Bass Magazine – Issue 6 by Bass Magazine

Jump Head

WIN! A STONEFIELD F SERIES BASS

STANLEY CLARKE Live From Detroit, A Legend Speaks

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ;

FLEA HAGAR BEN ARI EMILY RETSAS JOHN LODGE P-NUT BARRY SPARKS & TONY FRANKLIN BILLY SHERWOOD INSIDE AN AGUILAR PICKUP WE REVIEW: STONEFIELD F SERIES BASS GK LEGACY 1200 BASS MAGAZINE 1 EPIFANI UL901

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TUBE PREAMP

The Little Mark Vintage features a Tube Preamp, to get rich and warm tone full of harmonics.

MUTE AND ON/OFF EQ

Footswitchable MUTE is a very useful feature and you can turn EQ on and off remotely as well.

Contents Artist Features

Gear Shed 84 Epifani UL901 By Jonathan Herrera

86 Stonefield F Series Bass By Jon D’Auria

90 Gallien-Krueger Legacy 1200 By Rod Taylor

10 Hagar Ben Ari

42 Billy Sherwood

The talk show bass ace takes us inside the set of The Late Late Show with James Corden and dishes about what it’s like anchoring the Reggie Watts-led band on TV’s most eccentric show. By Vicky Warwick

Between Yes, Asia, World Trade, and Conspiracy, Billy Sherwood has built a career playing with rock heavyweights. Now he steps out on his own with a new solo album. By Freddy Villano

20 Flea

50 Stanley Clarke

96 Beginner Bass Base

With a personal new memoir on bookshelves and best seller lists everywhere, Flea gets candid in revealing the process of penning his first book and gives details on the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album. By Jon D’Auria

As the Artist In Residence at the Detroit Jazz Festival, Stanley Clarke turns reflective for a career-spanning interview on the topics of performing, composing, film scoring, mentoring, and pushing the boundaries of bass. By Chris Jisi

Building Blocks of a Groove By Patrick Pfeiffer

28 John Lodge

60 Detroit Jazz Festival

The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Moody Blues frontman describes his journey on the bass guitar and how he’s found new life through touring on his own. By Freddy Villano

We take you through all of the sights and sounds of a performance-packed weekend featuring legendary players with our coverage of Motown’s epic Jazz Fest. By E.E. Bradman

Sean Fairchild & MTD By Jim Roberts

34 Emily Retsas

66 Aguilar Pickup Tour

Through playing alongside Phoebe Bridger, Better Oblivion Community Center, Fiona Apple, and Shirley Manson, Emily Retsas has found her calling as a first-call touring bassist. By Jon D’Auria

We take an in-depth look at Aguilar’s popular pickup line with a tour of operations at their New York City facility. By Chris Jisi

72 Transcription: Barry Sparks’ “Hotwire” Featuring Tony Franklin

Lessons 92 Jazz Concepts Try Some Triads: Basic to Advanced Chord Concepts By John Goldsby

101 The Inquirer Making Good Habits By Jonathan Herrera

104 Partners

Departments 4. From the Editor 6. 10 Questions With P-Nut of 311 8. Spins, Streams & Downloads Cover Photo by Richard Conde

By Stevie Glasgow

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From the Editor Deep Frequency

Bass Family,

elcome to the next volume of Bass Magazine issues. We’ve just returned from the beautiful chaos of the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California, (view our full coverage HERE)and we have so much to bring you in our coming editions in covering all of the exciting new gear of 2020 and the artists making big waves in the year ahead. The Bass Bash was a big success, and the artists who performed blew the roof off Anaheim’s Phoenix Club. We can’t wait to take over the event and bring you bigger and better shows in future years. This is poised to be a big year for bass, and we’re overflowing with fantastic content that we’re thrilled to deliver to you. We’d love to kick out monthly issues, but given the scale of our operation, we have to pace out our releases. In running our previous magazine for its first three decades, we took great pride in creating all of the editorial content and then

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handing it off to a big machine (in that case, a publishing house), and shortly afterward we would receive a finely put-together magazine, and the cycle would continue. In this new venture of ours, we are the “big machine,” so we have to handle every facet of production, which forces us to wear all of the hats — and which certainly takes more time than it did before. In that sense, we’re kind of like a boutique luthier who hand-carves and personally assembles each bass, versus a large company that uses automation and factory machines to crank out instruments in bulk. We can’t thank our amazing staff of writers enough, and the skillful work of our copy editor Karl Coryat and our art director Paul Haggard, without which none of this would be possible. Look out for our upcoming issues, and sign up for our newsletter at bassmagazine.com to stay in the loop. But at last, we’re excited to bring you this issue, which features living legends like Stanley Clarke and Flea, who are both still dedicating their lives to advancing the role of bass in music. Hagar Ben Ari, Emily Retsas, P-Nut, John Lodge, and many others open up and dish on their current projects; we take an in-depth tour of the Aguilar factory’s pickups division; and we cover the latest gear that you gotta get your hands on. So, dig in and enjoy. As always, hit me up at jon@bassmagazine. com with any questions or comments. And cheers to the future of bass! Jon D’Auria Editor-In-Chief

Volume 1, ISSUE 6 | bassmagazine.com Editor-In-Chief JON D’AURIA Senior Editor CHRIS JISI Editor-At-Large E.E. BRADMAN Co-Founder TIM HILL Copy Editor KARL CORYAT Art Director PAUL HAGGARD CONTRIBUTORS Ed Friedland Jim Roberts Jonathan Herrera Freddy Villano John Goldsby Rod Taylor Patrick Pfeiffer Bill Leigh Stevie Glasgow Vicky Warwick Patrick Wong FOR AD INQUIRES CONTACT:

jon@bassmagazine.com ALL OTHER INQUIRIES CONTACT:

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with

F 1

What music have you been listening to lately? I’ve been really enjoying Baroness. They’re such a fresh breath of awesome for my ears and imagination. Mac Miller, as well, has been a welcome addition to my listening. His early demise is haunting in his lyrics, and I love what [producer] Jon Brion did with the atmosphere.

P-Nut

or over three decades, Aaron “P-Nut” Wills has been laying down deep dub lines, funky grooves, and rapid slap licks with his band 311. His wild and energetic stage presence and inspired playing on 311’s 13 albums has solidified P-Nut as an influence to bass players all over. Fans flock in masses to watch him slay it onstage

with his signature Warwick 5-strings, eagerly awaiting the moment during the song “Feels So Good” when he takes a serious slapping solo that never fails to bring down the house. Currently hard at work on 311’s 14th album, P-Nut took a break from writing his band’s next chapter to answer our 10 Questions.

What was the first concert you ever attended? My first concert was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I saw them in a bowling alley in Omaha. It was John Frusciante’s first tour, and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan had just come out. I had to be dragged by my neck out of there by my brother before it ended because it was a school night and it was snowing like a son of a bitch.

What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended? Best concert is a tie between Ween and Tom Waits. Both shows rearranged my brains. Ween was in support of their seminal album The Mollusk, and the show was at the El Rey theater in Los Angeles. Tom was at the Wiltern, also in L.A. Live music is the best, obviously.

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What’s one element of your playing that you most want to improve? I’d like to improve my speed. In particular, keeping up with [Vulfpeck bassist] Joe Dart. What a beastly beast.

If you could have lunch with any bass player today, alive or dead, who would it be? Scott LaFaro jumps into my mind as a person I’d like to have had lunch with at some time in his short life. And I do believe that in that short life, he rewrote the book we all play from as bass players.

ALEX KLUFT

10 Questions

If you could sub for one bass player in any band, who would it be? Andy Rourke of The Smiths. Oh, man, just thinking about it makes me crazy in the head.

What was your first bass? My first bass was a P-bass copy by a company called Phantom. It was black on black, cause I’m dark and moody. Well, certainly at eleven I was.

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you during a gig? I don’t get embarrassed onstage. That shit is mine.

What are four items that you absolutely need to have on the road with you? Weed, beer, books, and headphones.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given about playing bass? Bootsy said deep into my soul, “Don’t ever quit, man.” l

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Spins, Streams & Downloads With Ya Baby” and “Beyond My Wildest Dreams.” Both tunes give bass all the space to drive the engine both rhythmically and melodically, and Prestia takes advantage, using chord tones, drop downs, upper-register fills, and counter-rhythms through each composition’s cycle-rich chord changes. The legend lives on. —Chris Jisi Tower Of Power [Mack Avenue] TOP’s potent latest effort is both a reminder that the inimitable Bay Area horn band is unstoppable, as it enters its 51st year of touring and recording, and a heartfelt tribute to Rocco Prestia. Prestia, who appears on all 14 tracks, co-writing five, is honored in the liner notes as a bass innovator and “the most adored member of the band,” who has retired from the road. A shout-out to current bassist Marc Van Wangeningen is also included. Rocco gets right down to rhythm-and-business with lifelong drumming partner David Garibaldi to provide the bubbling underpinning for the “Oakland Stroke”-like opener and closer, “East Bay All the Way” and the riffy title track. “Look in My Eyes,” the first of two straight tracks Prestia co-wrote with Spyro Gyra keyboardist Tom Schuman, sports a slick, syncopated start before Rocco settles into his trademark galloping groove. The second collab, “You Da One,” rides Prestia’s percolating, broken-16ths line as only he can phrase it. The Rock is at his most creative on “Sleeping

Stone Temple Pilots [Play Pen Music] Reenergized and inspired with the recent addition of frontman Jeff Guff, Stone Temple Pilots have notched a new first in their already illustrious careers by releasing an album of all acoustic songs. Robert DeLeo’s rich, warm acoustic tone and sturdy rhythmic playing fills out the album of ten originals, giving listeners insight on exactly how big of a hand DeLeo has in STP’s writing process. But beyond foundational support, DeLeo shows off his superb melodicism, delivering winding, soulful, beautiful moments throughout the record. “I Didn’t Know the Time,” “Years,” and “Sunburst” show exactly how important and central DeLeo is to the music

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of STP, while also giving a masterclass in how to melodically support a vocalist with the bass. —Jon D’Auria

Ben Kenney [Ghetto Crush] For his sixth solo release, Ben Kenney flexes his muscles as a multi-instrumentalist and once again lets fans inside the musical headspace of his personal stylings. A mastermind of tones and themes who gives acute, meticulous attention to detail in his songwriting, the Incubus bassist tees off on his newest creation, oscillating from aggressive, dirty, and heavy to melodic, vulnerable, and decisively self-aware. His crushing tones on “Over Me” and “Red Hot” lay a vast contrast to the soulful pop sensibilities of “No Lives,” Blue Tint,” and “Sidereal.” More than being in awe of his mastery of bass, guitar, drums, vocal range, and production, the biggest takeaway from this album is that Kenney is an extreme fan of vastly different musical genres and knows how to authentically summon them at his will. —Jon D’Auria

Jump Head

are the Azerbaijan and Turkish sounds of Phell’s youth, present in everything from his left-hand hammer approach throughout to his fretless work on “Old Window” to the B section of “Sweet Sweep.” —Chris Jisi

Teymur Phell [teymurphell.com] New York (by way of Azerbaijan and Israel) 6-string bass guitarist Teymur Phell, best known for his head-turning role in Mike Stern’s trio, swings for the fences on his much-anticipated debut. The ten-song disc launches with its aptly named epicenter track, “Zero to Sixty.” Phell first nods to his Pastorian influence with a burning “Punk Jazz”-reminiscent bass melody (complete with a “Continuum” quote) before settling into a halftime feel to sing his gorgeous wordless melody and take a soulful, arching solo. Stern’s influence and presence can be heard on “Papano Kimono” and “Unfinished Business,” both sporting angular, bluesy heads and 55 Bar-style, funky-two-feels — the former with a wicked Dennis Chambers drum stepout, the latter with a severe solo by Phell. Elsewhere, Phell’s writing and melody rendering are extra-heartfelt on the memorable ballad “Chances Are,” and “Worth the Wait” is a joyous, horn-laden mix of influences riding an odd-time Jaco-esque boogie. Perhaps most defining

Kaveh Rastegar [Ropeadope] On his second solo album in just over a year, Kaveh Rastegar steps out of the sideman role with John Legend and sheds the many hats he wears as a musical director, studio ace, and reliable low-ender to reveal his expressiveness as singer–songwriter. Featuring ten songs that were written over an eight-year span, Rastegar focuses on his voice as a lyricist and singer, while holding down many of the album’s instruments. He does all of this without letting his bass playing take a back seat, as his lines shine through with tightly plucked riffs and a diversity of vintage tones. His driving picking on “The Half That Holds My Heart” and “Easy to Please” are great examples of his thoughtful playing on this immensely enjoyable album. —Jon D’Auria

Red56 [Bandcamp] Best known for his hard-rockin’ stints with Quiet Riot and Dee Snider (and as one of Bass Magazine’s esteemed editors), Freddy Villano turns up the funk and soul on his latest project, inspired by James Brown, Tower Of Power, Brand New Heavies, and an early role in a disco cover band where he realized bass could be the dominant instrument. Partnered with vocalist Danielle Gorre and a talented crew of upstate New York musicians, Villano indeed places his basses front, forward, and center — starting with the horn-accented stomp “It’s All Right,” which rides his relentless, galloping 16th-note groove. Switching to a pick, he keeps the wave of pocketed, steady 16ths coming on “Funky Attitude.” Other highpoints include the trippy “Salvation,” which sports a double-time slap B section, the taut, Sly Stone edge of the title track, and the Janis Joplin/jam-band haze of “Just a Little Secret.” —Chris Jisi l

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HAGAR BEN ARI

Anchoring Late-Night TV’s Most Eccentric Band By Vicky Warwick |

“DO

you have champagne?” Hagar Ben Ari asks the bartender in the CBS Studio green room. The bartender looks at us both, and with a slow smile emerging from one corner of his mouth, he raises his eyebrows and replies, “Hagar, we always have champagne!” Life as the bass player in the house band of a major-network late night talk show seems to be as glamorous as you would hope. I look past a display of multiple Emmy Awards toward platters of gourmet nibbles for the green room’s influx of A-list actors and musical guests. Makeup artists are on call with every shade of lipstick — including the one to match Hagar’s new, pink sunglasses — and of course, there’s the well-stocked bar. Hagar has earned her cushy post in the house band of The Late Late Show With James Corden, working for many years as a professional musician in her native Israel before touring internationally and eventually immigrating to America. A home environment full of music due to her guitar-teaching father led Ben Ari into playing instruments from a young age. She recalls, “I would watch my dad’s students and think they were like rock stars; I would think, I wanna be a rock star!” She began

Photograph by Shervin Lainez

on classical guitar, but switched to bass at age 14 when she needed to play an electric instrument to audition for a place in the jazz department at the Thelma Yelin School — think Israel’s answer to New York City’s LaGuardia High School of Music & Performing Arts, made famous in Fame. Hagar found herself playing all of Tel Aviv’s best venues by the time she was 16, and by 19 she was touring internationally with the artist Noa. Her hunger to progress further led her to move from Tel Aviv to New York City, where she continued to provide her solid, funk-inspired bass lines for artists such as Daniel Merriweather, Pimps Of Joytime, Cyril Neville, Salif Keita, and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. Further opportunity knocked when she was put in touch with Reggie Watts, who was looking for musicians to join him on his new gig: bandleader for The Late Late Show. In true music-industry nature, it meant she had only four days to relocate to the opposite coast and settle into her new job and home in Los Angeles. As far as late-night bands go, this one operates in a place fairly left of center. Reggie Watts is an eccentric musician, beatboxer, and comedian. His explanation of their bizarre band name, Karen, might give you a sense of his spirit: “I had an idea of starting

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Hagar Ben Ari

GEAR Basses Elrick Expat Series New Jazz Standard 4-string; Elrick Gold Series 5-string; ’77 Fender Precision with DiMarzio pickups and Badass bridge; ’69 Harmony; Rust Guitars J-Series Bass; ’67 Fender Coronado Bass I; ’65 Epiphone Newport Bass; ’65 Burns bass; ’74 Gibson Ripper; 2018 Fano bass; Guild Starfire Strings D’Addario XL Half Rounds (ENR71 Regular Light Gauge) Rig Aguilar Tone Hammer 700 with SL 112 and SL 212 cabinets Effects Boss OC-2 Octave, Electro-Harmonix Micro Q-Tron envelope filter, Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro Synth, MXR La Machine CSP203 fuzz, Red Witch Zeus Bass Fuzz Suboctave Pedal, Eventide Space Reverb Pedal Other Monique Bass Pre Amp/DI/EQ; Sensaphonics in-ear monitors

a metal band named Karen, and envisioned the name in giant flame letters onstage, and just thought it would be funny.” His comedic leanings mean that for the quintet — rounded out by keyboardist Steve Scalfatti, guitarist Tim Young, and drummer Guillermo Brown — no work day is boring, no idea is too “out there,” and no vocoder is left untouched. I sat down with Hagar at the 703rd taping of the show to learn more about her journey.

hat made you decide to move to New York City from Israel? I decided I had to be somewhere where there’s a music scene—somewhere I could have big dreams. It was between the United States and London. I had never toured with Noa in the UK, but we had done some shows for Quincy Jones and even

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the Pope, so I knew that could help me get my artist visa in America. I decided on New York. Did you like New York immediately? Oh, yeah! It was really hard—maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m very close to my mum, so that was difficult. Plus all the little things like not having a cell phone, or a bank account. Finding an apartment was brutal; I’d sleep on all my friends couches until I wasn’t welcome any more. Even so, I feel like New York is the place that embraces you when you need it. Immediately, it was mind blowing; there was so much great music and so many amazing people. There was this one venue in Brooklyn called Black Betty where everybody played: TV on the Radio and Rev. Vince Anderson would often be there. If you were the band for the night, you played for three hours. Very quickly I had two residencies with two different bands there. I would

Hagar Ben Ari

play all night until it was time for us to go get breakfast. I think I got a lot better in a way that I couldn’t have in Israel being surrounded by the musicians in New York. It was inspiring. That’s where some of the musicians who played with Sharon Jones saw me play. I think that’s the best method for moving forward with your career. Rather than giving people your business card, you should find your comfort zone; play something that’s natural for you, and let people experience it. Once you do something that’s “you,” people can hear it and see you shine. What was it like working with the late Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings? Just incredible. I miss her so much. She was a special person. That being said, she wasn’t necessarily “easy” to work with right away. The band didn’t rehearse before a show, so I had to prepare for the gig by learning the music very well; not only a bunch of songs but also the transitions in and out of them too. So at first, I’m killing it, and she loved me right away. Once we were touring more I realized she had certain expectations. If anything was off or it’s not what she was used to, she was unhappy. Sharon was very intuitive; she felt groove the right way. When I wasn’t doing it exactly the way she wanted, there was this moment of, “Oh shit.” What would she say needed to be done differently? She would say, “This needs to bounce.” She would stomp her foot on stage. You would see her dancing and then look at us, and then look to her foot, as if to say, “Follow that.” We had to play for two hours straight, not letting the groove go on auto pilot for even an instant. It had to make people move for every second of the show. It was a great experience! She came around to truly loving me and I felt like I earned my place in that band. How did you become a member of “Karen”? A few people had passed my contact info onto Reggie when they heard he was looking for a bass player. I had heard James Corden got a talk show, and Reggie was going to be the bandleader, and I thought it was a really strong combination.

There are a number of late night talk show bands in America, what do you think you gus do differently? All the music we play is original and we change it up all the time. The walk-on music for guests is usually us jamming. Reggie’s original idea for the band was to improvise the entire show, but it didn’t work out because there was too much noise from the band discussing things during taping. Reggie definitely wants the music to always feel fresh. How does that work? Do you have grooves or jams that you’ve rehearsed ahead of time? Most of them are rehearsed before the show. We have hundreds, maybe thousands, of different commercial “bumpers” written. While James is talking to the writers during rehearsal it gives us a chance to discuss which ones we are going to do. If Reggie has a bumper idea during the day, he’ll beatbox and sing it, and text it to us a voice memo. We’ll interpret it as closely as we can and rehearse it before the show. Sometimes Reggie isn’t in the rehearsal though, so the first time we are playing it all together is live on air. If we have mistakes, it just gives it a live feel— it rarely sounds like a trainwreck. Sometimes during the taping Reggie will come up with a new bumper idea and whisper it to us while James is talking, or during a commercial. He’ll sing it into the mic so only we can hear it in our in-ears, and we just have to figure it out on the spot. How often do you get together to write music for the show? We get together before the rehearsals. When we’re in a writing phase, we’re usually writing one or two commercial bumpers every day. We might choose to do a bumper in a certain genre or if one of us has an idea outside of rehearsals, we text a voice memo of it to each other. You guys seem to have so much freedom as a band. That was Reggie’s whole concept from day one, “This is a band and I want to hear everything you guys want to play.” He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met.

