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Rough Day, New Video

I woke up today with a terrible pain in my left calf.  It felt like my muscle was trying to rip itself out of my skin. I googled it later (basically like going to the doctor), and I think I had a nocturnal leg cramp.  I need to drink some more water because that is definitely one of the worst ways I have been woken up before.

How about some good news?  Last week’s “No Update” did motivate me to finish the album.  I am working on getting the final levels right in the mastering, and it will be finished.  I am trying to figure out a way to get the album out to you while I am working on the cover art, so you can at least hear some of the tunes.  If you have any ideas, shoot me an e-mail.

This week’s video is really cool.  I used fuzz and octave effects to make the sounds, and since I am not usually an effects guy, I was surprised at how much I liked the final product.  Check it out below and comment with what you think.

Stay Funky,
Professor John

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I am almost fully moved into the basement. The studio is fully set up, the big screen with the PS4 is ready to go, and even the drum set made the trip over to the basement. Honestly, the only thing I haven’t done is finish this last song for my album! I am thinking this e-mail is going to motivate me to finish it by the end of the week.

I did still make this week’s bass loop video, and I like it a lot. It started with me just playing the melody and then figuring out the chords I wanted to play around it, and then for the video, I switched it around and looped it. This one I will use the melody for a part in a future song. I love the way it feels. Let me know how it makes you feel at the link below!

Stay Funky,

Professor John

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Keep on Movin’

You will notice a change of scenery in this week’s bass looping video.  I moved in the majority of my studio stuff over the weekend, but I still have a lot to clean and move.  I am learning a lot about my girlfriend’s family since moving here like her uncle is a country musician that loves playing Telecasters!  He let me know about a Fender bass amp from the 1970s that was hidden down in the basement, and he’s letting me use it.  It’s pretty cool.

This week’s video was put together very quickly.  I knew the bass line that I wanted to play, but the rest was very improvised, so I hope it isn’t too all over the place.  Let me know in the comments below the video!

Stay Funky,

Professor John

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Long Week, Late Video

Click here to watch this weeks video and comment!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks for me which led to the delay of the video!  My girlfriend and I are busy moving out of our house and into her grandmother’s house to help her out.  This has created a lot of stuff to do for me around my already busy schedule, and it also has me reflect on my memories in the old house and studio.

This was the first place I moved into after finding a job after college, and I have made so many memories.  I wrote, recorded, produced, mastered, ect. everything for my first album Freshman Orientation in this house.  I have made every one of my YouTube videos from this house.  Lots of memories, but I am ready to make some new ones in the new studio!  That being said, this could be the last video from the old place, so check it out at the link below and leave a comment!

Click here to watch this weeks video and comment!

Stay Funky,

Professor John

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Win, Win….Win?

I am so close to finishing Sophomore Sizzler, and I cannot wait to show you what I have been working on.  I have one bass solo on one track that I need to tweak a little, and then it is done!  After that I will be working on releasing it as fast as possible.

I am enjoying playing my new 7 string so much, and I played my first gig with it with I.R.E. over the weekend.  It was a blast, and the sound guy loved it!  Win, Win!

What’s the third win?

The third win is weekly bass videos for everyone!

Click here to watch this weeks video and comment!

Stay Funky,
Professor John

P.S. Did you enjoy the cover of “Word Up”?  I’ve been coming up with other covers I can perform for the weekly videos, and I would love to know what you would like to see my cover!

 

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“Word Up” Loop Cover

So this week for my looping video, I did a cover of Cameo’s “Word Up”.  If you want to skip the story below, click here to check it out.

I got the idea to this cover of “Word Up” because my 8 year old loves the song!  I’ve been trying to show him the ways of the funk, and sometimes it works.  For the past few months, he asks me to put on “Word Up” on the way home from school.  One day while we are jamming out in the car, I realized I can definitely loop this and play the melody, so I did and I was really feeling it.

He was in the other room while I was making the video, and the next day he told me how much he liked it, and that he was going to go on YouTube and like it.  LOL. So I hope you enjoy the video as much he does.  Check out the video below and make sure to like, comment, and subscribe to my channel!

Click here to watch the new video!

Stay funky,

Professor John

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Album Update and Bass Guitar Loop 03.14.2018

I hope everyone is having a funky good time wherever they are!  This week I have another bass guitar looping video with the 7 string bass that you can check out by clicking here.  I have been having a blast with this new 7 string, and I think it is going to be a great tool to use for writing parts for upcoming albums…

Speaking of which, I am just about done with Sophomore Sizzler.  It’s turning out great, and it is definitely an album I am very proud of.  I have a few minor tweaks to work on that no one would probably notice except myself, but I have to make it so it sounds how I know it should sound.  I need a really fly suit for my album cover, so if anyone has any ideas on where to get one of those, please let me know!

Check out the video below and let me know what you think!  Subscribe to my YouTube channel if you have not already!

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Ibanez BTB7 and New Looping Video

Funny story.  I went to my local Sam Ash music store looking for a used fuzz or distortion pedal.  While I was there I tried out some of the basses they had there.  I have been thinking about picking up a 6 string, so I decided tried some out.  The first one I picked up and started playing, but I got confused.  It was because it was a 7 string!  Once I figured it out, it was so easy to play and sounded great.

The next day I went back to the store and bought it!  So I went to the store for a used fuzz pedal and left with a 7 string bass!

The main reason I wanted this bass was to expand on my looping and for songwriting purposes.  I am going to make a video of me looping with the 7 string bass every week and upload it to my YouTube Channel.  If you have not subscribed to my YouTube channel, please do so!  There are some ridiculous requirements now to share in the advertising, so every subscribe helps!

Click here to watch the first video I have made with the new Ibanez 7 String Bass!

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I finished recording all the bass parts for Sophomore Sizzler on Monday after work, so I decided to take a picture of my bass and my studio in all its glory (and mess!).  My studio is a simple but effective setup that doubles as an office, and I love my Fender Jazz Bass so I had to get that in there too.

Now that all the music is done for the album, I will be busy mixing and mastering all of the songs.  This is definitely my least favorite part of the process, but the music is sounding great so I’ll make it through!  I expect to be finished with the mixing and mastering in about a month, and hopefully by that time I will have taken care of the cover for the album too!  I’m real excited to share this new music with everyone!

Stay funky,

Professor John

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My work on the new album, Sophomore Sizzler, is going great, and I wanted to share a song from the upcoming album with everyone. This song is called “Trapped in Blues”, and it’s named after the big musical influences that can be heard in the song.

The drums/percussion are straight from Atlanta’s trap music scene which is popular in the area. It was a lot of fun playing with the fast hi-hats and varying the drums under the same musical patterns. The songs chord progression is also very similar and can be heard in a lot of blues music. Of course, the bass is heavily influenced by the funk, and the breakdown in the middle with the synth bass reminds me of the Gap Band.

To get access to the full song, sign up for my mailing list here: Professor John Newsletter Sign Up!