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dcdeb

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Mikasister
Mikasister

OMG. When I read  Jimmy I thought someone had opened a thread with the title "Jimmy to my Jaw" 

Kumazzz
Kumazzz

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/p/BOx74xrg0Ib/   jimmyplaysbass I base my dental care regime on old tour tshirts.  

kanni
kanni

since i didnt have my camera with me in the baden-baden gig i was making some illustrations for my Report and this is what came out when i was trying to draw jimmy......  

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Sylvana

Sylvana

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Posted

It's almost Jimmy's Birthday.. So i thought maybe we should do something for him. I thought cos we don't see him before 26th september, we could make a little birthday vid :).. If you want to join the vid.. join this thread on jimmy's his own forum :)..

 

http://jimmysims.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/3340001-almost-jimmy-s-birthday-?page=last

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nico_collard

nico_collard

Posted
Posted
It's almost Jimmy's Birthday.. So i thought maybe we should do something for him. I thought cos we don't see him before 26th september, we could make a little birthday vid :).. If you want to join the vid.. join this thread on jimmy's his own forum :)..

 

http://jimmysims.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/3340001-almost-jimmy-s-birthday-?page=last

 

I'm in... but you know that!

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MikaMadLuke

MikaMadLuke

Posted
Posted
It's almost Jimmy's Birthday.. So i thought maybe we should do something for him. I thought cos we don't see him before 26th september, we could make a little birthday vid :).. If you want to join the vid.. join this thread on jimmy's his own forum :)..

 

http://jimmysims.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/3340001-almost-jimmy-s-birthday-?page=last

 

Already sent :)

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Droopsy

Droopsy

Posted
Posted (edited)

The interview he did for Bassiste:

 

28541144.png

 

42664858.png

 

14632764.png

 

I've done my best translating it.

 

What did you listen to when you started out?

 

I was 14 years old and I listened to Nirvana, Smashing Pumkins and stuff like that. I was a fan of Krist Novoselic. I quickly changed to progressive rock like Gentle Giant, Genesis, Sparks… During the 90's these groups weren't very popular! My first girlfriend was the daughter of Gentle Giant's bassist Kerry Minnear, so I started listening to his albums: Ray Shulman's bass sound stuck by me. He's incredible and even though he doesn't consider himself to be a bassist, he had an enormous influence on the way I play.

 

How did you learn to play?

I got my first bass, a Weston, for Christmas and I locked myself in my room for 3 days figuring out how to play "Dive" from Nirvana. I did, in fact, learn by listening to albums. I already played piano and trumpet for a while.

 

Many bassists started out playing the trumpet. How do you explain that?

We are a bunch indeed… I decided to quit playing the trumpet because I couldn't smoke when I had to play! Brass instruments, in the classical context anyways, mostly have a support role, not the lead role. It's the same with the bass: you can't go around showing everything you can do the entire time (though I love doing that!), and everything you do has to be in function of the song and helping the lead to shine.

 

Did you take lessons?

I had some lessons at school: there was a classical orchestra and a rock band, and the teacher who took care of it was a bassist. I did learn a lot from that experience, but I mostly learned to play by always having my bass with me. I made my parents and brothers suffer by playing in front of the TV for hours.

 

Can you summarize your many musical activities for us?

I'm working with Mika since last October, which has occupied me the most. Before that, I played with Amy MacDonald: we did concerts during summer and I also recorded for her latest album "A Curious Thing". It was great, we recorded in Paul Weller's studio and you can't imagine the gear he had! I played on a bass that belonged to Ronnie Lanes from Small Faces… A few years ago I played with my band Rushmore and I also accompanied The Saturdays. I love different kinds of music and I'm not ashamed to say: "I love pop music!"

 

How were you contacted to play with Mika?

By a friend of a friend! One of the musicians that worked with Mika, also played with The Saturdays. The world of pop music in London is a very small one. They wanted someone who knew how to play, of course, but also someone who wasn't afraid to run in all directions or to fall off the stage…

 

You didn't record with him?

No, Dan Rothchild is his bassist. He didn't want to tour anymore, but it's still him in the studio and he's amazing! There's a brilliant bit at the beginning of Grace Kelly, you can clearly hear his vintage Precision. I would love to record with Mika, but Dan is my hero!

 

Do you have to stay true to the original bass parts?

That depends on the song. Mika loves to mix it up. I learned the original parts by heart, but when we play, he makes little hand gestures when he wants to change something. It's great, you have to keep an eye and your parts are always evolving. During WAG e.g. I made it a little more rock than on the album but now we're playing an acoustic version and Mika suggested I'd do something like "Walk On The Wild Side" which worked great.

