Reader Spotlight: Calum Craig

Calum Craig

Meet Calum Craig, once a classical guitarist who saw the light and switched to bass. Calum is part of a multi-national band known as Frontierer. He’s this week’s reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story…

Bio:

I’m from Edinburgh in Scotland. I played in a few bands at home before I moved to Spain three years ago. I currently live in Portugal.

Location:

Portugal

Day gig:

English teacher and translator.

Years experience:

13 years.

Bands & Gigs:

I play with Frontierer. We are a band made up of members from three countries – including Chad Kapper from A Dark Orbit – and this summer we finally all got together and played our first gig at the UK Tech Metal Fest (look for it on Youtube). We’re planning more gigs in the future, it’s looking very exciting.

Gear:

For Frontierer, I use Yamaha 5-strings – cheap but reliable. I have an RBX765A and an RBX375.

I recently bought an Ibanez SR506 for playing other stuff.

Live, I use a Sansamp BDDI – the only piece of gear any bassist needs – and an MXR Smartgate.

Why I play the bass:

I started playing classical guitar and didn’t really enjoy it. After about a year, I saw a bass and was immediately fascinated.

My bass superpower/claim to fame:

I suppose learning all the songs for Frontierer in 6 months, then playing a gig with 3 rehearsals and having it go so well. I had to completely change the way I play and get a much harsher, stronger attack.

My influences:

The first bassist whose style I really followed was Flea. Since then, I discovered John Campbell, Arif Mirabdolbaghi, Martin Mendez, Shavo Odadjian – all from bands who have had a huge influence on me musically. I think the bassist I most admire is Dan Briggs from Between The Buried And Me.

Video:

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