Don't know much about her...just started getting into some of her music. I really like the way she plays bass. Extremely talented person.
Meshell Ndegeocello video
Meshell Ndegeocello video
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Meshell Ndegeocello
- Thread starter shrimpflea
- Start date
I like her first two albums the most. She has had a very eclectic career. There are a bunch of threads here about her if you are ready to do a search.
- Sep 14, 2012
- 1,560
- 1,198
- 40
- Disclosures
- Reverend Guitars ; SIT Strings ; Trickfish Amplifiers ; LK Straps ; Rattlesnake Cables
When I first started playing I saw the video for "Wild Nights," one morning before school... actually my introduction into funky bassists... before that it was all music that I no longer see as music...
She also produced the album by Anthony Joseph. Will appear February.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lefiVvvEPOo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lefiVvvEPOo
If you are getting in to MeShell, then this video from her earlier days is a must watch. The band includes a young Chris Dave on drums. Groovy stuff.
Got to speak with Meshell recently. She has a beautiful musical mind that is overflowing with grooves.
She was kind enough to indulge me with her John Mellencamp story, and talked about what images appear when she's making her riffs. I can't post links cuz I'm a newbie, but it's on Songfacts. A few excerpts:
Songfacts: What do you consider your strong suits?
Meshell: Sonics, groove - being able to deconstruct typical song forms. I try to keep things as interesting as I possibly can. Sometimes I'm criticized for being too challenging. I just try to keep things interesting, that's all.
Songfacts: You have been talking about how you kind of stay to yourself and you don't like the limelight. Did you want to be famous when you started this?
Meshell: Oh, of course, I did. Oh my God, yeah. I had a difficult childhood, not more or less than anyone else, but it had its issues. And I didn't really fit in, I didn't have friends. So, of course, that was part of the driving force. Once I saw that I could play the bass and then people would talk to me and like me, it sort of fueled the egomania that can happen.
She was kind enough to indulge me with her John Mellencamp story, and talked about what images appear when she's making her riffs. I can't post links cuz I'm a newbie, but it's on Songfacts. A few excerpts:
Songfacts: What do you consider your strong suits?
Meshell: Sonics, groove - being able to deconstruct typical song forms. I try to keep things as interesting as I possibly can. Sometimes I'm criticized for being too challenging. I just try to keep things interesting, that's all.
Songfacts: You have been talking about how you kind of stay to yourself and you don't like the limelight. Did you want to be famous when you started this?
Meshell: Oh, of course, I did. Oh my God, yeah. I had a difficult childhood, not more or less than anyone else, but it had its issues. And I didn't really fit in, I didn't have friends. So, of course, that was part of the driving force. Once I saw that I could play the bass and then people would talk to me and like me, it sort of fueled the egomania that can happen.
I heard somewhere that when she did Mellencamp's cover of Wild Night, she thought it was his original.
She'd never heard it before. She was great on it.
She'd never heard it before. She was great on it.
Great interview, Carl. It's nice to read an interview conducted by someone who obviously did his research!
It's always a pleasure when you get to speak with an artist/songwriter you admire, especially when they're willing to answer all those burning questions about their songs (like "If That's Your Boyfriend He Wasn't Last Night") .
Tangent - pretty sure she knew "Wild Night" was a Van Morrison song. She knows her musical history.
.Tangent - pretty sure she knew "Wild Night" was a Van Morrison song. She knows her musical history.
I remember her talking about "Boyfriend" in the first interview she did for Bass Player magazine. She's someone I would love to sit and talk with - and make some music with. I met her once but she was very reserved and wasn't talkative at all.It's always a pleasure when you get to speak with an artist/songwriter you admire, especially when they're willing to answer all those burning questions about their songs (like "If That's Your Boyfriend He Wasn't Last Night")
That's the thing: she is very reserved and doesn't like talking about herself, which is not exactly the persona she presented early in her career. It took some therapy to resolve this conflict.
As you can imagine, she hates doing interviews and loathes the promotion cycle, which keeps her just under the radar. If you listen to her work though, she's clearly progressing as an artist and doing some amazing work.
Her first album was mainly recorded on a jazz bass with EMGS, and flatwound strings. Cracking tone, and and she thumps the heck out of it!
