JEREMY CREAMER (Daath) – Don’t quit.

Denne karen har vært bassist i Daath siden 2004 og blir av de fleste regnet som originalbassist i bandet til tross for at en kar med navn Kris Dale trakterte bassen i bandets første levemåneder. Jeremy Creamer ønsket i utgangspunktet å spille trommer i sitt skoleband, men endte i stedet opp med en stå-oppbass. Han har mange meninger om bassens rolle i musikken. Blant annet mener han at det er bassens rolle å binde sammen rytmene og tonene. Hans beste råd til unge bassister er at de aldri må slutte eller gi opp. Les mer om dette og mye mer i The Down Below Series og Jeremy Creamer fra Daath.

When did you start playing bass? Who/what inspired you to pick up the bass?

I started playing bass when I was 11 years old. I really wanted to play drum set in my school band, but my school only had one set and somebody was already on it, so I went to the orchestra and played upright bass. I got an electric bass shortly after that.

What kind of role do you think the bass should have in a band; Primus, AC/DC, or a bit of both?

I think that really depends on what kind of music you are playing and what sound you are looking to present. For the most part, bass is the glue that holds the rhythmic and tonal pieces of a music selection together and if done right, adds texture to both.

What would you say characterizes your bass playing, technically and musically? 

I would say the thing that I do best is doing what is right for the song. Not necessarily what I could do or want to do, but what the piece is calling for. The thing I mostly hear from others is that I have good feel or groove.

Do you have any formal music training?

Way too much. At this point I am trying to forget half the crap I have learned so I don’t sound like a cloned robot when I play. At some point you have to leave all that behind and develop your own thing, and nobody else can teach you how to be yourself and enjoy it.

Any tips for developing and maintaining technique and musical creativity?

Well, those are two very different things a player develops and don’t come about together or through the same means at all. Developing and maintaining technique comes from playing as much as you can. The best technical players I know play their instruments the most. Plain and simple. The only way to do something better than you did it before is to do it again and gain some experience. Creativity in general is having something to say, or "creating" and has little to do with music at all. The only way to be more creative is to come to terms with your own life experiences, and have something to share with the rest of the world in your own unique way. That to me is the big difference between being a player and being an artist. Lots of people can play instruments these days, how many of them can tell a story with their instrument? Not many.

Tips on how to give a bass riff that extra cool sound or groove?

1. Turn it up. 2. Understand what you are saying with your instrument and play it with real emotions. 3. Learn about your instrument and amplifier and how they work together to produce sound.

How do you prepare for a gig?

I stretch my muscles and get the blood moving around in my body. I also drink some water to pre-hydrate.

How about touring, any tips on how to keep delivering through weeks on the road?

See above. Also learn how to live on no sleep, food, or general stability in your life.

Is the right musical gear important for you? What kind of gear do you use?

The right instrument is far more important than anything else to me even though I have used the same amplifier for like 15 years now. I have found more tone out of a good setup and a few low dollar improvements to my basses than anything out of an amp. I have a bunch of gear that I use on different things but mainly I use my Mesa 400+ amp and whatever bass and outboard crap that goes with the project i’m doing at the moment.

How would your dream rig look like?

It would be unloaded, carried, set up, turned on and off, and packed up by someone else. The rest is negotiable and probably is really close to what I use already.
           
How many strings on the bass, and why?

I play 4 string basses with different gauge strings than a usual setup, but am trying to get a 3 string made like the old Italian upright basses. I rarely play more than 3 notes at a time. Why carry the rest on your back?

Pick or fingers? Why?

All depends on what I am playing. If you see me play metal, I will usually be using a pick to get that cutting distorted quality out of the strings.

Any tips for aspiring bass players?

Don’t quit.

Mention three bass players within metal that has a style you like, and what you like about them.

Geezer Butler from Sabbath, Peter Steele from Type O, Dave Curran from Unsane, – All three have great bass lines, great tone, their own style.       
          
If you were to choose three bass players (not necessarily within metal) who’s inspired you, who would that be? Tell a little on how they’ve inspired you.

James Jamerson – Held it down on most of the motown stuff, serious tone, great lines. Came from upright bass beginnings like me. He always did it his way and refused to follow trends, he made them. Best feel/groove ever.

Eric A from Jane’s Addiction – He wrote some of the most lyrical and catchy bass lines, all while holding the groove down and not overstepping the role of the bass. Very underrated.

Rick Danko from The Band – This dude was the whole package, he could even sing his ass off at the same time. Could play so many styles effortlessly and had serious emotion in his playing.
 
Which bass player would you like to see in this series?

You should do a round-table of all the dudes who have ever been in Every Time I Die.
I think they are at bassist #7 by now. There has to be a story there…..

http://www.daath1.com/
http://www.myspace.com/daath
http://www.myspace.com/leviwerstler
http://www.metalsucks.net/category/jumping-darkness-parade/