L I ST E N Elysian Fields, For House Cats and Sea Fans [elysianfields. bandcamp.com, 2014]; Salif Keita, Talé [2012, Emarcy]; The Pimps Of Joytime, Janxta Funk! [2012, Wonderwheel], Funk Fixes and Remixes [2009, Wonderwheel]; Cyril Neville, Brand New Blues [2009, M.C. Records] LINKS Watch The Late Late Show theme song, and check out what Hagar is doing with Elrick Guitars. CHECK IT OUT

CHECK IT OUT

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Hagar Ben Ari

CHRISTINA ARRIGONI

What do you love about working with your fellow band mates? Had any of you worked together before? We hadn’t worked together before; Reggie engineered the band and chose us all for different reasons. We have spent so much time together—one of us can make a small sound and we just burst out laughing. They’re so easy to get along with and they’re very talented. My favorite kind of musicians don’t feel the need to overplay and prove how good they are at every opportunity. These guys typify that sense of taste and musicality. Have you had any favorite guests on the show? Lady Gaga — she came to do a Carpool Karaoke segment and asked the producers that morning if she could also come in to play with the band. It was a lot of fun. She was so

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nice but she knows what she likes and has a plan. And she’s so good on camera—it inspired me to be less camera shy! Playing with Queen was another a highlight; they came on the show without their bassist, so I got to play. We’ve had so many great guests, all these people I grew up listening to like Boys II Men, Alanis Morissette, and Cyndi Lauper. Is there anything that happens behind the scenes that you enjoy? Getting to hang out with the guests. Sometimes they stay in their dressing rooms but often they come out and chat and I have to pinch myself and remember this is my job! I’m hanging out talking to Paul Rudd or Matt Damon; you wouldn’t know they’re famous. What different projects do you envision working on over the next few years? From what I’m told, The Late Late Show

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Hagar Ben Ari

will run at least through season seven. We’re on season five right now, so that will keep me busy over the next two years. I’ve been wanting to put a band together to perform some music I’ve been writing. I love teaching, too. One of my dreams is to start a school or program with some friends for women wanting to break into the music industry. For six months I was a music teacher at an amazing all-girls school. When I started, there were no bass players, but when I left there were five girls playing. That just shows you how important it is to have a role model! When I discovered Meshell Ndegeocello she became huge role model for me. I love her music, not because she’s a woman but because of the way she plays. She has always been a very strong bandleader who does her

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music her way. She’s incredible. You’ll occasionally switch basses from show to show. I just love different bass sounds, but the key is having that strong fundamental tone; that’s what holds it all together for us. There are aspects I love about each bass. My Elrick 4-string is gorgeous; it’s super light and has the smoothest tone—it’s active but with a passive feeling. I’ll use my Elrick 5-string when I need a more modern R&B sound and range. My ’77 Fender Jazz Bass that was my dad’s is very resonant and tempered. My Guild StarFire is great for pick playing and palm muting; it has a warm, round, semi-hollow tone. And my Fano has all the elements of rougher sounding basses like a Firebird or a Rickenbacker, but with a very even feel and a punchy sound. l

Jump Head

The Elrick Expat NJS Bass • zero-fret ngerboard • “heel-less” body design • Bartolini jazz coil pickups • Bartolini 3-band pre-amp • active/passive preamp operation • switchable mid-frequency control • Elrick / Hipshot hardware • Elrick hardshell case included • 4 & 5-string models available

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Hagar Ben Ari

The Hagar Climb T

he opening theme of The Late Late Show With James Corden — shown in Ex. 1 below — reveals much about Hagar Ben Ari’s style: A fat pocket, tasteful use of space, and deep R&B roots, most apparent via her dramatic climb in bars 16 and 17, timed with the introduction of Corden and his appearance onstage. The tune was group-written by the band, along with about ten other options, and the producers picked it as their favorite. Ben Ari credits James Jamerson and Motown

as an influence on her part. “Guillermo and I were in a Motown phase when we were writing it, so that went into the song.” Following the climb is a cool slide and funky fill between bars 17 and 20, and then the ear-bending final chord—initiated by Hagar. “I started dropping down to a low F against the C chord and we all dug it, so it has remained and grown.” Indeed, Steve Scalfatti expanding the chord to a Cmaj7 gives it an F Lydian sound with Ben Ari’s F root note. —Chris Jisi

Ex. 1 Med. rock

= 136

G/B

C G/B D

G/B

C G/B D

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D/F# F/G

G#13 G/A

G/B

Cmaj7/F

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Red Hot Chili Peppers

BLOOD, SUGAR, SEX, MAGIK, DRUGS, MISCHIEF & SELFDISCOVERY Flea takes us along for the wild ride of revisiting his chaotic childhood and musical upbringing in his new memoir, Acid for the Children By Jon Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auria |

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I

Photographs by Jon D'Auria

just loved feeling the metal strings under my fingers, the deep thunk as I struck them and invented my finger dances. That wood, the long piece of it, smooth and rounded on the backside so my

left palm could slide up and down it like when sliding down the banister and whooping it up in an old house with a big staircase. Those left-hand fingers gripping around the other hard, flat side of the wood, strips of metal

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crisscrossing it one way, and the long metal strings floating magically above it on the other. Each of my fingertips with its own little brain excitingly plotting their moves atop the strings, all of my heart and body vibrating with the VOOM POP BOOM RAOOM BOP.” To hear Flea interpret his earliest experiences of playing bass is an absolute thing of beauty. To learn the most intimate details of his turbulent upbringing, and the wild journey of morphing from Michael Peter Balzary into the rock icon he is today, through his own words, makes for one hell of a book. His new memoir, Acid for the Children, is Flea’s first foray into writing, and much like his unbridled approach to playing bass, he takes it on with both a master’s touch and the reckless abandon of a wide-eyed child on a sugar rush. The candid tell-all testimonial gives us insight into his childhood, which found him constantly trying to discover himself while navigating the vastly different environments of Australia, New York, and Los Angeles. Naturally, music is a central theme of his book, but the stories and random memories that he pieces together in short-burst chapters meld together like a pulp-movie coming-of-age tale depicting scenes of innocence, drug use, reflection, and ultimately, self discovery. Beyond Flea merely waxing poetic about his youthful experiences and the family and friends who shaped him, we get to take a wild ride inside his head on his path to discovering music and connecting with it down to his core. We marvel in the moments when the bass first comes onto his radar, thanks to his mother’s loveable but problematic boyfriend, Walter Urban. The bebop jazz bassist’s frantic and emotive playing would cause a young Flea to roll around on the basement floor uncontrollably in fits of laughter and tears. We geek out when reading about the moment when founding Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak first convinces Flea to pick up a bass to join his band. And we revel in reading about his transformation as a bass player, his introduction to slap bass from a classmate named Ray, his first real band experience in Fear, and of course, when he met

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Flea

READ Flea, Acid for the Children [2019, Grand Central Publishing]

his musical soulmate, Anthony Keidis, at Fairfax High School. As expected, Flea’s voice as a writer mirrors that of his persona as a musician — raw, from the soul, unfiltered, and truly one of a kind. But Flea’s new role as an author isn’t the only thing that’s been occupying him lately. The 57-year-old rocker recently married his longtime girlfriend, fashion designer Melody Ehsani, in a ceremony conducted by George Clinton that Flea beams “was one of the best effing days of my life.” He’s also stays heavily active in running the school he founded, Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which introduces youth to the positive outlet of music through education. And most notably, the Chili Peppers are working on their 12th album, which marks the return of longtime guitarist John Frusciante. While all of that might delay any possibility of a sequel to Acid for the Children, we can take solace that Flea is still actively writing his next chapters with every wild stage performance, every new riff laid down in the studio, and every passionate slap and pop on his fretboard. I have no choice but to let the wild inhaling and exhaling of the godzzz push me relentlessly ahead, and to always surrender, come what may, to the divine and cosmic rhythm, on and on, to the break of dawn.... (page 6)

hat sparked you to write a book? I’ve always been a voracious reader, and I’ve always been in awe of a good book. When I read something by someone talented, I’m so humbled and blown away that people can create art like that. I had been asked a number of times to write one, and I always hesitated, because I knew that I had to grow up before I could write a book. I finally relented and decided to do it, because it felt like a challenge. More so, I tried to get underneath the things that happened in my life to try to understand them clearly for myself. My first instinct is to be shocking and rant on about my opinions and all of the crazy shit I’ve done. I realized that I could write an enter-

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taining book that way, based solely on shock value — but it wouldn’t have told the story that I wanted to tell. My book is about a lot of things, but ultimately it’s about dealing with feelings of pain, anxiety, rejection, and loneliness, and turning them into art. The God-given alchemy that all humans have, especially in the arts, is to consciously learn from our own pain and create something from those lessons that makes other people feel less alone. We all have hurt, we all feel disconnected at times, and art is the greatest tool in comforting us in those times. Everyone struggles and I’ve struggled, so maybe we can connect with one another, you know? You play onstage for tens of thousands of people at a time, but telling your story is a much different experience. How vulnerable was this for you? Playing music is turning personal experience into an abstract form, even if the music is a tangible thing. But to be literal about your life, and in particular for me, my childhood, it was not only scary to share that with everybody, but it takes a lot of work and it’s a process to do it well. I wasn’t just revealing myself to the world; I was revealing myself to myself. This was a huge journey of self-discovery. It can be a very joyful thing, but also a painful and scary thing. It was like how a sculptor chips away at a big block to make it a thing, and they keep chunking away the parts that are not the thing. That’s how writing this book felt, like I was constantly chipping away the parts that weren’t true to it until I was finally left with this book of my childhood. It’s a scary thing to do. How nervous were you leading up to the book’s release? Man, I’m nervous now. I’ve been going in and out of being nervous to terrified to anxious to feeling good about it. Ultimately, I take solace in knowing that I did my best to be respectful to everybody while keeping my truth. I was really thoughtful about writing in terms of the sensitivity of the subject matter, and I fell in love with the written word and the writing process. Putting my head down for two hours, putting pen to paper and coming

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Flea

up from it…the feeling was very satisfying. I had engaged a part of myself creatively that’s really healthy and good. And that’s how I became the bass player I’m still trying to be. Just exploring for a sense of purpose. Sometimes fun, sometimes bland or even grueling, but always pure. (page 206) You’ve clearly found your musical voice, but was it difficult to find your voice as a writer? My voice was easy to find. I write in my own way, and I know that everybody does who knows how to surrender to their heart and tries to create purely. Early on, my editor helped me with finding the rhythm within writing. At first I would write too much and it would be a rant, much like a solo on an instrument. My editor told me to think about rhythm and make it so someone can read it and feel a groove, and that resonated with me so much. That’s when I started writing these little short stories that turned into chapters that were clean and cohesive. I remember talking to Patti Smith, who was really encouraging of me, and she said it’s just like playing music: You gotta know when to solo, when to be supportive, when to scream and yell, when to rest, and when the song should end. Even though writing engaged a completely different part of my creativity, when I started thinking in musical terms, it gave my voice a place to exist. You could have written the entire book about the Chili Peppers, but you don’t bring it up in the main plotline until page 369. Was that always your intention? At one point I consciously decided to just write about my childhood. It was a reaction to reading so many of the same old rock-star books. I don’t have anything against them; a lot of them are great. But I thought it would be cool for me just to write about my childhood. I knew going into it that there would be a lot of Chili Pepper fans that would be disappointed. But once you become a musician with any success, everybody will ask you how you got to that point — they want that mys-

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tery solved. So, to me, telling my childhood from my eyes was the clearest answer I could give to that. All of the stuff that led up to the Chili Peppers is what created me. When I started writing the book, I was only going to write about the Chili Peppers. I felt it would be arrogant to write about my personal life, because everyone has a personal life and a childhood that’s important to them — why would mine be so special that I want to write about it? I knew the band was interesting and that my personal and emotional relationship to it would be something people wanted to read about. But once I got going, I found a real beauty in the things I didn’t understand. For one thing, my childhood is done. I’m a grown man. So I can have some degree of objectivity about my childhood. Chili Peppers are still going and will continue to do so. That story is still alive. In the book, your first attraction to bass came from your mom’s boyfriend, who played upright. Was that the first time the instrument came into your orbit? I guess it was. I knew what bass was, and I loved music as a kid, but I wasn’t around it much. When I was at home with my real dad, music was just background noise. When we moved into Walter’s basement, all of a sudden I was living with this Bohemian jazz cat who had his upright down there and his 1970 Fender bass with a little roll-top Ampeg amp, and he played that shit all the time. The first time I saw him play with his friends, it changed my life forever. It was how he played bass, which was bebop; hard, swinging lines playing a music that works on so many levels. It was so cerebral and intellectual and so spiritual, all at the same time. It was an intense high bar of humanity being raised right in front of me. When I saw them doing that as a kid when I was seven, I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I rolled around on the floor, and I wasn’t doing it to be funny — the music was literally throwing me around. It was like I was taken over by the Holy Spirit. It was unfathomable to me that they could just sit down and do this. It was

Flea

like the entire world melted away except for them, and I absorbed it into my soul. When Walter rocked his upright bass, he attacked it with a primal intensity that shook me. Every time. He wrapped his body around it like a boa constrictor squeezing the life out of a warthog in the jungle, dug so deep into those hard bebop walking bass lines, and swung like his life depended on it…His eyes closed in rapture, he was gone. All the anger, bitterness, and frustration of his life channeled into making this incredible rhythm. (page 52) Did the way that Walter played his upright, with so much tenacity, influence how you play bass, even today? When he played the bass, he would get so gone in the ether, and physically he’d rip into it so fast and go ba-dom-dom-dom-bopba-do-do-do-do with his walking bass lines. It was fast and hard and deep, and I could see all of the anger and hurt that he had, and I didn’t realize that when I got into punk rock, that was exactly what I was doing. I was aspiring through a different vehicle of music to do what he did. And I still do. Anytime I’m at my best is when there’s no thought and I’m gone in the rhythm and I’m just letting it take me. I think for all of us, in any art form, that’s when we’re all at our best — when we’re beyond thought. Walter used to play like that, and thankfully, I must have absorbed that from him early on. The bass engaged my imagination so differently than the trumpet. Blowing the trumpet, I dreamed of playing with the jazz greats, being in a majestic symphony orchestra, growing up into a respected man, cool and distinct. But as soon as I picked up the bass I was an animal. (Page 201) You played jazz trumpet for a while growing up, and then you switched over to bass. Did you find that liberating? Very. Bass was different. When I was playing trumpet, I was always reading off

the page and playing classical music and in big bands. I soloed badly, and I played shit that was already written, with a teacher looking over me the whole time. Then I started playing bass, and there were no rules and no teachers around, and I was just banging on it. All of a sudden it wasn’t about learning this chord or this scale, it was about being cool and finding myself within the instrument that I was playing and being a badass. Then it was all about improvisation, and through that I developed my own style as a bass player. A lot of the rock guys would just learn Led

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Flea

Zeppelin or Beatles songs, and I never did that — probably to my detriment, but I always just jammed. The bass really did set me free and became my voice. You describe the first time you saw someone playing slap bass, in middle school. Was that immediately when you picked up that technique? It was, and it blew my mind. I was floored. When I first tried slapping, I did it in a real standard way, and it took me a while to get my own style with it. I was amazed to see that kid, Ray, do it. It’s like it opened a new portal in me. He showed me how he would not only strike down with his thumb and pop back up with his finger, he’d also slide his thumb down the neck to get that tidal wave sound. I was hooked. Walt gave you a chorus pedal for Christmas because you wanted to cop the Jaco sound. What did his playing mean to you? Jaco was a huge influence. It wasn’t like I was trying to sound exactly like him, but I would play along with the Weather Report song “Mr. Gone.” I never learned how to play “Portrait of Tracy,” but I did learn how to play “Donna Lee” at one point. I was never good at replicating him, but I loved his sound and I wanted that chorus pedal. Percy Jones from Brand X used a chorus, too, so I wanted my tone to sound like theirs. I never used it with any great results. I wonder if I still have that. I have boxes of pedals, but if I still have that one, it would be a miracle. I’m going to look for it now. You describe seeing Earl Liberty and the Circle Jerks live and becoming aware that music could take you out of your comfort zone. Is that the yin to the yang of comforting others with music? It’s kind of a microcosm. Some musicians, like my stepdad Walter, were big, scary, tortured people, but the music they play is so beautiful because of that. I was standing there in front of the stage, and all of a sudden Earl punched the bass with his fist, and I jumped because I didn’t know what it was. I looked up and saw him in front of his amp, and it taught me that music can be a

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scary jolt that wakes you up and rips you out of your comfortable place. At the same time, that music is still very comforting to me. I don’t know about you, but sometimes if I’m in a weird mood or feeling out of sorts or disconnected, the most violent, dissonant, crazy music will calm me. In those moods I’ll listen to Black Flag or later Coltrane, and it’ll mellow me out. Sometimes the things that scare you in some context can be the things that heal you. I believe the purpose of music and art is to jolt you out of the mundane, out of everyday life. That is why we create. Speaking of creating, how is the process for the new album going? We’ve done a lot of writing and have a lot of material, but we keep starting and stopping because a lot of life is happening. We played a bunch of festivals and shows all over the world, and I got married and wrote this book. It’s been one thing after another, but the ideas are there and the feeling is there, and so far I really love what we’ve done when we’ve gotten together. I never want to put a timeline on when we’re going to get a record done, but in 2020 we’ll be really earnest about finishing it. On top of the forthcoming album, you mention in the book that you’re going to write another one about the second half of your life. Can we still expect that? To be completely honest, I don’t know if that’ll happen. When I wrote the first draft of the book, I wrote all the way up to our album Californication in 2000, but then I decided to cut it all and just leave it at my childhood — partially because the book would have been a thousand pages with all of that in it, and partially to keep it all about my upbringing. Right now I’m so caught up in the process of this one, I’ll sit down and decide if I’m going to do another. I was certain about it, and now I’m on the fence. If it happens, it’ll be because I’m inspired to do it and I’ll put all of my heart and soul into it to do it at the best of my ability. If it never happens, fuck it — I wrote one book that I’m insanely proud of, and genuinely from the bottom of my heart, I hope everyone enjoys it. l

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L JOHN D G E

He’s Not Just The Singer In A Rock & Roll Band — He’s A Bass Player, Too! By Freddy Villano |

Of The Moody Blues

Photographs from CHIPSTER PR

Birmingham, England, when John Lodge was a teenager, bass guitars weren’t readily available, and he admits he didn’t even know what one was. “The first time I saw a real bass guitar was with a band called the Treniers, who did the film The Girl Can’t Help It,” he recalls, referring to the 1956 musical starring Jayne Mansfield. “I think I was probably 13 at the time, and they came to England with Jerry Lee Lewis. I went to see them — the left-hand boogie side of the piano with Jerry Lee Lewis is just brilliant. He didn’t actually show; he canceled, but the Treniers still played. And I saw this guy at the back and thought he was playing a Stratocaster, but it only had four strings, and I realized that was it.” It would be another 18 months

before one eventually turned up in Birmingham for sale. On Saturday mornings, like every budding musician, Lodge went to the local music shop, where he’d have a look at the amplifiers and the guitars, and he and his friends would show each other the new chords they had learned. “It was called Jack Woodruff’s, in the middle of Birmingham, and there in the window, ‘Direct from the USA’ — the Fender Precision Bass.” Lodge then went home and asked his father to help him buy it. And he did. “We went back to the store and signed the papers and bought that bass. Can you believe I’ve still got the paperwork? I found it the other day … amazing. That bass recorded nearly every Moody Blues song I’ve ever recorded, and my new album.” Born on July 20, 1945, in Erding-

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John Lodge

L I ST E N John Lodge, B Yond – The Very Best Of [2019, BMG] GEAR Basses Fender late’50s Fender Precision; Custom Shop replica ’62 Jazz Bass, Rig Ampeg SVT-CL, SVT410HE, SVT15E Strings GHS Boomers Picks Custom (tortoiseshell teardrop) CONNECT CHECK IT OUT

Visit John’s website.

ton, John Lodge became famous as the bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2018 inductees the Moody Blues. Songwriter of such hits as “Ride My SeeSaw,” “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” “Isn’t Life Strange?,” and many more, Lodge has been performing and recording with the Moody Blues for more than five decades, selling over 70 million albums. He’s been honored for his songwriting acumen by ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Publishers), and he’s even received an Ivor Novello Award (presented by the British Academy of Songwriters). Lodge’s latest release, B Yond – The Very Best Of, is a mix of new tunes, re-recorded classics, and some remixed Moody Blues tunes. Lodge went back into the studio and recreated songs like “Street Café,” “(Evening) Time to Get Away,” and “Legend of a Mind,” with the musicians of his 10,000 Light Years Band, which includes Alan Hewitt on keyboards, Duffy King on guitars, Billy Ashbaugh on drums, and Jason Charboneau on cello. The result feels fresh and modern, while still retaining the magic of the originals. “Legend of a Mind” was particularly important for Lodge to include on the album, as it is a tribute to his recently deceased friend and former Moody Blues bandmate Ray Thomas. The original 24-track recordings of “Say You Love Me” and “Summer Breeze, Summer Song” were also remixed and remastered. The tracks were co-produced by John and Alan Hewitt, and they feature Lodge on that original Fender Precision Bass — the one his dad bought at Jack Woodruff’s all those years ago. “It’s beautiful,” he attests, returning to the topic of the bass. “Every note is superb. I bought it in 1960, so it’s a late-’50s model, really. I think it was one of the very first of those basses to reach England. It was incredibly expensive — £115, say, $150, but that was in 1960. You could buy a car for £450. You could buy a house for a £1000. So, it was an investment, money-wise, but it had nothing to do with that. Being a budding musician, that was the only bass I wanted to play, and I’ve loved it ever since — proud owner.”

