22 Questions With Phil Bass
1-at what age did you first pick up on playing the drums?
I believe I was 14 when I got to play an actual drum set for the first time. I was into drums and drumming way before that though.
2- in addition to Monte Montegomery and a situation you and I are familiar with,whom else have you giged with this year?
This year has been crazy in that way since I have done more freelancing , as far as live gig stuff there's Trio 4 mas, Tiburon (cuban band), the Resentments, Joel Guzman and Sarah Fox (latinology),Stephen Bruton, Jade Day, Jarrod Dickenson, Natalie Douglas (nyc jazz singer who is just crazy good), Rhett Butler ( dallas based guitarist, yeah that's his real name). Those are a few of the folks I have been fortunate to play with this year.
3- what kind of drums you play? what type of heads?
Right now I am playing Gretsch drums and I use Evans Heads for the most part. I have a set of old Slingerlands that I like a lot.
4- who does any drum tech work for you?
this old dude named Phil.
5- what local studios have you done work in, and who's your favorite engineer in the studio?
Razor's Edge, Left Hand, Lava, Production Block, Satellite, Arlyn, Hit Shack, Tequila Mockingbird, and others. There are quite a few studios and engineers in Austin that are really great . Some of the engineers I like working with are Kevin Hamilton, Stuart Sullivan, Matt Schulz and Bradley Kopp.
6- how many dates per year are you touring with Monte in Europe?
It changes but usually we will go over two or three times a year for a couple of weeks each time.
7- where were you born? large family,small family? Waco Tx, home of Baylor university, Steve Martin, and David Koresh. I have one brother, so, small.
8- name your early influences in music. The Beatles, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Elvis, anything Motown, Isley Brothers, Led Zeppelin. That would all be sixties stuff. The seventies was just everything, Sly and the Family Stone, Neville Bros., Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Tower of Power, Earth Wind and Fire, Peter Gabriel and much more......
9- Max Roach or Gene Krupa ?
Do I have to choose one, ok, Max Roach.
10- you are a desert island with a solar-powered boombox. what 5 cds do you have with you?
just 5, that is so unfair, uhh, ok, Ry Cooder and Ali Farka Toure, Latin Playboys (the first one), Fresh by Sly and the Family Stone, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, aannnnnnndddd, uhhhhhh, probably should be some best of or something with a ton of tracks but, Chris Whitely's Rocket House......
11- you are married,tell us about your family .
My wife and daughter are the most wonderful people in the world, I would be nothing without them. We spend as much time together as possible with the crazy schedules we all have.
12- who are your favorite Austin musicians?
John Dee Graham , Matt Powell, Papa Mali, Sarah Jarosz, the Ginn Sisters, Willis Alan Ramsey, Brad Taylor, Glenn Fukanaga, Brad Kopp, Joel Guzman, Monte Montgomery, Winton Reynolds, David Boyle, ................................. too many to mention.
13- name 4 drummers here in town you enjoy watching play.
JJ Johnson, Steve Samuel, Frosty, Hector Munoz. I don't get out enough to watch drummers very often but when I do I like these guys.
14- who would you like to work with in town that you haven't yet?
Samuel Beam (Iron and Wine), I guess that counts as in town or rather close to town.
15- name 5 songs you play on over the years for my secret pirate radio station located in the jungles of Belize...
Take Me Away (Rose of Jericho, check it out on Rock Band), Half Glass (Joe McDermott), Lyin on the Bottom (Steve McCormick), West 57th (Rhett Butler), Sangre Azteca (Joel Guzman). I think those are probably secret enough,lol.
16- what is your spiritual sense all about?
I feel a spiritual sense during some performances and a spiritual home in certain parts of the world I have been. If you mean a "persuasion", I guess the classification would be unorganized.
17- you also play with Joel Guzman .what is that project like?
It is alot of fun as a drummer because of the mixture of styles involved. The music is very groove oriented and it has a place for more musical expression within it. As long as the feel is good, you can approach it in different ways as a drummer/percussionist.
18- Charlie Watts,John Bonham, or Keith Moon ? All three, ok, John Bonham, then Charlie Watts , then Keith Moon. They are all very different drummers who brought a distinct sound and style of their own to those three bands, which would only sound the way they did with those guys drumming.
19-name 4 Austin restaurants you frequent and what you order there.
Maudie's (Migas) , Mirabelle (anything), Asti (fish, any), Maru (sushi, lots). Mexican would have to be a separate category, there are just too many great choices there.
20- who were your favorite 3 acts at ACLFest this year?
Levon Helm, The Dead Weather and Sarah Watkins w/John Paul Jones. and the mud of course.......
21- what drum mics do you prefer in the studio? Who cares? Actually, Nuemanns ldc, vintage tube mics of different kinds, sennheisers 421, shure 57s and ksm 44, ribbons diff ones.
22- Name your top 4 favorite Austin venues to play live in. Antones, Saxon Pub, Continental Club, Long Center.
