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WARWICK INTERVIEW
Where do you live now?
I live in London.
What did you listen to when you were younger?
I listened to a wide range of music from soul to rock to jazz.. to name a few artists: T-Rex, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, Weather Report, Tower Of Power, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Little Feat and Steely Dan.
Were/Are you parents/siblings musical?
Not particularly. My sister played some piano at school.
What/who made you want to play bass, and when?
Sounds crazy but, when I was sixteen I was bought a nylon strung classical guitar by my parents. I broke the B and E string quite quickly and it became a 4 stringed instrument. I used to play along with the radio using individual notes, not chords. A more experienced musician friend later told me I was playing the bass lines! I hadn’t even realised! My father later bought me a bass guitar (a Fender jazz copy) and I taught myself by playing along with records and the radio.
Do you play any other instruments?
Some acoustic guitar and piano for writing.
Who or what influenced you? Who are your current influences?
I have always been influenced by bass players that know how to hold down the groove and play a supportive role in a bands performance. Adam Clayton and Cliff Williams are two bassists that spring to mind. They both play with an awesome feel and are integral to their band sound. They are rarely (if ever) heard playing fancy chops or solos, yet to me they are both amazing bass players. Of course, like many bass players, Jaco Pastorius was a big influence. Even though he was very flamboyant and technical, he never lost the groove. Some of my favourite Jaco playing is on the Joni Mitchell albums. He adds so much to the songs and yet never compromises the melody. In terms of current influences, I still enjoy Pino Paladino’s playing and his ability to move effortlessly across musical genres. I really like his playing on the John Mayer albums. Other influences include, Tony Levin, Stuart Zender, Bernard Edwards and James Jamerson.
Why did you choose Warwick? When did you start playing Warwick?
I first started using Warwick instruments in 1990, as they were, in my opinion, the finest quality and most unique sounding basses available at the time. I toured with Bruce Dickinson on the Tattooed Millionaire world tour using a Warwick Thumb V. I also have a Thumb V Fretless bass and would never part with either of them. In the last five years or so, I have been using Warwick amplification, namely the Tubepath 10.1, 1 x12 Neo Cab and 4 x 10 Neo Cab.
What was your first ‘professional’ gig?
If you mean, the first time I got paid for playing the bass? I guess like most people, I started working in cover bands in bars. It was a more fun way to make some money than a ‘regular’ job and also gave me a chance to refine my playing at the same time. The first name artist I worked with was Bruce Dickinson in 1989.
What were the most important stages in your career, and when?
I think the most important stage was when I was asked to play on Bruce Dickinson’s first solo project, Tattooed Millionaire. This gave me a lot of experience working at a high level in the business and was a foundation upon which to build my reputation as a bass player. It was from this point that I started working as a session player and had the opportunity to play with a lot of great bands and artists.
More recently, I played at the Royal Albert Hall in London with ABC and the BBC Concert Orchestra. It was an amazing musical experience and one that I hadn’t foreseen happening in my career. To be on stage at such an iconic venue with seventy-one other musicians playing a classic album was incredible and is a gig that I will never forget. I have always believed, that however tough it can get being in the music business, if you can stay in the ‘game’, there is often a great opportunity waiting round the corner!
How did you get the Bruce Dickinson gig?
I answered an ad in a music magazine called Melody Maker. A band was looking for a bass player. They had management and sounded like they were going somewhere. I turned up at the auditions along with another 25 bass players over two days. The first person I saw when I walked into the studio was Bruce Dickinson. I was a bit shocked, as I didn’t know his connection to the project. It turned out he was co-managing the band. I did the audition and spent two nerve-wracking days waiting for an answer. I got the gig and spent a year playing around the UK with the band, called Three Rivers, trying to get a record deal. It never happened, but Bruce asked me to play on a song called Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter in 1989 and from that I ended up doing the Tattooed Millionaire album as well. Three Rivers went on to become the very successful Catherine Wheel, with the drummer, Rob Dickinson (Bruce’s cousin) becoming the singer.
Tell us a bit about recording Tattooed Millionaire. What did you learn about yourself as a player? Did you play Warwick basses on that record?
Chris Tsangerides (Producer) had recorded the pre-production rehearsals where we played around with the ideas that Bruce and Janick had brought in. So by the time we went into Battery Studios to record the album most of the arrangements and parts had all been worked out. Janick and I played through the tunes live with drummer Fabio Del Rio and then when the drums were done we re-recorded our parts. Bruce came in at the end and put the final vocals down… fairly standard approach. The album was recorded on to a 16 track 2 inch and 24 track 2 inch tape multi-track machines slaved together with time-code. Editing was done with a razor blade… no Pro-tools then!
