F.A.Q.
Q: How long have you been playing
bass?
A: I’ve been playing electric bass a reallylong time. I recently picked up the upright bass in 2010.
Q: Were you a guitar player first? A: Nope. I’m an honest-to-goodness bass player. Bass was my first instrument. Well… I guess it was really a tie between bass and
tuba.
Q: Why did you choose bass over guitar?
A: I wanted to spit fire and have blood dripping from my mouth and wear really big dragon boots. And the bass player was the guy that did that. I saw a KISS concert on HBO when I was seven or eight years old. When I saw how cool Gene Simmons looked I knew I had to be the bass player in a band.
Q: Do you play any other instruments?
A: Guitar is my secondary instrument. I can also play keyboards, but only one-handed, which works for me in studio.
Q:Who are your favorite bass players?
A: David J from Bauhaus and Love and Rockets is one of my all-time favorites. He plays in a very melodic, almost vocal style, but doesn’t overdo it and knows exactly when to lay down the foundation. I really dig Michael Anthony from Van Halen and Chickenfoot and I’d love to hang out and drink margaritas with him.
Q: Who influenced you the most as a bass player? A: Jack Bruce from Cream and Joe Satriani probably influenced me the most as a developing bass player. While going through my uncle’s record collection I discovered Cream. Jack’s playing, and the band’s music, knocked me out. I learned almost every one of Jack Bruce’s bass lines. Even though Joe Satriani is a guitar player I used to love listening to the melodies on his records. I learned a lot of his melodies on bass. Those two are directly responsible for the melodic style of playing I’ve developed.
Q: What kind of basses do you play?
A: I play 4-string and 5-string fretted and fretless basses and an upright bass.
Q: What’s your favorite bass?
A: It’s a tie between my 1990 Ibanez SB1200 and my 2006 Music Man 5-string fretless Bongo Bass.
Q: Of all the places you have played what city is your favorite to play?
A: I love playing in New York City, but when I’m touring my favorite city is always the city I haven’t been to yet.
Q:What kind of music do you like?
A: I like all kinds of music, but I mostly listen to rock music. But I really love Goth, industrial, punk and Ska.
Q: What are some of your favorite bands?
A: My favorite bands changes daily, but Placebo, Love & Rockets and the Toasters top the list. Besides those bands, other bands that are always in my iPod include Blur, The Replacements, Paul Westerburg, NIN, The Cure, The Cult, The Who, Depeche Mode, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Specials, Bauhaus, Joy Division.
