08/14/2022
Why does Les Claypool exist and why do people like us feel the need to ask you about every dumb bass player in rock? It’s not fair to you. I’m sorry. I hope we are all sorry.
You can’t say he didn’t fill a niche. I suppose people think I have an opinion on most things. Funny fact though, I don’t. Opinions are nonsense and one can only care about one’s own.
08/10/2022 Hardy Jens
How many times have you seen Radiohead in concert? Which tours specifically?
Exactly zero. Hope to someday.
08/05/2022 Alex
Hey, Trevor, I just wanted to ask: how do you feel about Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead or jam music in general? Have you ever attempted spontaneous improvs like the GD have?
All of the spontaneous improvs I’ve been involve in (and there are many) were way more interesting than anything the GD have ever done, even if you are tripping your bojangles off. I don’t have an opinion on Lesh because I can’t stand that music.
08/04/2022 Mok
Hey Trevor, what do you remember about the SC3 Australian tour in 97/98 or whenever that was?
I remember being inebriated for a lot of it. Also that it was my first time touring with my, then, new Pbass. The shows were fun if not a bit disorganized and I remember not making any money. It was a good hang.
08/04/2022 Geist
What albums got you into jazz? If I don't enjoy jazz, should I simply cut my losses and quit trying to force it? (I used to love Eric Dolphy's Out For Lunch and I often liked piano-bass-drum trios, but by and large my interest has fizzled out,)
My first important jazz records were Charles Mingus’ Ah Um, Miles Davis’ Nefertiti and those Bill Evans records with Scott LaFaro on bass. I don’t see any point in trying to force any rapport, but keep in mind that there are lots of different kinds and eras of jazz. What about Jimmy Guiffre 3, Tim Berne’s Fractured Fairy Tales, Sun Ra, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Stephen Lehman, Herbie Hancock’s Sextant, Ornette Coleman? I mean, you can can, by all mean, not enjoy any of this, but the list is endless. Do you feel like you’re supposed to like jazz? Because you can like whatever you want.
07/18/2022 Chris
Have you ever met a musician whose music you hated but they turned out to be really cool? Have you ever met a musician whose music you loved but they turned out to be assholes? Feel free to include names of said artists
Ha! I’ve experienced both and there’s no way in hell I’m naming names. There isn’t really any point in doing so anyway, because this is all about taste and opinion.
09/03/2022 Belén
Your thoughts on The Beatles...
I think you have to have a screw loose not to appreciate and/or enjoy some Beatles. I certainly don’t like all of it, and yet there are songs I’ve heard a million times that still give me goosebumps. There was unquestionably some magic there.
08/31/2022 Caitlin O'Connor
What are your tenets of bass-playing? What wisdom would you impart to someone just starting out?
Learn the basics of theory and technique. You can decide how far you want to take it with either but I am a firm believer in tried-and-true fundamentals. Open your mind to many kinds of music. The more versatile you are the more choices you have, and an easier time making a living. Dig in deeper to the things that move you the most. Transcribe. Figure out what those that came before you did and add yourself to it. Don’t waste time; sacrifices must be made (i.e. having much of a social life, partying). Above all, listen.
08/30/2022
Which electric bass do you typically use for Zorn recording dates? Do you find that he has a go-to studio sound for electric bass? Thanks Trevor!
It depends on the band and what I feel is appropriate. For Electric Masada I’ve always used my Pbass. Other stuff, like Asmodeus that require a bigger pitch range, I’ll use my 5-string Alembic. That said, I’ve used my Pbass with that band on tour simply because it’s lighter and easier to carry around an airport. Zorn typically let’s the instrumentalist get the sound they are happy with, but sometimes we roll as quickly as possible so you get what you get. But with the same engineer for years, the language of the studio becomes second nature.
08/26/2022 DV
Hi Trevor, I was hoping you could answer two questions about Disco Volante:
1. Was it a conscious arranging decision from the start to have no bass guitar on Techno Allah, or was this because you weren’t around for the basic tracking sessions of that song and the rest of the band adjusted?
2. Were there additional sections of The Bends that didn’t make it onto the record / were the sections conceived of in that order or did its structure take form in the mixing/sequencing stage?
Thanks for indulging!
