I don't know about you, but nothing makes me madder than when a guitarist picks your bass up and starts acting like he can play it. ¡°It takes more than simply strapping a bass on to make a bassist, Bryan¡±, I ranted at the telly spilling my tea and scaring the cat in the process. (Although now I come to think about it, it could¡¯ve been Sporty¡¯s singing that was unsettling old kitty.)

But maybe I was a little hasty. Why? Because Bryan Adams is a brilliant bass player. Who says so? None other than Jason Newsted of Metallica, that¡¯s who.  In fact, the bass player from one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the last decade is so convinced of this he wants to interview Bryan and let Bassist listen it. Two of the biggest names in the rock world letting us listen while they talk bass? Sounds like fun.
But hang on. Bryan is cultured in Toronto, Canada. Jason¡¯s a bohemian San Francisco, America, and I¡¯m in, er, Leicester. But thanks to the wonders of trans-continental conference telephone networks, it¡¯s no problem. The phone rings. It¡¯s Bryan Adams. ¡°Hi, Bassist!¡± I check that my highly professional ¡°Tape recorder sellotaped on the phone receiver¡± set up is in place. Jason joins us on the line, and it¡¯s time to start¡¦

Bassist: Before we start: how come you guys are such good friends?

Bryan Adams: Metallica and I did some festivals in Belgium together. That first show was the most exciting show of the summer for me. That¡¯s where I bumped into Jason. It was a great summer, every gig was an adventure.

Jason Newsted: Visually it was amazing. Bryan¡¯s three piece band, Bryan playing a white bass, with a huge white sheet behind ? about half a football pitch in size ? all white Marshall amplifiers, white jeans, white T-shirts, white shoes, followed by, you know who¡¦ Metallica, black backdrop, black clothes, black amps¡¦ It made for quite an interesting contrast! Anyway Bryan, let¡¯s start simple. Why did you start playing bass? Let¡¯s face it, a lot of people associate you with the guitar.

BA: I¡¯ve always messed around with the bass. In fact I wanted to be a bass player early on but I only had enough money for a guitar! This is back when I was starting out in Vancouver. I had a Fender Jazz for quite a long time but never really took it that seriously, except for making demos, never considered playing it live, I was a guitarist ? but then our guitarist Keith Scott bought me an old , 1964 Hofner Beatle bass as a birthday present¡¦

JN: Super cool!

BA: Yeah, with the flat wound strings and all that? Well, I¡¯m a Beatles fan and when it came round to doing demos for  my album, this is going back two albums now, I picked it up and did all the bass parts on it. And as you would be playing on a bass like that, you automatically start to play in McCartney¡¯s style, some really interesting stuff, high up the neck and all that. I had a bass player in my band back then [Dave Taylor, BA¡¯s pumping root note bassist for nigh on 16 years] but I ended up playing most of the bass on that album myself. I really liked playing that bass. Of course Bob Clearmountain, who mixed that record, really hated it!

JN: A lot of those bass parts really wove around the vocal parts.

BA: Well, yeah, that¡¯s what I aimed to do. Before it was all about the guitar accompanying me, but now it¡¯s the bass.

JN: Who turned you on bass-wise early on?

BA: Well there were quite a few guys early on who really turned me onto bass. John Paul Jones was one, and I really identified with his style ¡®cos he played with a pick. He had a sort of flat-picking style, I guess, and I play with a pick too, although occasionally I¡¯ll play it with my thumb as well, which is a style I greatly admire too. Another guy who greatly influenced my playing early on was Jim Vallance, he and I wrote a song called Summer of ¡¯69 together¡¦

Bassist: I think we just might have heard of that one, Bryan¡¦

BA: Anyway, he¡¯s a really great bass player! He understands better than a lot of the people I¡¯ve worked with about making the bass work in harmony with, not only the vocals, but with the melody of the song.

JN: Yeah, I can see that you¡¯ve got to be steps ahead of other cats who start off playing rock guitar but then change to bass¡¦

BA: Well, yeah, it could be ¡®cos I¡¯m more bluesy influenced than a lot of those guys. Probably my favourite dead bass player is Willie Dixon.