I enjoyed the recording process and did most of it in the control room playing remotely through an old Ampeg rig in the live room. I was allowed to play pretty much what I wanted under the guidance of the producer.
I used a number of different basses on the record, some of which were hired in. I used a Warwick Streamer 4 string on the track ‘No Lies’. It was the first time I had played a Warwick bass and I liked the bright and defined sound it made.
What was it like playing with Bruce and Janick on tour? Did you perform any Maiden?
The tour was a lot of fun. We played medium sized venues around the UK, Europe and the US. Steve Harris from Iron Maiden had lent me some of his 4 x 12 EV cabs and I used a couple of Ampeg SVT heads, so I could keep up with Janick on the volume front!! The Astoria gigs in London were particularly memorable as the guys from Maiden got up and played a couple of tunes at the end of the show. We didn’t play any Maiden songs in our set, but we did play an old Samson tune to open the show called ‘Riding With The Angels’.
How did you get the ABC gig and can you talk a bit about the differences between that and say the Bruce Dickinson gig? How do you adapt to different musical genres? How would you describe your playing style?
I was working with Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) and he did a live DVD with Martin Fry from ABC. I played a few ABC songs as part of that set and after that Martin asked me to play with the band.
The main difference between playing with ABC and BD, apart from the obvious musical genre difference, is the role of the bass. With BD it was a traditional rock drums, bass, guitar setup, so I was there to keep the low end solid, simple and driving. With ABC it’s a larger band with two keyboard players, so the bass can play a more melodic role, providing some of the hooks and as well as the groove as the music is basically pop/ funk.
I’ve been lucky to play with a wide variety of artists through my career in different musical genres. I always try and listen to what is going on around me musically, play for the song and most importantly try and make it feel good.
My style? I guess that’s a question you’d have to ask the people who I work with, but I consider myself to be fairly versatile having performed in a wide range of musical genres from Rock through soul to funk and pop.
What do you like about Warwick Amps (can you talk a little bit about your recent experience with Warwick amps while on tour in the US with ABC? I recall you getting a lot of compliments from the soundmen on the Regeneration Tour).
I wanted a valve head, so when I was looking around for a new bass rig a few years ago I spoke to Warwick UK and they told me about the Tubepath 10.1. I do a lot of live work, so I needed something reliable as well as great sounding. I tried the amp out on a few gigs with a couple of the Neo cabs and was blown away by the sound of the amp. I run it with a flat eq and it gives me a very warm yet accurate sound.
You guys kindly supplied me with the same set up while I was on tour in the US this summer and when the gear arrived in the studio for rehearsals, the crew were pleasantly surprised by how light the Neo cabs were, but were a bit sceptical that being so light the rig could produce the goods sonically. Once we got on the road, the FOH engineer was amazed by the warm tone, clarity and power… he also told me to turn the volume down a lot! Is that a compliment? The Tubepath 10.1 has been 100% reliable, which for a valve amp is impressive.
Did you discover Warwick basses and amps simultaneously? If not which came first? And why and when did the divergence occur? By that I mean – when did you decide to start experimenting with different basses, but not amps?
I used Warwick basses before the amps, and I have always owned a number of different types of basses for different musical situations. The great thing about the Warwick amplification is that it allows the different characteristics of each bass to come through and I really just have to adjust the pre-gain depending on whether the bass is active or passive. The rest of the settings I basically leave flat.
What are your goals as a player?: Do you maintain any sort of practice regimen on or off the road?
My main goal is to keep playing. Practice.. ahem.. cough..! Not as much as I should!
Do you have any funny stories you’d like to share?
Being held at gunpoint by Police at Heathrow airport because one of the over-tired crew, when questioned by security, stated that he was carrying a ‘dangerous weapon’ in his suitcase. It turned out to be a rubber chicken… it wasn’t funny at the time… but in hindsight!
Besides ABC what other bands or projects are you currently involved with that are keeping you busy?
I also tour with Belinda Carlisle. I was recently playing in Japan with her and will be playing on her UK tour in Oct 2017.
Discography:
Major work: Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter’ Bruce Dickinson: Nightmare on Elm St 4 Soundtrack album1989 (Later covered by Iron Maiden 1993) ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ Album Bruce Dickinson 1990 (+ Several singles), ‘Waltz Away Dreaming’ Single Toby Bourke and George Michael 2000, ‘Tony Hadley v Martin Fry’ Live Album 2005, ‘Traffic’ Album ABC 2008, ‘Jane’ Album Jane McDonald 2009
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