Features
SA With Martin Simpson: An Interview with Barry Irwin
SA With Martin Simpson: An Interview with Barry Irwin
I met Barry for the first time, around 2002 and invited him down to a South African Bass Players Collective meet to give us a workshop. Barry’s complete mastery and total command of the instrument had us all enthralled and most of us will probably remember the evening for the rest of our lives. Like Pino Palladino and Lee Sklar he oozes musicality and like my friend Concord Nkabinde, Barry sees himself as a musician who happens to use a bass to serve the music – which essentially, is a place where we, as bassists, should all be living!
Barry talks the way he plays – no-nonsense – take it or leave it – that’s the way it is.
I approached Barry in September and asked him if he’d like to do an Interview for this magazine and his response was “Hmmm, let’s see how it goes”. Lucky for us, he sat down with the questions I posed and because of his vast experience and knowledge, he was able to give us this incredibly insightful and very enjoyable interview.
[Martin] How long have you been playing Barry?
[Barry Irwin] I picked up the bass in 66, and have been a “low life” ever since.
[Martin] How did you get started?
[Barry Irwin] One thing usually leads to another. I studied piano as a kid with Muriel Inch who taught at CBC in Kimberley. My lessons were at 6.40am. I used to freeze my ass off on those cold winter mornings. I did Trinity College of London exams for a few years. Then the Beatles came out and we all wanted to play guitar. My cousin, who was a very talented guy, taught me chords on the guitar and we would all play Beatles tunes and all the music of that era. I was also the lead drummer in a boy’s brigade, which actually led me to be a drummer in a band called the “Sapphires” before I played bass. Everything felt very natural as a young boy playing music, unfortunately, my family discovered that I was slipping out of the house on weekend nights to play in hotels and put an end to my drumming ‘career’ I guess someone ratted on me because I was 11 sitting at a kit of drums with a beer at my side. For a few years, I didn’t play anything but piano, which we had at home.
At about 16, I got this call from my mate to play bass in his band. I knew nothing about playing bass but having studied music and having played guitar, I figured “Why not?” That band didn’t go anywhere as we never gigged, but it gave me a taste for the axe. A few months later I was playing with a guy called Al Bentley who had done some recordings and was trying to make a comeback. We would play the odd gig here and there and “pleasure resorts” on the weekends (to this generation it probably sounds like a porn factory but it was just a place outdoors where people would go on weekends and lots of bands would play. That didn’t last very long either, but led to a band called “Birds Of A Feather.” We won a national band competition sponsored by Lucky Strike Cigarettes. The prize was $100 and a tour of concerts on some military bases around SA. That was pretty freaky at the time as we all had long hair, and back in 66/67 it wasn’t sociably accepted.
I remember walking out of a café in some little Afrikaans town and some kids with their mother started to scream when they saw us. The mother assured the children that we would not eat them. It was a real transition time in SA. We still had students jumping over the fence at RAU to cut people’s hair at peaceful rock festivals because they didn’t approve. Birds Of A Feather ended up playing at a club in Rosetenville called the 19th Level, which was very successful back then. I joined “Freedoms Children” a few years later, and was privileged to replace Ramsay McKay the bassist/songwriter and contribute to the 3rd album. As much as I enjoyed playing with that band, and the recognition it received, I always wanted to play more kinds of tunes.
We would visit a place on tour and if there was a band playing in the hotel I would be jealous of the bass player because he was playing more tunes than I was. It didn’t matter that our band was more famous.
When I joined Omega Ltd. In Salisbury Rhodesia I pretty much got that chance to play a lot of different pop tunes. I also spent a few years doing the Swaziland/Botswana cabaret circuit where I worked with a lot of different international acts. On returning to Joburg in ’74 I got a chance to be the bass player in “Godspell” where I replaced Arthur Stead as MD when he went to the US. A few years later Arthur came back to SA and Cedric Samson and I managed to persuade him to hook up with us and we started a band called “Scandal”. When Arthur went back to Boston we got Lionel Pillay and Josh Sclair into the band. I stayed 6 months or so then left for the US at the end of ’76. (Nippy Cripwell took over on bass) So that’s pretty much how I got started.
[Martin] What are the instruments you currently use?
