Holding the mtd J5, a handcrafted prototype, since he had burned out the battery in his blue mtd 535 that he’d been using since 1997.

Aside from doing clinics and concerts, Norm Stockton also teaches some online courses. Check them out here.

It’s all about context. Bass players are the bridge between the rhythm section and the rest of the band: lend pitch to the drum kit. (Since on most Sundays we don’t bust out marimbas. Although this past Sunday we had a whistle and congas.) Bass players who understand how to be that bridge and keep it in context will have their cell phones ring more frequently.

This afternoon I got to hang out with Norm Stockton, who is currently on tour with Lincoln Brewster.

Ponderings from his free clinic:
Groove – an establishment of a motif that is consistent, predictable, reliable, and a movement forward

Groove is important for the whole band and congregation because a bad groove (in this context of groove) is jarring and has potential to break people out of a worship mindset.

We (the bass players) are the ministers of groove. Don’t be groovicidal. Each motif should consider context rhythmically, sonically, and harmonically. All that noodling? Yeah, it’s cool for a sound check or the last two minutes after a show as people are packing up their stuff, but unless you’re playing on a stool in a coffee house, it’s usually more than you need.

Norm knows his stuff, though, about having an entire song be just the bass. His solo version of “Angels we have Heard on High” is amazing. He also played a song similar to one on the Pondering the Sushi album. Norm was able to able to break it down to, “This is what the guitar would be strumming, this part’s for the horn section, and if I played bass, this would be the part…” Keep in mind he played all of the parts on his bass, mixing hits with pops and slaps and general flurries of fingers. (And yet he was able to show the difference between a constant stream of steady slap bass 16th notes and the annoying 12 year-old at Guitar Center.)

Best part? Very laid-back. Very Flagstaff. I would totally be his friend. He opened his clinic with a humble prayer and ended by praying for the hurt and for all of the different ministries represented at the clinic. Very cool stuff.

And who doesn’t dig a bassist who is into katakana T-shirts?

We’ll have to hear from Jeremy and see if he got his photo.

After being mindblown sitting down with Lincoln Brewster

Semi-related posts:

1. One Thing In Common
2. Composite Bows
3. Be careful with the world, or the next time we meet, it might get ugly.
4. Pluck the Bass
5. What about Bob? ’08