after a week off, we return with shows in Toronto & Lindsay next week!
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May 23, 2016
End of May gigs alert!
2 shows to end of a great month of music and both are subbing in on the BASS and playing what we love most… SKA AND REGGAE!
Friday, May 27th – with Frankie Foo and the Yo-Yo Smugglers
Grossman’s Tavern, 379 Spadina Ave. Toronto
10:30p til close – no cover!
and here!
Saturday, May 28th – with Feeling the One Drop
Scarborough Food Truck Festival!
more info here:
http://www.esbgc.org/2016/04/scarborough-food-truck-festival-2016/
or on FB here.
afternoon sets of fun reggae vibes at 1:45 and 4:45!
See YOU on the dance floor!
August 12, 2014
Girl I’m Gonna Make U Sweat
morning dew?
so over the weekend, we took the bass outta the case to find it covered in a coating of damp dew. which has us wondering if this happens more & we just don’t know it?
here are the deats of the events:
- gig the previous night ended around midnight beside Georgian Bay
- bass loaded & stayed in the vehicle overnight
- took out bass around 11am the next morning when we arrived at our next show only to find it soaking wet
how it ended up this way has us scratching our heads. was is the temp change from night to day? was it cuz we were further inland? did it have to do with the time of night we put the bass in the case?
usually (ok, 9 times outta 10), we bring the bass inside with us overnight but since we were back on the road again in 6 hours, we didn’t this time. if that was the big factor, we will never do it again. if this has been happening more often and we just didn’t realize it, we will be taking it out of the case or opening the case every night as well. from now on, we will be tracking this phenomenon!
August 4, 2014
New Dynablock in da Hood!
Blue Mtn Crowd!
twas a great weekend of 3 shows with TooNice & we had a new piece of equipment with us as well. we managed to score a slightly used Traynor Dynablock 400 from a moving sale in the days prior to the shows. we played an acoustic night with it, then a big stage the next afternoon & then as part of our live rig with a soundman later that same night. essentially, running it thru our bassic usual paces & it passed with flying colours!
Traynor Dynablock 400!
we are still getting used to the finer points of the controls & finding our sweet spots with it but that will come with time. already though, the low frequency expander seems a bit silly to us. a “sound” investment that we hope will last a lot longer & with a lot less headaches than our previous Markbass Little Mark II head.
best buddies!
July 23, 2014
jazz jag!
so we picked up a 2005 MiM Jazz Jag over the weekend. it came on the cheap cuz the body is a tad rough. we guess at some point the body had some stickers on it. when they were peeled off, the coating came off with it and the previous owner attempted to repaint. so it feels rough to the forearm. in reality, it looks fine from afar and the neck is super great. & that’s the most important aspect for us. it plays really funky and gritty. we dunno if most jazz/jags play that way or if its only this one with its sorted history. we are tempted to make this into a “project” bass and see if we can tweak the pickups into providing more low end. it really does play more like a “geetar” than a “bass” at the moment. there is one sweet spot with both pickups set in a particular way. that should do for the time being. we think this will be our “gig spare” and we’ll use it for a few songs in the current set that require a more high end funk sound (cuz this bass is great at that) and keep it handy in case something happens to our main bass of the night. it is set up with a brand new set of D’addario lights & we shouldn’t let those go to waste just yet! 😉
June 26, 2014
Funkzilla Stomps on Board!
the funkzilla arrived! its been played pretty much straight for the last 3 hrs & we love it!
at first, we were drawn to all the tap tempo options. SO very addictive!
but second sober thought has us just using it as an envelope filter.
that will be the more practical (read: less annoying) use in a lot of the songs we play.
now the board is simple and clean. tuner – beta – funkzilla
the next add might compression. and we’ll stop there… ahahaaaa 😉 ahem… right!
a MASSIVE thanks to SOLID GOLD FX for not only making RAD pedals but great service too!
here’s a wee vid we did!
March 20, 2014
Busy, Busy, Busy!
Can’t believe its been almost 6 months since our last post! So much fun has happened since then! The Mtn Dukes are no more. We’ve rejoined TooNice for the 3rd time (is the 3rd time the charm?…haha) and still playing with Hayley Carro as well. We’ve relaunched our ska radio program, SKA PARTY that is sporadic but a hoot when it happens! Great times away from the blog indeed! Shows have been a plenty and here’s some video evidence with the reggae band:
For new gear, we’ve got a new TC Electronics BG250 amp that is lightweight and is great in all situations! We’ve also added some light percussion instruments for our acoustic shows. A tambourine we can kick at and a stomp box… yes, a stomp box! It gives us a great kick drum sound that keeps the acoustic shows pumpin’. Our Cajon is still a heck of a lot of fun to play as well!
