Double Bass and Beyond - Gary Upton of Upton Bass
Double Bass and Beyond - Gary Upton of Upton Bass
Author Antonia Aviles – Empowering Youth with Musical Representation
Have you ever wondered how a serendipitous moment could change the course of your life? Join me, Gary at Upton Bass, as I recount how an unexpected introduction to the double bass in middle school set me on a unique musical journey. Together with my wife, Antonia, we explore the power of representation and inclusivity in the world of music. Antonia shares the inspiration behind her children's book, "Catalina Plays the What?" which tells the story of a young girl of color exploring the double bass. Our discussion shines a light on trailblazers like Esperanza Spalding and Nina Bernet, who are redefining the traditional musical landscape, and we express our hopes for a future where every child, regardless of their background, feels welcomed in the world of music.
We also uncover the impact of Antonia's book in schools, where it's inspiring young minds and receiving acclaim from educators. As we dream big, there's excitement in the air about expanding this into a series that could also explore the electric bass guitar. We talk about the double bass’s vital role across various music genres, from jazz to rock, and our passion for educating all ages about this magnificent instrument. Tune in for a heartfelt conversation that celebrates the double bass and envisions a more inclusive and diverse musical future.
Hey guys, it's Gary, the Uptown Bass here, and I am here with no one perhaps more important to me than my own very wife, antonia. Hello, and if you've been following, you might know about it. Antonia wrote a book about the double bass and if you've not been following, well, now you're learning about it and I kind of wanted to go over a few questions with Antonia. But before I get into that, I wanted to tell you guys how this story hits home for me.
Speaker 1:In the early 90s I was in middle school See, I'm dating myself there and I played the trombone in middle school band and jazz band and my teacher at the time, lou Baccarelli, asked me if I could stay after school. He wanted to show me this instrument or something and I stayed after and this blonde yellow we're going to call it because I didn't know what blonde was, this yellow thing that looked like a bass with four strings but it was huge like a violin and he was like, basically, what do you think of this? Let's check this out. I've been playing a little electric, I've been reading music, playing the trombone. I suppose it was like the perfect thing and to this day Lou is my bass mentor. But just like the story speaks to. That Antonia wrote I didn't know what the heck it was, I didn't know what to call it and sometimes, even today, I still could say which name should we call it the upright bass, the bass violin, the double bass, the bass viol, the contrabass. You know, it depends who you are and what you're playing. So that brings me to Antonia's story.
Speaker 1:She wrote a story about a little girl named Catalina and Catalina plays the what, what? Or Catalina Plays the what is the story title and it follows a young girl getting ready for a show and tell at school and basically she's going to show this bass that she got from her grandfather, or, pardon me, her playing and learning her interest in the bass from her grandfather. So long-winded opening. I'm going to ask Antonia for her interest in the bass from her grandfather. So long winded opening. I'm going to ask Antonia for her. In her words, what was the inspiration for your story about Catalina and the bass and Catalina plays the what.
Speaker 2:Well, it was actually two things that inspired me to write the story, and the first part of it kind of relates to what you were just saying, and it's the fact that there are so many people out there that have no idea what a double bass is. And I was one of those people and up until I met you, I knew the violin, I knew the cello, but that was about it. And you know, most people just see the double bass and they're like oh well, that's a big cello or that's a that's a huge violin type of thing.
Speaker 1:Never heard that before.
Speaker 2:So I wanted to shed a little bit of light on the double bass for children so that they can start being introduced to the double bass at a much younger age, so that they don't turn into all the adults we see running around now that have no idea what the double bass is.
Speaker 1:So one thing I want to interject. I've been in, you know, business situations, dinners, introductory things, and Antonia's been there with me and someone will say oh, what do you do for work? And I have learned, she's helped me to say I make musical instruments. And it pains me to say that. I me to say I make musical instruments. And it pains me to say that I want to say I make double basses. And I'm telling you, not once, not twice, not four times More, I've heard what, or a version of for lamps. They'll say For lamps, that's the best one. Obviously, as a bassist, you always hear I bet you wish you played the flute. Uh, I bet you wish you played the xyz. Wow, that's a really big violin. No man, it's the bass. And I think when you learn about it you're gonna find out that this thing is in all the music you're listening to in some shape or form. So you know what was the other inspiration, what's kind of inspiration?
Speaker 2:block two uh well, the second part of it was when you look at the double bass industry, it's predominantly male and Caucasian. So when I was developing the book, it was super important for me to feature a young girl and not just a young girl, but a young girl of color as the protagonist of the story. I believe that representation matters a lot and when different kids see themselves reflected in various fields, then they're more likely to get inspired and to get motivated to pursue those interests. So I hope to inspire not just little boys, but to inspire little girls into seeing themselves and believing that they too can handle an instrument of this size.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's crazy because people not knowing about the bass, they actually think sometimes it's not hollow, so they think it's like solid wood Perhaps a parent that doesn't know any better. And we've just got fabulous, fabulous players these days. And I do think you know it's hard to talk about. You know, and I want to do it correctly, but you know we have so many tall white dudes playing the bass and because of its sheer size and you know the economy of the instrument and then school systems, you know we want everyone playing the bass, right, obviously, that's you know. Hey, you're talking to Gary of Upton Bass Say, I want everyone to play the bass. No, but really there shouldn't be anyone that can't play the bass.
