bass

10 mintues in the hot seat with Chubby Chan

CC: first ever bass/amp…

A: …first bass was a Riverhead (by Headway) with passive pickups…

CC: 5 favourite bass players when you started…

A:  Um, Louis Johnson, the guy from Level 42, Larry Graham, Jaco Pastorius and John Patatucci…Mingus, Ray Brown, Stanley Clarke, Bootsy Collins.

CC: do you confess to slapping..?

A: …Yes. Yes, I do…Perhaps an apology is in order?!

CC: how did you learn to play?

A:  …from watching Louis Johnson Hot Licks Video, hence the slapping!

CC: how many strings should a bass be restricted to?

A:  Um, five.

CC: why?

A: Ha! Because more than that is just silly!

CC: who’s the funkiest bass player ever?

A:  Er, Prince.

CC: why?

A:  Because he’s a monster bass player - you just don’t expect him to be so good when he’s not even a dedicated bassist per se. Oh, he’s funky all right. He’s funk personified!

CC: favourite bass you’ve ever owned

A: That’s easy. My black sparkle Musicman Stingray 4

CC: why not a five?

A: No, I struggled with the neck size on the five, but I’m jealous of people with bigger hands and more time on their hands, because I really wanted a bottom ‘B’!

CC: five favourite bass players now?

A: Oh, please, this was meant to be easy! Um, the guy from Talk Talk (sorry, I don’t know your name, but you’re awesome!), um, Prince, why not? Um…this is just too hard, I don’t know anyone anymore! I’m too much in my own world! Am I allowed to say ‘me’?

CC: not really! but alright, fair enough – any advice to wannabe bass players out there?

A: Slapping bass is natural….you might think you’re the only one doing it, but you’re not alone. Check in your local areas for support groups and keep it quiet from your pals!

CC: Thanks ‘Vois, gotta go now...

A: Thanks Chubbs.