INTERVIEW JEFF SCHMIDT

Interview with Jeff Schmidt

Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com 1/10
Hi Jeff.
It has lately become quietly around you
as a solo bassist. What do you do at the
moment?
True, it has been quiet in my bass world.
The last solo bass gig I played was in
early 2009. It was a house concert. And
while it was a good show, I remember
feeling really negative about it
afterwards.
I felt like I was putting way too much
effort into solo bass performances, and
not getting as much enjoyment back out
of it. Too much effort - too little reward.
On the car ride home that night - I told
my wife, I'm done. At least for now - I'm
not doing any more coffee shop / house
concert type gigs until I feel like I can
enjoy it again. There's lots of reasons
why I stopped enjoying it, so I really just
needed to stop.
I continued to play bass on and off. But I
totally abandoned the daily practice
regimen I had going for several years.
When I realized I didn't miss it, I took
that as a sign that I need to give my
music effort as much space as needed. I
would go weeks without even touching
the bass. That was totally inconceivable
to me just 6 months prior.
Around that time the economy
collapsed. Work colleagues were loosing
their jobs and my career in radio seemed
to be in very real jeopardy. So I put my
Interview with Jeff Schmidt
Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com
energies into finding my "next career". I
began pursuing post production and
sound design for visual media. I've found
enough going on in creating video game
music and sound design to keep me
pretty busy.
I still have the radio job, but I spend
almost all my non-radio time creating
sound & music for video games. That
was the time I used to spend practicing
bass.
In May of this year, I played bass on the
score for an upcoming Sony video game
(can't disclose the title yet) .
I was recently hired by Devin Townsend
to create 2 short fretless bass solo
compositions for his new record. I think
he's going to produce them with more
instrumentation so they won't be "solo
bass" on his record.
I've been experimenting a lot recently
with solo bass ideas that are technically
far simpler than my previous work. Not
sure when or how it will be released. But
I'm feeling the bug again. So I'm playing
more, but it's all compositional, rather
than the "practice" and drills like I used
to do.
2/10
Nice, I really like the idea of a
collaboration of Devin Townsend and
Jeff Schmidt. Has he made clear
guidelines to the music you had to
write?
Bizarre right?
I was working in the home studio one
night on a sound design project for
World Of Warcraft, and I noticed an
email from Devin Townsend pop up on
my laptop. At first I thought it was his
mailing list so I kept working, but when I
glanced at it again I noticed the first line
seemed too personal to be a newsletter.
So I opened it.
He wrote something like he was an
aspiring bassist, saw my stuff online,
liked it, and he was a fan. Short &
simple.
Well, I was blown away. To hear from
Devin Townsend personally!
So I emailed him back, gushed about
how flattered I was (cuz I was) and we
ended up exchanging a few emails.
He said he was working on a different
approach for some new music and sent
me a demo. He didn't ask - but I pulled
out the fretless and played some stuff on
it. Not bass lines, but more melodic
flourishes. I tucked it in the background
with some smokey, cloudy reverbs and
sent it back. He said he liked it, and that
was that. That was March 2010, I think.
Then, out of nowhere he drops me a
Interview with Jeff Schmidt
Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com
note in Sept asking if he could hire me to
play on his new record. I was like - SURE!
He was looking for some transition
pieces. So he send me a few tracks he
wanted something to fit between. I
listened, got a feel for the vibe and
wrote 2, 1:30 pieces he could use as
transitions. His only direction was
