My new bass!

I loved the bass I've been using since I started playing the bass in Lo-Fi.

It was a Bacchus "Impression"

model from 2005. It was a 5 string active bass with Jazz Bass pickups on it. The controls gave me cut/boost in 3channels, it had great playability and a nice fat sound.

But.....

Recently I finally found the guts to pick out a bass that sounded... more like me. So I went out to the city and went around to my favorite instrument stores to find the "one". I had absolutely no confidence I was ever going to find the right bass.

Here are some stores I checked out:

Bass Collection (Shibuya) http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/basscollection/index.html

Bass Center (Shin-okubo) http://www.kurosawagakki.com/sh_bass/index.html

Bass Station (Akihabara) http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/web-ikebe/bassstation-akihabara/index.html

Freaks Market (Ochanomizu) http://www.bigboss.jp/fm/index2.html

I really really like the Atelier Z basses use by Chrisitan Mcbride and many more great bassists.

(btw Chrisitan Mcbride is my favorite bassist!!!!)

But by chance I happened to play a very very special bass at the "Freaks Market" in

Ochanomizu. I wasn't even looking for a bass that day... I was looking for a strobe tuner (used) that I could use... this one is great. I really recommend it from the videos I've seen about it.

http://www.turbo-tuner.com/

Anyway, I had a good friend use a Lakland and I've heard the sound but never had the chance to really play one. Since the Freaks Market had the largest selection of LAKLAND basses in Tokyo I decided to play one while I was there.

Since I was using a 5-string, I was looking for another 5 string bass... I tried a Deluxe Lakland 5 string (USA build) and all were pretty cool, but I liked the ones with the new LAKLAND pickups (the old ones are Bartolini).

While the store clerk was getting me another 5-string from storage (it just arrived), he handed me a four string to try out.

And that's how I met my current bass. Playing a few notes I just thought... WOW.

I tried playing a couple of more basses to compare, but none really had the incredible punch

that the 4-string standard LAKLAND had.

The electronics on it are active, and it has a switch standard to all

LAKLANDs where you can change the bridge pickup from humbucker to single (forward position and bridge position) and a mix nob for the neck single and bridge pickup. Well I can't explain it very well so check out this link. http://www.lakland.com/4-94.htm

I've recorded the later half of the new Lo-Fi album on this bass and I gotta say it sounds great so I might go back and re-record some of the Bacchus bass lines I recorded before.

It's my main bass right now after trading in the Bacchus and my fretless. I'm gonna be taking it to my gigs overseas and so on the plane, but I think especially since it's not like a vintage bass it'll do fine.

Come check out our gigs and hear the sound live. I play it through a Markbass/Epifani-cab rig.

We'll be playing live in Sendai and Osaka, Japan in Oct, and in Hong Kong in November.

Will update more info about these gigs soon!

Blog

I always stop myself when I try to write something in English,

most of the time because I end up never translating it into Japanese.

And since most of my band's fans live here in Japan, it's not too popular that I blog in English. Oh well.

Part of why I write is not just to reach out to fans and create new fans, but to keep record for myself of what I was doing when, sort of like an online database. Well that's open to the public of course. It's also a good way to put out useful information when I come upon it. I always find myself looking for reviews about music equipment/gear and hope to find as much information as there is out there.

So why not contribute to the reviews, and put my own experiences with certain equipment up. A lot of the time sure, I'm updating info about Lo-Fi but since we gig a lot and I record in many strange situations, I think maybe the stuff I put up about gear might be useful.

I still get a lot of hits on my gear review pages (tho there are only a few).

I'm going to make an effort to put more stuff up.

