Yep, sure do. It was a Teisco del Ray with two pickups and a warped neck. (Laughs.) It was terrible, but I loved it. I played it through an Ampeg guitar amp that the music store swore was a bass amp. I blew that amp in about six months. I went through several no-name amps until I finally got a Fender Bassman.

Q: What was your next bass?

It was a Gibson EB-3, a newer version of the bass Jack Bruce played. It was also the longer scale, a Fender scale, not the shorter scale that most Gibsons used. With that, I managed to blow up the original speakers in the Bassman, which I traded out for JBLs.

Q: Can you tell me about your other early basses?

I traded the Bassman and the EB-3 for a Traynor amp, a few hundred watts and an 8x10 cabinet, and the bass for a Fender P-bass. Tony Zavarella of Zavarella's music knew me and my parents pretty well, so he let me make payments. I worked all summer to pay that rig off. I sold the Traynor and bought one of the first Road amps with a dual 18 cabinet. That's what I used until I joined the Navy.

I didn't play for about the first year and a half I was in the Navy, but I did use a piano to continue writing songs. Then, when I went to the Philippines, I bought a copy of a Fender and an amp and started playing in bands again. After that, I bought a Vega; it had a neck through design and a single P-bass pickup. That went through a 100-watt Yamaha combo with a 15 in a folded horn cab.

I sold the Vega to a student to help finance the purchase of a 1966 Fender P. The amp was replaced by an AMP BH-420 head and their single 15 cabinet. Later, I bought another matching cabinet. Then I got an ESP bass - it had a Early P-style body. Then I got an ESP with P/J pickups. Both of these were black, and that's when the whole "black-only" thing began.

Q: Why black?

(Laughs.) It's a secret. Can't tell you.

Q: Seriously?

Yeah, seriously. (Laughs.) It's just a very private thing, and I don't tell anyone why. Well, except for one person, but she's My Sweet Baby. (Laughs.)

Q: OK, let;s move on then. What was your next bass?

It was a Kawai, though I don't remember the model; there's no model designation anywhere on the bass. I still have that one. I eventually installed a Hipshot Detuner on the E-string and I use it as my backup now, although I haven't needed it since I got the Thunder Bass.

I've had a ton of other basses, including several 5-strings and a 6-string, but none of them stayed around long enough to talk about.

Q:Why not?

Because none of them was worth keeping. Either they didn't have the sound, or they were poorly made, or the neck wasn't right . . . whatever. They just didn't work for me, so I got rid of them right away.

Q: The Thunder Bass; that's your Spector, right?

That's right. PJ Rubal helped me with that one. We worked together to decide which options I wanted. And he helped me convince Stuart [Spector] to give it a black translucent finish over a perfect piece of Quilted Maple. I think it was the first time they'd ever done that. And it has black hardware, of course. That was not long after I started playing Edens.

Q: What made you decide to go with a Spector?

First and foremost: the tone. PJ let me play several of his instruments - 4, 5 and 6 strings, with and without the piezo bridge unit. One thing I noticed was that every one of them had the distinct Spector tone. It was very consistent from one instrument to the next. I was really impressed with that. I was also very impressed with how easy it was to get the sound I wanted out of them. They really responded to my playing styles. The only thing I can't get out of it is a fretless vibe. But I've got a secret weapon just for that. (Laughs.) The Thunder Bass can give me everything I hear in my head, and do it effortlessly.

Q: Can you tell us about how you discovered Eden?

Well, I went through a lot of different systems, everything from SVTs to rack-mounted rigs with lots of effects. Nothing really gave me what I wanted. Since the beginning, I've had a certain sound in my head. It's evolved some over the years, but basically it's been in my head since I started. And I could never get it out, couldn't get that sound to come out of the speakers or onto tape.

One day, I stopped into Veneman's Music in Rockville, MD [since sold to Guitar Center]. That's when I first met PJ, and he turned me on to Edens. They had one of the early models, before the World Tour series. It was awesome! I immediately began setting money aside to buy one. By the time I had the money, they'd come out with the WT-800. I bought that and two 4-10 cabs. [D-410XLTs] I haven't used anything else since.

Q: What do you like about the Edens?

We don't have enough time to tell you everything. The main thing is this: I finally hear in the real world what I've heard in my head for years. And I get my tone without a lot of knob turning. Basically, I use the tone controls to dial into a room if there are acoustic problems. Otherwise, I run it totally straight.

The thing is, I use a lot of different playing techniques, from finger-style to slapping, tapping, guitar-style fingerpicking, strumming, you name it. And I can go from one to the other without having to change a thing on the amp. What that does for me is allow me to concentrate on the music, not my gear. It's very liberating.

Q: What else do you use?

