Square Roots Festival is back
Bass Setups for ”Pro Blues Bass Players” series Tom Rezetko
I am interviewing pro bass players to tell us their bass guitar settings.
We are featuring Tom Rezetko this week.
I appreciate Tom for answering these questions!!
Tom Rezetko
Tom played with most Blues guys here in Chicago, played for 43 years, 20 years professionally.
Primary Band: Smiley Tillmon and The Smiley Tillmon Band (avg 75 shows a year) over the last 15 years.
Billy Flynn, been playing with Billy semi-regularly for the last 10 years.
Played with these guys over the last 15 years sometimes regularly: Tom Hollland, Johnny Burgin, Rick Kreher, Ron Prince and Gary Sratton.
Primarily played regularly at Chicago and suburban Blues clubs, played most Summers at Blues fests and priviate events. Opened for Buddy Guy with The Smiley Tillmon Band a number of times. Also played regularly with Tony Award nominee, Felicia Fields.
Current Smiley Tillmon Band line-up of: Smiley, Kate Moss and George Baumann have been the best and we all hope to play lots more in 2021!
Q1. What is your primary bass guitar?
A. 2008 Sadowsky M4 / Fender Jazz / Fender Precision
Q2. Do you prefer bass with passive pick-up (s) or active pick-up (s)?
A. active
Q3. Do you primarily play a 4-string bass or 5 -string or more?
A. 4 string
Q4. What type of strings do you use the most?
A. Flatwound
Q5. What are your preferred Bass String Gauges?
A. medium (or regular) gauge 45 - 65 - 80 -105 - (130 Low B) or similar
Q6. How often do you change bass strings? (on your main instrument)
A. about once a year
Q7. Your specific description of your favorite type of strings.
A. Daddario Chrome Flat Wound
Q8. What is your playing style?
A. two fingers
Q9. Do you use a form mute (that attaches to the strings by the bridge)?
A. use the palm to mute when needed
Q10. How do you usually set up your Neck pickup (P bass pick up) volume?
A. 5 out of 10
Q11. How do you usually set up your bridge pickup volume?
A. 5 out of 10
Q12. How is your Tone knob?
A. 6 out of 10
Q13. Do you have more specific bass knob settings that you would like to share?
A. I have a p/up blend that I keep 50% per pick-up
Q14. Do you use a pedal (s)? if so please write in!
A. No
Q15. How do you like your bass neck relief? (The distance between a string and the 7th fret when depressing the 1st fret and the last fret (22 or 24).)
A. 0.009 inch - 0.016 inch (a business card thickness - medium relief)
Q17. What kind of bass amp do you usually use?
A. Aguilar AG 700
Q18. If you get to choose a bass amp for a big festival gig, what types of amp would you request?
A. Amped SVT
Q19. How do you usually set your amp? "GAIN"
A. 3 out of 10
Q20. How do you usually set your amp? "MASTER VOLUME" (a big size club gig)
A. 6 out of 10
Q21. How do you usually set your amp? "TREBLE EQ"
A. 6 out of 10
Q22. How do you usually set your amp? "MED EQ"
A. 5 out of 10
Q23. How do you usually set your amp? "BASS EQ"
A. 5 out of 10
Q25. Who influenced you the most? Please name up to 3 bass players.
A. Paul McCartney, Nathan East, Willie Weeks, John Paul Jones. A new guy I like is Joe Dart.
Q26. What song or album would you recommend for beginning blues bass players to listen to?
A. Tighten Up, The Lemon Song, Sunshine of my Life
Q27. Is there anything you would like to add about you and your bass settings?
A. Try different settings for different songs, solos, and vibe
Bass Setups for ”Pro Blues Bass Players” series - Ari Seder
I am interviewing pro bass players to tell us their bass guitar settings.
We are featuring Ari Seder this week.
I appreciate Ari for answering these questions!!
Ari Seder
Originally from Washington, D.C., multi-instrumentalist and composer Ari Seder moved to Chicago in 2001 and has been an active performer on guitar and bass in a wide variety of genres ranging from Blues and Jazz to Klezmer and R&B.
As an in-demand sideman he has performed with artists including Mary Wilson, Von Freeman, Jimmy Johnson, Syleena Johnson, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Big Head Todd, Shemekia Copeland, Colin James, Billy Branch, Lurrie Bell, Guy King, Toronzo Cannon, Kelley Hunt, Dave Herrero, Katherine Davis, and Jimmy Burns.
