FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. THE PONY INTERVIEW WITH THE DIXIE DREGS' DAVE LA RUE
2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: Skate and Surf 2003 Fashion Show and VIP Party with Bad Medicine (Friday), Skate and Surf After Show Comedy Night with Stephen Lynch (Saturday), Dixie Dregs (Sunday)
New on the Pony Calendar: Ween (Only Area Appearance!) (Memorial Day, May 24), Jason Mraz (June 25)
Look around the Stone Pony stage when the Dixie Dregs are performing this Sunday, April 27th, and everywhere you look will be stellar and consummate musicians. Frontman Steve Morse is the most famous member of the group, having recorded with his own band, as well as a couple of bands who you may know, Kansas and Deep Purple. The other members of the band's line-up, Rod Morgenstein, T Lavitz, Dave LaRue and Jerry Goodman may not be household names, but have performed on numerous recordings with international acts. Musicians will know these extremely talented names through their videos, songbooks and clinics, as well a columns in national musician magazines. Bassist Dave LaRue personifies the professionalism and qualities that have made the Dregs such a success. Touring with the band since 1988, this Berklee graduate has been involved in just about every type of project a professional musician can undertake, from the usual touring and recording (both solo and for lots of others), to teaching, running clinics, instructional videos, and on and on and on. It was difficult to pick which endeavors to touch upon with him in our interview, but we squeezed in as much as possible. If you've ever thought of just swinging by the club one evening to just hang out and listen to great music, this Sunday with the Dixie Dregs would be the perfect opportunity. If you're a local musician looking to scope out how it's done, park yourself at the stage and take notes.
The Stone Pony: In January, it was reported that the band is discussing the release your first studio album since 1993's "Full Circle". Can you tell us where plans stand for that album, and if anything has been worked out for recording sessions or a date when you hope it'll be released?
Dave LaRue: There has not been any movement on the idea of doing a new studio recording. I'm sure it will be discussed during our upcoming trip. The hardest part is to find a window of time where everyone is available.
The Stone Pony: All of the members of Dixie Dregs are involved with many different projects, including tours with other groups. Can you give an idea of how difficult it can be to put an extended series of tour dates together with the Dregs, and how long in advance these tours have to be planned out? When you're playing with the band, do you feel more relaxed to be in familiar territory, or is there pressure to keep living up to the fans' expectations?
DLR: It's easier than trying to do a new CD! It's really not that hard to do, once we pick a general time slot, usually two or three months away. Once we nail down a time where we are all free, everybody pencils in the dates, and then the booking agents and management go to work. Doing a CD is much more time consuming, with preproduction, rehearsal, the actual recording, mixing, etc. As for playing with the band, I would say it is more fun than anything, playing great material with great players and good friends. I don't feel pressure to live up to fans expectations, as you put it, but I do want to try and do new things with the music, push the envelope where possible. The pressure is always more internal than external.
The Stone Pony: You've been working on your own solo album, to follow-up "Hub City Kid". How are things going with that record, and what can you share about recording the disc and its release date?
DLR: Yeah, it's becoming the never-ending project. Things are going ok, I've written a lot of new material, junked some older stuff, still working at it. Some tracks are done, some of the newer stuff has yet to be recorded, and there are some things I am still polishing compositionally. I'm determined to get it released this year.
The Stone Pony: Talk about your recently-released book of transcriptions, "Dave LaRue: On The Record," which includes ten tracks from throughout your career. Did you do the transcriptions yourself, and was it a challenge to have to sit and think about music that you've been playing naturally for years? Do you normally tab or notate music that you write, and do you feel that being able to read music is an important trait for a bassist to have?
DLR: First, I wanted to do most of the tunes in their entirety, so that students would have a full tune to play along with, as opposed to an excerpt. I did most of the transcribing myself, with the help of my friend Tim Brown. Tim also did most of the work to make the book "publishable." The challenge was in relearning the songs note-for-note, especially the solos, and then writing them all out. I always write my own music, or anything of Steve's that I need to chart out, in music notation. I never use tab, but I wanted to include it in the book to make it easier for some folks to learn, but also to indicate where and how I play some of the licks. Reading music is not essential, but I make all of my students learn to read for two reasons. First, if they want to make a living playing, being able to read will enable one to do gigs that require that skill, possibly getting them involved in professional situations they might not otherwise encounter. Second, if they can read, they can learn theory/improv faster, and their understanding of rhythm will be improved by "seeing" graphic representations of rhythmic figures.
