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Born from a friendship nurtured during their days at the University
of California Santa Barbara, the members of Animal
Liberation Orchestra are affectionately referred to as "California's
rapturing funkateers." Part musical explorers, part pop songsmiths,
all-around dynamic performers, ALO has performed at some of the
world's largest music festivals and has been recording with and
opening for their old college buddy Jack
Johnson. In April of 2006, the band released their latest CD,
Fly Between Falls, on Brushfire Records. Mary Destri of Music in
Schools Today recently conducted the following interview with ALO's
bassist and vocalist Steve Adams.
MuST:
How old were you when you started playing music, and what drew you
to it?
Steve:
Music was always around in my family growing up. We'd
sing songs together at family events. My two older siblings seemed
to always play different instruments – piano, recorder, flute,
baritone horn. We had a house piano that I would sit at and play
around on by ear, picking melodies and teaching myself simple tunes. Music
was something that was just always around as early as I remember. I
don't remember really ever deciding to play music, it just kind of
happened naturally and instinctually.
MuST:
How did you choose to play the bass? What other instruments
do you play?
Steve:
Well, my first real music lessons were on piano, when I was about
5 years old. In fifth grade, I took up violin. In sixth
and seventh grades, I played alto saxophone in concert band. In
eighth grade, I had some friends that wanted to start a rock band,
and I noticed they needed a bass player, so I spent all my money
on an electric bass, and for some reason, the bass really resonated
with me. I liked how bass lines could be these subtle melodies
that could support everything. I think I also related to the
music I was learning to play on bass more than the music of the
school bands I had been in up to that point. My band played
all through high school and then went on to college together, where
I decided to continue studying music. In college, I took up
the upright bass and also got more into singing and writing music.
MuST:
How did the band get started? Can you tell us about some
of your earliest experiences together?
Steve:
We had very supportive parents when we first started. Zach's
dad played guitar in a rock band when he was young, and he was the
one who taught me a lot of the first songs I learned to play on
bass. Dan's dad bought a bass for himself when we were first
starting out, which I thought was pretty cool. Maybe he wanted
to learn what we were learning at the same time. We would usually
rehearse at Zach's, but sometimes at Dan's and sometimes at our
drummer Matt's house, whose dad was a drummer when he was young,
too. I think Matt even played his dad's old drum kit when we
first started out. We mostly learned oldies and simple radio
tunes from those times (which was the late 80's into the 90's). We
got pretty good at learning tunes on our own, just by listening
to a song over and over with our instruments.
Our first gig was during the intermission of our junior high school
musical. We played "Walk, Don't Run" by the Ventures,
"Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band, "Get Off My Cloud"
by the Rolling Stones, and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." by
John Cougar Mellencamp. From that first gig, we went on to
play lots of town functions like school lunches, weekend picnics,
park concerts. We even played at the finish line of the town
race, called the Fun Run. The greatest thing about playing
all these functions was that we could practice all the songs we
were learning. Sometimes we'd play as many as three 1-hour
sets, which sometimes seemed long, but it really pushed us to learn
and perform lots of music.
MuST:
Did you have any mentors or particularly inspirational music teachers
when you were growing up?
Steve:
Yes, and I would say I got most inspired by my teachers once I decided
that music was something I was really interested in, which really
happened when I started playing bass. I would say all my bass
teachers were very inspirational. They seemed to know so much
about music.
I remember going to see one of my teachers play with his band at
an outdoor concert at a shopping mall, and thinking he was the coolest
guy ever. He played with such a groove and sang too, so effortlessly. He
made it look super-easy and fun. I would also credit him for
turning me on to a lot of good "bass" music that I probably
wouldn't have discovered on my own too easily. He introduced
me to bass masters like Jaco Pastorious and older groove-bands like
Steely Dan. He told me to go out and buy anything by them and
listen to the bass lines closely. I remember being very inspired
by his teaching and seeing him out and about playing. I think
that may have been when I first realized you could actually make
a living as a bass player, by teaching and playing.
MuST:
Who have been some of your strongest influences?
Steve:
I think I've been influenced equally by the people in my life as
much as I have by the music I've come to love. My older brother
was a pretty big influence on me when I first started playing bass. He
would play me albums that are still today some of my favorites. I
remember when I first heard Graham Maby's rock-steady bass lines
on Joe Jackson's "Look Sharp." I still strive to
play as clean and melodic as he does on that album.
I also got very into the bass playing on Bob Marley albums. Aston
"Family Man" Barrett has incredible tone and feel that
I try to infuse in my playing. My brother also introduced me
to XTC, The Police, English Beat, Madness and other reggae/ska/pop/rock
bands he was into. Another lasting influence on me is Paul
Simon. I used to watch the "Graceland" concert video
over and over, always discovering something new each time. Other
big influences on me over the years would be bands I took to college
with me, like Living Colour, The Spin Doctors, Steely Dan, Little
Feat and Spinal Tap.
I also discovered lots of great music in college and thereafter
that became some of my influences as well, such as Claude Debussy,
Charles Mingus, P-Funk, Booker T & the MGs, The Meters, Medeski
Martin & Wood, Stereolab, Wilco. My bandmates have for
sure been big influences on me as well – the members of ALO,
in addition to other groups I've played with, such as the UCSB Middle
East Ensemble, the UCSB Jazz Band, an old-time/bluegrass band I
played in for about 3 years called Philboyd Studge, and the many
musicians I have met and played with since I moved to San Francisco
in 1999.
