Reader Spotlight: Adam Dowd
Meet Adam Dowd, a bassist from the UK who spends his time performing and teaching “the rock stars of tomorrow” at East Riding College.
Adam is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story…
Bio:
I have been many things to many people over the years! I consider myself a “bassist for musical experiments.” My current role in The Colour Line lets me display just that; utilizing as many techniques and tones I can into 3 – 4 minutes of music. I have been very lucky to support some amazing bands and many of my idols from my teen years including Sikth, Black Peaks, Aliases and more. Previous work has seen me involved with solo artists, bands and film makers including Izzy Thomas, Alpine Jam and David Firth (Fat-pie.com [I did the slap-bass solo on Burnt Face Man – Episode 6]). I love bass and have some new music in the pipeline ready to be exposed to the world late 2017 / 2018.
Location:
Kingston Upon Hull, UK
Day gig:
I am a music tutor at East Riding College, which allows me access to sculpt the rock stars of tomorrow!
Years experience:
13 years
Bands & Gigs:
Yes, I’m currently with The Colour Line who are signed with Basick Records. We are on a final farewell tour between June 30, 2017, to August 5, 2017. From there I have some new projects in the pipeline including a record and some live shows too.
Gear:
- Yamaha TRBX 305 Bass
- Line 6 relay G30
- Boss TU3
- JOYO PXL 4
- Digitech Bass Synth Wah
- NFX RED BOX (That’s a bespoke build and my money-shot pedal, essentially a pedal gone wrong but so right for mega synth/octave noise!)
- Digitech Bass Squeeze (multi-band compressor)
- Digitech Bass Chorus
- Orange OB-1 300
- Hartke XL 2 x 10 Cab
- Hartke XL 4.5 Cab
Why I play the bass:
I initially started as a composer, guitarist, and frontman for the majority of my progression in music. My interest and love for the bass guitar came from the bassist in my first band Red Line to Exit Ash Pickering. He was just so advanced on bass for his age (roughly 16 at the time) so I got myself a bass to try out at home. I kind of learned from afar seeing how he approached his bass lines to the songs I was writing at the time. From there going to music college saw that bass players were a rare-breed in my area… i.e. if I wanted to be seen over the noise of all the guitarists I had to step up some bass chops! and so it began, working with two excellent guitarists Francis Gill and Robert Wingfield; I found my role in supporting the low end for those guys!
I’ve gone on to study the top guys, Jaco, Federico Malaman, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller the list goes on.. and tried to implement my own style based on their skills. So all in all, I’m not a failed guitarist as such, just opportunistic!
My bass superpower/claim to fame:
I’ve always been complimented on my Slap-bass techniques and newly developed Wooten style double-thumb work. But yeah, The slap bass solo in David Firth’s – Burnt Face Man – Episode 6 (David Firth of Devo fame) is pretty much where people say WOW! I have also done some product demonstration videos for Gear4Music.
My influences:
I adore Thundercat. I’m obsessed with his style and finesse both with his songwriting and bass playing. Scott Devine also for his amazing laid back feel. Jeo Heaton of Aliases fame is also an absolute bass monster, getting compliments from him and Pin (Aliases/Sikth) on my first show with The Colour Line will stay with me forever! but of course, I also love the greats! Jaco, Federico Malaman, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller…
More on the web:
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