Reader Spotlight: Russ Sargeant

Meet Russ Sargeant, our player in the spotlight for October 27th, 2009.

Bio:

I’m a bass player living near Birmingham, England – playing a fusion of Jazz and Ambient music. I write and record in my home studio and I have recently taken an outing into the wonderful world of live-looping!

Location:

Dudley, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Day gig:

I work as Creative Manager producing printed literature and web design for a global charity Christ For All Nations – a mission organisation with a focus on Africa.

Years experience:

29 years

Bands & Gigs:

I play bass in a local band called The Cohen Brothers – mostly original material written by the keys player Julian and some obscure covers – a mix of Blues/Funk/Souls and Rock. We play mostly around Warwickshire, Hereford and Worcester areas and have recorded a CD album entitled ‘Moving On’. I’m also now working on my solo bass material and working towards some small festival gigs next year and a London gig in March with other Twitter-related artists in aid of MIND mental health charity.

Gear:

• Ibanez SRX500 4-string fretted bass
• CJM 6-string fretless bass
• Stagg Electric Upright Bass
• Behringer Ultrabass bass amp head
• Maj Electronics 4×10 Cab (fane speakers)
• Dell laptop running Mobius real-time looping software
• Behringer FCB1010 Midi Foot Controller
• Korg Toneworks Bass Multi Effects
• M-Audio Fastrack Pro Audio/Midi Interface

Why I play the bass:

Oooh now… well, the person/band who first inspired me to pick up the bass was… Gene Simmons and KISS! I just loved the bottom end and the sound of the bass guitar in the mix – it was all I heard. So my Dad bought me a cheap Kay Precision copy from a thrift store and the rest is history, so they say…

My bass superpower/claim to fame

My Superpower? lol… Well I suppose I do have a very good ear for intervals and picking up tunes/chord progressions quickly. Oh, and some would say I have a certain skill for finding great sounding basses for cheapo $ on eBay!

My claim to fame? Erm… I have played bass on three albums featuring individual members of Celtic rock band, Iona.

My influences

Wow, very wide and deep:

• Arild Anderson
• Anders Jormin
• Jaco Pastorius
• Eberhard Weber
• Geddy Lee
• Tony Levin
• Stanley Clark
• Miroslav Vitous

…to name a few. I believe that having many diverse influences ultimately equals developing a richer style of your own.

More on the web:

• Website/Blog
• Download and buy music from BandCamp
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Last.fm
• Download or Buy Physical CD The Last And The First from CD Baby