Cris Cohen: So while we're on the topic of the bass, the stereotype is… it is rare for someone to say, “I'm going to be a bass player.” For so many, it was, “I was a guitarist, but it is hard to find gigs as a guitarist. And then I took one lesson on the bass, and I was suddenly in a band.” I was curious about the path for you. Did you choose the bass? Did you come to it via the guitar?
Jett Beres of Sister Hazel: No, I started on bass. I had a background in piano. So, I had some chops and some rudimentary understanding of scales and what my left hand did and what that was in the song. There were some buddies that had a band, and it was cool to hang out with them and to watch. And they didn't like their bass player. One day he left early, and I was just hanging out. They handed me the bass and taught me, “Ain't Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” (by Van Halen). It was the first song. Because it's super easy. And it was off to the races from there.
They were like, “Hey, you should be in the band. Just learn these songs.” So I asked my dad if he would get me a bass, and he did. Didn't really know much about the instrument (that was in eighth grade), but from then on, I was always a bass player.
Cris Cohen: And what attracted you to it? Because your type of bass playing… You're not like the Victor Wooten slap solo kind of thing. Yours is very much meshing with the drums, with the music on the whole. And it falls into that category of, maybe some people won't notice it, but if it was removed, people would be like, “All right, there's something important missing here.” So, what drew you to it?
Jett Beres: Yeah. I think that's kind of my role in the band and in anything. I'm a team guy. I've always worked better on a team in sports. I've always been kind of a utility guy, a bridge. And that's what the bass is in the band. And I love that role. I love that role of accentuating the rhythms with the drums. What I would say to any bass player out there that's getting started, or even that's been doing it and likes to solo… You want be in a band? Watch the drummer's foot and tune into it and play in and around it. Then you're bridging that with the top end instruments: The guitars, the keys.
And you're exactly right. When you start noticing bass, it's probably, depending on the project you're in… in Sister Hazel and the kind of songs we write, it should just be a feel thing. When it's not there, you'll miss it. But if you're hearing it too much, you're probably overplaying. <laugh>