My goal with Bay Music is to help people feel proud to show off their art, and enjoy listening to it with as much joy as they had creating it. It is a great wish of mine to see Bay Music succeed and grow and to use the experience and gear I've been lucky enough to aquire to do so.
Here's a little of my musical history and experiences.
I've been making music in one form or another for the past 13 years; ever since I first picked up a bass at college. I had just started getting into music my parents listened too: The Beatles; Hendrix and The Doors. I always wanted to be like Paul: bass; beard and chops. So off I went to the local music store and bought my first bass; an Encore, black and white P copy. I had a bass, just needed the beard and the skills. I got one more ticked off when I got my Rickenbacker 4003. Its right handed so instead of re-stringing it to left, I learned to play upside down. I also purchased a six string fretless Warwick Thumb, which of course was strung upside down.
My interest in Basss continued all through college and University, where I studied Politics and Sociology but was more drawn to music. I was in my first proper band, Suilven and we played shoegazy rock, likened to Pearl Jam at times. Played some amazing gigs with Tom, Thom, Alex, Dan and a host of other musicians.
At this time I was feeling dissenfranchised with my degree and seeing no future in it, set off to find a better one. I found, and completed a degree in Popular Music Production at Huddersfield University. This, coupled with recording sessions I had done with Suilven, cemented my desire to make wonderful sounds and make sounds wonderful.
I had purchased a copy of Ableton Live and still use it as my main DAW, though I have experience using: Pro Tools; Logic and Cubase. I was creating Dubstep and other electronic musings and for a short while I DJ'ed at a couple of nights and even ran my own with friends and Brother. We played a mix of Dub Reggae, Dubstep and Speed Garage. It was fun getting to play records out in public, (if a bit of a pain carting a ton of vinyl about). Unfortunately this didn't last but I was a few months away from getting a job in a school.
Shortly after starting a job as a security guard at a school in a nearby town, (yes they needed one), Suilven called time. It was sad but I'm still friends with the guys and there are no hard feelings. I continued making electronic music and playing bass. By this time I was, attempting to play, Les Claypool and Victor Wooten lines. Much fun but It was only till later I started to get even the slightest grip on them.
I began to feel I had outgrown my current job and sought one out in a school closer to home. This time I made the step up to Behaviour Support Worker, working with students with behavioural needs. Challanging but still a good experience. I joined a new band, Time Merchants. There are some Time Merchants songs on the Listen page. I purchased my second six string bass, an Overwater Progress Deluxe. This bass helped me expand my chops even further! Its a lefty and strung as such so yet again I found my self learning to play "upside down". The other three members were all music teachers or peripertetic music teachers. So, I enrolled on a night course and in 2016, qualified as a teacher woth a PGCE.
Throughout this time I have been involved with recording music in the studio, both as a musician and as engineer, doing live sound, (I even got to do sound for Nizlopi, which was a fantastic experience!) and play many gigs. I started listening to Jazz, fusion mainly, and this lead me to improve my bass chops, as well as having to read music for the school shows I have been involved with. Im not the best sight reader so this was challangeing but good practice. All the while I was building a collection of gear, which is listed on the Gear page.
This brings us neatly to the present day. I have wanted to own a studio for a good number of years and now I have the chance, in part to own and run a studio. Due to space issues, I can't offer recording yet but that is a goal I wish to achieve in the near future.
I love working with allsorts of music, especially if it's something I've not experienced before.
So, If you like what you see and hear, please get in touch!
Joe.