Reader Spotlight: Greg Gohde

Meet Greg Gohde – a man we’d love to refer to as a bassist, but it looks like it the instrument has strings, Greg plays it. Something else we noticed about Greg – he has a lot of photos of him rocking a No Treble t-shirt. That doesn’t sway us one way or another, but we do love the dedication. When he mentioned Jaco and Joni Mitchell’s Hejira though, I was completely hooked.

Greg is the No Treble reader in the spotlight for the week of August 4, 2014. Here’s his story.

Bio:

I started playing the bass guitar in 1967… over the years have also played guitar, violin, viola, upright bass, U-Bass, ukulele, mandolin and mandola. Bass guitar is the instrument that is most natural for me to play. I “discovered” the fretless bass guitar in 1973. I heard the true potential of the instrument on the Hejira album by Joni Mitchell in the playing of Jaco Pastorius. When I heard Jaco’s solo album in 1976, I was blown away… the best bass playing ever!!!!

I have played in many varied bands and orchestras, and I attended music school at DePaul University in Chicago 1971 until 1975. I also attended a bass guitar weekend with Jack Casady at Fur Peace Ranch in 2006.

Location:

San Diego CA USA

Day gig:

violin bow-maker

Years experience:

47 years (off & on)

Bands & Gigs:

I play in a cello/bass duo: Bass Clef Experiment (with Mike Alvarez on cello).

I play with British singer-songwriter Dave Humphries.

I play solo bass gigs as “Zerofrets Bass”.

Gear:

• Carvin AC40 acoustic bass (fretless)
• Epiphone Jack Casady signature
• Kala acoustic U-Bass (fretless)
• Phil Jones Bass briefcase and Double Four

Why I play the bass:

The function that it has in the music. The bass player “drives” the band and controls the dynamics.

My bass superpower/claim to fame:

I taught bass lessons to Greg Rzab (Gov’t Mule, John Mayall, Jimmy Page and Black Crowes).

My influences:

Jaco, Berry Oakley, John Paul Jones, Paul McCartney

Videos:

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More on the web:

Soundcloud