[Barry Irwin] These are the basses that I still own but have been replaced on the gig by just one, my MTD 535. I would still take the P bass to a Motown or blues gig as that’s tradition and the sound, but the MTD is always a safe bet if I’m not sure what kind of gig it will be. The MTD can really manage them all. All my basses are US made.
MTD 535.
76/77 Musicman
62 Fender Precision (original)
77 Fender Jazz
50th anniversary 5-string Fender jazz.
NYC Empire bass. (Fodera)
Lackland 5 string.
Lackland hollow body- designed by Michael Tobias.
[Martin] What instruments would you like to have if money were no object?
[Barry Irwin] My MTD 535 is the last bass I will own. If money were no object I would get another one. I played 3 Classic Tobias basses in the 80’s and 90’s and felt that they were great instruments but for me something was missing. Whatever that missing subjective sound was, the 535 sure have it. It’s really the best sounding, well-rounded bass I have ever played. Not to mention the fact that Michael Tobias is there for people that own his instruments and he really does make his own instruments, which is more than can be said about most companies out there today. I highly recommend his instruments.
[Martin] What have you been doing for the last five years or so?
[Barry Irwin] 5 years ago I was living in Vancouver BC. I took a year off from playing and spent the time writing music and trying to focus on who I really was as a musician. I love writing and that’s what I spend most of my time doing. It’s a form of therapy, the way I analyze and keep in touch with myself as a musician. It’s a direct reflection of what’s going on with me all the time.
To earn a living, I work on cruise ships which in the past allowed me to do all the writing I wanted, but that time is getting scarce as it becomes more corporate and musicians are seen in the same light as dishwashers, where you need to put in your 30+ hours a week. When I retire from playing I hope to earn a living out of writing, but for now I am just spending the time writing for the sake of producing material. I play 30+ hours a week at sea. I spent years doing that in South Africa, and New England and other countries I have lived in. It makes me feel like a working bass player. I have no complaints with that.
[Martin] What recordings that you’ve played on would you recommend for listening?
[Barry Irwin] None. Earlier recordings have no relevance to my playing today. Also, a lot of what I did in Boston was never released, as it wasn’t commercially viable. I was never interested in commercial recording as I discovered that someone else always made the money and I never felt a need for fame.
There are many studio players and other great bass players that have dedicated their lives to the craft and to the bass. Listen to them. On electric bass in the jazz and fusion world there’s Richard Bona, Steve Swallow, Carlos Benavent, Anthony Jackson, Marcus Miller, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten, Gary Willis, Victor Bailey, Jeff Berlin, John Patitucci, Christian Mc Bride and many others, like Brian Bromberg, who is such an unbelievable player on both the electric and upright. A major inspiration to any serious bassist, irrespective of style. He has covered an amazing body of work, which deserves serious listening attention. He epitomizes a bass player that has studied the likes of Stanley Clark and Jaco Pastorius but has gone on to discover his own voice, which he delivers with authority.
If we’re talking bass then we all need to lend an ear to this guy.
I dedicated my life to music more so than to the bass. I just happen to have played it as a profession for a very long time and have been fortunate to do so. Now that I have finally bought a place to live, I will spend the next few years compiling a library of the music I have written and performed over the years. There will probably be lots of stuff to listen to then.
Today we have so much technology at our disposal that it’s possible to project one’s own personal statement as a musician. That might not make me “great” but it will reflect who I truly am as a musician. Let’s face it when you listen to Mozart you hear Mozart. You don’t hear Mozart with a middle section written by Hayden. Musicians were truly musicians back then.
Today what usually makes albums great or for that matter even a concert is the collective thing rather than the individual. I will never be a master but I can achieve my own vision statement. To many, that’s frightening, to me, that’s also what it’s all about. Don’t get me wrong two minds are greater than one, but my point being that getting Ron Carter to play on my album will probably get me to sell more albums, but it certainly won’t make me a better bass player or musician.
I think I would very much like to hear a solo album done by Wayne Shorter reflecting his life work. How amazing that would be!
[Martin] What’s been the low point in your career so far? And what has been the high point?
