Level 42-love.

Man, I love Level 42!!! Thanks to a co-worker, I am now a serious Level 42 junkie!!! LOL just in case you don't know who Level 42 is, they're a Brit-funk, pop-jazz group, who were huge in the '80's, not so much here in the U.S., they're huge all over Europe and Asia, and the rest of the world back then. After my friend, Ed, at work lent me his CDs and videos, I have been hooked ever since! Especially that "Fait Accompli" video they have. I've seen a whole new side of the group that I've never seen before. I've known of them since I was 7 years old. They were huge in the Philippines, especially their singles, "Something About You" (my absolute fave) and "Running in the Family" while I was growing up. I had a crush on the keyboardist/vocalist Mike Lindup. I thought he was the cutest thing! Then I lost track of them. I sort of "rediscovered" them again about a year and a half ago, after finding out that Jeff Thacher listed them as one of his fave music groups. Mind you, I didn't start liking them because of him, but I did get curious after that and started looking them up on the 'net and I stumbled upon their website, and found out that the original line-up of the group is no more. They've parted ways, except for Mark King, the lead vocalist/bass player. He bought the rights to the the name Level 42 and is now touring with a whole new line-up under the name. So, in a way they're still around, except for the fact that there's only one original member left. The other original members (Mike Lindup, Boon Gould and Phil Gould) are now doing their own thing.

Let's talk about Mark King. The man is brilliant! He's been called the best bass player in the world, and arguably so. The man, known as "Thunder Thumbs" is freakin' amazing on the bass! He plays it at lightning speed. And apparently, he was the one who popularized the "slap bass" technique. It's hard to really explain how the technique works, but basically, you use your thumb to slap the top string of the bass and pluck the bottom string with your pinkie, creating a rhythmic bass pattern, which is now very popular with a lot of funk-bass players. If you ever have the desire to learn how to play the bass, you should look to Mark King as a role-model. The man is amazing! I want to marry him, except for the fact that he IS married and has children. Well, I am not delusional, you know? LOL … Well, at least not EXTREMELY delusional. Okay, I think I'm gonna go watch the videos right now. good night!