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The Record Company’s debut is deserving of all the praise it has received.
The main reason? Stiff’s bass-driven songwriting and vintage sound. His
feel-good riffs on “Off the Ground,” “Don’t Let Me Get Lonely,” and “On the
Move” honor his bass heroes Carl Radle and James Jamerson in the most
soulful, toe-tapping way possible. Skipping the honeymoon period, Alex and
his bandmates are already hard at work writing their sophomore album. But
instead of renting a fancy studio, they’re going right back into the living
room where it all started.
Did you anticipate that this was going to be a bass-heavy album?
Our mindset was to do something that felt unique for each song, and a lot
of times we would focus on bass more than guitar. I feel like there are a finite
amount of ways you can go with a guitar, whereas the bass is more of a blank
canvas. Our songs are usually driven by a riff, which leans on the bass a lot, so
it’s fun for me. We like to keep it pretty high in the mix, too.
How much of the writing were you responsible for?
We all played big roles. If a song on the album is very bass heavy, then I
probably came up with the riff and groove. But it always morphs into a full
collaboration. The three of us combined probably equals one good songwriter,
but none of us is a genius who just writes everything alone. I love that, because
when one person does everything, the other band members will feel left out.
This way, the whole group is responsible for the material.
How did you cop your great vintage tone?
One of the key ingredients for me is using very
old strings. I’ve never liked the brightness that comes
from putting a new set on my bass. I’ll even go into
Guitar Center to play all their basses and find the
deadest strings, and then I’ll make a deal with the
manager to take those strings and buy new ones for
the bass. I love flatwounds too, and I use those occasionally
in the studio, but for my live sound I use
roundwounds to get that nice bounce.
How does being a multi-instrumentalist
influence your bass playing?
I love to play the drums, piano, and guitar, and
being well-rounded from spending time on multiple
instruments has helped me broaden my writing
and my playing ability on bass. I see bass players on
YouTube who can play a million miles an hour and
pull off insane techniques, and I’m always in awe, but
I would much rather do what I do and try to write
good, simple songs. You can approach the bass in
so many different ways, and there’s never one path
that everyone has to take. BP
Mike Poulin of Defeater knows you can’t be an original if you’re playing what everyone else is. Visit reverendguitars.com to start your journey.
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