How long have you been playing Brogan?

Have been seriously playing for about 7 months now, but I used to play on my friends bass a lot before I bought my own rig

How did you get started?

All my friends are heavy into music and each one of them had already chosen their instruments when I came around and lucky for me even with none of my own stuff and no real teaching, I auditioned for the band and I beat 7 other bassists that had been trained a lot more than me, a lot of people that have seen me play, know my age and know how long I have played for they all seem to say I do have a certain amount of natural skill

Do you come from a musical family?

No, not at all, when I bought my guitar they didn’t even have the slightest clue on how to play it or even how to hold it!!

Tell us a little bit about Backhand. What type of music they’re playing and about their aspirations.

Um, Backhand play a mix of Hard Rock and alternative, I honestly can’t even tell you what genre we fall under but I can tell you what bands we draw inspiration from: 36 crazy fists, Mudvane, 16 Stitch, Wickhead, Incubus. Its really tough to give you a definite sound, I just know I must tell you to come see us, we are playing a gig at The World Famous Blues Room on the 3rd of August

What’s your favourite band / solo artist?

My favourite band is my favourite band only because the bassist just blows my mind... and that is The red Hot Chilli Peppers, flea is one of my big inspirations they way he moves and the hooks he plays are just awesome!! Although RHCP aren’t in the genre of music I play, I still wish everyday I could play riffs like good ol flea!

Are you taking instruction yet or are you still thinking about that?

I have been thinking about it for such a long time, but unfortunately because I spend almost 80% on my time behind the Bass, my school marks aren’t up to par, so my parents say I can’t get tutored until I get a good average. Although I do sneak in some “lessons” with my fellow drummer, he was an accomplished guitarist and he gives me some tips on writing hooks and some brief musical theory

What are the amps and instruments you currently use?

I am not very proud of my rig but I have to buy all my bass guitar stuff with my own money, and considering I don’t earn any income my rig isn’t amazing but, I have a Beautiful Black Yamaha RBX 170 and I small 15watt Behringer Thunderbird Bass amp, I know its not amazing, but I have big plans for it.. Just need the money

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

Oh man... dang… there are just so many instruments, strings and amps that I would love to own or even just to play.. But if money was no object... it would have to be the Epiphone Goth Thunderbird Bass... its not the best but man its tough looking and plays so nicely…I would slam in some serious pickups like the Seymour Duncan Basslines, and put some Dean Markely Blue Steel bass strings… I have never played with those strings but the guitarist in my band says Dean Markely strings are the best! And a HUGE Ampeg Amp... those sound awesome

Are you going to get into fretless bass at a later stage?

Fretless basses seem to have a lot of advantages but like a said before, I don’t really have a lot of money to spend on “experiments” but in time I would like to start a bass collection, and my first purchase will be a fretless for sure.

What about six string basses…..and beyond?

My band mates are always hassling me about not buying a five string bass instead of my four string, I have actually played a six string before, after just staring at it for half an hour I did finally play it and I really did enjoy the two extra strings, a six string bass really appeals to me because of its versatility.

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

My career has been so short, and I am being honest here by saying that every second of my Musician career has been amazing, just walking onto a stage and showing people exactly what I have been spending my entire weeks and weekends on and for people to enjoy it… I just can’t see there ever being a low point.

And what has been the high point?

My first gig, we played at Roxys Rhythm Bar even though the crowd was quite small the reaction I got from my bass solo and my general bass riffs was awesome, it’s just such an awesome feeling to have people respect me as a bassist even though I am still very young and inexperienced.

How much time are you spending with your bass each week?

Too much!! No, I think I play about 3 hours a day, 21 hours a week, and that excludes my 7 hour band rehearsal on a Saturday.

Have you visited the South African Bass Players site yet?

Of course! I go to the site regularly to check what’s happening in the bass industry and to see if anyone is selling anything I want!

What are your goals currently?

I want to be a really really awesome bassist, I want to be so good that when I pick up a bass people are impressed, I want to be known as “Brogan Thompson – amazing bass guitarist” it’s going to take a lot of time but I will do it, that’s my ultimate goal…