Reader Spotlight: Keith Gibbons

Meet bassist Keith Gibbons, a working musician and songwriter from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Keith is our player in the spotlight for October 4, 2011.

Bio:

I’ve been a songwriter as far back as I can remember, but I didn’t realize that until a few years ago. I started playing bass because being in a band and writing pop-punk songs seemed like a lot of fun. Over the years, my tastes changed and I became more and more involved in movement and feeling, instead of just four chord progressions. I’ve played and recorded bass in numerous bands, moved to Las Vegas for a while with an old band I was in, and have had a lot of fun touring around our great country. Bass suits me well because it is understated but still very necessary in modern music.

Location:

Phoenixville, PA

Day gig:

Notary Public for the State of Pennsylvania.

Years experience:

11 years

Bands & Gigs:

I play bass in a band called Me Against Myself. We have toured before and are working on some upcoming tour dates. We’re a 5-piece Rock/Indie band with a new album, Nightfall In North America, recorded up at Vudu in Long Island, NY. You can check out the first new song on Facebook.

I also play guitar/write/sing in my other band, Modern Suits, but that’s a whole other website.

Gear:

• Fender American Precision Bass w/ Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders
• Aguilar 412 cab
• Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Head
• Sansamp (which I actually only use as a distortion/overdrive pedal. I play with a pick most of the time and I love the driven crunch I get from it.)
• Boss Tuner
• Line6 Echo Park Delay
• Monster Cables

Why I play the bass:

I went to Warped Tour one year and was a huge Blink-182 fan. It always seemed like there were so many guitarists out there and that bass was under-appreciated. So, my mom and I went to a music store to get piano sheet music for my sister and my eyes started to wander. That day I put a down payment on my first Squier P-bass package and have been playing ever since.

My bass superpower/claim to fame

I think my bass superpower is that I can make pretty much any bass sound good, if not way better than it is supposed to. I also push the limits of my equipment, and I once blew out an entire Ampeg 810. A costly mistake, but, a learning experience for sure.

My influences

Death Cab for Cutie, Blink-182, Alkaline Trio, Foo Fighters, Matt Rubano (ex Taking Back Sunday) and Copeland are probably my big influences when it comes to writing bass parts – whether it be their tone or their style, these bassists have influenced me in many ways.

More on the web:

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