Post by Bret Walker on Jan 30, 2007 6:34:24 GMT -5
You may notice a different person holding the bass in our band photo, and under the Band Members section. That's Mo. She's our new bass player.
I don't want to go into too much detail about why we have a new bass player but I'll give the basic facts. Justin, who had been with the band for four years, has moved to Michigan. We lost a good bass player, one who has been an integral part of the band and part of the identity of the band for a long time, longer than any band member other than yours truly. But he had to do what he had to do. We wish him well.
I've worked with Maureen (Mo) on a couple studio projects when I was a recording engineer at Lake Studios. Her band, Her Majesty's Secret Service came and recorded during the summer of 2005. I was impressed with her bass style, but I was even more impressed with her vocal ability. Cross Pat Benatar's power with Debbie Harry's timbre, and you've got Mo. Later, when Brazilian band Kings Will Never Mind came in and needed a female for backing vocals, she was the first and only person I called. They were not at all disappointed with the final result.
I've kept in touch with Mo over the years, and so when Justin left the band and we needed a replacement, once again she was at the top of a very short list of potential replacements. She was excited at the prospect of playing with the Dork, and so we gave her a few songs to learn and had her come in for an audition. She had a great positive energy the first time she came in, and a willingness to work that certainly impressed the hell out of me. Plus, in addition to the four songs I gave her to learn, she also learned three others that night, including bass-heavy songs like "Unemployment Blues."
We took our next rehearsal into Philly, to Columbus Rehearsal Studio on Delaware Ave. This was the first time Frank and Mo got together, and considering they're the rhythm section, I'd say they gelled pretty well. We pretty much made it official that night, that Mo was our new bass player. Especially when she started singing backup on "AtmosFear" and "Nocturnal Emissions." Look for a lot more vocal participation from our new bass player. She's gonna blow you away.
So that's the story. It's sad to see Justin go but we've got way too much going on to let the Dork die now. Besides, as long as I'm a member, the Dork will never pass. On the horizon, we've got a pressing of 100 CDs for "Making War for Fun and Profit" coming, plus we've re-pressed some old favorites, the "Duets" EP and "Crapital Punishment." We'll be honing our next project, "Cunning Linguist," this winter and spring and playing a few live shows, and then towards the end of Summer we should be in the studio recording album #5. (That's Cunning Linguist in case you weren't paying attention). Plus, I'm currently going through old live recordings to put together a bootleg-style live album, tentatively titled "More Live Than Live Stuff That Is Live." I'm pulling material from about a dozen shows over the years, with a few different lineups, including from 2002 when MtD was still a solo act.
So there's a lot going on. Now you know why we had to get a new bass player, so stop asking. And welcome Mo, you're gonna be seeing a lot more of her in the future. And you'll be better off for it. (-:
I don't want to go into too much detail about why we have a new bass player but I'll give the basic facts. Justin, who had been with the band for four years, has moved to Michigan. We lost a good bass player, one who has been an integral part of the band and part of the identity of the band for a long time, longer than any band member other than yours truly. But he had to do what he had to do. We wish him well.
I've worked with Maureen (Mo) on a couple studio projects when I was a recording engineer at Lake Studios. Her band, Her Majesty's Secret Service came and recorded during the summer of 2005. I was impressed with her bass style, but I was even more impressed with her vocal ability. Cross Pat Benatar's power with Debbie Harry's timbre, and you've got Mo. Later, when Brazilian band Kings Will Never Mind came in and needed a female for backing vocals, she was the first and only person I called. They were not at all disappointed with the final result.
I've kept in touch with Mo over the years, and so when Justin left the band and we needed a replacement, once again she was at the top of a very short list of potential replacements. She was excited at the prospect of playing with the Dork, and so we gave her a few songs to learn and had her come in for an audition. She had a great positive energy the first time she came in, and a willingness to work that certainly impressed the hell out of me. Plus, in addition to the four songs I gave her to learn, she also learned three others that night, including bass-heavy songs like "Unemployment Blues."
We took our next rehearsal into Philly, to Columbus Rehearsal Studio on Delaware Ave. This was the first time Frank and Mo got together, and considering they're the rhythm section, I'd say they gelled pretty well. We pretty much made it official that night, that Mo was our new bass player. Especially when she started singing backup on "AtmosFear" and "Nocturnal Emissions." Look for a lot more vocal participation from our new bass player. She's gonna blow you away.
So that's the story. It's sad to see Justin go but we've got way too much going on to let the Dork die now. Besides, as long as I'm a member, the Dork will never pass. On the horizon, we've got a pressing of 100 CDs for "Making War for Fun and Profit" coming, plus we've re-pressed some old favorites, the "Duets" EP and "Crapital Punishment." We'll be honing our next project, "Cunning Linguist," this winter and spring and playing a few live shows, and then towards the end of Summer we should be in the studio recording album #5. (That's Cunning Linguist in case you weren't paying attention). Plus, I'm currently going through old live recordings to put together a bootleg-style live album, tentatively titled "More Live Than Live Stuff That Is Live." I'm pulling material from about a dozen shows over the years, with a few different lineups, including from 2002 when MtD was still a solo act.
So there's a lot going on. Now you know why we had to get a new bass player, so stop asking. And welcome Mo, you're gonna be seeing a lot more of her in the future. And you'll be better off for it. (-:
