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Why Is Music Important? by B.A. Johnson
Meet B.A. Johnson
When I was first asked by my friend Jake Kot to write a piece about the importance of music, I wasn’t sure how to go about the task. So, I began a period of “free-style rambling” that slowly coalesced into a stream of thought that seemed viable enough to share with our readers at Bass Musician Magazine! I also thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to create a new series for the magazine in which I would ask the same questions to members of the writing team and other notable bassists in our community – in order to compare answers from influential players, across the spectrum of genre, and over a period of time! HMMM… This might be more fun that I bargained for! That said the daunting task of interviewing myself remained. So, here are my thoughts on the subject…
Who are your primary musical influences?
Wow. Uh… do you mean today?! (Laughter) As far as bassists are concerned, I would like to site Michel Alibo, Jaco Pastorius, John Patitucci, Jimmy Haslip, Richard Bona, Otiel Burbridge, MeShell NdegeOcello, Matthew Garrison, Tony Grey and Janek Gwizdala as the bassist I find myself listening to most often this past decade. Wayne Krantz, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonius Sphere Monk, Steve Khan, and a bunch of others round out my “favorite musicians” list.
Having said that… I have to say my earliest favorite tunes were “All Right Now” by Free, and “Turn Down Day” by The Cyrkle! I love RUSH, Yes, and a lot of rock in addition to Sly & The Family Stone, EW&F, Mandrill and what became the fallout music of black society in the 1960’s through the mid-1970’s. I really dig MeShell because her approach reminds me most of that time in musical history. Another favorite group that reminds me of that time-period would be Aquarium Rescue Unit. I’ve always really dug that fusion of American musical genres that produces its own genre! Living Colour struck a chord with me… But, it also reminded me to re-listen to the Bus Boys, Mother’s Finest, and Rare Earth!
Americans have a memory problem, it appears… America is the home of blues, rock ‘n’ roll, folk, bluegrass, R&B, soul, funk… and jazz!
The “British Invasion” of the 1960’s handed “race music” back to white teenagers who weren’t being allowed to listen to it due to societal stigma and racism. Now, we have groups like Sixun handing American “jazz fusion” back to us – because in the US there’s no place to play, nor hardly a means to make a living as a musician in this country! America has never felt the need to cherish its contribution to the world’s musical lexicon. Very sad.
Music, American music, is a cultural facet we simply cannot afford to lose! What happens after there’s nothing to see but big-screen TV’s and pool tables? Jazz Clubs are nearly non-existent, and the Blues Bar is swiftly following suit. American Idol is how the average American understands music and musicianship.
How does your personal musical voice directly relate to the function of the basses? Also, what are your main instruments?
Man, I love to sing via the structure and function of the basses! In my dreams I sound like a great singer – like ARU’s Paul Henson with Michael McDonald’s range! (Laughter) I also love the sound of Anita Baker’s voice! Anita, Tony Bennett, and Bobby McFerrin (talk about range and depth!) are those singers I find myself most typically attempting to emulate when soloing!
Bobby McFerrin’s “BangZoom” CD changed my life! I sat with that disc for an entire summer and learned every vocal phrase and bass line. Jimmy Haslip kills on that disc!
I still play my weathered, old Fender J bass on sessions! But, I’ve been blessed to play my fretted and fretless Vinciguerra Custom Shop “BAJ Signature” 6-string basses for the past several months! I also have a beautiful Status Graphite S2 fretted 6-string. All the 6’s are tuned from low F# to high G, omitting the high C string of the typical contrabass guitar format. I converted to that tuning a couple years ago, and I’m very happy with how that’s affected my approach to the bass guitars. I also truly love my Sturnal acoustic contrabass. So much so, that I’ve named her, “Hattie Belle”.
Learning basic music theory, studying piano, and spending time with some of the music I’ve studied, over the years, has helped me in every aspect of my life! Like most people, I am comprised of guilt, debilitating failures, and embarrassment! (Laughter) Music has helped me cope with how difficult life can be! Along the way, the study and practice of music has deeply shaped the way I see the world, politics, the arts, and people in general.
Music also provides me with a great deal of hope, and I would be a complete wreck without the loudly playing musical soundtrack of my life that accompanies me on a daily basis! Humorously, each of my closest friends has also confessed to having a “life soundtrack”! I’ll often stop and ask them, “what’s playing right now?” as we chat about random topics. It’s very telling to learn what someone else is thinking, musically!
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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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