|
Sarah June Fox, thanks for
coming a few miles down the road to talk with BassGirls! Remind us where
you are based? Dublin, Ireland
At what age did you first take a
bass in your hands? 13
What attracted you to playing bass?
I was studying the classical harp since I was little but for a moody goth
teenager, the harp wasn't rock enough so my friends and I started a band
and we needed a bass player.
Can you remember the first piece you
ever learned on bass? Gigantic by
the Pixies. Dead cool bass line!
What was your very first band? We were called Bitch but had to change our
name for our high school battle
of the bands. We called ourselves Stucco. We were so stuck for a name and
just looked up at the stucco ceiling at the last moment.... So lame!!
What other bands were you a member
of? My band at Uni was called Bunny
Hoover. Then I played in the Fangs for years back in Canada. When I first
moved to Ireland I was playing with loads of different bands, The Valves,
The Harvest Ministers, Adrian Crowley.
What's your current band?
JJ72
How did you come to join
JJ72 Sarah? I was playing with a few
different bands at the time that the JJ's were on the hunt for a bass
player following Hillary's departure. They were definitely not
looking for a female bass player and had jammed with a bunch of different
guys with no luck bar finding a load of new drinking buddies. They came to
see The Harvest Ministers by chance and I guess the rest is history. The
audition process involved a lot of nights out (it's VERY important to get
along in the pub as well as in the rehearsal room!!!). When we actually
started playing together it was just right, we complimented each other
musically I suppose!
What's your main bass?
I use two Gibsons live, a Blackbird and a Victory.
Body colour/wood?
The Blackbird is matte black (surprise surprise!) and the Victory is a
manky goldish color!
Neck/fingerboard?
The Blackbird has a beautiful mother of
pearl inlay of Iron Crosses on the fretboard.
Do you think that the wood effects
the tone/sound/sustain of your bass?
Definitely, both basses have a good bit of
weight to them which is reflected in the tone, they both sound really warm
and big and ballsy. The sustain is great on any Gibson I've played. I have
a Vox Panther that is really light in comparison and the tone is almost
guitar like, it's the ultimate Joy Division bass.
What strings to you like best?
D'addario. I like heavy stings. I
played flatwound strings once but they freaked me out.
How often would you change your
strings? When we're on tour I'd
probably change them every week I like the sound best when they're not
brand new but not too old.
What is your backline bass amp
setup? I use a 1000watt Warwick amp
and two 4x10 Warwick cabs. I was loyal to Ampeg
for years but my tone was so muddy and unreliable. They were great amps
when I was playing a Rickenbacker because of the punchy midrange tone, but
the definition got lost when I switched to the Gibsons. I'm over the moon
with the Warwick setup.
Fingers, plectrum (pick) or both?
Plectrum.
Which ones?
I found these cool ones with little sharks
on them, they just happened to be the perfect heaviness.
Have you played double (upright) or
acoustic bass? I just bought a
double bass and have taken a few lessons. I want to learn how to stand on
it like the guy from the Stray Cats!
Do you play any other
instruments? As well as the
classical harp, I studied the piano, the clarinet and the tuba! I had my
harp shipped over from Canada a few years ago. I also have my clarinet, a
tenor sax, a guitar and bucket loads of basses (I can't stop buying them!)
What other instrument would
you most like to play? I want to be
a drummer. I like loud things!!!
Who do you listen to when you're not
playing? Everyone, seriously. I'm
Itunes best customer at the moment. I'm going
through a nostalgic phase listening to Helium, Liz Phair and the Smashing
Pumpkins. I guess my favourite new band is Death Cab For Cutie.
What records have you played on?
The Fangs did an album for Bad Reputation records. We only released it on
vinyl though. With JJ72 I played on their 3rd album which will be out
early 2006.
What was your best gig/venue ever?
We played in Turkey at a festival on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea. We
went on at sunset, played a brilliant set then jumped in the sea (only to
be escorted out by armed guards.) Pretty cool.
What was your worst moment onstage?
Being attacked by a daddy long legs.
It was terrifying!!
Were you ever on a TV show?
They showed our gigs at the Download
festival and the Wireless festival on Ch4 in the summer.
Did you ever make the cover of a
magazine? JJ72 have done loads of TV
and magazine stuff before I joined. It's all pretty new to me though... I
was on Totally Dublin last month and the Swedish equivalent the month
before. It's crazy to see your own face looking back at you from the cover
of a magazine!
What's your favourite album/CD?
That's not fair!! There are way too many to single out one. I like The
Pixies 'Surfer Rosa'. or the Smashing Pumpkins 'Adore' or 'Machina', Or
maybe Alice Cooper 'Love It To Death' ... Ahhhh I don't know!
What was the best concert you were
ever at? Again that's a hard one.
Recently I was most impressed by Audioslave. They
were ridiculously good. My favourite ever concerts from when I was young
were either Janes Addiction, the Pixies in ('89 I think), or Sonic Youth
at Lollapalooza....orr Neil Young with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. I dunno!
Do you sing Sarah ?
I used to sing, I studied voice in arts
school. Then it all went horribly wrong somehow, my voice has completely
changed! I do backups in the JJ's though.
Have you ever performed onstage
without your bass? I've played harp
gigs and I played for an opera company with my clarinet.
Have you played outside your own
country? I AM outside my own
country! (I'm Canadian!). JJ72 has toured quite a bit, we got to play a
few festivals in Europe which was brilliant and we play extensively in the
UK
What's your opinion on basses with
more than 4 strings? I've never
played one. They frighten me.
What do you feel is the bass-players
function in a band? I suppose in a
three peice the bass needs to compliment both the drums and the guitar.
It's a rhythm thing but also a ballsy thing. A crap bass line is the death
of even the coolest song.
Did you ever have a famous person in
your audience? Nick Cave watched us
from the monitor desk at the Electric Picnic.
Thankfully we didn't know until after. It'd be mildly distracting to know
that the Prince Of Darkness was behind you!
What are your ambitions?
To keep playing. I can't wait to do more
touring and more recording. The band has toured the world more than once
and I can't wait for my turn!!
Thanks Sarah, we're glad you settled
with us in Ireland. See JJ72's
website on our Links page - Ed.
thanks to Sarah for being part of BassGirls.Com
text and images are copyright
of Sarah Fox and
BassGirls.Com
|