"something beautiful". So it helped me
focus, but also left a lot to
interpretation.
I sent the pieces totally dry - no effects,
assuming he'd produce them to sound
like "Devin". I can't wait to hear what
he's done with them.
I actually really liked the quick
turnaround and the shortness of the
pieces. I did it in a single evening session.
Write and record.
Doing short pieces is something I've
thought about doing before. But I always
turned away from that because there is
momentum behind the idea that "real
music", "serious" music or "substantial"
music is lengthy. But I now think that's a
load.
There's a lot of solo bass stuff out there
(including my own) that would have
been perfect at 1:30 or 2 minutes, but
was stretched into 4 and 5 minute long
pieces. Or even longer!
These days, I'm feeling like a 2-3 minute
solo bass song could be the most perfect
length.
3/10
Isn´t it more a question of
compositional ideas and interpretation
than a question of length?
In the abstract - certainly. Or if the point
is the composition itself, rather than
serving some other purpose such as
supporting a dominant visual.
In realty, i hear a lot of 4 minute plus
solo bass pieces, which to my ears
anyway, are really 90 seconds
of compositional ideas stretched out
to fill 4 minutes.
As a composer and someone who has
also done that, I'm compelled to wonder
why.
What is it about either our internal
beliefs and/or the culture at
large that won't let us simply allow a
solid :90 musical idea be a
:90 idea. Why the need to make it
"more"?
I can only answer that for myself. In my
case there's an instinct
that a "song" is 3-5 minutes.
So if I have an idea that is completely
stated in only 90 seconds, I
sense an urge to use repeat or embellish
it to make it longer.
To make it conform to a generally
accepted definition of a "song". In
such a case, length is not
compositionally driven, but driven
instead by external expectation. From
the culture or the marketplace.
Interview with Jeff Schmidt
Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com
I'm experimenting with getting out from
under that kind of thinking.
You said that you´re creating sounds
and music for video-games. Do you play
yourself?
Of course! I don't think you can create
great sound for games without being a
player.
But I'm not what I'd call an achievement
based player. Not by any stretch. In other
words - I don't play games with the
intent to get high scores, make leader
boards, or to rack up a lot of
achievements.
Most console based games can take 20-
40 hours or longer to complete.
Between my radio, music, sound for
games and film work, I really don't have
the time to game hardcore like that. But,
when I find a title that totally pulls me in
and gets me addicted - I have lost entire
weekends to it - for sure!
Mostly I just game to blow off steam, get
engrossed in some really creative
interactive storytelling, and yes - to go
nuts and blow shit up. :)
4/10
On your Sfx-homepage www.jeff-
schmidt.com we can get an idea of your
work. Really nice stuff! What projects
have you worked on recently?
I played bass on some tracks for an
upcoming Sony PlayStation 3 game - and
created sound design elements for
World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Diablo
3 - both from Blizzard Entertainment.
Where does this fascination for
sounddesign come from?
Technically, I was a sound designer
before I was a musician.
The first instrument I got as a child was a
Panasonic Cassette Tape
Player/Recorder.
My friends and I would make tapes and
perform little shows. I'd record things
and make weird noises. We'd mess
around with pushing the buttons in
halfway to record at a slower speed and
then play it back at full speed to create
munchkin/chipmunk voices.
Interview with Jeff Schmidt
Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com
That was really my first exposure to
sound art.
As a musician I also became interested in
