Mark Carleton's Bass Page
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Mark Carleton's Bass Page |
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Hi, I'm Mark Carleton, a bass player in Tigard, Oregon (that's a suburb of Portland for those getting out the atlas). My career on bass started at the tender age of 14 when I saved up enough money cleaning out apartments in my parents' 4-plex to purchase a Sear's Silvertone bass with matching amp. The bass was decent for a beginner bass but that amps had quite a few resonant buzzes. By high school, I had saved enough money for my first "pro" gear. A new '75 Fender P bass (although in researching Fender P basses I have discovered my bass might have been a NOS '72) and a Bassman Ten 50 watt combo with the four 10s. Unfortunately, I didn't play much in college and ended up selling this gear in the early 80s in a desperate attempt to upgrade my stereo. I sold the whole thing for $400. In researching I have discovered the amp is coveted by guitar players now and is worth about $500 and 70s P basses go for about $1500. Youth is wasted on the young. Still in high school, I was fortunate enough to be recruited by a desperate band teacher who badly needed a bass for the school Jazz band. Despite, my not knowing a lick of Jazz and poor reading skills, he took me on and taught me what he could. That opened my eyes to the world of serious musicianship. While beginning a career in Commercial Photography and raising four children, I ventured in to other musical endeavors. I tried classical guitar for a while, then played acoustic guitar accompaniment in liturgical situations. My children grown and my career established, at mid-life I decided musically to return to the bass. By this time having become a Jazz aficionado, I decided to put my energy into that genre. So here I am, 7 years later. I have been taking various lessons. Been introduced to the Real Book, learned walking bass lines, and the dreaded bass solo. Along the way, I discovered that because what is old is new again, that upright bass had made a resurgence in Jazz almost to the point that it was a requirement. So in 2004, I rented an upright and began lessons in what became almost a new instrument for me. After several months of lessons I purchased a blonde Shen upright named the "Triple B" (Big Bottomed Blonde). The Triple B and I have been having fun going to various jams, joining a group or two and even doing the occasional gig. So here I am, a hobby player with a couple of miles on the odometer. Below are links to a couple of samples from a band I was in recently. If you are interested in either jamming or want to put a project together drop me a line. |
| Equipment | Music Samples | Influences | Contact Mark | |||
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Email me here |