BASS Cassie Campbell
[ WM ] Tell us about how you got started playing bass ?
[ Cassie Campbell ] Well , I remembering seeing an orchestra concert when I was younger and fell in love with the violin . I joined my school ’ s strings program on violin in 4th grade , and then in 6th grade they needed an upright bass player , so I switched over . I maintained the upright through high school and then college at Florida State University . I even was able to join the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra for 2 years during my junior and senior years . I picked up the electric bass at my church ’ s youth group around 13 years old , and then eventually got good enough to play at “ adult church ” as well . After college , I pursued a missional life playing bass for mostly ministry or mission trips , then continued that with different worship streams for live worship gatherings , tours , and albums . While being a full-time bass player through my 20 ’ s , I decided to go back to school in my early 30 ’ s , and pursued my Masters degree in Bass Performance under the legendary Abraham Laboriel Sr . at a school in Los Angeles . Unfortunately , the school closed at my last semester , however , three semesters of lessons with Maestro Laboriel Sr . were absolutely priceless .
[ WM ] Who were your main bass influences ?
[ Cassie ] This is always a hard question for me . Honestly , at first , I really just liked music , and we ’ re talkin ’ all styles . I grew up on the oldies : The Mama ’ s and the Papa ’ s , The Beatles , Motown , and then in junior high I would come home from school turn the radio on , make my mix tapes ( grin ), grab my acoustic guitar , and figure out whatever was playing . I ’ m 100 % a 90 ’ s music lover , and my early audio cassette tapes / CD ’ s that consisted of : Warren G , R . E . M , Nirvana , The Cranberries , TLC , No Doubt ,
Radiohead , Jewel , and more really reflect that . ( laughing ) I memorized every radio station and would flip between alternative , R & B / soul , top hits , oldies , etc .
If I step back and think of the bass players that informed how I approach bass now , I will have to say both Sarah Mclachlan ’ s main session bass player ’ s : Brian Minato and Pierre Marchand had a strong impact . They had this way of constantly moving through the song while never taking over . You had this feeling that the song would completely fall apart if the bass wasn ’ t there , yet it was never too much , always just the right amount of energy , groove , and subtle movement .
I ’ ll definitely have to say Paul McCartney , as I thought I was born in the wrong generation for a while and listened to every Beatles record growing up . And while we ’ re here , another bass player that broke so many boxes for me was J . J . Plasencio who played with Sixpence None
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