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Extreme Solo Bassist Jeff Schmidt by S. K. Wallace Preface: Over the past several months, I've heard and read comments from professional bassists, outstanding players in their own rights, who admire Jeff Schmidt's playing--He's a "bassist's bassist." However, what impresses me most about Jeff is his incredible generosity of spirit. For example, when he won a commemorative Ibanez bass in a drawing at the end of Gerald Veasley's Bass BootCamp, he chose to donate it to a young person who needed a bass. BACKGROUND/BIO SKW: Describe your musical background, education, and experience. JS: "I picked up the bass in high school to join a band [formed with friends] in 1982 or 1983, but I was playing around on guitar before that. I didn't even think about music as a course of study at that point--it was just listen to a song, and learn it. When I was a senior in high school I had a lot of people telling me I had 'it,' and I really started believing them. I figured I knew what I was supposed to do with my life, so I kinda lived a little more recklessly than I should have." SKW: I'd read that you'd tried to join the high school jazz band, but were limited by not reading music at the time. Would you mind expanding on that? JS: "I remember trying to get into the high school jazz band, but I didn't know anything about music, so they told me to take a hike. That was the first time I thought seriously about learning music and how important it was going to be for me to play music for a living. So I planned to go to Musician's Institute after graduating high school to study. I sent away for information and got a tape back that had samples of Jeff Berlin. I remember thinking, 'I wanna study with THAT guy!!' I was working on my application and music sample when I learned my girlfriend was pregnant. Music school got shelved at that point. Over time, music really had to move back on my list of priorities. I had a period of about nine years where I didn't play at all. Fast forward to 1998: I woke up after having fallen asleep on the couch, and I caught the last fifteen minutes of the A&E Artist Profile of Michael Manring. It was right at the spot where he was playing three basses! At first, I got really mad at myself for letting music and the bass fall out of my life. Based on the feedback I got from my playing in high school, I had a vision, justified or not, of being among the greats. And, now, here I was twelve years later watching a guy who had clearly taken the instrument further that I ever imagined. I began to think I was never really that great after all! HA! But, at the same time, it really awakened me. It was like I hopped in a bass time machine. I went from copying Jaco riffs in late 80s to watching a guy play three basses in the late 90s, and I missed everything in between! That really excited me. So, I got a bass and played around, but ultimately, I let the whole idea of lost time get me down. I really thought if I couldn't be the best bassist in the world it wasn't worth doing, and the more great new bassists I was exposed to, the more I realized being the best was impossible. I had let too much time pass. I let it slide into the background again. Looking back at it now, it was stupid. It wasn't until my wife Valerie undertook the process of going back to school to learn new skills that I realized it's never too late to go back and learn. I gave up on the idea of being 'the best' and just went back to reclaim music as a part of my life. That was early 2004." SKW: Have you studied bass in private lessons and if so, with whom? JS: "When I decided to take bass seriously again in early 2004 the first thing I did was hunt down an instructor. I hooked up with a few different people here in the Bay Area, but there was only one guy I met who was ready to give me what I needed at that point--intensive foundational studies. His name is Michael Wilcox, a great electric player and just as good a teacher. I asked him to treat me like I never touched the instrument before. We started with all the basic stuff I had never been taught before--how to hold the bass, how to fret notes, alternate plucking, string crossing etc. We eventually moved into music theory and harmony. When Michael showed my how to map the fingerboard with essentially five shapes that covered all major scale harmony--and when I discovered the shapes didn't change from key to key--it was like someone turned on the sun. I grabbed some Jamey Aebersold jam-along books and went to town. I finally KNEW what I could play across the entire bass. I ended up hurting myself from playing too much, and I had to take a few weeks off. But, it was the biggest epiphany I ever experienced with music up to that point. I immediately became a much more musical player. About eleven months into our work, Michael Wilcox really started to push me to learn to read music so we could start playing and working through standards. I was into it and started with Ed Friedland's three-book set which was perfect because it started really slowly and helped me build confidence that I could learn to read. Around the same time though, I also started getting this really heavy urge to be creative and start composing. So, I had this battle going on inside me. I tried to keep both going by working on learning to read in the 30 minutes before work in the morning and then working on my creative urge at night when I came home. I'm embarrassed to say I abandoned the effort to learn to read. I was getting to the point where I could 'hunt and peck' my way through some basic stuff. I know I have to go back and hit that stuff again. I know I have to find the time to dedicate to it. But, thankfully, one of the greatest things I learned from Michael Wilcox during that time was how to learn. I know exactly