A six year old boy
sits in the back of a wood-paneled station wagon on the way
to the beach
with his family, watching the cars go by. Tucked
in back, surrounded by beach towels, blankets,
fold-up chairs and inflatable toys, the radio plays through
the rear speakers. He
sings along with
the only thing he hears clearly resonating through
the station wagon's cheap plastic side panels.
Maybe that's where I
got it.
I
remember singing bass lines before I even knew what they
were, but it took a while.
When I was eleven,
my brothers took me to my first concert: The Rolling Stones at
the Garden. Then they took me to see The Who. Then I got to see
Led Zeppelin reunite at Live Aid at RFK Stadium. When they were
away, I'd sneak into their rooms, sit at the turntable and play
the others I'd loved: Van Halen , AC-DC, Creedence Cearwater
Revival, The Kinks, David Bowie, Steve Miller, Motley Crüe..."
But by the time I
picked up a bass guitar, I thought my influences would be
the
Smiths, The Cure and New
Order. I was following the line back
to Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and the Jam. That
took me to the Beatles. Finally it came down
to
one sound. Motown. One man.
James Jamerson.
The only one more important to the
birth of the bass guitar was Leo Fender himself.
So climb back up to disco, soul and
even
early
funk if
you
want. You can't go wrong with Gaye,
Mayfield, Wonder and Green.
A
four-string Fender bass and an Ampeg
rig were good enough for
some of the greatest music ever recorded. Effects can be
just right or they
can be a crutch, a gimmick. When in doubt,
keep it plug-and-play. Five string?
Sure, but sometimes I'll use a killer octave
pedal and
a Jazz bass instead. If I'm mobile, a 7
pound, 1200 watt Walter Woods head is my
secret weapon.
Good
bass is the soul of the song, the bridge between rhythm and melody
and the center of musical gravity. It's the bass you feel
in your chest. It's the bass you hear before you even get inside
the club. There's no formula, no substitute, no synthesized solution.
I believe in pure,
simple grooves that never invade the vocal. Someone once told
me that my bass lines move and lock clean with a kick, yet
can leap up and compliment the lead vocal like a backing harmony.
I want to strip it down until only the right notes remain in
the right places. See for yourself.
-nicolas dipierro
