Jamie Bonk

Acoustic Pedalboard (2012)

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:40:00 GMT

I don't think I've ever met a guitarist who wasn't on some kind of a gear quest -- on that never ending torturous yet joyous search for a particular piece of gear that you absolutely know will present the perfect tone. Or feel. Or really anything good. And you will finally be able to calm the dark voices in your head.

Those voices do stop -- for a few minutes, maybe an hour or if you're really lucky a day, but the inevitable rears its ugly head. You actually do truly without a doubt need the next piece of gear. It matters. Cue the quest redux.

When I talk about those on the quest, I'm not talking about the "others". I'm marching right along with everyone else. Ask my wife about my affliction and she'll tell it's in no way a subtle thing.

But I do recognize that too much "stuff" gets in my way -- artistically speaking. Smarter people than myself have labelled it option anxiety and I think that's a pretty good term. I started noticing a few years ago that having more plugins (synths, compressors, delays, etc.) wasn't helping me to write better or more efficiently. It was slowing me down and sometimes to a crawl. So I started looking at what really mattered to me, chose the plugins that resonated with me and focused strictly on those.

A little while later, I started applying the same philosophy to my guitar gear. What didn't work was out. Didn't matter how much I thought a piece of gear was really really cool. What mattered was -- does it work for what I do. How will this new guitar or effect pedal help me to get to the core of my music in a more elegant manner.

So this leads me to my current acoustic pedalboard. It's a simple affair in my opinion: a Fishman Spectrum into a Tech 21 Boost D.L.A into a Tech 21 R.V.B. Yes, it's not an acoustic straight into a nice mic, but for my kind of music that's not really possible in a live setting. And I absolutely love playing with delay and reverb. The last piece in this pedalboard puzzle was the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus I added about a week ago. I suppose it's weird to buy a pedal to take away sound, but that's exactly what it did -- it took away the noise issues I was having. Everything sounds a lot cleaner now and for lack of a better term "nicer".

I'm truly happy with this board and I think it's going to stay like this for a long while. It has to -- I have no more space for any pedals! Of course, I could always get another board...

Slashie No More

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:05:00 GMT

It seems like I’ve been a slashie my entire career. You know, one of those artists whose style is defined as this/that/and-the-other without seeming to commit to something. I suppose that’s to be expected when you're inspired by so many genres when writing and playing your music, but it makes it awfully difficult to describe what it is that you do. Really, your elevator pitch better take place in a VERY tall building! So here I sit, working away on my seventh solo release and thinking once again that my music is some kind of hybrid and wondering how best to describe it. There’s the New Age sensibility, there’s Jazz harmonies, Classical melodies, some Pop, some World, a little Folk and a whole lot of acoustic guitar -- pretty much the same mix as I’ve done since my self-titled debut album Jamie Bonk came out in ’98. [That is, other than my electronic-based album, Side B, that I put out a year or so ago. Yes, I know Side B was quite a course change, but I loved making that record, and I like to think it’s okay for artists to occasionally dip their toes in other stylistic waters.] But back to the slashie problem because New Age/Jazz/Classical/Pop/Acoustic, or any other slashie hybrid isn't cutting it for me anymore. I feel a little like Derek Zoolander right now when he asks: “Who am I”? and then answers himself. But here it goes: I’m a New Age Jazz Guitarist. That’s it. No slashies! Sonya, my wife, came up with that off-the-cuff so maybe the Zoolander analogy doesn’t exactly work, but I think the description is a good fit for what I do. New Age Jazz Guitarist. Not one OR the other, but both, which encompass all the other musical elements. I know there may be all kinds of pluses and minuses to committing to this or any other descriptor and I know occasionally that I’m still going to need a long elevator ride to explain what it is that I do. And it’s also true that I’ve now just traded being a slashie for being a compound phraser, but that’s okay because now I feel like I can finally own a label: New Age Jazz Guitarist.

KJAZZ Radio UK

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:50:00 GMT

Thanks to KJAZZ Radio UK for the airplay and for adding me to their website!

Bright Night, Big Dreams

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 22:25:00 GMT

I will be performing at the upcoming Sunshine Foundation of Canada "Bright Night, Big Dreams" fundraiser on Tuesday, March 20th (6:30-8:30 PM). The event takes place here in Toronto at the Miller Tavern (3885 Yonge Street) and you can purchase tickets online here.

The Sunshine Foundation is the only national Canadian charity to provide individual dreams to children with severe physical disabilities (such as spina bifida or cerebral palsy) as well as life-threatening illnesses. This year, Sunshine is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Before this year is out, Sunshine will have fulfilled dreams for more than 7,000 children with severe physical disabilities and life-threatening illnesses.

Hope to see you at "Bright Night, Big Dreams"!

