Reader Spotlight: Roey Haviv
Meet Roey Haviv, who keeps busy teaching and playing in Charlotte, NC. Roey has quite the collection of gear, including some basses with both interesting stories and unique features. He’s also a pedal nerd.
Roey is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story…
Bio:
I was born in Israel and moved to the US to continue working as a bassist (NYC, then CLT). I teach at “The House That Rocks” music school, play solo bass gigs, and in a few bands as well as a session and hired gun player for artists regularly.
Location:
Charlotte/NC/USA
Day gig:
Music teacher.
Years experience:
22 years (since 1996).
Bands & Gigs:
Jamundo (original east/west mashup), Carolinacation (RHCP tribute), and Skatepark (90’s cover band).
Gear:
I endorse Vigier Guitars. I have an old 5 string Passion Bass that Patrice built for Alphonso Johnson in 1992 (when Alphonso played for Santana) and a 2016 Excess 4 string I grabbed from the wall at NAMM.
You guys also know my custom Bonobo Zira doubleneck, it was featured here as Bass of the week when I first got it.
I also endorse Pigtronix effects and could often be found geeking out while demoing their pedals at trade shows.
I also use Aguilar amps but am not officially on the roster. We never bothered discussing it, I just like the amps.
I’m kinda notorious for using big pedalboards on many gigs but the truth is I only use it for my own projects. I still enjoy plugging straight into an amp sitting in with whoever and filling the role of a traditional bassist without worrying about when I need to kick in what.
Why I play the bass:
I didn’t know what bass guitar was. I wanted to play drums and guitar until I heard Primus and realized bass is both.
My bass superpower/claim to fame
I can play more than one song at a time, I often have multiple songs stuck in my head while playing another.
My influences
Besides the obvious (Tony Levin, Pino, Jaco, Graham, Johnson…) my biggest influence is probably Yossi Fine.
I teched for him as a teenager and we would sit and talk about the philosophy of music. Changed my life.
Check him out, he played for Stanley Jordan, Gil Evans Orchestra, Lou Reed, Bowie, and many more.
More on the web:
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