Ah, another year has come and gone which means I’m one year closer to death and one year closer to flying cars. And every year has its ups and downs, folks. It’s the ebb and flow of things. It seems like there weren’t any good albums, not a lot of good movies, and not a lot of things to look forward to. But when you look back on everything as a whole you can always find something interesting to remember in the 2013 year-end wrap up.
I started this website at the first of the year of 2013. The whole thing was a learning process for me. The intent was to write instructional content for bass players, add some instructional videos here and there, and generate interest in my various musical projects. But I’m not just a bass player so everything started to morph into just philosophy of music with the added bonus of having how-to elements for the guitar and bass guitar. And when I started I knew I wanted to steer away from what I had done back in the MySpace days and just ramble about anything in my head. But I wasn’t able to help myself. Overall I want this to be a positive place but I sometimes can’t hold back my thoughts on books, movies, and music.
Those thoughts can usually be found over here on the left-hand side of the screen. I usually read a book a week so I’ll try and add my thoughts on those books when I’m done with them. If you’re ever looking for a good read, check with me, I tear through a lot of reading material.
So my first blog post (that still gets some hits) was about Ric Fierabracci’s bass tone from Yanni’s “Live At The Acropolis” album. It’s one of my favorite albums and I loved his solo in it. The first time I heard that solo it just floored me and I’ve since learned how to play it. That solo has become my sound check piece at live shows. I’ve been meaning to make an instructional video on how to play that solo since I’ve not been able to find an instructional online for it. So look forward to that if you’ve always wanted to learn what he was doing for that piece.
I then had a whole series of “How To Act Professional…” which was spurred from my experiences on the 2012 Cirque Dreams tour as well as what I’ve come across with in playing with other bands and studio sessions.
This website actually helped me landed a nice endorsement deal with MTD basses. After I bought my first MTD fretless bass I loved it. One of the things I judge a new bass on is how it sounds unplugged: just the acoustic quality of it without an amp. If a bass sounds good when it’s not plugged in then the odds are it’ll sound great plugged in as well.
I also covered topics such as how to improve your practice with a looper pedal. This has greatly improved my practice time and improv skills. My TC Electronics Flashback pedal is probably my favorite toy I bought myself in a long time. I can spend hours just looping chord progressions and coming up with solo ideas.
One of the other blogs that has been a continuing hit is my video instructional on how to make your own bass ramp. Bass ramps are getting more attention 
these days with players like Janek Gwizdala using them and you’re even seeing more of them pop up as standard parts of the instrument. Bass ramps can be costly to make as they often times have to be custom built. My instructional walks you through a step-by-step process so that 
you can make your own for on the cheap. In another video instructional I covered how you can make your own guitar counterweight. Neck heavy instruments annoy me and I don’t like having to support the neck while playing. Making your own counterweight frees up this restriction and can definitely improve your performance.
Like I said before, I don’t just cover the bass. I like to share what I’ve learned over the years on how to improve a band’s performance. So if you’re in a band you can check out my blog about how to instantly improve your band’s live shows by recording everything you do. It doesn’t matter if it’s with a hand held recorder of if you take a direct signal from the board and record it into your laptop. It’s important to hear back what everyone is doing. Everyone in the band should hear what the whole band sounds like and how each part affects the whole.
This type of stuff transcends just what bass players go through. A lot of what I write about goes for all musicians: like how to avoid wrist pain, using flash cards to learn your neck and sight read, how to get yourself noticed when sending out all those demos, and how to clean the bad tarnish off your hardware.
I get a little philosophical on occasion and sometimes I’ll write up little pep talks for everyone. One of the things I think most musicians run into is musical stagnation: practicing the same thing, listening to the same thing, hitting a plateau and not knowing how to get to the next level. I have a nice little write-up on how to break free of that musical plateau and get yourself to the next level. Don’t settle for that safe place where you can play your favorite band’s song. Push past all that and test your boundaries.
Okay, so then I had to go on a two and a half month tour in Cancun, Mexico with Cirque Dreams Rocks.
In a series of blogs I covered what it was like to do an extended engagement with Cirque 
Dreams as we performed our show at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun as well as what it takes to prepare your house before leaving on an extended tour. The first week is filled with long days of rehearsals and trying to fit in the new acts and the new performers. We all adjust to the language barrier, the different currency, and how to get around when you don’t have your own car.
The second week I covered something that I noticed was very different between musicians and circus performers. There is a camaraderie in circus performers that is lacking in musicians. I noticed that most musicians are out for themselves and don’t really listen to what everyone else is doing. Most musicians only worry about themselves sounding good and if anyone else messes up then screw ’em. I cover how this is counter-productive and if you want to sound better then you need to start listening and supporting one another.
That whole blog went on for several weeks. And I like to occasionally break things up with some funny stuff here and there. That’s not to say that the funny stuff isn’t useful. But there are some things to this business that you have to laugh at when you think about it a certain way. For example, there is a direct correlation between screwing up on stage and getting piss shy in the bathroom.
I also covered the top musicians you’d want with you during a Zombie Apocalypse as well 
as the top types of bass guitars that you’d want to have with you during the same or very similar zombie apocalypse. Who’s to say that a zombie apocalypse can’t happen twice. Let’s say the shit goes down one time, we take care of the problem, rebuild the cities, then it all happens again. Hey, if it happens again then get yourself ready with some of these dangerous looking bass guitars.
2013 also became the year that Cea Serin finally wrapped up
the long-time-coming CD “Intermission 1: The Vibrant Sound of Bliss and Decay.”
I announced the new CD title, and starting next year I’ll reveal the album cover. The album will most likely be coming out on Nightmare Records so once that album artwork is available it’ll be about 3 more months to the actual release date.
That’s just a sampling of what I covered this year on the site. You can see it’s not just about bass players. Next year I’ll hope to extend things further with some blogs about singing, keyboard playing, drumming, and even drum programming. There’s still a lot to write about so make sure you sign up for the mailing list to get updates when new posts go up. See you next year.
J
