Currently in the quivering arms of Bezerkeley, at Casa de Bass, realizing i’ve got quite a lot of new bass-cakes in the oven, several of which are ready for you to consume fully.

We will be giving out a new bootleg in the next few days, as well as dropping a new release this weekend, then heading off to the Rocky Mountains for Sonic Bloom…

I remember the first Sonic Bloom, i felt sooooo carefree at the Mishawaka… such perfect weather, such GORGEOUS river waterfall lushness. Such epic sounds and wobble, and then the next thing i knew i had drank waaayyyyyy too much tequila, and was pee-ing on Kyrian’s leg, dressed like a character out of some bad fairy tale, ranting about nonsense, begging my friend Travis not to let me puke. It was good good gooooooood times. Thank god that all went down after my set. Can’t very well be pee-ing unabashedly on Kyrian’s leg while im playing a set, now can i?

So this weekend i shall return for another round of antics, perhaps sans the grotesque amount of the Devil’s Drink. Or perhaps not. There is really no telling, and since none of us here are mind readers, let’s change the subject and turn now to our gear section for a review!

IN THE GEAR CORNER WITH BASSNECTAR’s OWN LEVONNE YOLANDO JONES.
Levonne?

“Yes, hi. Levonne here, reporting and reviewing on all the latest gedgetry to hit the streets.

This month’s device is called the Akai APC40. We Ableton users have all been waiting desperately for the orgy of bright buttons and knobs and faders, and it has arrived to much fanfare, hub-ub, and excitement.

And after all the waiting:

The new Akai APC40 = meh.

meh.

its the perfect word for our ungrateful generation. and i will now use that word to describe this much anticipated, highly unimpressive piece of gadgetry. One day soon i will likely eat my words, as i so often do, and you will see me flagrantly noodling away on one, but for now, my review is an unequivocal “MEH”

a resounding, unforgiving “meh.”

I got about as far as realizing that this will not fit in any backpack or travel case (in part due to its POINTLESSLY diagonal sides) and its knobs that turn infinitely and are maybe useful to someone who isn’t a TOTAL KNOB JUNKIE WHO IS BLINDED BY THEIR OWN HAIR, but when you are in the thick of it, you need to be able to TOUCH A KNOB, know exactly where its at, and cuurrrrve that parameter with total precision in accordance with your god-given will…

this device does not allow the accuracy needed to execute the perfect sweep, it does not fit into any carry on luggage, and so, for now, it’s pretty little lights and faders will moonwalk their way back to Guitar Center from whence they came.

I’m Levonne Yolando Jones, reporting live for Bassnectar Lab’s IN THE GEAR CORNER.”

Onward and upward.

Not expecting a sponsorship from Akai anytime soon but….

Check back this weekend for some new musica.
🙂

Flipping the script now with an unabashed nod to real, genuine struggle – aside from playful and materialistic distraction ceremonies, lots of REAL TIME SHIT is going down in the Middle East. A simple 5 minutes a day of checking in on the situation, discussing it with friends, and keeping the story fresh in people’s minds is important because it goes a long way. Even when our press stops reporting on it, these things can go on for a long time, often getting worse, but over here it is out of sight, out of mind. Finding solidarity with those in the struggle is a great way to support them.

If you haven’t already seen the horrible video of that girl Neda get shot and die before her father’s eyes, i recommend doing so. It is so unpleasant and disturbing, but it confronts your mind with real live serious shit going on RIGHT NOW. It is important to confront those kinds of things that we have the luxury to AVOID seeing…solidarity with those who do not have that same luxury helps empower us to avoid those things in our own lives and ideally it empowers us to share our blessings and share energy, time, and life force with those who are less fortunate.

I just spoke with a friend of mine whose very own cousin was TAKEN AWAY ONLY YESTERDAY!!! This is seriously tyrannical stuff. I know Michael Jackson just passed away, and that is super touching/nostalgic/newsworthy but it should not eclipse my friend’s 20 year old cousin being STRAIGHT HIJACKED AND THROWN IN PRISON for protesting. Again, not trying to rant here, just saying i would like to cast my vote for balance: 1/2 parts goofy/fun/artistic/loving/appreciative and 1/2 parts defiant/raw/serious/powerful/unstoppable because we can choose what we allow to happen, and if we party party all the time, we allow lame shit like this to go down. And if we work all the time Jack becomes a dull boy and that’s never a good thing either…

Not to sound self righteous, i just feel bad letting Levonne rant away about plastic gadgets when people are neck-deep in such intense struggles for the privileges that we take for granted over here, so i wanted to balance it out with some awareness of the other end of the very real spectrum.

Much love!
L