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Nick Fyffe
Bassist: Summer 1999 Jamiroquai's Nick Fyffe Special thanks are due to Nik Hunt for
typing up this article in full. From obscurity to one of Britain's best
bass gigs, Steve Lawson charts the fairytale rise of Jamiroquai new boy, Nick Fyffe IMAGE CAPTION:
Having dabbled with guitar and drumsm
Nick took up bass when he was 18 and after doing the usual covers-band stuff at school, be
began the time-honoured ritual of answering 'wanted' ads in search of gigs. "I
auditioned, but I never knew what I was doing." He laughs at the memory, "So I
decided to get some lessons." Two years after leaving school, Nick
decided to study music: "I got my head together and did a diploma in jazz studies and
popular music in Chicester. I had a great time but it put me right off Jazz!" While
there, he joined an 11-piece band called Funk Assembly, playing the London University and
Club circuit. This became a full time commitment after leaving college. "I ended up
booking and promoting gigs. Half the band had day jobs - the horn section were all in the
army! Logistically it was a nightmare, but every gig was a big event." But the pay
wasn't great. "I was skint," he admits, "Then, just as Funk Assembly
started to get some interest, and someone put forward some money for us to do an album,
the whole thing fell apart. "I moved to London and started
answering ads in Melody Maker," he says. "I did some work with one of the guys
from Freakpower, and got to know the band."
This meeting proved to be a pivotal link
in Nick's rise to stardom. "I was flicking throught a copy of The Sun one day, and
saw the article about Stuart leaving Jamiroquai. I rang Jim Carmichael from Freakpower,
who'd supported Jamiroquai on tour, and asked him to put me in touch with them. I rang the
management company and said, 'My name's Nick, I'd like to fill a vacancy'. I had to send
off a biog, but no tape. I sat chewing my nails, wondering what to write. But I just made
it simple - my name, the gigs I'd done and my gear. I think Jay was impressed with the
names of my Lovetone effects pedals," he laughs. "A week later I got a call. Jay
wasn't at the first audition, but I got on well with the rest of the band. I was nervous
beforehand, but once there, I felt at ease. I played the tunes, and then asked if we could
play some more 'cos I was enjoying myself! So we had a little jam. "I was called back for the second
audition. That's when I got seriously nervous! At first I thought nothing would come of
it, but now it was down to the last five players. It was all a bit daunting - Steve
Lewinson (Spice Girls), Nick Cohen (Incognito) and Paul Lancaster (The Honeyz) who's a
great player were all up for it. I thought, "I'm never gonna get this.' "I didn't know what I'd have to do
at the second audition, " he continues, "so I couldn't prepare. I turned up and
met Jay. I started jamming with the band and it just seemed to click. After that they
showed me a new tune, the band disappeared and left me alone with Al Stone, their
producer. I had to put down a bass track - there wasn't a guide bass part - and Al said
that, vibe wise, it was the best of the tracks they'd done. He didn't say that I'd got the
gig, but he hinted I was close. The band came back to hear it, and liked what I'd done.
Derek said, 'Well, you've got my vote', and I began to think that the gig may be mine. Jay
asked me to come back the next day. When I arrived, he came over, gave me a hug and said
'You're the new bassist for Jamiroquai!" and that was that!"
Many people assume that the hardest thing
about landing a high profile gig is filling shoes of a better-known player, but Nick, now
26, has avioded the pitfall of comparing himself to Mr Zender. "I didn't hear
anything that Stuart had done on the new album." he says of the recording process.
"I don't think about 'following Stuart'. If I did, I'd stress myself out." It's obvious that Nick has his head
screwed on, and is looking to establish himself in his own right. "Obviously
comparisions will be made, especially by other bass players. But at the end of the day,
your average punter isn't that bothered. Jay's the frontman, and a lot of people might not
even notice the change. Stuart was a high-profile bassist, so I'll probably get slated by
people who wish he was still there. But some might prefer what I do. Ultimately I don't
really care." Of the new album, Synkronized, Nick says,
"I recorded about seven tracks, four of which are on the album. There were a couple
of tracks that we recorded live, and I was pretty much left to do what I wanted. Jay would
sometimes have an idea that he'd hum and then I'd play. There was a lot of freedom, except
when Jay had a specific idea - sometimes he'd come up with a bass line and write the track
around that. "The rest of the album is keyboard
bass, which is the sound they were going for. I have to replicate that live, which is fun
- I get to use lots of pedals and stuff. I'm using a five string, to get those low notes.'
