"Mr. Bass Man" Scott Spray Interview
www.facebook.com/Scott.Spray
Interview by Roger Zee (07/02/21)
Bottom Photo by Alex Ruffini in Italy 2008
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to play the bass? Do you sing or play any other instruments?
Scott Spray: As a kid I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show and that started it for me. They looked great, sounded great, and the girls loved them! Since then I've never wanted to do anything else. So the Beatles made me want to start a band and play music.
But the main guy for me was and still is Motown Bassist James Jamerson. His bass tracks on all those hits are the reason a lot of those songs became hits! Years later I got to work with The Temptations, and playing James' bass parts with them felt pretty cool.
Some other favorite bassists of mine include Chuck Rainey, Duck Dunn, Rocco Prestia, Carol Kaye, and Tim Bogart. All great players with their own style.
I'm not a "singer" but I did lay down some background vocals on records and TV shows that I played on, such as Edgar Winter's "Standing On Rock" album and the NBC "Today Show" closing theme. The last gig came courtesy of Jay Stollman who wrote the song and sang the lead vocals.
I don't really play any other instruments well, but I did put down guitar and drum tracks on a couple of records. I'll stick to the bass, thanks!
RZ: Tell me about some of the musicians and groups you've gigged and recorded with.
SS: For close to fifteen years, I toured and recorded five albums as a member of the Johnny Winter Band. On "I'm a Bluesman," the first record of Winter's I did, I co-wrote the title track and two other songs. So thrilled when the album got a Grammy nomination. The last Johnny Winter CD we did, "Step Back," won the Grammy so that's very cool!
On Johnny Winter's "Step Back" and "Roots" records, some great artists recorded tracks with us including Eric Clapton, Warren Haynes, Susan Tedeschi, Billy Gibbons, Dr John, Edgar Winter, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Perry, Leslie West, Brian Setzer, The Blues Brothers Horns, Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks, John Popper, Jimmy Vivino, and Vince Gill.
I also toured and recorded with the Edgar Winter Band from 1979-1981 -- the first national artist I went out on the road with. I played on Edgar's "Standing On Rock" album as well as two of his "Best of Edgar Winter" CD's plus the Edgar Winter "Definitive Collection " and "Tell Me In a Whisper." Great working with both of the Winter's!
I also played / toured / recorded with other great people, such as Ronnie Spector, Peter Criss, Lester Chambers & the Chambers Brothers, Felix Cavaliere's Rascals, Gene Cornish, Blues Brother Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Jose Feliciano, the Stylistics, Elvin Bishop, Slash, Savoy Brown's Kim Simmonds, Dion, Rick Derringer, the Mamas & the Papas, Debbie Davies, Clarence Clemmons, Rory Block, Frankie Avalon, Marvelettes, The Drifters, Platters, and The Coasters. You get the idea! Check out my Facebook page. You can see the word here's diversify!
Lastly, let me just say I wrote music and played bass for the TV show "Sex And The City," again with Jay Stollman. And I'm glad to see the shows remain on the air in reruns around the world. That's according to my residual checks... Thanks Jay!
Happy to get into the Blues Hall Of Fame as a member of the Johnny Winter Band. And this year I enjoyed the pleasure of induction into the New England Music Hall Of Fame Class of 2020 along with some long-time friends -- Bobby T Torello, Paul Gabriel, and Jimi Bell. They filmed us jamming and getting interviewed at the ceremony. That should come out soon.
RZ: What basses do you currently play and how do you mic/amplify them?
SS: I've played Yamaha Basses for close to forty years. In the studio, I mainly use a Yamaha BB 3000S model that I first bought back around 1983 and played on hundreds of records. I now also own some newer Yamaha BB 714 BS basses that I play mainly live but also in the studio. I put La Bella round-wound strings, gauges 45-65-80- 100, on all my basses.
My favorite bass head's my GK 400 RB, which again, I've owned forever. My favorite bass cabinets, that's my Hartke 4x10's -- sometimes one, sometimes two on the gig. Depends on who I'm playing with and who's moving them!