Surfers August 16th 逗子海岸レポート

On August 16th Lo-Fi went to play a gig at Zushi beach. There's a great beach house there called Surfer's. They've got great food and great music there. We had a privilege to play with really wonderful musicians there. Lo-Fi、KO-DAI (ex.B:BRIDGE Style) 、 小池龍平 Keita BRAZIL

Since it was a crowded weekend in "Obon" (a time in Japan where spirits are said to come home... where are they the rest of the time anyway?) So we had to make it through the crazy traffic. But all I can say it was really worth it!! They're open till the end of August so check 'em out if you are in the area. http://www.theroadandthesky.com/surfers/

８月１６日は Lo-Fi が逗子海岸にある SURFER'S という海の家でライブをした。

この海の家は非常にソウルフルな場所でいつもいいミュージシャンが集まる楽しい場所！

http://www.theroadandthesky.com/surfers/

そのはお盆の週末というのもあってすごい激混みの道をなんとか抜けてたどりついた。

当日は３つの出演者がいて、Lo-Fi、KO-DAI (ex.B:BRIDGE Style) 、 小池龍平 Keita BRAZIL 、すごい楽しい一日だった。

Primrose in Chiba

8/15日はLo-Fiが千葉のPrimroseというレストランでライブをした日。庭にステージがあってアウトドアな環境は凄い楽しかった！凄いバンドのファンになってくれた新しい友達もできてとても嬉しい。

Lo-Fi played live at the Primrose in Chiba. It's a small organic restaurant that has some ready good homemade indian curry and many great dishes. They have a medium sized stage outside the restaurant with a sound system that allows people inside even the closed off portion of the restaurant to hear and enjoy the performances held outside. In the winter when we played there last year when they invited us there was a nice campfire going too, adding to the great outdoor atmosphere.

We played there on August 15th with a special guest guitarist Yosuke Wada. So the band was me 5(Goh Hirose) and Yosh (Ogoshi Yoshifumi) and Yosuke. This time we tried to do a different approach which turned out to be very cool without Nori on the keys like usual.

今回はゲストでギターリスト WADA YOSUKEを迎えてライブしました！

いつものNoriがキーボードで参加するアレンジよりもスペースが凄い沢山あるライブで実験的なソロも挑戦できた楽しいライブだった。

I think we had more space for me to try out more experimental stuff in my solos (on bass).

Anyway we had a great time and hope to be there again soon!

Primrose : http://www.primrose.in/

p.s. The homemade gingerale they had there was great

手作りのジンジャーエールは最高です！

FOREST JAM & SURFERS August 15 and 16

http://www.forestjam.net/index.php?catid=4&itemid=90

８月１５日の土曜日は九十九里に近い森のパーティ「フォレストジャム」 に出演します。

On August 15th Lo-Fi will participate in the Forest Jam party held at the Primrose

in Chiba, Izumi City.

Here is the link to the place on Google Map

...yup is pretty much in the middle of no-where!

But the atmosphere of the event and the restaurant is great if you love the outdoors.

[日時] 2009.8.15(sat) Open/Start:18:00 / 19:00

[会場] プリムローズ 千葉県いすみ市岬町中滝2072−3 中滝センター内

　http://www.primrose.in

[料金] 3,000yen(with 1 drink & 1 plate food) または or、2,500yen(with 1 drink)

８月１６日は逗子海岸にある海の家

"SURFERS"で１５時からライブをします！

SPECIAL GUEST 出演by AO!!!!

http://www.theroadandthesky.com/surfers/

[料金] 投銭〜！

On Auguest 16th Lo-Fi will be jamming at the SURFERS beach house in Zushi Kanagawa.

Here it is on google map.

There's no cover charge, so come hang out with Lo-Fi.

We'll start playing around 15:00 or so

食事も飲むのにも、ビーチを楽しむのにも最適な場所です。

日中のイベントなので家族連れにもぴったり。 今週末は楽しみだ！

August 1st was the Reno Anniversary

http://reno-japan.com/

On August first we organized parts of an Anniversary party for the fashion brand RENO in Tokyo.