I bought a Baby Thunder rig in 1997, which I use for smaller stages. It's a WT-400 and a 2-10 monitor wedge. [D-210MBW] That's pretty much it. I won't play through anything else. Even when I sit in with other bands, I use one of my Edens, no matter what the bassist has. I'm addicted, you know? (Laughs.)

Q: Do you use any effects?

Not in live situations. At least, not at the moment. In the studio we use some compression, and occasionally I'll use some chorus or reverb, but not often. I get all the tonal variation I need out of my fingers; my basses and the Edens translate that very effectively. I'm in the process of working on a solo act and I'll be using a loop machine and a drum machine for that. I'm also talking to Rick Turner [of Renaissance Guitars] about a baritone guitar. I'll almost definitely use some effects on that. And I'm looking at the Diaz line of effects for both bass and guitar for that work.

Q: Why Diaz effects?

I was fortunate to play with Cesar before he passed. I've always loved his tone, especially when he started building his own amps. His wife and son are carrying on with the company. They have a Tremolo [Texas Tremodillo] unit, a distortion box [Texas Square Face] and a tone box [Texas Ranger]. All three are flat-out amazing. Very old-school, very cool, and a lot better than anything else I've ever played. There's also a Diaz amp in my future, although I haven't decided if it will be their 20-watt unit [P-XX] or the 30-watt [CD-30 Club Classic]. Well have to see when the time comes.

Q: You mentioned Renaissance. Do you have one of their basses?

Yeah, the Fretless Wonder. Its a 5-string and, of course, it's black. Rick had this very weird piece of maple, it has burl, birds-eye, quilting and flame all in one piece of wood. And he had enough that he could do book-matched front and back from the same piece. The result is a top and back that are mirror images of each other. It looks incredible. It also sounds better than any other fretless I've played.

Again, it's got a broad range of tones; there's just so many sounds I can get from it. Its a perfect companion to the Thunder Bass. It's funny, though. The D-TAR preamp only has one tone control, and yet it gives me everything I need. Rick's instruments have a sound unlike any other fretless: very organic, even when it's growling, it sounds very organic. I've been in love with them since I first played one. Now we're talking about a baritone guitar to match.

Q: Do you own any other basses?

I have a little Squier Acoustic Electric bass - a 4-string. That's the bass I used for the main bass track on "Underground." Mostly, though, I use it for sitting on the porch and fiddling around, or sitting around a fire. Just a practice bass, really.

Q: Is that all, then?

For the moment, yes. I'm not what you'd call a collector. I'm not into having a closet full of instruments, because they'd just be wasted. My basses are my tools, the things I use to get the sound from my heart to the audience or tape. Granted, I've got some GREAT tools, but they're all I need. In the near future I plan to get another Spector or two as back-ups, but not until I start touring the new project. I may also get another Ren just for touring. I'm a bit concerned about taking the two main basses on the road for extended periods of time. But as far as getting my sound, my style out there, I've got everything I need in those two basses. I'm still finding new tones with each of them.

Q: Let's talk about endorsements. You endorse Eden and Spector, right?

Absolutely and completely. I've always been very impressed with both companies and the products they make. I'm very proud and extremely honored to endorse them.

Q: There's a lot of gossip about endorsers getting paid, that they don't really use the gear they endorse. What's your take on that?

I have no respect whatsoever for anyone that would get involved in that kind of thing. And I don't know anyone who gets paid by either Eden or Spector. The folks that do in-store appearances get paid for those, but - to me - that's a gig, and you should be compensated. But not just to say you play an instrument or use an amp or whatever, especially when you're not really using it.

To me, a musician who does that kind of thing is the worst kind of prostitute, because they're lying. They're cheating the people that read the ads and the articles in which they claim to use that gear. While it's not the only reason anyone buys a certain product, people are influenced by those ads and buy that stuff. That's fraud in the worst way.

As I said, I'm honored to be counted among the endorsers of both companies, among such wonderful musicians. And I'm proud of my relationship with them. Anyone that comes to see me play will see me using the gear I endorse and nothing else.

Q: You've said before that tone and feel come from the heart. Where does equipment fit into that?

Yeah, it's true: it all starts in the heart. That's where I hear my true self, you know? When I listen with my heart, I hear the way the music is supposed to sound. The challenge is to get that same sound out to the listener so they can experience the true depth of the music. It's true that, on most basses and amps, I sound like myself and no one else. But with the right gear, I get more of my true sound, my true self, out to the audience. Also, having the perfect bass and the perfect amp allows me to concentrate fully on the music. I don't get caught up in thinking about how it should sound. All I have to do is open my heart and let the music out. Simple, huh? (Laughs.)

Q: Any last words?

Just keep thumpin'!

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