what it takes to get a new concept or technique into my playing now." SKW: I met you briefly at Gerald Veasley's Bass BootCamp this past spring. Are there other bass workshops, camps, and events that you consider to be significant in your bass career in terms of critical moments, turning points, etc.? JS: "I try to get to as many of these events as I can, because I find that even the most basic material can be understood at a deeper level by hearing it explained in different ways. A turning point in my focus came last January--pretty much right after I stopped taking lessons, when I attended a master class with UK Solo Bassist Steve Lawson. His willingness to share his ideas and discoveries really inspired me. He took a lot of the mystery out of the idea of Solo Bass for me. I remember thinking, 'I can find my own voice in this wackiness.' I went on a tear coming up with ideas after that class. But it really cracked open for me when I took a private lesson with Michael Manring at Gerald Veasley's Bass BootCamp that spring. My particular dilemma was I couldn't seem to finish anything. I'd had ideas, and maybe I got a few parts built around them, but I wasn't able to bring any one piece to completion. Michael Manring was very generous with his time, and we mostly just talked. I know most people who could spend an hour with Michael would probably want him to go through all his techniques up close, but I really wanted to pick his considerable musical brain about composing. 'Teach a man to fish,' I guess. Ultimately, the thing that kind of broke it open for me was how Michael demystified the whole compositional process by saying something like, 'At any given point in your piece, there's only twelve notes to go to, and most of them suck.' That simple off-the-cuff remark really helped me cut through the fog. Seriously, sometimes the way things are phrased makes all the difference for me!" SKW: Are you playing any gigs? JS: "Not right now. I'm taking advantage of the increased profile from winning the competition and playing with as many interesting people as I possibly can, but I'm mostly focused on building a solid set of solo material to take out." SKW: Are you currently writing music, recording, etc.? JS: "Yes. After the Steve Lawson master class in January '05, I went on a writing binge. I just recorded everything I played. I have GIGABYTES of hard drive loaded with song ideas, fragments, and bits. Much of it experiments with looping, but there's unaccompanied solo stuff too. I also got into syncing my Echoplex with my laptop running drumloops and samples. So, I'm currently going through all that material hunting for any gems that are worth my time to complete. I also have new ideas all the time as well. I think my ideal would be to have about a 50/50 split between solo and ensemble material for an official release." SKW: Who are your main musical influences and why? JS: "The artists I'm most drawn to and inspired by these days are artists with unique things to say both musically and conceptually and artists who can evoke an emotional response in me--also, artists who are fearless in their approach. Of course, there's the obvious influence of Michael Manring. Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman's 'Song X' had a huge impact on me. That impact has never left me. Miles in the period from '56 - '67 has the most amazing stuff in terms of a single instrument just singing. Another bassist I should mention is Charnett Moffett. His solo upright stuff is deeply passionate and daring." SKW: You've alluded from time to time to your day job in the radio industry. Would you describe briefly what you do for a living when you're not playing bass? JS: "My main job is to produce creative station identification elements. I also engineer, record and mix all the private concert sessions we hold at the station. Some of the artists that have come through include Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, REM, Counting Crows, George Thorogood, Joe Satriani, Sarah McLachlan, Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette and dozens more." SKW: You very modestly and humbly decline to refer to yourself as a "professional bassist" even though you clearly play and perform at a professional level. How do you manage to balance the aspects of work, family, and music in your life? JS: "Thanks for the compliment! Perhaps it's a matter of semantics, but the day job pays the bills--not my music. In that respect I do not consider myself a 'professional.' In regards to what winning this contest says about my level of play, I'd like to clarify that. This contest wasn't a search for the greatest bassist alive. Actually, this contest didn't focus on nearly ANY of the traditional metrics we'd use to evaluate a bassist in a conventional sense. It wasn't about how tight we could lock with a drummer or how well we bridged the gap between harmony and rhythm in support of a song. It wasn't about crafting the best booty-shakin' groove! It was about presenting the bass as a solo instrument. That's it. So, naturally, the standards for judging that kind of situation are quite different from what we'd use to evaluate 90% of what performing bassists do everyday. I'm not trying to diminish the contest or my win--but just frame it in the proper context. The balance between music, day job, and family is rather easy when you have no delusions of grandeur! I have financial responsibilities which really prevent me from running off and joining the circus, so to speak. Unless the circus starts paying better! HA!!" [S.K. (thinking to herself, after the fact): "Circus? How 'bout Victa's Soul Circus?"] JS: "That said, the fact is, I never really could have called myself happy or "at peace" all the years I denied myself playing music. It's like walking away from music left