Local Musician Profile: Bo Astrup

Local musician and bass player Bo Astrup says he has a love/hate relationship with the music industry.  Lucky for us Altadenians, the love part helped turn the Coffee Gallery's front stage into what it is today.  Back before there was any controversy over permits, there was the Wednesday Night Sing-A-Long.  Bo stopped in one Wednesday and saw that the only sound equipment being used was a tiny microphone and amp.  Everyone was having fun, but the sound quality was pretty rough.  For someone with 12 years experience as a professional session musician, this just wouldn't do.  The next week Bo came back with sound equipment from his own home studio, including a screen and projector so everyone could see the lyrics at the sing-a-long.  Better sound equipment brought about the creation of an open mic night, which lead to the building of the front stage; made possible by donations from the community. 

When I asked Bo how he would describe the Altadena music scene, he said simply, "fragmented."  He has been surprised by the number of people, some even local musicians, who are unaware of the music being played at the Coffee Gallery.  Bo knows the who's who of instrumentalists, and had high praise for both the front and back stage of the Coffee Gallery.  Not only do they attract musicians with some serious performance credits under their belt, but musicians from places as far as Long Beach come to the open mics to show their stuff.

Aside from his contribution to our local music scene, Bo continues to play music on a project-to-project basis.  His favorite thing about music is being able to "work with people he respects."  His current project is a concept album tracking the Hurdy Gurdy Man, Danish guitar player Mac MacLeod, who was a mentor to Donovan.  The album is full of 60's counter culture references, and has felt "like being in college writing a thesis," given all the research that has gone into it.  Through the magic of technology, Bo has been able to work on the album with other musicians from across the globe, literally.  With home studios, computers and the internet they have laid down tracks with music coming from Denmark to Turkey and the U.S.  As a huge fan of 60's psychadelic rock, I for one am really looking forward to giving it a listen once it's complete!

If you are a local musician, or have an interesting music related story to tell, write me!  I'm looking for more locals to feature on my Patch Blog.  Contact me at fourtracktestimony@gmail.com.  You can also read more on my website www.fourtracktestimony.com