Viola da Gamba, but that will take some negotiation...

Also missing from the above list - Chapman Grand Stick with MIDI output... I need one

franklin at dividedskymusic.com.