 

Were you less free with Amy MacDonald?

Those are two different approaches, two styles of music, so two styles of bass. Amy does folk rock songs where her voice is very important. She searches to keep the emotion of the guitar/voice formula. There isn't a lot you can add, her songs are simple. It's not a question of being able to change the parts; it's just that I don't want to do that! With Mika, there's more movement, but sometimes the bass is so important, it is impossible to change anything. It's about finding the right time and accepting that something simple can be good as well.

 

Do you adapt your materials to the artists you play with?

Of course! I have a lot of instruments, seeing that I worked in a shop in London before... With Mika, I had to find a balance between a pure and old school sound he's looking for and the more modern sound with songs like "Rain". So I took two Jazz Bass, one 77 and one 72….

(here is a lot of technical/bass stuff, so I'm skipping this)

 

Some Mika songs rely heavily on the bass, I'm thinking of "Love Today" in particular. You have a big responsibility on stage, right?

 

Completely. It's funny you mention Love Today: when I started playing with Mika, I immediately thought of the bass parts of Grace Kelly and WAG. But there are songs like Love Today and Big Girl that have a disco feeling to them and it's very difficult to play those with the right feeling. You know what I mean?

 

I can imagine that with those songs, the rest of the band counts on you and with other songs it's the opposite…

 

Yes it is exactly that. With Grace Kelly, I play without taking the lead whilst with love today everything rests on me. I try to turn into Bernard Edwards (bassist of Chic). I spent a lot of time finding the right sound for this song, a real challenge. Fortunately, I play with Cherisse Osei, who is a fantastic drummer. I have nothing to worry about from that side.

 

What's it like, playing huge venues during this tour?

You may feel a bit disconnected from the public. But what's fantastic about Mika is that you're not required to stay in your corner, he wants the musicians to move and go to the front; to the public. From the beginning, I was told something should be happening on stage. Therefore I had no problem going to the front rows to talk! (laughs) We played two nights at Bercy: it's a beautiful venue in a very nice area of Paris! We all love Paris and we were a bit annoyed to be at Bercy because we would have loved to walk to Notre-Dame, but in fact it is a very beautiful place! London is a great place, very alive, but not nearly as beautiful.

 

Are you stressed before playing?

I do not stress so much when playing, only when I have something new to do: the first time I had to sing at a concert, I was reliving my very first scene on stage! The first time I played the keyboard I was petrified ... For Mika, I control the sound effects and samples and the first night was terrifying!

 

Do you still find the time to take care of your own projects?

I do not write songs myself, I love playing and I try to play as much as possible. When I return to London, I immediately call my musician friends to play with them. I play in the comical show Dan & Clark e.g. I'm friends with Ben Parker of the duo Ben & Jason, and he has a studio near my apartment. When I return I always beg to let me come and record! I don't have any personal project but I just want to play as much as I can.

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Yuna

Yuna

Posted
Posted
The interview he did for Bassiste:

 

28541144.png

 

42664858.png

 

14632764.png

 

I've done my best translating it.

 

What did you listen to when you started out?

 

I was 14 years old and I listened to Nirvana, Smashing Pumkins and stuff like that. I was a fan of Krist Novoselic. I quickly changed to progressive rock like Gentle Giant, Genesis, Sparks… During the 90's these groups weren't very popular! My first girlfriend was the daughter of Gentle Giant's bassist Kerry Minnear, so I started listening to his albums: Ray Shulman's bass sound stuck by me. He's incredible and even though he doesn't consider himself to be a bassist, he had an enormous influence on the way I play.

 

How did you learn to play?

I got my first bass, a Weston, for Christmas and I locked myself in my room for 3 days figuring out how to play "Dive" from Nirvana. I did, in fact, learn by listening to albums. I already played piano and trumpet for a while.

 

Many bassists started out playing the trumpet. How do you explain that?

We are a bunch indeed… I decided to quit playing the trumpet because I couldn't smoke when I had to play! Brass instruments, in the classical context anyways, mostly have a support role, not the lead role. It's the same with the bass: you can't go around showing everything you can do the entire time (though I love doing that!), and everything you do has to be in function of the song and helping the lead to shine.

 

Did you take lessons?

I had some lessons at school: there was a classical orchestra and a rock band, and the teacher who took care of it was a bassist. I did learn a lot from that experience, but I mostly learned to play by always having my bass with me. I made my parents and brothers suffer by playing in front of the TV for hours.