[Barry Irwin] Young people in this generation have high and low points in careers. To me and a lot of my generation of musicians, playing bass or being a musician was not about highs and lows. Growing up playing music was not about thinking of a career, but rather about just wanting to play. Speaking about getting paid was often embarrassing. I never wanted to discuss money. I just wanted to play.
The high points and the low points of my “career” happen on the gig. It still does. Standing up on a stage with great musicians does not necessarily make you great, nor is it particularly a high point in your career. Rather, the power to connect will make you great and be the high point. How often does that happen? Someone else usually tells you because you’re too busy trying to take care of business to even notice. Highs and lows are just perceptions. It’s like a note. Once you’ve played it, it’s gone.
[Martin] What are your goals currently?
[Barry Irwin]
To live in peace.
To become more attuned to my creator
To keep writing and staying creative.
To love respect, and show compassion.
To be beholden to no one (if that’s possible).
To follow my heart and always be true to my self.
To be healthy, and be the best musician and husband I can be.
[Martin] That, to me, sounds like ‘The seven commandments to self’ – if we all had that approach to life, this world would be a much healthier place. Any advice for younger bass players?
[Barry Irwin] As a young bass player Jack Bruce influenced me. There were others like John Entwhistle (probably the first bass solo on a rock tune with the Who’s “My Generation”) and Chris Squire. They were very different in their approach to the bass and their different styles inspired me. Back then the air was thick with those amazing bass lines on the Motown records. Later I found out that that was James Jameson, and Duck Dunn on a lot of the Stax stuff. Tower Of Powers Rocco Prestia was another influence. “There was also female bass player Carol Kaye that played some great bass lines on late 60’sand 70’s recordings. She has some bass books that are still wonderful studies in the art of line and riff construction. It’s a certain era of commercial bass playing that had a lot of creativity. They are well worth studying and enjoyable too.
As you learn more about the bass it obviously leads to more listening and when it came to Jazz it was Ray Brown. There were 3 bass books back then. A classical book (Simandel), a contemporary one written by an English bass player (He wrote “What’s New” which became a big standard) and Rays book. I studied out of Rays, but it would be years before I would have a chance to use the stuff I learned there as no one I knew played jazz.
When I started to become more interested in Jazz it was more listening than playing like the ECM stuff, with Eberhard Weber and Gary Peacock playing with Keith Jarret (who incidentally is still my favourite pianist). Ron Carter was doing a lot of stuff with Herbie Hancock, Miles, and a lot of other people. When I first got to Berklee in Boston I thought that I was going to be playing all the Return To Forever/Spain stuff we used to play in “Scandal” at the “Branch Office” in Joburg. I figured that was how I was going to progress. Well I was wrong. I ended up playing and studying people like Paul Chambers and Charlie Parker. I got into the Bebop thing and that taught me a lot about what people like Jaco and Stanley and all the great bass players were doing. Studying with Charlie Banacos didn’t hurt either. What an incredible teacher!
I guess you just have to follow your dreams and often you will be amazed. Don’t keep looking back, and try not to hang on to things, or be too judgemental. The world never stays still, nor do we, as people. Change is inevitable. Trends and styles come and go. The key is to keep learning and studying music. Study harmony, writing and arranging and study the bass itself. Learn piano. Take lessons.
There is a big difference between being able to play the bass, and to be able to play a bass line on the bass. Both, and a lot more are required of a good bass player. For me, there are only two types of music, that being good and bad. Keep an open mind. Music is a lifelong study. It’s not just about the bass. It’s the bottom to the top, and the top to the bottom in all music, which is our main concern when playing or listening. If you can’t commit, don’t go there. One day, feeding your family will be really important and being a musician is not the easiest path to choose. It’s a hard life that requires commitment and dedication but it’s a fulfilling one.
If you are not a renowned player at 30 you probably never will be. That’s no reason not to play, not everyone can be Scott Lafaro or Charles Mingus or like the guys I mentioned. Those are all very gifted individuals, yet each and every one of them put in the time they needed to. If you have music in your heart and soul you will do whatever it takes to succeed. At the same time being successful is being able to live with you and love yourself in a healthy and non-selfish way. There will always be someone who plays better than you. Be happy that you have someone that you can learn from. There may be a lot you can teach that person too.
One more thing… If all you do is play solos on your bass then your gigging days are numbered. If all you play is bass on your bass then you will have a number of gigs. It’s your choice how you want to do it.
