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Bass Musician Magazine: Apr/May 2010 Featuring Dave LaRue
More poignant than merely name dropping after that statement are the superlatives that surround his name…Grammy nominated—Lifetime Achievement—Best Overall—Best Rock—and the list goes on.
His re-release of his CD Hub City Kid (including two new tracks) capture the “timeless” clause with ease, and sets the stage for his new upcoming release slated to be finished in the very near future with a tour to support it already in the making…all accomplished while he completed Steve Morris’ newest release Outstanding In Their Field of which he is (and always has been) an integral part of.
His view, which we discussed, on having a multi-faceted approach to the business is timely, relevant, and substantiated with the credits he has amassed over his career. Once again we watch a consummately dedicated to his craft artist continue to flourish right into the 21st century…cutting right to the chase, a pretty damn cool role model.
Jake: Let’s talk a little bit about your relationship with Steve Morse and friends. Can you put into words what you feel might be your evolution as a bassist because of that long term relationship?
Dave: I really think that I evolved more as a “musician” because of my relationship with Steve, although of course all the things we do can be technically challenging, so I guess that you can say that it’s helping me evolve as a bassist as well. But I really think it centers more in the areas of melody, and counterpoint, and harmony, and orchestration. All those things are aspects that I’ve really learned a lot about from Steve, and I’ve worked very closely with him on a lot of records, almost from the ground up on some compositions. It’s really been a great experience in that regard. We’ve actually reworked a lot of the Dreg’s tunes as a trio, and I try to add a lot of the parts that would be missing from the five piece band so we can recreate what needs to be there…what’s missing harmonically, etc. That’s where I’ve really grown as opposed to just growing as a bass player. Things many times can be really technically challenging, in just about every respect, because Steve is such a consummate musician and a really great composer. That’s what I feel most strongly about with him, and that’s really where I’ve grown a lot.
Jake: I’m a fan of his compositional prowess myself. Can you tell me a little bit about your involvement with Steve’s newest release, “Outstanding In Their Field”?
Dave: That’s one where I worked very closely with Steve pretty much from the get-go. He had a lot of song ideas, and I went over and we started rehearsing them and working on parts, as well as new ideas for the tunes, and trying out different things. And then I would get in there and do a lot of the computer grunt work—sequencing, drum parts, so we could get an idea of how things are working. I also helped with a lot of the production stuff as well, right from the beginning, in just about every aspect. It was a great experience.
Jake: Are the compositions shall I say still genre hopping as much as ever?
Dave: Absolutely! I think it has a little bit more of a rock edge, but I wouldn’t say it went exclusively that way. We did a classical thing and a bluegrass thing as well.
