Features
Interview With Bassist Jeff Matz
Photo by Drew Nesbitt
Interview with Jeff Matz courtesy of Bergantino’s Lee Presgrave…
Jeff Matz is proof there is still a place for nice guys in rock and roll. Don’t let his easy-going demeanor fool you, inside his body is a steady-state of simmering riffs and grooves just dying to get out. Jeff has been in the music industry for quite some time and we were lucky enough to virtually sit down with him, ask a few questions and hear what he and the band have been up to lately. Please enjoy!
Thanks for sitting down with us, Jeff. What have you been up to lately?
I just returned home from playing some East Coast shows with High On Fire. We played New York and Boston. It was so great to return to those cities. With HOF, we have been focusing our efforts on writing a new album with our new drummer Coady Willis; it is coming along nicely. As far as upcoming HOF shows, we are about to play 3 nights in Chicago, then we have a short West Coast run around New Year’s Eve and a European tour planned for June-July 2022.
In addition to High On Fire, I have also joined Mutoid Man, which I’m very excited about! They have been one of my favorite bands for years, so it’s a blast to perform those songs live with them and writing new music with Steve and Ben has been amazing. I’m also working on another exciting project, which I can’t talk about just yet, as well as preparing an album of solo material–lots of irons in the fire at the moment!
Can you explain how you guys write those incredible High On Fire riffs? Most know Matt is also in the doom metal band Sleep, and both bands are very different. Do you have to record a song or an album with a particular mindset?
It’s not difficult at all. Sleep and High On Fire are such different animals and they operate completely independent of one another. When High On Fire does slow, heavy material, it naturally ends up sounding much different from Sleep. Most of the time we don’t have a preconception of what our new material should sound like. It typically comes about and evolves pretty organically.
“King of Days” has such a great bass melody in the intro and outro. How was that song born?
That song grew out of a bass loop I came up with late one night in 2010. I came up with the main melody spontaneously while I was playing around with my looper. Then I came up with the main chord progression underneath it and then the harmonies. That’s how the basis of the song came to be. We kicked it around at practice and Matt came up with the B part/chorus and the lyrics/vocal melody. Also, a lot of people think that it’s guitar playing that harmonized lines at the end of the song, but it’s actually bass.
How are you and your band dealing with this last year, and what does your future look like?
We’ve all had to figure out new ways to get by since we weren’t able to tour. I started teaching private bass students via Skype and Zoom, which I still continue to do. It’s been a really great experience. I’ve met so many cool people through teaching, and it’s pushed me to expand my knowledge of music and continue to improve as a player. During the whole lockdown, we continued to work on music for a new HOF album. Now we’re finally back to playing shows again. It felt strange at first, getting on stage again after so much time off. But now it feels somewhat “normal” again. I’m so grateful to be performing live again. I missed it so much.
You have a monstrous bass tone. What led you to incorporate large amounts of drive in your tone?
I’ve always loved overdriven and distorted bass sounds. Some of my big influences sound-wise are Lemmy, Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce, Andrew Weiss with Rollins Band, Greg Lake with ELP and King Crimson and John Wetton with King Crimson as well, Martin Turner from Wishbone Ash, and of course Cliff Burton.
I’ve spent a lot of time playing bass in three-piece bands, and the desire to fill up sonic space is what led me to incorporate distortion pedals, and later adding guitar stacks to my bass rig.
What other instruments do you play?
I’m a bassist first and foremost, but I also play a lot of guitar. I write a lot of High On Fire’s riffs on guitar. The last few years I’ve also been studying Turkish folk music on the traditional Turkish lute, the ba?lama or saz. ?t’s an amazing sounding instrument and Turkish folk music is so rich. The melodies and rhythms are beautiful and at the same time very heavy sounding to my ears. I think it blends very well with heavy music. I also play the tanbour, another type of lute from Iran, which I played on a couple tracks on Death Is This Communion, the first album I recorded with High On Fire. I’m also working on becoming a better keyboard player, and I have also been singing a lot more these days.
Tell us about your signature bass with Dunable and how that came to be.
I’ve known Sacha Dunable for quite a few years. His band Intronaut toured with High On Fire back in 2007. I saw Intronaut play at the Road to Burn festival in Holland in 2013 and was admiring the other guitarist David’s unique looking guitar. I asked him about it, and he told me that Sacha built it for him. He encouraged me to talk to Sacha about having him build me a bass. Sacha and I discussed it, which eventually led to him building the first Dunable bass for me in 2014. We have been working together ever since. He approached me about doing a signature series around 2017. We collaborated on the body shape and specs, and this current signature bass is the fourth iteration of the JM series. We refined the body shape a bit more, and it’s also the first Dunable custom shop instrument to feature a gloss finish. It has a precision style pickup in the classic p bass spot and a relatively hot single-coil in the bridge position. I’m really happy with how this run of basses turned out. I just finished doing some recording with it, and it sounds amazing.
What led you to check out Bergantino gear?
