Editor's Notes
One Year Anniversary… Some Thoughts
A year ago we started with an idea, a few staff members, and a heightened curiosity on where we could take this. At the risk of sounding like damn-near every other company under this scenario, ie, “It’s been an incredible year” (irrelevant of what they’ve done) I’m going to have to say………..It’s been an incredible year. I guess you’ll just have to trust me on that, but I’ll also back that up with what I feel substantiates that position. A few staff members has turned into 37 staff members… the 200 or so Myspace friends has turned into over 9000… and the one or two companies that we’re involved with has turned into multiple companies. In the business world, numbers, or ranking has always been the standard for proving legitimacy. It’s not that I’m arguing that point, but let me share what I feel also provides “legitimacy.”Between the interviews I’ve been blessed, for lack of a better word, to have conducted over this year, and the insightful information from the magazine’s unparalleled staff, I have no hesitation in stating that BMM is unquestionably “making a difference” for the bass community. Now, back to my point. I don’t believe “making a difference” is exactly at the top of the page in the corporate worlds list of priorities for maintaining a successful business, and I’d be willing to argue that point. But not acknowledging that this philosophy of making a difference is an absolute as far as proving the legitimacy of a company would be nothing less than a breakdown in common sense. No matter where the numbers may lie, any publication out there deserves acknowledgement and recognition for their efforts when trying to provide an honest alternative for the public to consider. Knowledge is power… considering the thoughts of your peers while immersed in creating a musical path for yourself is just plain smart… involvement in diversity of opinion is very healthy… and “honest” and “experienced” assessments from the pros within the industry you’re involved in, or about to be involved in, is invaluable.I appreciate, and thank everyone that has devoted their time in one way or another to this project, and I hope the growth of this magazine’s impact upon players out there continues to thrive.Speaking of our staff members, I’m happy to announce the addition of yet another round of members coming on board to the BMM family. Joining us in this issue, or our next issue in October will be Jimmy Haslip, Esperanza Spaulding, Reggie Washington, and Tom Kennedy. These are all outstanding players, and my appreciation for them joining on to an already outstanding staff is immeasurable. Also joining us this issue is staff member Dale Woolum, who will be doing vintage gear reviews for us.
I also want to gear up our readers on a very special event to be released soon. The SMV CD “Thunder”, with Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten is reviewed in this issue, and will be available to the public very soon. In my interview with Victor a couple of issues ago, he told me about this project and how special it was to be involved in. When I interviewed Marcus for our last issue, he was literally in the studio mixing it as we spoke. His enthusiasm was definitely on a par with Victors about this project. And I’m glad to announce that our October cover story will feature the third artist completing this infamous trio, Stanley Clarke, and I’ll be sure to spend some time talking with him about this project as well, not to mention the multiple questions I’ll have for him about his recent tour with Return to Forever.
A final note; keep a close eye out for Bass Musician Magazines upcoming “social community”, which will be up very soon. This will be a very cool and extremely helpful marketing tool to anyone involved in this community setting, from individuals, to bands, to bass related business entities. This has all the possibilities of being the “Myspace” totally dedicated to bassists, and all bass involved business ventures.
Our entire staff has been invited to participate, and if you kind of whizzed by our home page, you might want to go back and see just exactly who I’m referring to on this some of the top artists in the bass world will be involved…stay tuned (no pun intended)
We thank you for your interest, your support, and your patronage… we plan to be here deep into the future.
Best,
Jake Kot, Editor