a void in me that could only be filled by playing music--even if it's just for my own benefit. Thankfully, my wife Valerie understands that about me and leaves as much room for me to pursue that as I've needed. In fact, she encouraged me to return to music years before I had the courage to actually do it. That kind of support and understanding is vital." SOLO BASS COMPETITION SKW: What were the events leading up to your entering the Bass Extremes International Contemporary Solo Bass Competition? JS: "I found out about the competition through a posting on an Internet site. TalkBass.com, I think. It came at the right time for me because I was playing around with solo bass ideas, but I lacked direction. Participating in the competition forced me to focus on a deadline. I think it really brought out the best in me. I tend to get overwhelmed with ALL the thousands of ways a piece of music COULD go--So the deadlines forced me to make choices that I never really had to make before. I guess the lesson for me, at least, is to seek more deadlines! Otherwise I'm liable to float along and not complete anything." SKW: Recount the moment you received news of being a finalist: How did you react? What were your feelings? What did you say/think? Who was the first person you told? What did you do to celebrate? [Don't ya just love these kinds of interview questions?] JS: "I had a clue that I might have made it into the finals. About a week before the official word, I got a voicemail from Steve Bailey asking me to explain how I performed my original piece "Until You Don't." The rules of the contest prohibited overdubbing and looping, so he just wanted me to clarify I didn't sneak another bass track into the recording. It's in an altered tuning, and I play lefty with the strings upside down--So, there are note orders on that tune that are very easy for me to perform, but might be trickier for a righty player to figure out. Of course, the flip side is that ALL music appears tricky to me in that way!! Anyway, I sent him an e-mail explaining how the song was done. About a week later, Steve called and got me live on the phone. He started by asking me again, 'Are you sure there's only one bass on that recording?' I assured him it was only one bass played live, and then he said something like, 'Well, then, we'd like you to come on out to Myrtle Beach and play it for us.' I think I swore--I don't remember. I was shocked and then thrilled, then dazed, and then totally frightened. The first person I told was my wife on the phone… then a few co-workers. The next two hours were spent totally in my head. I couldn't think or focus on anything else. It was so incredible. I admit to being a bit terrified. That night my wife and I went out for a nice dinner at our favorite micro-brew house and got the thickest darkest 10% beer they made--It was awesome! We don't get out much!" SKW: What factors or influences inspired your unique arrangement of the repertoire piece "Little Sunflower" as well as your original composition "Until You Don't (You Need It)"? JS: "For the repertoire piece, it was all about picking the piece that was open enough for me to get inside it and really put Jeff Schmidt in there. I've since heard some absolutely fascinating re-harms of 'Stella by Starlight' by the other bassists, but that song had too much stuff going on for me to really put my mark on it. Compared with what those guys were doing, I'm glad I didn't pick that song. With 'Little Sunflower,' I was really able to look at it as a jumping off point for my own composition rather than a song I had to learn how to play and make funkier or more complex for a contest. 'Until You Don't' is an original and was written in April of this year. That piece came together very quickly, but, at the time, I didn't think it was 'finished.' I always create ideas and then put them aside to 'finish' later. What I really mean by 'finish' is to make more complex. Add more chords, more parts, more time signatures, more notes… more, more, more, more, more. Around the same time, I was also being exposed to the philosophical ideas that humans are constantly trying to 'complete' themselves -- or give themselves the feeling of being complete--and it's almost always pursued through the acquisition of 'more'… more money, more possessions, more relationships, more skills, more recognition, more content, etc.--but it's all based on an illusion. You can't find yourself or complete yourself with matters outside of yourself. But, you need to pursue trying to complete yourself 'out there' until you realize that you don't need any of that. When I was trying to decide what song to use for my original piece in the competition entry, I revisited that piece and simply asked, 'What if it's already complete? What if I don't need to add another note to it?' I did have to write a proper ending for it--and arrange it a bit-but I resisted the craving to fill it up with a bunch of changes and more playing and just allowed it to be. At the competition, Anthony Jackson commented that he thought my works displayed a maturity that he appreciated. I think he was referring to the fact that I didn't try to play everything I know in every piece and load them up with a bunch of extra playing. I used to play like that--and a lot of younger players play like that. It's a phase you have to go though. Eventually, less really does mean more. The name 'Until You Don't (You Need It)' is taken from the ideas that inspired me to simply let the piece be done without adding anything more." SKW: What distinguishes you as a bass player? In addition to certain interesting techniques (e.g. playing left-handed, alternate tunings) you've already mentioned above, do you use any others in your playing (specifically in the competition) that you would consider unique or special? Did