(A message for the New Year)
We live in an age of manufactured news. An age, one step away from a break dance, or just losing everything we have. Everything is so blatantly in front of our noses if we choose to see it. The wars we fight. The people we kill, the soldiers we bury. This, that, and all the other of life’s doings. So many places, so many times. A busy schedule of life and death of fashion, music, movies, religion, media… CNN. “All the best of the best, doing the best for the best” It’s all become a big part of our reality and has to a certain extent shaped what and how we think. Even who we are, and how we feel. It’s time for individual thinking, not to be provoked to ascertain some comprehension of a well-polished piece of crap that’s irrelevant to our being. In some ways we may have become a society of sheep. Individuality has been misplaced. We all need to take a reality check from time to time. What a big surprise it can be. Life throwing you that curve ball that says “wow! I really have been living in a bit of a dream world. I do have a responsibility as a human being to at least strive to achieve greatness in what I do, and in who I am, to speak out for the betterment of humanity”(Even at the expense of being misunderstood) It’s not just the work of an artist, a musician, a painter, a poet, or thinker. It’s everyone’s responsibility. Our world needs us as much as we need it. We can make a difference in such simple ways by just committing to thinking. But it’s also important what we think, our actions and words. We have the tools to do that. Why not use it. You’d be surprised at how well we can control our own lives. So sing your own tune, do your own dance. Write your own music and live your own life. Respect individuality. We can then take a big step forward, and take our world to a better place.
Peace.
BBI.
[Martin] Barry has sent along 2 pdf files (download below), which are part of a condensed score of a piece he wrote for this bass article. It is a scored for 2 basses in octave unison, a 3rd bass playing the ostinato bass pattern. The piano part can also be played by 2 x 6 string basses (or a marimba), so it’s possible to have a total of 5 bass players playing it (which would sound very cool). An acoustic bass should play the ostinato bass pattern.
Enjoy!!!!!
Song_For_Nix_-_Electric_Bass-Dec09
Song_For_Nix_-_Electric_Bass-Dec09-1
When I heard that American Vanity, formerly known as Burn the Jukebox, was gearing up to release a new album this summer, it felt like the perfect moment to catch up with bassist and vocalist Virginia Franks.
With a fresh name unveiled just this past January and a clear shift in musical direction, the band is entering an exciting new chapter, one defined by both sonic evolution and a deeper, more focused message.
In this conversation, Virginia opens up about the inspiration behind the upcoming record, how she crafts her distinctive bass tone, what fans can expect from their upcoming tour, and where she sees both herself and the band heading next.
Join me as we dive into it all.
Here is Virginia Franks.
Photo, Devin Kasparian
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Features
Interview With Bassist Bjorn Meyer on ‘Convergence’ … Exploring Sound, Space, and Innovation
By Guest Contributor, Joe Barth
Joe Barth talks to Bjorn Meyer about his new album and exploring new musical territories with the electric bass.
Above photo courtesy: Björn Meyer © Fredrik Gille / ECM Records
Bjorn Meyer was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1965 and has lived in Switzerland since 1996.
Starting on the piano, trumpet, and guitar, he turned to the electric bass at age eighteen. In 1996, the Nyckelharpa player Johan Herdin, percussionist Bazar Bia, and Bjorn formed the trio Bazar Bia. Since then, he has worked with Persian harpist Asita Hamidi, oud player Anouar Brahem, and pianist Nik Bartsch. Convergence is Bjorn’s second album on the ECM label.
JB: Before I ask about the new Convergence album, tell me about yourself. You grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. During your teenage years, you played guitar in punk-rock bands, then, at age eighteen, switched to bass. What was musically most helpful in your personal development as a bassist?
BM: My first encounter with the electric bass was pure luck and changed my life in an instant. Music had been an important part of my life from childhood, but always as one of many things I was interested in, like a very rewarding hobby. The bass changed all that. I had finally found my voice, and all the sounds I had heard and accumulated for so long without knowing how to make them real could finally burst out. I gladly spent every free minute of every day exploring this new universe, and that gave me a focused motivation that was hugely important.
