I started playing bass around 9th grade in Memphis. My friend Bill Edmonson was playing guitar in a new band called Stainless Steel, and they needed a bass player. I was a guitar player originally, but figured I could learn the bass easily enough, especially if it got me into a garage band. Initially, I borrowed the Fender Precision from my high school’s jazz band, but eventually bought a Fender Musicmaster (seen in the photo below, and very similar to the Fender Squier Bronco in the photo above) and built a bass speaker powered by a Bassman 10 amp head. The band evolved into another called Mirage, with George Brown becoming our lead vocal (I can’t remember the drummer’s name). I remember playing for a private party and once at a school. Probably our best gig was playing for the all-night skating party at Evergreen Presbyterian Church, which was a big annual youth event back in the day. The final gig I played with Mirage was a party at Bill’s house; he was a senior, while I’d started my freshman year at UT Martin.
In college, I played in a praise band called ReJoyce, fronted by Landon and Connie Hedges, up in Martin, TN. I also jammed with several others, particularly at the Baptist Student Union. My roommate, Dave Laborde, played an ovation guitar. There was also Randy “O” (O’Daniel) also with an ovation guitar (they were big in the 80’s), Barry Young on drums, and others. The photo above shows me in the back, Barry in the middle, and Randy on the right (I can’t remember the electric guitarist), playing as the “King Barry Band” for a BSU coffeehouse night. Around my senior year, I sold my bass to pay off a debt, and went back to acoustic guitar for several years.
I picked the bass back up again about a decade later. I bought the Fender Squier at the Strings & Things on Union Avenue in Memphis while passing thru. Later also added a 5-string Fender Squier Jazz bass, which is great for the extra low string, although for ease of playing I still prefer my 4-string, which also has the shorter neck so the frets are closer. Sounds great plugged into a good amp.
Currently I play bass with the praise band at First Baptist Church in Martin, TN, as well as with the Ryman Shadows, a bluegrass group here in Martin (along with Terry Lewis on mandolin, Jim Fieser on guitar, Kenny Robinson on fiddle, and Beth Ostenson on fiddle). Once in a while, blugrass venues insist on upright bass, so I’ve learned to play that too. Here’s a photo of my first try playing it at a practice / jam.
While I still consider guitar as my primary instrument (and also have recently goofed around with mandolin and clawhammer banjo), I most consistently play the bass. In a group setting, there is nothing like working with the drummer to set the groove. Bass playing is a lot more than just hitting the low note of the chords. With few exceptions, I play songs as I hear and feel them, not trying to imitate the original recordings (some folks put too much weight in imitation, which is fine I guess if you’re making a living as a tribute band). Of all the bass players out there that I’ve admired over the years, the one that probably stands out the most for me is Rick Haynes, the self-taught bass player who has toured and recorded with Gordon Lightfoot all these years. I would say his style is most akin to what I endeavor to perform.
I guess if I could only thank one person, it would be my friend Bill Edmonson for getting me into my first band and consequently picking up the bass in the first place. As a garage band, Mirage probably practiced 50 times for every real gig that came along, but I’ve always enjoyed rehearsing as much as live performance. There is nothing else quite like the camaradare of a band.
P.S. If you’d like to hear a recent example of my bass playing, listen to the mp3 of “Love Has A Name” in the blog post below…
three chords and a capo 