I was attracted to Bergantino cabinets after seeing/hearing my friend Aaron Rieseberg from the band Yob play through a Bergantino 215 and a 610. It sounded so clear and punchy, but organic. I was very impressed by the sound and the volume of air being moved. That’s what led me to reach out to the company. Now, owning some of the gear, I can say that the NXT212’s are some of the best sounding cabinets I’ve tried, and Forte HP is a great sounding head with an insane amount of power on tap. All the Bergantino gear is meticulously engineered–top quality stuff!
Bass Videos
Artist Update With Bassist Derek Frank
Bassist Derek Frank…
Many of you will remember the last time I chatted with Derek Frank was back in 2017. The main thing that impressed me was how busy Derek was and how he juggled playing with many huge acts.
Now, I am happy to hear that Derek launched a new album last March titled “Origin Story” where he digs deep into his roots and pays homage to Pittsburg.
Join me as we get caught up after all these years and hear the details about the new album, how Derek gets his sound, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Stephen Bradley
Featured Videos:
Visit Online:
www.derekfrank.com
www.instagram.com/derekfrankbass
www.youtube.com/derekfrankbass
www.facebook.com/derekfrankbass
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Graham Stanush
Bassist Graham Stanush…
Return to Dust is keeping Grunge alive and well! They have a new self-titled album that went out on May 3rd, 2024 and will be super busy promoting this project in the near future.
Graham Stanush is the bass powerhouse driving their sound and adding vocals to the mix. Join me as we hear all about Graham’s musical journey, details about the new album, how he gets his sound and their plans for the future.
Featured Videos:
Visit Online:
linktr.ee/returntodust
instagram.com/returntodustband/
twitter.com/Returntodustbnd
youtube.com/@returntodustband
tiktok.com/@returntodustband
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
Featured Videos
Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
Ian Allison Bassist extreme…
Most recently Ian has spent the last seven years touring nationally as part of Eric Hutchinson and The Believers, sharing stages with acts like Kelly Clarkson, Pentatonix, Rachel Platten, Matt Nathanson, Phillip Phillips, and Cory Wong playing venues such as Radio City Music Hall, The Staples Center and The Xcel Center in St. Paul, MN.
I had a chance to meet up with him at the Sellersville Theater in Eastern Pennsylvania to catch up on everything bass. Visit online at ianmartinallison.com/
Features
Interview With Audic Empire Bassist James Tobias
Checking in with Bergantino Artist James Tobias
James Tobias, Bassist for psychedelic, Reggae-Rock titans Audic Empire shares his history as a musician and how he came to find Bergantino…
Interview by Holly Bergantino
James Tobias, a multi-talented musician and jack-of-all-trades shares his story of coming up as a musician in Texas, his journey with his band Audic Empire, and his approach to life and music. With a busy tour schedule each year, we were fortunate to catch up with him while he was out and about touring the US.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Dallas, Texas and lived in the Dallas area most of my life with the exception of 1 year in Colorado. I moved to the Austin area at age 18.
What makes the bass so special to you particularly, and how did you gravitate to it?
I honestly started playing bass because we needed a bass player and I was the one with access to a bass amp and bass. I played rhythm guitar and sang up until I met Ronnie, who I would later start “Audic Empire” with. He also played rhythm guitar and sang and we didn’t know any bass players, so we had to figure something out. I still write most of my songs on guitar, but I’ve grown to love playing the bass.
How did you learn to play, James?
I took guitar lessons growing up and spent a lot of time just learning tabs or playing by ear and kicked around as a frontman in a handful of bands playing at the local coffee shops or rec centers. Once I transitioned to bass, I really just tried to apply what I knew about guitar and stumbled through it till it sounded right. I’m still learning every time I pick it up, honestly.
You are also a songwriter, recording engineer, and a fantastic singer, did you get formal training for this?
Thank you, that means a lot! I had a couple of voice lessons when I was in my early teens, but didn’t really like the instructor. I did however take a few lessons recently through ACC that I enjoyed and think really helped my technique (Shout out to Adam Roberts!) I was not a naturally gifted singer, which is a nice way of saying I was pretty awful, but I just kept at it.
As far as recording and producing, I just watched a lot of YouTube videos and asked people who know more than me when I had a question. Whenever I feel like I’m not progressing, I just pull up tracks from a couple of years ago, cringe, and feel better about where I’m at but I’ve got a long way to go. Fortunately, we’ve got some amazing producers I can pass everything over to once I get the songs as close to finalized as I can.
Describe your playing style(s), tone, strengths and/or areas that can be improved on the bass.
I honestly don’t know what my style would be considered. We’ve got so many styles that we play and fuse together that I just try to do what works song by song. I don’t have too many tricks in the bag and just keep it simple and focus on what’s going to sound good in the overall mix. I think my strength lies in thinking about the song as a whole and what each instrument is doing, so I can compliment everything else that’s going on. What could be improved is absolutely everything, but that’s the great thing about music (and kind of anything really).
Who were your influencers in terms of other musicians earlier on or now that have made a difference and inspired you?
