In this issue:  Walkin' Through the Jazz 'hood: Part Trois (III) | Chilling with Chris Brown on A Road Less Traveled | Country Bass Guitar Made Easy: Two Songs | The Blues Scale

Chilling with Chris Brown on A Road Less Traveled

by S.K. Wallace

"...one of the best independent outfits on the present rock scene."
-CCM Magazine, November 2006

It was a chance meeting... Good old West Texas weather and Continental Airlines had diverted the previous evening's flight from Houston to Amarillo instead of Lubbock. After being stranded overnight in a city just a couple of hours down the road from where I live, I finally found myself at my destination city the next day, eighteen hours after the scheduled time of arrival. Sleepless, bedraggled, still wearing the same clothes from the day before [luggage had traveled on a different flight] even in my infinitely cool Victor Wooten "Soul Circus" baseball shirt, I was approaching being "funky" (in the bad way.) However, it was that very shirt that caught the eye of the two guys working in the bookstore where I'd stopped to browse.

"Hey, our bassist loves Victor Wooten!" exclaimed Zach Dietz (lead vocalist) and Kuhrt Cowan (drummer, background vocalist) who play in A Road Less Traveled (ARLT). They told me about their band; I told them about Bass Sessions, and in an impulsive, out-of-character moment of "show-and-tell," I went out to my car and brought in my 7-string, fretted flying-V electric violin I happened to have with me [of course, they were dazzled and amazed!] That evening, bassist Chris Brown had sent me an extremely enthusiastic e-mail. I'll never forget how he signed off on one of his subsequent notes:

"Have a chill weekend... and rock on in Christ Almighty!!!"

Thus, began my association with Chris Brown and A Road Less Traveled.

Current Gig: Bassist with A Road Less Traveled (ARLT)

Genre: Alternative/Postmodern Rock. "We basically just tell people that it is alternative rock with a slight polka rhythm. Okay, not the polka."

Live Performances: Frequent concert appearances are being made throughout the Texas South Plains and Panhandle, Eastern New Mexico, and beyond. Venues include college campuses, clubs, cafes, camps, conferences, churches, skate parks... random living rooms - or at least S.K.'s anyway. Check out ARLT's website for a detailed schedule of concerts and tour dates.

Websites: myspace.com/aroadlesstraveled,
shoutlife.com/aroadlesstraveled,
ccmmagazine.com/music/artist/a_road_less_traveled/

Recordings: ARLT's debut CD Rescue was released nationwide on April 24, 2007, and is available in stores and online. A single (also called "Rescue") can be found on the CCM New Music Collection, volume 1.

S.K.'s favorite tracks from Rescue: "Go On" and "Maybe"

Gear:

Bass Heroes: Victor Wooten, Flea, John Cooper, Randy Jackson, Mike Dirnt, John Entwistle

Major Touring Artists ARLT has shared the stage with: Skillet, Tait, Pillar, Red, Seventh Day Slumber, Building 429, The Classic Crime, Superchick, Stellar Kart, Big Daddy Weave, Hyperstatic Union, Day of Fire, Fireflight, EleventySeven, Nevertheless, Flatfoot 56, Detour 180, By the Tree, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Grits

S.K.: What are some of your musical influences and sources of inspiration?

C.B.: First, my parents have always supported me in my dreams to play bass. Life is an inspiration... knowing that the music I create with ARLT on stage can take a person hurting and lonely inside to a person with a sense of freedom and belonging.

Some of my inspirations came when I began to believe that playing is not just about the notes. I read a book called The Perfect Wrong Note by William Westney. He states, "A sign of a great performance is that the audience begins to wonder whether it is the artist performing the piece or the piece performing the artist."

This also comes from the time I watched The All-American Rejects DVD, Live from Oklahoma. It was cool to see them really live the music on stage. To become alive onstage making an audience feel emotions and music through not just sound but though who you are on stage. Difference is an inspiration. I know it's just a word, but it is a life, it is my calling in music: to be the first of me and not the next of them, to create, to make new, always to evolve into more.

I hate to say this, but when people look at me and say, "Music won't pay the bills, or music won't take you anywhere," basically, when I hear negative criticism, it sparks the desire to push forward to evolve into that which they believe is not. They say I can't, but I will. Make sense?

To tell the truth, I really don't think who I am as a bassist is possible without the love of Christ and His life in me... to really live life on and off stage can only be with the guidance, strength, and love of Christ. It's those shows where everything seems to go wrong, and He is there taking that mess and making it laughter and giving you strength to carry onward.

Fans inspire me. How do I put this? The fans' stories about how our music has changed their lives, how that one thing I played hit them and inspired them... I guess that's it: Fans become an inspiration when you know that you in some way have become an inspiration to them.

S.K.: I know you're just getting started in your career, but what are some of your highlights so far?

C.B.: This is a tough one. I could start listing different shows that have been amazing and road trips that could inspire kids and adults, but to be real and honest, my highlights come each time I walk onstage. It's crazy! A guy like me gets to play bass in an incredible band and travel the country!

Just thought of a highlight: This would seem like nothing to most people, but to me, it was everything. We were in Las Vegas, NM, and needed some strings, so we hit up a local hole-in-the-wall music store downtown. I went in, and a beautiful upright bass caught my eye. I love the upright... wish I had one... (anyone up for a donation?) Beside the bass was an older gentleman playing some blues on a classical guitar. I could not resist. I tuned up the upright bass a little and fell right into the twelve-bar blues. It was cool. It made my day and, I believe, his. It's those little moments in life that make the whole journey worth living.

