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Bass Musician Magazine: Apr/May 2010 Featuring Dave LaRue
Jake: Do you see this acknowledgement of diversifying fitting into your aspirations as a composer as well?
Dave: Absolutely! Everything I do musically can tie to that. Admittedly, I have a rather short attention span, and I may not be focusing on that as much as I should. But playing with Steve is truly a blessing in that sense, because we will cover so many things over the course of one night, which is that constant reminder of its importance. I try to bring that to my writing, which could be anything from a heavy metal piece, to a Latin piece, to a ballad…wherever it goes.
Jake: A final question for you, and we’ve kind of hit this, but maybe you can expound upon it a bit more. Speaking in terms of the music business being in a bit of an altered state these days, what aspects of the business of music beyond the artistry of one’s playing do you feel deserves serious attention?
Dave: From my point of view, we have pretty much covered it, but I’ll also mention that I try to get my students to understand the importance of loving the music, and loving being involved, and taking that seriously. One good thing is I’m beginning to see a resurgence of kids that are working very hard at becoming a better musician. There seems to be a new energy for that, because for while, the scene really didn’t require that. As far as the business of the current scene itself, I find I’m really not that involved with it in my own niche…I kind of stay in my own area.
Jake: I kind of have that same feeling about the resurgence you’re speaking of as of late. What do you feel has possibly brought that on?
Dave: Well, I think music tends to run in cycles, or maybe I should say the music “scene” runs in cycles. And I feel, from my perspective, that the real excitement of the music is the interaction between the audience and the players… that seemingly once in a lifetime performance that you’ll get every so often. And for the player, it’s that kind of interaction that drives us to continue, and try to play well. So my perception is that it’s coming back around to that, where people want to see good players, live. And this brings back the importance of the artistry of the player, and once again, I think that’s coming back.
Visit online at www.davelarue.com