Thanks,
Jamie

Moogfest - Mavericks of Sound Design Panel

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:56:05 GMT

If you're into electronic music and/or sound design definitely check out this live panel discussion featuring Eric Persing, Diego Stocco, Richard Devine and Scott Gershin.

The AFM Applauds Passage of FAA Bill

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:59:49 GMT

Great news for musicians who fly!

The AFM Applauds Passage of FAA Bill

The New Record

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:55:00 GMT

I've started working on my seventh solo album! Over the last year or so, I wrote 25-30 tunes intended for this new record -- some complete pieces, some just sketches -- and I've picked out what I feel are the best 14 tunes for the album. Probably 10-12 of those tracks will make it on the final record -- or at least that's the sort of thing that's happened in the past. There always seems to be a couple tracks that either don't turn out the way I'd like or they simply don't "fit" with the other tunes.

To be honest, I'm never exactly sure of the overall sound of an album before I start recording, but I'm fairly certain that this is going to be a very guitar oriented record. Lots of guitar. And lots of my new love, mandolin. Also, I've been playing quite a bit of electric guitar lately, so there's going to be electric all over the album too.

I've been listen to a huge amount of seventies music recently and I think I'd like that sort of vibe to be the core sound of the album. A very dry rhythm section sound (think Jackson Browne or Fleetwood Mac) and not a ton of pads or ambient textures is pretty much what I'm hearing.

And that's about it at this point! There's no release date for the record, but things are moving along nicely!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Thanks and best wishes,
Jamie

My One Year Mandoversary!

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:10:00 GMT

Yes, it’s my one year mandoversary -- I’ve been playing the mandolin for one year! Well, to be completely accurate it’s been slightly longer than one year, but I didn’t have the time to write this post until today.

A little over a year ago Sonya, my wife, suggested I get a mandolin. She thought it would be a great “challenge” for me. She was right.

To be honest, I wasn’t all that keen on taking up the mandolin. I already had a lot on my plate with guitar, composition, production, engineering and the wall of business stuff I have to do each day. Yes I loved the sound of the instrument, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to make the time investment into the mando (BTW, that’s the short form for the mandolin). So I decided I would first rent a mando from a local music store. The instrument was, to be kind, horrible. Think of a cardboard box with old dead strings on it. That would have sounded better than the rented mando. But something resonated with me and don’t know exactly what it was. I suppose the short answer is I was bitten by the mando bug.

So I made the leap and bought a fairly nice instrument -- an Eastman MD515. Here’s a picture of me on the day I brought the mando home:

And then I started down, what has been (and will continue to be) a very long path of trying to learn the mandolin. It’s a great path to be on -- man I love the mando!

For those of you thinking to pick up the mandolin or add it as a second (or third or fourth) instrument, here’s what I’ve learned over the last year:

Time Matters

There really is no substitute for time. You really do have to practice. And practice a lot. My teachers all told me that consistent, sustained practice was the key to progressing on an instrument. And they were right.

I have a certain amount of facility on the guitar and I think that made me think that picking up the mando would be easier than it has been. I feel like my playing has leapt up on the mando over the last few months, but it was definitely frustrating in the beginning. The fact that I play every day for at least an hour has, in my mind, been the most important factor in my progress.

Practice Right

Of course, there’s no one way to learn an instrument, but for me, taking a traditional approach to learning has worked very well. I work on scales, chords and sight reading in addition to learning pieces by Bach, traditional Celtic tunes and improv every day.

Get A Good Instrument and Have It Set Up Properly

The subheading pretty much says it all. A good mandolin, set up nicely plays like butter. To me, it seems like a good set up is more critical on the mando than on the guitar.

Pick The Right Pick

The type of pick you choose to play on the mando is extremely critical. The material and shape of the pick will have a profound affect on the tone you produce. I went through a whole bunch of different picks and found that the Blue Chip TP-1R 40 works best for me.

Well that’s about it! I’m sure I’ve learned more than I’ve written in this post, but I have to get back to practicing!

Reporters' Roundtable: What Spotify means to the music industry

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 04:30:00 GMT

Nice overview of the current state of the digital music universe.

How Much Does It Cost To Make A Hit Song?

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:16:27 GMT

I never know what to think when I read something like this NPR piece. Did it really cost Rihanna's label $1,078,000 to produce "Man Down"? Really?? Were there really forty writers working on her record?? But even if you take half (or a quarter) of the amount of money spent, it's still a pretty big number for me to get my head around...

Sixteen Different Minds "Dancing Castles" Toronto CD Release Party

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:20:00 GMT

Sixteen Different Minds is having a Toronto CD release party for Dancing Castles this Sunday (June 26, 2011 - 8 PM) at the Blue Moon. We have the fantastic Henry Heillig (bassist and co-founder of Manteca) on this date. We also have some pretty darn cool t-shirts (and fridge magnets) for sale. If you're in the Toronto area, please come on out and say hi!

Thanks and bye for now,
Jamie

Guitars & More

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:10:32 GMT

Here's what I'm listening to on the guitar (& more) front this week...

