Introducing The very cool very Suave Robert Porter

TGMatt
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Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:37 pm

To launch our brand new Category for bass Guitar I wanted to introduce our latest Faculty member Robert or Bob Porter (if you buy him beer you can call him Bob)

We are very lucky to have Bob on on our team, he will be your guide in the world of Bass in all its forms...so when he shows up and introduces Himself please make him feel welcome ...

Here is a little background on Bob

He was raised in the South San Francisco bay area, and started playing guitar at about 12 yrs old. The influence of Motown and blues genre, as well as Elvis, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and B. B. King led him to take up electric bass at age 14, which has been his primary instrument ever since. He received guitar / bass training from local teachers such as Bud Demick, Rob Levin, Jeff Levin, and Darryl Sullivan.

Some of Bob's major influences on electric bass have been players such as Paul McCartney (Beatles) , James Jamerson (Motown), Jack Bruce (Cream) Harvey Brooks (Bob Dylan & Electric Flag), Jerome Arnold (Paul Butterfield), Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones) Larry Abraham (Sly Stone), Jaco Pastorious (Weather Report), Hutch Huchinson (Bonnie Raitt), Jack Cassidy (Jefferson Airplane), Roco Prestia (Tower of Power, Oakland), to mention a few.

In 1973 Bob's wife gifted him with a blonde Kay upright acoustic bass for our one year wedding anniversary (she got a Bentwood cane rocking chair). Bob soon discovered that this was a bit more challenging instrument because of the increase in physical size, adjustment in strength, action, and intonation. Bob's appetite was then wet for a new dimension for bass playing and was influenced by players like Ron Carter (Miles Davis), Ray Brown, (Oscar Peterson),and Miraslov Vitious (Weather Report).

Kid Man Blues Band was the first group Bob played electric bass with in high school. They tended to be hard-core blues and actually won a Battle of the Bands, blues genre, at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in 1967. The mid to late 60s was very rich with fresh new original talent and Bob was fortunate to hear many of these bands live at the Fillmore Auditorium, Winterland, and Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco, the Berkeley Community Theatre, Frost Ampitheter at Stanford, and the Monterey Pop Festival. Bob also had the opportunity to jam with Johnny Winters and meet such artists backstage at the Fillmore as B.B. King, Elvin Bishop, Buddy Guy, etc.

Bob continued to play blues up until about 1970 and then morphed into the jazz scene as a new musical challenge. Bob was fortunate to attend live jazz concerts at venues such as the Keystone Corner in San Francisco, Monterey Jazz Festival, and small clubs in the bay area.

In the late 70s and early 80s Bob started playing with a lot of country musicians and enjoyed the melodic and rhythmetic simplicity of this genre, as he tended to be very much a groove oriented player (focus primarily on rhythm support of the group). The type of country groups that appealed to him were bands like Emmy Lou Harris (The Hot Band), Meryl Haggard, Willie Nelson, Wayland Jennings, and Patsy Cline, etc.

One of the groups Bob played the longest with was a local group called the Archie Hughes band for approximately 10 years. This group was very talented and prolific in writing, performing, and recording original material. The group received air play on regional radio stations and performed on local television.


Bob has had the opportunity to share the stage with talented artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman, Johnny Winters, Jonny Rivers, Elvin Bishop, Leon Russell, O-Kanes, Lenard Skynard, The Outlaws, and of course, Totally Guitars own Neil Hogan, with whom he has been acquainted with close to 30 years.

Bob has played at venues such as The Fillmore Auditorium, Keystone , Cabaret in San Jose, San Jose Convention Center, Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay , Quail Lodge, Monterey Plaza Hotel, Tehama (Clint Eastwood’s private golf course), Santana Row (San Jose, CA), Avalon Ballroom on Catalina Island, Cruise Ship gigs, First Night in Santa Cruz, Gilroy Garlic Festival and Gilroy / Bonfante Gardens, Chamber of Commerce functions, Taste of Morgan Hill and Mushroom Mardi Gras, as well as well as numerous wineries and private events.

Local studios that Bob has recorded at include; Sound Tech, Tiki, Hot Tracks, Sullivan Studio, Corner of the Room Recording, That Recording Studio, as well as small project studios.

Presently Bob is actively playing with three groups in the south bay area; The Fast Lane band, South Bay Jazz Ensemble, and 8th Day music ministry.


When Bob shows up please help him feel welcome , we are indeed blessed to add him to our growing Faculty and those of you lucky enough to be in Target will see some interesting stuff come your way..

I have had the good fortune of spending some time with Bob and I can attest to his talent and knowledge..

Cheers


Matt