Questions asked by Mr Smaz from my forums!

Q: Why did you start playing Bass?

I was due to join the army. The next day, actually. I was looking forward to it. I had the grades I needed from school, I had a taste of the training I would receive from years of cadets. I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep, so went downstairs to watch some T.V in the hope that it would make me a little more sleepy.

Through a strange insomnia, I watched dire programme after dire programme. Around 3AM, the boring T.V that used to fill late night television back then finally sent me to my slumber.

About ten minutes later, I was awoken, abruptly.

At first, I couldn’t figure out what had woken me. It felt like an explosion. On the screen was a programme aired over here in England in the early nineties, called “Noisy mothers”. On the show this week, and coming at me like a kaleidoscope of sound and colour were a band called “The Red hot Chili peppers.”

I’d never really been interested in music up until that point. I mean, I enjoyed it. I liked it. But it never changed me like it changed me at that moment. I’d have never seen a band perform like that before. I’d never seen such energy and passion. I watched the T.V, transfixed before the band left the stage. Next up were a band called “Pearl Jam”. Again, the energy and performance grabbed me. I was a teenager with ideas, thoughts and quite a bit of anger, and this band was saying it like I felt it. The lead singer was like a mad-man. He was integral, upset, annoyed, and he was very, very real. After this band came a band called “Nirvana”.

Same feelings again.

Then came a cartoon-esque band called “Primus”. They made me laugh and entertained me. After that, a band called “Guns and Roses”, which made me want to jump off a cliff with a parachute attached. They got my adrenalin pumping, as did the band after them “Rage against the machine”.

If you’re lucky enough to have had a magical, life changing moment with music, then free to ignore the bands I mentioned above, and add your own. If you’ve ever been grabbed by a riff, a chord, a harmony, a lyric or anything else musical, you’ll understand where I’m coming from here. You’ll remember the magic.

And it’s for this very reason that I didn’t join the army the next day. I didn’t sleep. I waited until the morning, travelled to London and brought myself a “Bass”. I had no idea what to do with it, but I purchased it because the craziest man I saw on T.V that night played one, apparently. His name was Flea.

I wanted to do what he did.

Q: How long have you been playing?

Ooo, that crazy night was in 1993. So about fifteen years?

Q: What was your first bass?

Ah man, by the time I had traveled to London, I didn’t have much money left. I got the cheapest thing I could afford. I don’t think it even had a name! It was cheaper than the budget encore. That should give you some ideas…

Q: What bands have you been in?

Hot Buttered Muffin.

Amber Room.

The Liquid Fool.

Q: What bands are you currently in?

The Towers/Penthouse who can be heard right here.

Q: What CDs can you be heard on?

Oh I forget the names of all the HBM albums. We wrote so much music. Umm, “Covered in custard”, “Neverland”, The psychic carrot test” ah, there are loads. Amber room CD's, too.

Q: Who are your favourite bassists?

The usual suspects. Flea, Les, Victor, Marcus, John, John again, Jaco, etc etc. To be honest, though some of the greatest bass players I have seen are not famous….

Q: Why do you do the site?

My band did well. We wrote over four hundred songs, in different varieties and moods. We had a good cult following, and were making a positive impression with labels. On BBC radio one, a couple of very famous D.J’s touted us as Britain’s brightest hope. We were seen as a breath of fresh air on the currently dire music scene.

We loved writing music and being creative. It was our lives. We never, ever did it for money, or even considered money. It was about having fun, and letting other people have fun with us. So, when the opportunity to make money approached us, we decided to decline, and carry on doing what we were doing. Unfortunately, the pressure of us turning down this opportunity broke us apart. People create bands to share their music, and to try and get bigger so they can be heard. The best way to do that is to get on a label. If you’re not heading for better coverage of yourself, then why be in a band? The industry looked ugly. People were talking about money too much. People wanted us to change. They told us to change. We were to be marketed. We were to become something we were not. We saw that would happen. It had to happen.

But most of all, we weren’t allowed to write music anymore. Four hundred songs were way too many for big labels to take on. They needed to market us, pigeonhole us, so they could sell us to a specific audience. So they wanted us to write all of our songs like one particular song of ours. We would have no real creative freedom.

There is a lot more to be taken from music than money and fame.

So I turned my back on it all, which was perfectly timed with the internet getting really popular. So now I’m here, teaching, writing and am very happy with the situation. It’s my plan to build a name for myself over the next five years or so. Watch this space.

Q: What gear do you currently use?

For gigging, and doing larger Jams, I use a Trace Elliot combo. I have a Ernie ball musicman Stingray for a bass, and an Ibanez five string that I have modified slightly. Check this video log to see what I did. I also use a Roland cube amp for all my home practice stuff. That is also what I record all my videos with. Effects, I use my Korg Pandora (which I love) and review right here.

Q: What strings do you use?

I tend to use Ernie balls.

Q: What EQ settings do you use?

All of them. The types of music I play are so broad, that I need all the settings.

Q: Which software do you use?

I movie for vids. Garageband for recording. I photo for the
pictures.

Q: What webcam do you use?

The one inside my Mac.

Q: How do you record your videos, and what do you use in them?

I record through Imovie, using the camera inside of my Mac.

Q: Can you do a lesson on playing a certain technique/song?

Maybe, but there is a long queue of people wanting stuff! Also, things have changed slightly since the youtube copyright business!

Q: Do you have any playing tips?

Yea, on my blog, under general tips…There’s loads of learning and tips there, check it out!

Q: How can I contribute to the site?

Many ways! Watching the vids is a good start, as there is advertising on there which helps me out. But buying my unique premium lessons helps me to help you. If I can make some sort of income from lessons/advertising, it means time isn’t spent teaching people locally to me in real life. It means more time spent on online lessons from me, which is what I want to really focus on. People can also hep the cause by donating!