tokuni + Musician in Parma, OH

SEEKING

ABOUT

**I am typically unable to play out live due to health reasons**

Looking For:
Multi-instrumentalist looking to get back into playing with others. Ideally with other women, though that's certainly not a requirement. I mostly play bass guitar and vocals these days, but I still play all the instruments listed in my profile as well. I am an experienced musician, but not a professional.

I'm not so great at spitting out songwriting ideas, but I am useful when it comes to the rest of the songwriting process. I enjoy playing with other people who love music. And now that I'm finally able to start doing that again, I figured I may as well try on this site.

Mostly interested in performing genres that are more on the acoustic side of things and darker-sounding, but doom metal is also an option, as is heavy psychedelia.

To start with, I'd prefer digital collaboration, and if that is going well, we can play together if you'd like (assuming you live within a reasonable radius). I'm currently in the process of learning about the types of free DAW programs available for ChromeOS and Ubuntu.

- I possess relative pitch and can read music in treble and bass clefs for piano, flute, and singing.

- Bass guitar is typically played with fingers, though a pick is ok in some cases. No slap bass.

- Singing range is F3 to D6, most comfortable in alto range, but also have some spryness in upper range. A couple examples of my singing are uploaded here. Those were recorded with the headset mic--my condenser mic sounds much better than this one. Current self-administered practice regimen includes aiming to decrease tension in face, etc. and more consistent diaphragm support.

Screen name:

tokuni

Member since:

Sep 02 2022

Active within 1 week

Level of commitment:

Just for Fun

Years playing music:

35

Tend to practice:

2-3 times per week

Most available:

Nights

Influences

Eivor Palsdottir
Fiona Apple
Razor
Black Sabbath
Mercyful Fate
Bulldozer
Alice in Chains
Wardruna
Heilung
Celtic Frost
Electric Wizard
Don Caballero
Pentagram (US)

Background:
Long story short, I've read sheet music and played piano since I was five years old. Briefly played clarinet, then moved onto flute for many years. During that period, I also played cornet, guitar, bass, and french horn (I no longer possess any brass instruments nor clarinet). I played drums for a couple years regularly until an unrelated injury made that less possible. That injury resulted in me focusing more on singing instead.

Music is precious to me. But it's also fun and something that doesn't need to be taken seriously 100% of the time. I like helping people make music and figuring out things as we go along. I'm not a professional. I'm just someone who's played a lot of music. Alone as well as in ensembles as a teen & a couple bands in my 30s. (One of those was a band lottery; it was pretty cool!)

On bass, it's been more varied across genres. I don't play slap bass. Mostly rock and jazz-adjacent genres. (For metal, I prefer to play regular guitar.) I can play at the difficulty level of Schism by Tool, though that song's much easier on a short-scale bass. Long Distance Runaround by Yes. Opium Trail by Thin Lizzy. Red Water by Type O Negative. Fingers or pick; either works. I am partial to finger picking though.

Singing-wise, I'm most comfortable in the alto range and have had multiple people compare me to Fiona Apple and describe my voice as "smokey", though her voice is clearly huskier than mine. Although alto range is easier, I can sing in higher ranges as well, and in some cases, quite comfortably. Singing range is F3 to D6. My voice is not very well suited to harsh genres (I once did a Celtic Frost cover and sounded like Tom G Warrior inhaled all of the helium tank). It's more aligned with jazz, folk, alternative, and pop.

I mostly played thrash and death metal on guitar. Not really looking to play metal here, but I'd be open to it if the right opportunity arose. I don't do leads. At my peak, I could play Discipline by Razor pretty cleanly. Mad Butcher by Destruction. Angel of Death by Slayer (...until my hand would fall off, anyway....) But now I am old and Doom and heavy psychedelia are more my speed these days. RIP

I'm not an amazing piano player. I recently learned 'I Want You To Love Me' by Fiona Apple on piano by ear. So I'd say that's about my maximum ability on that instrument at this time.

I don't play the drums much due to the aforementioned injury. Used to be able to play stuff off of Misfits' Demonomania identically to the record, but I would be limited to slower speeds now.

I tend to rotate instruments practice-wise.

Instrument experience:

Flute:

Advanced

Vocalist - Alto:

Advanced

Vocalist:

Moderate

Vocalist - Soprano:

Moderate

Rhythm Guitar:

Moderate

Bass Guitar:

Moderate

Drums:

Intermediate

Background Singer:

Intermediate

EQUIPMENT

Shure SM57
AudioTechnica condensor mic
Electric bass - 4 string Soundgear w active pickups
Orange bass combo amp
Ampeg bass amp
EQ pedal
Overdrive pedal
Electric guitar - 6 string Jackson-made
Marshall MG 1x2
Concert flute (silver)
Full standard drum set w double kick
Light keyboard (I just use it as a piano, but it is technically a MIDI workstation of sorts. Keys aren't weighted, but they are touch-sensitive.)
Kalimba (it's new to me)
A tiny Behrninger mixing board

MUSIC