Music
I’ve been playing bass since April 2021. You can follow my music instagram here: @rnelson2112
Backstory
My First Bass
Westone Spectrum ST
On April 19th, 2021, inspired by the recently opened School of Rock in my neighborhood and my growing appreciation for Rush, I bought my first Bass Guitar. A Westone Spectrum ST Bass that I got for about $300 on Facebook Marketplace.
I had previously “learned” guitar in middle school. I guess I learned a few basic chords, but it didn’t stick I can’t remember ever playing any songs. I was more interested in playing Guitar Hero than playing an instrument. In high school I took up viola in the school’s orchestra. I learned some songs (or pieces if you insist) and played a few concerts in my Freshman through Junior years. I even had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica and played with some student orchestras there. I enjoyed this more but was still not very interested in practicing and didn’t get very good because of it.
In my childhood I wasn’t too interested in popular music. I’ve always been a fan of comedy and most of the music I listened to in middle school and high school were the SpongeBob albums, “Weird” Al Yankovic, and Ninja Sex Party. It wasn’t until later in high school and college that I started to listen to bands like The Black Keys, DEVO, TWRP, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gorillaz, Ghost, and my favorite band, Rush.
After graduating from college and starting a career, I had more money and time to spend on a new hobby. I saw that a School of Rock location had opened near my apartment, and being inspired by Neil Peart of Rush, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Yoshida Yusuke of Tricot, I decided to order a drum pad and try learning some basics online. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was no good at the multitasking and limb independence required for drumming and so being inspired by Geddy Lee of Rush, Commander Meouch of TWRP, and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, I went on Facebook Marketplace and picked up a used bass guitar that day.
Before I took any lessons, I had always wanted to try out the video game Rocksmith. As a fan of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this game seemed really cool to me. The concept of Rocksmith is that by using a real instrument to play rhythm games you can learn how to play for real. It was with this game and my “bent like a banana” bass that I fell in love with the instrument and started taking lessons at the School of Rock.
Three years and 5 basses later, I’m still at School of Rock and still loving music more than ever.
Below are a few music-related links you might be interested in checking out.
