I know this greeting is a bit late but…Happy New Year ! Hope your 2012 got off to a great start! 
My 2012 is shaping up to be a really good one. I’m looking forward to finally starting Music school (yes, Daddy is going back to school, ha!) and of course making more Music with my group, 1Eighty.

There’s one other thing I’m looking forward to doing: Making mistakes. Yes, mistakes.
Lots of them!

I learned a long time ago that trying something new and screwing up is a good thing. Yes, you may feel fear, embarrassment or even break into a sweat, but in most cases you’ll have fun and learn something in the process. I experienced all of these things at yesterday’s Jazz Jam Session. Yeah, your boy even sweat a bit.

Beauty Jackson

Playing live with my 1Eighty family is a lot of fun and I always look forward to it, but I’ve been a bit intimidated to play in the jam sessions at the local bars and clubs here in Tokyo…especially the Jazz sessions. These cats that play at the Jazz sessions are good…no..Incredible! Some are pro (or semi-pro) and most of the other players have been playing 20+ years. Although, I’ve only been playing seriously for the past 2 1/2 years, I decided to pack up “Beauty Jackson” (my 5-string Bass) and hit the Monday afternoon session.

The jam sessions at Dolce Vita usually start off with the house band playing a song then the session leader will call people to the stage who signed up to play. You never know who you’re going to be playing with and what playing level they’re at. I was a bit surprised when my name was called after the house band’s opening song. The first thing that came out my mouth was, “Uh, I need a bit more time…” I hadn’t finished my coffee and I wanted to look through my major, dominant and minor chord cheat sheets (not that it was going to help any). A few seconds later, the saxophonist said she wanted to play “Autumn Leaves” which is a song I know and love. (There are many versions of this song but I really like the version by legendary Detroit Bassist, Ron Cater.) I then said, “OK. I’ll play.” I wasn’t mentally ready and my fingers were still cold but there was no turning back. I tuned up Beauty, got my Music sheet ready and waited for Someya-san’s intro (he’s 1Eighty’s piano man).

I thought I would at least be ok through the first 8 to 12 bars but things got a bit rough just after third bar. The drummer was precise (if not perfect) but I was having trouble keeping time. Perhaps I was trying to do too much and maybe should have stuck with a safe I-V playing style instead of  trying I-III-V-VII or any other tricky combination (for you non-Musicians –> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_progression)…or better yet just played root notes throughout. After getting lost a couple of times (thanks for getting me back on track Someya-san!) and crash landing, I took a seat at my table, wiped my sweat and sipped some coffee. Yes, it was rough but I was determined to redeem myself later.

Someya-san and others getting down!

After watching some great Musicians play for a while, it was my turn again. Instead of trying Autumn Leaves again (which I did play later) I decided to try a song called “Beautiful Love” which is another great Jazz standard…and also a song I had never played. Once again, there was no turning back. Yes, there were more mistakes (plenty of them) but I could feel my confidence growing.

More great sets then it was my turn again. A great thing about the sessions at Dolce Vita is all of the players (even the pro Musicians) are super cool and don’t mind if you play the same song that someone else played or that you played earlier. Yes, it’s a jam session but it’s also practice. I decided to give Autumn Leaves another shot. Although, I wasn’t perfect, I played a bit better. Confidence still on the rise. My last song of the day was another I had never played titled, “Days of Wine and Roses.” Another rough set but I made it through it.

After my last set I grabbed a beer. (I swear, beer never tasted so good!) The other players finished up the session with an Blues jam where everyone got a chance to solo. As I watched all these great Musicians, I thought to myself, “Yes, that is where I’m headed.”

I absolutely love Jazz (it’s probably the Music I love the most) and will someday form my own trio (or quartet). In the meantime, I’m going to keep jamming, practicing and of course, making mistakes.

Peace.

Reggie “RJ Bass” Austin

Dreams. We all have them…right? I hope you do! Moving to Japan was one of my dreams, that actually came true (I still find it hard to believe some times).

