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A ‘Swift’ Kick, David Swift: January 2022 Issue
By David C. Gross and Tom Semioli
Interview with David Swift…
A SWIFT KICK! TALKING BASS (AND LIFE) WITH THE UK’s REIGNING PLAYER: DAVID SWIFT!
In the United Kingdom, the name “Swift” typically conjures images of Taylor (singer), Connor (British cyclist), Jeremy (actor), or perhaps Stephanie (‘90s adult actress).
However, the image of David Swift – bassist – is indelibly ingrained in the psyche of scores Brits who view Later…with Jools Holland. Swifty has anchored the top-rated BBC program since its 1992 inception. Safe to say, it’s much easier to note whom the Wolverhampton native has NOT played with rather than list his inexhaustible credits.
Akin to many bassists, Dave commenced his musical journey on another instrument – his being the trombone. Swift took up the bass as a matter of necessity – his band needed a bass player! His sight-reading skills, attention to detail, open mind, love of a challenge, and unbridled ambition led him to London where he excelled in the recording studio, theater pits, live performances, and anywhere his services were needed. He nailed a gig with Jools’ Rhythm and Blues Orchestra previous to Holland’s tenure on the telly as host of Later…. taking over the bass chair from some cat named Pino. And the rest, as they say, is history – which Swift continues to make every time he appears on Jools’ iconic program.
A voracious instrument collector, educator, clinician, sideman to his jazz singer wife Lucy Merrilyn, and devoted father to Oscar (enjoy that hair while you’ve got it kid!) – the towering bassist is indeed larger than life. His humor and deep knowledge of all things bass – spanning jazz, classical, pop, rhythm and blues, funk, and permutations thereof is rather astounding. A self-effacing wisecracker – when you interview Dave Swift (and we’ve done a few of them) you block out your schedule for the day.
Herein is just a sample of our enjoyable, informative blather.
TS: Did you know that Dave Swift is the most recognized bassist in all of England!
DG: I thought it was Sid Vicious! (laughter)
DS: I’m not even the most recognized bassist in my household! (Note that there are no other bass players in the Swift residence!)
TS: We’ve been talking to many of your peers in lockdown, including Carmine Rojas (David Bowie, Joe Bonamassa, Rod Stewart, Labelle), Larry Grenadier, Michael Manring, Rick Wills (Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Small Faces, Roxy Music), and Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello & The Attractions)…
DS: Wow!
David and Tom relate a Bruce Thomas tale to Mr. Swift wherein the rather suspicious yet erudite former Attraction researched Messrs. Gross and Semioli, both of whom host bass-centric websites, to verify their journalistic legitimacy. Upon Thomas’ discovery of David’s www.TheBassGuitarChannelCom, Bruce was critical of Gross’ extended-range, boutique Ken Bebensee six-string bass, remarking that it “looked like a coffee table!” Semioli’s bass brethren, including Mike Visceglia (Suzanne Vega, Jorma Kaukonen), Paul Page (Ian Hunter, John Cale, Mott The Hoople), Jeff Ganz (Johnny Winter, Broadway), Tony Senatore (Genya Ravan), and Amy Madden (Jon Paris, John Lee Hooker), among others, responded by posting photographs of themselves dining on their respective instruments! To which the good-natured Thomas admitted defeat and sent Gross a photo of a coffee table. Swift howls with laughter!
DS: Well it’s good to see that the stigma of the extended range, particularly the six-string and boutique basses, is not like it used to be. When I first came to London (early 80s) with a six-string Ken Smith with all sorts of gold hardware, I didn’t get many gigs on electric. I got loads of gigs on acoustic bass, people just didn’t want to see those kinds of instruments.
TS: Why is there a stigma associated with that instrument in the first place? The electric bass was a groundbreaking instrument. It was the vanguard of innovation in its day which changed the entire spectrum of popular music, jazz, rock, blues, and permutations thereof. Why wouldn’t bass players, especially of the electric variety, be the first to embrace change?
DS: Well let’s go back even farther. I am a huge fan of Anthony Jackson. He is a huge hero of mine in so many ways. Of course, he is known as the inventor of the modern-day six-string bass. The contrabass. And he has said in many interviews ‘why wasn’t the bass guitar six strings in the first place?” There is this thought that “it’s a bass, not a guitar.” But actually, it is a guitar! It’s the lowest-pitched guitar of the guitar family. I have been playing double bass all my adult life. If you put a double bass, a guitar, and bass guitar side by side by side; which does the electric bass resemble more?! So why didn’t it have six strings to begin with? I guess from a marketing point of view, Leo Fender was more used to dealing with guitars, and also he saw an opportunity to make bass players’ lives easier with a portable instrument, one that did not feedback and could be easily amplified. So, of course, he was the one that put the four strings on it. And attracted upright bass players and sold a lot of instruments. But I think Anthony has a great point! It’s still technically more part of the guitar family.
DG: The thing about Anthony Jackson: he’s always right!
DS: I have an Anthony Jackson Fodera, his signature model…
DG: But you don’t own a car!
DS: Oh no, but I have an Anthony Jackson bass! Cars are too expensive, awkward, and annoying! And I haven’t got a coffee table either. (laughter) I went to the Fodera shop and met him there. For years I have been following him and transcribing his parts. Initially, I was so intimidated by him. I had this feeling that he was a “guru” living on top of some Himalayan mountains. And you can only ask him three questions! And they could only be queries with real gravitas! But he was very down to earth….very sincere.
TS: So then the six-string bass is the true electric bass. Are you prepared to say that in a court of law?
DS: (laughter) Yes! I own a couple of seven-string basses as well. It’s a six-string with a low B and a high F. Some people have six-string basses that begin with a low E. Some people have them tuned like a guitar. For me, it’s gotta be all fourths. Interestingly enough, I’ve been playing guitar a lot recently. And over the years that instrument has always thwarted me. My brothers played guitar and it’s probably the first instrument I ever played at home. But after I became a bassist, I could never get over that third tuning. And I put it off for years. Then I thought ‘no, I can do this!’ So I tuned the two top strings up a semi-tone. So B goes to C, and E goes to F. But then I thought this is going to affect the stuff I want to do. So then I Googled “guitar in fourths” and it’s quite a common thing! A lot more players do it than I thought. In fact, Stanley Jordan has always done it. Alan Holdsworth said if he could start over again that he would tune in fourths. It makes everything even, whatever shape you use, it’s the same. Though there are things you cannot do as well, for example, it’s not going to be very helpful around the campfire.
TS: Getting back to stigma – slap-style bass still exudes howls of displeasure and revulsion! Your thoughts?