the manipulation of sound, by altering
the instrument or playing through weird
pedals and amps. Later - I got into radio
and began experimenting with tape and
then digital workstations. I love to create
and manipulate sound. I was
experimenting early on with building
music out of radically modified samples
of my bass. I still want to write and
release music like that.
The problem I'm having lately is 2 fold.
Fair amount of pro sound design work
taking my time. Not a bad problem to
have. :)
Secondly, even when I have gaps of free
time - there's so many musical ideas I
want to pursue I'm actually kind of
paralyzed. I can't seem to pick one path
and stay focused on it long enough to
get anything done. I need to break
through that. I think it's easier to ignore
all my musical impulses when I sense
theres no market/interest for it.
One of your musical projects was
„Ruiner Severhead“. Very dark
electronic music with loads of sounds
and atmospheres. Very different from
your solo-bass-songs. So Jeff Schmidt
has a dark side ?
Ha! Well - the people who know me, on
first hearing Outre might have said - "So,
Jeff Schmidt has a bright side"?
5/10
The Ruiner Severhead project happened
very organically.
I was in the middle of recording Outre
and started to feel burnt out on the
sounds I was using. You know -the clean,
audiophile, slightly new-age solo
musician sounds. Not only was I
recording those sounds - but I had been
listening to them for a few years straight.
I remember driving back from one of the
Outre sessions at OTR Studios in
Belmont CA and I had just gotten a copy
of David Torn's new release – Prezens. I
had grown pretty tired of Jazz at that
point, but I put it on for the ride home.
I wasn't taken with it immediately - but
there was something in it that touched
me. It was dark and slightly mechanical.
And it had elements of things being
broken. Those were the opposite of what
Outre was shaping up to be.
So when I got home I went through my
box of old CDs and found the ultimate in
dark, broken, mechanical music - Nine
Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral.
Further digging revealed KMFDM,
Ministry, White Zombie, more NIN. I was
like - wow! this is exactly what I want to
be hearing right now.
These were all my CDs - but from a time
when I was not playing music. Funny -
once I started playing bass again, all I
wanted to hear was "players" - but when
I wasn't playing any music - I had totally
different taste.
Interview with Jeff Schmidt
Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com
So I decided I wanted to do music of my
own in that "non-players" idiom.
Around that time Bassist Jay Terrien and
I were toying with the idea of creating a
dual bass project together called Jesus
Fist.
The first step was to for each of us to
write 6 songs alone to bring to the table
and then write some stuff together.
I got on a roll with my 6 songs. It turned
into 10 and I ended up writing an entire
concept CD worth of material. I decided
to release it on it's own as Ruiner
Severhead - The Jesus Fist Tapes. Jay
followed up a few months later with his
own take called Demond Wilson - "The
Jesus Fist Studies".
I found the Ruiner Severhead project
very liberating.
Funny you ask about that now - because
just this past weekend I started remixing
the Ruiner song Bound in 5.1 surround
sound.
I think I'm going to release the first 6
songs of The Jesus Fist Tapes as a new EP
re-mixed in surround sound.
There's so many layers in that music, it's
so dense and textural that mixing it in
surround really opens it up and puts in
the depth and dynamics that I just could
not get into a stereo mix. Not sure when
I'll finish that - probably early 2011. But
don't hold me to it. :)
6/10
 The freedom of solo work allowed me to
pursue exactly my own vision. I didn't
need to sell my ideas to band mates, or
wait till the next rehearsal to find out if
the idea works, or get sidetracked by the
visions of other members.

