|
Heather Joanne de Jong,
welcome to Bassgirls.Com. Where are you based?
Toronto, Canada
At what age did you first take a
bass in your hands? At 15 I taught
my good friend Brian how to play even though I had never really played the
bass before. I stuck with the guitar until I was 22 when I joined "Bad
Blood". I've been playing bass exclusively ever since.
What attracted you to playing bass?
I had hit a brick wall. "Girls can't play" they all told me. Was this just
the attitude of the Toronto hardcore community? I don't know, but I wasn't
about to succumb to this sexist point of view. I love aggressive
music and was determined to play in a hardcore band. I searched for a band
that would accept me as their guitarist but at the age of 22 decided that
I had painfully failed. One fateful night I was offered a spot to play
bass in "Bad Blood", an established and well known area band. I accepted
and realized in the process that I was a much better and more creative
bassist than I ever was a guitar player.
Did you play any other instrument
before you started playing bass?
Piano (since 3 years old), violin (since 3 years old), flute (at 12 years
old), guitar (at 15).
Can you remember the first piece you
ever learned on bass? It was
Metallica's "Enter Sandman".
What was your very first band?
SCG - "Steel City Girls" (don't ask).
What other bands were you a member
of? Nothing really serious until
"Bad Blood" came into my life. A couple of failed projects that I
attempted to put together with my sister.
What’s your current band?
Dear Jane, I...
What’s your main bass?
A copy of a Gibson SG guitar, it's 3/4
size, made by Epiphone.
Body colour/wood?
She's black.
Do you have a preference for active
or passive pick-ups? Nope, but I
refuse to pay for batteries.
What strings to you like best?
Cheap ones.
How often would you change your
strings? If I had the $$, I WOULD
change them once a month, but I change them whenever I can.
What is your backline bass amp
setup? Yes. I knew that this
question was impending...I'm am terribly embarrassed to say that I cannot
afford great gear as perhaps other musicians can relate. I play a
Yorkville 400 series stage amp w/ a 1x15 Yorkville cab. I like Yorkville
(for those of you that don't know - this brand is Canadian made) for it's
durability and reliability. I bought my gear used and have never have to
shell out to fix it.
Fingers, pick or both?
Fingers. I hate picks except with guitars.
What type of music do you play?
Aggressive/emotional/hardcore mixed with emo/screamo/jazzy stuff. I love
jazz, but am a crappy jazz musician.
Who do you listen to when you’re not
playing? My Chemical Romance, Armour
for Sleep, Cursive, Every Time I Die, No Doubt... really just a lot of
varied stuff that I couldn't list here. I listen to '80's new wave and pop
to hip hop to really super hardcore stuff like Drowningman to melodic
stuff like Neurosis to indy like The Donnas to really poppy stuff like
Gwen Stefani.
Have you recorded/released any CDs?
Yep. Check it out at our website (see links page - Ed.) Dear Jane,
I... "Don't Know How to Begin" coming to your ears this fall ----> Dear
Jane, I... "Hope This Reaches You In Time"
What was your best gig/venue ever?
I'd like to say that the best gig ever was "Taste of Chaos" at Arrow Hall
here in Toronto when I got to play with The Used , MCR and A Static
Lullaby - but alas it was not the greatest "gig" - mostly just a super
show to watch. The best gig was when we played in the middle of nowhere in
Quebec in a town called Trois Riviere. The night before we had played a
pretty disappointing gig in Montreal, we had driven for about 10 hours and
were cranky and exhausted. This gig was sketchy to say the least. We were
added last minute by someone who spoke little to no English and we weren't
quite sure what to expect. We arrived late, got lost twice and were on one
another's last nerves by the time we rolled up to the venue. As we pulled
up to "Le Manchester" pub we noticed this guy walking towards our van,
beer tickets in hand yelling "Are you Dear Jane, I...?" in a heavy French
Canadian accent. At this "sketchy" gig we ended up playing 2 encores! We
wound up partying until dawn with the warmest and most tolerent Canadians
that I've ever met. It's shows like that one that make all the politics,
hard work, back-stabbing and fighting that comes with being in a band all
worth while. I wish every show was like that one.
What was your worst moment onstage?
When I was on Saturday Night Live and they played the wrong song on the
PA! Oooh! My lip-synching was caught off guard that night! I haven't
really experienced anything that ended up being detrimental to the outcome
of the band so I can't say that I've really had my "worst moment" - but
there's still time.
Were you ever on a TV show?
Yeah. Dear Jane, I... shot a pilot for some travel network show. It never
aired. Dear Jane, I... was interviewed for "My Show with Matt Chin" that
airs on Bite TV really, really, really, really late at night. You can see
that interview at www.myshowscrazy.com. Select to view Episode 4. I did
some "Silver Cup" song for TSN (The Sports Network) - that's a hockey
song. I shot a video for that with my friend's (now defunct) band
"Scratching Post".
When I was 12 I was in a commercial for the Old Mill restaurant in
Ancaster. Dear Jane, I... has a new video on Much Music for "Stayed Up All
Night".
Did you ever make the cover of a
magazine? Yeah. Does "Niagara Hot
Spots" count?
What’s your favourite album/CD?
Can't answer that. Depends on my mood. Perhaps my most influential
album/CD would be better stated as No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom". No word of
a lie. That album inspired me and taught me that I never have to settle
for being "Just a Girl".
Do you play/own any other
instruments? Not really any more.
What other instrument would you most
like to play? I would love to be
proficient at the guitar again. And maybe the flute and violin. The piano
can be left at bay. Never liked that instrument too much.
What was the best concert you were
ever at? Michael Jackson's Thriller
tour when I was 6 years old. I ate a bad hot dog and was puking in the
bathroom all night.
Do you sing Heather? Yeah. Check out DJI's new album. I'm on there
somewhere.
Have you ever performed onstage
without your bass? Yeah. I was
somewhat of an actress for some years, not to mention the numerous
concerts that I performed when I was a kid. I cannot count the recitals.
Piano, violin, flute, ballet, jazz... man was I ever a busy little kid!
Have you played outside your own
country? Yeah. We played in the
States once.
What’s your opinion on basses with
more than 4 strings? I love 'em.
More range.
What do you feel is the bass-players
function in a band? Depends on the
type of music. I think that is up to the individual bass player to decide.
Did you ever have a famous person in
your audience? Does Burt from the
Used count, or Gerard from MCR?
What are your ambitions?
Take over the world. Ooops! Was that in print? We can edit that right?
Anything else Heather?
I feel that I am no less talented than any male bass player in my genre.
In fact I feel that perhaps because I am a woman - I'm quite a better bass
player than most men in my genre.
thanks to Heather for being part of BassGirls.Com
text and images are copyright
of Heather de Jong and
BassGirls.Com
|