DS: I’ve been with Jools for thirty years now, and this is my fortieth anniversary as a professional working bass player. When I started out in the late 1970s, you had loads of slap stuff. It was what was expected, it was what was called for. By the time I got to London that was on the wane. And I was playing jazz on upright, so the slap thing to me was ‘I can live without it!’ I love certain players doing it. But I can see the times are changing. What’s the point on spending a lot of time on a technique that I’m never going to get called for? And that’s what it seemed like in this industry. Then I got called for this TV show for Barry White, and we were the house band. This was not Jools’ show. We had Chaka Khan, Roger Daltrey, Cher as guests. Then Barry came on! We did two songs, and one of them had a tiny bit of slap on it. Though I hadn’t done it in a few years I thought ‘I can do this!’ I’ve got some chops left! The song is called “Sho’ You Right” and I think it’s on YouTube somewhere. It’s the only footage you’ll see of me playing slap. And it’s the only time I’ve been called to do it in forty years!
DG: You mean Mark King hasn’t called you for technique lessons! (laughter)
DS: It’s not that I’m against it at all, but it’s interesting when you consider that I play in the more commercial spectrum of the industry – with pop artists such as Adele, Amy Winehouse, Ed Sheeran, and so forth – and no one ever requested any slap stuff!
TS: You know, the slap passages that sound best to my ears are the simple ones: think David Hungate on Boz Scaggs’ “Lowdown” which I played on many a Top 40 bandstand in my college years.
DS: Ah, you just reminded me, that’s the only other time I’ve had to slap! When Boz Scaggs was on the Jools show. I do often wonder that if I do get called to do a full-on slap bass on Jools’ show, I often wonder what I would do. I’d like to think that I would have a go at getting some chops back… There is a great quote from The Bass Player’s Handbook by Greg Mooter talking about different kinds of players: amateur, semi-pro, professional…and he says something to the effect that “even if pro players aren’t always ready for every eventuality, the sign of a true pro is that they will do everything in their power to prepare for it when the situation arises…they will do the research, they will do the practice, and they will apply themselves to it…” And that would be the same with me.
I had this bizarre gig once, it was for a friend of mine. The gig was for Chapman Stick and classical guitar. At the time, I’d owned a couple of Sticks – but I’d just fooled around with them. But I was not a proper stick player! And I had not been playing guitar much. And he said that he needed me dep/ sub for him. And I said, “are you kidding!” And he said ‘listen, I know there are other guys out there that play Stick better, but they cannot read as well as you…’ The charts were really heavy-duty; double stave piano parts. Now for me to turn down work and to turn down a challenge is very unusual. I am all for rising to the occasion! And I thought you’d might as well ask me to play the harp or a bassoon! Anyway, he kept on me… ‘You’re the only one that could read the parts!’ Against my better judgment, I said yes. I looked at the charts and they were terrifying. For two weeks, I started from scratch. I locked myself in a room. Ten hours a day. And I actually did the show. Some of the guys in the show said ‘you did a better job than the other guy!’ And that experience reflects what Mooter said – prepare! Put the effort in! Grit and tenacity are important for a musician – and I guess I have lots of that!
DG: I remember playing with Ian MacDonald after he left Foreigner. And he was getting back to his King Crimson roots. I went to Manny’s and bought a Stick. And then I had to buy a stool to sit and practice. I got one of the top Stick players to give me instruction. I’m not getting anywhere. So I walk down 48th Street to Alex Music and the number seven Fodera six-string bass was in the window. I sold the Stick and bought the bass and started doing the two-handed thing! So my question is, were you playing a six-string bass at that time and did you think that maybe you could adapt?
DS: The first time I ever got a Stick was when I was working on the cruise ships. I bought one from a shop in San Francisco. And I did actually visit Emmett Chapman years later – but yes, I was playing six-string at the time… the reason I played a stick was that I had never played a chordal instrument before – I started on trombone then moved to bass guitar, then acoustic bass – my knowledge of music was through those three instruments – just playing lines and melodies. By the time I moved to London, my knowledge of harmony was not great. I’ve tried the piano. One of my early double bass teachers as Michael Moore who played with Dave Brubeck.
When I first met him, he asked me if I played piano – to which I responded “not really!” Before we even touched a bass, he put me on the piano. And he started to give me piano lessons and told me “this will open things up, trust me.” That’s the reason I got a stick prior to that because I never bonded with piano – the stick was an instrument for me to learn harmony on. I never did the two-handed thing on bass – my job has always been to play songs – which is the fundamentals.
Some people have criticized me ‘Dave if I were you, I wouldn’t just stand there! I’d put my foot on the monitor, play something flash…’ To which I responded ‘and you’d be fired!’
DG: In Berklee, you had to take piano…even drummers were required to play the instrument!
DS: Especially drummers! (laughter)
TS: Same at the University of Miami, we were required to take two semesters of piano.
DS: And they have to be in tune! We’ve had Jamie Cullum on the show and when he first came on the scene his thing was to play percussion on the piano. He’d be drumming and standing on it…and I dread to think about the state of those instruments after he played them – though he did it affectionately.
DG: On that thread, think of all the jazz clubs in the ‘30s ‘40s ‘50s with out-of-tune pianos. That was very common.
DS: That drives me crazy! I don’t have perfect pitch, but I can hear an out-of-tune instrument. I have students come in and they immediately want to play for me and start without tuning! That’s the first thing you should do! And they play out of tune and that is going to mess your ear up down the line.
DG: Give them a fretless!
DS: For me, being a trombonist first and foremost and then taking up double bass, your ears have to be so spot on! Trombone and double-bass are the same: ears, muscle memory, and repetition. I don’t use any markers on upright, I just find them annoying. When I’ve used stick basses with markers it drives me nuts as well. They are more of a distraction than a help.
DG: Gary Willis was over at my house one day. And I am also a proponent of no lines on the neck – a totally clean fretboard. And to make my point, I said to him when you play in the upper-register there is no way any fret marker is near the actual note. It’s impossible.
TS: And take into consideration that over the life of the instrument, the neck expands and contracts – so it’s really a hindrance.
DS: Oh yeah…
DG Even a fretted bass is not always in perfect intonation.
DS: For me, it was the look of it as well. All my fretless basses are completely plain – no lines… Dots on the side are very useful. Because even when you look at an acoustic bass the actual neck before it hits the body is relatively short whereas obviously with the bass guitar it’s a lot longer so there is more room for error. And with upright you’ve got the heel, the shoulders…you have certain points that help you.
DG: I have a long scale upright and it’s still hard…
DS: Let’s be honest…upright basses are not for the faint-hearted! Here’s what makes me laugh – and I’m not being unsympathetic; the students and friends of mine who have never played upright before – lifelong bass guitarists – they get to a point where they realize they are missing out on a lot of work. Now I played them both from the time I was fifteen years old. It’s the ones that did it years later who think ‘yeah it’s just four strings…E A D G, it’s a bass…you play basslines on it. It’s almost like ‘that’s it, that’s the qualification.’ And then a month later their fingers are bloodied stumps, they can’t figure out why they can’t play in tune…the bridge is falling off… And I say ‘welcome to my world!’
