NESTOR CHUMAK
PHOTO : SHAWN ROCK
JD : I ’ m just comfortable with it . The ironic thing is the bass was given to me for free . It was lying around in a friend ’ s jam space for years . He didn ’ t play bass so he asked if I wanted it and I said , “ Yeah , sure .” I carried it around for a few years as backup . When I finally needed to play it I realized it ’ s actually a really good bass . It ’ s been my main bass live and on recordings for the past seven years now .
CM : How did you get into playing the bass guitar ?
JD : I started out on the guitar in my first band some years ago . I was in a band with three guys . Then in 1999 when Brandon [ Wars ] and I started Goat Horn , we decided to switch so I would play bass and he would play guitar . For whatever reason , we just thought we ’ d do it for a change . Ever since that point it stuck with me . I felt I could play bass and sing better than I could play guitar and sing .
CM : Have you ever felt the desire to pick up the guitar again or add another guitar to the band ?
JD : No . In fact , now when I play the guitar I feel incompetent . I know enough to show the real guitar player the riff , but I don ’ t trust myself as a guitar player outside of my bedroom . But I will also say that being a three-piece has helped my bass chops quite a bit because I ’ ve kind of got a rhythm guitar role at times . You ’ re a little bit more naked in that sense and you ’ ve really got to hold it down when the guitar player is doing a lead or something .
CM : You guys are a modern metal band that revives that awesome traditional ’ 80s metal sound . What does it mean to be a metal musician today ?
JD : From my perspective , we ’ re just fans first . I don ’ t normally consider myself a musician . I think I do this because I ’ m such a big fan of this kind of music that I just want to create more of
NESTOR CHUMAK
PUP it ; create the kind of music that I myself want to hear . I guess the answer is that you have to be a fan first and be passionate in order to be a metal musician with longevity in this day and age .
PUP is one of the most exciting bands roaming the roads today . Their self-titled debut , coupled with a spectacular live show , has earned them quite a bit of buzz over the past couple of years . They ’ ve given us a taste of their second full-length ( set to be released later this year ) with the blazing single “ DVP .” Nestor Chumak lets us enter his world of bass and tells of times when both hands were speaking the same language and times when they weren ’ t .
PHOTO : JESSICA FLYNN
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CANADIAN MUSICIAN • 53