Speaker 1:Like, look at Esperanza Spalding, go see her play. Holy crap, nina Burnett. I mean these are two different, completely different ends of the field. But go check them out and see what they're doing. They're changing things up in the industry and I'm so proud to see where this is going. As a father of a son and a father of a daughter, I want them both to play the bass. I don't know if they both will, but we'll see. So during show and tell, catalina starts out a little nervous in the book but she kind of goes along and her grandpa, he encourages her. What were in that part, what were the driving concepts behind your character development there for Catalina and for her grandpa, and like the dynamic with the students in the class.
Speaker 2:Well, I wanted to showcase a couple of different themes, but mainly perseverance.
Speaker 2:You know having self-confidence, and I definitely wanted to showcase the importance of supportive relationships and how those kind of drove her character development, development. She does start off pretty nervous, and that's something that any child or any adult can relate to when they're, you know, presenting something and feeling uncertain as to how it's going to be received, especially something that they're, like, really passionate about. But Catalina progresses through her presentation and as she does, she starts building her confidence, and a lot of that is due to the encouragement that she is receiving from her grandpa during her presentation. So this relationship with her grandfather who you'll see in the story, is a bass player himself. He's the one that influenced her as she was growing up. It really highlights the significant role that mentors and family members play in empowering these young kids to not just overcome their fears. So that's one part like a really key element in the story. But I really wanted to convey that, with the proper support, determination and a belief in oneself, even the most daunting challenges can be met with success.
Speaker 1:And I think that speaks to a lot of obviously foundational life things, but also being a darn bass player. Unfortunately, so many of our instruments are hard to play and there is a lot of family and teacher and you know unit support needed to persevere through playing a bass. It's not as easy, as we know. All jokes aside, you can throw that flute in the backpack and get in the car. It's a cold winter day or a hot summer day and you've got to get the bass in the car to a school rehearsal or a performance or whatever it be, and it takes sometimes kind of, you know, it takes the fam to do the bass thing.
Speaker 1:I deal with a lot of bass players and I see that the jokes they're jokes but they're real at the same time. Dad does this, mom does this, or wife does this, girlfriend does this. You know it takes a lot. So you know I think that support piece obviously educationally is huge and it's just a reasonable thing that we all see as bass players. I think we need a lot of support and I really like that part. So another question I have is other educational aspects of the book, like what was important for you to teach people. I have a thing here that Antonia doesn't necessarily say, but I'm going to stick it in. I believe this book teaches most adults that don't know anything about the bass a whole lot, and I think that a lot of kids that are reading this book might accidentally be teaching the adults. So what were some of the important aspects you wanted to include in this book?
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, I've actually, as you've seen yourself, I've received a lot of feedback for the book from the adults that are reading it, with the children saying they have learned so much from the book. So that is one of the things that I do with my books. My messages in the books are not just for the children, it's for the adults as well. But on this one particularly, it was a little different because, as a former elementary school teacher, I really have a deep passion for making learning enjoyable for children. And in Catalina Plays the, what I really aim to introduce just the fundamentals of the double bass, but doing it in a very engaging and easy way so that young readers can understand and keep all that information in them. The story breaks down the different parts of the bass you know the various names, the role in different types, types of music, and all within a context that's fun and relatable. You know show and tell day at school what's interesting with that too.
Speaker 1:If I cut in the, we had a few clients when you sold. You know you're starting to get the sales going with upton bass and thank you to your guys. Support and please keep supporting and reviewing. We had a few clients that just took it unto themselves to take your book to schools and you know, I think they were third graders or something and they were reading your book, standing there with their base and we were like, wow, I mean, that wasn't even an idea, right, that was like a thing. That just kind of happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that part of it, just because part of my goal is to create this book is it's meant to be educational, it's an educational experience. But I think I'm joking when I say this, but you know, it's a great, great way. I asked her before. I said you know, do you teach them all those details? Because, like, you want to kind of put the bar beyond, like the deliverable is, like we want people to know what the double bass is. But then if we tell you some more things like this is the end pit and this is the tailpiece, this is the bridge and these are the tuners. You know you've got a captive audience. They're at least going to remember what the double bass is.
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely, and actually the book doesn't touch on the end pin tailpiece, but it does touch on all of the other basic parts of it, and I'm actually creating a little lesson plan, a little resource for teachers that I'll be putting out soon with the book as well. That's one is meant for, uh, kindergarten through second grade and the other one is third grade through fifth grade.
Speaker 2:that way there could be something physical that they can fill out and color and enjoy, so that it even cements even further into their brain what a double bass is.
Speaker 1:Right, and you probably can't tell listening to her Antonia is has multilingual and speaks Spanish very well in her first language and I think pretty soon you'll probably get this book in Spanish, I would hope. How would you? How would you say Catalina plays the what?