Ari has performed at venues ranging from Southside Chicago juke joints like Artis’s Lounge to stadiums like Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena, including performances on two Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruises, Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive At Sea cruise, the Chicago Jazz Festival, W.C. Handy Festival, Blues From the Top, Cognac Blues Passions, Ottawa Blues Fest, and Efes Blues Festival. Ari has recorded with Guy King, Omar Coleman, Jimmy Burns, Katherine Davis, and Dave Herrero.
Q1. What is your primary bass guitar?
A. 1974 Precision bass
Q2. Do you prefer bass with passive pick-up (s) or active pick-up (s)?
A. passive
Q3. Do you primarily play a 4-string bass or 5 -string or more?
A. 4 string
Q4. What type of strings do you use the most?
A. Flatwound
Q5. What are your preferred Bass String Gauges?
A. heavy gauge 50 -70 - 85 - 110 - (135 Low B) or similar
Q6. How often do you change bass strings? (on your main instrument)
A. less than once a year
Q8. What is your playing style?
A. two fingers, thumb and slap
Q9. Do you use a form mute (that attaches to the strings by the bridge)?
A. use the palm to mute when needed
Q10. How do you usually set up your Neck pickup (P bass pick up) volume?
A. 8 out of 10
Q12. How is your Tone knob?
A. 7 out of 10
Q13. If you have more specific bass knob settings that you would like to share, please write here.
A. I adjust volume to depending on the dynamics of the song and adjust tone depending on the style of the song and how much articulation is needed
Q14. Do you use a pedal (s)?
A. No,
Q15. How do you like your bass neck relief? (The distance between a string and the 7th fret when depressing the 1st fret and the last fret (22 or 24).)
A. 0.005 inch - 0.008 inch (a copy paper thin relief - small relief)
Q17. What kind of bass amp do you usually use?
A. Genz Benz Streamliner 900 with a Bag End 15" cab
Q18. If you get to choose a bass amp for a big festival gig, what types of amp would you request?
A. GK 1001RB or 800RB or Ampeg SVT classic
Q19. How do you usually set your amp? "GAIN"
A. 7 out of 10
Q20. How do you usually set your amp? "MASTER VOLUME" (a big size club gig)
A. 7 out of 10
Q21. How do you usually set your amp? "TREBLE EQ"
A. 5 out of 10
Q22. How do you usually set your amp? "MED EQ"
A. 5 out of 10
Q23. How do you usually set your amp? "BASS EQ"
A. 5 out of 10
Q24. If you have more specific amp settings that you would like to share, please write here.
A. I usually leave the amp EQ flat and use the tone control(s) on the bass
Q25. Who influenced you the most? Please name up to 3 bass players.
A. James Jamerson, Stuart Zender, Johnny B Gayden
Q26. What song or album would you recommend for beginning blues bass players to listen to?
A. Albums: Junior Wells "On Tap" and "Harp Attack"
Q27. Is there anything you would like to add about you and your bass settings?
A. I have two main basses that are setup very differently: a 4 string passive P bass with flatwounds and a 5 string jazz with bright wounds and active electronics -this covers most types of gigs depending on the artist/style.
Bass Setups for ”Pro Blues Bass Players” series - Harlan Lee Terson
I am interviewing pro bass players to tell us their bass guitar settings.
We are featuring Harlan Terson this week.
I appreciate Harlan for answering these questions!!
Harlan Lee Terson
Harlan Terson was born in Chicago in 1951, and began playing electric bass in 1966. His influences include all styles of blues, as well as the recorded sounds of Stax/Atlantic and Motown. James Jamerson, Carole Kaye, Tommy Cogbill, and Duck Dunn are just a few of his favorite bassists. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in music from the University of Illinois-Chicago, he began playing professionally on the Chicago scene.
Terson's steady "in the pocket" groove has kept him working on the competitive Chicago blues circuit, and taken him overseas as well. He recorded and toured with Lonnie Brooks from 1976-1982. He has also appeared and recorded with many other artists, including the legendary Otis Rush, Bo Diddley, Magic Slim, Albert Collins, Sunnyland Slim, Johnny Littlejohn, Eddy Clearwater, Jimmy Rogers, Kim Wilson, Duke Robillard, Eddie Shaw, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Big Mama Thornton, Jody Williams, Steve Freund, Tad Robinson, Dave Specter and the Bluebirds, Jimmy Johnson, Sharon Lewis, Bob Margolin, Willie Smith, Diunna Greenleaf, Mojo and The Bayou Gypsies, The Chicago Rhythm Review, The Blue Coast Band, and Chicago blues rockers, The Fabulous Fish Heads. He performed at the internationally famous Kingston Mines in Chicago for more than twenty years, and has been on the teaching staff at The Old Town School of Folk Music since 1999. He has recorded on the Alligator, Delmark, Evidence, Severn, and JSP labels.