RZ: Talk about what and how you practice.
SS: For years as a kid, I would practice for hours every day. A lot of times I would also sit in front of the TV and play along with my favorite shows. I found that great for ear training and you can still hear me playing the themes to "The Flintstones," "I Dream Of Jeannie," or "The Munsters!" I still pick up the bass every day whether I'm on a gig or not. Mostly though it's running through some music I'm about to record more than anything else.
RZ: Do you teach music privately?
SS: I taught bass privately for years starting at around eighteen years old. Not really teaching these days like I used to. After I started going on the road with Johnny and Edgar Winter, I pretty much had to give it up. These days, I do work with a few select students when it fits both of our schedules.
RZ: How has the Pandemic affected you? What's on the horizon?
SS: The Pandemic changed everything. Not just for me, but for all my full-time musician friends. Ever since I started as a kid, I used to work five, six, even seven nights a week. Suddenly over a year went by with nowhere to play. So that meant no work. Before this, I don't remember ever having more then a week or two off in any year since the 60's. I still played at home every day and went in the studio to cut some cool stuff, mostly with my friends.
Happy to say it's opening up again and I'm looking forward to upcoming shows with Groovin' On Tour, a cool band I play in with Jay Stollman. The group started as "Groovin with Gene Cornish" of the Rascals and we played a few shows before Cornish left. Then we continued working until the Pandemic hit. Also booked to do upcoming live shows with The Name Droppers, a studio band that we put together to record Charlie Karp's last record at Horizon Studio with Vic Steffens. We also recorded The Name Droppers CD and Carole Sylvan's Love album which just came out and garnered world-wide airplay along with great reviews.
Currently recording at Carriage House Studio with The Hollywood All Stars and looking forward to playing live gigs with them as well. I also played on some new releases with Hawkins French and Ricky Davis that we recorded at Horizon Studio.
Happy to have played on over 800 records so far. Trying to make it to 1000 before I'm done playing!
RZ: Describe your most special and/or unusual gig.
SS: Hard to pick a favorite show, but here's some fun times that stand out!
- Playing Madison Square Garden and the LA Forum with Ronnie Spector & the Ronettes. The Garden show was my second show with her band!
- Playing Lincoln Center in NYC with the Chambers Brothers.
- Playing my first show with Edgar Winter at My Father's Place in Roslyn, LI. My first Tour bus experience!
- Doing The David Letterman show with Johnny Winter. And of course playing Alaska, Hawaii, and all over Europe, South America, the far East, the UK and Scandinavia with the Johnny Winter Band.
RZ: How do you see the future of the music business?
SS: I'm just happy to still play music. That's not going to change. Not sure of the word "business" anymore... It's not really the same as when I first started playing. After MTV and things like Spotify happened, it changed the way people market their music. I guess I'm just used to the old ways. Make a record and go out on the road to promote it. Play to as many people as you can. But it's all good as long as I can still play, write, and record music!
RZ: What advice do you give up-and-coming musicians?
SS: Always happy to see up-and-coming players writing their own music and/or wanting to become studio players. Music's been good to me and I hope it will be good to them as well. If you believe in yourself, your music, and your abilities, who's to say it can't become your lifestyle as well? Don't get discouraged by people's opinions especially if you're not their first choice. Even the Beatles got passed on by all the major labels when they first started out. And they seemed to make out ok!
RZ: Do you live with any animals?
SS: For the past ten years, my wife Nancy and I live with a boxer/lab mix named Finn. He's the coolest dog ever!
RZ: Back in my guitar-playing days, I jammed with you a number of times at The Next Door Cafe in Stamford, CT. You so impressed me with your ability to pump up a drummer's "in-the-pocket" groove into a genuine tidal wave without over-playing! Not many bassists can do that! One <3
YouTube - I'm a Bluesman - Johnny Winter
YouTube - Little by Little - Christine Tambakis, Matt Schofield, Scott Spray
©2021 Roger Zee