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We spoke with Lodge at home in England, after recently completing Yes’ North American Royal Affair Tour this past summer. The complete tour lineup featured Yes, Asia, Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy (with guest vocalist Arthur Brown) — and, of course, Lodge, who was a charming, curious, detailed interviewee and a bass aficionado of the highest order.

hat made you gravitate toward bass? That’s what drove rock & roll. Everyone listened to the vocalists and everything else, but for me the bass — Carol Kaye, James Jamerson, all these people — drove everything. It still does drive everything. And the left [hand] side of boogie piano was everything I ever wanted: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Gene Vincent. They’re all iconic, but what I realized, what was driving the music for me, was that boogie piano. I used to try to copy all of that boogie on a guitar. You play a custom Fender Jazz Bass live. I use a Fender Jazz Bass, which was customized by the Fender Custom Shop for me probably 25 years ago. And they did a few things for me — adjustments with the nut, the imitation tortoiseshell pickguard, and I think they tweaked the active pickup for me. Having the long neck is just brilliant for me. It seems to play itself, somehow. I look down at my fingers when I’m playing and think, “How do they know where to go?” [Laughs.] As soon as I put that bass on, it just felt right. Can you elaborate on what felt right about it? For me, being a singer as well, you’ve got to get the balance right, because you can’t have anything in the way of trying to get the vocal over. You want the bass to be exactly right, so it feels as though it’s all part of you. And to be honest, I found that with all of my Fender basses. From day one, when I bought my Precision Bass, it just worked. I’ve tried every other bass there is, and a lot of them are good and they get great sounds and everything, but onstage the Fender seems to work for me. There’s something about the balance with a Fender bass. Leo Fender got it right.

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John Lodge

You make singing while playing bass seem effortless, but it can be one of the hardest things to do. With guitar you can let a chord hang while singing a phrase, but the bass has to keep going. You’re exactly right. Lead-guitar singers have it easy, because they play the lead guitar bit when they’re not singing, like B.B. King. I think what you need, as a bass player, is a great drummer. I’ve been really lucky to have great drummers behind me. If you move off the feel, the drummer can always get you back in somehow. I’m not saying that I go off tempo. It’s not just being on the beat; it’s being able to get the feeling, the emotion, from the bass as well as the vocal. For me, that is really important — really important. Do you mostly play with a pick or with your fingers, or both? I would say 99% [of the time] I just wear a pick, and my picks are very strange compared to everyone else’s. When I first bought the bass, there was a magazine called World’s Fair, which came to England about once every month, and I read that a lot of bass players used big felt picks. So, I had some of those and they seemed to work quite well, except they didn’t dig into the strings, so they didn’t have any punch. Apparently, a lot of the studio musicians used to use these in America. So, I got the size and went to a manufacturer — this was like 1968 — and I’ve used the same picks since then. Are they felt picks? No, they’re plastic, but tortoiseshell-looking. They’re really good because one end is pointy and one end is round. If it’s a slow song, sometimes I turn it around and use the round part. If it’s a faster song, I use the pointy bit. It’s quite good using up and down strokes with the pointed end. I understand you prefer recording with flatwounds, but live, you use roundwounds. What is it that you like about the flatwounds for recording? Whatever note you’re playing, it all seems to be the same range. It doesn’t matter if you play an A on the E string, or an A on the G string; they seem to take up the same space in the audio spectrum. There seems to be a

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good balance. Do you write songs on bass? Sometimes I do. I wrote “Singer in a Rock and Roll Band” on bass. Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that. Yeah. A lot of songs are written on bass. “Eyes of a Child,” “House of Four Doors” — I’ve written a lot of songs on bass. On bass, you can either play the roots of chords, or you can play the cello part of the bass. A lot of my bass playing is really cello playing on a bass. So, I’m always looking for a note that’ll go with the chord, which may not be the root of the chord. Or I can get it to motor through, like on “Legend of a Mind.” You often tour with a cellist and a flute player. That seems to be an essential component of your songcraft. I’ve always enjoyed the cello, and that’s why I’ve got a cello onstage with me. I understand what the cello is doing and what I’d like the cello to do. And when I put my bass with it, we’re relating, but not necessarily in harmony. I think it’s because all my life I’ve mostly been in a two-guitar band, so I’ve always had to cover a lot of ground. The bass can be a bridge between the melody and the rhythm, so you should be able to know the song without any other instrumentation — just by the bass line. Absolutely. You’ve got to be well aware of the song’s melody, so you don’t play the same note. That’s important, as well. And so, if you play the bass, you’ve got to know what the song is. If you took everything away and you heard the bass, you’d still know the song. James Jamerson was brilliant at that. It didn’t matter what the song was; when you heard those bass lines going, you knew what was happening. So, like on “Tuesday Afternoon,” if you play the bass part, you should be able to sing the song. “Singer in a Rock and Roll Band” and “Legend of a Mind” are the same. What were your goals in remixing “Say You Love Me” and “Summer Breeze”? What was your aim in making them sound more contemporary? With more contemporary sounds, the drums are louder, the bass is louder. The sys-

tems these days are so good, even in headphones. So, when I came to do the album, I thought, “Yeah, I’m going to go back and find those original 24-tracks.” I baked them first, because the oxide probably would have come off, and then I digitized everything and went back into the studio and remixed them. The drums are a lot louder, the bass is louder, and I think the [overall] spectrum is louder. It’s a very cohesive-sounding record. I wanted to make B Yond feel as though it was all recorded at the same time. The dynamics needed to be the same; it was very important to me that it didn’t sound just like a random collection of recordings. “Summer Breeze, Summer Song” has a fantastic sax solo. A guy named Jimmy Jewell played that. I just love that sax solo, and I thought, “Well, if I love it, perhaps other people are going to enjoy that solo as well.” It’s a really beautiful piece of playing. I’ve always been interested in saxophone players, from the days of Fats Domino and Little Richard. I hear the sax influence because of the Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, and boogie-bass influences — but what about the cello and the flute? Do you have any classical training? No, none whatsoever. I didn’t really get into music at all until I was 13, and I only got into it because of rock & roll. But in school when I was six, seven, eight, nine, we used to have what was called a quiet period, and the teachers would play classical music. I think it was to give them a break from the kids [laughs]. And Birmingham, where I was born, has an incredible orchestra called the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Whether that sort of went into my psyche, I don’t know, but somehow, I seem to be able to hear flute parts and cello parts. I don’t know where it comes from — no idea. So, you’re completely self-taught? In Birmingham, when I was growing up, there was no one who could teach you rock & roll at all. If you wanted guitar lessons, you had to learn Spanish guitar with gut strings — no steel strings. So, it was a matter of teaching yourself, taking the guitar into your bedroom

M SALT

John Lodge

every night and trying to figure it out. It was as simple as that, really. When you come up with these flute and cello parts, how do you translate them to the other musicians? Do you play the part on bass and say, “This is what I’m hearing,” or do you sing it? Sometimes I make a demo of the song and I’ll whistle the part, which I’ve often done, or I will just sing the part to the person. I did an acoustic version of “Isn’t Life Strange” with the cellist from the Miami Symphony Orchestra — he was from South America. Wonderful guy, fantastic. I’ve forgotten his name, unfortunately. He asked, “Where is the music?” and I said, “Well, I’ll sing it to you.” He couldn’t believe it. I don’t think anybody had ever done that to him before. But he sat there, and I just sang the part to him, you know, and it was great because once he’d mastered that we could fine-tune it. I could change a few notes here and there; I was really pleased with the end result. So, I’ve usually got no preconceived idea what I’m going to do, to be honest [laughs]. l

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Jump Head

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Better Oblivion Community Center, Phoebe Bridger

EMILY RETSAS From Oblivion By Jon Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auria

| Photograph By Bebe Labree

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Emily Retsas

this point in her young career, Emily Retsas can most often be found on festival stages, packed venues, and late-night talk show sets, which is a far cry from her upbringing. Growing up in a remote town in Southern Australia called Smoky Bay, Retsas always had a deep passion for music, but her access to it was severely limited, given her lack of resources among a population of only 200 people. The music she did get her hands on influenced her deeply: the grunge, alternative, and punk music coming all the way from America that was filling her headphones and fueling her musical dreams. At age 14 she bought her first bass and immediately started a band. Once she graduated from high school, she moved to Adelaide, with its larger music scene, where her musical voice continued to grow, as did the demand for her playing. After a vacation to Los Angeles in her 20s, Emily decided to make the big jump, and she immediately packed her bags and moved to California. Submersing herself into the unfamiliar L.A. music world as much as she could, Emily started getting noticed, and before long she was landing gigs that increased in profile. In only a few years after her move, Emily had performed with Shirley Manson of Garbage, Fiona Apple, Death Valley Girls, Boygenius, and Jennie Vee. Emily’s longest-tenured gig has been with indie-rock phenom Phoebe Bridgers, and Bridgers’ side project with Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Better Oblivion Community Center. Her roles with Phoebe and BOCC have taken her all over the map and featured her on almost every prominent late-night talk show. She recently wrapped up recording on Bridgers’ upcoming album, and Emily is soon to hit the road with her again for a long stretch of tours. Retsas’ ability to generate both gentle rhythms to accompany Bridgers’ delicate, crooning voice and aggressively powerful riffs when the songs call for it are just one reason why the diverse player from down under is getting so much attention for her playing. Much like her transition from a sleepy town in Australia to the buzzing city of Los Angeles, Emily enjoys a little contrast.

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Emily Retsas

hat was your musical upbringing like in South Australia? There wasn’t a lot of music going on locally at all. My best friend and I bonded over Sonic Youth in our early teens, and we started a band, and that was it for me. When I graduated high school and moved to Adelaide, the much larger music scene there was an important experience early on for me. Did you have any musical experience before picking up a bass at 14? I grew up playing piano and guitar, and when I wanted to start a band, my two friends both played guitar, and they said that someone had to play bass and that I was the worst guitarist [laughs]. It was that age-old story on how most people become a bass player. But I was like, you know what, Kim Gordon plays bass and she’s the coolest, so I’m gonna do this. I finished school playing guitar, and then when I graduated, I went back to playing bass in punk bands. It always felt like my instrument. I never felt like a guitar player. What was it like moving to the U.S. and transplanting to the L.A. music scene? I was in my mid 20s when I moved to the States. I had visited here before then, but never in a touring sense or to play gigs. I always knew that I wanted to play bass, and you can’t tour in the same way in Australia, because it is so vast and it takes so long to get everywhere. So to play bass and get into bands, I knew I had to be where the industry was, so I decided to move to Los Angeles. I came over for a holiday, and the day I got back, I hired a lawyer and started the visa process to move. Once I got here, I said yes to every gig that was offered to me, as a way to meet people. So much of L.A. is word of mouth, and the more people you meet and know, the more gigs you land. How did you land the gig playing with Phoebe? I was suggested for it. I got the call to come audition for her band, and I got the record, and there was no bass on it. I watched a lot of her live videos with a bass player and that helped a lot. She’s such a great singer and a phenomenal guitar player, so I was re-

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spectful to appreciate what was going on in her songs. There are a lot of soft, melodic lines that are always happening, and everyone has their own specific place within that to blend it all together. Everyone is always doing something, but there’s a lot of intentional space in there that really makes it. The set can start very quietly and then end up really loud and grungy as it progresses. What was it like recording on her latest album? Phoebe always knows what she wants, so she’s great at directing in the studio. For one song, she said she wanted it to sound like Nirvana, and I said, Yep. Can do. I was born for that. We played that album live in London, and it was nice to see parts I came up with make it onto the record. The producer did a cool thing where I was doing a slidy bass line and he tuned it down and recorded it twice, and the two parts are slightly out of tune and it sounds amazing. Do you feel pressure playing such gentle music, where every little thing you do is noticeable to the listener? The playing has to be very precise, down to the timing of your slides to a note to the placement of everything you play. She has a lot of slides in her music, and I love playing those. I think all bass players do. I make sure I’m always prepared for those performances, which takes the pressure off me onstage. What’s it like playing with Conor and Phoebe in BOCC? It’s been so much fun. I’m sad that it’s done now, because every gig was a blast. Their fans are so loyal, and they’re both such amazing artists. People are there to see them and have a good time, and you don’t have to worry about winning the audience over, which can be a weird experience for new bands. We threw in a few covers and brought in some guest musicians, so it was always exciting to play those shows. I don’t want to say it was a party, because we definitely didn’t party. It’s so far from a party band, but it was like being onstage with your close friends and hanging out every night.

DUANE KAKAZU

How would you describe the bass playing? It was really different from song to song. Phoebe has a lot of upright on her records, some heavily distorted pick playing, and some beautiful fingerpicking parts. I didn’t play any upright live, so I was translating those lines to electric bass. I tried to best serve that song and that style in the live setting. The songs have a lot of melodic, pop-sensibility bass lines, which are what I love. In learning

those parts, it was a fun record to sit down and listen to on repeat. How do you cop an upright sound on your electric bass? Depending on the line, sometimes I play with my thumb, or I’ll focus on the line I’m playing and I’ll pick and choose which notes sound best for each part. She’ll change her arrangements a lot from the record to the live show, so that gives me some freedom. [Plucking] closer

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Emily Retsas

to the fretboard helps with that, as well. I have an Electro-Harmonix Micro POG that gives me more elongated tones and the lower octave, which helps give it the upright feel, too. What’s your playing technique like the rest of the time? It all depends on the artist and the song. I’ll tailor whatever it is I do to what the artist wants. That always starts with me listening to their records a ton. Phoebe’s stuff is almost exclusively fingers. You can hear a pin drop on that stage; that’s how quiet it is. Better Oblivion is much closer to the punk stuff I grew up on, so I use a pick for that band. I’m usually a little more aggressive with a pick, especially if it fits the music. There’s a lot more to push through and hide behind in louder music like that, whereas with Phoebe she has such a unique, beautiful voice, and the music is more delicate. What is your ideal tone? When I was buying my first real bass I remember listening to Siamese Dream and Gish by The Smashing Pumpkins and hearing the bass tone on those and knowing I wanted that sound. I did a bunch of research and learned that D’arcy Wretzky played both Jazz and Precision Basses. I tested a bunch and got set on the sound of J-Basses with maple necks through a Fender amp or Ampeg SVT. I don’t think you can plug right into those and have them sound bad at all. What was it like playing with Shirley Manson and Fiona Apple for the Girlschool music festival? I still pinch myself that that happened. I found out that it was going on, and that they had a drummer and not a bass player, and I said, What? So the musical director asked me to play it, and I was shocked. I was the last person added to that lineup, so I got all of the material just days before the show, and I had to learn it in such a short amount of time. Shirley Manson is, by far, the sweetest human I’ve ever come into contact with. She knew my name before I even introduced myself. I grew up listening to Garbage in my tiny town and I was such a fan. To play with her and Fiona Apple was surreal.

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Who are your greatest bass influences? My biggest one is Paul McCartney. I love how melodic he is. You can get the stems [isolated tracks] of his bass lines and the Beatles are still great just by those. I grew up idolizing Melissa Auf der Maur, Kim Gordon, Kim Deal, and D'arcy Wretsky. Seeing other women play bass growing up made it seem more realistic that it was something I could do someday. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Colin Greenwood’s work in Radiohead — that’s my thing right now. What’s your pre-show routine? I always run through the full set before the set, which I know might sound like overkill. I recently read that [French metal musician] Saint Vincent does that as well, which makes me feel better about it. People always say that you know the songs already, and you are well rehearsed, so why do you do that? But it’s more to build the muscle memory and warm up my fingers. I also listen to the songs the day of the show and sing my harmonies along with them. Has singing while playing bass always been natural for you? Depending on the music, the difficulty definitely varies. Playing punk music or ’90s grunge is much easier to sing and play, because you’re almost playing the bass like a guitar in those instances. But I’ve played in some bands where a lot of things are going on and it’s more offbeat and groove-driven, and that’s not always instinctual to sing along with. With some bands, I have no idea how players sing and play at the same time. Les Claypool blows my mind every time I hear him sing and play like that. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given about playing bass? Always be prepared. People are always shocked at how prepared I am. Don’t go to a rehearsal to learn the songs — those are to rehearse. I learned that really early on, and it’s helped me a ton. And, be a good hang. People have to want to hang out with you on a bus for three hours, three weeks, three months, and three years. Be someone people want to be around. l

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Yes, Asia, World Trade, Conspiracy

BILLY SHERWOOD The Citizen By Freddy Villano

illy Sherwood admits he was never one to sit down and practice technique and scales and “all that stuff.” But he knew he needed dexterity, so, like many aspiring musicians of his generation, he would practice along to things on records that were difficult — and he played along with a lot of records as a kid. “It helped me get a grip on figuring out what I was trying to do with the thing,” he recalls. “I had a natural ability to detect what a bass line was within a song and figure it out by ear.”

