ENDORSEMENTS: Fender, Batt-O-Meter, Big Bends Nut Sauce, In Tune Guitar Picks, Rhythm Tech percussion, Godlyke Pedals.

BASS STUFF: .... skip down below for drum stuff

There are a lot of things that I use, but only a few things that I endorse. The latest, and perhaps most important of all is Fender. I had a chance to try out their new TV 15 bass amp, and I was blown away! I was rehearsing in Austin Texas for five days, and had a chance to play it firsthand. It sounded amazing, so I decided to switch to it for the tour. Cool Fender tube tone, plenty of power, and the retro tweed and brown look completes the package. This amps sounds as cool as it looks! Thanks to Jeff in Austin for the amp, and The Straight Shot Crew for getting it onstage every night. Jeff, I'll see if I can get you some good pictures of it on the road. Haha...

Thanks to Roy Abbate at Battery Plus in Mount Laurel NJ for making me the custom made, Battery Farm. It provides the ultimate in 9 Volt power.

I've got a cool new product for you, I endorse Big Bends Nut Sauce. Don't let the name put you off, it's an amazing lubricant to keep strings from hanging up in the bridge and nut area. It's also great for tuners too, especially the Hipshot bass tuner.

Thank you to InTune Guitar Picks. I am very happy to endorse these great picks from a great company. All of their stuff is custom made. I was able to select the precise materials, artwork, gauge and style. This is a boutique US operation run by actual people you can count on. My days of using generic picks are over!

Try this: the Batt-O-Meter. This unique device measures the amount of charge a battery has while it's still in the unit. No need to get a screwdriver to open up effects pedals. And as an added bonus, it tells you know how long the battery will last in the unit it powers. Go to their website to find out more. I've got a photo and testimonial on their site too...

DRUM STUFF:

One of the companies that I've always been a fan of is Rhythm Tech. I just added their cool new Pro Tambourine, and Hat Trick to my arsenal. Thanks to Pam Gore for staying in touch with me for all these years, and making great products.

On the Kidz Bop World Tour I use a Yamaha Tour Custom kit. 12" rack, 16" floor, 22" kick. A variety of snares and cymbals including, an 18" Paiste 2002 crash, 17" Paiste 2002 crash, 20" Paiste 2002 Ride, and 15" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hi-hats. For spice, Rhythm Tech tambos (see above) and the Roland SPD-S drum pad/sampler. I run the whole thing through a Sennheiser EW Series wireless unit (it's fun to be able to get up and move around) into Future Sonics in-ear monitors. Sticks are Vic Firth 5B nylon tips, or American Classic Rock if I need a little more wood. Clancy says I should break out my 24" Paiste 2002 Ride, so I might take up his challenge!

With Billy Hector, I use a Yamaha Power Special kit, same drum sizes, and all the Paiste cymbals except the 24" ride.

RECORDING DIARY:

Leisuretowne Studios, my place, is up and running. I've done two drum projects so far. One for songwiter Jo Davidson, and the other for singer Pantera Saint-Montagne. Both were tracked into Logic with my Yamaha drums. I also added bass to Jo's session. My '62 into a Grace 101 mic pre right into Logic.

At Avatar Studios with producer Walter A. I wound up using just my '62 P-Bass, and the Jack Casady. It was the debut of recording with the Fender Bassman TV 15 in the studio...

The new Danielia Cotton album....Kevin Salem produced and engineered at his home studio. It was pretty simple: basses were my '62 P-Bass, Jack Casady, and my Gretsch. All were running through a Vintech mic pre into ProTools. Clancy played drums, Marc Copely and Tony Bruno on guitars.

New country artist, Lisa Matassa, Tony Bruno producing. The first session was two songs, tracked at Head Gear Studios in Williamsburg Brooklyn. It was very simple: '62 P-bass into an Ampeg B-12, miked up with an RE-20, into a Trident console. Done! The second session was at Cove City Studios in Long Island. The '62 P-bass into a Neve 1073, something squishy (I'm not sure of the compressor) into ProTools monitored on their SSL desk.

Maiysha Simpson...my 1970 Hagstrom Concorde into a blackface Fender bassman head, into a no-name single 15" bass cabinet. I forget what the mike was.

ROCK OF AGES THE BROADWAY MUSICAL

I'd like to give a shout out to all the guys in the audio department who make it sound great, and make my job easy.Front-Of-House engineer Bob Etter, Monitor Mixer Rob Lindsay, and the Sound Designer Peter Hylenski. I'm using my trusty black P-Bass, and this time around I added a 5-string Fender P-Bass as well. The signal path is: tuner, chorus pedal, SansAmp VT pedal, Avalon DI and then it's off to the monitor desk where it's into a Neve 4081 Quad mic pre and split, one way to in-ear monitors, the other to front of house.

If you have any questions about any of the devices that I use, just write me.
" Do you have.....?" Yes, I probably do. I can provide a detailed equipment list upon request.