DG: There’s something else that I think is important for all bassists to learn from the upright – open strings are your friends!
DS: Oh yeah!
DG: Now to the electric player it may be something they think about… but to an upright player, they really are such a helpful thing. I have a Czech bass made in 1936 and it has such a big sound. And because the fingerboard is longer, it’s a bugger!
TS: One of the words I often hear from you is “preparation.” When we spoke in London in 2019, you discussed the lengths to which you get ready for a performance. And part of “preparation” is “education” which is a topic David and I oft expound in our shows. Your thoughts on the power of getting a formal education in music, especially given the fact that through such platforms as YouTube, you can watch all varieties of tutorials. But many are inaccurate. David often bemoans the horrors of tablature.
To my eyes, ears, and brain – tablature is more difficult than reading music notation.
DS: I totally agree!
TS: We figure that because the electric bass was borne of the rock era – a genre wherein you can play three chords and start a band – that music education for bass was lacking for many years. It took a while before good electric bass books came into existence. People want to take the fast track to learning electric bass – but like any other instrument – it’s a lifetime journey.
DS: And as you mention, there are so many different avenues – not just one. When I started out I had classical trombone lessons, and interestingly enough, I found my old teacher via social media. And I discovered something I didn’t realize. I attempted to play saxophone as my first instrument and I wasn’t good. I wanted to play trombone but there wasn’t one available. So I forgot about it and got into sports. I was convinced that I was going to be an athlete. But I still loved music, I had sung in the choir. So I went to this teacher and told him I want to play the trombone. And he replied ‘you’re too old!’ He explained that I was too old for him to take on because I was going to be leaving school soon. He gave me the trombone anyway, I took it away for two weeks. And when I returned, he noted ‘ah you can do this!’ I took my exams – I was his best student. So when I spoke to him recently he remembered ‘you know, the school curriculum was telling me not to take you on… we never take on students older than 12 or 13. And he stuck his own neck out for me because he heard that I had talent. He could have just said ‘you’re too old…those are the rules…’ That would have been the end of my music career. My whole life would have changed.
Anyway, studying with him – you had to read music. It was the way it was done. And I found it quite easy. I was a terrible academic. I have no qualifications in any other subject! Other than music. By the time I switched to bass, I was reading four clefs. I was playing in dance bands, pop bands, funk, orchestras…everything. In brass bands, you have to play treble clef only. In orchestras, you have to play bass, tenor, and alto clefs because of the range of the instruments. By the time I started playing bass – there was nothing I could not read! I had already played the most complex music of every style.
DG: Did you study with a Simandl book?
DS: As a bass player I was self-taught. We had a school band and they wanted to play more jazzy stuff. They had everything but a bass. So because I fooled around on my brother’s guitar – I was the only one that had ever held a stringed instrument. I volunteered. Got a bass guitar which was a Kay Fender Precision copy. It weighed more than a black hole! An absolute boat anchor. And my trombone teacher, whom I was still taking lessons from, saw my progress. He was a fixer in my town and would book musicians for theater work, sessions, whatever. He thought ‘I could use this guy!’ He wanted the trombone gigs himself, so he was not going to give them to me. But when he heard me playing bass he knew he could book me. He gave me a great piece of advice ‘listen, if you want to do this for a living… and I think you’re good enough to do this…if you took on upright bass, you’ll get much more work. So this guy, Phil Johnson, changed everything for me. I literally owe him everything.
My reading was already in great shape, but it was a blessing and a curse. I was getting tons of work – pit work in shows – recording sessions where everything was written down… no chords, no improvisation at all. Life was good, I was thinking ‘this is fantastic.’ Then a friend of mine lent me the Weather Report album called Night Passage and advised ‘you need to listen to this guy Jaco…’ All the stuff I had been doing had been very basic, standard playing. I’d never realized that there was this whole new world of ‘that’ kind of playing. And I thought I was doing great!
DG: But when you were born, Cream was just happening, and to me, there is such a connection between Jack Bruce and Jaco.
DS: I never did meet Jaco, but I did play with Jack – on trombone!
DG: Going back to your original point – there were no bass guitar teachers! So for me, I learned through books like Carole Kaye’s Electric Basslines or watching Top of the Pops on television. And I also learned from watching one of Jools’ early TV shows with Paula Yates called The Tube. I would constantly watch the bass player’s hands and fingers.
The thing that I struggled with was my ears. Because at that time, everything I did was written down. And then I started to do stuff where they’d say to me ‘jam this one out!’ and I was like ‘wait, what do you mean by jam? Where is the chart?!’ I had to busk it and man alive I’d come crashing down because I’d never experienced that.
TS: “Busking” is a skill you have to develop as well as reading.
DS: Absolutely. For me, it was baptism by fire. I often say you that people learn the best lessons in life when they’re under excruciating circumstances.
When I started doing sessions, lots of producers and artists couldn’t be bothered to write out charts. You’d be lucky if you got a lead sheet. Then nothing! I’d turn up and have to listen to the track. I saw those changes happening quickly and I realized that I had to really develop my ears. And the only way that I could do that was deliberately. When I moved to London, I took gigs where I knew there was going to be no music. And to play with people I did not know. I needed to put myself in the ‘fire pit!’ Now I can do both, but if one was taken away, my career would definitely suffer!
I hope today kids are given opportunities to study by ear as well. If you just get started off with reading, you can fall down the rabbit hole which can be so detrimental to your creativity.
Take Pino (Palladino), his first gig when he moved to London was with Jools Holland. I’m not sure about today, but in those days Pino was a non-reader. But, man, what a monster player! One of the greatest of all time…and it makes you wonder – had he been put in that situation where he had to study music formally – would he be as creative and flamboyant? Does his style come from not doing that? That is, just listening and purely improvising all the time from day one, which took me years to do.
It’s difficult giving advice to younger players. I didn’t go to music college. I turned pro at 16. Part of me wishes that I could have gone to college. I would have quite enjoyed it, but then who knows? Maybe I would not have got the Jools gig… But I can’t say to people ‘do what I did’ and just play and get out there. In hindsight, that’s quite reckless. And it’s equally reckless to tell a student that they must go to music college. It might not be right for them. People have to make their own choices!
In my world, you have to be an excellent reader and able to busk. That’s the way I’ve maintained a forty-year career in this business!
You can also listen to this interview here
David C Gross has been the bassist for a lot of folks. He has written 14 bass books and 3 instructional videos, hosts “The Notes From An Artist Radio Show” on www.cygnusradio.com Monday nights 8 PM EDT, and the “Notes From An Artist” podcast available on iTunes, Spotify and all podcast platforms.