Two important things helped me on my way and shaped me a lot at that time:
First of all, I realized that so much music that I was really interested in, as a guitar player, had resonated with me mainly because of the bass players involved! As a newly emerged bass player, I had a big library of music I could revisit. I learnt many important lessons by figuring out what made the music I loved work.
Second and definitely not less important: at the time I lived close to a house where many great musicians from Stockholm had their rehearsal spaces, jam sessions, and a general meeting point. Often there was a bassplayer missing — and I was five minutes away — so from the very early days as a bassist I could play with fantastic, experienced musicians from many different styles. From the very beginning, I was surrounded by role models and mentors who later on became colleagues and bandmates.
JB: Bjorn, to learn more about what shaped your musical values on the bass, to you, what are the three most influential bassists, and please give us a particular album they appeared on that you really connected with?
BM: There could obviously be many more than three, but – and this connects to the answer above! (Bass players “behind” guitar players)
Bass player: Jimmy Johnson
Album: Alan Holdsworth – Metal Fatigue.
I was (and still am) absolutely fascinated by Alan’s playing and compositions but the real magic was when I realized what Jimmy was doing to keep it all together, weaving fully logical basslines through “impossible” chord changes! And then there are these two very short fills at around 2:55 in the title track. 2 times 2 bars that I still remember the very first time I heard on Swedish radio. Time stopped, and I found myself trying to understand how to create such bass parts and how to adapt Alan’s unique chord voicings for the bass.
Bass player: Carles Benavent
Album: Paco De Lucia Sextet – Live One Summer Night
I had been intrigued by flamenco and the work of Paco De Lucia for a long time. My sister gave me the LP for Christmas, and this sextet redefined anything I had imagined possible. It taught me a lot about how to approach strong musical traditions with deep respect and still find my own space within and make the music even stronger.
It is absolutely incredible how Carles takes part in every function in the group – from rhythm and chords to melody and harmony – without ever losing the bass function of keeping all the sounds together and allowing the others to shine.
The bass solo in “Alta Mar”, the comping — if you can call it that — in Solo Qiero Caminar”.
Also, the studio album Solo Qiero Caminar was a game changer, just listen to the duo version of “Monasterio de sal.”
Bass player: Anthony Jackson
Album: (for once not a guitar player) Michel Camillo – Why Not!
I had been a fan from hearing Live In Central Park by Simon & Garfunkel but his playing with Michel Camillo was another ear-opener for me. Maybe also because my main working band at the time was a Latin-jazz band, so I guess it was a good match.
Having said that, Anthony was a huge inspiration across styles and genres over all the years we were fortunate enough to have him with us!
… that was already three … and I didn’t even get to mention Steve Swallow, Marcus Miller, Aston Barrett, Jaco Pastorius, Skuli Sverrison, Meshell N’Degeocello, Carol Kaye, Pino Palladino, and all the fabulous upright players that have inspired me so much – Charlie Haden, Palle Danielsson, Scott La Faro, Miroslav Vitous, and Eberhard Weber.
.. but the three I mentioned were definitely very important at the time!
JB: Convergence is you recording alone with your six-string bass. Your music has (for lack of better words) a very ethereal sound. How do you describe your music?
BM: The idea of an electric bass as a solo instrument triggers very diverse and often contradictory expectations. Many people have some idea of what a bass can do, and they expect anything from “root notes and fifths” to fast, equilibristic slapping frenzies with the comment, “How can you do that for more than three minutes per show?”
If I were to describe this program, I tend to use a few different approaches depending on who I am talking to:
Electric bass in acoustic space — I think it sums it up very well and gives some idea of what to expect without putting the music in a certain genre. For me, it is very important to share the music’s acoustic experience rather than focusing on the instrument’s electric character.
This music is also a mirror of my musical and personal journey through this life. The bass allows me to express myself without the risk of having my words misunderstood, and everything has a place in this music. Even though there are compositions, performing solo allows a unique freedom of interpretation depending on my state of mind that day.
Generally, I would be very happy to just say – new music for electric bass guitar!
JB: The album opens with “Convergence,” a song with deep textures, loops, and very staccato melodic figures. Talk about this.
BM: The album starts with a distorted chord progression – somewhat inspired by Alan Holdsworth – that I simultaneously feed into a loop through a shimmer reverb that I slowly fade in, played backwards. I find this texture very inspiring, and since it is all created live, it always turns out a bit different.
