Meet the band 7 – Nigel

The Skamonics blog has moved to http://www.skamonics.co.uk/wordpress/

What instrument(s) do you play? Bass guitar

Do you have any other role in the band? I enjoy writing  arrangements, running the website and writing the blog. I’m less keen on  fixing rehearsals and running the PA – but they have to be done.

Do you have a favourite tune in the Skamonics repertoire? My favourites are the original 1960s ska instrumental tunes such as Alley Cat Ska, but I also enjoy the extreme covers such as The Model and Can’t Get You Out of My Head.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played with the Skamonics? with other bands? I enjoy any gig when everyone dances all the way through. That was true of our most recent gig at Last Days of Decadence, gigs we have done at Hootananny and many of the wedding gigs we have done. I once did a gig with a soul/pub-rock band in the South of France which was huge fun.

How did you learn to play? I had piano lessons when I was young and did A-level and lots of music theory exams. I taught myself to play the guitar at the same time, mainly playing folk but then stopped in my twenties. I then took up the bass in my thirties. I’m basically self-taught on that too, though I did go to three evening classes before it was cancelled for lack of students. I’m also a self-taught arranger – though I have lots of books.

What else do you do musically? I play in a couple of jazz big-bands, who also sometimes play my arrangements and compositions.

Who are your musical influences on your instrument – and more generally? I suppose I’m meant to come up with a list of flashy bass players, but in most styles of music – including ska – the job of the bass is to keep the rhythm going and not show off. So I admire players like Duck Dunn (who played with Booker T and the MGs on countless Memphis soul records) and of course Lloyd Brevett of the Skatalites. Gary Crosby of Jazz Jamaica is an obvious role model. Reggae bass playing has made a huge impression on me – Aston “Family man” Barrett with Bob Marley was the first I heard. When I started to play jazz someone suggested I listen to Ray Brown playing with Oscar Peterson to understand how to swing – and that was brilliant advice.

My favourite arranger of all time is Gil Evans.

As well as ska, what other types of music do you like, and who are some of your favourite bands or musicians? Loads of different things, though I listen to more jazz than anything else. My one Desert Island disk would be Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to (where you weren’t playing?) There are too many to single one out, but here’s a random highlights selection. Kando Bongo Man with Diblo Dibala on guitar at the Town and Country Club, Flaco Jimenez at the Half Moon Putney, John Martyn at a venue I can’t remember when I was a student, Betty Carter at Ronnies, EST at the RFH – and Richard Thompson many times.

What do you do when you are not playing music? Unlike some in the band I have a full time day job, so music is mainly what I do when I’m not at work. But I also have a half share in a canal boat.

What about you would surprise other members of the band? I can be quite pleasant when I’m not setting up the PA, I make all my own bread, I once played the tympani in Westminster Abbey, I failed my Grade 6 piano exam the first time (OK that won’t surprise anyone …)