Among the records and artists he played along to, none casts as long a shadow as Yes. Billy’s youthful affinity for the progrock stalwarts would factor predominantly into his professional career, though, at the time, one couldn’t have been predicted that the music of Yes, and Chris Squire’s bass lines, were his road maps to the future. Sherwood was born in 1965 in Las Vegas, Nevada. His dad was actor, musician, and bandleader Bobby Sherwood. His uncle was Milton Berle. He began his profession-

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Billy Sherwood

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Check out Billy live with Yes on “I’ve Seen All Good People” from the recent Royal Affairs tour.

al playing career in Lodgic, a band formed by his brother Michael; their 1985 debut record, Nomadic Sands, was produced by members of the rock band Toto. After Lodgic, Sherwood formed World Trade, a progressive rock band that eventually caught the ear of Yes bassist Chris Squire, who invited Sherwood and guitarist Bruce Gowdy to join a revamped Yes, after the departures of vocalist Jon Anderson and guitarist Trevor Rabin in 1988. Though that incarnation didn’t pan out at that time, it was the beginning of a friendship and musical partnership, based on mutual respect and musical chemistry that continued up until Squire’s untimely death in 2015. Although Sherwood mostly performed as a sideman in Yes and various offshoot projects (mostly playing guitar and singing), he was officially handpicked by the ailing Squire to replace him on bass in Yes in 2015. “I met Chris Squire for the first time at a concert in Los Angeles,” remembers Sherwood. “The Moody Blues were playing at the Greek Theatre, and at the time, Patrick Moraz from Yes was playing with them. And the keyboard player from World Trade, Guy Allison, was the secondary keyboard player. So, Guy invited me to the show because he knew I was a fan of Patrick’s, and he was going to introduce me to him. So, I’m sitting in the audience and a couple of rows in front of me is Chris Squire. After the show, he started walking toward the artist area, so I thought, I know where he’s going — I’ll follow him,” Billy laughs. “So, I did, and as we were almost to the door, I grabbed the back of his jacket and went, ‘Hey, man.’ He turned around and I said, ‘You’re Chris Squire,’ and he said, ‘Of course I am [laughs].’ He discovered soon after that he had been listening to my World Trade demos and digging the songs. We had dinner soon after that and started writing songs together, the first one of which was [the Conspiracy song] ‘The More We Live,’ which is a pretty cool and unique song. We both knew there was chemistry there.” Nowadays, Sherwood spends much of his time touring with Yes. When he’s home, he’s

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usually in production and writing mode, so the focus of his bass playing is still, ironically, playing along to records. Except now, they are the ones he’s writing and producing. “If I need to get bass on a song, I’ll grab my bass and get it done,” he explains. “But then it’s back in the case and I’m on to the next thing. That said, it happens quite a lot, so I’m actually playing bass quite a bit, by virtue of that. As I’m doing that, I may noodle and stumble into a cool riff or run and make a little chunk of that for my ideas folder. I find it to be more important than just shedding, for lack of a better word — for me, anyway.” We spoke to Sherwood just has he had completed the Royal Affairs tour, which had him pulling double duty with both Yes and Asia. He had also recently released his latest solo record, Citizen: In the Next Life. It’s the second release in the Citizen series, which follows the concept that he started with the Citizen album he released in November 2015. The songs describe the firsthand experiences of the title character (the Citizen) in a journey through time and space. Sherwood was candid about his approach to bass, his songwriting acumen, his relationships with Squire and Spector basses, and the reasons he got into producing.

ince you were playing with both Yes and Asia, how did you prepare for the Royal Affairs tour? There’s a similarity within the music, but there are big differences between the two bands, in terms of the bass playing. Chris tended to roam around the bass neck quite a bit, whereas John Wetton kind of hung around the root note and just drove it with rhythm. So, it was a different approach for each band, in terms of the playing style. But within that, there’s this musicality: the chords, the vocals, the hooks, and the melodies from the guitar — all of that makes it interesting. And both have that similar progressive rock thread. One leans a little one way and one leans the other way, and at the center of it are these two amazing bass players, doing their thing.

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Billy Sherwood

Were you familiar with the material? I always played along with Yes records, so that came naturally to me. With Asia, I didn’t really play along to those records so much. I loved them, but once I dove in and figured out what it was [that I needed to play], I just tried to stay true to it and bring a little of my own into it at the same time — for both bands, really. Did you change anything tone-wise between the two gigs? No. It’s the same rig and the same basses. I did make a select patch list on my Line 6 Helix just to have a different bank, but they were very similar in tone. What’s your signal chain? I plug my Spector bass into my Line 6 pedalboards — I have a couple of them. In the studio they get linked up in a Behringer X32 digital mixer, where I make the final adjustment. I have the flexibility and the EQ between those two units to really dial in whatever frequencies, or punch or clarity, I’m missing. For Yes live, that sends out to the front-of-house stereo, where they open up the channels hard-left and hard-right, which sounds amazing. Live, do you use amplifiers? I use amplifiers because you have to have some speakers onstage moving air, so I use Tech 21 [VT Bass 1000 head, B410-DP cabinets] to do that job — but the sound itself, the effects, like the flanger, the chorus, the tremolo, the delay — is all programmed in the Helix. Between the Line 6 [POD xt], which I just can’t let go of, and the new Helix, it’s great. I can get really creative and do some cool things with that stuff. And the sounds are amazing. The simulations of amps within the Line 6 work, for me, anyway. You’ve played Spector basses for ages. Why Spector? Going way back to 1982, when I bought my first Spector bass, a red fretless NS that I still use in Yes. I love the sound of that bass. I was just randomly in a store, playing basses, and I fell in love with that bass. And, as we were making the first World Trade record, somehow a message came through that Stu-

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art Spector was digging what we were doing, and he wanted to have a meeting. And so, I became a Spector endorser back in the late ’80s. Stuart built me this beautiful custom 8-string that there’s really only one of, and I use it with Yes on “Going for the One.” I have played other basses along the way, but the Spectors were always the ones I considered my main guys. Are there specific tone characteristics that drew you to Spectors? While there’s a similarity in each one, they do sound different from bass to bass. The electronic side shares this consistency, but the wood, and the nature of the construction, changes the outcome. So, I have certain basses in my rack for certain things. My white Spector, when you play a low E and you don’t put any rhythm [guitar] behind it, it’s just nice and round and warm, the perfect utility for that job. Whereas this other one, which has fish inlays running up and down the neck, is a really fast-playing bass. It’s got great tone, but it just plays fast, so for “The Gates of Delirium” that works better. I have many of them, but each one has a specific role for me. It’s kind of cool. Live, are you able to mix and match basses with your rig without having to adjust your settings too much? Here’s how I arrived at it. I’m sort of weird and analytical and want things to be a certain way — it’s an engineer kind of mindset. I’ll take the main bass that I know, direct into my studio here, and I’ll record playing a riff on that bass, with the volume and tone knobs exactly where I want them. The Spectors have such a wide range it’s dangerous, because if I dial that knob and miss, all of a sudden 30Hz is killing my sound. So, I find the sound for me that’s like, “There it is, right there. This is what I want that to be.” Then I’ll tape the knobs down on that bass, in those spots. Then I take another bass and I’ll record the same riff, and tape those knobs down, etc. That provides a general sense of the input range of each bass, so when I plug into my Helix, that’s when the effects really do their work.

Billy Sherwood

The benefit of it all is that they are all coming in at the same input level, with the same general shape and structure EQ-wise, so it’s hitting all of the effects in the same general way and making them react the same way. The tonal differences of the bass itself are what become different about using, for example, patch 2A with one bass versus another. But they’re consistent. That’s really important live, so the FOH mixer isn’t chasing bass levels all over the place. And also, because we record live, when I’m mixing the stuff later, it doesn’t create a nightmare. It’s a weird method, but it’s what I do [laughs]. Tell me about the 8-string Spector and why it’s one of a kind. It’s basically a 4-string with an 8-string saddle. Stuart said, “I’ve never built one, I don’t know…” I said, “Couldn’t you just grab one of your basses?” So, he did that. He took a normal bass, put the saddle on and drilled four banjo pegs on the top — they are behind the headstock — that you can’t really

see. If you didn’t know it was an 8-string, you wouldn’t know, looking at it. It’s so rock solid; the tuning is remarkable, and the intonation and whatnot. It holds its tuning, which is an incredible feat for an instrument like that. Between Asia, Yes, and your solo material, are you mostly playing with a pick or your fingers? With Asia, it’s all pick; with Yes, it’s 90% pick, 10% fingers. Usually, if I’m playing with my fingers, it’s for something that’s a little gentler, and I tend to be playing the fretless on things like “Onward,” “Soon,” and “Nine Voices.” On stuff like that, I’m channeling one of my other heroes: Jaco Pastorius. So, I’ve got my fretless world with the nice reverb, sort of like Jaco had on that Joni Mitchell live thing [Shadows and Light]. It’s a different approach, and I’m not great with my fingers with faster things, I’ll have to admit, which is why I use a pick. I can find the time and articulate with a pick much easier. But for slow things where it’s these nice, long

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Billy Sherwood

legato lines or melodies, the fingers mellow out the attack. What was the writing process like for Citizen? Do you write on bass? I came at it from different angles for each song. There was a guitar riff I had in mind for the “The Partisan” before it became “The Partisan.” I knew it could be something, so I started working on the riff and building around

that. Then there are other things, where I was sitting at a keyboard noodling around with various chords, like the song “Sophia,” where I was playing around with these weird chord inversions. And other tracks, as I’m driving down the street, I’m humming melodies. For instance, I wrote “Mata Hari” on the freeway one day. I heard this melody in my head and just started singing into my phone, and when I got home, I translated that thought into a production. So, it comes from different areas, not so much just one instrument or the oth-

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er. Sometimes an idea gets sparked and that’s where it begins — especially lyrically. What made you include “Amazing Grace” as a bonus track? Chris played bass on the first Citizen record, on the first track, the song “Citizen.” And that’s the last Chris Squire overdub that we have. He died shortly after that. So, I thought it would be nice to have him bookend these two records, cosmically, if you will, and get his spirit on the record. The best way was to do “Amazing Grace,” because it’s his well-known solo from the ’80s. Rather than just making it about the bass, I thought singing those two little bits would tie in my history with Chris. It’s putting Chris as the Citizen in that song and honoring him there. You channel the spirit of Chris Squire’s playing very well. Thanks. We were close. I used to watch him play, very closely. He was funny. I was talking to Jay [Schellen], the drummer on the last tour, who was in Conspiracy with me and Chris. We were working on a bass track for the last Conspiracy record, and there was this one little bit that I added to a song. I did a little demo of the part for Chris to hear, and as I was playing it he said, “Oh, cool — that’s almost exactly how I’d do it.” So, I said, “Here’s the bass, go for it.” And he was like, “No, no, no, you’re so close; just keep doing it. But I would play it like this at the very top.” And he might have put some vibrato on one of the notes or something, and I was just like, “Here, just play this — you’re here,” and he was still like, “You’re so close” [laughs]. It was just one of those things. I was always sort of driven toward that bass style, and because I was able to look over his shoulder on all of these tours, I had all of his little nuances pretty well down, except for this little wiggle [vibrato] that he wanted at the top of the riff. Why do you think bass players seem to make such good producers? Because, as bass players, we always get turned down in the mix, so we finally figured out how to get the bass where it’s supposed to be — and we’ve grabbed the reins and we’re not letting go [laughs]. Your question trig-

Billy Sherwood

gered a memory I hadn’t thought of in ages. The first record I ever made was Lodgic, and we were on A&M. After all the years of sweat and finally getting in the studio and getting it right, we had the final mix to do. I get my coffee, go into the control room, and it’s the guys from Toto producing — David Paich, Greg Ladanyi, and Steve Porcaro, and they all looked at me like, “What are you doing here?” And I was like, “I’m ready to help mix this thing.” And they were like, “No, we got this.” The band wasn’t allowed in? As newbies, rightfully so, but I remember thinking at the time, “I have to become the producer, because nobody can kick the producer out of the session” [laughs]. I was really worried about the bass level while roaming the hallway like I was having a kid [laughs]. I remember asking Keith Olsen, who mixed the World Trade album, “What’s the key to a good mix?” And he said, “A lot of bottom, a lot of middle, and a lot of top” [laughs]. I thought, “I get it.”

I always ask singing bassists about the key to developing that skill. There’s a rhythmical component. The ultimate challenge there is the second verse in “The Gates of Delirium,” where the bass and the bass drum have this distinct rhythmic pattern. It’s this thing, and it has to be there. And on top of that, there’s a whole other vocal counterpoint thing — it’s just a mind-bender. I always come to the table with the bass more prepared than the vocal, because applying the vocal comes easier. Maybe it’s a drummer mindset: being able to have the right hand do this, while the left hand does that, and the foot does something else. In terms of being able to play some very weird rhythms and sing something totally different over the top, I kind of get behind it easier than most. “Tempus Fugit” is another weird one: to get all of that under your fingers and sing it. You have to be able to not think about one over the other. The real trick is flipping your iPad so you can follow your lyrics [laughs]. l

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Stanley

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Clarke Movies, Memories & Mentorship From The Motor City By Chris Jisi |

Photos by Richard Conde

eeply honored by being Artist in Residence at the 2019 Detroit Jazz Festival, Stanley Clarke was in a reflective mood when he sat down to chat with us just after the event. We soon learned why, as he expounded upon the festival experience, his long and winding film-composing career, and his bandstand and tour-bus mentoring of young musicians.

ow would you describe your experience this year being the Artist in Residence? It was amazing. First of all, Detroit has had a big impact on me and every jazz musician because of the greats who hail from there â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, James Jamerson, the Jones Brothers, Tommy Flanagan, Ralphe Armstrong, the list goes on and on. Second, Detroit is such a unique jazz city in that everyday, working people are very knowledgable about the music and the artists, and they come out in droves. Last, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a true international jazz fes-

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COURTESY STANLEY CLARKE

Stanley Clarke

tival, not one watered down with R&B acts and smooth jazz artists. I got the chance to see the fullness of the festival as the Artist in Residence, and it made me proud and happy. I don’t really get a chance to look retrospectively at my life because I’m constantly moving forward, so it was nice to hear from fans and in interviews, “Remember this record?” Or, “Remember that group?” Or, “Can you sign this album?” You played with your band the first night, and an all-star group the second night. Yes, for the first night with my band [pianist Beka Gochiashvili, keyboardist Cameron Graves, drummer Sharik Tucker, violinist Evan Garr, and Sala Nader on tabla] we played a wide range of my catalogue: early songs like “School Days,” material from the

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middle of my career, and some new music — everyone was in fine form. The second night we had Lenny White on drums, Beka on piano, Wallace Roney on trumpet, and Emilio Modeste on tenor sax. He’s 19 and a tremendous player; in a lot of ways he reminds my of myself at that age. We played older, pre-fusion songs by Miles, Wayne Shorter, Stan Getz, and Horace Silver. Recalling that period, and my coming up with Stan and Horace, was a great feeling. The last night was an epic performance of your Boyz n the Hood soundtrack, with you conducting a 60-piece orchestra and also playing, as the film showed on a big screen. Can you take us through the process? It was an idea I had years ago after seeing John Williams perform his scores that

Stanley Clarke

way at the Hollywood Bowl. I thought, no one has ever done this with urban movies in urban areas. My old manager didn’t grasp it, but when I got with my new manager, Valerie Malot, who owns 3D Family, she understood. She said Boyz is very big in Europe, and she had some interested orchestras over there. While we tossed it around, the Detroit opportunity came up, and she took it upon herself to make it happen. The next step was to find my scores for Boyz, and I remembered that when you score a movie in Hollywood, part of the delivery requirement is to give the studio everything related to the score when you’re done — every recording, file, all the notated music. So I called Sony and they had it all, right down to my scores with spaghetti stains on them! I also asked them for a copy of the

film without the score, so we could play to it, and they said sure, we’ll give you the broken down elements of the film and you put it back together the way you want. So I had to revise the full orchestral score and then re-edit the movie. It took me two months. How did the playing component figure in? I had this idea to have a small band with Lenny White, Wallace Roney, and a few others play live music based on the score in-between some of the scenes. So we created montages within the movie for folks to look at while we played. That meant I had to put the baton down, walk over to the acoustic bass on a crowded stage, play for four or five minutes, and then as the movie is rolling, walk back to bring the orchestra in at the right place. It all went perfectly, which was amazing considering all the technology and personnel. Five minutes before we started, I have to admit, I was pretty scared. And I forgot how important John [Singleton’s] movie was to people. With themes of gang violence, drug abuse, poverty, and family issues, it was ahead of its time, and it still resonates today. A lot of the people who attended had never seen a live orchestra. There were tears; it was a heavy experience, and the reviews were great. Now that we have all the material, I’d like to perform it a few times in 2020, and do it with some of my other scores, as well. You also had Ron Carter featured at the festival. That was a huge bonus. We did a roundtable, along with Wallace, Pat Metheny, and Danilo Perez, but I wish I could have also done a dual interview with Ron so that people could understand the impact he has had on the bass and music world. He’s probably the greatest ever at bass line construction, and his influence runs so long and so deep that there are cats who play his licks and don’t even know who he is. When you can affect players beyond your reach, that’s true genius. Fortunately I got to be in the upcoming documentary on Ron, and we are working toward doing some duo gigs together in 2020. Let’s turn back to your film composing side: What was your experience being an early

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Stanley Clarke

African-American film composer in Hollywood? There were some challenges, for sure. Before me there were not many. You had Quincy [Jones], the late Oliver Nelson, and J.J. Johnson; Herbie [Hancock] did a few. What helped me was doing some TV scoring first. Barry Manilow was doing a TV special, and he wanted to play jazz with a real jazz band and singers, and I got the call on bass. The director, Steve Binder, came to me during the show and asked if I’d ever scored a TV show before. He said he had a special episode of Pee Wee’s Playhouse that was about childbirth, and he needed some music that was a little left of center, and he thought I’d be perfect. I was all but talking my way out of it, but he told me to get a DX7, Performer, and some MIDI gear. I did, and I wrote the score with that, and lo and behold I got an Emmy nomination. As a result, agents started calling me, and I signed on with a great guy named Stan Millander. Based on my doing TV work, he thought he could break me into feature films, even though there were very few black film composers. He said he was going to send me on meetings, but he warned me that people were going to be skeptical and ask me stupid questions, and he was right. He sent me to do a sports-themed movie, whose title I won’t mention to not incriminate anyone. I did my homework, went through the script, showed up in a suit and tie, and I began outlining what music and ensemble sizes I thought would go with each scene. When I finished, one of the head guys says to me, “Now, Stanley, obviously you’re a great musician with a successful recording career; you have music in your head and in your heart. I get that. But how are you going to get it to other people? Like how are you going to get an orchestra to understand what you want them to do?” It didn’t register with me at first, but what he was essentially saying was, Listen, motherfucker, we know your black ass can’t read and write music! Fortunately, I knew one of the assistants, and I saw that she was winking at me. That’s when the bell went off in my head, and I realized what he was implying. So

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I said, “What do you mean? I’m going to write the music down on a piece of paper and hand it other musicians, the way people have been doing it for hundreds of years.” And he said, “Okay, gotcha.” And that was it. I went home, they hired me, and I did the score. What was interesting was the early films I got were 75% urban, 25% mainstream. But in TV I was doing 80% mainstream stuff, like Murder, She Wrote and cartoons. Eventually my film work evened out to half urban and half mainstream. The other key was when black actors like Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Laurence Fishburne became huge stars, that sort of transcended race. So Passenger 57 was not an urban movie, but an action movie with a black star. Romeo Must Die was not an Asian movie — it was an action movie starring Jet Li. With a busy solo career, why did you want to get into film scoring? For starters, to expand my compositional side. As I always tell young bassists, a key part of being an artist is to have a compositional makeup. Because if you look at all the greats — Bird, Trane, Jaco — how they’re reaching you is through songs. They’re not just moving their fingers fast. That was something Chick Corea cemented in me early on, when we were going to do Light as a Feather [1972, Polydor]. He had heard me playing piano, and he said, “I really want you to write something for this album.” I said, “Chick, that’s your category. I have no interest; you’re the writer in the band.” He said, “Listen, if you write something, it will not only give me a break, it will add another color to the music.” I understood, but I was still skeptical, so he said, “Look, if you write a song for this project I promise you I will name the album after it.” And he kept his word. He was 28 and I was 19, but here was a guy who already understood leadership — that you have to delegate. To be truly powerful, you have to make somebody else powerful. He gave me confidence, and that made all the difference. I became a composer and never turned back. The other aspect, as I would soon learn, is when you’re writing for film, you have the

Stanley Clarke

opportunity to compose music you would never put on a record. You have to write music for some guy stabbing another guy in the neck, and he’s bleeding profusely, or for a chase scene. You don’t use that on an album. The records we listen to generally deal with only two or three dynamics: Love, sorrow, celebration — a slice of what happens in life. But in film you see everything, and you have to be prepared to write for that. That sounds like a special skill. It is, and if you asked me how I learned to do it, that’s a complete mystery to me. Some can do it, some can’t. Some of the greatest musicians and composers cannot write for film; they’re not able to translate the human experience that they’re watching. I don’t know why, but when I see something on a screen, I just know what to write. I can even do it in real life; I can score us having this conversation right now. I enjoy teaching young film composers, and most of it is technology and the political aspects. But when it gets down to the music and you have the footage in front of you, that’s when you realize whether you have it or not. There are 50 different ways to score a scene, but the bottom line is, can you get someone to understand what the scene is? What was the inspiration for your latest soundtrack, Halston? I was asked to do it by someone I met, and I knew nothing about Halston. But learning about him, the amazing heights he reached and the tragic fall, intrigued me. For a composer, that’s very meaty; it gives you a lot to write about. So I took it on and I really enjoyed it. The music came out of me very fast, because I understood everything about him, and there were a lot of layers there. I’m normally not the biggest fan of documentaries from a composer standpoint, but the way this was shot and put together was like a movie in how it told a story. Stylistically your score ranges from acoustic and electric jazz to disco and rock. That was all related to the time periods in the film, which I had to be stylistically accurate with. There were certain chords and grooves and styles of bass playing I couldn’t

