SEEKING
Band to Join.ABOUT
Rock solid bassist who has been playing for over 40 years in a variety of bands. Mostly folk, traditional, light jazz, contemporary Christian, and church. I played in several metal bands back in college (mid-80s), a lot in church, and various other bands. I have also played a lot of acoustic guitar, especially in leading worship, and I can stand my own a bit on electric rhythm guitar. I'm not a lead guitarist in any shape or form.
I grew up in a musical family and played a ton of Standards with my dad's bands and came to love that genre so much. Modern music owes so much to the Standards. I played for over a decade in a Scottish folk band that traveled all over the Midwest. Not the most complex music, but such an enjoyable experience. I played in many rock bands as a teen and young adult. Played in a few folk / country bands. Played a TON in various churches where I found some of the most talented musicians I've ever encountered.
I'm a lifetime IT guy who works for Microsoft. My focus, career wise, has been software architecture, design, and development along with a heavy focus in the past 15 years on cloud integration. I love to play music, record music with my family, read, hang out with friends, and code as a hobby.
Currently, I'm trying to throw a feeler out to see if there are any interesting bands out there going a bit beyond "just for fun". Not looking to make a living out of it, I just wanted to get back to playing and re-honing my skill.
As my dad said, "Playing alone gets you nowhere. be is full of some of the most amazing players around. Yet I wonder if they could connect in a band and get that solid, "one voice" sound that the best bands and musicians have."
- Screen name:
- VinnieDaArm
- Member since:
- Nov 18 2022
- Active over 1 month ago
- Level of commitment:
- Moderately Committed
- Years playing music:
- 40
- Gigs played:
- Over 100
- Tend to practice:
- 1 time per week
- Available to gig:
- 1 night a week
- Most available:
- Nights
Influences
My dad (The Vince Arter Set and church) was a well-known jazz and blues guitarist and teacher, my uncle George Arter (who was an amazing bassist and one of the premier luthiers in St. Louis). They taught me to focus on tying a band together rhythm wise and to focus on being as close to 100% solid as I could vs just being fancy.
Bass wise (even though I can't touch these guys skill wise), Stanley Clarke (even though I don't slap and pop), Carol Kaye, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Geddy Lee, Michael Anthony, Flea, Sting, Bootsy Collins, and of course Jaco. So many others. Can't list them all.
Overall music wise, WAY too many to mention. I love most genres of music. But some big influences on my style and writing are ALL of the greats from the age of Standards, as well as people and bands like John Denver, The Eagles, America, Orleans, Selah, Union Station, Billy Joel, Sweet Comfort Band, Degarmo & Key, Bread, 10cc, Triumph, Chicago, EW&F, Jamiroquai, The Cars, Rush, Van Halen, CCR, The Doobie Brothers, Journey, and RHCP.
Instrument experience:
- Bass Guitar:
- Advanced
- Rhythm Guitar:
- Moderate
- Acoustic Guitar:
- Moderate
- Vocalist:
- Intermediate
- Keyboard:
- Beginner
EQUIPMENT
Minimized down since I'm doing home recording the past few years since the last band, I was in shut down. I have my main electric bass (buying another in Jan 2023) which is a Cort A4 Plus FMMH. I used to play exclusively on Ibanez high end and workshop models, but since Cort makes them and their highest end are a bit better in the hardware area than Ibanez, I thought I'd try one a few years ago. I have a gorgeous Amercian made Breedlove AE acoustic (my baby), and a PRS SE Semi-Hollow. I also have a few jazz archtops I won't list here that I don't play because of their sentimental value.
I used to have a lot more, but when we moved a few years ago I sold a lot to simplify as we downsized homes. I believe you need a couple of amazing, well built, great sounding instruments, not one hundred meh, so-so ones.
Right now, I only have a few practice amps, including a Spark that is totally fun. For over 15 years I've played through integrated systems and so keeping giant stacks around just didn't seem necessary.
