Affiliates
Links
In the United States of America, there are only four "serious" violin making schools – I believe only two of those are full-time, accredited institutions. One of them is only a couple of miles from me, actually in Skokie, Illinois. The folks there are really nice, and with my rapid expansion, I hope to recruit several of their highly trained graduates to work on basses!
http://www.csvm.org/
I was delighted to have a colleague refer me to Maestro Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand, who returned to his home state after a stint working in one of the premier bass shops in the country, Robertson's, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chris makes the prettiest "C" extensions on the planet, often with really radical exotic hardwoods, such as Bloodwood, Bocote, Lignum Vitae, and Australian Leopard Wood, to name a few. If you are in the market for a top-quality professional instrument, you might want to check out the basses that Chris makes...I think he's on #8 right now. Every time I drive out to see him in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, it's well worth the trip!
http://www.heartlandsbs.com
Forever intertwined are Hot Rods and Rockabilly music; that music demands an upright bass – sometimes to spin around or even climb on. My friend Joe "Hellfish" Wislar is a great Rockabilly bassist (the Hot Rod Hucksters), a Hot Rod Aficionado (a member of the Chrome Czars), and one of the hosts of the Midwest's Greasiest Auto Show – check them out for lots of other cool links. Joe's guitarist, Chad "Django" Hill, a graphic designer by day, designed my T-Shirt...
http://www.hunnertcarpileup.com
Who said that "Totally Crazy," "Endowed with Ungodly Talent," and "Huggable like Teddy Bears" were all mutually exclusive? Well, these characteristics ain't. Rare, maybe...and exceedingly rare to find these traits shared by a husband and wife! Donovan and his wife, Inez Wyrick Stokes, are always into bass stuff that other people won't figure out for decades to come. Check them out!
http://www.donovanstokes.com
The ISB (International Society of Bassists) is our professional organization and safe port in a storm. They do a pretty cool job of treating all the legit guys, avant garde players and jazzers with equal respect. If you were to meet Miracle Worker Madeleine Crouch, the General Manager, you'd begin to know why.
http://www.isbworldoffice.com
Patrick has his finger on the pulse of a lot of the most wonderful, creative, and honest new music that is being composed these days, and he is Professor of Doublebass at the University of Arizona. Check him out!
http://www.patrickneher.com
It may sound like hyperbole, but no living person has done more for the Doublebass and the people who play it than this man... He helped me personally, and I'll never be able to fully repay that debt – It's just that, sometimes, Gary – I don't know if you are my Mentor or my Tor-Mentor!
www.garykarr.com
Jason Heath keeps getting more and more hits on his website – possibly because it is the 21st Century Nexus of most of the cool stuff that's happening in our world?
www.doublebassblog.org
There are probably a bunch of friends I forgot...Send me an email if you want me to link to your site!