JN: Well for me it¡¯s got to be Jaco, but these blues guys like Willie Dixon laid the foundation that subsequently gave people their props. I¡¯ve got great respect for him, running the show at Chess Records, and a great songwriter¡¦

BA: For  sure! You know he made the bass and the melodies work together, snug like shoelaces, in a shoe. They¡¯d just glide in there¡¦

JN: Bryan, like the blues, I¡¯ve always found your stuff to have a very pure sound, a very cool sound. I¡¯d be working construction listening to your stuff on the radio¡¦

BA: No way! Hey, I used to work construction too! [There now follows five minutes of detailed, incomprehensible discussion about electrics, bricks and concrete¡¦] I also really appreciated he Beatles work. I¡¯ve always liked two people singing. But my real solid influences is stuff like Free. I mean I was really into 1970s rock. Anything that was rock that era. People like Elton John, Elton was a real rocker back then! I used to pore over Deep Purple records. Ritchie Blackmore! What a guitarist! I¡¯ve always liked people who have real character in their performances, real conviction, be it vocalists or instrumentalists.

Bassist: Bryan, if I can just leap in for a second here¡¦

BA: No way! Get back in your corner, Ike! [Laughs.]

Bassist: How have you found the playing the bass and singing aspect? Has it been very different?

BA: Oh yeah!

Bassist: A lot of the songs you play live must have been written with the idea of you playing the guitar on them, the all of a sudden you¡¯ve got to sing and play the bass instead¡¦

BA: It took me quite a while to get the hang of it. I started off simple, then as I got more confident, I got more complicated. Generally speaking, I was really trying to make the band lock as hard as I could. In a three piece band there¡¯s no margin for error ? you¡¯ve got to keep the line pumping, you¡¯ve got to keep the groove going, while you¡¯re still trying to sing as good as you can.

JN: And you do! After what I saw this summer you really pull it off, man!

Bassist: Sting has often said that the bass is the best instrument with which to lead a band¡¦

BA: Yeah, well what I¡¯ve discovered ? and I think Jason will agree with me ? is that the bass player has the power to make the band swing. You have the power to direct where the groove is going to go, ¡®cos if you¡¯re not locked with that drummer, if you¡¯re not paying attention to him, then it¡¯s not going to swing.

JN: So what¡¯s your coolest bass? Do you go on stage with the Jazz?

BA: My coolest bass is my Hofner, but I don¡¯t play it live, it¡¯s too uncontrollable. Live, I just strap on a Precision and go! It seems to be a bit more solid, it¡¯s more of a workhouse.

JN: Even in the studio, I find that a ¡¯58 or ¡¯59 precision bass can work with all kinds of sounds, you can manipulate the sound ? it¡¯s really controllable. What about amplification in the studio?

BA: Er¡¦ As far as amps go, I¡¯ll be honest guys, I haven¡¯t really been very particular! [Embarrassed laughter.]

JN: So what happens when you record? Do you use direct box, SVT stock stuff? What?

BA: In the studio it¡¯s just direct into the desk with an amp as back-up.

JN: What about microphones?

BA: [More embarrassed laughter]: Once again, I¡¯ve never been that particular. It¡¯s just, ¡®Does it sound good? Let¡¯s go!¡¯

JN: Yeah, right on! Vibe is so more important anyway. So anyway, bass-wise how many shows have you done so far?, and do you plan on doing?

BA: We probably did about a hundred shows this year.

JN: And you played bass on all of them?

BA: Yeah.

JN: Right on!

BA: It was some in the States, all over Europe, Canada, and now we¡¯re going back ? and with the same band. Mickey Curry, drums, Keith Scott, guitar and myself on bass. We¡¯re having too much fun as a three piece to stop! We¡¯re just gonna keep going. I love playing bass. We don¡¯t want anyone else on board, like another guitarist or keyboard player at the moment.

JN: After what I saw of the three of you in Belgium I vote for that.

BA: Thanks. The thing is, we¡¯re also really good friends, too. We go back years and there¡¯s something about that familiarity that aids your playing. It¡¯s like a well worn glove. I mean there was loads of times this summer when we were playing when something would happen and you¡¯d look over with that ¡°What was that?!¡± expression on your face. I love that about the three piece¡¦ Jason, I wanted to ask, what kind of bass stuff are you using?

JN: Live, I use a Sadowski. It¡¯s a handmade bass from New York.  Roger¡¯s been building them for about thirty years now. Will Lee, the session guy, recommended them to me¡¦

BA: Oh yeah, I know Will Lee.

JN: ¡¦Also Marcus Miller talked very highly of them. I tried one and now I always use the Sadowski live. I¡¯ve tried other basses and they¡¯re just not salt water proof¡¦

BA: They¡¯re not water proof?

