Bye Bye Skettlebass

Here's a pic of me rocking out on bass guitar. It's about ten years old, at a punk show being held in a church -- so, like, clean God-fearing punk mostly I guess. The singer/front guy was very involved in his church, so it was a natural venue. That band was a three-piece called Fenderbaum, and that was the time I got to enjoy the longest run playing all-ages gigs around Victoria -- I think it was for about a year. That was a really fun period, seeing our name on lamp posts downtown all the time. Our leader eventually flexed his control muscles too much and squeezed the band apart.

I averaged a band per year for about 10 years, from age 17 to 27-28 -- almost always on bass. I haven't been in a group for a while now, but I'd like to think I'll find something when the time is right.

The axe seen in this photo I'd bought off Matt Bass, one of my bass heroes and still one of the best I've ever heard. He showed me the way, the beauty of the backbone of a band, and how vital and sought-after a good bassist can be. He must have been horrified to watch me thrash the guitar he'd cut his teeth on, plaster it with stickers, wrap tape around it and such. I eventually had to get a better one when a clean recording was needed -- too many chronic problems with ol' Skettlebass being banged around and sloppily re-soldered.

I'm happy to report that guitar is now onto its third owner. At Bethany's recent rock camp, it was all guitars on deck to make sure everyone had something to play. I dusted off my first bass and pitched it into the pile. One of the young aspiring rockers took a special liking to plucking bass lines, and took a particular decoration on its body at face value -- it was a Sport Chek shoe price card reading SALE 9.99. It was an offer I couldn't refuse! Though I had no change, we made a deal on the spot, right after the big rock show that closed out the camp.

I think that kid is gonna make a good rocker. His name is Fawkes, just like a renowned British punker before him.