Reader Spotlight: Brandon Puckett

Meet Brandon Puckett, a bassist from Linton, Indiana, and our player in the spotlight for December 14, 2010.

Bio:

I grew up in a small town in Southern Indiana, where at the age of 10 started playing bass. We didn’t have a lot to do living out in a rural area, so also having the luxury of a guitarist and drummer in the house, we spent most of our days out in the garage jamming to anything we could think of.

I also had the pleasure of cutting my teeth as a bassist with the majority of the best musicians in our area, eventually playing in cover bands and anything from Gospel to Blues to Bluegrass to Jazz to Rock and so on.

That is what makes me what I am today… a bassist.

Location:

Linton Indiana USA

Years experience:

I’ve been playing bass for the last 25 years

Bands & Gigs:

Currently touring with a band from Indianapolis, Indiana called No One Zero. We’ve just released our sophomore CD, Afterlife. We are a hard rock/metal band, so if that’s your thing, please check it out.

Why I play the bass:

Growing up, my family was a very musical family. Around the age of 12 my brother started playing guitar. I was only 10 years old at the time, and he told me I was going to play bass in his band. So my dad, who was in a country band at the time, talked his bassist into letting me borrow his bass when they weren’t playing. My brother had turned me on to Cliff Burton from Metallica (the “Anesthesia” solo), so I thought I had to learn it.

Listening to more music I discovered Geddy Lee and John Paul Jones. I loved how these guys made it interesting. Around the age of 14, I was turned on to Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke by my shop teacher at school, who was an aspiring jazz guitarist. Those alone were enough to make me want to play bass, but it was also during this time that I stumbled upon a bassist by the name of Les Claypool, and shortly after that Victor Wooten. These two bassist were a little hard to process at 14 years of age, but they were the ones to “seal the deal”, so to speak.

All of these influences inspired me to make the bass my primary instrument, and inspired me to think outside the box.

I guess when it all boils down to it, it was the art of the instrument that made me want to play bass.

My bass superpower/claim to fame

Playing bass is a Superpower!

My influences

Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, Geddy Lee, John Paul Jones, Les Claypool, Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Paul McCartney, Michael Anthony, Stu Hamm, Uriah Duffy, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham and any other bassist who ever played a note.

More on the web:

• No One Zero (Myspace page)