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use, and that was a fun challenge. It’s funny — I was around New York back then, in the Studio 54 era, and I didn’t care much for that kind of music, but I knew how to write it for the score. There’s also a Miles vibe in some of it, reflecting how he was playing at that point. It worked because there’s a darkness and sadness to the overall story, but it’s almost a beautiful sadness. You’re well known for hiring young musicians and being generous with them onstage. It’s because that’s what was done for me. It’s really that simple. Bandleaders like Horace Silver, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson, and Dexter Gordon were very nice to me as a young player, and that opened the door for me to go for it. I can’t remember a single leader who tried to get me to change the basic fundamentals of how I played the bass. Now, in lesser situations, that’s when I would run into guys who might try to change you. So I always keep in mind that the truly great musicians are generous and very open-minded, because they recognize that’s the pathway to greatness. Another reason I work with young players is jazz music has historically traveled down the time track from before Louis Armstrong to now, through what is actually an African concept: You pass it on to the youth. If you’re a band in 1960 and everyone is the same age, that doesn’t work; you have to have young band members to pass it on to. Do you recall any key lessons taught to you by a great when you were a young player? Yes! I clearly remember being in Stan Getz’s band and having some trouble stabilizing my role in some music we were playing. Tony Williams was there, and he came over to me. He is not much older than me, but he’d already been gigging for years. He said, “Think about Ron [Carter]. Forget the notes he’s playing; just try to feel his personality. He’s very stoic, like a tree with roots that go deep into the ground.” He went on to explain that the whole Miles band revolved around Ron — where the one was, who defined the harmony and moved it along. And that’s when I had the life-changing realization that the bassist is the only one in the band who

Stanley Clarke

truly brings the rhythm and the harmony together. James Jamerson was like that. When you listen to a Motown tune, his bass defines the tonal center, and when you figure out how to dance to it and feel it, it’s from the bass, as well. Bass players hold a very powerful position in a band — to me, the most important one. I got all of that thanks to Tony. Another invaluable lesson was learning about how to swing from Art Blakey. He taught me about the three points of a beat: On the beat, in front of the beat, or after the beat. When you grasp his concept, you can create some different feels. That’s the kind of stuff that got passed to me, so I have a duty to pass it on to young musicians. You’re not telling your musicians what to play as much as you’re guiding them. Right, I give them those lessons. You interview guys who have been in my band, and they’ll say that I tell them stories and I pass on lessons I learned from Tony, Art Blakey, and others. I’m a drummer freak, so every drummer who’s played with me has been beat up pretty good, from Sharik, Mike Mitchell, and Ronald Bruner all the way back to Gerry Brown. I’ve played with all the great drummers — they haven’t, so I tell them what they need to know and who they need to check out.

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Given your mentoring role, how do you feel about the direction of jazz? Overall I think it’s healthy and promising. You have all of these talented young musicians who are both rooted in the tradition and forward thinking, and we veteran guys are not going away anytime soon. I do think one of the areas we’re a little behind on is bands. The history of jazz is rich with great bands. Now everyone wants to be a solo artist, so you have a lot of individuals. But not everyone is qualified to be a leader. I always encourage the young musicians who play with me to get together and create a group. Bands are powerful. What’s your main mission these days? What inspires me now is I have a lot of music in my head that I have to get out. I have a couple of electric bass albums I want to do, and I have some orchestral music I want to record to join some of my peers who have released big orchestral pieces. Touring-wise, I want to be more diverse — playing with my young band, with some veteran groups, and working with Ron [Carter]. I’m 68 and I can see the door that says 70 ahead, and it’s open a little bit, with some light creeping through. But I’m like an organism; I just keep going. When my time is up, I’m gonna go down swinging. l

Stanley Clarke

“Where Is Halston”

or his score to the film Halston, Stanley Clarke’s ability to relate to the highs and lows in the legendary clothing designer’s life naturally led him to his home instrument, the acoustic bass. The soundtrack’s opening piece, “Where Is Halston,” begins with Clarke’s raw, ten-bar rumination on his upright in a solo setting [see music]. It’s characterized by Stanley’s free interpretation, somewhere between rubato and a deliberate pace that is mostly rendered in 6/4, and his rich expressions — including greasy slides into and out of notes, wide vibratos, and jazzy drop-downs. Thematically, the piece is essentially a call and response in a G blues tonality. In bar 1, the high E to G is answered by the low D to Bb that follows — a motif that repeats in bars 2, 3, and 8–10. In-between is melodic development that ranges from the ideas that end bars 1 and 2 to the longer explora-

G blues tonality Freely

= 90

tion (a sort of bridge?) that extends from the end of bar 3 through bar 7. Listen to the passage before attempting it, and try to capture the vocal quality by focusing on the phrasing and note durations, as well as the breaths that add equally important spaces.

N.C.

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JAZZ FEST IN MOTOWN

E.E. Bradman’s road diary of a weekend with legends |

Photographs by Takehiko Tokiwa

or many bass fanatics, Detroit is synonymous with James Jamerson — but it’s safe to say that without Motor City jazz, there’d be no Motown. Like his fellow Funk Brothers, Jamerson was one of the city’s working jazz musicians, an illustrious group that includes Yusef Lateef, Joe Henderson, Alice Coltrane, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, as well as brothers Elvin, Thad, and Hank Jones. “The history of jazz and the history of jazz from Detroit are indivisible,” says Mark Stryker in his 2019 book Jazz From Detroit. “You can’t tell one story without the other.” It’s no surprise, then, that the city’s annual Detroit Jazz Fest, held over Labor Day weekend, draws more than 300,000 music lovers to the city’s downtown. For its 40th

birthday, in 2019, festival organizers chose Stanley Clarke to be the Artist in Residence — and invited Bass Magazine to join the party.

FRIDAY NIGHT

The Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center is the tallest of seven skyscrapers at General Motors’ world headquarters, and the view from my room on the 21st floor is sharp: Below me, I can see the festival grounds, the sparkling Detroit River, and on this clear August day, Canada right across the water. The hotel lobby buzzes with excitement, and when I get to Jazz Fest, I see grown men dancing and grandmas drinking Miller Light as hipsters, Japanese tourists, high school kids, and families of every size and color take

Left: Clarke performing with Emilio Modeste. Right: The great Ron Carter

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RICHARD CONDE

Detroit Jazz Fest

Dane Alderson of Yellowjackets

in Danilo Pérez’s Global Big Band. The sound system is primed for hip-hop — fat lows, clear highs, and not much in-between — but Pérez, with Jared Henderson on upright and vocalist Luciana Souza at the mic, gets things rolling with an affable, welcoming set. The festival doesn’t really kick in, though, until Stanley Clarke hits the stage. “School Days” gets the crowd on their feet, and although the hour-long show has plenty of badass bass moments, the 68-year-old superstar seems excited to share the spotlight with the rest of the band. Giant screens make it easy to see every musician, and the crowd, diverse in every way, is in good spirits. I can’t help but smile when violinist Evan Garr’s blazing solo inspires one slightly tipsy onlooker to exclaim, “Stanley done found

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himself another Jean-Luc Ponty!” Back at the Marriott that evening, organizers kick off the first jazz jam session of the festival in a swanky ballroom with candlelit tables. Jeffrey Pedraz ably anchors the house band as veteran Detroit musicians catch up outside the door. Young players step up to sit in, and the room comes alive until the wee hours.

SATURDAY

Ron Carter and James Jamerson are the bass gods of this town, but “the D” is home to many other low-end titans, too. Doubler Ralphe Armstrong studied with both icons, and although he’s probably best known for his stints with Jean-Luc Ponty and Mahavishnu Orchestra back in the ’70s and ’80s, the

Detroit Jazz Fest

63-year-old is far from a has-been. Even on a packed plaza within earshot of three other performances, his hard-swinging, muscular approach with a trio and singer Freda Payne grabs my attention. As I walk among a constant stream of folks with lawn chairs migrating between the four outdoor stages (as well as food trucks and festival vendors), I wonder if a free, open-air jazz festival can afford to take more programming risks than a festival that depends on ticket sales. Here, tradition is sacred: Shannon Wade does a fine job of conjuring history with Jon Kelso’s Hot 5, as does Roland Guerin with Shannon Powell’s New Orleans Jazz Masters, while Dan Kolton brings big tone to a celebration of beloved Detroit saxophonist George Benson. Vocalist Sheila Jordan, in a class by herself, is sensitively supported by Marion Hayden and her trio; in ELEW, a vibrant three-piece headed by powerhouse pianist Eric Lewis, Eric Wheeler isn’t shy about soloing. The overall aesthetic is so legacy-heavy that I’m surprised to see Macy Gray on the schedule. Alex Khyn, playing a Rickenbacker through an Aguilar rig, starts the set with a brief solo, but Gray and her band seem tentative. Closer to home is the stately Ron Carter, 82, whose performance is a masterclass in confidence, musicality, and intonation. With his Gallien-Krueger MB112 combo up

near his shoulders and a quartet that fits him like a glove, Carter is definitely a master at the top of his game. I leave Australian phenom Dane Alderson and the Yellowjackets’ reliably catchy set early to get a good seat for Joe Lovano, whose nonet is firing on all cylinders. Sadly, Cameron Brown — pushing the band forward with every fiber of his being — is too low in the mix. Still, the music is a blast.

SUNDAY

What do Armstrong, Carter, Chambers, Doug Watkins, Major Holley, and Al McKibbon have in common? They all went to Cass Tech, a Detroit public high school and jazz incubator since the ’40s. At a roundtable for journalists near the campus, Stanley joins five former Jazz Fest artists-in-residence (Pat Metheny, Danilo Pérez, Terence Blanchard, and native Detroiters Regina Carter and Ron Carter), who speak warmly of the city’s jazz history, the fans, and Jazz Fest artistic director Chris Collins’ avoidance of pop acts. Everyone, especially Stanley, pays homage to the easygoing Ron. Back onsite, throwbacks are all the rage. Drummer Rob Pipho and Dan Kolton expertly anchor a group with shades of ’80s/’90s contemporary jazz. Similarly, Xavier Davis’ gorgeous integration of a string quartet into swinging arrangements propelled by former

Detroit Jazz Fest Roundtable

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Detroit Jazz Fest

Max Gerl performing with Cameron Graves

Terence Blanchard bass man Rodney Whitaker recall Blanchard’s orchestral/jazz contributions to Spike Lee films like Malcolm X. If it’s mildly surprising to see Macy Gray at a jazz festival, it’s shocking to hear Red Baraat, who fuse Balkan brass-band flavor and funky Indian folk drumming, with sousaphone by John Altieri. But perhaps the appearance of these uptempo, in-your- face bhangra specialists is a nod to the reinvigorated spirit of Detroit, where Jazz Fest sponsor Quicken Loans, headed by founder Dan Gilbert, is a major player. In a city that’s cautiously hoping this latest uptick does the trick, a fun press jaunt to the sprawling, 129-yearold Eastern Market shopping district naturally leads to interesting discussions about race, gentrification, and police brutality.

Old-school Detroit is still alive in Thornetta Davis’ sassy rhythm & blues, enhanced by Joseph Veloz and his Jazz Bass 5-string, but I pull myself away to see Stanley again. His upright tone — woody, with signature articulations, slides, and vibrato — melds perfectly with trumpeter Wallace Roney, pianist Beka Gochiashvili, and Stanley’s Return To Forever bandmate Lenny White. The crowd applauds wildly for “Maiden Voyage,” “Two Bass Hit,” and 19-year-old saxophonist Emilio Modeste’s epic solo on “Footprints.” The festival itself runs smoothly: Sets start more or less on time, security is present but chill, food is varied and reasonably priced, and the vibe is good; shows delayed by a few minutes of rain are quickly rescheduled. But not everyone survives the mixing board. Although Kenny Garrett’s transcendent sax solos take me back to late-era Miles, his bass man Corcoran Holt barely gets any love; measly low end (and noise from other stages) makes it frustrating to watch the highly anticipated Ron Carter/Pat Metheny duet. Likewise, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s upright (Amina Scott) and tuba (Steve Glenn) players are buried by an unfriendly mix. All is forgiven, however, when I see the Cameron Graves Quartet. The thirtysomething L.A. keyboardist, familiar to fans of Kamasi Washington and Thundercat, is rocking Jazz Fest with Stanley but leading his own group, too, with Max Gerl on an MTD 6-string. The intense music nods to jazz, gospel, metal, and hip-hop, and although the fast unison lines and fearless drumming wouldn’t be out of place on a Meshuggah album, the dazzling piano parts might. That evening, Graves and his youthful quartet are the house band for the jazz jam at the Marriott. They remind me of a couple in the first flush of love: voracious, over the top, and still discovering each other.

MONDAY

One of the joys of going to a jazz festival, of course, is experiencing players you’ve heard but never seen. Scott Colley is a New York

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Detroit Jazz Fest

hero whose shows I’ve missed in the Bay Area, so it’s a treat to see him with Joshua Redman’s Still Dreaming, the powerful sax/bass/ trumpet/drums lineup inspired by his father Dewey Redman’s Old And New Dreams. I am so entranced watching the quartet that I miss the Heartland Trio with Hannah Marks on upright. Later, Colley blows my mind by sight-reading tricky Brazilian lines alongside Luciana Souza and guitarist Chico Pinheiro. The 77-year-old Cuban piano maestro Chucho Valdés bridges “earthy” and “classy” universes in a way that’s truly intoxicating, and Ramon Vasquez Martirena, who accompanies Valdés alongside a conguero and a batá drummer, is strong on upright and nimble on 6-string electric. Unfortunately,

the crowd is thin: It’s the last evening of a long weekend, and Stanley Clarke is playing at the same time. For his third and final performance of the festival, Stanley conducts the Detroit Jazz Festival String Orchestra as they play along to select scenes from Boyz n the Hood, the groundbreaking John Singleton classic that Clarke scored in 1991. Onstage, he moves from electric to upright to the conductor’s podium, and the orchestra conjures magic that makes the audience stay until the last frame. It’s a beautiful way to end Jazz Fest: a fine balance between dialogue and music, orchestration and improvisation, power and finesse — and a resounding salute to Detroit’s (and jazz’s) past, present, and future. l

Hannah Marks with Heartland Trio

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THAT’S A WRAP!

A Tour Of Aguilar’s Pickup Department By Chris Jisi

ince 1995, Aguilar has been synonymous with well-engineered, high-powered bass amplification. But as any bassist within earshot of a mighty Aguilar rig knows, the company has since launched very successful divisions making effect pedals and pickups. We visited Aguilar’s digs in New York City’s East Village to learn the inner workings of its thriving pickup line, which includes over 20 models and has become standard equipment in a host of basses from companies like F Bass, Spector, Fodera, and Ibanez. For Aguilar President/CFO Dave Boonshoft, there’s a clear connection to all of the gear the company makes. “We’re all about completing the instrument. A luthier builds a great electric bass guitar, and that’s the voice. It has no output or soundbox on its own, so that’s where we, as an

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electronics company, come in. We complete the instrument with our products. They’re the amplifiers, filters, and modifiers for the voice of the instrument. That’s where we put our expertise and try to contribute value to the musician.” So how about pickups? “Our concept is microphones for your bass,” states Boonshoft. “You need an amplifier to make your bass louder, and you need a preamp on the amp or the bass to do the filtering and tone modification. And you need a great microphone in your bass to capture the instrument’s voice. Pickups are transducers, changing one type of energy for another; they’re not filters or tone controls or amplifiers. The voice is still the wood and the strings, and we’re turning that energy into voltage and getting it to the

amp. So we look at pickups as, What’s the best transducer we can make? It’s got to have musical character, but it also has to do things in a practical way. It has to be very functional and musical at the same time. Those are the pickups we want to build.” For Aguilar, the road to pickup-making was initially paved by the company’s popular OBP-1 onboard preamp, introduced in 1997 and now standard in a swath of production basses, including Flea’s signature Fender Active Jazz Bass. Explains Boonshoft, “After the OBP-1, we thought, What goes with a preamp? Obviously it’s pickups, but being a small company, there was always another amp to design. Finally, after a number of years, we dedicated ourselves to doing it. I thought, What do we know about pickups? We knew that it was within our engineering capacity to build them, and they’re fairly simple devices compared to an amp. But there’s both an art and a technology that had to be dealt with.” Over time, Boonshoft talked to pickup builders and realized that the company could design good pickups start to finish. “We decided the first ones should be based on classic pickups, because there’s a model of what it should sound like, and that would help us understand the parameters we could control. That gave us a destination.” He continues, “As simple as they are, you can’t reverse-engineer a pickup, because you have thousands of turns of wire. You can count the number of turns and measure the wire gauge, both of which are important. But how it goes on the bobbin — the tension, whether it’s overlapping slightly, whether it’s going in random patterns — you can’t really analyze that. So you have to start with what you do know about a pickup, and then use your ears. We also knew that once we got a pickup to sound and work the way we wanted, it had to be repeatable. So we set up our listening test and processes, and began the journey.”

THE PERENNIAL P & J PICKUPS

With Fender-style pickups in their sights, Aguilar began to create its line. First came

the ’60s Era J-Style 4-string pickup, in 2011, followed six months later by a 5-string version. Remembers Boonshoft, “The model was a mid-’60s Jazz Bass I had, but we listened to a lot of vintage Jazz Basses, because no two sound alike. The idea was to make something that’s the best example of that era.” Next came Aguilar’s ’60s Era P-Style. “Our goal there was to be historically accurate, both soundwise and construction-wise. We used period-correct Formvar wire, alnico V magnets, and cloth-covered lead wires.” Hum-canceling versions of the J-Style 4- and 5-strings followed soon after. “Those were important pickups for us, as they’re our best-sellers,” allows Boonshoft. For its ’70s Era J-Style, Aguilar was again historically minded. “Fender used a different wire coating in the ’70s, which changed the thickness of the wire and how much wire was needed on the bobbin to get to the desired DC resistance. That’s why the Fender pickup sound changed in that period. We used a unique wire size and winding pattern to get a bright, articulate, punchy pickup” A later addition was the ’50s Era P-Style. “We looked at an early-’50s Precision, noting its gooey, thumpy, old-school tone and thought, What would we slightly improve that would make it worth getting a new pickup? We worked on better string-to-string balance and articulation, which adds a subtly different voice.” The final variety of P and J pickups are the Hot Series. Notes Boonshoft, “We knew there was a market for hot, overwound pickups. The problem is, when you overwind a pickup, the frequencies shift downward and can be very muddy. So our design project was to make a pickup that was loud, aggressive, and had a low-midrange emphasis without being muddy. We developed our own custom-size polepieces and wound the pickup until we got the frequency response and harmonic detail we wanted. What we found was, due to the output being so hot, when you play up by the neck it sounds like an upright because you have that enormous explosion of sound on the attack. Jazz and Americana bassists dig it for that reason.”

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Aguilar's Pickup Department SOAPBAR SAVVY

Following Aguilar’s J and P pickups, the company set out to build a soapbar-style, bar-magnet pickup, which resulted in the DCB Series (DCB stands for dual ceramic bar). “We wanted a pickup line for high-end, extended-range basses. We had made 5- and 6-string J and P pickups, where the polepieces give you a heavy initial attack with a lot of harmonic information, and then a bit less because the strings aren’t always vibrating over the polepieces. So we wanted to try a bar-magnet pickup, where the vibrating strings are always in the magnetic field, which means that after the initial attack there’s still a lot of harmonic information being transmitted. That can be a plus for bassists like John Patitucci, Janek Gwizdala, and Felix Pastorius, who are playing chords on extended-range basses.” Also available in a soapbar shape are Super Singles (’60s J Bass), Super Split (hum-canceling J Bass), and Super Doubles (hum-cancelling J Bass with two rows of polepieces). “The Super Double is an interesting pickup that has its own voice,” notes Boonshoft. “It has a sharper, more aggressive character that tends to tighten up certain instruments. If you have a bass with a swamp-ash body that’s on the light side and lacking a bit of fundamental, the Super Double adds focus.”

