What do players ask you about most?They want to know how I create interesting solos over a one-chord groove, and what’s going through my mind as I’m playing them. The answer is that I make a conscious effort to construct solos with a strong opening statement, a bit of experimentation in the middle, and a good finale. You want to hit the hole hard—like a good running back in a football game—and keep moving. You get in, you get out, and nobody gets hurt.
What’s the key to getting off on a good foot?I usually get rolling with something comfortable, such as a bluesy minor pentatonic vamp that falls under my fingers naturally, or a slap-and-pop part that I’ve practiced ahead of time. I’ll find a motif and use repetition to make it a hook. You can’t play too fast at first, or you’ll have nowhere to go. You want to leave space, and use techniques such as vibrato, glissando, string bending, and dynamics to enhance the longer notes.
Where do you go from there?I’ve been experimenting with some cool whole-tone and diminished scale ideas that I was hipped to by our sax player, Jesse Molloy. I’ll start a whole-step below the tonal center, run up and down the scale to build tension, and then release back to the root groove. Then, I’ll do it again starting a minor 3rd above the root. While I’m back in the blues scale, I consider where to go next. The whole-tone scale only adds moderate tension because it’s ambiguous, rather than distinctly major or minor. Stepping outside the tonal center builds more tension, and the diminished scale has an angry, stern sound, so I might go there next. I’ll start the diminished scale a half-step above or below the root.
Do you encourage the rest of the band to get involved?I like to start my solos with just bass and drums; that allows me all the harmonic freedom in the world. I encourage the other players to join once I get going. A band can help take your bass solo to another level if the other players start getting involved and finish phrases with you.
How do you set up and execute the big finish?I may or may not go back to the beginning motif, but I usually end with a build. I might create a four-note pattern and play it with a galloping triplet feel. I’ll climb up an entire octave while constantly subdividing the pattern, playing it faster and faster. I’ll cue the drummer when I’m about to end, and concentrate on finding an interesting lick. I like to incorporate something in the spirit of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” which is classical music set to a blues tonality. It’s a nice finishing touch.
CAN BE HEARD ON
On The One, The Throwdown Live [Independent, 2008]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast [Capitol, 1982]
“I learned a lot of plucking-hand technique by studying Steve Harris’s galloping style when I started playing. He continues to inspire me; he’s remained true to his vision.”
GEAR
Basses G&L L-5500, ’72 Rickenbacker 4003 (w/Bartolini pickups), Brice Z6, ’64 Fender Precision Bass, Fender Highway One Precision Bass
Rig SWR SM-900 head, SWR Goliath Senior 6x10 cabinet
Effects Two DigiTech Bass Synth Wah Envelope Filters, Ibanez PH7 Phaser, Boss GE-7 Equalizer, Boss OC-3 Super Octave, custom-built “Fuzzalope” envelope + fuzz pedal
Strings Black Diamond 500ML (.045–.100) and 550M (.045–.125) nickel roundwounds; Black Diamond Chromium Flatwounds (.045–.100, on Fenders); custom Black Diamond 6-string set (.026, .045, .065, .085, .105, .130)