SHIFTING GEAR
RICH ECKHARDT
As we all know you just don’t have a band
unless you have a smoking hot guitar player
way out front pushing his amp to maximum
capacity and stealing the spotlight at every
opportunity. Certainly Eddie Van Halen
wows us on tour when he takes center
stage and burns through “Eruption.” After
all, it’s those moments that have drawn all
of us to the six-string goddess known as
the guitar. However, in more conventional
musical applications, many of our melodic
ideas will go unrealized without someone
holding down the chord structure. With that
in mind, we can’t overlook the contributions made to the music we play from the
guy typically thumping it out just stage-left
of, and locked metrically to, the drummer.
He’s often mistaken for “the other guitar
player” and not always known by name, but
frequently called simply, “The Bass Player.”
exploration that thoroughly pushed the
envelope for modern music.
You Know Him as T.B. Player
Many of the bassists I’ve had the pleasure of
working with have graciously given kudos to
Jamerson. Toby Keith’s long time bassist and
band leader Chuck Goff Jr. has cited James
Jamerson almost exclusively as his foremost
influence. As a former concrete pourer
turned bassist, Goff knows the value of having a good foundation. He is one player who
focuses solely on laying down the groove
and supporting the structure of our live
show with a less-is-more approach.
than most bassists, but he still knows the
value of creating the groove and laying back
to be the backbone of the song. He also
cites Jamerson as having a substantial influence on his playing style.
There is so much more to bass guitar playing than just pounding out the low note of
the chord so a guitarist can mesmerize the
audience with his super hot licks. And bass
is certainly not some secondary position
assigned to the guy who wasn’t quite good
enough on lead to cut it out front. It’s the
bass player’s job, along with the drummer,
to create the groove and the feel of the
song. Thanks to a wealth of wonderfully
proficient bassists, many up-and-coming
bassists think it’s their duty to keep up with
the guitarist note for note. They appear to
have overlooked the less-than-subtle objective of anchoring the harmonic framework
and laying down the beat. Don’t get me
wrong—obviously there is a place in the
music world for guys like Geddy Lee and
Billy Sheehan, who have mastered the art of
melodic soloing on our four-string cousin,
but my personal taste will eternally lean
heavily on Motown’s greatest Funk Brother,
James Jamerson.
As a guitarist it’s natural to be able to play
some bass. After all, the notes fall on the
same frets; and four strings, EADG, are the
same, only an octave lower. However, many
guitarists mistake the two instruments as
more similar than they really are. Nothing
will bum out a night of music quicker than
having to share the stage with a frustrated
guitarist on bass. I’ve fooled around on bass
enough to know that I’m no bass player. I
tracked some of the bass parts on my new
Cottage City Firehouse CD but was smart
enough as a producer to know when it was
time to bring in the big guns on the lower
register. When I needed true solid groundwork I called in session bassist Sean O’Brian
Smith to dig the trench. Sean is a top-notch
musician who is more comfortable at soloing
Motown legend James Jamerson
James Jamerson’s equipment was simple
by today’s standard. His double bass was
a German upright acoustic that he bought
as a teenager and later used on many
Motown hits including “My Guy” by Mary
Wells and “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave” by
Martha and the Vandellas. His electric was
a stock 1962 Fender Precision. It had a tritone sunburst finish, a tortoise-shell style
pickguard, and chrome pickup and bridge
covers. Jamerson used La Bella heavy-gauge (.052-. 110) flatwound strings, and it
is rumored that he never changed them. He
also tucked a piece of foam underneath the
bridge cover to lightly dampen the strings.
His amps of choice were an Ampeg B- 15
and a blue naugahyde Kustom loaded with
two 15” speakers.
Here’s a list of songs that Jamerson lent
his talents to, that I recommend any bass
player should study in order to get a true
feel of what this amazing musician was all
about: “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to
Beg” by the Temptations; “Bernadette”
and “Standing in the Shadows of Love,”
by The Four Tops; “Uptight (Everything’s
Alright)” and “For Once in my Life” by
Stevie Wonder; “I Heard It Through The
Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye and “It Takes
Two” by Gaye with Tammy Terrell; “Where
Did Our Love Go” and “Stop! In The Name
Of Love” by Diana Ross and the Supremes;
“The Tracks Of My Tears” by Smokey
Robinson and the Miracles; and “I Want You
Back” by The Jackson 5.
Keep Jammin’
Jamerson has influenced probably every
electric bassist to ever pick up the instrument, whether they know it or not. Starting
with Motown in 1959, Jamerson’s playing
covered everything from a traditional root-fifth cocktail style, to an unpredictable new
style built upon sixteenth-note runs, syncopations, daring dissonances and constant
Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought after guitarists
in Nashville. His ability to cover multiple styles has put
him on stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler
of Aerosmith to Shania Twain. Rich is currently playing
lead guitar with Toby Keith. His new album Cottage City
Firehouse is available at his website and CDBaby.com