The Stone Pony: You've also announced plans to release a new instructional video to follow up your successful "Essential Bass Concepts". Have you recorded the video yet, and when do you expect that project to be released? What will the video focus upon?
DLR: I have not done the video yet, mainly because I am going to use some of the material from the unfinished CD. My first video covered a lot of topics, from basic exercises to some intermediate improv ideas and slap techniques. The next video will deal with more advanced techniques and improvisational concepts.
The Stone Pony: What are the most common questions you are asked when teaching or conducting clinics? Is there advice you finding yourself giving over and over again to bass players who are trying to perfect their own sound?
DLR: I guess I am always asked how much, and what, do I practice. My answer is "as much as I can", but it's difficult to find enough time when dealing with real life. I do point out, however, that at one point, I practiced eight hours a day religiously. As for what I practice, I have some set routines I go through, but I spend most of my time writing, and I generally write material that I can't play, so that gives me new things to work on.
The Stone Pony: Are you usually able to tell the difference between a true bass player, who really loves the instrument, and a guitarist who is just playing bass because they're looking for a spot in a band? As a teacher and instructor, how long does it usually take you to know if a student has that something special to be a successful musician?
DLR: Well, I can tell when someone has really listened to music from a bass perspective, is really tuned in to the nuances of the instrument. As a teacher, I've learned that everyone has something musical to offer. It's all about how much of themselves they put into their instrument, or into the music would be a better way to put it. Some students that I never thought would do well have surprised me (and some that I thought were going to be great have surprised me as well, not in a good way), so I try not to pass judgment on anybody.
The Stone Pony: Perhaps you can answer the one question that literally thousands of bands have asked over the years: Why is it so difficult to find a good bass player for my band?
DLR: I guess because bass is always considered to be the "ugly sister", so nobody wants to play it. Many times, the lame guitar player gets to play bass, so that's no help, either. In addition, a lot of music limits the role of the bass player, and since they never solo or play chords, they don't develop a melodic sense, or an understanding of harmony, stunting their musical growth.
The Stone Pony: You recently completed recording "Major Impacts II" with the Steve Morse Band, a follow-up to the first "Major Impacts" album and scheduled for release in August. Can you briefly describe the "Major Impacts" concept, and run through some of the music that you recorded for the album?
DLR: I'm not all that sure of what the thinking was behind the Major Impacts idea, other than it might be cool to have artists, such as Steve, write and play music in the style of the bands and players that influenced him. On this most recent CD, we did a bluegrass tune, an ELP-type tune, and an Aerosmith-style tune, among others.
The Stone Pony: What can fans look forward to at the next Dixie Dregs appearance on the Stone Pony stage? Are you playing any new music on the current tour, older material or a combination of both? Have you played at the Pony before and, if so, do you have any memories from prior gigs here?
DLR: We will be playing a mixture - nothing that's really new Dregs, but some newer stuff that different guys in the band have brought in. We will also do some classic Dregs, and some Dregs things we haven't played in a long time. We really try to make each tour different from the last. I've played at the Pony dozens of times, being a New Jersey native. I have a lot of great memories of playing there with a variety of bands (including the Dregs in the early 90's, I think - may have been the Steve Morse Band), and I have seen a lot of great shows there as well.
The Dixie Dregs, along with Pseudopod and Stan Steele, appear at The Stone Pony on Sunday, April 27. Doors open at 7 pm. Additional information about all of Dave LaRue's projects can be found on his website at www.davelarue.com. Dixie Dregs news and tour dates can be found on Steve Morse's site, www.stevemorse.com.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
Builder pulls out of contract, remains interested
in city
ASBURY PARK, April 22, 2003 -- One of the nation's
largest home builders has ended contract negotiations to buy a major section
of the Asbury Park oceanfront. However, a
spokesman for K. Hovnanian says his company is still interested in acquiring
the site known as C-8, where a half-built high-rise now stands.
Thursday Nights: Ladies Night
The best mix of house, trance,
progressive and vocal. 18 to enter, 21 to drink (ID mandatory). Drink
specials. Doors open at 9:30 pm. DJ Prime and B.G. are on the wheels of
steel ... Dress to impress - our promoters are tough on the door ... Come
see for yourself what all the hype is about. It's on every Thursday
only at The Stone Pony!
