Marshall Ingrassia on Join the Ozone

Hello! My name is Marshall, I live in Alton Illinois, home town of Miles Davis, and about 40 minutes from St. Louis Mo. I play a 1990 Modulus Quantum 6 and hope to build a new one in the next year or two. I have been playing bass for over 20 years and have played in a handful of bands around the St. Louis area. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to jump on a 5 week tour of the west coast in 2019 and had a taste of the road life. Even on that one time run I feel like I could write a book! I have always played by ear, I have never been able to focus on any theory or learn proper scales, notes, chords, and the reason I joined, aside from the major inspiration Oteil has been to me, is to become better acquainted with my instrument, to be able to know the bass better. I would like to actually know my instrument, know my scales and how to use them and build off them. I want to know what it means when someone yells out "alright go to the 2, then the 5 and then the 7!" in the middle of a jam. I had the opportunity to play bass with Victor Wooten one time at a bass seminar he was hosting. He asked me to play a simple groove and he was going to solo on it and explain to the class how to talk with other players via our instruments. At one point he asked me what key we were in, and I couldn't spit the words out. We were in G, but the nerve of standing with Victor and not knowing my bass well enough to know instantly by looking at my fretboard got the best of me. It was like I had a serious brain fart, but it really woke me up, and he didn't let me live it down the rest of that class and at the show after. I have been doing everything I can since to learn this instrument like the back of my hand. When I saw Oteil was offering online lessons, I jumped on it soon as I could. Being a huge fan of the Dead and what he has done with the bass lines of the music I love made it an easy choice, the man has seriously blown my mind on multiple occasions and left me wondering how he does what he does with his bass! I'm very stoked to be here and thanks for offering these online classes!