1.Why Bass?
It’s
complicated. I had a nasty accident when I was 12 that left me
without the full use of my left hand. I come from a musical family,
one of my uncles played piano for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra,
and he suggested learning the guitar might be a way to regain full
function of my hand. It totally ended up working, but it was heavy
going and took a couple of years. In the beginning just going from a
G7 to a D was literally physically painful.
Fast
forward a bit and I find myself in a high school garage band with
three guitarists and a drummer. Someone had to play bass, and just
the thought of not having to play those freaking chords anymore was
too tempting. I traded in my shitty department store guitar for a
shitty department store bass and never looked back.
Over
the next several years I just fell in love with the instrument.
Eventually I even managed to work out how to do those fucking chords
on the bass! I
love the idea of being the ‘silent mover’, I beleive it’s the
bass that gives music it’s sense of forward direction. If you’re
listening to a song you love and your body is moving in any way at
all...that’s the bass doing that to you.
I’ll
leave it with this gem I heard a few years ago: singers speak to the
heart, guitarists speak to the soul, bassists speak to...other parts
of the anatomy that shall remain nameless in a family friendly
setting ;)
Told
you it was complicated.
2.Do you think it is unfair or just
lack of knowledge bass gets so little credit?
Mostly
lack of knowledge I think. In fact I think among musicians who’ve
been at it a while it isn’t even true that there’s a lack of
credit. I don’t think it’s unfair, it’s just a thing. You
admire the impressive skyscraper with its shiny glass reflecting the
sun, and I wouldn’t expect anyone to immediately consider the
foundation hidden underneath that holds it all together. And that’s
ok. Silent mover, you know :)
3.What kind of bass do you use? Model ,
color , year , And why
My
main axe is my trusty Fender Geddy Lee Jazz. I think I bought it in
2010 or thereabouts. It just fits me like a glove.
I
also have an ESP LTD B-205SM 5-string that I’ll use when drop-D
isn’t drop-enough :)
4.Tell us about your amplification
Out
of the bass into the pedal board (Boss tuner->MXR Bass Comp->EHX
Big Muff Pi Deluxe->Boss Bass EQ) and then into an Ampeg SVT Pro-7
feeding an Ampeg PortaFlex 4x10
5. With all of that being said do you
feel tone is an important thing for bass?
You
are your tone. There, I said it LOL!
But
your tone shouldn’t be set in stone, it has to work with the
guitars or else it’s just a bloody mess no matter how good it
sounds alone. Again, the Silent Mover.
6.Do you prefer 5 strings over 4
string?
I
have one of each and I prefer the 4. It’s probably an unfair
comparison though because the 4 happens to be the Jazz
7.Who is your favorite bassist?
I
can’t just name one. Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, Jaco, Stu Hamm, John
Myung, Billy Sheehan...
8. Who is your least favorite bassist?
Pass.
I don’t do musician bashing.
9.Why do you think women seem to be
attracted to playing bass?
Same
reason that dudes who are attracted to bass are, it makes you move.
(There’s
that Silent Mover thing again.)
10. What bassist dead or alive would
you like a private lesson with?
Jaco.
11. Bonus question
Bobby Doll , Nikki Sixx , Les Claypool
, Billy Sheehan which is more ridiculous and why
See
#8
Bob and Stu Hamm
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