Goodbye for now...

Bethannie "Kaulana" Nothnagle
3/15/78 - 2/22/10


Last week while in Sacramento working with Lincoln and the guys on the next CD, I was crushed to receive a call that a truly amazing friend of mine in Florida was killed in a car accident earlier that day.

I met Kaulana and her husband, Kelly, back in 2005 when I was doing a bass clinic at the church where they were on staff. We hit it off right away, as she was from Hawaii (I spent 5 years of my childhood there) and we spent much time just talking about our favorite Island "grinds" (food) that we both missed now that we lived on the mainland.

Kelly and Kaulana ended up spending a day with me and my family when they came out to Southern California the following year, and it was like spending time with friends we'd known all our lives. My family & I still have fond memories of that day.

The last time I saw her was when she brought a bunch of teens from her church's youth group to Miami when I was playing there with Linc last year. She had such a passion for investing in and encouraging those kids. And she brought me a ziplock bag full of mochi crunch (a popular snack in Hawaii) that she had made...always thinking of others.

She lived her faith. She was absolutely sold out for God. She was crazy in love with Kelly. Together they'd invested their all in the youth at the church, and countless kids were impacted in life-changing ways through their ministry. She was the real deal. And also just an extremely cool, funny and genuinely caring person.

Kaulana, you finished well, my seestah. Thank you for being a light.

Please pray for Kelly, their extended family and friends...

GK Factory Tour! Part 1...

Happy 2010! I hope this finds each of you well.

Here's the first installment (part 1 of 4) of a full factory tour at Gallien-Krueger. I've been a GK artist since 2004 and continue to absolutely love their gear. In upcoming installments, Bob Gallien discusses his design approach for his amps and speaker cabinets, takes us down the assembly line for his renowned RB series bass amps, walks us through his shipping operation and more. Enjoy!

Big thanks to Bob Gallien and all at GK for the guided tour! :^)

Blessings- Norm

The Santa Sessions

One of the most hilarious videos ever...particularly for any of you who've done any session work.




Hope your Christmas season is going well!

Blessings- Norm

Inconvenient...but cool

On a recent road trip with Linc, I flew a completely separate itinerary from the rest of the band (they all live in Northern Cal, I'm about an hour flight south). When I landed, I took a hotel shuttle to the St. Louis Airport Hilton. Turns out we were actually staying at the St. Louis Airport Hilton Garden Inn.

So I waited for another shuttle to take me to the correct hotel. It was around midnight and I was definitely a little crispy...ready to crash out.

Even in my bleary-eyed state, though, I did notice these.

Many of them.

There must be a dozen iMacs all over the lobby of the St. Louis Airport Hilton.

How cool is THAT?!?

BBQ in KC

There are a few challenges dealing with a life that involves lots of travel ("missing my family" being at the top of the list), but there are a few perks...and near the top of the list is eating great food from different parts of the U.S. and abroad.

Kansas City is one of my faves in the midwestern U.S. for a couple of reasons. I've had a number of close musician friends in town for years and it's always great to hook back up with them on their home turf...and there's also the BBQ. :^)

I've been a fan of Gates BBQ for years, and never miss an opportunity to go grab a "beef on bun with bread, lean as" (translation: BBQ beef brisket on two slices of white bread - the way it's supposed to be, btw! - and as lean as possible). There are certainly a number of AMAZING barbeque places in KC, and I've eaten at a bunch...but there's just something special about Gates. The sauce is GREAT, too...got a little kick, but not too much...very tasty.

Grabbed a quick lunch at Gates yesterday with my good friends Rod Lincoln (drummer) and Kevin Rogers (guitarist). You've probably heard them if you're familiar with my music...they both played on my Pondering the Sushi project. Stellar musicians and good guys. And fellow lovers of the charred bovine! :^)

The pic doesn't do it justice...but that's my usual order, minus one small bite that couldn't wait!

Typhoon Session: Michael Manring!

One of my favorite aspects of my musical life is getting the opportunity to interact and occasionally collaborate with some of the people who've been my musical heroes over the years. Even cooler is that many of these people have also become friends.

To date on the Tea in the Typhoon project, I've been so honored to have John & Sachi Patitucci, Gregg Bissonette and Rob Mullins contribute their artistry. And as of Monday afternoon, added to that list was none other than musical giant (and Grammy-nominee) Michael Manring. One of the most technically innovative, unique and brilliant bassists ever, Michael's also hugely expressive and emotive. I've loved his music since first hearing his Drastic Measures project back in the 90's. On top of all of that, he's also about the most genuinely cool person you're likely to meet. AWESOME guy.

I'll try to get a video blog posted soon, but suffice it to say that Michael tracked fretless bass (with liberal use of his amazing EBow) on a tune on the upcoming Typhoon project called "Rockefeller Forest" (also featuring Gregg Bissonette on drums). It's a vibey and emotive tune that has West African leanings rhythmically. I'm confident you're going to dig his stuff!!

Thanks for your interest & more updates soon!

Typhoon Session: John & Sachi Patitucci!

Upon returning from the NY session back in May, I was slammed between a road trip with Lincoln and trying to recuperate from the nasty cold I caught. It just occurred to me that I consequently spaced out on blogging about the Patitucci session! :^)

So let me retroactively express what a cool experience that was. I've been a fan of John's since first hearing him with Chick Corea's Elektric Band back in the early 90's, and was honored to meet the Grammy-winner in conjunction with an interview I did with him for Christian Musician magazine back in 2002 (click here to check it out, by the way - he shared some great stuff).

I called him back in February and he enthusiastically agreed to contribute to the Typhoon project, and even threw his wife (Sachi, a world-class cellist) into the mix! I initially planned to just send WAV files to New York and have them send me their tracks, but after thinking further, it made much more sense for me to be at the session to provide immediate feedback...plus I decided that I would be kicking myself for years to come if I missed the opportunity to work with the Patitucci's first hand. :^)

So I flew to New York and the session was held at Doug Epstein's home studio on May 6. John played upright on several tunes and contributed a trademark 6-string solo on another. Sachi tracked cello on several tunes as well. One tune in particular (the title track from Tea in the Typhoon) features a breakdown section where John's bowed upright and Sachi's cello are playing interweaving lines off of each other...I think you're going to like it. :^)

John's just as cool, humble and musically monstrous as I remembered (Sachi, as well!). Definitely a class act.

After the session, we walked down the block and picked up some great Italian food that we ate back at Doug's place while having a very cool chat (topics ranging from music education to ministry to our kids to John's days back in California to working with Wayne Shorter...and probably a few more that I'm not remembering at the moment).

Thanks, John & Sachi, for generously sharing your musical gift and for your humility.