HW: So how did you get into music?

DS: I remember having a good singing voice as a small child and I was always being picked to sing in the school choir way before I joined the church choir. Both my elder brothers played acoustic guitars at home and one of them learned the piano too so I was always around music. When I went to secondary school I decided I wanted to play the saxophone but they didn't have one. I attended a music evening and the only other instrument that caught my eye was a trombone. I was so fascinated by the fact it had a slide compared to keys or valves on other instruments. My parents put a request in for me but the school only had one trombone and it went to someone else. The school then gave me a euphonium to learn which I attempted for six months or so but then realised I just wasn't enjoying it.

HW: How old were you when you started playing bass?

DS: I eventually began learning the trombone when I was 14, so must have been 15 when I started playing bass guitar. By the time I was 16 I was also playing double bass.

HW: What was the first bass guitar and double bass you owned and have you still got them?

DS: My first bass guitar was a KAY Fender Precision copy. It was natural wood colour with a black scratch plate and it weighed a ton! It wasn't all that great, but it got me started. I got rid of it fairly quickly to buy a better instrument. My first double bass was an extremely unpleasant cheap unnamed plywood bass, with an action that you could limbo under and a wooden peg in the end instead of an adjustable metal end pin. I part exchanged it after six months in the same shop to get an older better quality bass which I still own today.

HW: When you were at school, how much bass practice did you do?

DS: It was initially just for fun so I didn't do that much bass practice to begin with. I was doing at least three hours per day on the trombone though.

 HW: Which do you prefer playing, bass guitar or double bass?

DS: I think I have more of an affinity for the double bass. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that it has similarities to the trombone, where you really have to use your ears and develop good muscle memory to play in tune. The double bass is a far more challenging instrument compared to the bass guitar and I do like a challenge.

HW: When did you learn to read music? Do you think this is an essential part of a bass player’s skill set if they want to be a session player?

DS: I joined my local church choir when I was 10 and stayed until I was 18.We were singing from hymn books and I guess I was following the music to some extent, but the parts were simple and were just as easy to pick up by ear. I really learnt to read music properly after taking up the trombone. By the time I started playing the bass guitar, my reading was very good because I was playing far more complex music on the trombone than I ever needed to on the bass. This gave me a great head start as a session bassist because at that time, very few bass guitarists were known for their reading skills and most of them played by ear or used chord charts. Back then if you turned up at a session, you really needed to be able to read written notation, interpret chord charts and improvise a bass part out of thin air.

These days it's probably still true to some extent, but it's more likely that as a session player now, you turn up to a studio and the producer and engineer will play you a basic track already recorded and you have to play along with it several times and come up with a suitable bass part. There may be a partially written bass line or a basic chord chart or maybe neither. You just have to be prepared for every eventuality.

HW: Did you study classical playing?

DS: I was classically taught on the trombone, but I'm a selftaught bassist and I never did any orchestral bass playing. When teaching myself the double bass I worked through the usual literature. Over the years I've had a few lessons with orchestral players to help with my bowing technique. At some point I'd like to do some orchestral bass playing but it would have to fit in around the Jools gig.

HW: Did you go to music college?

DS: No. I wasn't particularly good academically and frankly I was quite intimidated by school and the whole education system so the thought of going on to higher education of any kind never entered my mind. Now, my thirst for musical knowledge knows no bounds and I'll forever be the eternal student. Better late than never.

HW: How old were you when you did your first paid gig and can you remember what kind of gig it was?

DS: I can't remember exactly but I was probably about 16. I think it was in a pub with a band made up of friends from school.

HW: Who's been the greatest artist you've played for?

DS: The list of amazing international artists I've played with is getting longer all the time and it's getting harder to remember exactly who I've played for, but if I had to pick one out, it would have to be Chaka Khan. I was a fan of hers anyway, so I was hugely excited when I heard we were going to be playing with her. We played ‘Ain't Nobody' and 'I'm Every Woman' live on television. She was, and still is an incredible performer and I'm so thrilled that I got to work with her.

HW: Is there anyone you'd love to play with that you haven’t yet?

DS: The one artist that always stands out that I've not worked with yet is Stevie Wonder. Working with him would be a dream come true.

HW: How do you find touring and where's the best place you’ve been?

DS: I love touring but it can get quite exhausting with all the travelling. It's important to keep your mind occupied, so I always have my computer, iPod or a book with me. If I have to spend a lot of time in my hotel room, I'll make good use of it by doing the usual practice on bass guitar and my trombone which I always take with me now. I use a mute so I don't disturb the people next door!

I do try to do some tourist stuff, but it's important not to lose sight of why you are there. It's not easy to pick out a favourite place, but I loved touring around Australia and I got to play in the Sydney opera house.

One of the most beautiful places I've visited was Koh Samui in Thailand. We also spent several days in St Petersburg which I found fascinating. I'd never been to Russia before and it was quite different from anywhere else I'd visited. I very much enjoyed the vodka and caviar!

HW: Which double basses do you have at the moment?

DS: I currently own two acoustic double basses. A 1939 Ernst Heinrich Roth and a 1906 Hawkes Concert. I'm hoping to have a bass built for me by the great Roger Dawson who's been working on my double basses for over 20 years now. I also have a new addition to my collection. It's a foldable, collapsible, electric upright bass called a Volante made in France by Maurice Dupont. From the front it resembles a traditional double bass, but the sides then fold in and the neck is removable so the whole instrument and stand fits into a golf club sized flight case. This instrument was perfect for our recent world tour where it would have been impossible to take a traditional double bass. It’s the best electric upright bass I've ever played. The front functions just as an acoustic instrument does, with its own bass bar and shortened sound post. It has the closet look, feel and sound to an amplified double bass that I've ever encountered.

HW: With so many basses, how do you choose the right bass for the gig?

DS: If we are playing with an artist on TV or radio, we'll usually be playing a song that they've previously recorded so I'll try and use a bass that sounds similar to the recording. There may be a time when I need a double bass sound, but using that instrument would be impractical or even impossible so I'll choose a guitar which I can make sound similar. Maybe my semi-acoustic Rob Allen which is fretless with flat wound strings. By dampening the strings with the heel of my right hand while plucking with my thumb, I can get a convincing sound.

HW: If you were going to have a dinner party with four guest musicians, dead or alive, who would you invite?

DS: I'd invite Scott LaFaro, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles and Duke Ellington. Scott Lafaro is my hero of the double bass. He was an incredible, inventive virtuosic player and a true innovator. It was so tragic that he lost his life in a car accident when he was only 25.

HW: If you could give one piece of advice to a young player what would it be?

DS: If you don't have any piano skills, get some! Most bass players and other non-keyboard players usually don't have a good grasp of harmony. Spending time at a keyboard will help a great deal and be extremely beneficial to your overall musicianship. Other than that, make good use of your time as a young musician, because as you get older, other aspects of your life tend to take over and the playing of music often has to take a back seat while you deal with the trials and tribulations of adult life.//