When it comes to tracking big-time records, Nashville’s an old-school
town. The few folks who get those calls have
usually put in 20 or 30 years of groundwork
and have credits lists a mile long, so when
Taylor Swift’s Fearless won nearly every
2009 award in sight, many surprised eyes
and ears turned to the 29-year old bassist
who tracked nearly all of it, Michigan native
Tim Marks. He might not look 29, and with
his thick, earthy tone and well-developed
throwback feel, he doesn’t sound it, either.
“I went to college for about two years,
but the most important thing was just being
in Detroit,” Marks says of his late teenage
years. “There were lots of great musicians
to watch and work with. I spent a lot of
time playing blues and R&B.” Tim left for
Nashville in 2002 without a gig or a backup
plan, and roughed it hard before landing
work with Wynonna Judd, Emerson Hart,
and Delbert McClinton. Marks’s proclivity
to stay in town and focus on recording
paid off a jackpot when he fell in early
with Taylor Swift’s studio band. “I just like
making records,” he says, smiling. With a
credit like Fearless under his belt, you can
bet he’s already making a few more.
Who are your biggest influences?
It started with great R&B bassists like
James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, and Duck
Dunn. After that it was Lee Sklar, Hutch
Hutchinson, and all the great Nashville session
bassists. Recently I’ve been really into
dub and reggae, with players like Robbie
Shakespeare and Flabba Holt. I could go
on, but the list would be 100 names long.
How did you land the Taylor Swift
session gig?
I was working with producer Nathan
Chapman on publishing demos for Taylor
in late 2005. She and her label liked the
demos and hired Nathan to cut some tracks
for her first record. That session led to more,
and that core group of Nathan, myself,
drummer Nick Buda, and engineer Chad
Carlson have been involved with the bulk
of her recording since then.
What’s your favorite thing about tracking
Taylor’s material?
It’s done in a really organic way. It’s
tracked as a three-piece with Taylor singing,
and built from there. She always comes in
with great ideas, and she writes hooky songs
that make me want to play something distinctive
that supports the music and the
energy. That’s also the biggest challenge,
but it’s such a great group of people that it
all happens really easily and naturally.
What are you ultimately trying to deliver
to a producer as a session bassist?
A great part, a great tone, and versatility.
It’s important for me to be stylistically
accurate, and to bring different sounds to
the table. I often switch between roundwound
and flatwound strings, and I like
using hollowbody basses. It’s also nice to
add some grit if it’s good for the track.
At this point we have over 50 years of
recorded bass guitar to draw from, and a whole
lot more of upright bass. That’s a lot of music
to soak up, and I think all of those classic
tracks hold great lessons.
HEAR HIM ON
Taylor Swift, Fearless
[2008, Big Machine];
Taylor Swift, Taylor
Swift [2006, Big Machine]; Will
Kimbrough, Wings [2010, Daphne]
GEAR
Basses Lakland Bob Glaub Signature,
Joe Osborn Signature, and 55-94
basses; Gibson Les Paul Signature Bass;
Guild Starfire; Jerry Jones Longhorn
Rig Mesa-Boogie Walkabout head,
Mesa-Boogie Scout 1x12 combo,
and Mesa-Boogie Vintage
Powerhouse 2x12 and 2x15 cabs;
Planet Waves cables
Effects Electro-Harmonix Black
Finger Optical Tube Compressor;
Tech 21 SansAmp VT Bass
Studio recording chain Clean:
Universal Audio 6176 (preamp/
compressor); Dirty: DI with overdrive, or
miked 1966 Fender Bassman
Strings D’Addario Nickels (.050–.105);
various flatwounds