We arranged the live painting so that it took place at the same time in two different rooms, but were eventually interconnected! The painting was done by Osaka artist Ayumi and spray painter AmL and designer Yabe Ray. We had a very special guest, an airbrush painter called Yoheyy to work with Ayumi on the cylinder type canvas.

That night we had dancers and DJs and also lots of live Music:
Tomo the Tomo, Lo-Fi, en

...and 2 dance groups and a Jpop singer. It was our first time doing a gig at the J-Pop cafe so we didn't know what to expect, but the atmosphere was pretty good and the Reno staff made the event really special! They had almost the whole line of clothing on display in the main hall inbetween the two event rooms and I really wish I had the time that night to check them out.

Here's some shots of the cylinder type painting that we finished that night.

8/1 に開催した RENO anniversary party の時のライブペイント！







We finished that night with an unforgettable joint set with the Latin Rock band en and Lo-Fi. We did alternate versions of the Lo-Fi songs to accompany the paint.

I hope to get some video footage of the gig up soon!

This weekend we've also got some great stuff coming up.

今週末はかなり盛り上がります！
大自然週末です。

土曜日8/15は千葉県 プリムローズで野外ステージ！
詳細は下記のサイトからチェック！

A live show in Chiba at the Primrose. We'll be playing outside in the garden stage on Saturday 15th of August

Http://www.primrose.in/
For ticket info contact news@lofi-net.com


日曜日は8/16、逗子海岸の海の家 サーファーズ でコラボライブをします！詳細の場所は下記のリンクからご確認ください！

Also in the Shounan area, we'll play the beach house "Surfers" on Sunday, August 16th!
http://beachhousesurfers.blog54.fc2.com/

For info please contact news@lofi-net.com


We'll update more info on these gigs soon!



5
Goh Hirose
Vocalist/bassist/guitarist

LIVE STREET PAINT 7/17 VIDEO

(check for English at the bottom!)

大見さんに制作頂きました「渋アコ」のパフォーマンス映像。

７月１７日に渋谷のマークシティーエリア／中央街で開催した薬物乱用防止のイベント。

３角の柱になったキャンバスはそのエリアで合流する道と面を合わせて、

人々の表情や感情の多面性を表現し「自分を発見する」事をテーマに音も描くペインターに合わせてLo-Fiの曲とフリーにミックスしながら展開していくパフォーマンスです。

渋谷の中央街はネットワークも強く、様々のお店のご協力を頂きました。

是非直接お店もチェック！

【渋谷中央街マップ】　http://shibuyachuogai.com/map.html

●つくしんぼ(坂入さん)　

http://shibuyachuogai.com/tsukusinbo/index.html

●千両(史郎さん＆鈴木理事長)　

http://shibuyachuogai.com/senryo/index.html

●たけや(まことさん)　

http://shibuyachuogai.com/takeya/index.html

●BAR IRIE(入江さん)

http://www.bar-irie.com/

-----------------------------

This vid is an EXCELLENT video edit done by director and videographer Ohme Yoshihiro-san.

A very good independent artist. He did most of the camera work and all of the editing.

We painted this performance on a triangular pillar set in the middle of the street beneath the MARK CITY building adjacent from the Shibuya-CHUUOUGAI. The Chuougai is an area of Shibuya with many mom-and-pop shops that have been around , some for more than 30 years.

Now with the really fast changing pace of Tokyo, that's a real long time.

The local shops are places where the store keepers will learn your name and face if you go there a couple of times....

They really helped us get the stage and gear together to make this event happen.

The main purpose of the SHIBU-ACO painting event was to help promote prevention of drug abuse.

This was a pretty big problem in Shibuya a couple of years back where you had dealers all over the streets of Shibuya selling legal drugs. Legal but deadly nonetheless.

Anyway I don't want to go into a long discussion about what is right and what is wrong when it come to the topic of drugs, but we depicted and played music that connected with finding inner strength and finding out who you are.

This was our way of expressing how you don't need a chemical cocktail to bring out the best in you.

Thanks to all that came to check it out!