YOUR QUESTION:

09/26/2019 3:22:49 Jeff

Hey Trevor. I've been a huge fan of your work going all the way back to the early Bungle days. As a self-taught bass player myself and someone who has always been drawn to the bass in all genres of music, I'm curious to know if you are ever bitter or have some resentment (maybe a little at times?) about not being recognized in the bassist world enough? We always hear about the obvious "Gods" of the bass world like Geddy, Les, Pino, Chris Squire, Steve Harris, Jaco, Victor, James Jamerson, Stanley Clarke, and dare I say, Flea, along with some many others. However, it frustrates me that you NEVER seem to be included in those lists of top bass players, even on a list of top 100! How is that possible? It's seems a big injustice to you and your body of work and how you continue working tirelessly to this day. Or do you prefer to stay more under the radar and do not want or need the accolades from others in the bassist community/world and their fans? Also, would love to hear some more of your thoughts on Carol Kaye, (another sorely unknown name to most out there) and her influence on not only you, but to the bass community and why she isn't more widely known and recognized.

MY ANSWER:

Well, you put me in some damn fine company there. I appreciate your concern and frustration.
Aside from being in a much more underground scene than any of those other quite famous players there is also the other side of self-promotion that involves a lot of work. I’m kind of a terrible schmoozer and don’t take advantage of the kind of networking I could to push myself into some more conspicuous level. I’m also not a particularly flashy player so that also keeps me in the underground, a place, by the way, where I am happy to reside. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t experience jealousy from time to time. That said, I think those lists tend to be bullshit. Many of them are popularity contests and if you’ve ever seen the Downbeat readers poll, for example, they make little sense. For the most part it’s all opinion from those that care to voice their opinion. I mean, it’s a fact that people like Jaco or Jamerson were game changers. I don’t see myself in their league by a long stretch. But fame is essentially about who gets the votes.
I get all the accolades I need in the work that I get and from the musicians who hire me and, to be honest, from kind words from people like yourself especially when I can tell that they are actually listening.

Carol Kaye had a huge influence on me since my first teacher had me working from her books during my first year of study. It wasn’t until years later that I really discovered who she was and how important her style and creativity were to many types of music. She, like many great musicians, works mostly behind the scenes. She’s not a “solo artist” like Jaco or Victor and she’s not a lead singer like Geddy for example. Obviously a persons fame or profile says nothing about their talent or artistic contributions. That is endlessly debatable of course. One can only be happy with what one has, and there are plenty out there with far less.