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Sean Yseult, we are indeed
honoured to have you here at BassGirls. Where are you based?
New Orleans, L.A., USA.
At what age did you first take a
bass in your hands? 18
What attracted you to playing bass?
Necessity – we wanted to start White Zombie and we needed someone to play
the bass.
Did you play any other instrument
before you started playing bass? Yes
– I was trained at an early age to be a concert pianist, and I also
studied violin for 4 years.
Can you remember the first piece you
ever learned on bass? When I picked
up a bass I immediately started playing Black Sabbath songs by ear – I
wasn’t even sure what the riffs were at first!
What's your current band?
Rock City Morgue – we have been together almost 3 years.
Apart from the two bands already
mentioned, what other bands were you a member of?
In between White Zombie and Rock City Morgue, I had a band briefly called
Famous Monsters. It was an all girl monster surf garage band, very trashy
and underground, and people thought we were from Japan!
What is your ideal line-up for a
band? I really don’t have an ideal
line-up – it’s always interesting to see what different things bands come
up with.
What's your main bass?
The coffin bass I designed with Schecter.
It's black with silver trim.
Do you think that the wood affects
the tone/sound/sustain of your bass?
I’m sure it does, but to be honest, the
coffin basses I have create a huge, deep sound and they do not have a lot
of substance to them! I’ve had countless bass players, famous and not,
comment on it.
Have you a preference for active or
passive electronics? I’m used to
active, I wouldn’t call it a preference.
What strings to you like best?
Blue Steel.
How often would you change your
strings? With a roadie? Every day!
Without? I hate changing them, so once a week
if I’m on tour. I know that’s not often, but these basses are so big and
bright that it almost helps to have the strings deaden a bit.
What is your backline bass
amp setup? Ampeg SVT and 8 x 10
cabinet.
Fingers,pick or both?
Pick – I’ve never played with my fingers.
Which ones?
Large triangle tortex – about 0.73 in thickness, I think – the last batch
I’ve had were custom made in Japan, so I don’t know! But if I have to pick
some up in a store I try to get the lime green eagle Claytons – I think
that’s a 0.73. Anything else I break!
Have you played double (upright) or
acoustic bass? No – I made a feeble
attempt at Jimbo’s request (Reverend Horton Heat)
– talk about horrible action! Those uprights are way too big for me to
handle.
What type of music do you play?
Rock/punk/eclectic/underground.
What recordings have you released on
CD? White Zombie of course had many
releases: Two vinyl 7 inches, two EPs. one L.P.,
then 4 records on CD. Famous Monsters had two 7 inches on Estrus followed
by two CDs and my new band has one CD out and one coming out this
Halloween, titled “Dead Man’s Song”.
What was your best gig/venue ever?
Playing in front of 300,000 Brazilians in Rio at the Hollywood Rock
Festival with Page/Plant, Smashing Pumpkins, Black Crowes and Supergrass.
There’s many others but that was the biggest and craziest!
What was your worst moment onstage?
Playing an early club gig in the
mid-west with White Zombie when a wayward bottle hit me in the wrist first
song – packed house, show’s over! My hand turned into spaghetti for the
night. (nice show of appreciation! - Ed.)
Do you have a day-job outside of the
band? No – I oversee things at my
bar, The Saint but I wouldn’t really call it a job. It’s more like
constantly hostessing a party!
Do you play/own any other
instruments? I play piano and banjo,
and I played violin at one point…I actually play piano on some of the
songs in my new band.
What other instrument would you most
like to play? My next musical
purchase will be a theramin – I’ve gotten to play with
them a bit, but not enough to master it!
What was the best concert you were
ever at? David Bowie or Prince –
both recently at a small theatre in New Orleans! They are both geniuses
and to see them that close up was amazing – not to mention they both still
look fantastic!
Do you sing?
Never! It has never crossed my mind to even try.
Do you write/compose?
Yes – since I was 6 on the piano, and with all of my bands. I wouldn’t be
interested in being in a band if I couldn’t write music for it.
Did you come from a musical family?
No, but my mom listened to a lot of
classical and my dad listened to a lot of rock and roll, so I definitely
grew up with it.
If forming your ideal live band,
what instruments would you have with you onstage?
What I always have – my bass – and now piano, also.
Do you see the bass as a solo
instrument? No, but one of my
favourite bands is out of New Orleans, called Black Mountain, and they
have two basses, no guitars. They sound great, and as you would imagine,
very heavy.
Apart from your own projects, have
you played recording sessions with other artistes?
A lot of local bands have been calling me
in to record piano or organ tracks lately – the Bad Offs, In It for the
Honey, and I played bass with blues legend Andre Williams one night in New
Orleans – that was fun!
Have you ever been to
Ireland? Yes – I’m half Irish
– my parents took us when we were in high school and I’ve since been back
through on tour a few times. It is also one of my favourite places.
What CDs are you listening to most
these days? With the hurricane I had
to leave so quickly I just had the music that was
in my car 6 weeks ago, so I’m not really listening to anything right now …
I just saw Turbonegro and they gave me their new CD so I’ll probably be
checking that out! I usually listen to older stuff – everything from Cheap
Trick, Queen, to Johnny Cash, and I also like some new and old French pop.
Do you have a pet?
Two cats and a dog – they all manage to get along.
Can you give one piece of "golden"
advice to someone who has just bought their first bass?
Get a small practice amp – there is nothing
more depressing than sitting around attempting to play a bass and not
hearing if you’re doing anything right or not – and if you’re actually
biting down hard enough, there’s nothing more rewarding than to hear the
clean sound coming out of the amp.
Have you ever performed onstage
without a bass? Yes, as I said, I
play piano sometimes too. I’ve also played guitar onstage
– with Famous Monsters and guesting with some other bands.
Have you played outside your own
country? I think I’ve played in
almost every country but Russia, China, and a few others I have no real
desire to go to!
What's your opinion on basses with
more than 4 strings? It seems like
overkill to me, but you have those killer bass players with
huge hands that are just dying to noodle all over the place – let ‘em have
it!
Did you ever have a famous person in
your audience? I can’t even begin to
answer that. My favourite people I’ve gotten to meet at one of my shows
besides a ton of musicians were Timothy Leary, Forrest Ackerman and Bela
Lugosi Jr.
What are your ambitions, musically
and personally? To continue to
create and enjoy life.
Anything else Sean? No, but thanks – and check out our new record and
Halloween dates with the Misfits on our website! (See Links page - Ed.)
thanks to Sean for being part of BassGirls.Com
text and images are copyright
of Sean Yseult and
BassGirls.Com
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