 

Can you summarize your many musical activities for us?

I'm working with Mika since last October, which has occupied me the most. Before that, I played with Amy MacDonald: we did concerts during summer and I also recorded for her latest album "A Curious Thing". It was great, we recorded in Paul Weller's studio and you can't imagine the gear he had! I played on a bass that belonged to Ronnie Lanes from Small Faces… A few years ago I played with my band Rushmore and I also accompanied The Saturdays. I love different kinds of music and I'm not ashamed to say: "I love pop music!"

 

How were you contacted to play with Mika?

By a friend of a friend! One of the musicians that worked with Mika, also played with The Saturdays. The world of pop music in London is a very small one. They wanted someone who knew how to play, of course, but also someone who wasn't afraid to run in all directions or to fall off the stage…

 

You didn't record with him?

No, Dan Rothchild is his bassist. He didn't want to tour anymore, but it's still him in the studio and he's amazing! There's a brilliant bit at the beginning of Grace Kelly, you can clearly hear his vintage Precision. I would love to record with Mika, but Dan is my hero!

 

Do you have to stay true to the original bass parts?

That depends on the song. Mika loves to mix it up. I learned the original parts by heart, but when we play, he makes little hand gestures when he wants to change something. It's great, you have to keep an eye and your parts are always evolving. During WAG e.g. I made it a little more rock than on the album but now we're playing an acoustic version and Mika suggested I'd do something like "Walk On The Wild Side" which worked great.

 

Were you less free with Amy MacDonald?

Those are two different approaches, two styles of music, so two styles of bass. Amy does folk rock songs where her voice is very important. She searches to keep the emotion of the guitar/voice formula. There isn't a lot you can add, her songs are simple. It's not a question of being able to change the parts; it's just that I don't want to do that! With Mika, there's more movement, but sometimes the bass is so important, it is impossible to change anything. It's about finding the right time and accepting that something simple can be good as well.

 

Do you adapt your materials to the artists you play with?

Of course! I have a lot of instruments, seeing that I worked in a shop in London before... With Mika, I had to find a balance between a pure and old school sound he's looking for and the more modern sound with songs like "Rain". So I took two Jazz Bass, one 77 and one 72….

(here is a lot of technical/bass stuff, so I'm skipping this)

 

Some Mika songs rely heavily on the bass, I'm thinking of "Love Today" in particular. You have a big responsibility on stage, right?

 

Completely. It's funny you mention Love Today: when I started playing with Mika, I immediately thought of the bass parts of Grace Kelly and WAG. But there are songs like Love Today and Big Girl that have a disco feeling to them and it's very difficult to play those with the right feeling. You know what I mean?

 

I can imagine that with those songs, the rest of the band counts on you and with other songs it's the opposite…

 

Yes it is exactly that. With Grace Kelly, I play without taking the lead whilst with love today everything rests on me. I try to turn into Bernard Edwards (bassist of Chic). I spent a lot of time finding the right sound for this song, a real challenge. Fortunately, I play with Cherisse Osei, who is a fantastic drummer. I have nothing to worry about from that side.

 

What's it like, playing huge venues during this tour?

You may feel a bit disconnected from the public. But what's fantastic about Mika is that you're not required to stay in your corner, he wants the musicians to move and go to the front; to the public. From the beginning, I was told something should be happening on stage. Therefore I had no problem going to the front rows to talk! (laughs) We played two nights at Bercy: it's a beautiful venue in a very nice area of Paris! We all love Paris and we were a bit annoyed to be at Bercy because we would have loved to walk to Notre-Dame, but in fact it is a very beautiful place! London is a great place, very alive, but not nearly as beautiful.

 

Are you stressed before playing?

I do not stress so much when playing, only when I have something new to do: the first time I had to sing at a concert, I was reliving my very first scene on stage! The first time I played the keyboard I was petrified ... For Mika, I control the sound effects and samples and the first night was terrifying!

 

Do you still find the time to take care of your own projects?

I do not write songs myself, I love playing and I try to play as much as possible. When I return to London, I immediately call my musician friends to play with them. I play in the comical show Dan & Clark e.g. I'm friends with Ben Parker of the duo Ben & Jason, and he has a studio near my apartment. When I return I always beg to let me come and record! I don't have any personal project but I just want to play as much as I can.

 

He's so cute in this mag :wub2:

thanks for the translation :biggrin2:

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