(From his website)
Website: harlanterson.com
Q1. What is your primary bass guitar?
A. Various Precision and Jazz Basses. No main one. 2 of these are P bass body with Jazz Bass neck. Several built from parts. Two Mexican (one P one J) have been upgraded.
Q2. Do you prefer bass with passive pick-up (s) or active pick-up (s)?
A. passive
Q3. Do you primarily play a 4-string bass or 5 -string or more?
A. 4 string
Q4. What type of strings do you use the most?
A. Flatwound
Q5. What are your preferred Bass String Gauges?
A. medium (or regular) gauge 45 - 65 - 80 -105 - (130 Low B) or similar
Q6. How often do you change bass strings? (on your main instrument)
A. less than once a year
Q7. Your specific description of your favorite type of strings.
A. Mostly use GHS Precision Flatwound 45-65-85-105
Q8. What is your playing style?
A. two fingers
Q9. Do you use a form mute (that attaches to the strings by the bridge)?
A. Sometimes
Q10. How do you usually set up your Neck pickup (P bass pick up) volume?
A. 10 out of 10
Q11. How do you usually set up your bridge pickup volume?
A. 10 out of 10
Q12. How is your Tone knob?
A. 10 out of 10
Q13. If you have more specific bass knob settings that you would like to share, please write here.
A. I think a Passive bass sounds best with all potentiometers open all the way.
Q14. Do you use a pedal (s)? if so please write in!
A. No, but occasionally use a sans amp di
Q15. How do you like your bass neck relief? (The distance between a string and the 7th fret when depressing the 1st fret and the last fret (22 or 24).)
A. 0.004 inch or less (almost straight)
Q16. How do you like your string action to be? (The distance between the string and the 17th fret)
A. low action / 4th String = 0.70 inches (a quarter coin thickness)
Q17. What kind of bass amp do you usually use?
A. GK MB-500 and Bag End 1 15” speaker cabinet, or whatever the club has.
Q18. If you get to choose a bass amp for a big festival gig, what types of amp would you request?
A. SVT is pretty good. (AMPEG)
Q19. How do you usually set your amp? "GAIN"
A. 4 out of 10
Q20. How do you usually set your amp? "MASTER VOLUME" (a big size club gig)
A. 8 out of 10
Q21. How do you usually set your amp? "TREBLE EQ"
A. 6 out of 10
Q22. How do you usually set your amp? "MED EQ"
A. 5 out of 10
Q23. How do you usually set your amp? "BASS EQ"
A. 7 out of 10
Q24. If you have more specific amp settings that you would like to share, please write here.
A. I like it deep.
Q25. Who influenced you the most? Please name up to 3 bass players.
A. Dunn, Jameson, Cogbill, 3 is not enough!
Q26. What song or album would you recommend for beginning blues bass players to listen to?
A. BB King, Live at the Regal, Albert King, Born Under a Bad Sign, one is not enough!
Q27. Is there anything you would like to add about you and your bass settings?
A. The EQ questions were hard for me. Generally I like bass highest, treble less, and less mid. I’m really not gear oriented. I mess around with whatever amp is up there until it sounds ok. Thanks.
New Jam Tracks
I have been adding a bunch of new Jam Tracks (in all 12 keys).
Chicago Blues Minor Shuffle in 12 Keys
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/shobluesharptracks/chicago-blues-minor-shuffle-in-12-keys
Swampy Blues Rock in 12 Keys
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/shobluesharptracks/swampy-blues-rock-in-12-keys
Kings Slow Blues in 12 Keys
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/shobluesharptracks/kings-slow-blues-in-12-keys
Bluesy Rumba Jam Tracks in 12 Keys
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/shobluesharptracks/bluesy-rumba-jam-tracks-in-12-keys
Bluesy Rumba Jam Tracks in 12 Minor Keys
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/shobluesharptracks/bluesy-rumba-jam-tracks-in-12-minor-keys
Swingin' Blues Jam Tracks in 12 Keys
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/shobluesharptracks/swingin-blues-jam-tracks-in-12-keys
Westmont to Chicago review on Blues Blast Magazine
Interview on Glues.gr
Please check out the interview with Michael Limnios from Blues .Gr
I recorded a brand new original tune called "Quarantine Blues Walk"
Quar Blues Walk (Quarantine Blues Walk) by Shoji Naito featuring Yoshi Mizuno and Lee Kanehira
Shoji Naito - guitar and bass (Chicago USA)
Yoshi Mizuno - guitar (Osaka Japan)
Lee Kanehira - piano (Tokyo Japan)
written and arranged by Shoji Naito 2020 remotely recorded in Osaka, Tokyo, and Chicago www.shojinaito.com
recorded in April 2020
mixed and edited by Grant Kessler www.grantkessler.com
CD baby store has been closed.
