Max Valentino: an update please

[_Sweet Willie_]

Hi Max,

 

Haven't seen you on the board for a bit.

 

I have your Caravan CD and when I bought it you were working on your next CD. I was curious to know where you are with that.

 

Please let us know how you're progressing with it, and what you're up to musically these days. Any shows? Gig dates to share?

 

Peace.

--SW

[Max Valentino]

Oh boy........

 

I apologize for really lagging on any updates, Willie, it has been a hectic summer.

 

In early spring I was working on a follow up to "Caravan" which I intended to be a very electronic-sounding album (I had been listening to a lot of Squarepusher and just done a soundtrack session where I made extensive use of my AdrennaLinn processor). I recorded a bunch of "raw" tracks, and was in the process of tweaking and manipulating those for the album...really, I was designing music which I had no intention of ever playing out "live", and, most likely due to the complexity of it, would find that to be impossible.

 

After taking a break from the recording for a slew of solo gigs and sessions, I went back and listened to the raw material. I found it to be "cool" sounding, yet somehow superficial. Perhaps this was just my ears at the moment, yet it seemed to me that while the music was cool, good even, my heart was simply not in it at the time.

 

I shelved the electronica project and went back to the drawing board to work on a new album of "tunes"; playable tunes for solo bass and loops. My intention now is to make "set" compositions for solo bass, using loops as an integral part of the compostional process. "Caravan" had been 90-95% wholly improvised in the studio, with no overdubs and very little editing. This time I want to limit the improvisational side of things and really "write" set pieces. In doing so, I also wanted to use loops in an interactive way; not merely a static sonic event which I play over. As such the looped parts would be manipulated (faded in and out, inverted, re-placed) in real time as part of the compostion...as though the loops were a second instrument (or extension of my bass), and the tunes were designed as "duets".

 

I had been quite influenced by Bill Frisell...and had the most fortunate luck to be asked to play a one-off gig with him this spring in SF (quite a learning experince..)....in somuch as the "interactive" quality of his looping.

 

The project has taken much longer than anticiapted. I have been making complete use of a cutom upgrade to my Lexicon JamMan which allows me to use multiple parallel loops, each placed in its' own postion in a stereo field, multiple fade ins and outs of loops, and a morphing qaulity to the looping process which allows the looped material to change as required by a compostion. The removes the dreaded "keep filling up the box" syndrome, as well as the static quality of mindlessly "soloing" over a rhythmic loop, which plagues much loop based material. (In fact, a lot of my new loop-based compositions do not contain rhythmic elements...those are sometimes played in real-time...but rather are made up of melodic fragments of the "written" composition, which are filled in with real-time playing. Again, this adds to the "interactive" quality I am seeking.)

 

This all stems from a relevation of being a solo-bassist. During the hiatus from recording, I played quite a few ensemble gigs, and found the dialog and communication between musicians to be a most neccessary and validating point to music. As a soloist this is difficult to pull off (yer out there on your own..) but I have been pushing myself to having "dialogs" with my own looped material; providing a new and deeper dynamic to the music.

 

I have written a bunch of tunes for this project, and have been playing them out lately. Most recently I played at the Millpond Music Festival in the Eastern Sierras of Calif. which went over VERY well...and I rec'd some sideman prospects from label-signed artsists!

 

This summer I bought a new home..which I am in the process of re-modeling (so now I own two houses..tho one is in escrow...imagine that..for a full time musician to own two homes!) It has been a BIG project (think xtreme Makeover Home Ed...) but is almost done. Will begin the move in a week or so. Also in this project I am building a new 800 sq ft studio...so have been quite busy. When all this is done I can get back to album (which does not yet have a title), and move to the mixing and mastering process in my new, professional studio.