Got another one: I can't believe I almost forgot this. Ha! In the summer of 2003, I got the chance to go to Europe and play bass with a band (led by Russ Murphy... he's now in Nashville as a songwriter for major artists... one amazing guitarist!). We went to pubs all over England and played Classic Rock and then went to some churches and military bases and did the same. That was a blast! It's a whole new world playing overseas. I would love to go back and do it now. That was a dream come true.

S.K.: ARLT's competition in several "Battle of the Bands" events seems to have helped in your "discovery" and in building the band's growing success. Talk more about this.

C.B.: The battles... The first one we entered was the Rock the Desert Knock Out. This was a [Texas] state-wide battle with over 200 bands. We lost the first two times we entered... sad, I know... and you could only enter twice. So we thought it was over, but at the 2006 finals we got put in as a wild card and won it all... YES! Not only did we win the championship, we won Best Song for "Maybe," Best Merch [merchandise], and Best Online [website].

Later, we played one in Odessa called Xtreme. It had about 15 bands from across Texas. We won it and received a cash prize.

Last year, we competed in a national Battle of the Bands with Band with a Mission and the People of the Shoutfest Tour. We had to send our demo in for the first round. Then if chosen, we'd have to pick a city to compete against about 20 other bands. There were over 500 bands that entered. We made the first round and chose Dallas as our city. At Dallas we got first and moved to the next stage where the top three for the Dallas competition competed again to move to the finals. This was at the Shoutfest in Sherman. We won at Shoutfest and moved to the finals in Nashville. There were about 20 bands at the finals where we took fourth in the nation.

S.K.: How did you get started and how long have you been playing the bass?

C.B.: How long have I played? Let's see if I can count... since eighth grade. That's a little over ten years. My best friend in middle school got a guitar for Christmas... I got a sweater. Ya. That's right. Lame! After seeing him trying to jam out to Bush and Green Day, I was like, "I want to be cool, too!" So I got a bass. I never thought that ten years later I would still be playing and never wanting stop.

When I first started, I took about a month of lessons from a great musician [Donnie McKenny]. He basically got me rolling on how to do the whole bass thing. From then on, I just played. I have always had some musical skills, so when it came to bass, I just played what I thought a bass should sound like. I loved music and used to just sit around listening to record albums of my dad's, from Led Zeppelin to Bread... all of the classics, and in my hand, my bass would be slowly but surely jamming out. Then the knock would come from Mom: "Turn that down!"

Since then, it's been a never-ending road of evolving and discovering new stuff that a bass can do. As I said earlier, I like to be different. So, on the bass, that has been a journey in itself. There are so many rules to music, and to take what should be and make it not... to change is unique... something I wish for and push to accomplish when I play. When I first started [playing bass], I picked up the guitar, too. I own and play a guitar as well. My mom has always taught piano lessons, so I picked up on piano when I was a kid. I really don't know what I am doing on it. I just enjoy sitting down and writing [music] on it.

S.K.: What's your favorite track from the CD and why?

C.B.:My favorite tracks are "Save Me" and "Go On." "Save Me" because of the message in the lyrics. It basically is from the perspective of someone crying out to God to save him from all that has entangled him, wondering if He will... and, of course, He does and always will. "Go On" because I get to shine...ha! Yeah. Take that, lead guitarist! It's just a really wicked song to play.

S.K.: Was there any song that you found to be particularly challenging in developing/playing the bass part?

C.B.: Not really. I wish in some cases I would have been more experimental, but you only have so much time in the studio when you're independent. It's a whole different story when you start studio playing. For me, it can be stressful. I really wanted my bass to sound live, like at a show. I think with the help of our producer (Chris Clayton) it did. We ran all my gear in the studio just like a live show, and when I recorded bass lines, my drummer (Kuhrt Cowan) was usually playing with me so we could lock into the groove more than just following a click track. I think this gives the bass tracks more of the feel that you would hear watching us live.

S.K.: While I know it's not the mission of ARLT to grandstand/draw attention to any particular individual, is there a track that you feel is particularly representative in highlighting/featuring your bassplaying at its best? Which one?

C.B.: I have had a lot of people come to me and want to hear the "Go On" bass line....so probably that song. "Go On" has a repetitive walking bass line throughout the verses.

S.K.: Anything else you'd like to say?

C.B.: I have been thinking about what I would tell a bass starter and what advice I would give. Here it is:

Keep it simple. I know, when starting out, you want to become the next great, and you watch so many amazing bassists and guitarists and are like, "I want to do that!" Don't get me wrong, that is way awesome. I remember getting caught up in trying to be the next Jimmy Page on my bass. (That's all good when I am soloing it up.) I found myself walking and throwing in fills 90% of the time. But, when it comes to being in a band, too much momentum on the bass can trash things. So, learn to keep it simple. You are the rhythm. Lock into the drum beat, and do your thing. Your time will come to shine soon enough. Music is what you make and how you make it feel. It's the freedom to play your heart.

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About the author:

S.K. Wallace is a bassist, high school chemistry teacher, and in-demand guitar instructor. Her writing has appeared in Mel Bay's Bass Sessions^TM since 2004. She may be reached at SKWBassist@aol.com.