So the honeymoon's nearly over and it's
down to the stuff of being in a band - touring. The Synkronized tour started on June 9, in
Brighton. "It went very well," he told Bassist the following day over coffee in
Covent Garden. "We were well rehearsed, we just had to go out and do it. I was very
nervous. But I enjoyed the day. I was very nervous. But I enjoyed the day. I did the sound
check, then the photoshoot for Bassist, which was great 'cos it took my mind off the whole
thing, prancing about on the beach. When I got back to the venue, I managed to eat a
little, but then the nerves kicked back in. It took me a few tunes to relax, but then I
really got into it - it was great. When we came off the stage, everyone gave me a hug. Now
I'm looking forward to the rest of the tour." And what a tour. "After the
UK," he says, referring to the eight gigs the band played here in June, to estatic
audiences. "Next is the states, then South America, Europe, Japan and then back to
the USA. Next year we go to Australia and we end up doing all the UK festivals next year,
which will probably be the end of the tour." Probably? Sounds like a heavy schedule!
Nick's Funk Assembly Nick recorded on a pre-Ernie Ball
Musicman, but uses a newer 5-string on tour. Amp-wise, he is yet another Ashdown convert.
"They're nice and simple. I don't like too many buttons and lights. I just want to
turn on, plug in and sound good. During the rehearsals I had the EQ out and it sounded so
punchy - I've got an 8x10" cab and an 800 watt head." But it's Nick's effects set up that seems
to be at the heard of the Fyffe sound. "I had all these mad ideas for pedal boards
and switching systems but I decided to keep it simple. All the pedals are in line, and if
I run into trouble I can just bosh the line selector and get a clean sound. "I've got a Sans Amp before the line
selector, then a Digitech Whammy Pedal, a DOD EQ and a Lovetone Meat Ball envelope filler.
The meat ball has it's own loop, and I've got a Lovetone Big Cheese pedal... [laughs] and
that goes into Big Mac, large fries and a milkshake! The Big Cheese goes into an EBS
Octave pedal, both in the loop of the Meat Ball. That goes into a Q-Tron, which goes into
an EBS chorus / Flange / Pitch thingie. It's not that complicated really" [Yeah,
like, sure!] "I love trying out new sounds, but I'm not really into the
train-spotting side of it... Honestly!" Fitting Tribute MEET THE BOSS THE LIVE DEBUT |
It's the rock n' roll dream: get
plucked from obscurity, audition for one of the world's biggest bands and get the gig.
Just occasionally those dreams come true, as they did for Nick Fyffe when he replaced
Stuart Zender in Jamiroquai. 'I still can't believe it's all happening', he admits. 
After Zender had left, much had been
put on hold in the Jamiroquai camp. Now with Nick on board, they refocussed on the album.
"But for the first three weeks I didn't do anything. There was some re-working needed
to get the songs to a point where I could come in. When I eventually started recording, it
was all done really quick. The pre-production had been done and I was going straight in on
the album, not demos. I stayed at Jay's for the recording, and didn't have time to think
about it. It's all a bit of a blur." 
As Billy Bragg once sang, 'It's a
mighty long way down rock n' roll, from Top of the Pops to drawing the dole', but Nick
Fyffe has done it in reverse, and remains philosophical. "I've suddenly found myself
here, playing for Jamiroquai, which I couldn't have imagined eight months ago.
Everything's so new - I'm very naive and inexperienced. I've never done a tour before. At
every other gig I've done, I'd come off stage and go and see my mates. At the first
Jamiroquai gig I saw a few friends, went over to say hello and suddenly these people came
from nowhere wanting autographs and stuff! I don't know if I'll ever get used to it - it's
a bit surreal. The fame side of things just isn't reality. I'm still getting my head round
the whole thing."