Sunday, July 5, 2009

Progress



There it is, my very own Grammy, something I never thought I'd have. Ever since Jethro Tull won for best metal album (not to mention the whole Milli Vanilli thing) I never really thought I even wanted one. But like I've said before, this Grammy is really for Frank Zappa, and I'm happy to have been a part of it. Plus now I get to put "Grammy Award Winning Bass Player" in front of my name.
I've been receiving some strange compliments from people after ZPZ shows recently, along the lines of "Wow, your solo tonight was sooooo much better than the one on the DVD." It's kinda hard to focus on the positive side of what they're saying, my brain sometimes thinks "does that mean they thought I sucked on the DVD?" But I realize that considering the DVD was recorded 3 years ago, they must be right in some ways about my improvement. Something would be wrong if I was playing this music every night and somehow getting less proficient on my instrument. But I think the main improvement has come from being onstage with such incredible musicians, and especially from listening to and backing up their solos. From Scheila's way of holding the crowd in the palm of her hand, to Billy essentially composing a new piece every night, to Jamie wrenching every ounce of emotion from his strings, to Joe simply dropping every jaw in the house, I get a serious music lesson every night. And that doesn't even include Dweezil, who plays guitar like no one I've ever heard.
In Gryphon Labs news I've given Glynn a few more nearly final mixes of songs from the full length album, so listen for those if you come to any ZPZ shows soon.
Comin up, 5 weeks with Dream Theater and others on the Progressive Nation tour, which will most likely be another educational experience.

2 comments:

mmaier2112 said...

Hi Pete. I just wanted to say late "congrats" on the Grammy win. Well deserved.

I just finished watched the ZPZ DVD again and I am blown away by your playing every time. I love your bass tone and none of your playing sucked so far as this humble fan can tell.

I saw you live in Louisville in Dec 06. I scored really close tickets under NMB and Mr. Vai's spot on stage. I'm not a "Zappa Freak" by any means but I sure remember laughing with sheer joy at the performances by everyone on stage. You and the others seemed so effortlessly masterful, it's truly an inspiration to a struggling bass player such as myself.

Best of luck in the future. God bless.

carla said...

Congrats!!!!!! Give a ring if you're ever in Miami I'd love to see ya again :)