How long have you been playing Gareth?

Hi Martin, first off, thanks for the interview, I hope I do it justice, anyways... I started playing piano and flute at 12 going to music lessons and all, it put me off classical music for a LONG time, started teaching myself guitar at 17 this allowed me to compose my own stuff instead of interpreting pieces the way my teacher insisted...HUGE leap forward.

Short answer I started bass at about 23 and have been playing for around 17 years.

How did you get started?

In the UK I was looking for work and the Melody Maker (music newspaper) carried a long "guitarists available" and hardly any "guitarists wanted" ads, the bass column was the exact opposite and I figured I could handle that, got into a cover band and soon after a "real" day job in computing, gave up the cover band, and then "auditioned" for about 3 different bands a week for about 8 months to get my practice with a drummer in.

Do you come from a musical family?

Kinda, not really, my father taught commercial and fine art whilst my mom was into amateur theater, so artistic, yes, musical, not really.

What’s your favorite band / solo artist?

Doug Wimbish (tack head, On-U-Sound, Living Color, Seal and other sessions) Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones) Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves), Billy Sheehan, Geddy Lee, The Ox (John Entwistle) I could go on but I'll end with Jaco, Percy Jones (Brand X), and again Doug Wimbish.

Sounds like you really dig Doug Wimbish ? You didn't mention that he's also worked with the Rolling Stones!!!

Yeah, Doug has to be seen live to be truly appreciated, on most recordings he's kinda buried in the mix, once witnessed you realise he IS the mix, with the most amazing collection of licks, tricks 'n chops both on his bass and FX units.

What are the amps and instruments you currently use?

My workhorse is an old Ibanez Musician 4 string, getting a bit worn, but a lovely instrument, also a fretless Ibanez Sound Gear. Amp wise I have a Hiwatt Custom 100 valve head through a 1x15 (my 4x10 was stolen)

What instruments would you like to have if money were no object?

Bass wise : Spector NS2 four string (3 of them strung BEAD, EADG, ADGC :) A Maingard fretless acoustic.

What have you been doing for the last five years or so?

I co-own a small demo studio (http://www.backstage.co.za/gello), but for the last couple of years I've been working toward music distribution, can't divulge too much just yet unfortunately.

What recordings that you've played on would you recommend for listening?

I'm more of a jamming type, so haven't done too many recordings, if anyone's interested there are a few tunes at http://www.backstage.co.za/gareth/html/mp3.shtml

What's been the low point in your career so far?

Twice, each when a happening band (IMHO) I was in, split for no good reason.

And what has been the high point?

Being radio playlisted with two different bands simultaneously (Psycho Deli & india)

Have you visited www.bassplayers.co.za yet?

Yes, a Number of times :)

What do you get up to when your not busy with music related stuff?

Family, computer related stuff, and when I find time I'd like to start learning Tai-Chi.

What are your goals currently?

Firstly to get my music distribution idea up and running, but I'm also working at electronic percussion, really fun stuff, recording then triggering samples/loops etc. I'm still in the discovery stage, whilst slowly getting my drum rudiments together, so yeah, my current musical goal is learning to drum :)

Thanks for the interview Gareth.