A pattern in 14/8 is presented – like a teaser – before an improvised part takes off in another direction. The pattern comes back in two versions: the original 14/8 (28/16) and a shortened 27/16 version. I loop the shorter version and play the original one on top, creating the rhythmical displacements you hear at the end.
I find such layering of patterns of different lengths very interesting, and it is a natural part of my vocabulary after many years of playing various kinds of minimal music with Don Li’s Tonus, Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin, NEN, and many others.
JB: The album consists of nine of your compositions. Were these songs all composed for this project? Talk about that process.
BM: Yes and no. I didn’t sit down to deliberately compose a fully new repertoire with this album in mind.
However, from the very first concert I played to release my first solo album, Provenance, in 2017, I noticed that the material and my playing were already shifting. Creative accidents happened, and new ideas emerged during concerts, soundchecks, and travels. After almost six years and many concerts, I had a tour in Japan and realized that there was nothing left of Provenance in the program. Then it took some time for Convergenceto emerge — during which the material continued to evolve.
In hindsight, I can see many stages of the development of Convergence that were definitely meant to become a new repertoire in its own right. One aspect of the name of the album reflects the convergence of ideas, moods, emotions, life, and time into this moment.
JB: Talk about the six-string bass you used in this recording. Did you use amplification, or was it mainly recorded directly?
BM: I play an MTD 635 (#160), an instrument that found its way to me by very lucky coincidence in New York in late 1995. I have played this very instrument on everything involving electric bass ever since.
As I mentioned earlier, the acoustic component is very important to me, and I am very lucky to have the support of producer Manfred Eicher for this approach. We recorded in a big, wonderful-sounding room that often hosts symphony orchestras and recordings of large film-music projects. The sound engineer Michael Hinreiner knows the room very well and was also very keen on the idea of making an acoustic-style recording.
I had a pair of Genelec 8030 Studio monitors and a small subwoofer behind me for the full signal (bass and effects) and a pair of satellite speakers further away, where I sent effects only (delays, reverbs, etc., but no direct bass signal) in order to fill the room and have a spatial experience.
This setup was then recorded using a lot of microphones to pick up all the aspects of the room, but also close miking on the instrument to pick up the acoustic sound. Much like you would approach a serious recording of any acoustic instrument, like a classical guitar or a cello.
Obviously, the line outputs of the bass and the effects were also recorded, but very little of that was used in the mix. I am very happy with the result, and I think you can really have the experience of sitting in the room with me when listening to the album.
JB: “Drift” is filled with harmonics. Tell us about that song.
BM: After Jaco’s “Portrait of Tracy,” anything involving harmonics on the bass is a bit sensitive. However, the range of the six-string and playing harmonics with a bit of a scraping sound with the plectrum does add another texture that I find very inspiring.
The piece started out as a reflection on the ice breaking on a river after a strong winter. Deep cracks forming, small pieces of ice breaking loose into the stream. Obviously, that is only my very personal picture. Some have said that it reminds them of northern lights, which is also a beautiful thought!
B: I love the sense of movement you create in the song “Motion.” Talk about this composition.
BM: Thanks! It took me a long time to become fluent in playing it and for the piece to develop to its current form. It started with the plucking pattern in 11/8 and the first two chords. For a long time, I couldn’t find a way out of this tonality, but the more my right hand started feeling comfortable in any tempo, I started hearing a harmonic development that the left hand was kind enough to accommodate.
“Motion” is a good example of two things that inspire me: I like it when odd meters still can have a dancing quality to them, and I often find this kind of incremental approach to harmony very interesting.
JB: This is your second ECM album. What do you appreciate about working with producer Manfred Eicher and ECM Records?
BM: It is my second solo album on ECM, but I have been lucky enough to work with Manfred on four albums with Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin and two albums with Anouar Brahem. All very different productions.
I am fascinated by his enormous dedication to music and very inspired by his way of listening. Knowing that he is listening changes my focus as a player. From being concerned with playing “right” it becomes all about playing in a way that allows for a deeper level of experience. Taking risks and adapting the performance so that the music translates well to someone who is attentively listening. He has the ability to ask or suggest things that allow me to shift focus away from the microcosm of “my composition” to the macrocosmic dramaturgy of the music.
