Do you remember the first time you went into a recording studio?
I remember the vibe when we recorded The Legacy [Megaforce, 1987]—the four-song demo that ended up getting Testament signed—at Prairie Sonic in Cotati, California. I remember walking in there while the two-inch tape was rolling. It was intoxicating.
How have you evolved as a bass player since then?
In the earlier days, I’d always be trying to fit extra notes and runs in my lines. After a while, I learned to back off a bit and let the song breathe.
Does Testament’s dual-guitar lineup inhibit your creative process?
Hmm, how do I say this politically? [Laughs.] It does make the space I have to fit into smaller.
How has this affected your tone?
The guitars are a dominant part of Testament’s music. When we were doing pre-production on The Formation of Damnation, we thought it would be better to do guitars with the drums first, and then fit the bass in; that way, I could set my frequencies to cut through where the guitars aren’t. It’s thinner, with a little less low end than I would normally like, but we’re not having the frequency wars we had in the past. My tone is pretty similar when I play live, as well.
How would you describe your playing style?
A lot of bass players, especially in metal, you could describe as frustrated rhythm guitarists. I’m more like a frustrated drummer. I play very percussively. I pound on the thing. It’s pretty primal.
Is there a song off the latest album that illustrates that style?
You can hear more of what’s going on in “Leave Me Forever” than in any of the other songs. Because of the way the guitars drop out on the verses, it’s probably the easiest to spot. But really, I’m doing that kind of fast stuff underneath the guitars all over the record. What can you tell us about your picking technique? I recorded Ritual [Atlantic, 1992] with a 5-string and a pick, but that was a weird phase for me. Primarily, I use my first three fingers and my thumb, because that’s how I learned how to play. I took lessons when I was a teenager, and if I ever brought a pick to lessons, my teacher would take it away from me and say, “Nope, you’ve got to learn to play with your fingers.” It was a lot of work. I would have to learn how a song went and then go home and spend hours working out the patterns between two and three fingers.
What’s your warm-up routine?
I try to play for a half-hour or so before we go on. I noodle and do chromatic exercises where I start with my 1st finger on the first fret down low, and then go up one string and one fret with each finger. Then I go back down the other way and repeat that pattern up every fret from the 1st until I end up around the 12th fret, and then I do the whole pattern backward.
Who or what inspired you to pick up the bass in the first place?
When I was a kid—and before I had ever picked up a bass—I had a dream that I met Gene Simmons and that he gave me a bass. I still remember what it felt like in my dream when I picked it up, which was pretty much the way it felt the first time I actually did pick up a bass. It was weird, because something in my dream told me it wasn’t going to be easy, but that I could do it.
CAN BE HEARD ON
Testament, The Formation of Damnation [Nuclear Blast, 2008]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
Judas Priest, Nostradamus [Sony, 2008] “There are some great hooks. It has a modern sound, but it still sounds like the mighty Priest. I love it.”
GEAR
Basses Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, ESP Vintage 4-string, Tobias Basic 4; DR Black Beauty strings (.045–.105)
Rig Ampeg SVT-5PRO head, two Ampeg 8x10 cabs
Effects Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver, dbx 160x compressor/limiter, Furman PL-8 Power Conditioner/ Light Module
“The SVT-5 is the baddest amp I’ve ever had. It’ll do pretty much everything I want, as loud as I want it—generally louder than anybody else wants it!”