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The Tom Fowler ‘Sound’
Dear readers…
As an engineer, I have been very fortunate to have worked with many of the world’s top musicians. They have many different ideas when it comes to getting their particular sound and how they go about recording or getting ready for a gig. For many years I have been working with the legendary bassist, Tom Fowler. Recently, we have been again working on a couple different projects.
For those of you who do not know Tom, he is one of the legends of rock and jazz! He studied violin from age 6, added upright bass age 13, and then took up electric bass guitar age 16. He has performed and recorded with Ray Charles, Frank Zappa, The Fowler Brothers, “It’s a Beautiful Day,” George Duke, Jean-luc Ponty, and many more. He is the main bassist on “Genius Loves Company”, the final recording from music legend Ray Charles, which was nominated for 10 Grammys! Tom also played most of the bass on the movie “Ray.” He had some informative comments on recording and getting ‘his sound’.
Describe your rig.
“My rig consists of a Morelli upright bass, Shak 5-string bass guitar, SWR super redhead amp, SWR RM 900 amp.”
What do you look for in a rig?
“I look for hi fi quality, the ability to carry a distance without distortion, dependability.”
Do you bring multiple axes and/or amps to a session?
“I bring whatever instrument is called for, upright and electric bass and/or violin, and whatever amp is called for by the gig.”
What kind of strings do you use?
“I use Thomastic strings on all my instruments.”
How often do you do maintenance on your rig?
“Maintenance is an ongoing issue we all face, especially on the road. I try to stay on top of everything but it’s not always possible.”
What are your favorite mics?
“I use a Royer 122 to record both my acoustic instruments and my amps if amplified.”
What do you like in your headphone mix?
“Of course I have to have rhythm section instruments high in my mix. The other voices (if there are any) are less important, except the melody instrument, which I usually parody at some level.”
What kind of headphones do you like?
“I’m comfortable with most hi-fi headphones, but especially like Sony high-end D J models.”
What’s the best gig you ever did?
“The best gigs I ever played were: the gig before the “Can’t do that on stage vol.2″ Frank Zappa gig which was performed in Copenhagen, The Ray Charles 40th anniversary gig live at the Olympia Paris and a Jean-luc Ponty gig at the Olympia in which the equipment arrived an hour late and a wonderful pianist filled the gap.”
What’s the worst?
“The worst was the last gig I played with a very ill Ray Charles in Los Angeles. It was heartbreaking.”
What’s the best session you ever did?
“My best session was my own “Heartscapes” CD, where I was my own boss.”
Worst?
“My worst has been permanently blocked out by my ego.”
Any advice for someone starting out?
“My advice to someone starting out: have another career to fall back on even if you are talented. It takes a lot of pressure off of you! Learn as much as you can about harmony, scales, proper technique, digital notation and recording, and learn to compose.”
Any advice for someone just starting to record?
“The hardest thing about recording is learning to be patient with one’s self and the producer.”
What do you consider your big break?
“My biggest break was being born.”
What’s your favorite type of music to play?
“I like to play and record all kinds of music.”
What’s your playing weakness?
“I love Latin but I’m not as well versed as I could be. I like funk but I don’t spend the time required to become a virtuoso.”
What’s your playing strength?
“I’m best at rock, fusion and jazz.”
What kind of gigs are the hardest for you?
“Boring industrial gigs in Casinos are difficult to get through and maintain a high level of performance.”
What kind of gigs are the most fun?
“One nighters with good bands are exceedingly fun.”
What do you hate about recording?
“I hate control freaks who put their egos before the music.”
I hope that you have gained some insight into this amazing bassist. If you would like to learn more about Tom Fowler, you can visit his website at:
http://www.myspace.com/tomfowlerinterface
You can also see Tom’s discography at www.allmusic.com
Thanks for checking in and I will have more for you next month!
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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