Allen Whitman June 18th, 2008

Musician & Producer

This past week Pyramind hosted another of our ongoing guest lecture series with a presentation by Allen Whitman, Bass Player for the surf supergroup “The Murmen”. Allen gave the class a quick overview of his huge bag which he carries with him to every gig. 10 or 12 students got to check out a bag full of different things that related to any good touring musicians “gig bag”. This bag included a ton of adaptors, datebook (all analog), sharpies, cables, I-pod, and a digital recorder. He also took out some charts and even a clipboard and notepad. His point was that being as well prepared for any event, and being able to “fix” any situation makes him much more valuable as a band member.



He told the class about his early experiences with music, as his father was a semi-professional singer who sang “bass” in an acapella group when he was a child. His love of the bass came directly from this exposure and he joined a few different bands as a youngster growing up in Philadelphia. He joined a few cover bands and really got his chops up. He moved to California when he was in his early 20s and met Jim Thomas, who also worked at the same music shop, and encouraged him to record some of his songs. This was the birth of one of the best known Surf / Rock bands back in the early 1990’s.

He talked about how they progressed, got booked in every club in San Francisco, and then eventually courted a manager and later a record deal with Mesa/Blue Moon. He also talked about working a ton of different “day jobs” at places like Guitar Center and Dolby Labs. Overall he spoke about his basic philosophy relating to needing at least some aspects of The People, The Music and finally the Money to be all in some sort of harmony for him to enjoy his musical experiences.

Overall he spoke about following his heart, and listening to his head, but enjoying the process was very integral to his career and to who he is as a player/producer… Allan painted a very real view of how it is to be a touring musician and someone who has worn many hats in his long and amazing career.