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Helena Bouchez, thank you for
talking to BassGirls.Com. Where are
you based? Chicago, Illinois, USA.
At what age did you first take a
bass in your hands? 39
What attracted you to playing bass?
One night a guy I was dating put his
vintage G&L in my hands, plugged it into his Eden stack and turned it all
the way up. I stood in front of the rig (210s & 115)and hit the E string.
I felt the vibration flow through my body - it was a religious experience.
I went out the next day and bought a black and white Fender Mexican Jazz.
Did you play any other instrument
before you started playing bass?
I've played guitar since I was 8 and
I played trumpet in
school (classical and jazz).
Can you remember the first
challenging piece you ever learned on bass?
"Beer" by Reel Big Fish. The song really cooks and the bass line drives
the whole thing. I practiced it until I knew I could play it in my sleep.
I did get to play it out shortly before I left my last band. What a blast.
What was your very first public
performance?
As a bassist it was at a coming out
party we (rock cover band) threw ourselves at Galleria Marchetti in
Chicago. I was terrified, but it helped to know I was among friends. On
break I complained I couldn't hear myself play. One of the veterans told
me to turn my amp up. The second set went much better.
Are you in a band right now?
Earlier this year I went from being
in three bands (rock, blues, originals) to no bands in the span of about
two months. My main focus right now is learning music (chordal) theory and
vocabulary. I'm studying with uber-teacher Bill Harrison in Chicago. I am
also in the woodshed right now with two other women, bassist Amanda
Meierdirk and drummer Debra Bricault. We're just exploring and inventing
right now, but you never know...
What's your main bass?
A 5-string Neuser Courage. It's a
boutique bass made in eastern Europe by violin makers. I bought a very
expensive used boutique bass from a big guitar retailer only to discover
it had some serious issues. When I returned it the salesman was so freaked
out he begged me to take something, anything, back home with me to try. I
saw this purple bass on the wall and only played it for a few minutes
before I took it home. It wasn't until it was set up and had new strings
on it that I realized what I had. Neuser is not distributed in the U.S.
and they're really hard to find. The sound is amazing, and they're
big-time slappers!
Body colour/wood?
Flame maple top, alder body. Neck through body. It's stained purple!
Neck/fingerboard?
Gaboon ebony fingerboard with mother
of pearl "checks".
What is your backline bass amp
setup? Ashdown EVO II combo. 500
watts of velvety punch. Shakes the pictures off the downstairs neighbours'
wall. I love it. I also have a Boomerang, which is a lot of fun.
Fingers, plectrum or both?
Both. Lately, fingers.
Which picks?
Fender Extra Heavy "Taco Chip". Hard
to find, but makes a nice round sound when you hit the low strings.
Have you played double (upright)
or acoustic bass? I have a
4-string acoustic Ibanez that I love playing. As for upright - maybe next
lifetime. There's too much to learn on electric bass!
What type of music do you play?
I'm focusing on learning chordal
theory, and building my jazz vocabulary right now so I can play
jazz/fusion/funk/r&b but I love playing blues and there are times I can't
help but give in to my hard rock roots.
Who do you listen to when you're not
playing? Ahmad Jamal, Michael
Manring, anything Chuck Rainey plays on, Tower of Power, Freddie King,
Dead Can Dance, Jean Luc Ponty, Weather Report (old and new), The Hives,
Motown, that's just recently - I love it all, the list is long.
What are your favourite strings?
I'm still working my way through
trying strings! I've been through D'Addario, and SIT so far and I have
standard Rotosound round wounds on now and they're cool, but I still want
to try DRs and Thomastics. I haven't made my final decision yet!
What was your best
gig/venue ever? The last day at
Victor Wooten's Bass Nature Camp when we got to get up and jam with Reggie
Wooten's band. I played some texas-style blues and someone got up and
played harp. I was so high when I came off stage I thought "This is why I
do this!" It also fanned the flame of desire to play with great players
all the time. Which has fanned the flame of desire to practice all the
time. I will get there. If you have a chance to go to Victor Wooten's Bass
Nature Camp - GO! It's magic.
What was your worst moment onstage?
My first gig at Betty's Blue Star Lounge in Chicago. It was a musician's
worst nightmare. The minute I looked out into the audience my mind checked
out and took with it my memory of all the songs. The first set it was all
I could do to find the root.
What's your favourite album/CD?
Right now it's Ahmad Jamal's CD "Pittsburg." James Cammack is the bassist
(he's from Chicago) and I love his feel. I'm inventing on the main motif
from "Mellodrama." I never get tired of it.
Do you play/own any other
instruments?
I have a vintage Bb/C church cornet,
an old Ensenada acoustic 6-string, an Ibanez AEB-45 4-string
acoustic/electric bass, and a 30" 1985 Japanese Fender Squier I got at a
garage sale for $80. I'm currently looking for a 4-string fretless Neuser
Courage if anyone has one they want to sell!
Do you sing?
Yes. But singing and playing bass is
like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time and I
can't do it very well yet.
Have you ever performed onstage
without your bass?
Lots as a kid, but not as much an
adult. I was braver when I was a kid. I played rhythm guitar in an
employee pick-up band at the holiday party held at the Park West in
Chicago. (The Stones have played that stage). I lost a month of bass
practice that November, but I got to play the Park West stage! I guess the
moral of the story is: talent is talent, use whatever ya got to get what
you want!
What's your opinion on basses with
more than 4 strings? One of my
mentors is multi-string player Jauqo III-X. I love multi-string and feel I
will eventually end up playing at least a 6-string as my main bass. For
now, 5 is enough, however. I've still got a lot to learn.
What do you feel is the bass-players
function in a band?
To hold the pocket! I had the honour
to meet legendary drummer Bernard Purdie earlier this year and we were
talking about this. The consensus was that the drums are the engine of the
band, but the bass is the fuel. The bass provides the energy that powers
the tunes.
What are your ambitions?
I want to be a multi-string player in a combo of solid true souls whose
goal it is to produce original, intense, creative, transcendent,
groove-driven music.
Do you have a website? http://helenabouchez.blogspot.com About me in
general but ends up being almost all about bass. I post at least weekly.
thanks to Helena for being part of BassGirls.Com
text and images are copyright
of Helena Bouchez and
BassGirls.Com
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