Author Topic: The Great Jack Casady (Read 322 times)

hifiguy · « **on:** May 16, 2009, 10:26:09 PM »

Just listened to 30 Seconds Over Winterland again for the first time in a long while.

Casady has to be one of the most underappreciated bassists ever. The stentorian majesty of his playing and the incredible sound of Number One control and direct everything that happens on that LP. Feels So Good ain't much of a song, but there's Jack - countermelodies, double-stops, lead lines from the bass seat, constant melodic and harmonic motion and complete command of his instrument and the band.

Nothing he did requires virtuosic technique, but his sense of musical place, impeccable phrasing and faultless sense of the groove are both highly inspirational and highly instructional.

He is so good that only good bassists understand how special he is. I remain utterly in awe of his playing.

sonicus · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2009, 10:20:26 AM »

I agree with you whole heartedly . I recently have been listening to that recording and many others ofThe Great Jack Casady that I have not heard in a while and continue to enjoy them evermore!
The Water Song ! _______________________and so many others .

Wolf-

dwmark · « **Reply #2 on:** May 19, 2009, 12:38:45 PM »

I remember reading an interview, or something he wrote (it may have even been something from the Fur Peace Ranch site) and he made it clear that we need to have an approach--a concept--in mind before we even start playing. Every moment needs to count (not that we have to be playing or filling every moment, but that every note or lack of note should be contributing to the song). Kind of gets me psyched about some day signing up for his class (if he's still teaching at the ranch).

I will disagree with one thing--among many, he is not under-appreciated. After a gig last weekend, I brought up Jack's name in a conversation with my lead guitarist. His assessment was that Jack is the best rock bass player ever.

dw

pauldo · « **Reply #3 on:** May 19, 2009, 02:45:43 PM »

yeah! The Water Song that is undeniably one of the coolest bass lines ever, with just the right amount of grit and growl.

David Houck · « **Reply #4 on:** May 19, 2009, 04:53:33 PM »

Water Song. I loved this the first time I heard it when it came out in 1972; wonderful tune!!

glocke · « **Reply #5 on:** May 20, 2009, 04:08:28 AM »

Jacks the man, and the third reason I decided to pick up bass. The other two are John Paul Jones and Phil Lesh...

12stringwilson · « **Reply #6 on:** May 20, 2009, 01:49:37 PM »

Greg -

How is your new addition? I hope she plays and sounds as well to you as she did for me.

Dito on Jack!!

yggdrasil · « **Reply #7 on:** May 20, 2009, 04:09:44 PM »

He is so good that only good bassists understand how special he is.

have to disagree here too - visit the Airplane forum & see how many call him 'God' (rather than that second-fiddle-to-Jack-Bruce guy :-)

I appreciated Jack long before I ever picked up bass - in fact he's why I decided to pick up bass in my late 40s!

His FPR classes (I've done 4) are worth double what they cost, but I notice that this year his teaching sked is light :-(

hifiguy · « **Reply #8 on:** May 20, 2009, 09:17:00 PM »

Does anyone happen to know what sort of bass Jack played on the Starship's live Deep Space/Virgin Sky? There's a pic of him playing a 5-string instrument with virtually no body - just enough to hold the pickups and controls. The bass has a head - it's not a Steinberger or some derivative thereof, but I have never seen another bass like this one.

And was it sweet to hear him work his magic on Miracles which is still an f'n great song.

Also, yggdrasil. it must be that I am playing with guys 20 years younger than me. They know Lesh, Bruce and a few others from the Golden Age but Jack WHO?? was the response when I mentioned Casady. LOL!

(Message edited by hifiguy on May 20, 2009)

pas · « **Reply #9 on:** May 21, 2009, 07:29:05 AM »

Most likely the bass heard on DS/VS is a Gold Top Gibson Les Paul type bass. Semi-hollow body, 1 passive pick-up. Jack used this as the template for his Epiphone Signature bass. The 5-string is a Lane Poor. I've had the opportunity to lay hands on both basses.

(Message edited by pas on May 21, 2009)

andertone · « **Reply #10 on:** May 21, 2009, 12:44:04 PM »

Jack Bruce got me started on bass until I heard Jack Casady, then it was all over. Agree, it's the concept that is important, his sense of timing is amazing. Lately I've haven't been knocked out over the tone he is getting live (saw him in tucson a month ago), but his technique is as good as ever

sonicus · « **Reply #11 on:** May 21, 2009, 03:22:29 PM »

Did you take notice as to what kind of equipment he was playing through .He has a propensity to use interesting combinations of amplification and signal processing. I remember back in the 70's when he supplemented his sound with Versatone Pan-o-Flex amps.At the time he was playing ALEMBIC #! and also had a few F-2B pre-amps. Mac 2300 power amps Furman PQ-3 parametric and of course a bunch of original Alembic speaker cabs I don't know if they were loaded with GAUSS or JBL speakers . I like the old Gauss 15 inch drivers in original Alembic Birch cabinets, infinite baffle design. I still have a few . This was all equipment eye candy for me at the time , even more so because at the time I was a student at Leo De kar-Kulka's College For Recording Arts That was in 1975_ Great memories____ and what a sonic treat !!!!!!!!!

Wolf

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #12 on:** May 22, 2009, 05:09:52 AM »

Gold Top Gibson Les Paul type bass. Semi-hollow body, 1 passive pick-up. Jack used this as the template for his Epiphone Signature bass.

Every LP bass I've seen has been solid, & Jack's Sig model is an EB-1 type.

Peter

adriaan · « **Reply #13 on:** May 22, 2009, 05:24:58 AM »

Peter - the EB-1 is the small violin-shaped bass. Indeed most of the LP basses were shaped like the LP guitar, but the Gibson original for the Epiphone Jack Cassidy model was also marketed as a Les Paul Bass.

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #14 on:** May 22, 2009, 07:42:40 AM »

After some quick research, I stand partially corrected. I had heard somewhere that the EB-1 name was also used for the 1-p/up 335 style (which is what Jack's was) & EB-2 was the 2-p/up version. They were, in fact, the EB-2 & EB-2D, respectively - which I should have been able to figure out, as it is consistant with ES guitar nomenclature. My bad. I cannot, however, find any reference to a LP bass that was not LP shaped (though apparently the LP SIG was a hollow version of same - but I've never seen one, so technically I wasn't wrong there )

Peter

ps - Oh, yeah - thread topic: if you were to ask me for a list of great bass players, Jack would be the second name out of my mouth.

(Message edited by cozmik_cowboy on May 22, 2009)