Ok, here goes, my life was such a mess for a long time so this post whilst it is long, is the succinct version of a long arduous journey ...
For me my influences are varied ... And diverse ...
I came from a guitar / drums background, my family was piano and violins on one side and piano and guitars on the other ...
I started young on Classical guitar and a soprano chorister in church as a youngster and electric guitar later
In between that I played marching drums at school and then in bands on a kit .. I love drums ...
I tried to dedicate time to classical guitar on and off and whilst I made progress I struggled to find the hours to dedicate on study, mainly because I was working and doing tertiary education and distracted with life generally ...
with drums, I wanted to break into the bebop avante guard thing but didn't have the ability, setting or opportunity
I went through a really bad time in life feeling like I had all this background in music and I practiced many hours, but I convinced myself I had no talent let alone opportunity
It was like I was bashing my head on a brick wall day in day out ... Practice, practice , practice ... I ended up in a very bad time for a lot of years and with lots of problems ...
Then one day after yet another situation of being in a second rate band that was falling apart and unable to get a bass player, it was like a moment....
I said, I will play bass ... I traded all my guitar gear and there I was playing bass ...
I have been playing bass 20 years now and whilst I dabble on drums and guitar in my private time, bass is my main game and what I play if I am in a band
I never regret my move to bass, and I dedicate many hours in practice and study over the years ...
My heroes' are rarely from the bass world. My 'heroes' are people like William Gomez on classical, Ritchie Blackmore in his deep purple days on electric and Tony Williams on drums
I admire these people because they are just brilliant at what they do
My bass hero is Paul chambers, but I don't class myself as a jazz musician
As far as gear, I am a brand loyalist and I grew up in era when I was drumming where fender bass was where it was at
So I play American standard precision and Jazz
For Amps and speakers , I use to cart a 4x 10 and 1x 15 marshall rig
Looked good on stage but average sound and I have progressed to smaller is better
I have run Eden vt 300 valve, and a 1 x 12 nice and warm, the head weighed a ton and I damaged it and countless repairs never got it back
Mesa walkabout, Hartke 3500 and then Momark 600 w
Still have the Momark and have let the rest go, mostly to my son who now tours etc
Recently settled on the Aguilar 350 tone hammer. Totally love it
Running 2 x 12 mark bass , pretty happy with them but intend to eventually swap out to Aguilar s
As far as keeping up with bass players, I notice that people who start out on bass have a noticeable way of playing
I use to worry about that but as years have gone by I am happy with how my style is evolving and I try more now to understand what works for me and why as compared trying to force things that seem natural to other people and a struggle for me
I naturally played bass at the start with fingers because I use to think that was the so called best way
But I now often like to play with a pick
My main reason for sticking with bass is because I feel I am naturally better at it. Having a background in drums and guitar puts me in a good spot on bass
I listen out big time to what's happening around me and whilst I can't play the licks the guitar guys are laying down, I can here and understand them and with that I seek to play bass in a way that compliments them
I am not into the bass player lays it down and everyone follows, I try to listen, compliment and if they give me space then I try to go for it ...
My dream and ambition is that I live long enough to get really fluent, and make up for the years I lost in confusion and distraction ....
In the mean time I hang out with guys in a blues band and do it for the love of it
My joke with lead guitarists is they can play skinny strings fast, but they can't play fat strings slow,
Once I worked that out I have never looked back ...
