311 what was i thinking bass

I decided to take it up because my brother was playing the saxophone, and I wanted to do something different from him-so I picked a stringed instrument. Can you still play violin?

I could bow some notes and they wouldn't squeak, but that's probably as far as I'd go. But I could probably remember everything if I sat down and worked at it for a couple of weeks-especially since I've kept my hands agile. When I was in the fifth grade, I quit the violin and went right to bass. They wouldn't let me start on bass right away, so I had to take six weeks of guitar lessons, at a music store in a mall. I did get an acoustic guitar later on in case I wanted to make up some more chords.

Someday I'll get to that-but not right now. I'm still learning the bass. What made you want to start playing bass? Everyone who was musical in my neighborhood was playing either guitar or drums, and I wanted to be doing something else-and playing bass seemed like the natural thing. Plus, I was listening to a lot of Iron Maiden records back then, and I really liked the way Steve Harris made their music sound.

He was definitely the first bass player who grabbed me. He's a monster. When you were taking guitar lessons, did you have a bass? No, just a guitar-a horrible Les Paul copy. But it was all wood, just like all of my basses are now.

That, along with my violin experience, started my fascination with wood. I like wood instruments-that's the way it should be. I like wood furniture, too. My first bass was a Precision copy called a Phantom. I didn't play it all that much, though, because my bass teacher was really structured; he prearranged what was going to happen and didn't let things happen. He had also kept the same set of strings on his bass for eight years.

That's totally cool, and it does give a great sound-but it just wasn't very exciting for me. I'm sure he could have gotten some great dub sounds out of that bass, but I guarantee he wasn't!

That's probably why I didn't play as much as I should have right when I started out. When I was 14, I started taking lessons at a different shop-a place called Russo's-and they were just the best. The people there were a lot closer in age to my generation, and they listened to music that was more similar to what I was listening to. Plus, they were all fantastic musicians. That place was the only store in Omaha like that; all the others specialized in band instruments, because that's how they stayed in business.

My teacher at Russo's was totally mellow. All he wanted me to do was to bring in music; he'd figure it out, and by the end of the hour he'd have me playing it. That got me very motivated and got me to start figuring out stuff on my own. My teacher, though, had an early, Telecaster-style Precision, which I thought was the coolest thing.

Note: A similar instrument is featured in The Great Basses on page But I stood up for the Chili Peppers, because they did a damn good job with that song-and also because they had a lot of balls trying to cover a Sly song. My teacher had me listen to a lot of Level 42, because Mark King is such an amazing thumb-smith; I learned a great deal from that. That's actually how I started doing double-handed slaps, because it sounded so cool when Mark King did it. Later on, I heard Les Claypool using the same technique-but he was also adding extra thumbs, pulling different strings in different sequences, and strumming.

He's an amazing musician, too. Were you playing with other people at this point? I was playing with the first guitarist, Jimmy Watson, who's still doing stuff in Omaha. I was also playing with a drummer friend of ours.

Later, when I was 15, I started playing with Chad-and he blew my mind the first time we jammed together. Did you lock up instantly with Chad? No question about it; I've never locked better with another musician. Even from that first time we played together, down in his basement, he had that same snare sound: so bright and sharp. I was almost deaf by the end of that day. Chad had been in a drum corps-and when you're playing the snare with seven other people all doing the exact same thing, I'm sure you feel that connection with the other people.

And even though Chad and I have a strong connection when we play together, it has to be even stronger when a bunch of guys are all playing exactly the same part.

Have you played on anyone else's records? I've done things for local people in Omaha, but that's about it. I'd like to do other stuff-I'll take inquiries, although I'll be pretty busy for the next year! Actually, Chad and I have had little rumblings all through our career about someday doing something different-maybe even in the jazz vein.

We'll probably do it in his home studio just for fun, but who knows? What kind of theoretical background would you bring to a project like that? I'd just have fun with it; I'd feel no pressure, and I could just go off.

A head shop in Los Angeles called the Galaxy has something called Acid Jazz Night, where people just show up and play-and I played bass on one of those nights a few weeks ago. It was really cool. That was the first time I'd played with any other musicians outside of in any kind of public forum, which wasn't all that public.

There were about 50 people there, and I don't think anyone knew who I was, which I liked even better. In Los Angeles, it's easy to blend in-even when you have a bass strapped on and you're playing with a band. I'm playing bass for many, many reasons. I like the role that goes with it; I like feeling no pressure; and I like the way it lets me be very loose onstage-and just in general-because there are no confines. I think I was made to be a bass player.

It's interesting how popular you are among bassists, considering your lines tend not to be flashy or obvious. Why do you think people notice you so much? Actually, when I started out, I was trying to play as much as I could-and it seems the older and more confident I get, the more relaxed I'm getting with just laying down a bass part.