1. That was Trey’s orchestration choice to use synths instead of bass guitar.
2. Patton was on tour during a lot of the writing for DV so he recorded The Bends on some early, portable multitrack device. I have no idea if there were leftovers but probably not. If there were they probably ended up on his solo Tzadik record. We took what he recorded and added to it in the studio as you can probably tell.
08/25/2022 Rich L.
First off, thanks for taking the time to read and respond to questions we fans have.
Awhile back you wrote about what you remembered about the Bowel Of Chiley tape and recording sessions. I’m hoping you can do the same for the Goddammit I Love America! tape. I feel like it’s the most overlooked of the four tapes. Raging got the proper revisiting it deserved IMO, BOC is…well, BOC. And everything from OU818 reappeared on or at least got re-recorded for the first WB album. But GILA is almost like the forgotten child of the MB discography. I’m not saying it’s some great overlooked album or anything. BUT, I believe it was the first time MB recorded in a professional studio. It does have two songs that ended up on the first album. And, musically it’s a lot closer to the style of the first album than BOC. I’m curious what memories you have of recording it and also what was going on at the time. And finally, what do you think of that material now?
That recording was sort of a big deal for us because, as you correctly noted, it was our first time in a “real” studio. Pretty small-town at that, but we were at the mercy of an engineer and all the protocol of working with eight separate tracks. I barely remember the room or how we were set up, but everything was essentially recorded live with the possible exception of the vocals. In typical Bungle fashion, we rehearsed the shit out of the music and got the recording done in 2 days, which saved a lot of money.
Personally, I was spending a lot of my extracurricular hours playing in a local bar band which is where the lyrics to Waltz For Grandma’s Sake got their inspiration (also a very obscure nod to Bill Evans’ Waltz For Debby). Definition of Shapes partially drew on the Logic class that Patton and I were both taking at the time at HSU. If A=B and C=A etc etc….. Patton was obviously dealing with women for the first time haha (he wrote both Bloody Mary & Goosebumps). Incoherence was a reworking of an FCA song called Kinky Parents (songs like Fart In a Bag, Cottage Cheese and Anarchy Up Your Anus also came from FCA). You can tell we were excited to be in the studio because we spared no expense with various reverbs. And I think you can also hear some Fishbone, Oingo Boing and Run DMC in there.
08/23/2022 Questioner
Hello Trevor,
Hope all is well with you. I've been following your career for many years and as I digitize my musical collection, I have some questions for you from your past Hermitage/More You Know recommendations. If you can recall that is! The following two pieces were part of your past recommendations and I was wondering if you recall the specific labels/conductors/and or orchestras that you mentioned for these back then?
1. Milhaud's 6 Petites Symphonies
2. Berg's 3 Pieces For Orchestra
Anyways, thanks and looking forward to the new Trio-Convulsant!
Luckily I can access that information pretty quickly. Obviously there are lots of versions of the Berg piece and I love to compare different orchestras/conductors. The one I usually check out is the Berlin Philharmonic with Karajan. (There’s a great box set with Berg’s complete works on Deutsche Grammophon). The Milhaud pieces are less prevalent but I have a CD on Koch with a Polish ensemble called Capella Cracoviensis conducted by Karl Anton Rickenbacher.
08/20/2022
Hi, two questions, one about beer, the other about baseball, very American topics. 1) Do you get sick of IPAs? They’ve really saturated the market in the last decade and it’s gotten crazy. What do you usually go to when you want something other than an IPA? 2) Do you ever go see the Yankees or Mets play? I just got into going to see baseball games (Dodger Stadium) as someone who my whole life has found baseball boring. But I find the in-person game experience is amazing because of the atmosphere. Recommend it even if you think baseball is dumb!
1) I don’t really get sick of IPAs since that is usually my go-to when it comes to beer and I always like trying local microbrews during my travels. If I want something other than an IPA (like if I’m too high) I’ll have a Tecate. But to be honest I don’t drink a lot of beer. When I’m drinking it’s usually burbon or vodka depending on my mood.
2) I don’t follow sports at all but occasionally I do go see the Mets or the Yankees. Couldn’t care less who wins. Baseball is far from dumb. Football. Now that’s dumb. But the deeper you get into the game of baseball the more you see how psychological it is. I do love a good sports documentary. “Nono” is highly recommended. There’s also a great one about Nolan Ryan. I also find the live experience much more invigorating to all my senses.
