There seems to be a few events lately of Alembics being recognized. That makes this story all the more interesting to me.
I have recently joined a band that plays mostly classic rock. The members are all veteran musicians and have played together as a band for over 30 years. I am still getting used to being the youngster in the group at age 52.
They got together after my audition and decided to bring me in and make it a project to get me up to speed. I am very grateful for that. I am also proud to occupy the space of their former bass player, who died recently. He was a dear friend to them all from what I am told. I see his picture with the other band mates on the wall right above the bass amp every time I plug in for practice. I was told the picture was taken over 25 years ago. There were nine members at the time, including a full horn section and one lead singer.
We practiced the songs we played last week and added a couple of new ones that I was to learn. Well it being such a busy week for me, I did not get a chance to practice one of them; Monterey by Eric Burden. I informed the band before practice of this and we decided to practice it last if time permitted.
The lead guitarist, who has been playing almost as long as I have been alive, asked if his cousin, who is a bass player, could come to this week's practice and see my Alembic. He said his cousin has never seen one in person and would love to come by and hear it. The lead guitarist's cousin came by at the beginning of practice and chatted a few minutes before we got started. He saw the MK5 on its stand and gave a quick nod of approval and sit on the couch directly in front of me. We started practice and I gave my 100%.
We got to our last song for the night, Monterey. We decided to take a break before getting started on the last song. Everyone left the practice room except the bass player.
He walked over to where I was and we started to chat. He informed me of his recent heart surgery and we discussed his recovery class and hospital urgent care facilities in our area. He then paused and stared at the MK5. He new a lot about Alembic's history and told me he always wanted to play one. I asked him if he wanted to play it and he said yes.
He appeared to be about 20 years my senior and a little fatigued. I informed of the weight of the bass and he did not mine. I helped him strap the bass and turned on the amp. He quickly went over the tuning and began to play. His finger movement reminded me of a ballet dancer as he glided over the fret board. His gentle approach was awesome. He asked me about the controls and I explained them to him the best I could. He made a couple of quick adjustments and began to teach me the bass line to Monterey. His explanation was informative and direct. He explained the note sequence, the rhythm, and why it fits so well in the entire score. By the time the band members came back I was ready to play the main bass line. He stood there with me and talked me the through the movements.
After practice was over, he complimented my sense of tone and listening to the rest of the band as I played. He thanked me for letting him play my Alembic. I thanked him for the life's lesson.
