Gary Willis is one of the world's most well respected bassists because of his creativity, deep pocket, and amazing sense of harmony. He is also well known for his unique playing style that gives him tremendous control over his dynamics. Such an intense playing style demands a lot from his equipment and this makes us very proud to have Gary performing all over the world using Aguilar Amplification. Let's learn more about some of Gary's upcoming projects.
David Avenius - You have a new album out right now with the group "Slaughterhouse 3". Who is involved in that project and how did it come about?
Gary Willis - Slaughterhouse 3 is Llibert Fortuny (sax, EWI) , Kirk Covington (drums) and myself. Back in 2005 while Kirk was here working with me on my solo project we played a few trio gigs with Llibert. It was like\ turning on a switch - we were able to go so many places musically. So we had Kirk back, scheduled a few more concerts and then went into the studio for a couple of days. No rehearsing, no composing, we just went into the studio and jammed and ended up with like 20 something tunes. But I think the result isn't typical of what you'd expect from a "jam-band" situation. For example, Llibert (yee-beart), unlike most saxophonists out there, is unique in that instead of just looking for places to solo, he's more interested in the direction of the group's improvisation and where it can go.
DA - Your next solo album is going to be out this spring. Who played on it and what should we expect compared to your previous albums?
GW - Kirk is on it as well as a great drummer from here David Gómez. It's turned out to be quite different. My previous CD's were really more like band projects and featured a lot of individual and collective improvisation.\ So compared to this one, those were relatively easy to do, since the musical focus was distributed to a collection of really great musicians. This one's turned out to be a much bigger challenge since I've decided to take responsibility for just about everything that happens. I didn't plan it that way but I've learned a lot in the process. It's really obnoxious to narrow it down to styles but if you put a gun to my head - I'd have to say it runs in the direction of some drum n bass, funk, undergound hip-hop, rock, even the f-word (fusion).
DA - When do you expect to have the album done and available to the public? Some of us have been anxiously waiting!
GW - I'm releasing it myself so it's up to me but I've got a personal deadline of finishing in February. That means a March release and I feel like I'm far enough along that it'll happen. I realize it's been a hell of a long time since I've done a solo CD but what can I say - life happens. This one has taken a couple of years but during that time Slaughterhouse 3 came about. Still, I'm trying to learn how to keep a balance of immersing myself in something like this while still having a life.
DA - What is it about Aguilar gear that compliments your unique playing\ style?
GW - A big part of how music feels, especially from the bass, comes from dynamics - the differences in volume of individual notes and tonal characteristics that I try to get out of my hands. Aguilar is the only system I can trust for that kind of expressiveness. That doesn't mean that it's always subtle - sometimes a groove has to sound take-no-prisoners huge . . . yeah, it does that, too.
DA - Which Aguilar pieces are you currently using?
GW - My all-time favorite rig - the DB750 with a stack of three GS 112's. The GS 112 has the perfect balance between lows and mids that I haven't found in any other cabinet. I know 10's have been popular for a long time\ but to get 10's to move enough air in the low frequencies, you have to put them in a bigger box. So you end up hearing more of the box than the speaker and the low mids can become overshadowed by the lower frequencies. Simply because of the physics the 12 can move more low frequencies than a 10, but proportionally the GS 112 is a smaller box so you hear more of the speaker and less of the box. You end up with the fullness of a bigger box but tight mids and low-mids that help define the beginning and end of the notes better. The 750 is one of the only systems out there that can handle the challenge of 2 ohm load that comes from using 3 speakers. I get tons of headroom but it all fits in a Barcelona taxi.
DA - Do you have any upcoming touring plans that will bring you to the US?
GW - I expect to be making my annual Gerald Veasley's Bass Bootcamp pilgrimage this spring but I expect the rest of the year will involve\ Europe.
DA - You've been living in Spain for the last few years - how is the music scene in Europe compared to your experiences in the US?
GW - The support for live music in Europe has always been stronger than what I've experienced in the US. It's just more of an accepted part of the lifestyle to go hear live music. There's a lot of enthusiasm for jazz and creative kinds of music that in the US would get you marginalized socially.
DA - Where will the new albums be available?
GW - They'll be available (CD and digital) from http://slaughterhouse3.com/ and http://garywillis.com/ as well as the usual suspects http://www.audiophileimports.com/, http://abstractlogix.com/, http://www.cdbaby.com/ and a hopefully a host of (legal) download affiliates.