JN: You need protection from all the sweat and toxins that gets on basses live. All that gunk corrodes them. The Sadowski is dipped in protective fluid both outside and inside. Man, it¡¯s industrial standard! I test my basses by filling the bath with water, putting salt in, then dropping the bass in too. After an hour, pull it out and blow dry it on high. If it still works after  being submerged I¡¯ve probably got a bass that¡¯s up to the job.  Perhaps you might be interested in talking to Roger about getting a Sadowski, Bryan?

BA: [Unsure] Well¡¦ I think you might have a greater problem with sweat than me, Jason. I mean, I might get a wet T-shirt live, but I don¡¯t need a submersible bass!

[Much laughter.]

JN: Are you using any effects with your bass, Bryan?

BA: Yeah. I¡¯ve got a fuzz pedal. A big assed fuzz pedal. So occasionally when I want to blow the roof off, I just kick it in, and it really is a roof stormer! It¡¯s only for every now and again though ¡®cos it can get to be a little too much. Mind you, I do have it set on warp speed¡¦

JN: What about monitoring for bass and vocals?

BA: I use in-ear monitoring. I gig every night, and it¡¯s the only way, if you¡¯re going to gig that much that your voice can survive. In the early days I used to have real trouble hearing myself on stage. You just start screaming. But I still keep the bass loud on stage. I think the punters in the front rows need to feel the band. If I was down the front I know I¡¯d want to feel that power coming off the stage.

JN: Yeah! When I hit my bass I like to feel it shaking through my body. If I¡¯m out of tune I feel it rather than hear it! In Metallica we¡¯re loud as fuck on stage ? and we use in-ear monitoring.

BA: [Laughing] Perhaps the thing to do is give the audience in-ear monitors as well!

Bassist: You¡¯ve both worked with the producer Bob Rock. Jason is down as saying that he really brought his bass sound to the fore in the studio, that before then his bass sound had been lost amongst the guitars. What has Bob Rock done for your bass sound?

BA: He¡¯s been great. He really understands that the bass has to rock¡¦. Er, no pun intended. He believes in the synchronicity that has to happen between the drummer and the bassist. Maybe a lot of the reason why I¡¯m playing bass now is ¡®cos I had a lot of fun doing stuff with Bob.

JN: Bob has a passion for bass. What he did for my sound, my confidence, I can¡¯t say too much good about him¡¦

Bassist: Bryan, you¡¯ve worked with the producer Phil Thornalley in the past [a noted bassist himself, he played bass on a number of The Cure¡¯s hits, including that solid gold prince amongst bass lines, Love Cats] and also Mutt Lange [another noted bass-ing producer, perhaps best known for his work with Def Leppard. Check out Bob Geldof¡¯s autobiography for a great scene where The Boomtown Rats are recording with Mutt, their bassist Pete Briquette growing increasingly more frustrated and terrified as Mutt keeps on picking up the bass and shouting, ¡°No, no, no, do it like zis!¡± whilst playing perfectly the lines Pete is finding impossible]. Were they a help to you during your transition from guitar to bass?

BA: Well, what was interesting about both those guys, and I¡¯ll start with Phil, is that they¡¯re both excellent bass players, and they both really encouraged me. When I first told Pete I was planning to switch to bass he actually witnessed the first rehearsal in my kitchen. Mutt, on the other hand, worked on my next single, The Best of Me. When I first played him the recorded bass line he looked at me and said, ¡°Is that you playing the bass?¡± He left that bass line exactly as it was. Now this either meant hit was just such a despicable bass part that he didn¡¯t know where to begin, or that he actually liked it!

Bassist: Ever experimented with other styles? Fretless? The dreaded slap monster?

BA: Not really, I try not to let it get too fancy. Live the fretless bass is a real challenge, and  I don¡¯t think it really suits my style, anyway. What about you Jason?

JN: Yeah, Bob talked me into using fretless on a couple of tracks once and I¡¯m glad I did it ? but never again!

Bassist: And final thoughts, things you¡¯d like to say?

BA: I just want to say, Jase ? your bass playing rocks!

JN: Dude we gotta jam! Let¡¯s get together soon, go for a drink and have a party. A bass player party!

Bryan Adams and Jason Newsted going out for a few pints together, before rushing back home for a two-way bass jam? Sounds like an interesting evening. Unfortunately, they¡¯d both hung up before I could ask for an invite. Oh well. Maybe next time.

From Bryan Adams - Site Of Heaves