Since I've been taking a break from touring as much over the last year or so my session work has increased tremendously. Contrary to popular belief, there is MUCH more than just country music going down in Nashville these days. It has been very rewarding in recent months to have sessions in genres like R&B, Soul, Funk, and Jazz in addition to the staple of country demos and masters sessions. All of these scenarios require us professional time keepers to be able to flip a switch and go in like you're a veteran at whatever the gig needs. This, my Saviors of Stank, is why I ask: Do you know when to groove or not to groove? Just so you know, I have to ask myself that question every time I go into a session.

I'm going to give you a suggestion that helps me beyond belief in the studio. Study music and production styles from every region possible like you would be cramming for a mid-term exam. Every major musical market in the country and the World-at-Large has a very distinct style of producing and musical flares. For instance, Nashville 101 for most sessions as a bassist is to lay down a real fat bottom end and be the chordal center for the rest of the tracks to be built off of. Basically, drums and bass become the pallet of the piece of artwork that is the song. Will "Mona" be smiling if you over play on the session ? Will the producer be smiling ? I sure hope so. I do like getting paid on occasion.

Nashville is obviously only one style of musical producing and performance and that is a glorious thing. Not to slam the Nashville thing ( as far as you know ). I say this because it can be enlightening on your own musical growth to embrace the music from different regions. You can take the same song with the same batch of musicians and a different producer and cut it in New York, LA, Austin, Nashville, Seattle, or Memphis and you would get six very distinctly different ideas of the song. The next time you're listening to music pay close attention to where it was recorded. Now, right about now, you're probably asking yourself "Self, how in the heck is all this rambling from this shaved noggin freak going to help me know when to groove or not to?" Never fear kiddies, studying music from different regions will give you some of the parameters about what to play when you are on a session or playing live. i.e. When to Groove or Not to Groove.

Case in point, I was on as session yesterday for a theme song for an upcoming TV show. Everyone on the session were Nashville players and extremely accomplished with multiple albums to their credits. The kicker of the day was that the first version of the theme they recorded didn't cut it and oh yeah, the show starts airing next week . No pressure at all. Yeah right ! Now was it because the song didn't groove that it didn't survive? No! The tracks all felt great. Was it a bad song? No, actually it slams and was written by some of the industry elite. Was it because the players didn't nail the track? No, these guys are some of the best of the best. Was it because the fiddle player was too busy primping his hair instead of playing in tune? Wait, that was a different session. No, the fact that the track wasn't nailed was because the producers that wanted the final product were looking for an LA sound even though it was a country ( typically thought of in Nashville ) session. LA COUNTRY? Go figure.

Now entering yours truly into the mix. In this corner. Wearing the blue jeans, earrings, flip-flops, and tattoos the artist currently known as Baldy Locks. This particular session went longer than I had done in a long time for one song. The thing was that I was going in there as a "Nashville" player when I should have been in "LA-mode". You know I mentioned earlier about just keeping it fat and low in Nashville. LA sessions tend to open up a little more and allow bass players to DRIVE the track a lot more instead of just support it. This meant it was time to GROOVE more. After a few more takes of all of us detaching from our Nashville personas we nailed a very cool pass. For mysel,f once I started putting a little more movement to the tune and playing more aggressively as far as my attack, the tune started to blossom and come alive. The trick was mentally shifting gears and to groove as an LA producer would want.

So when to groove or not to groove ? That is still the question. From my personal experience, you truly don't know until you get to the gig or the session. By doing a little homework as far as where the folks are coming from it will make it easier to know what to play. If it is an artist, listen to their production and take it from there. If it is a new band, think about their influences. If it is a session, think about where the producer is coming from mentally and geographically. All of these things can make a world of difference and yet again you can save the world from a lame groove, make the artist and producer smile, chip in to get the fiddle player some new hair gel, and oh yeah….GET PAID !!! Until next time. Groove gently unto that good night.

Keep Groovin',
S

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