you learn them from others or develop them yourself? JS: "That's a tough one to answer without sounding arrogant! HA!! Actually it's not-because there are no techniques I use that are unique to me. Everything I do, I've stolen from other players. I do think I'm forced to find unique solutions to the challenges playing lefty and upside down presents, but so far, that hasn't really manifested in new or unique techniques. But for me, there's a far deeper level of distinction that transcends technique. I tend not to approach music as a 'bass player' in the conventional sense. And I also don't approach the bass as a 'bass player' either. I just try to express myself musically. The instrument I'm most familiar with just happens to be an electric bass guitar, so that's what I use as the means of my expression. Had my early development and environment been different in some way, I could just as well have been a trumpet or piano player! That's been helpful and harmful in some ways. For example, on the negative side, I don't have as deep an understanding or command of the traditional function of the bass as many of my contemporaries. I tend to have 'Groove A.D.D.' I really respect players who can lay down the groove and keep it tight for five minutes straight, song after song, all night. I start to get bored and wander after a few passes. That's an area of maturity I need more work on. But, on another level, I'm quite comfortable with that because it allows me to play the bass as a musical instrument-rather than as a 'bass' with a pre-defined 'role' and all kinds of conceptual baggage, limits and expectations attached to it. I like to avoid the little conceptual prisons we create for ourselves with labels and judgments. While others sit around and debate conceptual matters--whether it's called a 'bass' or a 'bass guitar' and what the people who play it should and shouldn't do--I just hit the strings and try to make sounds that please me. When you look at how the bass as an instrument is evolving, with 7-, 9-, 11-, even 12-string basses, there's clearly a growing legion of players who love the instrument who also want to express themselves in a more melodic and musical way. They want more expressive options in their instrument. More and more bassists are beginning to look past what the bass USED to be--and imagine what it CAN be." SKW: Concerning your respective choice of instrument for each piece, [MTD 535 Fretted 5-String for "Little Sunflower" and "Yardbird Suite" and Pedulla PentaBuzz Fretless 5-String for "Until You Don't"], would you go into more detail as to why you played each piece on the particular bass used? (Specifically, would you comment on aspects of fretted versus fretless?) JS: "I love fretless bass. It's so emotive and responds to finesse in a way fretted bass doesn't--at least when I play fretted! I think it's also easier for me to hear more horn-like phrasing in my head when I play fretless bass for some reason. 'Until You Don't' was written on fretless for fretless. That piece would lose its impact on fretted bass, I believe. Playing the other pieces on fretted was really a matter of getting the sound I was looking for. I wanted to have some variety in the sounds I used at the competition. So, I began writing 'Little Sunflower' on fretted bass. Besides, I added too many chords in my version of 'Little Sunflower' that I just couldn't pull off effectively on fretless!" SKW: What type of amplifier(s) did you use in the competition? JS: "The competition provided us with Ampeg amplifiers and cabinets which are also part of the prize packages. There were several rigs on stage of various configs, and I honestly don't remember the specs of the one I played through. It sounded great though. I was very pleased." SKW: Would you comment on the use of effects in your competition recording and live performance? JS: "My main effects device is the Boss GT-6B. I used it on my entry and live at the competition. I use it largely for tone shaping, compression, and reverb. But, I've also created a handful for great special effects type patches for synth bass and ethereal Allan Holdsworth chord type effects. It's a bit heavy to lug around--but it's roadworthy and rugged, that's for sure. I'd love to find something as powerful that's lighter and more travel-friendly. I got a lot of positive comments on my sound from both judges and members of the audience." SKW: What's next for you as a bassist? JS: "More playing, writing, experimenting with and refining the solo thing to take it out of the house, and hooking up with renegades who are looking to do something daring and different. Is that too much ya think? I'm not begging to get into a band or run out and assume the position of bassist in a band. But, I'm open to opportunities to play with other musicians who are not afraid to be hated by other musicians, by music critics, and the music industry. Not because of attitude or arrogance or anything shallow like that--but because they're breaking rules, shattering expectations and believe doing something different and meaningful to themselves is more important than doing what others want or expect. Those kinds of people, I think, would be more open-minded about playing with a bassist who doesn't play like a bassist." SKW: Is there anything else you'd like to say? JS: "I want to encourage anyone who views the bass as a solo instrument and has a musical message to deliver--to go for it. Fearlessly." Learn more about Jeff at www.beautiful-bass.com and www.myspace.com/jeffschmidtbassist.About the author: S.K. Wallace is a freelance musician, writer, and artist whose previous articles have appeared in the August 2004, June 2005, and August 2005 editions of Bass Sessions®. She may be contacted at SKWBassist@aol.com. |
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