1. My Song - One Quiet Night - Pat Metheny

2. Manha De Carnaval - The Guitar Trio - Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola & John McLaughlin

3. A Day In the Life (Live) - Performing This Week - Live At Ronnie Scott's - Jeff Beck

4. Bach: Prelude No.3 - Jazziz - Guitars Volume 2 - Dominic Miller featuring Chris Botti

5. MWD - Here - Ken Sager

6. A Cool New Way - Super Colossal - Joe Satriani

7. Vincent - Fingerstyle Guitar - Chet Atkins

8. Have a Little Faith In Me - The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1 - Folk Songs - Bill Frisell

9. This Way - This Way - Acoustic Alchemy

10. Odeon - Nylon & Steel - Manuel Barrueco

11. Sonar - David Barrett Trio

12. Centerline - Dancing With Shadows - Ken Bonfield & Joe Ebel (With Michael Manring & Ty Burhoe)

13. What a Way to Go - Evocative - David Grier

14. Redemption - Essences - Tonino Baliardo

15. A Morning Song - Across The Bridge - Peter Janson

16. Always With Me, Always With You - The Essential: Joe Satriani - Joe Satriani

Keyboard (November 1988)

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:10:31 GMT

This blast from the past is from the "Discoveries" column in Keyboard Magazine (November, 1988). Wonder why I looked so glum...

Downbeat (August 1988)

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:05:00 GMT

A long, long time ago... Just cleaning up my studio and came across a couple of magazines I was in YEARS and YEARS ago. This first one is from the Auditions column in the August 1988 Downbeat. Hard to believe I ever looked that young...

Sixteen Different Minds "Dancing Castles" CD Release Party

Tue, 10 May 2011 03:55:00 GMT

The New Mitlewski Bonk Family Portrait

Mon, 02 May 2011 02:55:00 GMT

A Drummer's Dream

Sun, 01 May 2011 04:15:00 GMT

Just finished watching A Drummer's Dream... Wow -- what a great documentary!! It was so nice to see all of these great drummers in such an intimate setting. Sure wish I had been able to go to a music camp like this when I was a kid...

Long Time, No Post

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:10:00 GMT

Yes it's been a long time since my last post here. A very long time. I'm not happy about that, but sometimes that's just the way it goes. We all get sidetracked/busy/complacent about things we want to or should do. This blog is a great example of that. I had started and then stopped a number of blogs in the past for the exact thing I did here -- not making the blog an ongoing concern. So bad Jamie. But I'm back now and (hopefully) I'll be (somewhat) more consistent with my posts. That's the idea at least. So... what have I been up to? Well lots and lots of different stuff. I suppose the BIG news is that I formed a band with singer/keyboardist Wendy Irvine and drummer Dave Patel. We're called Sixteen Different Minds and we're just finishing up our debut album. The record is called Dancing Castles and stylistically it's a mix of folk and pop. I could probably throw a few more genres in there, but I'll let you decide exactly were to place this band. If you're interesting in taking a listen to the band, check out the Sixteen Different Minds website. I've also continued playing mandolin. I truly LOVE the instrument! I don't have nearly the facility on the mando that I do on the guitar, but that's okay... I'm absolutely enjoying the challenge. I've mainly been playing classical music on the mando and I'm currently working on Bach's Prelude from Cello Suite #1. It's a incredible amount of fun and I'm learning a lot. I've also started thinking about my next solo record. Over the last year or so, I've written quite a bit of new music, but I'm not sure where I want to go in terms of a production or style point of view. For me, liking so many different styles and ways of making music is both a good and bad thing. That said, I do have an inkling of a concept of an idea of what might work for my next record. Clearly it's not clear where I'm going musically speaking and I suppose to some degree this has always been my artistic process. And I suppose I like it that way. Best wishes, Jamie

This Side Up

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:20:00 GMT

I played on two beautiful tunes ("Green Eyes" and "After Hours") on Barbara Jones & Henrik Bridger's just released debut album, This Side Up. In addition to some absolutely terrific writing and playing by Barbara and Henrik, This Side Up features performances by saxophonist Eric Marienthal. Thanks to Barbara and Henrik for including me on this record -- I had a great time recording my parts! If you have a moment, please head on over to BridgerJones.com

Chris Thile: Tips on how to crossover from guitar to mandolin

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:50:00 GMT

I've just started learning the mandolin and came across this great Chris Thile video on crossing over from guitar to mandolin. I think Chris is exactly right about the challenges guitarists face when making the shift from guitar to mandolin. The string spacing is definitely a challenge, but I'm finding the biggest obstacle is the tuning. Going from standard tuning on the guitar to the mandolin's fifths based tuning is a real brain/finger tester! Still I'm absolutely loving playing the mandolin and I'm sure the instrument is going to end up on some future recording and on stage.