Also, been groovin‘ to some great new/old tunes recently so here’s 10 recents that we just can’t seem to get enough of & we are diggin this month. Feel free to add in the comments what has been tickling your ears of late! We are always on the look out for new music!
talking heads – the big country
lindi ortega – high
iceberg – les barques
emile simon – desert
cartoon violence – better
dilip & the davs – like a king
flock of seagulls – wishing
spoon – mystery zone
pixies – alec eiffel
ini kamoze – wings with me
Til next time & see you on the dancefloor!
September 25, 2013
getting the chance to play feels like being lost in the best dream…
peter hook & the light!
the dream continues & what a week that was! lets lay it out in quick fashion!
Tues: got to see the Selecter! one of the essential 2-tone era ska bands that we had not yet had the pleasure to see live. we even met the singer Pauline while she sat behind the merch table. a steady stream of pics & book signings were the order of the moment. she was great to chat with & share a few laughs. their set was energy filled from start to finish. we dared not leave the dancefloor so we could soak up the entire event. well worth the muscle soreness the next day & the chance to hear “celebrate the bullet” live. that song is pure magic. we posted some pics on our Flickr.
Thursday: Mightabins first full band jam of the year followed by a Peter Hook and the Light concert! first off, the Mightabins have been wanting to jam for a long time but every1’s sked’s have been just too haywire of late. but things now have cooled down & more jams are in order. 2 new punky songs came out of our first full band jam of the year. could a show be next? then after the jam… the Peter Hook show was literally off the hook! great to hear the early New Order material done so well & witness 2 bass players on stage! & a father/son combo to boot! memorable show indeed! we posted a few pics on our Flickr here. our ears just couldn’t get enough!
Friday: Gig! Amazing full night at Bigfoot Smokehouse! Very casual atmosphere there & we played well with the Hayley Carro Trio. can’t wait to return! debut of a new cajon kick device went well (more on that in another post). its a great step fwd that can’t be “beat”… hahaha.
Satuday: Outdoor Gig! Stage got flooded. Show cancelled. ah well… the thing about outdoor shows is that they are absolutely the best when the weather co-operates but on the flipside can be a nightmare when the weather takes a turn for the bad.
Sunday: Open Mic! always a treat! got to play a lot of bass & some cajon. many hilights but one in particular had to be learning & then playing Duran Duran’s “Rio”(not once but twice!) that SAME day. crazy fun!
its actually been a hectic past week & a half with 7 dates in the span of 11 days if u include our Open Mic duties. well worth every note & every moment. as we like to put it:
playing music is like reading a good book you can’t put down.
every note a word.
every jam a page.
every show a chapter.
& we cant wait for what is next.
September 4, 2013
Adventure Rocketship
Welcome back to the THAA blog!
we’ve been super busy playing as much as humanly possible… which is a great thing! August was a fantastic month on the bass & we’ve been enjoying our new Cajon to the max! why didn’t we buy that sooner? from a hopping fun Mtn Dukes show at Duffys to playing many open mics to playing bbqs, pool parties, reunions & weddings… its been quite the month!
hitch!
we should be out there doing the stuff we love more than writing whimsical blog posts. having said that, we wanted to spare a moment to chat about the greatness of Robyn Hitchcock. yesterday, we had the chance to finally see him live for the first time ever. as a long time fan. our expectations were high. but in our minds, he could do no wrong anyways. even if he had just gone onstage without an instrument, shared some stories & made some jokes that would have been the cats meow too. but he did more than that. he sang for 90 mins pretty much strait in an entertaining fashion that only he can pull off and the cozy setting of the Drake Hotel was just perfect. his show was up there on “our best of list” with seeing Paul Kelly play solo. that show featured some great singalongs. this one featured a true artist in all respects. AWEsome! highly recommend his show, his music & his wit. enjoy some vizness, thx for stopping by & tah for now!
July 24, 2013
Trio Vizness!
Got the sublime opportunity to play last Sunday at the Riverwalk Commons with the talented Hayley Carro! Here’s some vizness of the show we did in front of an estimated 400 ppl. Dig that cowbell! If you listen closely, u can hear what’s inside it! Now if only we could mic the cajon that well…. Enjoy!
