Command Performance

Witness the intensity of Harris in either mode, and you’ll know he’s the real deal. Somehow both no-nonsense bloke and consummate showman, Harris has become a master of role-play in his 30 years living heavy metal. Bassist, lyricist, businessman, rock star, athlete, and family man—Steve is all these and more. Of course, Harris is known mostly for one especially grand role: father of metal’s most beloved group Iron Maiden.

Maiden’s shocking imagery and savage, aggressive sound was revolutionary in the early days of metal. Combining hard rock’s raw brutality with progressive rock’s technical agility, Maiden codified its own style in the 1980s, earning diehard fans. From 1981 through 1983, singer Paul D’Anno was the public voice of Maiden, but frontman Bruce Dickinson’s arrival with 1983’s Number of the Beast marked a big shift for the band, and its fan base began to multiply. For the last two decades, Iron Maiden has remained one of the busiest—and most celebrated—acts in hard rock, banging out heavy-metal anthems like “Run to the Hills,” “The Number of the Beast,” “Aces High,” and “Wasted Years.” From the start, Steve has been the strongest creative force in the band, which for the last few albums has included Dickinson, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers.

With its acrobatic bass lines, twin guitar leads, majestic vocals, and epic compositions, the new release A Matter of Life & Death is classic Maiden. But calling it a return to roots misses the point. Rather, it is a portrait of a freshly focused band. Slower and moodier than past albums, the new material shows that after nearly three decades, Maiden is still delivering original new music—not to mention spectacular live shows—to rabid fans. Indeed, Maiden is at its finest when staging colossal live shows; put on any live Maiden record and you’ll hear why. Nowadays the band performs mostly at European festivals, but this month it’s treating American audiences to a unique glimpse of A Matter of Life & Death.

Among bassists, Harris has distinguished himself as one of rock’s most intense performers, ably contributing to our technical playbook. His agile fingerstyle galloping (see music, page 40), swift melodic runs, and multi-part compositions have inspired legions of players to improve their game. Steve himself is quick to point out that he is no bass hero—in his mind, he simply plays his part. But in a genre rife with bland eighth-note pounding and rote pentatonic riffs, Harris has always pushed beyond the conventions of rock bass. His live and studio lines have all the momentum, focus, and intensity of a well-paced lay-up or an Oscar-winning performance.

Performance aside, Harris is a living example of the vision required to make it in music. From the beginning, his single-minded drive has powered Maiden. In fact, Steve has accomplished much in his life by being a strong leader and a determined (some would say “stubborn”) visionary.

Does this record sound different compared to your last few?

Definitely. We returned to my old bass sound. With the last couple of albums—especially with three guitarists—we had to step back from having that wiry bass tone. We were recently mixing some old live stuff and I realized, Well, that’s my sound. Plus, it fits with what we’re doing musically now, where we’re more clearly influenced by progressive rock.

The new record sounds slower than your last.

Yeah, we slowed songs down to make them sound heavier. But getting Nicko to play slower isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Sometimes we have to rein him back a little! [Laughs.]

What’s it like playing with Nicko?

Fantastic—he’s mad as a box of frogs, which is exactly what you’d want from a drummer. Playing with him is never boring.

What are some of your favorite lines to perform?

“Hallowed Be Thy Name” [from The Number of the Beast] is always fun because it has those big, ominous, low E sounds in the beginning. A lot of our songs are in E because some things just sound best there. If you try certain riffs in other keys, they just don’t have the right vibe. Some songs are fun to play because they are technical, and other songs are fun because I don’t have to think about them; I can just let myself go.

Do you play much in your down-time?

I mess around when I feel like it, but not every day. Even when I was learning to play, I thought it was better if I didn’t play every day. Instead of trying to force myself, I just play when I feel like it.

Explain your right-hand technique.

I play with two fingers, except when I want to play a chord; then I splay out all of my right-hand fingers like a fan. I find myself doing more chordal playing these days. I like the heaviness of it.

It sounds like you’re playing with a pick on a couple of the new tracks.

No, that’s me playing with my fingernails. I keep the nails on my index and middle fingers just a bit longer.

Was speed important to you when you first started playing?

No. I didn’t think it out like that. It just evolved. People tell me that I invented that rhythmic gallop, but I’m sure it was around before I was. I just brought it more to the fore. In the case of “The Trooper” [Piece of Mind], that’s what the song needed, since the song is about Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade.”

You’re one of the few rock bassists to play flatwound strings.

In the early days, I tried every string there was. Most of them got too screechy when I played slow. That, or they sounded dead. But once I tried flatwounds, I knew they were the right fit.

At one point, Rotosound was about to delete its flatwound line. I decided to do the signature flatwound series with them just so they’d keep making them! The only problem I face now is that I sweat so much the strings start to lose the highs by the end of each gig. I want to keep them sounding wiry.