NFAA brings you behind the scenes with individuals who forged a timeless musical canon – spanning rock, jazz, funk, blues, folk, country, and permutations thereof. Listen to stories and anecdotes hitherto untold and relive more than a few chronicles that have become lore with a fresh vision. It’s the soundtrack of our lives. Celebrate the past, live in the present, and anticipate the future – take Notes From An Artist
You can contact David @ www.thebassguitarchannel.com/contact for more information regarding his online lessons and world-renown correspondence course.
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Guy Pratt, Not Your Average Guy – May 2024 Issue
Guy Pratt, Not Your Average Guy – May 2024 Issue
For me, the bass is like this poor dutiful, loyal kind of wife. I go off and have my affairs and run about town, then I always come crawling back to her… Guy Pratt
By David C. Gross and Tom Semioli
Photo Courtesy – Cover Photo, Paul Mac Manus | Promo, Tarquin Gotch
Most rock and pop devotees know the individual names, likenesses, and other “intimate” details of their beloved ensembles.
Everyone has/had their favorite Beatle… darling Rolling Stone… preferred Led Zeppelin, their chosen who’s in the Who – etcetera.
And even in those instances, the enigmatic lead singer and swaggering lead guitarist garner the most consideration in the public eye. Aspiring drummers, keyboardists, and bassists will naturally gravitate to their said instrumentalists. Civilians could care less.
In the case of the singular artist, it’s all about the headliner, and quite frankly, that’s just how the nature of rock celebrity works. It’s the name on the ticket that counts.
On rare occasions, the second banana gets peeled: Mick Ronson spidering beside David Bowie, Steve Stevens rebel yelling in the service of Billy Idol, Scotty Moore twangin’ with Elvis Presley, and Steve Vai shredding alongside David Lee Roth, to cite a select small number. “Very few are chosen and even fewer still are called…” to quote Warren Zevon who piled his craft with guitarist Waddy Wachtel in tow.
Rarer still are the sideman/session bass players who somehow catch the slightest edge of any spotlight. Motown legend James Jamerson Jr. was not recognized until long after his passing by way of the 2002 Paul Justman documentary Standing In The Shadows of Motown which was a surprising box-office success and consequently spurred on similar films such as The Wrecking Crew (2008) Muscle Shoals (2013). Even then, these studio cats’ time in the sunset as soon as the film credits rolled.
Other bassists in the strictly accompaniment arena catch a notable wave by the nature of their unique contributions to international hit songs – witness Pino Palladino with Paul Young (“Every Time You Go Away”). Studio ace Will Lee (for whom David C. Gross oft subbed), gesticulating in proximity to charismatic bandleader Paul Shaffer, was visible to millions in his four decades with Late Night with David Letterman, and The Late Show with David Letterman. Rarified air indeed.
Which brings us to Guy Allen Pratt. Born in 1962 in a place called Lambeth London, Pratt came to the instrument in the funky 1970s when bass, thanks to improvements in audio and recording technology, could actually be heard on the radio and on hi-fi record players of the day. Rather than prattle on about Pratt’s formative years, we highly recommend his hysterical autobiography My Bass and Other Animals (2007) Orion books.
David and I love talking to our record collection on Notes From An Artist. Guy not only talks to his record recollection on his podcast Rockonteurs with co-host Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet fame but he’s played with them! You (lovable) bastard!
Guy’s credits on stage and/or in the studio span David Gilmour, Roger Waters-less Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Tom Jones, Iggy Pop, Icehouse (of which he was a band member), Kristy MacColl, Robert Palmer, Gary Moore, Debbie Harry, Johnny Marr, Robbie Robertson, Peter Cetera, Tears for Fears, David Coverdale- Jimmy Page, All Saints, The Orb, and Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, among others. Impressed, you should be!
If you’re a listener to Notes From An Artist and Rockonteurs – and you should be – you will immediately recognize the simpatico synergy between the two shows. David and I don’t have the piles of platinum discs that Guy and Gary have earned over the years, but we’ve been there and done that – the tours, sessions, the travel, the good deals, the mostly bad deals…
Hence our interview with Guy was not the typical linear podcast that one normally experiences with the obligatory introduction, tastefully imbedded product plug and follow-up, anecdotes, and farewell until we meet again.
Nope. Not even close. From the get-go, our discussion was enjoyably out of control. Akin to caged animals let free in the wilderness, the three of us came out chomping at the bit – with unbridled enthusiasm, one-upmanship, blotto bravado, and many joyful verbal collisions (“taking the piss” if you will).
Much like the popular Jerry Seinfeld TV series Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee – note that Guy also performs stand-up (or sit-down) comedy – we were chuffed to talk shop and then some sans the usual (and necessary) constraints of the radio/podcast format.
You have been warned. Here are excerpts from our free for all!
NFAA TOM: Let me introduce our audience member to Guy …
Pratt abruptly interrupts the prolog when he spots David’s custom Ken Bebensee six-string bass replete with a pinkish hue complimented by neon pink DR strings behind Gross at the onset of our Zoom chat.
GP: Whoa, what is that? It looks like some sort of psychedelic Ampeg bass!
NFAA DAVID: No! This is my six-string bass designed by a guy named Ken Bebensee with obligatory pink strings. You know, it takes a tough man to wear pink!
NFAA TOM: Non-binary strings?
GP: I don’t know that it does! Pink was a big 1950s color. Black and pink in particular. It was a big punk thing too. The Clash wore black and pink. Elvis wore black and pink.
NFAA TOM: Good observation Guy.
NFAA DAVID: The strings are great on stage because they glow under the lights which is very cool…
NFAA TOM: …much like the bass player.
GP: Tom..that’s a bass behind you as well (Pratt eyes Tom’s 1981 Steinberger XL – placed strategically to compliment David’s instrument)
NFAA TOM: Yes I set this out for our Johnny Marr interview …I know he’s a big fan of Steinberger instruments.
NFAA DAVID: It used to have a headstock…
GP: Johnny is definitely not a fan of those basses..
NFAA TOM: Yes I knew that factoid from reading your book My Bass and Other Animals. I’m using irony here…
GP: That’s why I bought ‘Betsy’ (“Betsy” is Guy’s nom de plume for his 1964 Fender Jazz Bass once owned by John Entwistle. Pratt purchased this instrument at the behest of The Smiths guitarist whose penchant for traditional instruments is well known. Marr felt the modish graphite Steinberger – which Pratt preferred – was not suitable for his post-Smiths aesthetic.)
NFAA TOM: You started Rockonteurs podcast with Gary Kemp during Covid lockdown, circa 2020, yes?