This overview also applies to the full album, in how he balances the tracks and puts the track list together. For example, the idea of opening with “Convergence” was far from my original plan, but it turned out exactly right. Not to mention the choice of cover picture, a very unexpected but perfect match for me.
JB: Do you view the entire album as a kind of symphony or tone poem with multiple movements?
BM: I definitely see the album as a whole body of work in itself and a thoughtfully curated dramaturgical statement. But I still see it as a collection of separate compositions rather than multiple movements. The album has one sequence, but in a concert situation, I can freely choose another path to adapt the dramaturgy to the room, the audience, and the setting.
Having grown up listening to LPs, it is very important to me that listening to the full album adds an extra dimension to each song’s experience. Especially in this age of streaming and separate songs put together in more or less random playlists, I think it is more important than ever to at least try and compose as deep listening experiences as we possibly can.
JB: The album ends with the reflective “Nesodden.” Is there any connection with the peninsula in Norway?
BM: Yes – the song was written in a small cottage at Nesodden, overlooking the fjord running into Oslo. I was performing at the jazz festival there and arrived a day early due to travel issues. Sitting there, I saw a family of geese and two canoe paddlers in a beautifully respectful interaction. I guess it had something to do with who could land first or something, but all of a sudden, this whole tune had formed. I did rework some minor details over time, but the song was like a gift from Nesodden. It very seldom happens in that way.
JB: You moved to Switzerland a few years ago. Talk about the gigs you do in Europe and how you make a career in music work for you.
BM: You are kind – it has already been 30 years.
One thing I really appreciated coming from Sweden was how well-connected Switzerland is. In four to five hours, you reach Paris, Milano, Munich, and many other comparatively large cities by train or car! This makes touring so much easier than from Stockholm, where you either spend a full day just to reach the country’s border, or you have to fly all the time, which I don’t really like.
Interestingly, both Sweden and Switzerland are quite small countries, yet they have very strong, yet distinct and creative music scenes. There are also many interesting venues and festivals. Since I am involved in quite a few different projects all across Europe, Iran, and North Africa, my touring schedule will depend on which projects are active at the time. At the moment, my focus is on my large ensemble, Garden of Silence — 9 Musicians from 3 continents — on the one hand, and the solo project on the other.
I feel so very blessed to have the opportunity to present this music to so many fantastic audiences and to be part of so many inspiring collaborations.
Like everywhere, the economic situation for live music is changing quite rapidly, also here. However, I am confident that we will always need this form of human interaction, being in the same space at the same moment in time, sharing the same experience. Music is such a strong healing power, and we need it more than ever.
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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Harvie S is an American jazz double-bassist. He recorded numerous albums as a leader and co-leader, with over 400 recordings as a sideman. He has been a professor of jazz bass and ensembles at the Manhattan School of Music since 1984. He has a new album coming out on 20 March: “Bright Dawn”, where he features the bass as a melodic instrument.
KB: Did you always want to be a musician growing up?
In my childhood days, I wanted to be a professional football player. When I hit my early teens, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I finally decided that music was calling me. No one supported my decision, especially my guidance counselor at my High School. I decided to go to Berklee College and enrolled as a pianist.
KB: Why did you pick the double bass?
I was always listening to Jazz in High School, but I had a cheap stereo and the bass never came through, so I was not into the bass. I bought the Riverside Bill Evans “Waltz for Debby” recording and could hear the bass on that. Scott LaFaro made a huge impact on me. I realized what you could do on the bass through that.
In my first year at Berklee, I made the decision to get a bass and give it a try. No lessons, but I started working immediately and took to the instrument fast, even though I really didn’t quite know what I was doing. Berklee at the time didn’t really have much of a bass department (they do now), so I stayed as a composition major and piano minor. I was doing gigs on both instruments, but leaning towards the bass. In my senior year, my hero, George Mraz, graduated, and I was chosen to replace him. I was amazed by that, but it inspired me to do better.
KB: What double basses have you used over the years? Which one are you using now?
