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On Sticking With It
from Bass Player Magazine: June 20, 2006
by SHELTON CLARK
Amy LaVere discovered her muse in the upright bass in Nashvegas before moving to Memphis and immersing herself in that city’s rich musical scene. When her duo the Gabe & Amy Show fell apart, LaVere struck out on her own. Regular local gigs and recording sessions led to her signing with Memphis indie label Archer Records. Her solo debut, This World Is Not My Home, showcases her reedy, torch-song –ready vocals with a rootsy rhythm section and great appearances from former Squirrel Nit Zippers guitarist Jimbo Mathus and legendary pianist/producer Jim Dickinson. She also landed a bit part playing rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line and in Hustle and Flow director Craig Brewer’s upcoming Black Snake Moan with Christina Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson.
What brought you to the upright bass?
I stumbled on it. I had moved into a house in Nashville that had two upright bass players. I had played drums in a band one time, and I know some chords on a guitar, but the upright bass was just like my dream instrument. It was percussive, it was one note at a time, and I could slap the first time I ever picked it up-which wowed the boys. It more or less found me.
It took a long time to get my endurances up to where I could do more than two songs in a row. As a little girl, I had to overcome the fact that I’d just need some strong arms playing the upright. When I first started playing, I’d sit in on (Nashville’s) Lower Broadway. To make it through a song, at first it was just too much. But I had to get over it. I learned that I wasn’t going to be able to tape my fingers like a lot of upright players. The tape sticks to the strings and adds extra pull. The joints of my fingers would get sore, so I found that I have to get through the blister phase until I got my calluses.
Do you also play electric?
I tried to play the electric. I was playing a regular gig on upright here in Memphis and (late Who bassist) John Entwistle was there. He came up and told me that my slap technique was brilliant, but that I was wasting all my energy on “the giant piece of shit.” He said I needed to get my self a Fender Precision and then I’d have something. Three or four days later I borrowed a P-Bass. I practiced the hell out of the P-Bass, and then I started playing shows with it. Nobody was thrilled to see me play the electric, though, and really, it wasn’t half as fun as dancing with an upright. So I decided I was just going to keep the part where Entwhistle said my slap technique was brilliant, and maybe just forget the rest.
Amy advice for aspiring upright players?
Play through the pain.
--SHELTON CLARK