GP: This is the funny thing, we started it before Covid. The idea came to us being on the tour bus with the Saucers (Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets band). I needed to while away the hours on our first European tour. In those days the buses still had DVD players. I brought along a box set of The Old Grey Whistle Test (a popular British television show which aired from 1971 -2018 featuring performances and interviews of music artists hosted by Bob Harris).
With Nick, I watched hours of 1970s rock TV. And Nick would be sharing all sorts of great personal stories about the people who were on the show. I had the idea of doing a show asking the people who were there – the artists. Before we could broadcast it we figured we’d get ten episodes together.
Gary and I went through our address books and we managed to get ten mates who agreed to be on the show. Back then, you had to go to a studio in London, you had to have a whole set up and everything like that. But then lockdown happened and suddenly the world went Zoom! You could have shit audio, and most important is that you could speak to anyone anywhere at any time. So we started before, but it was the lockdown that made us. How long have you guys been going?
NFAA TOM: David and I started off as The Bass Guitar Channel during lockdown three years ago (2020), and then we thought why the hell are we just talking to bass players?
NFAA DAVID: Boring old farts!
GP: Right!
NFAA TOM: We were mutual fans of each other’s websites – David has the Bass Guitar Channel, and I host the website and video series Know Your Bass Player. Of course, even under the banner of Notes From An Artist – we do favor bassists. Our guests include Bill Wyman who has been on the show twice, we’ve had Ron Carter on a few times. Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Quite Riot), Gerry McAvoy from Rory Gallagher, Benny Rietveld from Santana and Miles Davis, Jim Fielder from Blood Sweat & Tears, Harvey Brooks (Bob Dylan, Miles Davis)…
We’ve actually shared quite a few guests with Rockonteurs – Richard Thompson, Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Colin Blunstone (The Zombies), Steve Hackett (Genesis). David and I consider ourselves the American Rockonteurs – or Mockonteurs!
NFAA DAVID: You’ve played with Johnny Marr, David Coverdale, Nick Mason…
NFAA TOM: Many times, when David and I listen to podcasts hosted by non-musicians, we feel this angst, frustration, and even homicidal rage because the interviewers haven’t lived the life of a musician…I feel that we do which are peer-to-peer interviews, are very special.
NFAA DAVID: It’s very niche, but it can appeal to a broader audience.
GP: Yeah, yeah, yeah! It all depends on how you do it. Gary and I love to geek out. But this is the thing that I learned from years of doing my stand-up show, and that is you can’t appeal to just bass players. Half the guys have brought their missus. And they don’t want to be there. So you’ve got to do it in a way that makes sense for people who don’t really know or even care.
NFAA DAVID: One thing we learned very early on – it was the first time we had Ron Carter as a guest – we did not bring up Miles Davis. And you can understand that. He’s going strong in his 80s and five years of his life were with Miles. He’s done so many other things besides Miles…
GP: That’s hip, that’s cool! That’s seventy-five years’ worth!
NFAA DAVID: …so forty minutes into the interview… in his head, he must be going ‘no Miles? No Miles?’ We ended up getting Miles stories that no one had gotten before. Same thing with Bill Wyman. We didn’t mention the Rolling Stones once!
NFAA TOM: We read in your book how you made your bones as a bass player. Bernard Edwards noted, “That kid has a vibe!” Robert Palmer called you “the kid with the riffs!”
GP: Make that the kid with the ‘riff’ I just had one riff!
NFAA TOM: We’ve had some of your peers on the show such as bassists Lee Sklar (James Taylor, Jackson Brown, “The Section”), and Rudy Sarzo, and they never intended to be studio musicians – they preferred being in bands. What about you?
GP: It wasn’t really a proper profession. You got into rock and roll and you were in a band. It didn’t really exist. There were names you saw on Steely Dan records as part of some sort of unattainable Olympus. I wanted to play with people whose music I loved. And if I could help them make music, that would be even better.
I think I had it too easy for too long. Then I got to the wrong side of thirty and thought ‘What’s my manifesto?’ I’ve gone on and ticked off other boxes.
For me, the bass is like this poor dutiful loyal kind of wife, while I go off and have my affairs and run about town and then always come crawling back to her…
NFAA: Guy, you came to prominence in the 1980s – the decade dominated by electric bass!
GP: It was the best decade to be a bass player! Absolutely! In the world I was in – which was the current cool music of its time – everything from Bryan Ferry to Scritti Politti or whatever in British music – it was no longer about guitar. Guitar was small. Guitar played polite minor 7th chords – unless you were Johnny Marr. In fact – guitar was Johnny Marr!
It wasn’t David Gilmour or Jimmy Page. It was all about slapping. And also the bass seemed to be really responding well to technology. With instruments such as the Steinberger…
NFAA TOM: Your contemporaries were Pino Palladino, Paul Denman from Sadem, Norman Watt-Roy, Darryl Jones…Neil Jason
GP: Don’t forget Tony Levin!
NFAA TOM: Yes, you shared many a gig with Levin.
NFAA TOM: Talk about the influence of Mark King of Level 42 with his slap style on British players.
GP: Oh God yeah, he was a hero. There is footage on YouTube of my first production rehearsals with Pink Floyd when I first started playing with them in 1987. I have no idea how someone could sneak around with a camera back then – they were so huge. We were in a 747 airplane maintenance hanger at Toronto Airport – and you can hear Gary Wallace and me playing ‘Love Games.’ That’s what we did.
NFAA TOM: And you had to hold the bass high on the body – like a bow tie!
GP: Holding the bass that was a ‘New Romantic’ thing – which was done just to be as un-rock and roll as you could be. Literally holding the instrument under your chin…
When I look at that first Floyd tour – my bass is positioned a little higher than it is now.
NFAA TOM: Ergonomically – playing the bass too high is a problem – because you could tip over! Plus it’s a strain on your shoulders and upper arm. As we age, we develop pot bellies, so we need to lower the bass.
GP: It was quite funny with David (Gilmour) because he is much more svelte now… I would sneak to have a go on David’s guitar – I’d put it on and it would be down to my knees!
NFAA DAVID: On the topic of bass positioning – what I learned Billy Sheehan was to sit down with your instrument in your lap– get comfortable, then stand up and take a simple piece of leather and measure – and that’s your position!
GP: Brilliant! That’s way too grown-up and sensible!
NFAA DAVID: I could never understand Dee Dee Ramone playing with his bass near his ankles!
GP: But it looked fantastic! At the end of the day, are we musicians, or are we playing rock and roll?
NFAA TOM: There is actually an ergonomic reason why he did that. When you position your bass in the middle of your body – as most players do – you are using your forearm muscles. To play rapid eighth or sixteenth notes you need to use your wrist. Hence if you position the bass low beneath the hip – you work your wrist muscles.