My dad exposed me to a lot of music early. I was playing a toy guitar while watching a VHS of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble live at SXSW on repeat at 4 years old saying I wanted to “do that” when I grew up. I was the only kid in daycare that had his own CDs that weren’t kid’s songs. I was listening to Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, and The Doors when I could barely talk. I would make up songs and sing them into my Panasonic slimline tape recorder and take it to my preschool to show my friends. As I got older went through a bunch of music phases. Metal, grunge, rock, punk, hip hop, reggae, ska, etc. Whatever I heard that I connected to I’d dive in and learn as much as I could about it. I was always in bands and I think I kept picking up different styles along the way and kept combining my different elements and I think that’s evident in Audic’s diverse sound.
Tell me about Audic Empire and your new release Take Over! Can you share some of the highlights you and the band are most proud of?
Takeover was an interesting one. I basically built that song on keyboard and drum loops and wrote and tracked all my vocals in one long session in my bedroom studio kind of in a stream-of-consciousness type of approach. I kind of thought nothing would come of it and I’d toss it out, but we slowly went back and tracked over everything with instruments and made it our own sound. I got it as far as I could with production and handed it off to Chad Wrong to work his magic and really bring it to life. Once I got Snow Owl Media involved and we started brainstorming about a music video, it quickly turned into a considerably larger production than anything we’ve done before and it was such a cool experience. I’m really excited about the final product, especially considering I initially thought it was a throwaway track.
Describe the music style of Audic Empire for us.
It’s all over the place… we advertise it as “blues, rock, reggae.” Blues because of our lead guitarist, Travis Brown’s playing style, rock because I think at the heart we’re a rock band, and reggae because we flavor everything with a little (or a lot) of reggae or ska.
How did you find Bergantino Audio Systems?
Well, my Ampeg SVT7 caught fire at a show… We were playing Stubbs in Austin and everyone kept saying they smelled something burning, and I looked back in time to see my head, perched on top of its 8×10 cab, begin billowing smoke. We had a tour coming up, so I started researching and pricing everything to try and find a new amp. I was also fronting a metal band at the time, and my bass player’s dad was a big-time country bass player and said he had this really high-end bass amp just sitting in a closet he’d sell me. I was apprehensive since I really didn’t know much about it and “just a little 4×10” probably wasn’t going to cut it compared to my previous setup. He said I could come over and give it a test drive, but he said he knew I was going to buy it. He was right. I immediately fell in love. I couldn’t believe the power it put out compared to this heavy head and cumbersome cab I had been breaking my back hauling all over the country and up countless staircases.
Tell us about your experience with the forte D amp and the AE 410 Speaker cabinet.
It’s been a game-changer in every sense. It’s lightweight and compact. Amazing tone. And LOUD. It’s just a fantastic amp. Not to mention the customer service being top-notch! You’ll be hard-pressed to find another product that, if you have an issue, you can get in touch with the owner, himself. How cool is that?
Tell us about some of your favorite basses.
I was always broke and usually working part-time delivering pizzas, so I just played what I could get my hands on. I went through a few pawn shop basses, swapped in new pickups, and fought with the action on them constantly. I played them through an Ampeg be115 combo amp. All the electronics in it had fried at some point, so I gutted it out and turned it into a cab that I powered with a rusted-up little head I bought off someone for a hundred bucks. My gear was often DIY’d and held together by electrical tape and usually had a few coats of spray paint to attempt to hide the wear and tear. I never really fell in love with any piece of gear I had till I had a supporter of our band give me an Ibanez Premium Series SDGR. I absolutely love that bass and still travel with it. I’ve since gotten another Ibanez Premium Series, but went with the 5-string BTB. It’s a fantastic-sounding bass, my only complaint is it’s pretty heavy.
Love your new video Take Over! Let us know what you’re currently working on (studio, tour, side projects, etc.)
Thank you!! We’ve got a LOT of stuff we’re working on right now actually. Having 2 writers in the band means we never have a shortage of material. It’s more about getting everything tracked and ready for release and all that goes into that. We just got through filming videos for 2 new unreleased tracks with Snow Owl Media, who did the videos for both Love Hate and Pain and Takeover. Both of these songs have surprise features which I’m really excited about since these will be the first singles since our last album we have other artists on. We’ve also got a lot of shows coming up and I’ve also just launched my solo project as well. The debut single, “Raisin’ Hell” is available now everywhere. You can go here to find all the links distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jamestobias/raisin-hell
What else do you do besides music?
For work, I own a handyman service here in Austin doing a lot of drywall, painting, etc. I have a lot of hobbies and side hustles as well. I make custom guitar straps and other leather work. I do a lot of artwork and have done most of our merch designs and a lot of our cover art. I’m really into (and borderline obsessed) with health, fitness, and sober living. I have a hard time sitting still, but fortunately, there’s always a lot to do when you’re self-employed and running a band!
Follow James Tobias:
jamestobiasmusic.com
Facebook.com/james.tobias1
Instagram.com/ru4badfish2
TikTok.com/@jamestobiasmusic
audicempire.com