Mmmmm………..Bassssss!!!!!

The postman always rings twice here in Spain. No , really – he does. He brings the letters and stuff, then he tells me he’ll be back cos he’s got a paqueta in the van for me.

Headless Heaven

So, five minutes later he returns with my new acquisition,  A beautiful  mint condition Fernandes Tomahawk Headless bass from 1987. (see above pic) These beauties came in two versions, one with a maple neck, and one with a graphite neck, the latter being the more expensive, at 115,000 Japanese Yen in the catalogue – that’s around £932 in real money! This one is the Graphite version. I do like variety in my bass collection, and this one fits the bill perfectly.

From the 1986 Fernandes Catalogue

I already have a Fernandes FRB 100 5 string, which I got from Saxon’s Graham Oliver in the early 90’s when Saxon had a deal with the company, and I was working on a couple of things with Graham. I also seem to remember designing a plectrum logo for them too. They are vastly underrated basses in my opinion, and I’m really happy to have added one to my collection – and for a real bargain price too!

My FRB 100 – who now has a friend….

It’s great to receive a secondhand bass that’s clearly been so lovingly cared for, and it sounds superb.

Kev Moore

How low can you go?

When I’m not touring, singing, or playing the bass, I dabble with art, and clothes and shoe designs based on my characters.  Being a bassist, anything that extols the virtue of the bottom end can only be a good thing, so my ‘bass boi’  and ‘how low can you go’ shirts are some of my favorites . You can buy them online through Redbubble – Click on the Red Bubble banner at the bottom of the page and check ’em out!

Kev Moore

Lessons from the Master

Meeting the Master

Some days ago, I flew to the UK to attend a long-overdue concert on Monday night in York by one of my greatest musical inspirations. He goes by many names: The Voice of Rock, The Funkmeister, Big Daddy, even Glenn Hughes…..but for me, he is simply the Master.  Backed by a superb band, he owns the stage, stomping around with an energy that belies his years, delivering his bass lines and sublime vocals with an effortless grace.

He played two songs on Monday that drove right to the heart of the passion he ignited in me to become a bass-player/singer. “Sail Away” – one of my favourites from the classic “Burn” album by Deep Purple – perhaps one of the first bass riffs I ever learned, and “Keepin’ Time” – the blockbusting opener from Trapeze’s third album “You are the Music….we’re just the band.”

When these songs came out, I was an impressionable, awkward youth, stumbling through my early teens. I was already a drummer in a band, occasionally singing, but when I heard Glenn’s breathtaking vocals, and pounding funk-laden rock bass, I just knew what I was going to be.

Unbelievably, that was forty years ago. He strides onto the stage at the Grand Opera House in York, a legend undiminished, and as I remarked to him in the chill of the night outside the stage door as the band left to continue the tour, he is like a fine wine, getting better and better with age. Slaying his demons, he has become a testament to belief in the music, and boy, does the music do the talking for him. In an age where kids have role models that it seems effortless to surpass, Glenn Hughes is from a different era, where aspiring musicians could draw inspiration by capturing just a fraction of the talents of these guys that wandered across the rock landscape of the early 70’s. Punctuating his set with snatches of self-deprecating, wry humour, I sense a man totally at ease with his stage persona, a man who has come home.

It speaks volumes that his playing and singing has exactly the same effect on my now, as in the early 70’s. It fires me. It makes me want to go home and practice, and play, just make music.

The guy sat next to me had brought his young teenage daughter along. As the last notes faded into the shadows of the old auditorium and the audience headed out into the night, he turned to her and said: “You can revise for your A levels tomorrow. This is all the education you need.”

It’s certainly been enough for me. Glenn, I salute you – you’re still The Master.

Kev Moore