Bass Musician Magazine - SPECIAL August 2014 Female Bassist Issue | Page 166

MISSY
Interview by Rául Amador

Missy Raines
missyraines.com
facebook.com/
missyrainesandthenewhip
Twitter @thenewhip
Some of the band(s) I Play With:
Missy Raines & The New Hip, The
Helen Highwater Stringband
Gear I Use:
D’Addario Strings, Fishman Full
Circle Pickup, Fishman Blender,
Fender amp, Crown Mic
Endorsed By:
D’Addario Strings, Fishman

What made you decide to play bass?
My dad brought a bass home one day. I think
he had every intention of playing it himself
and he did. Although I really don’t know who
taught him. I was already very interested in
music by then (age 10 or so...), and playing
guitar and piano. I couldn’t resist picking up
the bass, and there it went. Never really looked
back at the guitar. Although today I’m playing
clawhammer banjo more-and-more. The bass
I have now is the bass my father bought home
way back then.
How/Where did you learn to play?
I mostly learned by ear, playing with others,
jamming at Bluegrass festivals and jams as
often as I could. My folks made it possible
for me to be exposed to tons of musicians and
settings where I could learn. I grew up in the
Mid-Atlantic and so there was a lot of music
happening in the Washington, D.C., Virginia,
Maryland, West Virginia, PA, areas. I didn’t
learn to read music until about 10 years later,
and that was mostly self-taught.
Who are your musical inspirations, both
male and female?
My first bass inspiration was Tom Gray, who
played with the Bluegrass group, The Country
Gentlemen.