MUSIC MAN METTLE

Aguilar’s most recent pickup line is the M Series, based on the Music Man bass. Says Boonshoft, “The original Music Man pickup was an interesting design by Leo Fender. As far as I can tell, there was some lack of consistency in the early models; some bobbins were wound in series, some in parallel. Some have a deep body cut due to three-inch-long magnets. But they were in the beginning stages of the instrument, so it’s certainly understandable. I always felt it was a great sound — strident, bright, and part of the Louis Johnson/ funk legacy.” He continues, “We purchased some vintage Music Man basses, listened to them, and tried to find a good Stingray-type sound. We wanted a bright pickup with a lot of punch and consistency across the strings.”

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The M/J Series adds a J bridge pickup to the package. The DCB-M Series has dual ceramic bars in a Stingray shape. “It has a slightly different sound than our standard DCB soapbar. It offers great attack and great harmonic detail, as opposed to big attack and fade; it’s a variation on a theme.”

LESSONS LEARNED, MISSIONS ACCOMPLISHED

With a full-on commitment to pickups comes knowledge gained. “One thing we learned early on, that we’re very proud of, is a solution to the dreaded hollow B-string sound,” enthuses Boonshoft. “Players tend to blame the construction or scale length of their bass, or think their amp can’t handle the note. Often what’s really happening is you’re hearing the first octave up from the low B fundamental, because that’s what you’re reproducing, and your ear is filling in the lower note.” He continues, “What we discovered while prototyping extended-range pickups was that when we changed the angle of the wire overlap, it could change the pickup’s resonant peaks. Guitar pickups are typically wound for low resonant peaks, but that’s not good for a bass pickup, because you’re going to lose some of the fundamental and some of the harmonic information you need on the attack of the note. By controlling the angle that the wire goes on the bobbin, we were able to create better resonant peaks that are more correct for the pickup and for the instrument. In the process, all of the desirable characteristics that were being filtered out by uncontrolled overlaps in the wire and unwanted low resonant peaks were now audible. This brought the B string into focus. If you listen closely to many basses, you’ll notice that a lot of the harmonic information is missing on the B string and somewhat on the E string, as well. But not with an Aguilar pickup, in our humble opinion. We feel we’ve helped resolve that issue. All of our pickups have a great-sounding B string that sounds like it’s part of the instrument, with the same timbre across the strings. It all points back to our overall goal, which is to create value by making great musical tools for musicians.”

Aguilar's Pickup Department

THE LONG & WINDING ROAD

oused in three interconnected rooms near the front of Aguilar’s spacious suite is the pickup production line, headed by operations manager Sam Parrish. Joined by president/CFO Dave Boonshoft and marketing & artist Relations Coordinator Jordan Cortese (and his trusty camera), Parrish walked us through the operation.

Left side: “A ’50s Era P-Bass pickup bobbin is completed via the bobbin press.” Right side top: “A ’50s Era P-Bass pickup bobbin is placed into a custom fixture prior to pressing.” Right side bottom: “Finished ’50s Era P-Bass pickup bobbins.”

STEP TWO: FINISHING THE BOBBIN

STEP ONE: BOBBIN PRESS

At the core of each pickup is the bobbin, which is made of vulcanized fiber (some models have plastic bobbins). It’s the structure that holds the magnets and that the wire (also called the coil) is wrapped around. For a process referred to as “pressing,” Aguilar has created special fixtures (plastic molds) in its machine shop, which ensures that the polepieces are pushed through with even pressure, so there’s no distortion of the bobbin. A technician then checks the bobbin and polepieces and cleans off any excess fiber or glue. There are three bobbin stations in the room, so all models can be made at the same time. Tools, parts, and raw materials are identically laid out to maximize efficiency.

Moving to the second room, techs team up in groups of two to four, all working on a batch of pickups. A tech takes a bobbin prepped the day before and applies insulating kapton tape around it by hand. This is to protect the magnets from nicks and to prevent the eventual coil wire from touching the polepieces. Next, the eyelets are inserted, which is what the coil and ground wires are run through. This a common failure point for most pickups, so high-quality, properly tinned eyelets are used (tinning is the application of a thin layer of soft solder). Next comes the first quality-control checkpoint. The bobbin is put in the pickup case and checked for the right-length polepieces and any warping or damage. “We have multiple eyes on everything,” says Parrish. “A big part of the quality of our pickups is having a crew that is so invested in what we do. Everyone who works here is a musician; they care about

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Aguilar's Pickup Department

music and the music industry. You can hear the love in the product.” Adds Boonshoft, “Everyone in department has very good hand skills and hand–eye coordination, at the level of a jeweler.”

STEP THREE: WINDING & WIRING PICKUPS

Similar to its homemade bobbin fixtures, Aguilar built a fixture addition to each of the four Tanac AX-3 coil winders for winding pickups (shoutout to Aguilar chief engineer Goran Stankovic). It goes on the tailpiece of the winder, and it provides super-accurate measurements of the coil wire gauge. Notes Boonshoft, “In our early, developmental stage, we wrapped some pickups using a certain gauge of wire, and then we wrapped a second batch, and they sounded different. What we learned was there’s some variation in the manufacturer’s given gauge of wire that can affect the

Clockwise: “A pickup is wound on one of four Tanac AX-3 coil winders.” "Four Jazz Bass pickups ‘bathing' in a wax pot.” “A closeup of the AX-3 coil winding machine.” “A Jazz Bass pickup gets tested for correct magnetization."

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tone. So we realized we had to find a way to get very specific measurements for each spool of wire in order to make each pickup exactly the same in tone and construction.” Other features of the Tanac winder allow for control of wrap angle, amount of overlap, random patterns, and amount of wire tension as it goes on the pickup. After the pickup is wound, the ground wires are added. Parrish explains, “The way we’re set up is there’s always something to do. You’re not going to push a button and wait five minutes for a bobbin to spin. The flow is worked out in a way to get as many finished pickups as possible, as opposed to having a tray full of half-done pickups waiting and having to catch up.”

STEP FOUR: SERIALIZING, WAX POTTING & MAGNETIZING

With a batch of pickups wound, wired, and ready to go, the next step is a check by the

Aguilar's Pickup Department

Serial numbers are added to the pickups after the wax potting.

STEP FIVE: FINALIZATION PART ONE

quality control manager. The QCM will double-check all of the solder joints, polepiece aesthetics, bobbin construction, shape of the coil, wire length, and other previously added components. Everything is recorded with a serial number, which will be added to the pickup and to the company software, so it can all be traced back. The pickups then go into a wax pot — a near-universal practice by pickup builders to hold the coils in place and prevent microphonics (sensitivity to sound caused by loose or moving coils). Aguilar customized its wax pots to be able to gauge and control the temperature and time needed for various pickup models. Following potting, the pickups are placed in a machine that magnetizes the polepieces. For single-coil pickups, the magnetization comes before the wax potting (ceramic bar pickups are pre-magnetized).

Each model has a different step for finalizing, which is related to bobbins, backplates, cases, and other factors. The finalizing tech will make sure a pickup is magnetized correctly, add a grounding plate, twist the wires to spec, clean it, and give it a thorough quality-control check. For soapbar pickups, room three also has an epoxy-potting lab equipped with heat trays. Two layers of epoxy are used. First, the pickup is dropped in epoxy to fill in all the gaps, and then it’s removed and cured to allow time for air bubbles to surface. Those are popped and a second layer of epoxy is added on top. (Like wax potting on other models, the epoxy prevents coil movement and microphonics.)

STEP SIX: FINALIZATION PART TWO

Final full inspection on a pickup is done both visually (with the help of a large, stationary magnifying glass) and electronically. The latter checks the polarity of the pickup to make sure it’s magnetized to the correct level, in the right direction, with the right DC resistance, and with proper grounding. It has to read within a tight tolerance range to pass. After a final sign-off, the pickup is ready for shipping. l

Top: “Finalized ‘60s and ‘50s Era P-Bass pickups await inspection.” Bottom: “A Jazz Bass pickup receives final visual inspection."

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Complete Transcription

“HOTWIRE” BY BARRY SPARKS

The Veteran Yngwie Malmsteen & B’z Bassist Rocks A Dizzying Duet With Fretless Ace Tony Franklin By Stevie Glasgow

P Below: Tony Franklin; Opposite: Barry Sparks

op quiz! Can you name Japan’s biggest-selling musical act of all time? And, for a bonus point, can you name the American bassist who held down the bass chair in the band for over a decade? Intrigued? Then read on. Ohio-born Barry Sparks was raised in Arizona on a diet of classic rock that included

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

Kiss, Aerosmith, Scorpions, Rush, and Led Zeppelin. He started out on guitar at age 11 but switched to bass a couple of years later. Sparks recalls a strict practicing regime during his teens, playing along to records and woodshedding for up to six hours a day after school. “My biggest heroes were Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, and Steve Harris,” he says. In the late ’80s, at age 20, Sparks moved to Los Angeles to try his luck as a professional bassist. “It was really depressing at first,” he chuckles. “I was like, ‘Oh, lots of other people want to be famous rock & rollers, too!’ I was lucky that my dad had taught me how to work with wood, so I was doing carpentry during the day and playing in bar bands at night.” After a stint with guitarist Guy MannDude and an unsuccessful try-out for Steve Vai, Barry got his first big break when drummer Mike Terrana recommended him to Yngwie Malmsteen. “Yngwie called me one night and said, ‘Hello, Barry — this is your lord and master, Yngwie J. Malmsteen.’ Full name, you know, as if you’d confuse him with all the other Yngwies out there,” he laughs. Barry’s first gig with Malmsteen was at

an early-’90s NAMM show for Fender’s 40th Anniversary party. “I got a set list and went to town on the songs for several weeks; they were tough tracks, man. There was no practice or band rehearsal. Then, the night before the gig, Yngwie threw in a bunch of other songs that I didn’t have time to learn. I thought we’d practice at the soundcheck, but we didn’t play anything. The gig was just a

complete blur. I remember looking out in the audience and seeing people like Bonnie Raitt and Robben Ford — I was freaking out! Anyway, I played the gig and somehow survived it. Shortly after that, we started touring and recording. I was with Yngwie for about two years, and home for only about a week that whole time. A lot of people complain about him, but I had a blast. It was a great time.”

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Barry Sparks Transcription

After amicably parting ways with Malmsteen, Sparks went on to record and tour with a host of top rock and metal acts, including the Michael Schenker Group, UFO, Uli Jon Roth, Vinnie Moore, Scorpions, Marty Friedman, Dokken, and Ted Nugent. However, his longest affiliation — over ten years — has been with Japanese pop-rock giants B’z (pronounced beez). In Japan alone, B’z have shifted over 100 million records, eclipsing the worldwide sales of such artists as Eric Clapton, Prince, David Bowie, the Beach Boys, and Stevie Wonder. Oh, and the group’s past 49 singles have all reached #1. “I had just joined Dokken when my friend [drummer] Shane Gaalaas called and said we should audition for B’z, but I wasn’t sure if I was even interested. Anyway, I tried out and Billy Sheehan was there, and he got the gig. Billy did just one tour, and then B’z called and asked me to try out again. I got the job, and I started touring and recording.” Since returning to the States, Barry has been primarily focusing on his solo work, and he recently released an album titled Bass in Your Face. We’ve transcribed the final track, “Hotwire,” which features a stellar contribution from fretless maven Tony Franklin, known for his work with such acts as The Firm, Roy Harper, Paul Rodgers, Kate Bush, Whitesnake, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. “Tony and I started chatting through Facebook or something, and I thought it would be great to have him play on one of my songs. He’s such an amazing player, you know,” Barry expounds. “He was really enthusiastic about doing the song and the video. I can’t say enough cool things about him.” To track his parts, Sparks used his cream-colored ESP Serena signature-model bass, strung with S.I.T. Nickel Rock Brights (.045–.105). He ran his signal through an Ampeg DI and a prototype gain pedal (made by Japanese company TC) into a PC running Nuendo recording software. “‘Hotwire’ came pretty quickly. Usually, I’m recording or on tour, and if I’m not, I’ve got five kids — so when I sit down to write, I know I’ve got to focus. There’s no time to not have any ideas,”

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

he laughs. Apart from Franklin’s bass part, Barry plays (or programmed) all of the instruments on “Hotwire” himself. Following the short fade-in, the song explodes into life at letter A, with a pounding guitar-and-bass unison motif. Dig how the staccato-heavy, D minor pentatonic-based line is given extra beef via Sparks’ drop-D tuning. “I think that riff was written on guitar, so I just detuned the E string to make it fit,” he offers. Letter B presents a new and harmonically nebulous chromatic line, grounded by a low-D pedal. Regarding the section’s spry fingerwork, Sparks notes, “If it’s a high-energy song, I know I need a riff or something that’ll break down later on some verses, or a solo section. I figured I’d do all the headache-y stuff and have a nice, open spot later on where Tony could spread his wings.” Bar 15 extends by two beats the rising line first heard in bar 10, leading into the classical harmony-influenced C section. “Before Yngwie, I was more of a straight rock player. I had the chops and stuff, but when it came to harmonic minor scales and that kind of thing, I didn’t know what anyone was talking about,” Barry laughs. “I remember [then-Malmsteen keyboardist] Mats Olausson showing me a lot of stuff, and eventually I started hearing it. The years I spent with Yngwie, Michael Schenker, and Uli [Jon Roth], really helped.” Letter D heralds Tony Franklin’s first solo. “Tony is such a seasoned pro, I just sent him the files and said, ‘Those are your spots — play whatever you like.’ I knew I’d love whatever he sent back.” Franklin notes: “I’ve known of Barry’s work for some years, and I like his style. I heard ‘Hotwire’ and saw some of his other videos and liked what I saw and heard. Barry is a great player. I figured it would be fun, and a nice challenge.” To track his parts, the U.K.-born bass man plucked his Fender Tony Franklin Fretless Precision Bass strung with DR Strings Sunbeams (.045–.105). “I used Pro Tools on a laptop with a simple DI and interface, which keeps the sound clean and

Barry Sparks Transcription

unaltered. Then, I re-amped the DI through plug-ins (Slate and Waves) to create a virtual amp track. I like being able to fine-tune the amp sound to match the track. I didn’t record or add any effects, although I think some chorus was added in the final mix.” Observe how Franklin crafts the first eight bars using a call-and-response structure, with bars 25–28 echoing and expanding upon bars 19–23. Explains Tony, “I had the first line of each solo section in mind. Then I jammed some parts, and punched others as I went along. I like it to build and become more interesting — melodically, rhythmically, and emotionally. I want it to be a hypnotic journey.” Note the strong Lydian (sharpened 4th) vibe that arises from Franklin’s deft use of G# over the piano’s D/E chord, which occurs every two bars. “I know about music theory and scales, but I go completely with how something sounds. I don’t like to get too locked into theory; I play what feels and sounds right.” Tony uses sliding harmonics extensively throughout his two solos, the first instance of which appears in bar 23. “That’s a benefit of fretless — the harmonics sing beautifully,” he says. Pull-offs are another feature of Tony’s solos: Note how he uses the open D string in conjunction with fingered notes in bars 33– 34 and bar 44. Another highlight of his first solo part is the ascending, sliding harmonic in bars 40–41. “I love sliding harmonics; they’re so musical. You have to hit the first note hard and clean, so it lasts, and then land the positions on the way up. I’ve practiced that a lot.” At bar 45 (letter E), Franklin drops out and Sparks returns with a cool, neck-spanning bass motif that remains relatively unchanged underneath the guitar-chord sequence. Barry observes, “During that section, I’m playing high on the A and D strings to get a strong, fat, John Entwistle-type sound. I tried it lower on the neck on the D and G strings, but it was too twangy.” A one-off fill at bar 53 leads back into the “verse” riff (F), prefiguring Franklin’s sec-

ond solo at letter G. Regarding the heavily syncopated harmonic-based line in bars 70– 72, Tony says, “That was a jam part; it just came out. I wasn’t thinking too much about the timing. It was a feel thing.” Other highlights include the nifty sextuplet line and the solo-ending climactic line in bars 77–78. “I always like solos to have a beginning, middle, and end — like a mini story,” says Franklin. Letters H and I revisit previous material, although dig how Barry moves the main riff (first heard at A) up a whole-tone for the short guitar solo in bars 91–94. “I think I used a capo there and punched in to keep the open-string vibe, although I learned the fingering for the video,” he says. Letter J clones the classical tones of C, while K serves as an expanded outro, culminating in a two-bar call-back to the song-opening D minor motif in bars 116–117. About the video shot outdoors on a GoPro camera, Sparks says, “We found a great spot, just outside L.A. Tony came out, and it was super fun.” Looking to the future, he says, “I’ve got some shows coming up with the Appice brothers, Carmine and Vinny. We play a lot of Dio, Black Sabbath, and Ozzy Osborne. I’ve got a bunch of studio stuff and sessions coming up. I’m also working with a guy I played with years ago named Paul Sabu, who did a lot of producing for bands like Kiss.” Franklin, meanwhile, is equally busy. “At the moment, I’m doing lots of sessions, many from home. I just finished some Raiding The Rock Vault shows in Las Vegas and London. That was a lot of fun. Before that, I was a mentor/counselor and musical director at Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. Last summer I toured with Jason Bonham, opening for Peter Frampton. I’ll be doing more Rock Camps next, and I’ve got a possible new band, which I’m excited about. I’ve got a book in the works and a bass album nearing completion.” Tony is happy to be contacted on his social media channels (@fretlessmonster). Sparks ponders his ongoing musical journey. “I was in Japan for so long that now, I’m just trying to re-engage with the Western world — it’s not easy,” he laughs. l

CONNECT CHECK IT OUT

Watch the “Hotwire” video on YouTube. CHECK IT OUT

Visit Barry’s website.

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Barry Sparks Transcription

Hotwire By Barry Sparks | Transcribed by Stevie Glasgow = 111

Barry Sparks (fretted bass) G D A D

A N.C.

(Drum pickup)

Ab5 G5

Fade in (6 sec.)

5 3 5 3

3 0

3 2 3 5

3 0 3 0

6 5

(Drum pickup)

Tony Franklin (fretless bass)

Fade in (6 sec.)

N.C.

F5 G5

(Barry)

G D A D

3 0

6 5 0 5 4 0 4

N.C.

0 7 8 7 0

3 5

6 5 0 5 4 0 4 3 0 3 2

6 5 0 5 4 0 4

F#5 G5 G#5 A5

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0 7 8 7 0

N.C.

0 7 8 7 0

6 5 0 2

6 5 0 5 4 0 4 3 0 3 2

N.C.

(Barry)

6 5 0 5 4 0 4 3 0 3 2

E5 F5 F#5 G5

0 7 8 7 0

E5 F5 F#5 G5

0 7 8 7 0

F#5

3 0 3 0

N.C.

0 7 8 7 0

G D A D

3 2 3 0

F#5

0 7 8 7 0

G D A D

3 2 3

N.C.

(Barry)

5 3 5 3

G D A D

14 13 14

Barry Sparks Transcription

G D A D

14 13 14

14 13 14 16 14 13

16 14 13

14 13 14

Am/C

14 13 14

N.C.

14 13 14

3 2 3 5

2 4 5

16 14

A/C#

(Barry)

G D A D

4 5 7

5 4 5 7

0 D

E/D

(Tony)

5 7

(Tony)

12 12

E/D

*Hit harmonic, then immediately press string to fingerboard

5 7

7 9

7 9 7

7 9

11 9

13 11

0 16 0 14 0 12 0 0 11 0 0 12 0

0 9 0 0 11 0 7 0 9 0 0 6 0 0 7 0

D 35

E/D

9 11

7 9

11 9 11

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Barry Sparks Transcription

3.2 *

4 6 7 9

14 11

*Located 2/10th the distance between 3rd & 4th frets

E/D

B/A

6 0 7 0 9 0 11 0 12 0 11 0 9 0 7

Dsus/A

C/A

(Barry)

G D A D

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

(Tony)

D/A

G D A D

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

C/A

G D A D

B/A

0 0 10 11 12 0

G F#/D

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

N.C.