I still have the flashy stuff in me, but I'm trying to use it with more taste. I like being not too demanding on the ear; I like to mesh. But also, especially onstage, I like to freak a little and just enjoy myself. My role is completely different live from what it is in the studio, because on the records I try to blend in really well, whereas onstage I try to make the bass stand out more-even if it's not that much louder.

I'm feelin' it, baby. What do you consider the characteristics of the perfect bass line? I don't know. The perfect bass line is impossible to get; it shouldn't even be attempted, because you'll always fail. Simply put, in any given bass line, there's either too much going on or too little going on.

You couldn't give it a superlative like "perfect," because it would take so many different factors to make a musical part perfect. Also, one line can be good in one way and another can be good in another way, and yet the two can stand by each other. There are probably thousands of quintessentially perfect bass lines-but there is no one, for sure.

Jaco got pretty close, though. Are you a Jaco fan? Yeah-not a very big one, though. Chad listens to a lot more of that kind of music than I do; in fact, he exposed me to it. Would you ever try to figure out one of Jaco's bass lines? I'd try; I don't know if I'd succeed, though, because I'm really no good on fretless.

It's really difficult for me, because I learned the violin through the Suzuki method-and I've definitely applied that kind of thinking to the bass, even though it was unintentional. I don't necessarily think of the notes all the time and where they fit with everything else.

I play more by memory-with my right brain. I'm used to just remembering a sequence of hand positions. That's actually something I'm trying to get out of by writing music, because writing is listening as much as feeling where you are, which may be one reason why I find it so hard to write.

The bass isn't a super-difficult instrument, although it certainly isn't the easiest, either; it takes a lot of physical muscle compared to other instruments that require more finesse. Plus, there are very few people out in front of the bass world, so there's lots of room for expression; the bass hasn't been flogged until it's purple, like some instruments I know! That's another reason why I was attracted to the bass-especially in the beginning, when I couldn't really name any bass players who stuck out besides Steve Harris.

What kind of bassist do you think you'd be if you had received more formal training? I might be less outgoing, I hate to say. I'd like to think that since I learned the bass with a looser, less educated, more rootsy and feel-oriented approach-one where I play music only because I love to play music-my playing style ended up being looser.

I believe that's because I don't feel much pressure. I would like to be one of the better bass players out there, but I also know I'm young and have a lot to learn. I always think about all the people who can play every chord and name every scale and put together a song in their head without ever playing it.

Heavily trained bassists also tend to have more exacting tastes-and sometimes don't approve of Les Claypool's playing, for example. That's so wrong-horribly wrong. It's probably equally wrong that I don't know as much jazz theory as I should, but the jazz players should recognize and accept Les as a modern pioneer. There's no question about that. In my mind, anyway. How is he a pioneer to you? He's playing bass as a lead instrument at all times; it just doesn't stop.

The guitar and percussion are playing mostly rhythmic parts, but his bass runs the band-even more than his vocals. He's singing through his instrument and carrying the whole load. Jaco did that, too; he controlled the musical flow in his band in the same way Les runs Primus. A lot of people accuse Claypool of being sloppy. You can find mistakes in his playing, sure. But they're great mistakes! I mean, if you can't laugh at your bass lines, you're too serious.

There's a time and place for all kinds of playing; you're not going to put on a Primus album to sit down and work on theory-you'll play it because you love to hear what that particular artist does on his instrument. I put Les in my personal hall of fame just for that reason; I think anyone who can make a unique piece of art deserves to be immortalized in some way. Les is one of a kind, and he doesn't give a fuck what people think. I love that about him-although I don't really feel the need to control the band with my bass playing the way he does.

Not yet, anyway. There aren't a lot of people who would listen to Primus, Jaco, and dub reggae records all in one day. Do you make a conscious effort to vary your listening? Yes, but it also comes naturally. Did I meet you in the Tesco car park in glorious Parkhead a few years back and did a swap deal for your red BB?

I thought that, getting a bit ditterey in me olde age! Great sounding bass that MD but a heavy lump. That BB, which was really nice btw, I ended up selling it to a member from Motherwell, who left it in his car after a gig one night. And when he went to the car in the morning, some scallywag had stole it so who knows where it ended up after that. This same problem will eventually lay the basis for the Kobayashi Maru. After giving this a lot of careful thought over much time, lee and I seem to have independently arrived at exactly the same conclusion: there is only one good way to resolve this conundrum, and that's to have one of each.

Great strategy. If anyone in the West Country Newton Abbot is looking. A nice BB that just isn't selling. You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Restore formatting. Only 75 emoji are allowed. Display as a link instead. Clear editor. Upload or insert images from URL. Why become a member? Share More sharing options Followers Reply to this topic Start new topic. Prev Next Page of Recommended Posts. Al Krow Posted November 7.

Posted November 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options TheGreek Posted November 7. Posted November 7 edited.