Speaker 2:Catalina toca el que.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then what's grandpa called Abuelo, so that'll be interesting. I think that'll be great. I'm sure there's a whole slew of people that will be able to get into the book that way too. But sorry, I'm digressing. This is the first book in this per se series. Right, and we've been've, you've, and we've been kind of joking around about what's another thing you could do with a bass. But what other? What other books have you written, and is this the first book?
Speaker 2:Well, no, um, a lot of people have actually mentioned if this book is part of a series and I had never intended it to be a part of a series, but with all the feedback that I'm getting, I'm thinking maybe I should make it part of a series, which would be interesting. I haven't really drafted anything for that yet. I've been busy with another project.
Speaker 1:Being a greedy bass player. What do you guys think about a book about the electric bass guitar? Sometimes I can stand it's called a guitar, but I know it's an electric bass guitar. Maybe a book about how a forced, how an electric bass, is not a guitar like that is a very different thing, and how that electric bass is the same as catalina's bass it's just a simplified version. I don't know.
Speaker 1:That might be something that would be interesting us bass players would appreciate if you want to stay over. You know, helping us bass players out, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, you're great at giving me book ideas because you're the one that saw me working on my other books and you were like, oh, you should write a book about the double bass for kids. And I was like, yeah, yeah, you know what? Not a bad idea. And when I researched it and I was looking it up, you know there's barely any books on the double bass. There's plenty on piano and violin and you know all these bunch of other ones, but the double bass barely has anything. So I was like you know what?
Speaker 1:That's a great idea like, as we all know, listening like we are in roots, americana, bluegrass, jazz, classical, baroque, I mean the solo stuff we're, we're, and you guys are at home hearing me go. You didn't say my genre, okay, rock and roll, pop, like whatever it is. You can see a bass on the stage with, like I said earlier, esperanza spalding doing some like cutting edge jazz stuff, and you could go see Mumford and Sons, you could go see the Philharmonic Orchestra, you could go see a jazz club thing. You could just see so many things. And I'm going to venture to say, because of its foundational part of the music, you're going to see it in more music than you would.
Speaker 1:A violin or a cello. Now the violinists are going to argue and say, I don't know, man, like the average band that plays rock, even if they don't have a double bass, they've definitely got an electric bass. And you have to know that that is just a version of our double bass, that is a simplified electronical version per se of our double bass. So you know, I just think it's really great that my wife is educating people, uh, adults and children, the same uh, as to what the heck a double base is, and the feedback's been awesome. I mean, it really has people coming in the shop asking for the book I've already won a golden award for it through literary tit Titan as well.
Speaker 2:I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of others, but the messages we've received, you know, through text, through email, the reviews that have been left so far, they're all very positive and I'm very grateful for that.
Speaker 1:Well, and it's legitimately a subject that has been overlooked, just like who. Those people are out there playing that big violin and it's nice to have someone say guys, it's this thing, so anything, anything, next, what can?
Speaker 2:your fans expect in the next story, yeah, um. Well, I am, you know, still on the drafting and the thinking part of any series to go along with it. But as far as any other books, I've have thea and her purple dragon coming out soon. That's a totally different book that delves into a different complex, uh, family, uh, oriented, uh type things.
Speaker 1:So don't give it away.
Speaker 2:Don't give it away no, no, no, I'm not that one's gonna be coming out she's not a bass player. And no, definitely not that we know, and yeah, just you know I have a couple of other children's books that I'm interested in writing and those are just in the thought process and, as you know, I'm working on my first adult novel.
Speaker 1:I know yes, sir, my second drafting of that one that that one's coming along. I don't know how she does it for me so far and I have to make things with my hands. It's like 800 million thousand words and thoughts and stories and oh my god, how do you love? Writing how you can even connect all that just. It's just so foreign to me. Maybe that's one of the bass player, so that's why I'm a bass player. So that's it, guys. I think right. Is there anything I missed?
Speaker 2:No, that's the story.
Speaker 1:My thing again is if you're in a family and you're a bass player, they probably all know what your bass is. And if you're a player and you bump around with your friends and loved ones, they know what a bass is, what a bass is. But if you reach just a little bit out that circle, I'm telling you there are people that have no freaking clue what you play, what it is and really anything about it. So antonio's book is definitely exciting. It is up on amazon. You can go on amazon. I I've had her bring the price down nice and low, so it's very achievable for a lot of people. Please read it and give us a review, an honest review.
Speaker 1:Give Antonia a review. I say us, you know I love this concept of the book and right now I know in like the one of the categories up on Amazon, she's under 20, she's top 24 out of like thousands and thousands and thousands of books. She's got some reviews. We could use some more. Share it around, pass it around. And if you're a school and you want us to give you an idea as to, like how to do a thing um, or you've got an idea how to do a thing, happy, happy to support you set. We can send them some free books if they're going to kids, right, we really just teach people what the basis. And I and I think that's kind of how I started with Antonia I was like, babe, make a kid's story about the base so that kids can learn what the heck a base is. And I didn't think she'd do it like this, but that's what she did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there it is and people are loving it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening, guys. Antonia, thanks for answering all my questions, babe.