This past Saturday I met with the worship leader at church. For those not into the “lingo,” the worship leader is the band leader who kicks off worship services with music and song, and energizes the congregation into singing in praise.

I had previously informed him that I was adding bass guitar to my stable. Since the band has been playing without a bass for a while, I felt this switch might get me involved with the band.

And so, we met on Saturday for an audition/rehearsal. Let me say for the record that Jesse, the worship leader, is a consummate professional musician, a terrific singer, and a devout Christian. We spoke first, and he informed me that the worship band is not a place for showing off, or being the center of attention. Knowing that eyes are on the performers, the band members should appear professional, and not grimace if the make a mistake, and that the focus is on God and not the band.

I concurred, and so we went over two songs. We both are aware that bass is a new instrument to me, so he kept it simple, indicating that the most important thing for me, as the bass player, was to keep time. Play just the root notes of the charted chords, keep time, and that’s all that’s asked of me.

We practiced and agreed to meet every Saturday morning to refine my skills, and with the hope I’ll join the band on stage when he’s decided I’m ready. When I’m ready, I hope to publicly debut my newest, and premier bass guitar, an Epiphone Limited Edition 20th Anniversary Jack Casady Signature Bass.

Reading reviews on bass guitar forums, this guitar is considered by all who own one a top-notch instrument. It’s a semi-hollowbody, designed with Jack Casady’s (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) input and advice. Yes, he plays one.

This is a gorgeous bass! I need to get used to the 34-inch scale, as my small fingers are creating fret rattle as I move along the fingerboard. I may need to have it professionally set up, but I have time to do so. In the mean time, I’m using my short-scale Ibanez to rehearse.

Happy New Year! I am sometimes surprised that I’ve made it this far, this long. God has blessed me with good health despite my not always taking care of it. My only physical complaint is a back that sometimes causes me discomfort. My hair has thinned and greyed, I’m showing wrinkles I never had before, and I’ve slowed down considerably. But I take no medications, can still fit into suits that I purchased decades ago, and have a generally positive outlook on life.

My only New Year’s resolution is the same one I’ve made for years: to not make any New Year’s resolutions!

There are changes coming! Recently it occurred to me that the church’s worship band has no bass player. Since there are already two guitar players who are well established with the band, the thought came to me that maybe I could pick up the bass and join the band.

I did some research, and felt like I could buy an inexpensive bass. To make a long story short, I found a used bass guitar I paid $99 for, and a used amp I bought for $35, and thus the story begins…

But wait, there’s more. Because I’m an impulsive guy, I read that guitar players with small hands may be more comfortable playing something called a “short scale” bass. The regular scale of a bass guitar is 34″ (measured from the nut to the bridge). A short scale bass usually falls into the 30″ range.

Having a computer and an Internet connection can be a dangerous mix. I surfed around and found a short scale bass from Ibanez called the MiKro.  At 28.6″, it’s even shorter than the standard. I found a store that had one in stock, so I went and played it. Nice!

I hated the color, but fortunately, they come in a variety of colors, and everyone — online or local — sells them for the same price. So, now on order, due to arrive January 3, is an Ibanez GSRM20RBM MiKro in Root Beer Metallic.

One of my college roommates had an Ibanez guitar. I never really cared for them, but they seem to be very popular with heavy metal rock players and “shredders.” However, their reputation for building quality bass guitars — especially at the low end of the price scale — seems to be unmatched.

Time will tell. If nothing else, I have a new interest to keep me occupied for the near future. That future is 2019. Happy New Year!