GP: You’re absolutely right! Remember when the Boss Chorus came along and made everyone think they could play fretless? I am absolutely guilty of that! (Makes the sound of a chorus pedal) Rrrrrrrrr. Rrrrrrrr. Rrrrrr. Is that an E or an F? Who knows there’s a lot of chorus on it!
NFAA DAVID: It does not matter!
David C. Gross shows off his modified Tony Franklin fretless Fender bass aptly dubbed “The Franklin – Stein.” Gross had the instrument finished distressed, swapped out the Fender pick-ups for Lindy Fralin P-J configuration pups, and also replaced the Tony Franklin signature back plate. David notes that he shuts down the J bridge pick-up when playing the instrument. Gross notes that since he posted this bass on social media, Tony Franklin – a constant presence on Instagram and Facebook – has not spoken to him!
GP: I’m personally baffled by Precision fretless basses. To me, the Jazz seems to be the obvious fretless model because it needs a ‘bite’ with a pickup near the bridge. The person who would disagree with me is David Gilmour – who is a very fine fretless player. I think he used a Charvel fretless on ‘Hey You’ (Pink Floyd The Wall 1979).
NFAA DAVID: With me, it’s more comparable to my six-string as I prefer a big neck. Particularly a P neck with a C shape is the right one for me. Tony certainly got the neck right!
GP: For the Saucerful tours I play basses I’m not familiar with! The one thing I do with that band is try to be authentic. There’s no point in trying to copy those parts – in a lot of instances you can’t even hear them since they were mixed low on the original records most of the time. From ’67 to ’70 Roger played a Rickenbacker then in ’70 he switched to the Fender Precision. So I play Rickenbackers and Precisions which are not my first choice.
With the Precision I know it’s not the instrument – it’s me! Precisions are fabulous but it’s like certain Italian knitwear – I love it on other people!
As for the Rickenbacker – I just can’t really play it. But they make me play great for this gig because I kind of need to have one hand tied behind my back. And I have to play with a pick – so there’s no danger of me getting funky anywhere!
NFAA DAVID: I remember when Magical Mystery Tour (The Beatles, 1967) first came out. Those photos of Paul with a Rickenbacker looked great!
GP: Yes, it is a fantastic-looking instrument… but I never understood why it became a ‘prog rock’ bass with Chris Squire. Because it’s not a hi-fi-sounding instrument.
Getting back to Precisions – I think it all comes down to ‘What was the first bass you picked up!’ The first bass I played was a jazz-style instrument…
Pratt proceeds to jump out of his skin and show off the instrument that began his life’s journey ‘My dad gave it to me …it’s a Grant Japanese model– it was sunburst – I can never figure out why the black color followed the contour of the neck – then when I shaved it down I discovered it was plywood!’
GP: It’s that jazz profile which is all I’ve ever wanted… Then when I got Betsy – that his the most perfect profile neck I’ve ever come across.
NFAA TOM: And that’s the profile on your signature Betsy Bass available at The Bass Centre
Pratt hoists a Bass Center Betsy in his favorite hue – burgundy mist.
GP: It’s the best-selling bass they’ve ever had! I used this Bass Centre bass at a cancer charity gig the other week (November 2023) with Andy Taylor and Robert Plant. So how’s this for a ‘box tick’ – I’m one of the few people, apart from John Paul Jones to have played “Black Dog” with Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant!
NFAA TOM: The big I am! Let’s talk about Betsy – you added a Badass bridge…
GP: The Badass is an option… I use the cheap one! The secret to that bass is the EMG pickups. People don’t usually put EMG pickups into an old bass…it has the lovely, settled, resonant wood. Stick active EMGs into an old bass and…boom! It’s fantastic!
NFAA TOM: David, you can compliment the burgundy mist Betsy bass with your signature neon pink strings!
Pratt proudly displays the original Betsy bass guitar once owned by John Entwistle of The Who.
GP: Here’s the old girl!
NFAA TOM: Is that the “My Generation” bass?
GP: No, John never played this bass. Owning a bass that belonged to John Entwistle is like owning a pair of shoes that belonged to Imelda Marcos!
NFAA DAVID: John owned a very conceivable bass in several colors.
GP: The rumor I heard was that Fender made three full sets of Burgundy Mist guitars in 1964. And John owned the full set- a Precision, Jazz, Telecaster, Stratocaster, Jazz Master – he had everything. Which was priceless, but he had to sell them all in a hurry. So I purchased this bass through the legendary guitar tech Alan Rogan.
The conversation drifts on to the punk era which Pratt experienced as an impressionable teenager.
NFAA TOM: We didn’t get the Sex Pistols until late in their career and then of course, the band broke up in the USA following a show in Texas. That band must have had an impact on a young Guy Pratt.
GP: Oh totally! If you discovered rock and roll at that point like I did, it made an impact. But the stuff I loved were the bands that survived. I loved The Who – Pete stayed totally cool throughout punk – no one was going to touch Pete! Twelve years before punk, Pete was smashing guitars on stage. No one was ever going to do anything as punk rock as that!
I liked Bruce Springsteen who became great friends with Joe Strummer. There was this thing that there were five bands – they were these people who were rich and over thirty years old, which we couldn’t relate to as teenagers.
What was so brilliant about punk – and it’s the reason why the 1980s were so brilliant – was the ‘do it yourself’ aspect of punk. In England at the time the attitude was if you don’t like a band – start your own band. If you don’t like what is in the newspapers – start your own newspaper!
When The Buzzcocks heard about the Sex Pistols they booked them to play at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester. They played and there were about fourteen people at the show. And those fourteen people were Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Mick Hucknell, Tony Wilson, Steven Morris, Ian Curtis…basically the 1980s!
NFAA DAVID: I’m surprised that The Damned never broke in this country. They were another “fake” punk band that was brilliant.
GP: I know what you mean. They were like The Monkees of punk. And I say that as someone who adored The Monkees when I was a kid.
NFAA TOM: Talking about your history of session work… when we are in the studio oft times we are required to either read a lead sheet or a written out note-for-note chart. According to your book, Madonna asked up to create a bassline that made your (anatomy deleted) hard!
GP: She was terrifying!
NFAA TOM: In your book, you detail how you forgot that you played the iconic bassline to “Like A Prayer” which bolstered your career.
GP: Right! I had a vague recollection of that session. It’s weird because I remember all the other stuff. I was bloody scared! I know I’ve played with Pink Floyd at this point, and other major artists but I still have this terrible imposter syndrome. I’m basically a West London punk rocker, I shouldn’t really be doing any of this!
NFAA TOM: But you’re “the kid with the riffs!
GP: That’s “riff” again – singular! I only had one! I used it up a long time ago.
