Bass Frontiers Magazine » Video Features

Nate Watts of Stevie Wonder Video Interview

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:11:32 +0000

Anyone who has not been living under a rock can recognize the signature sounds of beloved Stevie Wonder songs, such as “Do I Do,” “Sir Duke,” “Higher Ground,” and “Superstition.” Nate Watts has been providing signature bass lines alongside music legend Stevie Wonder since 1974. This dynamic duo makes for quite a show and if you’ve ever seen them live in concert, you couldn’t possibly disagree.

“Nathan would stroll over to Motown’s Hitsville Studios to watch through the basement window as the Funk Brothers worked their magic. Another passion was the rock & roll of Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Rare Earth, Mahogany Rush, and Steppenwolf, many of whom played at the nearby Grande Ballroom—a rock club in the middle of the ghetto.” (From natewatts.com)

Born and raised in Detroit, Nate was immersed in arguably the best musical era the world has ever heard. We recently caught up with him in Anaheim to get a video interview. Enjoy!

Video Interview: Neil Stubenhaus

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:15:53 +0000

Neil Stubehaus. Where to begin? I suppose you begin with this list of people he’s been associated with since the 1970s: Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Aerosmith, Gigi D’Alessio, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, Ricky Martin, Dan Fogelberg, John Fogerty, Cher, Joe Cocker, Bobby Caldwell, Taylor Dayne, Vince Gill, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Don Henley, Luis Miguel, Julio Iglesias, BB King, Michael McDonald, Bette Midler, Hanson, The Corrs, Milton Nascimento, Pointer Sisters, Eros Ramazzotti, Lee Ritenour, Lionel Richie, Diane Schuur, Tom Scott, and Kirk Whalum. Neil has played on more than 600 records. Out of that, 70 have been nominated for Grammy awards, with 20 having won their awards. Neil has also played for over 150 film scores. This is a guy who knows what he’s talking about. Listen carefully……

Video Interview: Michael Anthony

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:09:43 +0000

It is impossible to tell you how cool we feel to have this video interview with none other than Michael Anthony! Currently the bassist for supergroup Chickenfoot (with Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith, and Joe Satriani), but best known as a founding member of Van Halen, Michael is one of the most loved and revered rock bassists out there. Period. If nothing else, who doesn’t want a bass shaped like a bottle of Jack Daniels? But seriously, Michael is one of the nicest guys around, and plays all kinds of beautifully. We’re not sure what your favorite interviews on Bass Frontiers are, but we’ll admit that this is definitely one of ours.

Video Interview: Derrick Hodge

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:07:33 +0000

Derrick Hodge is a true phenom of the new generation of professional musicians. He is functioning (or has functioned) as a bass player with Maxwell (for whom he is now music director), Robert Glasper (in his trio as well as the RCDC Experiment), Gretchen Parlato, Kenneth Whalum III, Terence Blanchard, Chris Dave, Jill Scott, Mos Def, Kanye West, and a ridiculous amount of others. He also spends time as a film composer, helping to contribute to Spike Lee’s HBO documentary “When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts”, writing the score for the documentary “Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans”, and films “The Recruiter” and “The Black Candle”. Armed with his trusty Callowhill bass (built by master luthier Tim Cloonan, a close college friend), Derrick is one of the top guns of the new guard, and we are so pleased to have him share his story with us.

Dave Fowler Discussion with Hutch Hutchinson

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:12:29 +0000

In a very cool little feature for us, and hopefully the first of many like this, our editor-in-chief, Dave Fowler, got a chance to interview one of our very good friends, Hutch Hutchinson at the 2011 Canadian Rockies Bass Bash about a month ago. This video is the first part of this interview, and we assure you that this talk between two REAL. SUCCESSFUL. PROFESSIONALS. in the music business will help put some good things in perspective for a lot of you out there who might just be getting started, or looking to take your stuff to the next level. (This doesn’t count as arrogance, since someone other than Dave is writing it!) More parts coming soon!

Video Interview: Rudy Sarzo

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:19:05 +0000

Rudy Sarzo will always have a place in history as one of the most quintessential bassists of rock ‘n roll. With a resume that includes Ozzy, Dio, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, and Tony MacAlpine, among a ton of others, how could you go wrong? It was easy to see when we got to sit down with him how he has been able to keep up working with some of the biggest names in rock. In this interview, you will see just how humble Rudy is. It was truly touching to hear him talk about many things he has had to face over his years in the business, including the death of Randy Rhoads, who was the first to recommend Rudy for Ozzy’s band.

Video Interview: Stefan Lessard

admin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:31:37 +0000

Stefan Lessard really needs no introduction. Fonz is the guy who gets to play bass standing next to Carter Beauford, and behind Dave Matthews. For 20 years, since the age of 16, he has been part of Dave Matthews band. They have consistently been at the top of highest grossing tours for years, and have released no less than around 30 live records, all of which are eagerly received by fans, which just shows the infinite variety of each and every one of their performances. When we got to sit down with Stefan before the DMB gig in Atlanta this past fall, he was gracious enough to share how he came to play the bass as well as how he approaches playing music (questions that inquiring minds generally always discuss on message boards of the band’s numerous fan sites like antsmarching.org).

Video Interview: Pete Griffin

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:07:37 +0000

Pete Griffin has owned the bass chair in two musical situations on COMPLETELY different ends of the spectrum. Namely; Hanson and Zappa Plays Zappa. Holding the bass spot in the ZPZ band, Pete has the job of living up to bassists who themselves were forced to live up to the standards of Frank Zappa. These names include Patrick O’Hearn, Tom Fowler, Scott Thunes, and Arthur Barrow. Pete also has a fantastic trio, Gryphon Labs, that includes fellow ZPZ bandmates Jamie Kime and Joe Travers. In the world of rising young virtuosos, Pete Griffin may just be the one to bet on.

Video Interview: Collin Raye

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:07:30 +0000

Did you know Collin Raye, the American country music singer who sang hits such as “Love, Me”, “In This Life”, “My Kind of Girl” and “I Can Still Feel You”, plays bass guitar? We got the chance to interview Collin and he told us all about how he grew up with the bass, and how midway through his career, knowing how to play bass became an important asset.

Video Interview: Bernhard Lackner

admin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:41:43 +0000

We first met Bernhard Lackner at Bass Frontiers a few years ago as he had made the trek to Nashville, TN from his native country of Austria.

He is a great teacher, player and writer. We hope you enjoy the following video interview with Bass Frontiers Magazine.

To learn more about Bernhard, visit his website by clicking here.