Good question. I have owned over 30 basses in my life. I would buy and sell a lot, and quite truthfully, I let some great basses go. About 12 years ago, I got a Jusek bass made in the 1920’s that Barrie Kolstein had completely restored after it was in an accident. He made it better than it ever was. I love this bass. He then turned me onto a Prague 100-year-old bass. I decided on this bass to use a gut G string and added a C-extention. This is my power bass, and my Jusek is great for trio work I do with Alan Broadbent and others. It bows really nicely. I used it on my new recording. I also have a Busetto bass, which is kind of a travel bass with a small body, and I use it around town and can take it on the bus. It sounds so real. Probably isn’t made anymore.
KB: What equipment do you use with your double bass?
I am very concerned about equipment. So concerned that I invented a bass amp called the “Upshot”. It is a completely different design where the sound goes up rather than straight out. For some reason, it projects perfectly and sounds like there is no amp, but has plenty of volume.
I also designed it to fit in a backpack which frees your arms when you carry the bass. It only weighs about 13 pounds. Acoustic Image was making it, but unfortunately, the owner, Rick Jones, passed away, and the company disappeared. I have some spares, so I can still use it. I use Heritage strings because I was involved with the development. Great strings, but maybe hard to get now. I use the Planet Wing pick-up, which, in my estimation, is the best there is, and it is such a simple design.
I use Weidoeft rosin, which Barrie Kolstein invented. Best rosin I ever used.
KB: You are teaching bass at Manhattan School of Music: What is the first thing you teach someone who is new to bass playing?
I really spend a lot of time working on how to get a sound. After that, timing and intonation.Then a lot more.
KB: Are there people you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
I never got to play with Billy Higgins or Jack DeJohnette. I would have really liked that. I’ve been blessed and have gotten to play with many of my heroes. On my website, you can see the list.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in all music genres, and why these?
Hard question to answer, but I love the bass lines Ron Carter played on the Miles Davis recordings.
Israel Crosby with Ahmad Jamal
Ray Brown with Oscar Peterson and others
Luizão Maia & Elis Regina
Bobby Rodriguez with Tito Puente and Alegre All Stars
Scott LaFaro with Bill Evans
James Jamerson with everybody
Gene Taylor with Blue Mitchell
Butch Warren with Herbie Hancock
Thelonius Monk (with Wilbur Ware) on everything he ever did
I know I left out a lot, but it’s a good start.
KB: You have a new CD coming out in March… What can you tell me about it? How excited are you?
I’ve made over 20 recordings as a leader and over 20 recordings as a co-leader, but I never did a bass feature project. On “Bright Dawn,” I decided to feature the bass as a melodic instrument. I don’t play all the melodies, but more than in the past. That’s for sure. I wrote all but 2 compositions. I carefully picked the band and was able to get Peter Bernstein, Matt Wilson, and Miki Hayama for the date. I know their playing and have recorded separately with them in the past. I tried to make the music fit with their style so they could shine (and they did).
I am very happy with the result, and I was involved with the mix. Actually, in the past 10 years, I have assisted many musicians in mixing their recordings. I believe the mix to be essential in getting the message across. I have also been doing recordings, and I have recorded over 12 CDs as a recording engineer, mixing assistant, and producer. I enjoy the process so much. I like a hands-on approach to music that I record, and it has been working very well.
The importance of music to me is to tell a story and inspire others to fulfill their potential. Just playing notes is not the way for me. I’ve had a hard road to travel all my life, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’ve had a blessed life.
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Since 2012, Tom Doyle has been holding down the low end for UK alt-rock heavyweights Don Broco, helping to shape the band’s groove-driven, genre-blurring sound into one of the most distinctive in modern British rock. With thunderous tone, razor-sharp precision, and an instinct for hooks that hit just as hard as the riffs, Doyle has become a crucial force behind the band’s ever-evolving sonic identity.
As Don Broco gear up to unleash their highly anticipated new album, Nightmare Tripping, this feels like the perfect moment to dive into the mind of the man anchoring the chaos. From his musical roots and influences to the gear and techniques that craft his signature sound, Doyle opens up about the journey so far and what lies ahead.
Join me as we explore Tom’s evolution as a musician, the creative process behind Nightmare Tripping, and his vision for the future in a band that refuses to stand still.
Here is Tom Doyle.
Photos by Ton Pullen
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