 

Right now I am hoping for late Nov or December for completion. If I say so myself, the tunes are quite good, and in playing them out (yes, I have been doing solo gigs amidst all the other "home" stuff!) the reception and performance has been quite well rec'd. It is a varied bunch with world music influences (mid-east, asia and flamenco) blues-based tunes (a'la Frisell), funk..and quite a lot of fretless. Other than reverb I have used no fx in any of this, finding ways to "effect" the sound manyualyy (with my hands) instead....and of course that use of aligator clips for "prepared bass". Using some altered tunings..using some altered tunings with capos... Quite loop intensive, but one person who has heard these new tunes said he found it very difficult to discern the looped parts from the played parts.

 

A recent performance review dubbed my music "electro-acoustic-folk-jazz"......whatever that means!

 

Thanks for the interest, really......I have been meaning to keep up on things, but my plate has been a bit full this summer! (Man, I will be glad when this all gets done!)

 

I will be in touch, Willie......and whoever else might be taking an interest.

 

Hope that explains things a little......

 

Bes wishes,

MAx

[_Sweet Willie_]

Thank you, Max! What a wonderful rundown on what you've been up to.

 

I will definitely be interested to hear the next CD when it's ready in February.

 

Good luck w/ the new home, the studio build, etc. Quite a full plate you've got there, my man!

 

I figured your absence was related to your being busy. No surprise. You're usually up to some interesting stuff, so I just wanted to try to grab your attention and see if you'd fill us in. I think others are curious as well about what you're doing musically.

 

Peace.

--SW

[tnb]

Max, do you used standard tuning when you do the solo bass/loop thing?

 

I just recently started thinking of trying this whole looping/ solo bass monkey business. Timbre means everything to me, which means I that I should make my next bass a 6 string or tune EADGC.

 

Also, do you use drum programs of some sort when performing live? What about pre recorded parts? Not entire songs, just pieces or fragments that would come into play often enough to make it worth the effort to do such a thing.

 

I don't think I could start doing any of this until my daughter starts school, but it is sounding really attractive to me. Especially when I am doing 3 month long theater gigs. In the meantime, I will just work on soloing.

 

As for the 2 homes congratulations!

[Max Valentino]

I use two basses for my solo gigs; a fretted four string Godin A4 semi-acoustic and a fretless Godin A5. Both are strung with Thomastik-Infeld Acousticore Strings (I am both a Godin and TI endorsee, and am planning a "clinic tour" for both companies later this fall...), tho I whave been using TI flats on the fretless for use of my Ebow.

 

The fretted 4 string is in standard tuning. I use this bass for a lot of chordal things (of which I do quite a bit), and standard tuning works very nice in this sense (I have just ordered from Godin a fretted five string version of this just for this reason...I will tune it EADGC.

 

The fretless was originally in standard with a high C string (EADGC) but recently I switched to a tuning based on 5ths, like a cello (so I kinda think of this bass as my "five string contra-cello") which is CGDAE and some times CGDGD. I like these tunings thoughnthey do create the obvious dilemmas when applied to an unlined fretless board!

 

I used to use as many as three drum machines intandem, along with a massive array of pedal and rack processors. I no longer do. I have found that too many buttons and flashing leds keeps my attentionm focused on those things.....moving away from technology and back to playing allows me to be more engaging with audience (who I also found felt "cheated" when drum machine tracks would kick in..a common problem in using "canned" tracks). I have only a TC Electronic M-One processor in my rack, and use that for a touch of 'verb on the entire mix. No MIDI, no stomp boxes.

I have never used pre-recorded loops or sequences (other than drum loops) live. I have alwyas tried to maintain the essence of a "live" performance.much like Steve Lawson does. My loops are always done on the fly....even with set and "written" compositions. This creates the challenge of re=creating a previous event, but also allows for make each event unbique to itself. In my solo show, everything is played live on a semi-acoustic bass guitar.

