The Music Biz: Interview with Bass Player Blair de Pape

While most rock star wannabes get into the biz looking for that shooting star that is a record deal, a hot song, or a platinum selling album, the backbone of the music industry is built on hours, days and years of hard work. Musicians with incredible talent and experience can be found in the most unlikely venues as well as the biggest stages. What most career musicians have in common is not 40 gold records on their walls, but a legacy of hard work, good music, and versatility. There are the ups and downs of working on project you don't believe in and those you truly believe in, there are brushes and bursts of commercial success, and there is, at the core of it, a love of the craft, of being on stage, and of making great music. Bass player Blair de Pape gives us some insight into a 25 year career in which he has seen, heard and done what it takes to make a life of his music.

Blair de Pape is a bass player extraordinaire with over 25 years of performing and recording experience. He has paired with labels of both independent and major likes. He credits his longevity with his mastery of diverse styles and types of bass, including fretted, fretless, upright electric and upright acoustic. Over the years, he has played with too many bar bands to count, as well as some big Canadian names like Sue Medley, Kenny Shields and Streetheart, Deadbeat Honeymooners, Chris Burke-Gaffney, McMaster and James, Jann Arden, Chantal Kreviazuk, Kyle Riabko, and Harlequin.

From smokey blues bars to arena rock, he has also played gigs opening for Brian Adams, Extreme, Guns n' Roses, Bob Dylan, Jason Mraz, George Thorogood, Sarah McClaughlan, Kim Mitchell, Blue Rodeo, Glen Phillips, Blue Oyster Cult, and Loverboy. Here, he focuses his sharp eye and even sharper wit on what has brought him through to this point.

LM: What was your musical background when you got started?

BDP: I started playing bass in grade 12. My musical background at that point was five years of violin.

LM: How many bands would you say you have played with, and in how many different styles of music?

BDP: Being a freelance bass-for-hire for 25 years, I've played with more bands than I can remember all the names of. A ball park figure of around 50 wouldn't be excessive.

LM: You have a diverse repertoire of skills: you can play anything from pop to classic rock, blues to funk. At any time did you consciously sit down and teach yourself any of these styles of music? How did you get your education?

BDP: I'm self-taught which in some ways is admirable I suppose, but also made for some glaring holes in my theory knowledge in the early days. I did woodshed various styles as they caught my interest but never formally.

LM: What are some of your most professionally rewarding experiences in your career thus far?

BDP: Making a living thumping a bass. Passing on some trinkets of bass knowledge that I have taken for granted to a young student (I teach bass) who now "gets it". Being lucky enough to reach some of those tangible industry markers of so called success that I dreamed of as a kid ie. Gold Records, The "Big Stage", Junos etc. Having the honour of sharing the stage with some very talented musicians and songwriters.

LM: You just came off a hectic 6 week tour of the United States and Canada, which is far from your first foray into extended North American touring. You have also toured through Eastern and Western Europe. What is the positive side to playing a tour such as the one you just came off of?

BDP: Getting to play some cool venues in most of the major US cities. Working with world class crew and techs, testing my personal limits of sleep deprivation, gaining intimate working knowledge of the interior of the 2004 E350 Ford 15 passenger extended van and coming back home.

LM: You have played with some big Canadian names like Jann Arden and Chantal Kreviazuk. Money aside, what is the difference between playing in a local band and playing with a big name?

BDP: Perceived prestige, as it were, and not having to lug my own gear are the biggies.

LM: As the bass player, you haven't often been front man in the band. Is that something you have been happy to avoid, or would like to try?

BDP: Since my singing voice is suspect at best [LM interjection: completely untrue: he does a mean "Walk on the Wild Side"], I've no great desire to front a band nor have I had to do it much in the past.

LM: What do you feel your role in a band is, or does that change with every group dynamic?

BDP: My role in the band is slightly different with each different band, but basically my job is to dig a trench so deep no one gets out without consent of the rhythm section.

LM: How many sticks do you have to have in the fire to have made a living as a local musician for this long?

BDP: All of them. I'm a bass slut. I'll play with most anyone, anytime, anywhere--unless I have a hockey game.

LM: The music industry seems to be a place of slippery alliances. Has the business made you jaded?

BDP: Jaded is such a nasty stain to remove. Let's go with cautiously experienced.

LM: What advice would you give to a young artist who wants to have longevity in the music industry?

BDP: Work hard at your chosen craft, be respectful and professional. Be punctual and in tune. Ask questions if you don't get it. Shower regularly. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Listen with big elephant ears and always remember that time is God.

LM: Now that you have a young child, how do you see the industry differently?

BDP: I'm adding a case of size 3 pampers and a flat of 24 mini jars of pureed butternut squash to my rider. Somehow the industry must now pledge fealty to my 8 month old daughter or be banished from the realm.

LM: What is the most predictable aspect of the music industry?

BDP: The most predictable aspect of the industry is the same as any other industry on the planet we consumerist monkeys screech and gibber about "“ money.

LM: What is the most unpredictable?

BDP: The most unpredictable aspect is longevity and security maybe. But I wouldn't count on it.

LM: In your experience, what is does the landscape of an average long-term musician's career look like?

BDP: Great question. The average long term musician's landscape should, in my opinion, appear as long, gently rolling hills of hard work, networked with a series of variously styled roads and paths crossing calm waters over bridges that never burn, fading off into the sunset of a respectable reputation with the phone still ringing now and again.