Don't you have synesthesia?
I sure do!
Ask @MarkMichell
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How old are you and how old are you compared to the Scale The Summit guys? (Ball park figures (ie Early/late twenties for example if you don't want to be specific :) )
I'm currently 23 and the rest of the guys are all 27, 28, and 28. So...definitely the baby of the band.
About how much time do you spend practicing?
45-60 minutes per day or so.
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Will there be any more from Tetrafusion? Been a while since I heard from them :(
That's the plan, there's close to a full new album's worth of material written, but absolutely no idea when that'll be put into action.
Liked by:
Robert Percy
how did you go about learning music theory?
I actually didn't really have any focused time in my life that I learned theory aside going to a jazz school for one summer, but I've been playing piano since I was 4, then trumpet, then bass, so naturally over time I picked up on it all, and once I started writing music it definitely locked into place.
So how do you have time to write music, tour, give lessons, AND make mildly funny youtube videos?
"i had to time warp by playing over 400 notes per second"
Liked by:
Robert Percy
Ryan Derish
Did you use a distorted/blended sound on "The Migration" in the same way you did on "The Horizon EP"? Sounds thunderous! So much grunt and grind. Can't wait to hear you playing your Warwick Thumb! Any videos or such with it planned?
Actually, since both albums were engineered by Jamie King, I actually had him "tone-match" the Horizons tone, and it was perfect...haha, although there were still minor adjustments made here and there. And thanks, a plethora of videos coming soon for sure!
Liked by:
Robert Percy
have you studied music in college?
I didn't major in music, but played in the jazz ensemble for 3 years, and believe me, I learned an astronomical amount from that. I definitely credit college jazz ensemble as a huge factor in learning how to perform live and work with other musicians.
You guys killed it in Edmonton! was super excited to finally see you guys. Also, your bass tone was picture perfect, whats on your pedal board?
appreciate it! I have a really simple signal chain, just Bass > Tuner > SansAmp BDDI / GK 1001 head. Our sound guy takes DI out of the SansAmp before the amp and mixes it into FOH that way.
Do you play regular (non bass) guitar at all, or have you always been a bassist?
I started out with an acoustic guitar, and fiddled with that a bit before taking up the bass seriously. I own an acoustic and an electric and can play them fairly well, just not that great at using a pick.
Liked by:
Robert Percy
I don't really have a question yet, I just wanted to tell you that your performance on The Migration made you immediately become one of my favorite bassists. Thanks for being awesome.
Much appreciated, thanks, that means a lot! Glad you enjoyed the record!
Would you mind giving a listen to a band from my country and giving me your take on it?
sure!
1- Is the fretless bass line of "Shadows" a creation of you Mark? Would you mind sharing the tab somewhere if you have it? 2- What are basically your main amp settings (EQ, contour, presence, boost) on this GK RB head?
1. Actually, Brooks (guitar) in Tetrafusion wrote all of the music for this song, bass and all, although I changed a few things here and there. He's always had incredible ideas and I just leave them as is! 2. I posted a picture of this awhile back on my FB, but if you can't find it they are: Pad: On / Volume : 5.5 / String Bass: Off / Contour: Flat / Presence: 5.5 / Treble: 5.5 / Hi-Mid: 7.5 / Low-Mid: 5.5 / Bass: 5.5 / Boost: 6.5 / Tweeter: 2.5 / Tweeter Cut: On / Woofer Cut: Off
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Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal
Did you record any of "The Migration" With your Conklin or Acacia Custom Gladius? Or was it all the Spector? Also, hope you're loving the Warwick Thumb, excited to see your using them now, they are monsterous!
I used my Spector Legend 6 for 100% of it! The Acacia wasn't ready yet and I've never needed the Conklin for STS. And yeah, the Warwick Thumb is hands down the nicest bass I've ever owned/played, no competition!
Liked by:
Robert Percy
How did you practice soloing techniques? I've been learning a few bass solos (the Narrow Salient solo and some Dream Theater) and I know I'm making progress, but do you have any advice as to making my own solos more fluid?
A big part of this is in the left-hand; strive to keep your fingers close to the fretboard at all times. Don't have "fly-off fingers", which means the second you're done fretting your finger shoots off the fret board and hangs out 1-2 inches away. That's just "that" much more distance you have to bring it BACK to the fretboard the next time you need that finger, and it can cause solos and more technical playing to sound really choppy and lack fluidity. Next, always play very relaxed with the right-hand. Digging in on solos is not a good idea, just have a volume boost for solos so you don't try to over-compensate for volume.
Liked by:
Robert Percy
Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal
What do you look like right now?
apparently Ian Smosh or something
Any chance of you guys coming to New Zealand dude? :)
word man, I'd love to. ASAP. Tell a promoter there to bring us over!
Liked by:
Kavan Chay
Can I have one of your unused bass guitars? PLEEEEEEASE.
They all get used!
What are your top 5 bands you'd like to tour with?
Hmm...well I wasn't in the band when they already toured with some of these bands, so I'd say Dream Theater, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Reign of Kindo, Periphery, BTBAM. There's 6, haha.
Liked by:
Rick Thatcher
Robert Percy
Hey man, I absolutely loved The Migration, so glad you're part of STS! I was just wondering how you found having to learn Monument, as I find that some of the most challenging stuff to play? :)
Thanks! There are no bass tabs or anything written out for that album so learning the 2 songs I've learned from that album took longer than the whole first set for the first tour I did. Lots of rewinding and repeating, especially for "Holding Thunder", which I believe is one of the hardest!
Have you heard of Michael Manring?
Yeah, amazing and creative player, really enjoy his work!
Liked by:
Robert Percy
Which bass players have influenced you in your playing?
I'd say the top 5 would be Geddy Lee, John Myung, Victor Wooten, Dan Briggs, and Cliff Burton. Several others have been Justin Chancellor, Steve Harris, Billy Sheehan, Chris Squire, and a few others I can't think of.
Liked by:
Robert Percy
Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal
What has been your approach to practicing over the years? Have you made specific schedules to follow through on or have you just practiced whatever you feel like as you go along. Also, how much do you generally practice daily. Thanks.
To be simple, I really just spend more time practicing what I can't play than what I can play, especially if I'm crunched for time to do so. However, one thing I've found that seriously speeds up the learning process is to just pull your phone out (or a camera) and just record a video of yourself practicing. The feeling of "I'm being recorded" will simulate the feeling of pressure and somehow just really pushes you to focus. It's odd, but I do this pretty much all the time now, but I never intend to post them. Just for practice purposes. I practice probably a minimum of an hour daily.
I love your bass work in Tetrafusion! How do you get your tone so punchy and prominent in the mix? Also, who are some of your bass players and why?
Thanks, I was really proud of the way the bass came out for Horizons EP. I ran a dirty channel and a clean channel for that record, with the dirty channel having the hi-mids overdriven, then blended with the clean to give it some presence. Aside that and just having great gear to work with, a majority of it is due to having a talented engineer behind your album...Jamie King just has the magic touch!