It was a band session, and the players were amazing; Jonathan Moffat (drums), Bruce Gaitsch (guitar)¸ Jai Winding (keyboards), Patrick Leonard (keyboards), Bill Bottrell (engineer) – incredible.
And Madonna was so good – she was so ‘on it.’ She sang a guide vocal. She’d give me notes – and they were proper notes. They weren’t like ‘Can you make it more purple?’ She gave me understandable musical things that she wanted me to do. Or not do.
“Like a Prayer” was just me, her, Pat and Bill. I don’t know why I was there. I was thinking because they have the synth on it – that’s all they’d need. There might not have been a plan to put a bass on it. I was in there to simply double some of the verse stuff. I was playing every fourth note or something.
At the end, it was one of those ‘let go nuts’ takes. ‘We’ve got the take we need, let’s just do one more for fun.’ I don’t remember it because I wasn’t taking it seriously. As if I could do that!
Sometime later she invited me down to the mix – I’d come back to California to do the Toy Matinee album and I went down to the studio and she said (in Pratt’s impeccable Madonna Ciccone voice appropriation) ‘Come and sit next to me!’
There was this last really loud play through and I was absolutely stunned. It is an amazing song. The hooks, the arrangement, everything! On that track, there is always something to keep you interested. On that song, you’re always thinking … What now, what now?’
Then the bass thing happened at the end. ‘That sounds like me but it obviously isn’t…’ because that’s way above my pay grade! Pino gets to do that! Tony Levin gets to do that. Mark King gets to do that.
Guy Pratt does not get to do that! Which is why I said to Madonna ‘That is the greatest record you’ve ever made… who played bass on it?’
(Pratt in Madonna mode) ‘You, dummy!!!!!’
NFAA DAVID: I think your Michael Jackson story is more bizarre.
GP: The funniest thing about that story is when I got the call to do it. It was a period of my life that was so insane. I’d done the Toy Matinee record, and I had to leave before the end of making it to fly back to Europe to do a Pink Floyd tour – we went to Moscow and did that amazing gig in Venice. Then I had to fly straight back to Los Angeles to start the Robbie Robertson album (1987). While I was doing Robbie’s album – I did other songs for Madonna such as “Hanky Panky.” One day in the studio I get a call from engineer Bill Bottrell.
“Hey Guy, what are you doing?” I responded ‘Well, I’m working with Robbie.’ Bottrell: “I want you to work on this Michael Jackson song…” I said ‘Okay.’ “Can you be here by six?” Pratt: ‘We don’t usually finish until 6… I’ll have to ask permission!’
So I went to Robbie ‘Listen, is there any chance I can go early tonight?’ Robertson: “Oh why?” Pratt: ‘I’ve been asked to do a Michael Jackson session!’ And Robbie blurted out “What am I supposed to say to that!”
Pratt to Bottrell: ‘Why me Bill?”
Bottrell: “Michael heard ‘Like A Prayer’ and he wants that!”
So I thought ‘Great, he obviously wants full balls-out Octave pedal madness!
I turned up at the studio and Michael had supposedly just left. And they play the track (Pratt sings) ‘What about sunlight…’ And I think to myself ‘Really!? What the hell am I supposed to do with this?’
Luckily Steve Ferrone came in. However was in the worst possible key – Ab! With an Octave pedal that is not good. As a rule, you don’t go below D. In fact, D is the optimum key. Now with modern technology, you can do anything, though I don’t like any of the new Octave pedals unless I’m doing a sub-swell.
For me, it was the Boss OC-2. Boss was actually talking about doing a Guy Pratt edition of the pedal.
NFAA DAVID: Take that Pino!
GP: Yeah! Look I nicked it from him – I make no bones about it. “Tear Your Playhouse Down” and “Give Blood” are the best examples of Pino with the OC -2.
NFAA TOM: When I first heard those tracks, I had no idea they were pedals.
GP: Right because at the time there was no internet. When I first heard “Tear Your Playhouse Down,” I thought ‘it sounds like a synth but it obviously isn’t… but how did I find out it was an Octave pedal? Who do I ask? I didn’t know Pino!’
Do I go up to people and (yell) ‘Tell me tell me’ and leave a trail of bodies all over London? But I did find out…
NFAA TOM: Guy as you are an album artist primarily, we ask all of our guests who work in that format the question “Is the album format still relevant in the age of streaming music?” What say you?
GP: No they are not. Albums were the length they were because Deutsche Grammophon worked out that it was the length of one movement of a symphony. Since that was the format, that’s what record players were made to. So we got used to the album format. Which then became this completely invented format where track listing was everything. From track one on side one, to track one on side two…what is the last track on side two?
Basically, it became a play in two acts. Then the compact disc came along, and that concept was gone. There is no end of side one…there is no end of side two…
Any sort of restriction that is imposed upon you – especially as an artist, is a good thing. That’s why plays are like plays, and films are like films.
It’s good to have these invented laws. Now, there is kind of no point! If you want an album to be 400 songs, it can. That’s why I find it interesting – that amongst a lot of the kids – their preferred format is the EP. Four songs. It’s not the tradition of ‘extended play.’ It’s four songs.
Back in the day, EPs were when artists argued about what was going to be the B side!
NFAA TOM: Or make an extra dollar off additional songs…
GP: Right.
NFAA TOM: Interesting that you mention the term “restriction” because David and I interviewed legendary bassist Jerry Jemmott and asked him that had Jaco Pastorius lived would he have moved on to the extended range bass – five-string, six-string. David and I were convinced that Jaco would have added more strings, yet Jemmott maintains that it is the restrictions of the four-string that made Jaco great.
GP: I don’t think Jaco would have played a six-string.
NFAA DAVID: When you play an extended range – five or six – and I know you’ve tried that – your left hand tends to move horizontally rather vertically.
GP: Yes, that’s what Jack Bruce said – and he preferred five-string. But when you think about it the top note on a Jazz bass…
NFAA DAVID: An Eb!
GP: Yes and it’s a note I actually use in a chord at the end of the song “Saucerful of Secrets” with Nick Mason. The point being, that note, why would you need anything higher than that on a bass guitar?
NFAA DAVID: Well, the idea to me was never doing the ‘diarrhea of the hands’ soloing. My brother-in-law was Ian MacDonald – and when he left Foreigner, we started a band. He bought me a Chapman Stick.
GP: Ah I was about to bring those up!
NFAA DAVID: I wanted to go low, not higher.
GP: Yes, I get that. But with Jaco’s facility, I don’t think he would have gone there. I don’t think Hendrix would have gone beyond the Fender Stratocaster. Look at David Gilmour. No one has done more to expand the horizons of what a guitar can sound like, but it’s still the black Strat.
To me, Jaco’s sound is still so space-aged, modern, and high-tech, and it was just him – what else was he going to do? He already had the future in his fingers!
