When I started messing around with the bass I searched around for tutorial material on-line. There is plenty to be getting on with for now. I also found a podcast by a solo bassist called Jeff Schmidt. The podcast and his blog give a great insight into how he works and what drives him. Some of his music is free to download, such as his Ruiner Severhead side project, but I was also able to buy a download of his album for about £2.50 through CD Baby. That's a real bargain and he gets most of it. He's not making a loving from his music yet, but I hope it at least pays for his studio toys.

Jeff is very engaged with his audience through his blog and on Twitter. We have exchanged a few comments on both. Through him I found another bassist, Steve Lawson who is based in the UK. I could have seen him play at a local gig, but couldn't make it. I have also communicated with him, mostly on Twitter. Today I was doing so whilst listening to one of his albums that he made available for free download. I shall be checking out more of his material and hope to catch a gig. Interestingly he is also subscribing to some of my feeds. I hope he finds something of interest there.

I realise that the internet has been playing a big part in helping bands get to their fans without having to deal with record companies. People like the Arctic Monkeys have used services like Myspace to do this, but I haven't really got into that. It's happening on Facebook too, but I'm not sure that is why people are using that service so much. I find it more interesting when the artists use their own sites and more open services, like Twitter, to reach out. It does require them to be technical, but may reap benefits.

I need to get on with my own musical projects. I don't aspire to reach a mass audience, but I should have some chance of reaching a few people by using the same technologies as the above virtuosi. Check them out.