Carving with Slap

It's been a busy week. Between work deadlines, wrapping up the tedious final details of the bathroom renovation and trying to finalize the Fender T-Bucket build, I've actually spent several hours carving my electro-acoustic upright. I started that build five years ago around Christmas and I've been having a real urge to get back to it. Each project has presented me with some problems requiring solutions. More work. Perhaps this is the hobbyist's lament, but it's good to keep working and thinking.

What has been really enjoyable is digging into Djordje Stijepovic's Slapstream. He's probably most recognizable as Tiger Army's bass player, but he has played with just about everyone it seems. For quite a while he's had artofslapbass.com. Which gets into double bass history and technique with a strong focus on rock n roll, rockabilly and blues genres. Slapstream is essentially the live video version of that website. Generally over three hours, each interview really gets into the weeds of equipment, technique and history.

I find it really interesting that just about all these guys have gone through lengths to customize or simply build their uprights to accommodate loud music. It makes sense to be carving away on my strange little upright listening away.



Comments