Staying Inspired

I've been playing bass since I was your typical, socially awkward 13-year-old teenager. Fm now 42. That's a lot of years spent noodling about in the low tones section of music.

What is it that makes me continue to play bass?

Music in my teens led me to joining my first bands, which in turn led to that notion of feeling like I was a part of something bigger than myself. I felt less like a geek. Playing bass made me feel good. Learning how to figure out songs made me feel good. Hanging out with other like-minded musicians made me feel good. I was definitely into being a team player for sure. Playing music and plunking away on my bass had such a positive effect on me during those odd teenage years. You know, those years where you aren't a little kid anymore but you're still too young to drive a car or go to a club or hang out with the cool older crowd. It also saved my ass from getting kicked by the local rednecks/jocks on more than one occasion as I was known as "...that guy, he's in a band and they're sorta cool...". Bass can sometimes save you from a punch in the eye! I still love that feeling of belonging. Whatever musical situation I am in, I know I am part of a group and I like that very much.

When I was starting out, inspiration came by listening to a lot of bass players like Paul McCartney, Gene Simmons and John Entwhistle. Concentrating on what the bass player was doing/playing became everything to me as far as music went. At the time "songs" were not as important as the bass parts I was trying to learn. I continued this trend for a number of years. Old school prog, new wave, hard rock, reggae, jazz, etc., all seeped into my brain. As my own playing developed and matured and as my tastes in music changed and then changed again I began to understand something fundamental: music should serve the song and not the other way around. This concept is always inspirational to me when I'm approaching new ideas for bass.

An interesting bass line can underpin an equally interesting vocal melody or song structure. Sometimes it can be a major component as in The Police's "Walking On The Moon", Bjork's "Army OfMe", QOTSA's "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" or Franz Ferdinand's "Tell Her Tonight". Hearing something new that has a great bass line makes me appreciate being a bassist.

Another thing that keeps my interest is the ability to play other instruments. I highly recommend learning how to play any instrument that is available to you. Being able to sit at a piano and make some musical noise, bashing away on a set of drums or coming up with an interesting riff on an electric guitar! enables my head to clear if I start feeling bored or static on my main instrument. Also, these little musical excursions can, and do, trigger possible bass lines. I've come up with totally different concepts for bass parts while fooling around on the drums or finding cool low-end patches on a synth.

While on tour with Sarah McLachlan for Lilith Fair, I watched Sheryl Crow perform on a nightly basis for a couple of months. As well as being accomplished on many other instruments, she is a also very fine bass player. There are a number of artists out there who are well known for their skillful singing, songwriting, guitar playing or producing, but not so much for their bass playing. I count among them Keith Richards, Brian Wilson, Aimee Mann, Trevor Horn, Jimi Hendrix and Pierre Marchand. What inspires me is how these various artists/producers approach writing, playing and recording bass. Because it's not their main instrument, there can be a real uniqueness, a real "non bass-like" quality to their lines - something less stereotypical or obvious. One great example would be The Rolling Stones song "Sympathy For The Devil". Keith Richards took the song's deceptively simple three-chord pattern and constructed a relentless, driving, almost lead guitar kind of approach, to his bass line. He played lots of snaky improvised little fills over that now classic samba-esque rhythm all without sacrificing the groove. His bass playing really complements the manic piano playing of Nicky Hopkins and later on his own razor sharp guitar solo. There is a French new wave art film by Jean-Luc Godard called Sympathy For The Devil, which captures Richards in the studio piecing that song together bit by bit. Worth checking out for fans of the brilliant late '60s version of the band.

One final thing. I was so happy when a whole series of mid'70s Brian Eno solo records were recently re-released onto CD. I highly recommend picking up copies of Another Green World, Here Come The Warm Jets or Before And After Science as music I find continually inspirational.

[Author Affiliation]

Brian Minato is the bassist for Sarah McLachlan. He is also a Vancouver-based musician/producer currently working with The Blue Alarm, The Wild Strawberries, Jennifer Campbell, Boywonderbread, Sandy Scofield and other artists. Visit these sties to check out what he's up to: www.thebluealarm.com, www.wildstrawberries.com, www.sandyscofield.com, www.cazanrecords.com, www.maplemusic.com.