One of my other dreams: Making & Playing Music.

My Musical weapon of choice: Bass Guitar.
(Yes that is my baby “Kofi Brown” at time of this page.)

Towards the end of Summer 2010, my good friend (and co-worker) Daisaku and I decided to start a band. At first it was just he and I in the studio but we soon discovered that there is only so much fun you can have and only so much Music you can make with 1 Guitar and 1 Bass. About two months later Daisaku asked his friend Kaz if he would like to be our drummer. Kaz said yes and has become my rhythm section brother. We really needed a keyboard / piano player, so we decided to search the Twitterverse (aka Twitter). After a few responses from people that were either already pros (we are not) or just didn’t have what we were looking for, we thought, “Ok, this is not going to be so easy.” You know, sometimes you just have to be patient. We soon found our pianoman: Masaru.

As a group, the 4 of us have only been playing together since February 1 of this year although it seems like we’ve known each other for many years because of the amount of fun we have. Studio time followed by cheap food and even cheaper beer (no we’re not cheap!) before catching the next to the last train (yes we are responsible!) is a weekly ritual I always look forward to. My Musical brothers are really talented and I really feel honored to be able to play with them.

On Sunday March 6, 2011, we invited a small group of people to come and get a taste of “our” Music. I said “our” because 99% of our stuff is original. This was our first time playing live as a band, my guitarist’s first time in about 10 years and my first time ever. Yes, I was nervous as f***!

Anyway, here’s a little piece from our first live performance.
I hope you enjoy it.

RJBass

1Eighty

Ah, the Shinkansen (or the bullet train for all my people outside of Japan). There’s nothing like zooming along at 300kph (about 186mph) through the countryside of Japan, while listening to some good tunes…which is what I’m doing right now. Somebody beer me please!

I’m headed back to the city after spending a few days out in the country. I love the big city but it’s always good to get away – hit the onsen (hot springs), breathe some fresh[er] air, eat good seafood and zone out for a bit. Only one thing was missing…

I didn’t bring my Bass.

Yeah, I know…rest, relaxation, birthday cake (it was my son’s birthday), zoning out. Well, chillin’ out and playtime is over. It’s time to get to work!

I recently started working with a new Bass teacher by the name of Motoi Kanamori. This cat is phenomenal on the upright Bass (he plays electric as well). After seeing him perform twice at a Jazz club in Tokyo, I figured I’d hit him up for lessons. He said, “Sure!” and we started working together a few weeks later.

Before we started our session, I told Motoi that I want to know how to practice “properly” and also asked how long I should practice everyday in order to reach my goals. After giving me a lot of good tips, he said I should practice a “minimum” of 2 hours a day. I smiled and said, “OK!”, but I was really thinking, “Two hours?! Man, don’t you know I work full time?! Did the number of hours in a day just increase from 24 to 30 and no one told me?! And what’s this minimum stuff?!”

Yeah, I know…laziness will get you nowhere.

I softened my fake smile then asked how many hours a day does he practice. His response was, “10.” Yeah, that’s right, 10 hours a day. Ten hours a day for 6 years, while going to a really good school and majoring in something I cannot even pronounce. (For those that know the 10,000 hour rule, please do the math. If you’re not familiar with this rule, look up Malcolm Gladwell.) Yes, practices makes perfect.

Then it hit me. Motoi is a professional Musician and doing what he LOVES. There are A LOT of people that cannot say they love their jobs (most people I know and myself fall into this category). Some people I know cant stand their jobs!

After feeling like a lazy bum for a few minutes, I then said to myself, “Yeah, I can find “at least” 2 hours a day. During the week, I can get up a little earlier and stay up a bit later. I can practice even more on the weekends.”

Now you see why I regret not taking my Bass.

A lot of times the only person standing in the way of success is that person in the mirror. When that person is standing in your way, tell ‘em, “Stop being lazy and get busy!”

The saga continues. . .

RJBass