Well, we're a few weeks into rehearsals and already I'm so confident that this band can literally do anything. The range of Frank's material that we're getting into our repertoire is staggering, from simple one-chord jams to dense orchestral passages, and yet it all still sounds like Frank. The sad news is that Napoleon, Steve, and Terry will not be joining us for this run, and I'll miss each of their contributions greatly. But, the upside is that our new guest star is Ray White, another alumnus from Frank's bands. His amazing voice was a huge part of Frank's sound on albums like Tinseltown Rebellion, You Are What You Is, and others, and already he's sounding great on his classic songs like "The Illinois Enema Bandit" as well as material he never had to sing before.
We've been watching the proofs of our forthcoming DVD recorded last tour, and I can't believe how good it looks (and sounds!) Just the visual quality is amazing, and the way Dweezil edited it all together really gives the viewer a unique experience. And he mixed the bass pretty far forward in the mix so you can hear my parts clearly, mistakes and all.
Plus I got an amazing birthday present from Dan Lakin at Lakland Basses. I've been playing their Skyline Series basses which are incredible basses for the price, and after Dan saw us play in Chicago last year he offered me one of their US Series, which are the finest instruments money can buy. Well, my new sherwood green Joe Osborn Signature 4-string is quite simply the most amazing bassI've ever had my hands on. It's so easy to play, I've actually begun taking more vocal parts because I don't have to think about my fingers as much. And it sounds perfect too, no matter what tone I dial up it sits perfectly in with the band.
And finally, the Gryphon Labs project is still underway. We have about 4 songs finished, and you can hear samples of them at myspace.com/gryphonlabs. We may even play a show here in LA before we go on tour this summer, so watch out for that.
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