Played Blues at the Crossroads yesterday evening with the fabulous Jill Shutt.  Had a great time even with nothing but a LOUD 60hz hum in the monitors..  
 
Admittedly, we played more jazz than blues..  
 
It rained most of the day, so the tech crew had their hands full getting things setup and running in a timely manner.  No sound check, which explains the monitor situation, but I'm told it sounded great out front.  C'est la vie..  
 
 
 
John

Paul Sturm
 

Bill Foraker
 

Your's truly and the amazing Will Foraker..
 

John, Will, Jill, Bill and Paul..
 

And a link to a short preview feature done by a local TV station...
 
http://www.wthitv.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?clipId1=2902756&at1=News&vt1=v&h1=Blues+at+the+Crossroads+Preview&d1=138866&redirUrl=www.wthitv.com&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv&rnd=51516611
 
John

Nice pics, and nice video!  I especially like how the video ends with an Alembic logo shot!
 
The TV station did a really nice job editing and assembling the footage.
 
[edit: typo]
 
(Message edited by davehouck on September 15, 2008)

Thanks, Dave..  Jill is great to work with.  Lots of talent and excellent stage presence.  She does a lot of theater, and could probably make it as a comedian if she didn't have such awesome pipes..
 
John

Hey I'd recognize that Genz Benz amp anywhere. I have a few of their pieces. How do you like it. Is that the 700 or the 1200?

It's not mine.  It was the communal bass amp, and seemed plenty nice enough.  I had it barely turned up with the EQ flat using what I think was the passive channel only, and that through an Ampeg 410.  I've only heard good things about the Genz Benz stuff.
 
John

Very cool. I hardly touch the EQ. Maybe 5% here and there.  Almost never with fresh strings.  What do you typically play through?

I use an Ampeg B5R these days, and like it a lot.  That's run through one or two Kustom 410H cabinets, which I also like a lot.
 
I've been using Fender flatwounds for awhile now as well, and am pleasantly surprised how easy it is to get good tone out of the whole setup.
 
John

I've played the B5R a few times.  I have a late 80's SVT-II.   I haven't played through any Kustom stuff.  I'm curious about it.  
 
 Been playing the Genz-Benz stuff the last year.  I have a Neo 2X12 cab.  I was using their NeoPak 3.5 head, but I got the newer Shuttle head now.  It's even lighter than the NeoPak and twice the power. .  It's crazy.  I'm thinking of getting the 1200 head that I think you were playing through in that photo.  That's why I was curious to see what you thought of it.  It's been years since I've been excited about amps until I started playing this stuff.  
 
As for the flats.. I'm not too hip on them,  but I'm always surprised when I find out who plays them.  I have a feeling one day, I'm going to get hip to them.  Thanks for taking the time to share the photos and rig info!

Actually, what turned me on to flats was the quest for Paul McCartney's tone.  I've always been a shiny-sounding Rotosound user, so this is new territory for me.  
 
John