 

For drums, I have developed a number of techniques inwhich I play the drum parts on bass. These involve multiple string taps and pats, multiple finger mutes, "drumming" on parts of the body/neck, rubbing the strings with fingertips or nails and the application of alligator clips to harmonic nodes along the speaking length of the string. Using these with loops gives me the capability of complete polyrhythmic beds with plenty of dynamic shift...and audineces realy enjoy the visual of watching someone play the drum parts on bass!

 

Good luck with your own solo/looping endeavours. YEs, Timbre is everything. And so is balance. As you are developing a solo "set" think of balance in the compostions; balancing timbres, balancing tensions, densities, complexities and simnp-licities. Give the music room to breathe......and have fun.

 

Best wishes

Max

[tnb]

Sounds like you have your hands full. I have a couple of years to start working this concept. The simpler the set up, the better (for me ) Thank you for your help.

[Jimbroni]

The fretless was originally in standard with a high C string (EADGC) but recently I switched to a tuning based on 5ths, like a cello (so I kinda think of this bass as my "five string contra-cello") which is CGDAE and some times CGDGD. I like these tunings thoughnthey do create the obvious dilemmas when applied to an unlined fretless board!

tnb and Max,

I recently posted a thread about alternative tunings for fivers. Not too many people responded.

[Max Valentino]

The EADGC tuning is really just the five highest strings of a six string set and tuning (think standard four string plus the high string a fourth up from G...hence the C). I get my strings straight from Thomastik-Infeld as singles, and so get extra single High C strings from their standard 6 string bass sets.

 

No, you don't tune up the existing strings. Tuning a B string up to E, and an E up to A would put a lot of tension on both the strings and neck.

Instead, buy a standard 5 string set, and a single high C string (most makers of 6 str. sets do sell individuals). Depending on how your nut is cut, you may have to have a new nyut made to handle both the E string in a B string slot and the skinny C string (which usually run from about .028 to.032) in the G string slot. But you might not need too. I would string it up and se how the strings fit and if there is "too much" play or rattle (a new nut is not that big a repair for most exp. repair-people)

 

Tuning EADGC would certainly allow you to drop the E string a whole step to D (you could even get a HipShot Xtender key to do this "on the fly" at the flick of a lever!)

 

The tuning on my fretless is in fifths...the mirror image, so to speak, of the EADGC tuning. I run it (low to high) CGDAE and sometimes CGDGD.

This require some tweking of the nut, andd some clever string gauge choices.

 

Of course, playing a fretless in a fifths tuning means everything you learned in regards to patterns and positions on a fretted, standard-tuning bass is of little good. Which makjes it more of a challenge, and much more difficult (hmmm....I make have to rethink my logic on why I do this!...)

 

Max

[_Sweet Willie_]

Originally posted by Max Valentino:

Right now I am hoping for late Nov or December for completion.

Any updates, Max?

 

Peace.

--SW

[Max Valentino]

Oh Willie...you flatter me.

Actually I am a bit behind schedule on things. I do have three projects "almost" ready...speed is not my strength, diversions are! (or is that "deadlines are just things we pass by on our way to finishing...")

 

I have delayed things a bit due to some personal issues...and winter not being the best time to release something and book a tour in support...

then I have been working on some compostions for an istallation art piece which will feature various sound/music loops triggered by sensors which reat to both the distance and speed at which a listener/viewer approaches the work. As many of the sound lops are triggered (and most of these are bass loops, but some feature some cut up bits of some "chamber pieces I wrote for a string Quintet) they create a deeper texture of the music, which can be eternally shifting and re-ordering itself in a quasi-random (yet never chaotic) manner.

This has been very consuming of my time and energies...but I do hope to get the first CD out this spring, with perhaps as many three others (all quite different projects) throughout the year.

 

Thanks

Max

[_Sweet Willie_]

It's all luv, Max.

 

Simply put, I think you're doing some interesting things musically and I just like to try to keep up.

 

Thanks for filling us in. The art installation sounds absolutely fascinating.

 

Peace.

--SW