CD Baby store has been closed.
To purchase CD(s), please email to shoji@shoblues.com
Thank you!
The CD should be available on Amazon in future. The following is the robot message i received from CD baby store.
but for now, please purchase mp3 download and enjoy.
Legacy - Shoblues Harptracks - for free
During this difficult time, I am sharing all my Legacy - Shoblues Harptracks for Free.
A few years back, I stopped selling those OLD - Shoblues Harptracks - mainly due to their poor audio quality. Most of them are more than 20 years old and created with my good old cassette recorder.
But I believe they are still good enough for personal use. During this difficult quarantine time, I would like to share those with people who have no access to music classes or jam sessions.
Let’s practice like crazy and surprise your band mates next time you get together!
They are free for all but if you would like to tip, please use this PAYPAL link. Thank you and I hope you all to stay safe.
SHOJI April 2020
Album review on "Chicago Blues Guide" site
“Westmont to Chicago: Tribute to Eddy Clearwater” Album review by Marty Gunther
Talkin’ Blues podcast episode 194
Shoji’s interview was featured on Talkin’ Blues podcast.
The New CD is available now
On January 10, 2020, Eddy Clearwater’s birthday. Shoji’s 2nd CD “ Westmont To Chicago” is available.
Click the CD Cover to the Store page
New CD coming soon
SHOJI’s new CD “Westmont To Chicago / Tribute to Eddy Clearwater”
will be available in January 2020 .
Featuring Eddy Clearwater on 4 tracks!
Eddy Clearwater Tribute Album by Shoji Naito who was a longtime member of Eddy Clearwater Band. Features not only the artists who were members of Eddy Clearwater band and special musicians whom Eddy supported and inspired, but also Eddy Clearwater himself on 4 tracks. Eddy’s tracks were recorded in 2015 as the same time as Shoji’s first album “New Cool Old School.”
ALSO Featured Willie Buck, Win Noll, Tom Crivellone and Ginny Morin.
“Here is a quote from CD's liner notes. Both Muddy Waters and Eddy Clearwater lived in Westmont, Illinois, in the '80s. Ogden Avenue (Historic Route 66) is a street that connects Westmont to Chicago. This album is full of Muddy and Eddy's music. I hope you enjoy the ride from Westmont to Chicago on Ogden Avenue with me. “
Shoji Naito
“This collection is a tribute to Eddy Clearwater, our teacher, mentor, music father, and friend. Each of the songs had special meaning for Eddy, and the performers on these tracks include not only Shoji Naito and well-known Chicago Blues greats, but also members of Eddy’s last band and special musicians whom Eddy supported and inspired.“
Tom Crivellone
Shoji plays guitar on Billy Branch's new CD ROOTS AND BRANCHES — THE SONGS OF LITTLE WALTER
Shoji plays guitar on Billy Branch's new CD ROOTS AND BRANCHES — THE SONGS OF LITTLE WALTER
Shoji is hosting 2017 Holiday blues jam at Cafe La Fortuna Willowbrook IL on December 16
2017 Chicago Blues Festival Photos
Shoji and his band played at 2017 Chicago Blues Festival on June 11th. It was a Shoji's CD "New Cool Old School" 's reunion show. The show featured many of the artists who appeared on the CD, Willie Buck, Milwaukee Slim, Mark Fornek, Lee Kanehira, Marty Binder, Grant Kessler, Zoe Savage, and Gavin Tun.
Thanks to Caroline Kessler and Steve Bass for the photos.
Chicago Blues Festival 2017
I will be playing at Chicago Blues Festival 2017 at Blues Village Stage
on Sunday, June 11th at 5PM
Blues’n In Bronzeville Event
Pre Blues Fest Event
Thursday, June 8th 6 pm start
Ellis Park Arts & Recreation Center - 3520 S. Cottage Grove Ave
Blues’n In Bronzeville
http://www.soundtrackchicago.org/
Little Walter Birthday Celebration on May 3rd 2017
Shoji will be playing guitar at this event "Little Walter Birthday Celebration" as a member of Billy Branch and the SOBs.
