How long have you been playing Joe?

For about 6 years now. I played acoustic guitar for a few months before I started concentrating on bass.

How did you get started?

Well, one of my friends played guitar and wanted me to sing for this rock band he was starting. I quickly realised singing wasn't for me... so he found something else for me to do in his band – he put a bass guitar in my hand. I just started teaching myself from there. I think I was about 15 at the time.

Do you come from a musical family?

No, not really. Well, my mother used to play classical (nylon string) guitar when she was at school & her old guitar was always lying around. When I got interested in bass guitar, I quickly converted it into an acoustic bass, replacing the nut & strings etc. & my cousins have always been making music since I was really little - the one cousin made me pluck my first string ever when I was 13. But I wouldn't say the family could be described as musical at all.

What’s your favourite band / solo artist?

Band: Taproot
Bassists: Phillip Lipscomb (Taproot), Ryan (MuDvAyNe), Fieldy (Korn) & Wilbert from Tonight We Die (SA band) kicks serious ass!

What are the amps and instruments you currently use?

I'm the proud owner of an Ibanez EDC715 (5 stringer). Black ergodyne body with active pickups. I'm ampless at the moment because I left my Carlsbro 100watt Viper back in SA when we (My Shade - my band) moved to London earlier this year, but I'm planning on buying myself the Ampeg SVT-3 Pro head with an Ampeg PR-410HLF cab within the next few months. I also just bought myself a Line6 BassPodXT Live. For those of you back in SA that will probably only see this product in a year or so, go check it out on line6.com. It's like a multi-effect pedal, a direct recording tool, and a preamp all in one. Really amazing!!!

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

As I said, I want to get myself the Ampeg SVT-3 Pro head… but if money were no object, I would probably go for the 8 by 10 cab, because then I'd be able to afford a roadie to carry the damn heavy thing for me : ) Then there's also so many compression systems in rack format out these days, so I'd definitely invest in some of those as well.

No fancy basses?

To be honest, not really. I've got my dream guitar. Some people dream of getting Ferrari's or houses they see pictures of. Well I have that bass guitar, the one I only saw pictures of about 6 years ago. I'd probably like to get an old Fender Jazz Precision again (because I used to play with one) & I like jamming on fretless basses every now & then. But all in all I'm totally satisfied with what I've got at the moment.

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

I finished High School in 2002, since then I've just been concentrating on the band, my music, and, of course, worked part time (what else do you expect from a South African musician than to have to work as well?). We moved to London (UK) in late April of this year, and we're just starting to get things together here (playing our first UK show at the end of September). I'm not going to go into more detail than that, because I could end up writing a novel.

I expect most of the London venues I used to play at, don’t even exist anymore – nightclubs seemed to be taking over in the eighties. What venues do you find yourself frequenting the most to check out other bands?

Sadly I havent gone to see that many shows yet, mostly stuck at home working on music, practicing & doing all the "behind-the-scenes" stuff that goes on in bands. The venues I have gone to were pretty damn sweet though. Electric Ballroom (Camden), Mean Fiddler (Tottenham Court Road), Underworld/Worlds End (Camden), West One Four (West Kensington – that’s the place we're playing our first show at) & The Barfly (Camden) are all places I've gone to more than once. There are so many venues I still have to go check out. Live music is extremely big here.

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

Both of My Shade's releases are pretty cool for me. Our latest album, entitled "Equilibrium", is better recording quality, and you can go listen to two tracks off that on our website (www.myshademusic.com). They're not the most bass orientated songs ever, but the sound is pretty sweet. "Life Away", a song from our EP, has some nice basslines in the verses, and I think that song is also on the net somewhere. If you want to go browse around and listen to it, I think samp3.co.za might have it.

Did you record Equilibrium here or over there?

We recorded it all back in Cape Town (SA). Everything except for the bass, was recorded at our vocalists family studio on a farm in Gordonsbay, which is about a hours drive out of the city. The bass was recorded at his house in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. We did everything ourselves, which gave us all the time in the world.

Is it an analogue or digital recording?

All digital. With today's technology you can record an whole album just using digital equipment & your computer/laptop. That’s how/why we recorded the bass at home. Just took my amp & guitar, plugged in, & started recording straight into a pc. Didn't even need mixing desks or anything, so we didn't have to drive all the way to Gordonsbay for that as well.

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

Sitting in SA for about 3years, trying to play to a crowd/market that doesn't really exist. I apologize if I don't sound very patriotic, but it is no big secret that the scene for heavy music is sooo small back in SA. Big up to the people that are still trying to keep it alive!

And what has been the high point?

Recording/releasing albums/getting radio play. I guess that's all one point, right? Well, yeah, I love going into the studio and coming out with a product I can call my own. And when there's some positive response to it, you get played on radio, people download songs from the internet and such... it's a truly awesome feeling. We are more of a live band than a recording one, but making an album can feel like making history, and you get to keep it with you forever and ever...

You’ve visited www.bassplayers.co.za - what do you think of it?

I think it’s awesome. I didn’t really know what to expect before I visited the site, but I was overwhelmed by all the effort put into it & all the attention it has been getting. I was so proud to be a bass player! So where's guitarists.co.za, drummers.co.za or singing"sariemaree"intheshower.co.za? Nope. ONLY BASS!!!

What do you get up to in your spare time when your not playing music?

What spare time? No seriously, I like to:
- (used to) surf back in good ol Cape Town. It was a really big passion of mine
- spend hours on my laptop writing my girlfriend crazy love letters cause she's in the states (American Woman)
- go out & get up to all sorts of crazy things (& to see live music of course)
- watch stupid British daytime television
- go sight seeing (lately)
- uhm... contemplate thinking

What are your goals currently?

Just to play as many shows in London (and the rest of UK) as possible and basically just make our way up the ladder. Hopefully someone "important" will check us out at a show (because record labels and A&R scouts are plenty here in the UK) and like what he sees and … you know what comes next. But first, we're working on some new material for a whole new album, so that is probably my number one current goal - to finish that sucker up.

Thanks for the interview Joe