NFAA DAVID: When it comes to Jaco – yes he was a great player, but it all comes down to his compositions. He was a brilliant composer. Just like Charles Mingus. A great bassist, no doubt. But when you think about Mingus, you think about his compositions.
“Three Views of a Secret,” “Portrait of Tracy,” who, outside of Percy Jones, would have thought of it?
NFAA TOM: According to Anthony Jackson, with whom David studied…the true bass guitar is a six-string. As we discussed this with another Anthony Jackson disciple, your colleague Dave Swift (Later…with Jools Holland). If you place the electric bass next to an electric guitar and an upright bass, clearly the electric bass is a member of the guitar family. Leo Fender, who focused on the marketing aspect of his business, made the bass four strings to appeal to upright players who were weary of hauling the cumbersome doghouse!
GP: I had a Fender six-string bass, but I thought of it more as a baritone guitar. Wasn’t it interesting in The Beatles Get Back film that they had one laying around the studio and that’s what John Lennon picks up to play bass tracks.
NFAA DAVID: Jack Bruce was playing a Fender six-string with Cream! How did he do it?
GP: Right! So let’s go back to the Chapman Stick – which was everywhere in the 1980s. Alphonso Johnson, Tony Levin…and I was thinking ‘Oh my God I’m going to have to learn this thing…’ So I nearly bought one. And I thought I just did those four years in my bedroom; I don’t know if I could go back and do them again. Because that’s what it would take. Then I realized – especially Tony – that he’s only playing two strings on it!
NFAA DAVID: That’s absolutely right! You know what made me decide to get rid of the Stick…aside from how many years it would take to master it? I didn’t want to stand up with the Goddamn thing stuck in my pants!
GP: Exactly! Years back Tony Levin told me that he transcribed Stravinsky’s “Firebird” for the Stick. And I thought ‘We’ll I was never gonna do that!’
NFAA TOM: What’s on Guy Pratt’s bucket list?
GP: The boxes keep getting ticked! There’s only one person I would really like to play with. But… it’s a total Catch-22.
I would love, love, love to do something with Peter Gabriel. But if I do something with Peter Gabriel, that means Tony Levin isn’t doing it – and I always wanted to be kind of… Tony Levin! So I guess I don’t want to play with Peter Gabriel…
More Bass Player interviews are available in an upcoming book: Good Question! Notes From An Artist Interviews… by David C. Gross & Tom Semioli www.NotesFromAnArtist.com
Bass Videos
Brian Bromberg, Paying Tribute to Scott LaFaro – April 2024
Brian Bromberg, Paying Tribute to Scott LaFaro, April 2024…
Brian Bromberg is one heavy-hitting bass player and I am in awe of his talent as one of the few individuals who is equally proficient on electric and upright bass.
You might remember our conversation back in 2018 when he released his powerhouse Funk album. Brian’s “A Little Driving Music” album is a staple on all our road trips and his Jaco and Jimi Hendrix tribute albums are mind-blowing… and I could go on and on.
Now, Brian has taken on the arduous task of producing an album paying tribute to the late, great, Scott LaFaro. He teamed up with pianist Tom Zink and drummer Charles Ruggiero and Brian delivers a commanding performance on upright. The entire album is a masterpiece and a real treat to listen to track after track.
Join us as Brian shares the details behind this project and more.
Photo, Michel Bocandé
Featured Videos
Visit Online
brianbromberg.net
FB @BrianBrombergBassist
YouTube
Cover
Leland Sklar, Over Half a Century of Bass, March 2024
We all have enjoyed Leland Sklar’s Bass lines for over half a century.
You might remember that we had him on our cover back in 2017 and did an update when he launched his book “Everybody Loves Me” in 2020. It was exciting to hear that The Immediate Family had got back together in the studio to work on their own music in 2019 and are now up to two albums.
Just last December, Magnolia Pictures released a documentary titled “Immediate Family” where we got a behind-the-scenes look at the massive contributions Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Ross Kunckle, Leland Sklar and Steve Postell have made in countless songs that are the very essence of our daily personal musical soundtracks. Seeing the astronomical roster of performers they have supported over many years is very eye-opening. It is a must-see for any music lover!
Now, I am thrilled to bring you a special chat with Leland Sklar where we go more in-depth into the bass side of his musical journey.
Photos: Header, Rob Shanahan – Cover Photo, Jay Gilbert/Chris Schmitt
Featured Videos:
Skin In the Game – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhbnzIrdjJ8
from new album Skin In The Game
The Toughest Girl In Town – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVQLZIRfLjU
from new album Skin In The Game
Fair Warning – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DN18DYwLsU –
from the self-titled album The Immediate Family
Visit Online
www.immediatefamilyband.com/
www.facebook.com/TheImmedFamily
www.instagram.com/theimmedfamily/
Bass Videos
Ricky Phillips, STYX Bass And More – February 2024
Ricky Phillips, STYX Bass And More…
I have always been a huge Styx fan. Their music kept me awake during countless nights studying and gave my imagination a place to escape when I had a moment to take a break.
I had the immense opportunity to chat with STYX bassist Ricky Phillips for our August Cover in 2017 and follow his projects as time passed. Now, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to catch up with Ricky as he has been super-busy over the past six years.
Join me as we take a deep dive into the band’s most recent album “Crash the Crown” and EP “The Same Stardust”. Ricky shares some insights into the herculean team effort behind the scenes and the musical process that keeps them ever so busy and how he has updated his sound.
Without further ado… Here is Ricky Phillips!
Photo: Jason Powell
Featured Videos:
“Crash of the Crown” lyric video
“Reveries” lyric video
“Save Us From Ourselves” lyric video
“Sound the Alarm” lyric video
“Too Much Time On My Hands” Zoom video 2020
Visit online:
www.Styxworld.com
FB & IG @styxtheband
Bass Videos
Jeff Pilson, Foreigner Low End – January 2024
Jeff Pilson, Foreigner Low End – January 2024…
Those of us who were around back in the 70’s remember how certain songs on the radio resonated with us. It turns out that many of these iconic melodies came from Foreigner and they were part of our personal soundtracks!
After all these years, the band is going as strong as ever with Jeff Pilson firing away on bass midstream into a 2-year farewell tour.
I am excited to be able to bring you all the details about Jeff’s musical Journey, the farewell tour in progress, how he gets his sound and his plans for the future.
Cover Photo: Krishta Abruzziini / Video Photos: Krishta Abruzzini, Karsten Staiger, Gina Hyams
Featured Videos
For more news on FOREIGNER and upcoming Farewell Tour dates, fans can visit:
foreigneronline.com
facebook.com/Foreigner
twitter.com/ForeignerMusic
instagram.com/foreignerlive
youtube.com/user/FWebTeam
Also on FB @officialjeffpilson