MuST:
You studied Ethnomusicology at UCSB ~ what does that encompass?
Steve:
I got my Bachelor's Degree in Music with an emphasis in Ethnomusicology. Within
the music department at UCSB, you could pick from different emphases
such as Composition, Performance (on a specific instrument) and
Musicology (Western music theory and history). What drew me
to the Ethnomusicology emphasis was my interest in all types of
music from around the world. I joined the Middle East Ensemble
my second year in college and performed with them for four years. The
Jazz Ensemble was also sort of considered an Ethnomusicology department
performance group, since we were playing music outside the tradition
of "Western Classical" music. Ethnomusicology pretty
much included any type of music besides Bach, Mozart, Beethoven,
etc. It included all world music, both folk (such as American
bluegrass, Mexican mariachi, etc.) and classical (such as Turkish,
Persian, and Indian classical music, etc.)
MuST:
How did the name "Animal Liberation Orchestra" come about?
Steve:
We picked the name in college as an alternative to the university
ensembles. We had a five-piece horn section, called The Free
Range Horns. We tried to marry humor and funk in an exciting
big band style. We'd often bring out animal props and liberate
the horn players, and try out lots of theatrics. We've always
been a band that likes to experiment. Carrying the name for
almost 6 years now, our thoughts about the name continue to evolve
just as we do, as musicians and people. Our hope today is for
ALO to liberate our audience and us with our songs and jams.
MuST:
Your music is quite eclectic. Do you have a creative philosophy?
Steve:
We
keep ourselves very open to influences and change.
MuST:
Could you compare and contrast working in the studio and doing live
performances?
Steve:
In the studio, you have the opportunity to really perfect your parts,
to listen back immediately and fix things. Live performance
is much more in the moment. I try to bring as much of that
live energy into the studio as I can, to capture that in the moment
feeling. I think that live energy is really important in music.
It's the life of the music.
With ALO, there is a lot of interplay when we perform live. Lots
of ideas get thrown out that we all react to in the moment. I
think we surprise each other onstage with new ideas all the time,
and that inspires us to react to each other in different ways, with
different answering ideas. Our music is always a little different
each time we play it live.
Another factor in both live and studio contexts is the audience. In
the studio, I try to imagine the audience that might listen to the
recording when we're creating something. But live, you have
an audience that you are interacting with every moment of the way. It
can be more challenging sometimes to try and play all the parts
perfect live, while trying to also connect with the audience, but
I think that's OK. It keeps it real that way.
MuST:
How did your collaboration with Jack Johnson begin?
Steve:
We met in the dorms in college at UCSB. We each had our own
bands, but we'd go see each other play sometimes, and sometimes
we'd get to do shows together. We'd also get together and just
play for fun at our houses sometimes, make stuff up on the spot
or teach each other songs. Toward the end of college, when
ALO was starting to play out more regularly, Jack would often come
sit in with the band. We'd learn a few of his songs and be
his backing band somewhere in the ALO set. We've become good
friends over the years, and it's been fun to support each other
as our careers continue to unfold.
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student Johnny R. wrote Steve the following questions:
Johnny wrote:
Hey Steve! I love the way you play, I saw you in concert
at Salt Lake City. First time I heard ALO, and I just loved
it. I have a couple questions for you.
Steve replied:
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the show!
Johnny
wrote:
You think small hands make it harder to play
bass?
Steve
replied:
I think it partly depends on the bass you chose
to play and how it's set up. If a regular size bass
feels too big – the neck seems like it goes out forever,
and the frets seem miles apart from each other – I would
suggest trying out a "short scale" bass. The
short scale has a shorter length neck so you don't have to
reach out as far, and I believe the frets are closer together.
My first electric bass when I was a tiny 13
year-old was in fact a short scale. It was a great way
to comfortably get started. I eventually moved on to
regular scale basses, and have since got back into the short
scales. I have 1 short scale bass in particular that
is one of my favorite basses to play these days. There
are "new" short scale basses out there that are
really good, and lots of old vintage ones as well.
I also wouldn't stress too hard about lining
up your 4 left fingers to 4 consecutive frets. The way
the instrument is set-up and how our hand falls on the fingerboard,
it looks like we should strive for 1 finger per fret.
It is great to be able to do that, and I try to stretch my
hand out in this position often just to keep that stretch
available, but most of the time I'm actually cramming all
4 fingers into 3 fret spaces - from my first finger to my
pinky. I always feel like the more finger(s) I can get
on a note, the more full it will be! I guess it depends
on the music you're trying to play and how quick and nimble
you want to move. But for me, the 3 to 4 approach works
great for most of the music I like to play.
Here
are some "short scale" basses I'd recommend checking
out:
Johnny
wrote:
What's your opinion on 5 string bass guitar?
Steve
replied:
Players can set-up their 5 string bass with
either the low B or the high C. Both can be sweet for
different things. The low B adds a lot of low end to
your sound. I love hearing that extra low end in R&B
and sometimes funk. I think it fits that style great.
The high C seems like the kind of thing you would use if you
wanted more top end for solo'ing or lead playing. I've
also heard this work well, particularly in fusion styles.
I think if you're "hearing" a need
to expand your range one way or another, you should go for
it. It's all about what you hear in your head, and doing
whatever it takes to achieve that on your instrument.
For me personally, I rarely hear a need for the extended range
of a 5 string. There are moments where I do wish I had
a few lower notes than what I got, but it doesn't happen enough
for me to want to go out and get a 5 string. At least
not yet, maybe someday!
Thanks for the good questions!
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