London-based bassist Kat Bax has played 15 years live, toured around the world with Tricky and worked as a session musician with artists like Roxanne Emery and Johnny Ashby. In addition, she starred in the X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing in England. Earlier this Autumn, she visited Musik & Talang in Vaasa. Our talk was directed at one thing - the bass!

You have mentioned that you mostly have male bass players as role models. England has produced a wide range of fantastic great bass players like Graham Maby, Bruce Thomas, John Taylor and Mick Karn.
Yes, and as a studio musicians like Pino Palladino.

Where are your influences, who has influenced you and your playing?
In essence, I have been inspired by rock, I love rock music, but I have also listened to a lot of British pop so I like that full round sound that like Guy Pratt (session musicians for eg Roxy Music, Pink Floyd and Bryan Ferry) and Pino Palladino has. So my thing is probably pop, I love that warm wonderful sound.

So you're not that keen on the trebly raspy rock sound?
It's not my thing, it works well on some discs but there is nothing I want to try. If a certain song needs that sound, so I just turn up the treble a little more.

Do you think that the base should be more in the background and give backbone of the song, or should it push through?
For me it is important to create the right groove, and if I can add anything beyond that, it's fine. I have seen and heard so many players messing up tracks by adding too much, and it does not work. It's a bit like eating ice cream: sometimes the ice cream is good without the fancy stuff, sometimes it is fun with a little extra. To do what is needed, that's my philosophy.

Then you have a solid backbone for the song.
Exactly!

And that is the most important thing for bass and drums?
Absolutely. For some reason, the bass has become almost as a solo instrument and that's okay as long as it is doing what it is supposed to do. I've always liked John Deacon of Queen. He has the ability to both create groove and put some spice to it the right way.

The trick is to avoid doing too much.
Yes, at some point it becomes too much, and then it sounds just bad and that shows that the player doesn’t know what it is about. I believe firmly in doing what the song requires, not just what you want to do. You should do everything you can to support the singer, if you are too funky, it only becomes distracting.


You do not like to do bass solos?
There has been a problem for me. Now we’re going to get a bit deep!  When I went to music college, I knew the second year would be about jamming, I was a pop and rock bassist, and in pop and rock you don’t really do solos. I knew it was coming, so I had it hanging over me like a black cloud. I knew that I can play and I mastered the scales and all that, but I couldn’t really integrate them into a solo context. I could not do it, I dragged myself to every lesson! I did everything I could for hours. Then came the day when I could not stand it anymore. So that is why I do not do bass solos!

Do you think the bassist and drummer deserves more appreciation, it's always a singer and guitarist who stand in the spotlight?
Yes that’s true. On the other hand, the drummer and bassist might wonder why they need that confirmation? Why would I put myself in a situation where I was not appreciated? I could be the king or queen of the stage. I think at the end of the day, it is a question of personality.

Tell us about your first bass guitar.
It was a Washburn with four strings, it cost 80 pounds and came from a store in Hendon in North London. I knew it had active  pickups and that things happened when I turned the knobs! It was cheap, nice and black, and from the late eighties.


Now you have a Jazz.
Yes, a Lakland, it's cool.

Do you often test out other different instruments?
No, I think I've found my bass. I am really pleased with it, it does everything I want it to do. And I've had it for years, but I have not emotional attachment to it. If I found a better bass, it would not be a problem. I know too many players who give their instruments names!

Plectrum or fingers?
I always play with my fingers. When I started playing, I thought that you play with fingers and guitar with plectrum. So that choice didn’t really come up. I wish that I had learned to play with a plectrum, it would be useful sometimes.

Why did you start playing bass originally, did you like the sound?
Do you want an honest answer? I thought I'd get guys! I was 15 or 16 and wanted to be in a band, I thought the guys would think it cool if I played bass. And you know what? It has not happened once in the fifteen years I played, so it did not help at all!


How did it work in the beginning, did you buy bass books or did you try to learn by ear?
I had played the piano before, so I decided to take lessons. I did that for a year and then I found that I wanted to play cooler songs, so I stopped. But the lessons gave me a good foundation, I learned to read notation on bass which has been really helpful. If you want to become a session musician, you have to know what you’re doing.

If someone wants to learn to play bass, what advice would you give them?
Find a good drummer to play with. A good song to practice for a bassist is Queens "Under Pressure", you have to develop right-hand control and left hand timing. The two are is simple but not easy to do right. The second exercise is the song "With Or Without You" by U2. If you can play these, you are on your way. And then it is important to be friends with their bass, to become accustomed with it, start holding it and playing it, for example, when you are sitting and watching television.


What is your dream band to play with?
It would definitely be Take That! I love the music, I love the pop style and high quality songwriting. I would love to contribute to that. And I'm also a big Robbie Williams fan.

What is it that makes a good bass player?
I can’t define a good bassist, but it is important to listen to what others are do and being able to develop your own accent in your playing. The most important thing is: what is it that makes you happy to play?

Hooray! First blog ever!!

So on the 19th of September, I'll be wending my weary way to Sweden to talk on a panel with my girls Kelly Appleton and Vicky Osterberg about gender differences in music.  

Having experienced the gender divide in my own career, it's becoming difficult to put into words how extreme that difference can be - especially when the person expressing their opinion has no idea of their own bias.  By my own admission, I am also particularly bad at picking up that bias which means I am very unlikely to challenge it at the time.  It is only after the incident that I realise "Hey, he thought I was the drummer's girlfriend/a fan/didn't know what I was doing!" and suddenly it's too late to go back!  I don't know if this a reflection of how I view myself, the very possibility that I might be viewed as someone other than a musician who has every right to be there is foreign to me!  

Story time.  I was asked to help out on a video shoot for an awesome band (video in the sidebar!) as they were currently bassist-less.  They were all guys.  I turned up to the location with bass in hand plus the usual rock trousers etc and went up to the hair and makeup room.  5 minutes later, the director walked into the room and said brusquely: "Come on girls, we haven't got much time, the band need to get their makeup done.  If Madam could get out of the chair?"

So I got out of the chair.  I mean why wouldn't I? I wasn't an actual member of the band, I was just helping out.

An hour later, I went, bass in hand, into the main venue as the director wanted to start setting up the shots for the video.

He looked at me.. then did a double take.  Saw the bass.  Remembered telling me to get out of the chair. And said "Oh. Right. Ok.".  

And it was then that I realised that he'd assumed I was someone who shouldn't be there. Someone who had walked in and wanted their face/hair done "for fun".  Maybe someone's girlfriend or friend.  No way could I have been involved in the project or be contributing towards anything.  And that for me was a moment of real sadness - that people see a girl first, and not a musician or a person with value.

Story time over.  That's just one of the experiences I've had and I'd like to say I definitely deal with it far better these days!

Any feedback? Any similar experiences?  Tell me as I'd love to include your stories in this panel on the 19th!