Post Brexit alembic bass name :-)

[jazzyvee]

I am the proud owner of a few Europa basses but since the UK is now on it's way out of Europe, should I be removing the 'Europ' from the name and renaming my basses accordingly?
Just for fun of course, any apt, silly,  humourous or sensible idea's. :-)
However  I certainly won't be referring to any of them as my Alembic Boris 5 string that's for sure.
 

[David Houck]

Since the board's guidelines suggest we avoid anything political, I'll go with the "sensible" and suggest that Europa is a wonderful name, and should be kept, as it evokes, for me, a tune that I played in several bands, and that I still love.   

[edwardofhuncote]

If I recall correctly, 'Europa' is an homage' to the car Mica's Daddy was driving when he met her Mom. Or was it an Elan? 


I used to have a mind like a steel trap. 

[cozmik_cowboy]

If I recall correctly, 'Europa' is an homage' to the car Mica's Daddy was driving when he met her Mom. Or was it an Elan? 


I used to have a mind like a steel trap. 

I think it was the Elan (I know it was a Lotus, and Lotus made an Elan for sure; don't know about a Europa).

Peter (who still has a mind like a steel trap:  Rusty, and illegal in 38 states.....)

[jacko]

Europa is a moon of Jupiter. Ron is known to have an abiding interest in astronomy.

Graeme

[jazzyvee]

Yeah I remember the Lotus Europa cars buzzing around when I was really young. Of the lotus cars I think the Lotus Esprit turbo was a really good looking car in it's time. One of the contractors where I used to work had one and took me for a spin in it one lunchtime. Driving that fast with your bum feeling a few centimetres off the road was a bit unsettling to say the least.

[hammer]

A little off topic but Dave’s comment on Santana’s Europa, one of my favorite songs of all time, got me looking for a You Tube version and I found a (previously unknown to me) controversy over the origins of the tune.  See Los Angeles Negros Y Volvere which I believe was released some time time to Santana’s piece. Maybe I just missed this for all these years.

[StephenR]

I was hanging out at a friend's house on Long Island after school one afternoon in the fall of 1968. Her father was a college professor and friend of Ken Kesey's, the family owned a pet otter named after Kesey. Through that connection Katie had spent the summer of 1968 visiting Kesey and the Pranksters in Oregon and also hanging out with the Dead. There was a knock on the front door and since I was closest at the time I answered. When the door opened it turned out to be Merry Prankster George Walker who had driven across the country in his pyschedelic-painted Lotus Elan to try and get Katie to come back to California with him and sail to Tahiti with the Pranksters. She laughed at him and told him there was no way she could go since she needed to finish her last year of high school. The car was really cool, convertible and along with the psychedelic paint job the seats were covered with sparkly-blue plastic material that reminded me of the "tuck and roll" plastic covering on the Kustom amps that were popular at the time.

Seems the Lotus cars were popular in the Bay Area in the 60s so it would not surprise me if the Europa and Elan model names were an homage to the Lotus cars. Here is a link to an article about the car George Walker once owned...

http://www.gglotus.org/ggtech/elan-larrys/Elanlarl.htm

[xlrogue6]

If you had a Spyder would you name that Boris? Just curious...

[edwardofhuncote]

Two suggestions;

1. Jazzy should have his own Signature Model shaped like an Europa, with Series II electronics of course.

2. Both of us should be able to play Alembic Spyders in our respective gigs of reggae and newgrass. At least once. 

*as an aside, I had one of those Kustom PA systems with the sparkle vinyl tuck-n-roll. There's a whole stash of the amps in our local Craigslist right now, actually... saw 'em this morning. https://roanoke.craigslist.org/msg/d/bedford-vintage-kustom-amps/7079105259.html

[jazzyvee]

Kent, I don't usually have pet names for my instruments they are usually just referred to based on the description of what they are, Red Strat, black bass or Strat Ultra, Clarkee Signature etc. I think the former owner of my series I guitar is called "puff" but I just call it The Dragon guitar.

[jazzyvee]

Edward, that would be a great eye opener and something to aspire to. Maybe one day I will do a gig somewhere near one of the members here who has one and they surprise me by bringing it along for me to play. How cool would that be... hint hint. ;-)

[edwin]

I was hanging out at a friend's house on Long Island after school one afternoon in the fall of 1968. Her father was a college professor and friend of Ken Kesey's, the family owned a pet otter named after Kesey. Through that connection Katie had spent the summer of 1968 visiting Kesey and the Pranksters in Oregon and also hanging out with the Dead. There was a knock on the front door and since I was closest at the time I answered. When the door opened it turned out to be Merry Prankster George Walker who had driven across the country in his pyschedelic-painted Lotus Elan to try and get Katie to come back to California with him and sail to Tahiti with the Pranksters. She laughed at him and told him there was no way she could go since she needed to finish her last year of high school. The car was really cool, convertible and along with the psychedelic paint job the seats were covered with sparkly-blue plastic material that reminded me of the "tuck and roll" plastic covering on the Kustom amps that were popular at the time.

Seems the Lotus cars were popular in the Bay Area in the 60s so it would not surprise me if the Europa and Elan model names were an homage to the Lotus cars. Here is a link to an article about the car George Walker once owned...

http://www.gglotus.org/ggtech/elan-larrys/Elanlarl.htm

Mr. Walker is quite the character and became a friend over the last year.

[mica]

My dad was driving a Lotus Europa when my parents first got together. When my mom was pregnant, she couldn't get in and out of that car, so they had to sell it. I always kinda feel like I owe my dad a car over that! But yes, we did name the bass after that car, and the Elan is also a Lotus-inspired name.

[gearhed289]

My dad was driving a Lotus Europa when my parents first got together. When my mom was pregnant, she couldn't get in and out of that car, so they had to sell it. I always kinda feel like I owe my dad a car over that! But yes, we did name the bass after that car, and the Elan is also a Lotus-inspired name.

That's some cool history!