How does your dedication to music education affect your playing?
I didn’t really start becoming a good player until I started teaching. Teaching reinforced and solidified concepts that I needed to become more comfortable with.
What are some key stylistic differences between Victor Wooten’s approach to the bass and yours?
Fortunately for me, we grew up listening to a lot of the same music, so our general feel is similar. I didn’t listen to as much fusion, though, so he’s more comfortable with odd time signatures and fast playing than I am. I’ve become more comfortable with them since I’ve been in his band. During our live shows he plays primarily 4-string and I play 5-string, which allows me to get underneath his playing and offer him the support that he needs from a bass player.
You’re working on a solo album in a studio you built yourself. Who are your songwriting influences?
I’m heavily influenced by soul, R&B, and funk music from the late ’60s to early ’80s— two of my biggest influences are Stevie Wonder and Prince—but I’ve always been receptive to all kinds of music. My wife recently found a picture of me when I was 11 years old with Kiss makeup on—Paul Stanley!—and Kiss posters on my bedroom wall, and I was living in one of the toughest neighborhoods in D.C. But my biggest songwriting influence is life itself. If you’re lucky enough to wake up in the morning, you have all of the inspiration, creativity, and magic you’ll ever need. Once you realize that, you just need the dexterity and music know-how to bring it out of you. I call it “tapping into the infinite field of ideas.” We all have access to that infinite field.
Any quick lessons you want to share with readers?
Bass is the kind of instrument where the player has to always be aware of his activity level and the effect that it has on the music. Sometimes, as bassists, we don’t understand the negative effect that too much momentum can have on a song. That’s a by-product of having more technique than musicianship. Bass is not the right instrument for people who get bored easily or people with short attention spans.
CAN BE HEARD ON
“Cambo” and “Flex,” Victor Wooten, Palmystery [2008, Heads Up]; “Higher,” John Luskey, Anything’s Possible [2002, Raz]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
Yellowjackets, Dreamland [1995, Warner Bros.]; Stevie Wonder, Natural Wonder [1995, Motown] “There is never a time when there isn’t a Stevie Wonder CD in my car. The Yellowjackets are probably my favorite band, and Jimmy Haslip is one of my favorite bass players. My fingerstyle soloing is modeled after his playing.”
GEAR
Basses Fodera, MBass, Roscoe, MTD, Ken Bebensee, some old Fenders, three upright basses, and many more
Live rig Aguilar AG 500 head; Aguilar DB 410 4x10 and DB 115 1x15 cabinets or two Aguilar DB 112 1x12 cabinets for local gigs
Effects None
Studio Presonus Eureka preamp (mostly), compression via Pro Tools plug-ins “I have roughly 35 basses. I own pretty much every pedal/effect ever made, but I just leave them at my school for my students to try out. My favorite sound is the natural sound of an electric bass. When I plugged into an Aguilar rig for the first time, it allowed me to hear how my bass really sounds. I can’t imagine using anything else now. Also, I love the feel, tension, and sound of DR strings. I always set the EQ flat on the bass. For most parts I prefer a solid-state preamp. Sometimes I use a tube or hybrid preamp with an older Fender bass for a warmer sound.”