Planet Bass - The Matthew Cohen Interview April 2004

Matthew Cohen is has been playing bass for 18 years and has played in many different bands and done numerous session work. In 2002 he released an album with a band called Erasmus to rave reviews. Since then he has joined and toured with the critically acclaimed and much touted progressive rock band Magenta. Matthew is also one of the co-webmasters of this site. Magenta's website is at- www.magenta-web.com Erasmus's web site was - >www.erasmus-world.fsnet.co.uk

What inspired you to first pick up a bass and what were your first attempts at playing it like?

Crikey, that’s a hard one.  Since about the age of 5 I have had a fascination with music as my Grandfather had a load of different types of musical gear around his house.  Then watching things like Top Of The Pops, I wanted to play what they were playing.  I had my first guitar at 6 and started to have lessons at 7, but Star Wars came along and that took over for a while, but music was always there.  I got my first Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Deep Purple records at that time and really enjoyed listening to them.  In 1980 I was introduced to Iron Maiden and that stuff was shit hot, really loud and fast.  Then at the age of 11 I went to see Rainbow in St.David's Hall in Cardiff.  That just blew my mind and then when I saw Iron Maiden in 1984 on the Powerslave tour, Steve Harris convinced me that the bass was the way to go.  What he was doing was incredible and I have never looked back, bass is the place.

Who were your early influences and what did you learn from them?

My early influences were, as stated above, Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, John Deacon of Queen and Roger Glover of Deep Purple.  What did I learn from them?  That the bass is cool!

Did you take lessons or are you self-taught?

I had a guitarist friend show me what the notes were on the bass and how to play “Another One Bites The Dust”  when I first started, but after that I taught myself.  I have never had a formal lesson in how to play bass.

What’s the most important bit of advice you were given by another musician?

I was told to understand your role in a band set-up and don’t step on each other’s toes.  Listen to what is being played and compliment it.  Also, believe in your music and have confidence in your playing ability.  A band and its music are only as good as the musicians in that band that play it.  Don’t bring an over inflated ego into the situation.  You have to have confidence to walk on stage and perform, but don’t let that confidence turn into a power trip and then start to believe that you are something you are not.  When in a band, you have to work as one to create a big picture for everyone to enjoy.

What’s the most important bit of advice you could give to new bassists?

Listen, lock in, have fun and enjoy the ride however far you go in this business.

Where do you stand on the old fingers vs. plectrums debate and why?

Personally I am a fingers guy only because my favourite bass players, when I started were mainly using their fingers so I copied them.  As time has gone on I have obviously developed my style using fingers, but I understand why people use a plectrum, but it just never felt right for me.

Do you play 4, 5 or 6 string basses mainly? Fretted or unfretted?

I started on 4 string basses and made the leap straight to 6 string bass.  What a great instrument, but there seems to be this thing where people think if you have a 6 string bass then you should be on guitar.  Never understood that.  A 6 string just allows you to open up a little more.  Anyway, it suits me so there!

How would you define your style of playing?

I am primarily a rock bass player, but with the type of music I play in my band Magenta, I get to groove, riff, harmonise and solo, so I have everything I need.

Tell us a little about the artists you have worked with, and how/if you adapted to playing with each of them?

I have played with all types of musicians and I wandered around aimlessly for a while trying to find my groove (excuse the pun).  When I got the call for Magenta I had just recorded an album (Erasmus – Voyage) with the producer (Rob Reed), who’s band Magenta is.  When he asked me to join, I was over the moon but I had to prove myself to secure the position.  Rob writes all the bass lines, but live, you have some freedom to play with them.  When I came into this band I was a little inexperienced playing with these types of class musicians so I had a sharp learning curve to climb.  My style changed quite allot as I had to learn not just how to hold things down but how to move out of those boundaries and still keep it together.  Magenta’s music is very bass led, so you really have to be aware of queues and timing.  The best learning experience of my life.

Who was the most inspirational and in what way?

It has to be Magenta as a whole.  Each and every musician in this band is an inspiration.  Whenever I get together with this band, whether it is in rehearsal or in a gig situation, you know that you are going to feed off some of the best players on the scene.  They make me play better because they do it so well and with such enthusiasm and we really do have a magical spark when playing.  We communicate, laugh and all pull in the same direction never loosing site of the fact that we love doing this regardless of where we are and I have never had that before in an entire band.  So, Magenta as a whole are the most inspirational bunch of musicians I have played with, period.

Do you warm up before a gig and if so how?

Yes I do.  I pick up the bass at least an hour before I go on stage and just run through some scales and some parts of the songs.  I found that if I didn’t warm up and then went into a 2 hour show, I would invariably cramp up and that can be extremely dangerous for your career as well as very bloody painful.

Do you have any other last minute rituals or habits before a gig?

Yes I do again.  I shut the fuck up.  I get so nervous that I sit by myself to try and calm down.  If I am around allot of people I can’t really talk to them as I am too busy concentrating on the gig, I really do get scared, but once I am up there, I love it.  Well worth the sweat, shit and tears.

What do you drink onstage?

I drink water and tonic water while on stage.  I never drink alcohol before I play.  I always wait for the booze after a gig and make up for lost drinking time.

Have you ever played while drunk or under the influence of drugs?

I have played drunk once, but that was when I was 18 and it was my birthday.  Since that day I have never been on stage drunk.  Also, I don’t do drugs, so no; I have never been on stage under the influence of drugs either.

