3Below -- adventures in Mexico

3Below (Michael Manring, Alonso Arreola and myself) spent the whole of last week in Mexico. And when I say the "whole week" I mean it. For most of the days we were getting up at 5 or 6am and then going full steam until 1 or 2am. We did a bucketload of interviews interspersed with rehearsals, air travel, sound checks, shows and workshops.

3Below is one of the most unusual groups I have ever been involved with. For starters >>> Three Bass Players. Right there you either have me intrigued or you REALLY don't have me at all! For my money, the idea of it sounds completely preposterous. Who wants to hear three bass players? And only the sound of three bass players? No other instruments at all! I'm pretty sure I don't, but then...

OK, admitedly we aren't just three regular bass players. I extend far beyond the bass register and both Michael and Alonso have a plethora of exotic and extended sounds in their musicial suitcases. But still, three?

Yes, the answer is YES. As ridiculous as it sounds this group is phenomenal. It really is. We play as a trio, we play in duos and we each do a solo segment. In a way it is a celebration of our instruments. But in truth, there are thousands and thousands of folks who play instruments like ours. So, the real story is this group is a celebration of everything each of us bring to the table. And then the combination of the three.

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Three Below

A new preforming group that I am honored to be a part of has just begun announcing shows for our fall tour.

Three Below
Michael Manring, Trey Gunn, Alonso Arreola  

Three Below is a collective evolution in sound, style and substance surrounding the electric bass. Anyone familiar with the name Trey Gunn knows his innovation in touch instrument technology. Throughout his twenty-year collaborations with guitar legend Robert Fripp and King Crimson, Gunn has become an uncompromising, relentless risk taker pushing the touch instruments to new heights. Michael Manring, a student of the late bass legend Jaco Pastorius and creator of the Hyperbass – with its unique altered tuning system – is another unparalleled pioneer of the electric bass. Rounding out this masterful trio is Mexican bass virtuoso Alonso Arreola, whose advanced percussive sensibilities solidify this perfect musical trifecta.

Our first USA show will be at Seattle's finest club, The Triple Door, on October 7, 2014. SEATTLE TICKETS 

Second show added: Portland, OR -- Alberta Rose Theater -- October 8, 2014 PORTLAND TICKETS

Arreola, Gunn, Manring -- Mexico City Performance

July 18, 2013 Mexico City -- Centro Cultural Roberto Cantoral Theater

             with Michael Manring and Allonso Arreola

I haven’t been in a reflective, or reporting, frame of mind for a while now (as you will notice from the small amount of blog posts over the last two years). However, there is so much to share from the last three weeks that I shall now show my hand.

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