A7/E D

15 14

17 15

17 15 14 15 17 15 14 15 14

17 16

F#5

(Barry)

G D A D

0 7 8 7 0

E5 F5 F#5 E5

G D A D

6 5 0 5 4 0 4 3 0 3 2

0 7 8 7 0

6 5 0 2

0 7 8 7 0

6 5 0 5 4 0 4

0 7 8 7 0

N.C.

0 7 8 7 0

6 5 0 5 4 0 4 3 0 3 2 F#5

6 5 0 5 4 0 4 3 0 3 2

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0 7 8 7 0

6 5 0 5 4 0 4

Barry Sparks Transcription

E5 E5 F5 F#5

G5 D F#5 G#5

(Barry)

G D A D

(Barry)

0 7 8 7 0

6 5 0 5 4 0 4 3 0 3 2

0 7 8 7 0

6 5 0 2

5 5

(Tony)

E/D

3.2

G D A D

0 2

0 0 0

0 0 2 0

0 0

7 9

(Tony)

9 11

11 9

11 10 9

11 10 7

3.2

E/D

7 9 7

7 9

9 11 9

3.2

4 3.2

3.2

E/D

PO S

13 11 9 11 9 7 9 7 6 7 6 4 6 4 2 3 2

0 1

6 0 7 0 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 7 0 0 9 0

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Barry Sparks Transcription

E/D

(Barry)

G D A D

(Tony)

0 6 0 0 7 0 9 0 11 0 0 9 0 0 7 0

B/A

6 9

9 12

0 0 0 10 1112 0

0 19 19

Dsus/A

C/A

D/A

(Barry)

G D A D

0 0 10 11 12 0

G D A D

0 0 10 11 12 0

G F#/D

0 19 19

A7/E D

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

3 2 3 0

3 0 3 0

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

C/A

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

0 0 10 11 12 0

0 19 19

G5 N.C. Ab5

N.C.

(Barry)

5 3 5 3

3 0 3 2 3 5

3 0 3 0

F5 G5 N.C.

B/A

G D A D

0 19 19

3 5

7 5 7 5

6 5

5 3 5 3

3 0 3 2 3 5

Bb5 A5 N.C.

5 2 5 4 5

5 4 5 2

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5 2 5 2

8 7

7 5 7 5

5 2 5 4 5

Barry Sparks Transcription

G5 A5

N.C.

(Barry)

G D A D

5 4 5 2

G D A D

100

5 2 5 2

5 7

14 13 14

A/C#

14 13 14

Am/C

14 13 14

14 13 14 16 14 13

16 14 13

16 14

N.C.

14 13 14

3 2 3 5

2 4 5

5 4 5 7

4 5 7

C/A

B/A

Dsus/A

(Barry)

G D A D

0 0 12 12 12 0

106

G D A D

19 19

D/A

103

G D A D

0 19 19

0 12 12 12 17 19

0 0 12 10 12 0

0 19 19

19 19

19 19 19 19 19 19

19 19

C/A

0 12 10 10 12 0

0 19 19

19 19 19

0 0 12 10 12 0

0 19 19

0 0 12 10 12 0

0 19 19

19 19

B/A

0 0 12 10 12 0

19 19 19

21 19

F#/D A7/E D

19 19

17 19 19 19 19 19 19 17 19

19 19 19 19 17

19 17

0 0 0 0 7 7 7

7 7 7

7 7

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Barry Sparks Transcription

109

B/A

G D A D

0 0 0 0 12 12 12

112

G D A D

17 19 19 19 19

19 19

0 0 12 12 12 0

0 19 19

19 19

B/A

0 0 0 12 12 12 0

115

Dsus/A

C/A

0 17 18 19

17 19 19 19 19 19 19 17 19

F#/D A7/E D

19 19

19 17

19 19 19 19 17

19 17

0 0 0 0 12 10 12 0

0 19 19

N.C.

19 19

F5 G5

G D A D

17 1717 16 16 16 16

19 19 19 17 17 17 19 19 17 17

C/A

19 17

D/A

3 5 3

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

3 0

3 2 3 5

3 2 3 0

3 0 3 0

3 5

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Gear Shed

Epifani

UL901

By Jonathan Herrera NICK EPIFANI’S EPONYMOUS AMP company was an early adopter of two technologies that are now entrenched in bass amplification: Class D amplifiers and neodymium-speaker-equipped cabinets. I recall my early encounters with Epifani products — and Nick’s Italian-accented evangelism for his products — fondly. At the time (the mid 2000s), Epifani gear was cutting-edge and sophisticated and boasted an enviable roster of endorsing musicians, including Anthony Jackson, Matt Garrison, and Oteil Burbridge. Aiding Epifani in its early growth was the office’s close prox-

imity to Fodera’s legendary Brooklyn workshop. Many a visting artist (myself included) would pilgrimage to Fodera and then make the 20-second trip downstairs to visit with Nick and see what Epifani was cooking up. Since then, Class D amps with switchmode power supplies and accompanying neodymium cabinets are mainstream, with even the most affordable entry-level gear utilizing the technology. What, then, can set Epifani apart from its many contemporary rivals? The answer, one hopes, is sound. Epifani has always had an excellent sonic reputa-

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tion, largely due to the well-textured, harmonically rich midrange of perhaps its most classic amplifier, the UL502. Released a decade ago, the UL502 paired a Class D power amp with a linear power supply in an exceptionally useful and well-designed two-channel head. With the UL901 reviewed here, Epifani is revisiting its “UL” preamp design, but has revised the power amp to reflect the almost ubiquitous shift in the industry toward IcePower Class D/SMPS modules. Epifani has also moved manufacturing to China, like almost every other amp manufacturer, al-

though design and development is still done Stateside.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Inside and out, the UL901 is about as simple an amplifier as it comes, at least in terms of features. The welllabled and laid-out front panel consists of just a few knobs and buttons. The typical gain and master controls are there, in addition to a simple 3-band EQ that has a couple of extra features, including the option to shift the treble filter’s knee frequency, and a switchable and gain-adjustable mid cut control for insta-slap tone. The rear panel includes all the stuff one expects to see on a professional bass amp, including a tuner output, effect send and return, pedal jack for remote muting, and a full-featured di output. The 1,000-watt head offers only a single Speakon jack, so any multi-cabinet rig will require that your cabinet has a parallel speaker jack in addition to the one used to connect to the UL901. I was glad to see that Epifani went with the always-useful Neutrik combo jack, which allows use with ¼" or Speakon cables. The interior of the UL901 is a spartan place. The small preamp board is mounted parallel to the front panel, which means the potentiometers and buttons are all mounted directly to the PCB, rather than via flying leads. This arrangement can make the board more vulnerable if the amp is dropped on its front. The relatively massive ICEpower 700AS1/X Class D amplifier and SMPS dominates the bulk of the interior volume, although it’s hidden by a large bent-aluminum shield. While some manufacturers try to make their ICEpower-fueled amps as small as possible, the Epifani is bigger than its components strictly require. This

can be an advantage in terms of reliability, as it allows for better cooling — an important quality in this amp, given that it has no fan.

EUPHONIOUS

An Epifani UL502 used to be my primary amplifier — it accompanied me on many gigs through the late 2000s. Eager to see how the latest UL-series amp stacked up against my old favorite, I paired it with an Epifani 4x10 cabinet and let it rip in my studio. One obvious thing off the bat: The latest Epfiani amp is way louder than the UL502 ever was. There’s been a ton of development in Class D/SMPS amps since the 502, and it shows in the UL901 — there is enough power on tap for the biggest gigs one can imagine. As I’ve experienced with other high-power ICEpower modules in bass heads, the Epifani wasn’t just loud — it was also extremely fast, with the sensation of near-instantaneous transient response. Plus, the power never faded, even as I really laid into my B string over several minutes. Beyond the amplitude, the UL901 has a lot of the sonic character that made the UL502 a success. It has a colorful and rich midrange, particularly, although I found it a bit drier and deeper-sounding. I loved being able to quickly scoop the mids for a stereotypical smiley-face slap sound, and while the EQ isn’t especially flexible, it’s at least well voiced. The UL901 is a deserving descendant of the early amps that made Epifani so celebrated among top pros. While it may be light on features compared to similarly priced amplifiers, what it does offer is effective and thoughtfully designed. Those looking for a no-nonsense, super-loud amp with a proven track record should include the UL901 on their shopping list. l

SPECS Epifani UL901 Street $1,000 Pros Powerful and compact head with a distinctively buttery midrange Cons Feature-set is a bit spare for a $1K head Bottom Line The UL901 is a return to form for Epifani, revealing the colorful sound that made the company’s reputation. TECH SPECS Power rating 700 watts into 4Ω; 1,000 watts into 2.7Ω Tone controls bass, ±22dB @ 40Hz (shelving); mid, ±17dB @ 550Hz; treble, ±22dB @ 3kHz xlr di output differential opamp-driven balanced output with ground-lift, pre/post switch, and level control Power amp topology Class D Power supply Switchmode Speaker jacks Neutrik Speakon combo Made in China Contact epifani.com

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Gear Shed

Stonefield

F SERIES BASS By Jon Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Auria

AS FAR BACK AS HE CAN REMEMBER, Tomm Stanley has always had an obsession with both playing bass and disassembling his instruments to figure out exactly how they worked. His

curiosity with pickups, hardware, wood types, and electronic configurations fueled his dream to one day become a luthier and create bold innovations in bass building. While

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

he now resides in New Zealand, his first attempts at constructing basses occurred during his time living in Antarctica in the early â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s. But in moving on to warmer temperatures

SPECS and greener pastures, Tomm’s hand at building greatly improved, and he decided to fulfill his lifelong dream of creating his own brand of basses, thus minting Stonefield Musical Instruments. Stanley’s goal of infusing innovation into his instruments helped spark fast attention around his initial M Series and C Series basses, thanks to his patented Tomm Stanley Tuning mechanism, back-angled necks, and floating bridges. But while the M Series and C Series basses are terrific for professional players (and those who can afford to shed the money for such a regal instrument), the requests started coming in for a Stonefield-quality bass at a lower price. This birthed the F Series. Made with the same keen attention to detail as all of Stanley’s work, the F Series has an extremely reasonable price, with all of the bells and whistles of the earlier models, plus the additional option to modify and upgrade it with Stanley’s aforementioned innovations.

STONE SOLID

The first thing you’ll notice when picking up the F Series bass is the sturdy construction that makes it feel much more durable and solid than similar basses at this price point. Weighing in at 8.6 lbs, Stanley was able to shed some mass using a cut-out section in the middle of the back of the body, which also makes the bass comfortable to play sitting down. Constructed with an alder body and maple top, this bass is immensely durable — and even when traveling with it in custom fitted gig Stonefield bag, the bass stays in tune, and you don’t have to worry about nicks or damage due to the rigors of the road or mishandling. What sepa-

rates this bass from other Stonefield basses is the system of geared tuning pegs on the headstock, in place of Stanley’s patented tuning system, which is on the tail end of the body behind the bridge. But the F Series leaves nothing to be desired in the premium ebony tuning buttons on the geared pegs, which are compact, looking more like acoustic guitar tuners. Another noticeable feature is Stanley’s floating bridge, adjustable through the built-in thumbwheel resembling those on upright basses and cellos. This plays a big factor in keeping the right amount of tension on the strings and makes for some highly sustainable notes, while also allowing you to make height adjustments on the fly. The ebony fingerboard is fast and comfortable, giving the bass a pleasing aesthetic with the contrast of the lighter, natural lacquer finish of the maple top. Another notable feature of this bass is that the neck is angled back by three degrees, which increases comfort and playability and allows you to grab notes all over the fretboard with ease. For adamant slappers, this may take a moment to get adjusted to, given the depth below the strings, but Stonefield offers an accessory called the Funk Plate to fill the gap if you prefer a more standard feel. However, the overall playability makes the acclimation easy, even without the Funk Plate. The pickups are raised high to compensate for the neck’s back angle, giving a solid thumbrest for fingerstyle playing, and also letting you dig in as hard as you want.

FREQUENCY FIELDS

The F Series comes equipped with twin passive OEM humbucker pickups, and right out of the bag, the

Stonefield F Series Bass Street Maple-topped, $1,100; walnut-topped, $1,200 Pros Extremely well balanced, terrific tone, great playability, sturdy construction, a lot of bang for your buck Cons None Bottom Line Stonefield’s F Series makes Tomm Stanley’s innovative basses accessible to everyone, and in doing so, gives players high-end tone with great playability. SPECS Construction Bolt-on Body Alder Top North American maple or Indian walnut Neck Three-piece laminated maple Fingerboard Ebony Frets 24 Bridge Free-floating ebony bridge with thumbwheel string-height adjusters Scale length 34" Tuners OEM geared tuners with ebony buttons Pickups OEM humbucker Weight 8.6 lbs Custom gig bag $122 Made in India Contact stonefieldmusic.com

WIN THIS BASS! Here’s your chance to get your very own Stonefield F Series bass with our Instagram giveaway. One lucky winner will receive the exact bass we reviewed, plus a gig bag shipped directly to their home. Simply head over to Bass Magazine’s Instagram page, and stay tuned for the details of the contest.

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Stonefield

bass delivers a commanding tone that is familiar enough to lend itself to any style of playing. The lows on the E string sustain deeply, while the punch of the midrange would allow this bass to cut through any mix. When it comes to the high-to-low spectrum, it’s all covered with distinct clarity and superb depth. When you really dig in, it provides bite and growl (if that’s what you’re going for), but never to an excessive level. The F Series did not disappoint when plugged into an 8x10 cabinet with the amp cranked up high, but more impressively

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

it retained its boom when played through a 2x10 combo. It also excels when played with a pick, and given its 16mm string spacing over 24 jumbo nickel frets (all Stonefield basses are also available with 19mm spacing), you can really shred with ease while avoiding the dreaded click-clack of overbearing treble output. Every bit of Stanley’s engineering and designing of this bass serves a purpose, and that becomes evident the longer you spend playing it. As its aesthetic and design makes clear, this bass is not meant to mimic a classic Precision or Jazz-style blueprint, but that’s the allure of a unique instrument like this. It covers all of the range you’ll need for any style of gig, while offering a distinct tone print of its own. In building a more affordable bass that gives players of all skill levels access to the Stonefield innovations, Stanley has succeeded in upholding all of the quality and attention to detail for which he’s become known. While the F Series bass is still light years ahead of the typical beginner or midrange bass in these respects, it’s hard to imagine that a novice player wouldn’t be inspired by the easy playability and strong durability of an instrument of this quality. Plus, in offering affordable upgrades, Stonefield gives players the ability to grow with their instruments. It’s no simple feat finding a bass at this price with this level of construction quality, which is why the F Series stands out among its competition. l

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Gear Shed

Gallien-Krueger

LEGACY 1200 By Rod C. Taylor

OVER 50 YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE Bob Gallien strode into a local music store to show off a powerful amp he had constructed in his garage (the GMT 266A), to see if the owner might be interested in selling it for him. That very amp would be bought the next day by a local guitarist, Carlos Santana, who would then take it with him to use at Woodstock. (You can see the amp in some original footage here.) Not a bad beginning. Since that time, GK has produced a variety of innovative, powerful amps

and cabinets, becoming a celebrated brand among electric and upright players. (The MB 150 combo has long been a favorite among upright bassists.) With the Legacy series, GK continues its innovative and aggressive approach to making sure bassists around the world have reliable and inspiring amplification. GK sent us its Legacy 1200 head, paired with a CX 410 cabinet. I set it up in my rehearsal space here in Nashville, which allowed me to test it with a variety of musical genres and situ-

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

ations. Over the course of a month, I held rehearsals for country, pop, rock, and singerâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;songwriter acts. I played a wide range of basses, including a 1976 Fender Jazz Bass, an Alleva-Coppolo LM5 Deluxe, an Xotic XJPro5, and a Kala U-bass. I also had the pleasure of having another bassist play through it in a rehearsal I hosted at my house. In each case, the amp and cab delivered well: They offered up clear, punchy tones that cut through without sacrificing any of the mids or bottom tones we all love. The amp and cab served

SPECS

well in each rehearsal, no matter the genre or volume. Delivering good, meaty tones in a variety of musical genres is what a good amp does. It’s really that simple. But GK wouldn’t be a household name in the bass world if it stuck to just the basics. So, let’s look at some of the attributes this model offers that go beyond the normal. The top row of knobs is pretty straightforward, offering trim, gain, and master controls, along with a 4-band EQ. The trim control is a nice addition — it’s a more precise tool for controlling input levels than gain or master options alone. As such, you have a nice trinity of controls with which to shape your levels. The knobs themselves felt good, rotated smoothly, and were properly spaced and clear in their markings. I know that might seem like a small thing, but when I’m on a dark stage and need to make a mid-gig adjustment, I don’t want to struggle for any reason, including not being able to see where my settings are. On the bottom row of controls, we get into more modern offerings. The overdrive control and its corresponding tone control serve each other well; GK provides a footswitch that turns the overdrive on and off. I’m not sure how often I would use the footswitch, but it’s still nice to have. Further down the line, you’ll find three voicing filters: bump, contour, and presence. With amps I’m a “set it and let it” kind of guy, so I am

not typically impressed with these kinds of features, but I get that some guys love them, especially for switching between different instruments. That being said, I enjoyed playing around with different voicings, especially with my passive Jazz Basses. The bump control enhances the low frequencies, providing more “meat” on the bottom. contour gives you the mid-scoop sound, boosting lows and highs while dropping the mid frequencies a bit. presence enhances the high frequencies. I found that each of these controls provided meaningful changes in tone — although, practically speaking, I’m more likely to make these alterations on the instrument itself if the option is there. Still, if you’re playing a passive bass with a single tone control, these features could come in handy. If you’re already a fan of GK amps, you’ll dig this new iteration, both because it offers the tried-and-true tone and power that put GK on the map in the late ’60s, and because it embraces the modern trend of class D amplification and our desires as players for variable level and tone controls. If you haven’t ever checked out a GK amp, then this is a good one to start with for the same reasons. With this series, GK stays true to its heritage as a company that provides powerful, reliable, and versatile bass amps and cabs that serve players in a variety of settings. As players, we expect our gear to serve us well both at home and onstage, and GK gets that. l

GK Legacy 1200 Street $1,050 Pros Tons of flexible power, lots of meaningful tone control, sturdy and rugged housing, super quiet operation Cons None Bottom Line GK built its reputation on providing reliable, power-packed amps that help bass players punch through the mix. The Legacy 1200 does that and more. SPECS Power output Two channels, 1,200 watts via various configurations Preamp section Solid state Power section Class D EQ 4-band active EQ Controls overdrive, edge, bump, contour, presence Effect loop Series operation; adds 6dB of gain, making it useful for a broad range of effect units Inputs 1/4", 1/8", Aux Outputs 2 x SpeakON, 1 x XLR (direct out), 1 x 1/4" (tuner) Impedance 2Ω, 2.7Ω, 4Ω, and 8Ω load capacity Speaker outputs Headphone [this needs to be completed] Balanced output XLR with pre-/ post-EQ switch Footswitch Footswitchable overdrive with tone control (included) Dimensions 11.5" x 11" x 2.3" Weight 6.5 lbs Warranty Two years, limited Made in U.S.A Contact gallien-krueger.com

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

Jazz Concepts | By John Goldsby

Try Some Triads Basic To Advanced Chord Concepts

riads form the shining constellations of brilliant sounds in our sonic solar system. They define basic harmonic colors: major, minor, augmented, and diminished. When one has a complete understanding of how harmony works, then the beauty and functionality of triads becomes apparent. Don’t get me wrong — 7 chords are important, and most modern harmony is based on four-note 7 chords. However, a mastery of triads and triad patterns will boost your bass skills. Today, let’s check out a couple of basic ways to master triads, plus an étude that puts triads into action all over the bass, from easy patterns to brain-twisting harmonic and rhythmic lines. Example 1 shows all triads generated in the key of G major, moving up the scale, and then back down. This is a typical exercise that many bass methods suggest — up the scale in triads, then down the scale in triads. Once

you have a handle on this exercise in G, you can break it down to make your own exercises. For example: Take two bars from the pattern and jam on the chord progression using triads: D, Em, F#dim, G, or Am, Bm, C, D. Another exercise: Play two chords in the key in a loop, and outline the triads — one bar of Am to one bar of Em, for example, or D to Bm, or G to D. There are limitless possibilities for you to create your own exercises and have some musical jam-time. Example 2 flows up and down the neck of the bass. This exercise starts on the root of each chord and drops down to the 5th and the 3rd, creating a 1st-inversion triad. You’ll quickly discover a few fingering patterns that repeat. The most ergonomic fingerings spread the notes of each triad over three strings. Depending on whether you’re playing acoustic or electric, the best fingerings will

CONNECT CHECK IT OUT

John loves to lay it down or break it up, as long as the music is grooving! Check out his new video lesson series at DiscoverDoubleBass. com and johngoldsby.com.