I believe I was 14 when I got to play an actual drum set for the first time. I was into drums and drumming way before that though.
2- in addition to Monte Montegomery and a situation you and I are familiar with,whom else have you giged with this year?
This year has been crazy in that way since I have done more freelancing , as far as live gig stuff there's Trio 4 mas, Tiburon (cuban band), the Resentments, Joel Guzman and Sarah Fox (latinology),Stephen Bruton, Jade Day, Jarrod Dickenson, Natalie Douglas (nyc jazz singer who is just crazy good), Rhett Butler ( dallas based guitarist, yeah that's his real name). Those are a few of the folks I have been fortunate to play with this year.
3- what kind of drums you play? what type of heads?
Right now I am playing Gretsch drums and I use Evans Heads for the most part. I have a set of old Slingerlands that I like a lot.
4- who does any drum tech work for you?
this old dude named Phil.
5- what local studios have you done work in, and who's your favorite engineer in the studio?
Razor's Edge, Left Hand, Lava, Production Block, Satellite, Arlyn, Hit Shack, Tequila Mockingbird, and others. There are quite a few studios and engineers in Austin that are really great . Some of the engineers I like working with are Kevin Hamilton, Stuart Sullivan, Matt Schulz and Bradley Kopp.
6- how many dates per year are you touring with Monte in Europe?
It changes but usually we will go over two or three times a year for a couple of weeks each time.
7- where were you born? large family,small family? Waco Tx, home of Baylor university, Steve Martin, and David Koresh. I have one brother, so, small.
8- name your early influences in music. The Beatles, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Elvis, anything Motown, Isley Brothers, Led Zeppelin. That would all be sixties stuff. The seventies was just everything, Sly and the Family Stone, Neville Bros., Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Tower of Power, Earth Wind and Fire, Peter Gabriel and much more......
9- Max Roach or Gene Krupa ?
Do I have to choose one, ok, Max Roach.
10- you are a desert island with a solar-powered boombox. what 5 cds do you have with you?
just 5, that is so unfair, uhh, ok, Ry Cooder and Ali Farka Toure, Latin Playboys (the first one), Fresh by Sly and the Family Stone, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, aannnnnnndddd, uhhhhhh, probably should be some best of or something with a ton of tracks but, Chris Whitely's Rocket House......
11- you are married,tell us about your family .
My wife and daughter are the most wonderful people in the world, I would be nothing without them. We spend as much time together as possible with the crazy schedules we all have.
12- who are your favorite Austin musicians?
John Dee Graham , Matt Powell, Papa Mali, Sarah Jarosz, the Ginn Sisters, Willis Alan Ramsey, Brad Taylor, Glenn Fukanaga, Brad Kopp, Joel Guzman, Monte Montgomery, Winton Reynolds, David Boyle, ................................. too many to mention.
13- name 4 drummers here in town you enjoy watching play.
JJ Johnson, Steve Samuel, Frosty, Hector Munoz. I don't get out enough to watch drummers very often but when I do I like these guys.
14- who would you like to work with in town that you haven't yet?
Samuel Beam (Iron and Wine), I guess that counts as in town or rather close to town.
15- name 5 songs you play on over the years for my secret pirate radio station located in the jungles of Belize...
Take Me Away (Rose of Jericho, check it out on Rock Band), Half Glass (Joe McDermott), Lyin on the Bottom (Steve McCormick), West 57th (Rhett Butler), Sangre Azteca (Joel Guzman). I think those are probably secret enough,lol.
16- what is your spiritual sense all about?
I feel a spiritual sense during some performances and a spiritual home in certain parts of the world I have been. If you mean a "persuasion", I guess the classification would be unorganized.
17- you also play with Joel Guzman .what is that project like?
It is alot of fun as a drummer because of the mixture of styles involved. The music is very groove oriented and it has a place for more musical expression within it. As long as the feel is good, you can approach it in different ways as a drummer/percussionist.
18- Charlie Watts,John Bonham, or Keith Moon ? All three, ok, John Bonham, then Charlie Watts , then Keith Moon. They are all very different drummers who brought a distinct sound and style of their own to those three bands, which would only sound the way they did with those guys drumming.
19-name 4 Austin restaurants you frequent and what you order there.
Maudie's (Migas) , Mirabelle (anything), Asti (fish, any), Maru (sushi, lots). Mexican would have to be a separate category, there are just too many great choices there.
20- who were your favorite 3 acts at ACLFest this year?
Levon Helm, The Dead Weather and Sarah Watkins w/John Paul Jones. and the mud of course.......
21- what drum mics do you prefer in the studio? Who cares? Actually, Nuemanns ldc, vintage tube mics of different kinds, sennheisers 421, shure 57s and ksm 44, ribbons diff ones.
22- Name your top 4 favorite Austin venues to play live in. Antones, Saxon Pub, Continental Club, Long Center.
