Billy Mohler has made a successful career of playing the right bass part at the right time, performing and recording with Macy Gray, Liz Phair, Ross Golan & Molehead, Herbie Hancock, and many others. His current project is Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, which is led by the former Smashing Pumpkins drummer.
Where does your sense of groove come from?
My first musical experience came from reggae music. The reggae groove is a natural feel for me—it’s my “go to” feel. Whatever style I am playing in, be it metal, pop, or jazz, I play off the beat, dragging a bit.
You’ve played in many different musical environments. What do they all have in common?
I am really into music that feels like it could crumble and fall apart at any moment. I find it compelling. But I also understand that as a bassist, it’s my job to create a structure for others to play above, so that the performance can be recklessness built on a solid foundation.
Playing music is very yin-and-yang for me. Sometimes I sit back in the pocket, keep it solid, and play big, fat notes—that’s the yin. The yang is complete chaos—no groove, no time signatures, effect pedals screaming, distortion roaring, letting everything go. Tying it all together is the gray area in the middle of these extremes. I don’t like that gray area very much, so I tend to either sit in the groove and play solid bass or to be extreme on the instrument, thinking of it not necessarily as a bass, but more as a sound machine.