CHECK IT OUT

Check out John Clayton and his practice routine for major triads on the double bass.

Granddad, these aren’t triads! Bass educator Johnny Cox uncovers some of the four-note voicings of Oteil Burbridge. Scott Devine divulges his concept for creating bass lines with triads.

The JazzCapacitor offers a transcription of a world-class performance from Israel Crosby with the Ahmad Jamal Trio. Listen to Israel’s use of triads, chord tones, and scale tones to create a beautifully melodic walking bass line. CHECK IT OUT

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

vary. Remember that there are usually two or three good fingerings for every arpeggio. Choose one fingering pattern and stick with it until you are comfortable; then try some alternate fingerings. Whether playing electric or double bass, always look for left-hand positions that are similar. Advanced theory side-step: Ex. 3 demonstrates how a diminished arpeggio can be

substituted for the chord built on the 2nd, 4th, b6th, or 7th scale degree. In Ex. 3, the Am arpeggio becomes an Adim arpeggio, which leads elegantly from the Bm triad to the G triad. We won’t go into the details of this advanced harmonic concept for now, but let’s agree that using diminished passing chords sounds cool and makes a nice harmonic deviation from the diatonic sameness of the

Ex. 1 Slowly and accurately

F#dim

Ex. 2 Slowly and accurately

F#dim

œ C

F#dim

Ex. 3 Bm

Adim

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Jazz Concepts

Ex. 4 Adim

F#dim

Ebdim

Cdim

major-scale arpeggios. Example 4 shows the Adim7 arpeggio. This arpeggio will be useful in the étude to follow. The diminished arpeggio in all inversions is often used as a passing chord. The étude this month (Ex. 5) is based on the chord changes of the standard “All the Things You Are,” one of the most-played and most-recorded jazz tunes of all time. Check out where basic triads and inversions are used, and look for spots where a diminished passing chord appears. Note the following: Bars 1–2 The F minor triad starting on Ab is followed by a Bb minor triad. Bar 3 The rhythmic figure is repeated and modified on the Eb7(b9) chord. Note the use of the diminished triad. Bar 5 Major triad down from the root. Bar 6 Minor triad down from the root, followed by a B diminished triad (the upper structure of the G7 chord). Bar 8 C major triad down from the root.

5 C L A S S I C R E CO R D I N G S O F “A L L T H E T H I N G S YO U A R E ”

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1. Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie, with Slam Stewart bowing the bass [1945, Savoy]

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2. Oscar Peterson with George Mraz [Another Day, 1970, MPS]

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3. Ethan Iverson Quartet with Ben Street [Common Practice, 2019, ECM]

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4. Ari Hoenig with Or Bareket [Conner’s Days, 2018, Fresh Sounds]

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5. Biréli Lagrène with Biréli on fretless bass [Summertime, 2009, Dreyfus Jazz]

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

Bar 9 C minor triad down from the root. Bar 10 F minor triad down from the 5th (the note C). Bar 11 The Bb7(b9) chord is outlined using a diminished triad down from the b9th (the note Cb). Bars 17–19 The triads in these measures (A minor, A diminished, and G major) are preceded by an approach tone on beat one. Bar 21 Fusion alert! The numeral 5 indicates that five 16th-notes should be played in the space of four 16th-notes. Or, five “quintuplet” notes pop out in the duration of one quarter-note. Think about the math for a minute: These quintuplets are slightly faster than 16ths, but slightly slower than 16thnote triplets (six notes to one quarter-note). Keep your foot beating quarter-notes, and experiment putting the notes in the perfect rhythmic pocket. Ask your drummer! Harmonically, the notes are simple triads: A minor triad, C minor triad, G major triad, F major triad. All of these chords imply the IIm–V pattern over F#m7(b5) to B7(b9b13). Bar 24 The C7(alt) chord uses triads from the C altered scale: F#, Eb, C, A. This symmetrical pattern leads nicely back into the last 12 bars of the form. Bars 25–28 This line mirrors bars 1–4 of the étude. Bars 31–32 Note the difference between the Cm and Bdim triads. Bar 36 The C7(alt) chord is outlined with a C augmented triad, followed by notes from the C altered scale. l

Jazz Concepts

Ex. 5 Medium Swing

Fm7

Emaj7

Abmaj7

Bbm7

Abmaj7

Cm7

Abmaj7

D7b9

Å&#x201C;.

Eb7b9

Cmaj 7

Bbm7

Am7

D7b9

Dbmaj7

Fm7

Bb7b9

Gmaj7

F#m7b5

Fm7

Dbmaj7

Eb7b9

Dbm7

Abmaj 7

Ebmaj7

Am7

Gmaj7

C7(alt)

Dm7

B7b9b13

Bbm7

Cm7

C7(alt)

Eb7b9

Bdim7

Fm7

bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 6 ; BASS MAGAZINE

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Beginner Bass Base | By Patrick Pfeiffer

Building Blocks Of A Groove The Groove Skeleton (Part 1 Of 4)

lot of musical information is packed into a bass groove. What is the tempo of the music? The feel? Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the tonal center? The electric bass guitar is unique in that it is as much an instrument of harmony as it is of rhythm, which brings a lot of responsibility to the job of being a bass player. The quest to create a perfect groove can Ex. 1

Ex. 2a

Ex. 2b

Patrick is a professional bassist, bass educator, clinician, composer and author, having published several classic bass books, among them Bass Guitar for Dummies, Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies, Improve Your Groove: The Ultimate Guide For Bass, and Daily Grooves for Bass.

Ex. 2c

Ex. 2d

BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 6 ; bassmagazine.com

be a bit overwhelming when you first start out, but if you dissect any well-constructed groove and familiarize yourself with all the different components, the process becomes more manageable. Over the next several Bass Magazine issues, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be covering the four essential building blocks of a great bass groove and how to practice each one so you can be

Beginner Bass Base

Ex. 3a

Ex. 3b

Ex. 3c

the groovemaster you were meant to be. The four elements are: • Groove skeleton • Groove apex • Groove tail • Harmonic contour No matter what your preferred musical style is, knowing and applying these groove elements makes you a better bass player. For this issue it’s the groove skeleton, which is probably the most essential part of any groove. After all, if you don’t have a skeleton, where do you hang the meat? The groove skeleton consists of the first two notes of the groove. These two notes set the tone (pun!) for the entire groove. The groove skeleton usually gives you the tonal center (most of the time it’s the root of the chord), the tempo, and also the style (through the use of rhythmic subdivisions — for instance, 16thnotes are usually funkier than eighth-notes). Example 1 shows a simple groove frame to use for practicing. The notes in this groove remain the same throughout the other examples; the only change is a note added after the first one to create a different groove skeleton. This gives you a good idea about how altering rhythms affects the feel of your groove.

First up, the one-e groove skeleton (Ex. 2a), which tends to be used in funk styles (I’m counting the four 16th-notes of a beat as “one-e-and-a”). As you may have guessed, the notes for this groove skeleton are on the one and the e — the first two 16th-notes of the measure. Set your metronome somewhere around 80 beats per minute and hang with this groove for a while until you feel the funk. Some famous grooves using the one-e groove skeleton include The O’Jays’ “For the Love of Money” (Anthony Jackson on bass, Ex. 2b), Wilson Pickett’s “Funky Broadway” (Tommy Cogbill on bass, Ex. 2c), and Tower Of Power’s “You’ve Got to Funkifize” (Francis “Rocco” Prestia on bass, Ex. 2d). Next, the one-and groove skeleton. Keep the groove structure of Ex. 2 and the same tempo with your metronome, but now place the second note of the groove skeleton on the and of the first beat, making the first two notes two eighth-notes (Ex. 3a). Notice how all of a sudden the groove seems to settle into a rock feel. Famous bass grooves using the one-and groove skeleton include Bill Withers’ “Use Me” (Melvin Dunlop on bass, Ex. 3b), The Beatles’ “Come Together” (Paul McCartney on bass, Ex. 3c), and Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man”

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Beginner Bass Base

Ex. 3d

Ex. 4a

Ex. 4b

Ex. 4c

Ex. 4d

Ex. 5a

Ex. 5b

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Beginner Bass Base

Ex. 5c

Ex. 5d

(Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass, Ex. 3d). Moving on, the one-a groove skeleton moves the second note of the groove by yet another 16th-note and places the first two notes of the groove on the one and the a (the last 16th) of the first beat, which creates a distinct R&B flavor. Check out Ex. 4a for the exercise groove. Some classic bass grooves using the one-a groove skeleton are Jaco Pastorius’ bass line on “The Chicken” (Ex. 4b), The Temptations’ “Cloud Nine” (James Jamerson on bass, Ex. 4c), and King Curtis’ “Memphis Soul Stew” (Tommy Cogbill’s bass groove, Ex. 4d). There comes a time when a bass groove just needs to settle things down into a downbeat pattern. Such is the function of the onetwo groove skeleton. The first two notes of the groove are on beat one and on beat two.

Grab the exercise groove in Ex. 5a and work with this a bit. Great groove specimens of the one-two groove skeleton are Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” (Tommy Cogbill on bass, Ex. 5b), Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman” (Joseph “Lucky” Scott on bass, Ex. 5c), and Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” (Astor “Familyman” Barrett on bass, Ex. 5d). The one-two-and groove skeleton is the groove of choice for some especially deep pocket grooves. A full beat-and-a-half between the first and the second note of the groove gives a whole new meaning to the term “playing space” (Ex. 6a). Notable grooves with a one-two-and groove skeleton include Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” (Tommy Cogbill on bass, Ex. 6b), Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me”

Ex. 6a

Ex. 6b

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Beginner Bass Base

(Bob Babbitt on bass, Ex. 6c), and The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” (Bill Wyman on bass, Ex. 6d — not to be confused with Keith Richards’ guitar line). Your mission as super-agent bass players, should you choose to accept it, is to search out your favorite bass grooves and determine the groove skeleton for each.

Ex. 6c

Ex. 6d

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Try to discover the correlation between each groove’s intensity (funky, laid back, rocking, deep pocket) and its groove skeleton. Keep track of your favorite grooves — perhaps start a “groove journal” so you are able to draw from an array of different grooves when it becomes time to compose your own. l

The Inquirer | By Jonathan Herrera

Making Good Habits

’ve been thinking a lot about habits lately, particularly the way so much of my life seems to be dictated by them. Biographically, the last few years are marked by intense change in my life. What I’ve come to appreciate in this season of self-analysis is that I am a sort of prisoner of habit, good and bad. Habit permeates me, and like water for a thirsty plant, it can nourish or destroy. I believe becoming a better bass player can be distilled down to two primary activities: effective practicing, and playing with other people. One thing that I believe is vastly overrated as a prerequisite for musical achievement is “talent,” by which I mean some native aptitude woven into a player’s genetic code. Of course, there are those that seem to benefit from especially fleet fingers, voluminous musical memory, or unusually acute hearing, but if you could somehow gather up all the great musicians of the world and test for these qualities, I don’t think you’d find them to be especially well represented among them. To me, the “talent” relevant to a musician’s ability is a talent for building productive habits and starving destructive ones before they take root. Thus, good musicians have developed habits in support of those two pillars of musical growth: They are in the habit of practicing effectively, and they’re in the habit of finding opportunities to apply their music with others. Sometimes I feel like I’m a pretty good bass player despite my habits, not because of them. I do play the instrument almost every day, but I am not always motivated to make good progress. Instead, I am habituated to periods of intense focus followed by aimless stretches when I feel like I’ve plateaued. It’s not that I don’t know how to get better — it’s

that I’m guided by the invisible hand of habit. In the same way, getting out and making the scene can sometimes require extraordinary willpower. By nature, I’m an introvert, and this introversion easily leads to a habit of avoiding the kind of intense social interaction that is the basis of getting out and participating in my local music scene. In an effort to fix this stuff, I’ve been researching the science of habit making and breaking. There is a ton of scholarship on the subject. First, there appears to be consensus among experts that willpower is a remarkably weak and unreliable resource. If a person is always zigging but for some compelling reason suddenly wants to zag, they can harness their willpower and probably manage to zag — once or twice. The problem is that the reservoir of willpower is easily depleted, and soon enough, they’ll be zigging again. They’ve allocated their precious willpower to the wrong thing. Rather than trying to achieve a temporary fix, they should have used that willpower to develop a new habit. Habits form when a person engages in a behavior in the presence of consistent stimuli. Our environment is constantly cueing us, and we have many automatic responses to these cues. Whereas the mental energy required to exert willpower is substantial, our automated responses to cues flow easily and subconsciously. Research on habit creation instructs us not to focus on changing our behavior, but rather on changing the cues in our environment. Instead of focusing on developing a habit for practicing, allocate your precious willpower toward developing a routine for starting to practice. Instead of trying to force a new behavior, you’re trying to alter the cue that leads to the new behavior you

Bass Magazine Contributing Editor Jonathan Herrera is Bass Player's former Editor-in-Chief. An accomplished player, Jonathan has been a full-time musician and producer since 2010. His latest endeavor is Bay Area recording studio Dime Studios. Catch up with him at jonherrera.com and at thedimestudios.com.

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The Inquirer

want to make habitual. For the cue, use something that’s already occurring regularly in your daily life, like getting home from work. Use your willpower to create a small routine that occurs each time you arrive home from work. For example, once you get home, immediately wash your hands, make a cup of tea, gather your practice materials, tune your bass, and sit down in a consistent part of the house you reserve for practice. Soon, the environmental cue (getting home from

Allocate your precious willpower toward developing a routine for starting to practice. work) initiates a habitual behavior that puts you in a ready state for practicing. Rather than reinventing the wheel each evening, or guilt-tripping yourself and expending your willpower, you’ve trained yourself to go into autopilot, making it much more likely that you’ll actually sit down and practice. Finally, research suggests that a small reward can make a substantial impact on the sustainability of a new habit. Perhaps you finish this new routine with an indulgent treat or a half-hour of aimless YouTube watching. Coming up with the reward is the fun part — be creative. This is a big and important topic, perhaps the most important one in life when it comes to achieving your goals. We’ll explore social habits further in an upcoming column. l

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Jump Head

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Partners | By Jim Roberts

Sean Fairchild & MTD

Jim Roberts was the first full-time editor of Bass Player and also served as the magazine’s publisher and group publisher. He is the author of How The Fender Bass Changed The World and American Basses: An Illustrated History and Player's Guide (both published by Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard).

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ometimes a bass player has an idea for an instrument that’s entirely new — something that’s never been done before. The supreme example is the contrabass guitar envisioned by Anthony Jackson more than 50 years ago (see my Partners column in Issue 3). At other times, a standard design is almost right, but a few modifications can make it the ideal instrument for a player’s preferences and style. Consider, for example, the MTD 535-24 that belongs to Seattle bassist Sean Fairchild. At first glance, it looks much like many of the other 5-strings built in Michael Tobias Design’s New York State shop. But there are some tweaks that make it just right for Fairchild, and his collaboration with MTD is an excellent example of the kind of player–builder teamwork that’s the focus of this column. Fairchild was introduced to Michael Tobias, indirectly, when he was in high school. “I got a Tobias bass, a Basic 5, when I was a senior,” he says. (It should be noted that this instrument was made after Michael sold Tobias Guitars to Gibson, so he wasn’t involved in building it.) “That bass had some issues,” Sean continues, “and I sent it to the factory for warranty work. At that point, they weren’t being produced, so they sent me back a Classic 5. Then, a little later, I got a Basic 6. That was when I first started talking with Mike, because I had questions about the preamp.” Fairchild had acquired valuable knowledge during a special project in high school, when he interned in the shop of Dave Bunker, the inventor of the Bunker Touch Guitar and other innovative instruments. “I built a

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bass from scratch,” says Sean, adding, with a chuckle, “and I should say that I horrendously screwed it up.” Even so, he acquired an understanding of instrument building that has served him well in his career as a player and teacher. At the NAMM Show in 2017, Sean made a point of going to the MTD booth so he could speak directly with Michael and his son, Daniel, a key member of the MTD team. “Sean basically played the entire booth,” says Daniel. “He took his time to see what he liked, and he asked a lot of questions.” That research led to Fairchild’s order for a customized 535-24. He describes it this way: “The bass features a northern hard-ash back with a burled-walnut top, a maple neck with a bird’s-eye maple fretboard, and stock, proprietary MTD USA pickups with a Bartolini preamp. The woods were chosen for the aggressive, chime-y tone I enjoy, as well as weight management and, of course, looks. It’s a standard 35" scale. That’s about where the stock specs end!” One unusual request from Sean involved moving the treble tone control. “One of the peculiarities of the way I play,” he says, “using a lot of flamenco strumming and perhaps having a slightly weird way of double-thumbing, is that the controls can get in my way if they are too close to the neck.” To adjust for this, the midrange and bass controls were stacked and the treble pot was moved back to where the midrange is usually placed. Another tweak involved the bridge, because Fairchild prefers slightly tighter string spacing than the standard 19mm on a 535-24. The

Partners

CONNECT CHECK IT OUT CHECK IT OUT

COURTESY SEAN FAIRCHILD

Check out Fairchild’s and MTD’s websites.

Sean Fairchild with his custom MTD 535-24

solution was a Hipshot A Style bridge with 18mm spacing and 1.5mm of side-to-side adjustment. Another unusual feature is the quick-release magnetic covers for the truss rod, battery, and electronics compartments. “This means the covers are undrilled,” says Sean, “which looks super cool. And the best part is that they carved out channels under the truss-rod cover to keep the truss and bridge wrenches onboard.” “Sean is very knowledgeable about the bass,” says Daniel Tobias. Michael confirms this, adding, “He’s a nice cat, and during the build he understood pretty quickly what we talked about. He understood the wood tone part, and then it was just a matter of tweaking it to his feel.” Because Fairchild lives on the West Coast and the MTD shop is across the country, communication during construction took place by phone and internet. “With the advent of social media, people sometimes want to be more involved than they need to be,” notes Daniel. “When we’re starting a build, there’s an extensive talking period to get the tone that they want, the specs that they want, things like that. After that, we try to avoid constant updates because that slows

down the process. Sean was really good about it — he knew what he wanted after we had discussed it at NAMM, and the process went pretty quickly.” Fairchild says he couldn’t be happier with the bass. “It’s an incredible instrument, and every time I play it, I realize how lucky I am to enjoy the relationship I have with Michael and Daniel. I love that they continue to push the envelope with new design choices and options.” Not long after he got his 53524, Fairchild also acquired an MTD 635-24. The 6-string, while not a custom order, is nearly a match in construction, including a walnut top made from the same stock used on the 5. Discussions have continued between Fairchild and Michael and Daniel Tobias, as Sean continues to refine his instruments. One current project involves finding a way to have a passive option for the electronics. “I like the way a passive tone roll-off works as opposed to an active treble,” says Sean, “so I started playing around with ways to do that.” It’s just one example of what he calls his “super geek” approach to his basses, which he has been able to express thanks to his productive collaboration with MTD. l

TELL ME A B O U T YO U R BASS If you have worked with a builder to create or customize a bass to suit your playing style, I want to hear from you. Send me your story — with photos, video, sound files, or other supporting material: jim@ bassmagazine. com.

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