I’m really not into the technical side of things, and I don’t mess with my sound too much. I’ve tried other basses, other rigs, and God knows what else. You name it, I’ve tried it. But this rig has been good to me for almost 30 years [see gear, page 34]. I may not sound very adventurous, but I don’t really care about being adventurous. It’s my sound.

A lot of people ask me about it. I’ve had people play through my rig, and it just sounds different. Even my bass tech [Michael Kenney] sounds very different through my rig. A big part of your sound is simply the way you play.

Who were the players you most admired when you were young?

Loads of them. I’m more into songs than players, but I’d say John Entwistle [the Who], Chris Squire [Yes], Martin Turner [Wishbone Ash], Rinus Garritsen [Golden Earring], and Andy Fraser [Free]. Those guys are all very different, and I picked up little bits and pieces from all of them. I didn’t try to sound like them; I just wanted to play the songs I liked.

What kinds of music do you listen to?

I grew up loving the big, cinematic sound of progressive rock. I think you can hear that influence more than ever on this new record. Still, I consciously keep away from listening to music when I’m writing or recording, because I don’t want any subliminal stuff to seep in. I find it’s better just to keep away. It can pull you in a direction you might not want to go. Once the record is done, I can go out and listen again.

Tell me a little about the writing process for this record.

Normally we allow ourselves three weeks for writing and three weeks for rehearsal, but this time we had everything prepared in about a week-and-a-half. We track live, so we did a lot of rehearsing before we went in. Since we worked on one song at a time, we were able to pin down the parts really well.

Are you always in writing mode?

I get ideas at various times and just put things down whenever. I find it quite traumatic when we actually get into a writing period. There’s just so much pressure to come up with good stuff. These days I get more input from the rest of the guys, which is great. The tunes then go in different directions, so it’s good all around.

What do you need in order to write?

Just a place where I can have peace and quiet. I write all of it on bass—usually acoustic bass guitar. Then we all get together and write acoustically—the old fashioned way, I suppose. If someone’s got a basic idea, I’ll come up with a vocal or guitar melody.

With the new batch of material, what are you most excited to play live?

There’s lots of interesting stuff happening on this record. The one I’m really looking forward to is “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg,” because it’s much more riffy than songs we’ve done in recent years. Technically, it’s not very difficult to play. It just has a deep, heavy riff.

What’s your stage volume like?

It has to be pretty loud to cut through those three guitars. But I’ve actually cut back a lot; it’s not as loud as it used to be. All I’ll have in the monitors is a bit of kick, snare, and toms. And there are points in the set when I’ll come back to my little space onstage next to my amp. I like having my own pocket of sound. That’s what’s good about using 4x12s—they’re very directional, and they have good clarity at close range.

You need to have a lot of stamina to play a full set of your tunes.

Yeah, mostly general physical stamina rather than finger stamina. I do lots of running. But musically, you’ve got be careful not to over-rehearse, because you need to keep that element of danger when you play.

Do you do any particular preparation on the day of the show?

No—we show up as late as possible, get changed, and go on. We haven’t done soundchecks in years. We do one soundcheck at the beginning of the tour and one later in the tour if there’s any problems.

But you do psyche yourself up into a frenzy before you go on; I’ll do a few exercises just to loosen up. If anything, I think hanging around too long messes you up. If you’re off doing something completely different—being a tourist or whatever—it’s more spontaneous when you get there and go on. The worst thing you can do is sleep during the afternoon before a gig. I find it much better if I play a round of tennis or some football or something on the day of the show. Then I’m much more fired up.

Do you ever get yourself into tight spots live, if you’re playing a difficult line and the tempo starts to pick up?

Nine times out of ten, I can deal with it. I actually find it easier to play fast.

Are long, epic tunes harder to pull off live?

No. The challenge is just remembering where things come in the song.

What are some of the things you’ve learned about putting on great live shows?

We like to hit people quite hard and fast in the first few songs. That also gives more leeway for the soundman to get things in order. You can’t play anything big and dramatic first. Plus, it just feels good to do that. You can just go on and go crazy, get the adrenaline going.

What are some of the things Iron Maiden did right as a business?

We got the right manager—that’s for sure. And we don’t listen to many outside people. It’s not that we think we know it all—we just go with our gut. I’ve learned that when we’ve listened to other people, it’s been wrong. You listen to too many outside people and you start to get confused.

If you’ve got a strong focus on what you’re doing, people will go, “Right—let’s do it.” If you start second-guessing things, people are going to wonder what’s going on. That kind of fear filters through to everybody involved. People feed on positive thinking, not indecision. Sure, you make some mistakes that way, but being stubborn isn’t such a bad thing sometimes. It gives you a directness, and I like that. There’s no messin’ around.