What’s the biggest disaster you’ve ever had onstage, and how did you cope with it?

Forgetting parts of songs has been my biggest disaster and I just pretended my amp was playing up.  I would fiddle with the amp and then rejoin the song when I had composed myself.

What’s the biggest disaster you’ve ever had in the studio, and how did you cope with it?

Nothing of major consequence.  The biggest problem is always red light syndrome.

What’s been your proudest playing moment?

The proudest moment was walking out on stage with Magenta in Baja, Mexico in front of 1100 people playing only our 3^rd ever gig and at the end of each song and at the end of the set (4 songs each over 20 minutes long) we received a standing ovation with the biggest cheers I have ever heard.  Nothing can ever replace that feeling.  MAD and SUPERB!!!

What’s been the most fun playing moment, and why?

The most fun playing moment must be at The Astoria in London.  We were the opening act for the Progeny Festival.  We went on stage and there were about 10 people there.  The doors had only just opened.  As we played through the set we could see people running in and the place really started to fill up.  By this stage we were in our stride and we really started connecting with the audience that day.  By the end of the set there were about 600 people in and they went mental.  That was fun.

What’s been the least fun playing moment, and why?

All I will say on this matter is that we once did a gig somewhere in England and it was extremely hot and sticky and the on stage sound sucked big style.  I couldn't hear the bass as my rig was facing the drummer for a reason best left alone, so I just kept my head down and concentrated on the parts I had to play.  Anyway, it was a bit of a nightmare, but the audience liked it and that was all that mattered at the end of the day.

What equipment do you use live and in the studio and why?

I am now endorsed by Warwick which I am really pleased about.  I have just ordered a new Custom Warwick Streamer Stage I 6 String which I can't wait to get my hands on.  At the moment I use a Warwick Streamer LX 6 String Custom in the studio and live and it is a beautiful and versatile instrument that has been around the world with me and never let me down.  My main live rig is a Warwick ProFet IV head with a Warwick W-211 Pro cab and a Warwick W-115 Pro cab with a Korg DTR-1 rack tuner.  I also use Roland PK-5 midi bass pedals when playing live.  The bass in the studio is always D.I’d with some compression as it is far more controllable through the desk and I only use a clean sound anyway.  The on board circuitry on the Warwick’s is second to none.  Clean and punchy.

Are you fairly flexible about the equipment you use or must you always play with the same gear?

I only use my basses.  I know how they are set up and how they play so I wouldn’t want to use anyone else’s bass, which would make me feel very uncomfortable.  With amps I am generally quite flexible because when you play abroad you are generally hiring in equipment and if you can’t get what you want; you play through what the promoters can get their hands on.  Again, my sound is fairly straight.  I EQ the high end and the low end is flat, so I know how to get a close approximation of my sound quite easily through most amp set-ups.

What one piece of equipment would you advise all bass players to own?

A Korg DTR-1 rack tuner without a shadow of a doubt, it is one of the most important pieces of kit any bass player should own.  There is no excuse for not being in tune on stage.

Do you read music?

Slowly and badly.  I can read tab, but so can everyone.

Do you play any other instruments, and how well?

I do play guitar, but just simple chords and runs.  I also play some drums, but again some quite simple beats but I am determined to get better on drums, I love them.  I can also play basic chords on the keyboards but again nothing special, just enough to lay some tracks down in the studio so I can play along to them.

Do you write or co-write songs and if so do you write on the bass?

In Magenta the music is already written, so I just have to learn the parts, which can be quite a mammoth task, but great fun.  In my other projects I co-write and it is on the bass.  I have started to use guitar more, but I still mainly write on the bass.

Do you ever play cover versions, and if so how do you learn the originals note for note or do you improvise you own parts?

I have played cover versions and I generally learn a very close approximation of the song.  As long as the main melody and feel doesn’t change and the song doesn’t become unrecognisable to the listener, then I am not that concerned with learning the bass parts note for note.

Do you sing? Do you feel it is important?

I am not a singer but I wish I could.  I have a limited range that can be used now and again for backing vocals but I would love to be able to have a good range and use it properly.  I just love multi-layered harmonies in bands.

If you could nominate one song that you’ve recorded to sum up your playing style and feel which one would it be?

It would be a song called “Broken” by Magenta.  It has everything in it.  It has melody and groove with allot of tension and then a really mellow middle section building up to a huge solo piece leading out to a massive, explosive ending.  It is a real roller coaster in 4 minutes and you feel quite exhausted afterwards but very satisfied.

What have you been doing recently?

I have been gearing up, as have the rest of the band, to the launch of our second album “Seven” which was released on 1^st March 2004.  The single “Broken” then comes out in June 2004.  We are now preparing for the tour and getting a number of different sets together depending on whether we are headlining or supporting.  It is allot of work getting the sets right, making sure we leave the fans happy, but it is great fun and I can’t wait to get out and play.  Playing live is where it happens and it really is a special place to be, especially if you love the music and you have the right friends on stage sharing and creating that with you, which I am very lucky to have.

Do you have a personal or band website? Or would you like to recommend any other useful websites?

The Magenta web site can be found at www.magenta-web.com.  You will find the latest news, tour dates, photos, MP3’s, merchandise, competitions and links.  There is something for everyone on the site and it is very easy to navigate.  Go on, log on and have a look, you know you want to.

Back to: Magenta.