Did you set out to play bass any differently for this solo project?
I’m not ready to put my playing up front and in your face on a record. I play lead bass in live situations, but I’m not really a lead bass player. I’m the type of player who locks with the drummer. I do play a melodic bass solo at the beginning of “The Blues I Love.” I’m a frustrated guitar player, so my solos are more like guitar solos played on bass, rather than choppy bass solos.

What are your favorite bass lines on the CD?
“All I Do Every Day” is a great funk song that Zig [drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste] and I wrote and recorded for the Meters right after we opened up the ’76 Rolling Stones tour, but it didn’t make any of the main albums. Keith Richards and Ron Wood showed me how to play guitar in open tunings, and I wrote that line in open E. Zig suggested I play the same thing on bass. It’s an A pentatonic riff, and I play it with my thumb. Every now and then I use an up-and-down brush stroke.

When you’re working on lyrics, do you think of how you’re going to sing them while playing?
I got Leslie Smith to help me write verses. I usually give her a whole song, and she’ll make sense of my nonsensical lyrics. The thing is, lyricists sometimes write phrases that are hard to sing along with the bass line. “I Get High” is difficult, but I’ve got it down. “It’s Life” is really rough, so it will probably get lost in the mix.

Do you practice?
No. When I’m at home, the basses stay in the closet. After playing for over 40 years, I’ve gotten a little lazy. When I don’t have a gig or a session, I’m out at the country house in Darrow watching television and getting fat [laughs].