gear on mutations and sea change

[salparadise]

hey justin,

long time listener, first time caller. do you remember what basses you used on mutations and sea change? i did a search and although i stumbled onto your master gear page (you're a lucky man), i couldn't find anything on the gear you used on those particular records. my apologies if this has been brought up before. if you have the time or the memory to list certain basses you used on certain songs that would be great, but i'll take what i can get. i've always been a firm believer that the player makes the music, not the gear. but i can't help but wonder what tools are assisting you on those fantastic records. thanks, brother.

-brian

[jmjbassplayer]

Hi Brian,
This is a tough one, I don't really remember everything. Some things used on Mutations:

P-Bass
Jazz Bass
Vox Cougar
Schecter 8-String
Upright
Ampeg old guitar amp
B-15

Sea Change:
P-Basses
Jazz Basses
Wal Custom
Vox Cougar
Guild Starfire
Eko hollowbody
Upright
B-15R
Gibson RD Artist
Rickenbacker 4003
Mountains of pedals

I played a bunch of guitar on these records too, but don't remember what was around.
Best,
JMJ

[GregC]

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

Hi Brian,
This is a tough one, I don't really remember everything. Some things used on Mutations:

Vox Cougar

Sea Change:
Vox Cougar

Do you still have a Cougar, Justin, and if so, how's it holding up?

My first bass was a Cougar, back in the early '80s. I even used it in the hardcore thrash band I played in (imagine a dorky guy with no punk accoutrements other than Chuck Taylors, playing a Cougar in a band opening for Minor Threat). Sadly, the neck has slowly warped into the shape of a hockey stick--my friends at Lakland have deemed it essentially unrepairable and say this is fairly typical of Vox. I'll be hanging it on my wall soon.

[jmjbassplayer]

That's rad...and awesomely uncharacteristic...to play something like a Vox Cougar in a hardcore band.

Mine is holding up great, but it's not on tour. If it was out on the road, that would be another story entirely. :-)

Best,
JMJ

[GregC]

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

That's rad...and awesomely uncharacteristic...to play something like a Vox Cougar in a hardcore band.

Mine is holding up great, but it's not on tour. If it was out on the road, that would be another story entirely. :-)

Best,
JMJ

Glad to hear yours is in good shape.

Thanks, that was a lot of fun while it lasted. Oh, I was playing purely fingerstyle then, too. I got some crap for that until my bandmates saw and heard my not-so-delicate attack.

[jmjbassplayer]

You're a f*#^&$g badass, dude.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by jmjbassplayer

You're a f*#^&$g badass, dude.

Hah, thanks Justin--you're too generous and that was a long time ago. I started ruminating about the hardcore scene and how much orthodoxy there was in it, at least at the local level. (Minor Threat, by the way, was an amazing unit live.) I was raised on punk and love it still, but I did my last thrash-band gig the night before my 20th birthday (a coincidence, to be sure, but I get a chuckle out of it).

I started coming across bands like the Minutemen (damn, I love Watt), Meat Puppets and Husker Du, and my buddies turned me on to old funk and even older country--the musical palette opened up. I'm a very part-time hacker now, but I have a lot of respect for musicians like you who can really excel across genres, and still maintain good taste in projects in the process. Boy, does this post have nothing to do with the topic!

[jmjbassplayer]

I'm all about punk...all those bands are amongst my very favorite...Husker Du is in my top 5. But yes, there was a HELL of a lot of conservatism and orthodoxy, ultimately. That's what probably killed the scene, is when a "status quo" started to become the norm. People started to have to wear "the uniform" and everything it entailed. So yeah, I feel you.

This is part of the reason I have tried to be so diverse. No shackles, no uniforms.

Best,
JMJ