08/20/2022 Ryn
Hey Trevor,
I am also a huge fan of Stump, and specifically, Kev Hopper. Jev was kind enough to send me a video on ytube ( called " How to play Chaos by Stump ) on fretless WAL. . You should check it out. my question is : Was " Platypus" written with them in mind? I can't help but to notice some nods in there with the sliding pinch harmonics . Thank you in advance
I’ve seen that video! I was so surprised to find out he doesn’t use a pick. His technique is one-of-a-kind. Platypus is definitely a nod to Stump in some twisted way. I was also listening to a lot of Jaco and Percy Jones back then, so those harmonics-glissando were right in my zone. They aren’t actually “pinched”, however. It’s simply a matter of knowing where they lie above the fingerboard, hitting them hard and then pressing down to the fingerboard to be able to move them around.
2022 Archeopterix
Hi Trevor.
Wanna ask if You ever listen to Mark Hollis solo album or any of Talk Talk records.
I found especially the last 2 Talk Talk albums and Hollis's solo record very inspiring.
Are You familliar with those records, have any opinions about them?
Thanks for music,
Cheers.
I spent the most time with Laughing Stock and have been meaning to dig deeper for years. Sometimes certain bands miss my radar but end up finding them when the time is right. I do like that record quite a bit. It’s music that takes patience as a listener, but it pays off. Haven’t checked Hollis’ solo stuff; will do post haste.
07/18/2022 Dempsey
Do you make a point to check out albums by people you have collaborated with (Mike. Trey, Bar. Zorn etc). And is it hard to be objective? Also if they do something you don't necessarily like, does it make it even more awkward?
I usually do and yes it is. Frankly it’s nearly impossible to be objective. Those I’ve worked with closely for years are in my veins and I hear much more than the uninitiated listener. But we don’t sit around waiting for each other’s constructive criticism or praise. Although I have personally asked for the former. We all know that we are separate entities with our own tastes and choices, so no, not awkward. Believe it or not, we’ve matured!
2022 Lars Swanson
How did you get linked with Zorn?
Mr. Bungle were fans of Naked City in the early ‘90s so we asked him to help us produce our first record. Immediately following that he started hiring some of us for various recordings and live shows (The “Elegy” recording, “Houdini-DeSade” live performance and a west coast version of the Masada quartet.)
07/18/2022 CR
Was watching 1987s Slumber Party Massacre 2 and this girl says she goes to Humboldt University and her friend says "that's like going to school in Siberia". How accurate is that assessment?
I’ve never been to Siberia, but I think that assessment is pretty inaccurate. Firstly, it almost never snows in Eureka — usually about an inch every ten years. Despite being remote I would assume it’s easier to get to than Siberia. Also there’s a huge difference between a Yeti and Sasquatch; this I know.
07/16/2022
Have you ever taken it personally if/when a colleague chooses another bass player for a gig (assuming availability in your schedule wasn’t the reason)? I suspect you’ll answer something along the lines that this is a petty reaction, and I would agree. What I’m asking is, have you ever caught yourself being petty in this way? Not that there’s anything wrong with it, we’re only human!
Thanks
Yes, I certainly have, and then I check myself. Jealousy is pretty natural it seems, especially if you’re a hardcore Capitalist, as we all are in the Western world. But one has to remember that you can’t always have everything, nor do you need it, nor do you even have space for it.
07/15/2022 Kanintæve
I’ve noticed the two small tattoos on your arm (not the badass centipede one), what do they mean? I’m aware that the 888 is like a good luck thing, if that was your intention. But I’m more perplexed by the other one, the one that looks like it has an ‘X’ symbol with the Hs and the Cs. Reminds me of that one Dead Cross logo. What’s the meaning behind that one? (If there is one at all- I do understand your desire for spontaneous abnormality. It just seemed awfully specific.)
And this is the most out-of-place one, could you recommend a random movie? I trust your taste.
888 is a personal reference, has nothing to do with luck, but a significant amount of 8s in my history. The HC/HC symbol stands for Humboldt County Hardcore.
Splendor In The Grass is one of my all-time favorite movies. Enjoy!