Where are you based Christina? Austin, Texas, USA

When did you first take a bass in your hands? When I was in College, I lived with some friends that were in a band and they practiced in our garage. The lead singer handed me the bass one day and taught me my first song

What attracted you to playing bass? I never felt there were enough women that play bass, and I’ve always loved rhythm sections (percussion, bass, etc). Plus, in my experience, I’ve seen more people search for bassists and drummers, more than guitarists. Besides, I just love low end.

Did you play any other instrument before you started playing bass? I played trumpet in junior high school

Can you remember the first piece you ever learned on bass? It was a song by the band called Radiomotive, but the second song I learned was a Bikini Kill song

What was your very first public performance? I was in a band called Carson. Our first live show was at a sports bar in Lewisville, Texas. My first show when I was paid to play was at Obzeet’s in Plano, TX. I was in a funk/blues band standing in for Susan Carson.

What’s your current band? Same Day Service

What’s your main bass? Yamaha BB series G4

Body colour? Blue

Neck/fingerboard? I prefer smaller necks with low action. I don’t think I’ll move beyond a 4 string

What strings do you like best? Ernie Ball Hybrids

What is your backline bass amp setup? Carvin Combo – 600 Watt Head with 1x15, 2x8, and red eye for the highs

Fingers, plectrum or both? Depends on the style of music. Right now I use a plectrum, but I fingerpicked when I was in a blues/rockabilly band

Favourite plectrums? Dunlop .77 mm

What type of music do you play? Bubblegum Punk / Indie Punk

Who do you listen to when you’re not playing? Motion City Soundtrack, The Futureheads, Bloc Party, System of a Down, Flamingo 50, Inara George..depends on my mood

Have you recorded/released any CDs? Our latest release is a self titled 7-song EP by Same Day Service

What was your best gig/venue ever? We played the Underworld in Camden in London with Never Heard of It and Vanilla Pod. There was a line around the block before the gates opened. I loved it.

What was your worst moment onstage? We had just returned from Europe and Warped Tour and I was really sick. I was rocking out..and tripped..saw myself heading towards taking out Maggie and her drums - had to drop to my knees to keep myself from falling over, it was rather embarrassing

What’s your favourite album/CD? Right now it’s Commit This to Memory by Motion City Soundtrac, anything by Liz Phair works too

Do you own any other instruments? I own an Epiphone les paul style guitar, and a keyboard, plus my acoustic/electric Fender bass.

Do you sing? Yes

Did you ever perform onstage without your bass? Yes, when I was a frontman - I would just have a mic.

What’s your opinion on basses with more than 4 strings? I think they are awesome, but they aren’t for me. The necks are too wide for me. Most 6 strings are wider than my palm. I love to watch people rock out with them though - like Daryl from Sister 7

What do you feel is the bass-players function in a band? I think it depends on the band. Since I play in a power trio and that pushes me to the forefront quite a bit and pick up where there would generally be another guitar, but I’ve played in bands where I just act as a rhythm section and am just a bass player, if that makes sense.

Did you ever have a famous person in your audience? Benjamin Mckenzie from the OC came to one of our shows in Austin. I didn’t even recognize him. We’ve also played with some pretty big bands from The Fever, to Hot Hot Heat, to The Vibrators, Also on Warped Tour, you never know who’s watching..

What are your ambitions? That’s easy, to play for the rest of my life.

See band website on the Links page - Ed.
 

 
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