Family History | ||||||||
In a nutshell I suppose that explains why I do what I do. ![]() At the age of 3 or 4, I first picked up a Ukelele - a crazy little 4 stringed instrument on which my Grandfather taught me to play a silly old song called "When Uncle Joe plays a rag upon the old banjo" or something like that. I have photos of myself at that age playing this thing and it's eerie seeing my hands positioned in the 'bass playing' way that I have played for the last 20 years. From the age of 5 thru 11 I played piano and have sung for as long as I can remember, but I was always more attracted to my Dad's bass than practicing scales on the piano before and after school. I used to sneak my Dad's bass out and teach myself by listening to tapes of his band at the time, and thru my early teenage life I became aware of all the early funk bass players like Larry Graham, Byron Miller and Stanley Clarke. I used to learn all the bass lines by these guys and then I discovered the great John Francis Pastorius III, Jaco. My parents raised me on all the horn bands like Chicago, Tower of Power, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Earth wind & Fire, so I was always playing along to songs by these bands as well. When I was around 13 I used to go with either Mum or Dad to their gigs on weekends and I even have an old tape of the first time I ever got on stage and played live (with a REAL band!), my Dad's band, without his bass playing in the back ground. I was suddenly 'on my own' and I'm sure listening to the tape now would make me cringe but for a 13 year old it was a big buzz for me to get that experience of playing with real players and in front of an audience. I then ditched the piano lessons because I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, a singing bass player, just like my Mum and Dad. By the time I was 16 I was doing funk gigs and mixing with all the 'heavies' in the scene. By word of mouth and hanging out with all the right people, my career took off from there and I've never looked back since. I was lucky I never had to start in 'garage bands' or do it the hard way. I certainly put in the hard work and practice though, and knew I was on the right track with the kind of music I was listening to.
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Rebecca Johnson Band - http://www.rebeccajohnson.info/
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