The downside to treating myself as a

musical island like that however - is
isolation. Having to answer every
creative question for myself is actually
quite time consuming. Things take longer
than they might otherwise. And doesn't
always produce the best result.

I think both "Outre" and "The Jesus Fist

Tapes" were great exercises in working
toward executing my own vision.

I'm proud of both works.

But now, with a few years of distance

In an earlier interview you answered
from them, I can also hear how they
on the question why you´re playing solo
might have been even better had I
bass with an deep insatisfaction with
allowed the talents of others into my
band experiences. What happended?
process. At the time I just wasn't in that
head space. I was too busy trying to
Bands pursuing original music require
prove something to myself. I was trying
everyone to have the same musical goal.
to find my voice and discover my own
All members need to share in the artistic
musical language. So I had to go it alone.
vision. This is not easy. In fact, it's really
hard. It's why so many bands dissolve,
These days I'm actively searching out
and why bands that can stay together
collaboration and opportunities to work
and actually create amazing music are so
with others musically.
special.
When I said I had a deep dissatisfaction
On your homepage and your twitter-
with the band experience, it was that
account you are writing alot about the
difficulty to which I was speaking. I also
music industry. What are your thoughts
felt like I had more music to express than
on the future of the industry?
I would be able to do in a typical band
environment.

Interview with Jeff Schmidt

Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com 7/10
OK - that's a huge issue. I do know that fans have access to more
music than ever before for free. My
Most of my writing was in response to guess is there's probably more artists
the lament I was hearing from musicians making some money rather than nothing
about file sharing and piracy. What these days.
seemed to offend most musicians was
the idea that music was, or should be But even with all the free online tools
free. And the decline in CD sales seemed and methods of "getting the word out" I
to bring it all home. still think it's just as tough for artists to
get traction and earn a living from their
As a music consumer, file sharer and art.
musician myself, I understood and
empathized with all sides. As much as
anyone I hated the idea that the art I
poured my time and heart into creating
had almost no chance of recouping the
cost of it's production - let alone fairly
compensate my creative effort. Not that
that is new phenomena.

But I also realized that once music went

digital - there was no way to stop it from
being copied endlessly for free. That the
genie was never going back in the bottle.
So tried to urge artists to look for new
ways to create a value system around
their music - beyond selling CDs. At first
a lot of people couldn't imagine a music
career without selling CDs.

Now, just a few years later - most indie

musicians I know fully embrace and
understand the digital reality. And
they're working it. CDs are still part of it -
but it's a much broader approach.
That said - I don't know if the digital The amount of music available now is
revolution has increased or decreased enormous and people's attention is
the number of musicians earning a living finite. The noise level of self promotion
from their music. Not sure there's any is ratcheted up considerably.
way to tell beyond anecdotally. Cutting through that noise by getting

Interview with Jeff Schmidt

Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com 8/10
louder won't work for indie artists
because getting louder means spending
loads of money on promo and marketing
So - the big meme among independent
artist is to "connect" with their audience
using social media. To come down off
the "artist" pedestal and mingle with the
hoi polloi in the hopes the bond will
make it more likely for fans to support
your work and spread the word.
It depends on who is doing it - but it has
sometimes appeared to me as artists
seeking charity from their own fans. It
kind of comes off as -hey look, we know
you can get our music for free - but since
you know we're cool peeps cuz we hang
out on Facebook - please consider
paying for it. I know this works for a
some artists. I just have a slight gag
reflex on it.
It's hard enough finding people that like
my music. But if my livelihood depends
on all those people ALSO liking ME
personally? Oh boy. ;)
Ok, now we come to the inevitable
bassplayer-questions. What basses do
you use at the moment?
I'm still using the same basses:
-Pedulla PentaBuzz for fretless
-MTD535 fretted
-American Fender P 4 banger
-Carvin 6 string Icon bass
All are lefty. I'm looking for an acoustic
fretless that will play and sing like my
Interview with Jeff Schmidt
Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com
pedulla but also sound nice, open and
organically sonorous.
Do you have written some material on
the 6 string ?
I had a few solo pieces written for 6
string I recorded for Outre.
When it came time to pick the final
tracks for the album those 6 string pieces
were the weakest in my opinion, and in
the opinion of my producer Cookie
Marenco. So I left them off.
I think Outre is stronger because of it.
I still have the pre-mastered recordings
on 2 inch tape!
These days I have a midi pickup installed
on the 6 string and pretty much use it for
composing and midi tracking rather than
solo material.
You are using loads of different tunings
on your basses. Do you experiment with
them or do you fit them to the song?
I change the tuning of the bass to
capture the vibe, or color I'm going for.
9/10
These days I don't even think of other
tunings as deviations FROM standard.
They simply are. Kind of like getting
comfortable with various time
signatures. At first everything is
understood by relating it TO 4/4 - but in
time you're able to understand any time
signature as it's own world. Same is true
with different tunings.
I enjoy altered tunings because I'm
almost always trying to generate
interesting voicings and polyphony I can
play alone without having to develop a
lot of crazy playing techniques or do a lot
of tapping. Altered tunings is an
exceptional technique for that.
It also keeps me on my ears from
slacking off.
I've heard people say altered tuning is a
way to make your habitual patterns
sound different. And of course they will
sound different - mostly bad.
I'd submit that many "normal" players
internalize standard tuning as a series of
connected muscle memory based
patterns. And once they have that down
they shut their ears off and play muscle
memory. With altered tunings - you
really have to listen and feel all the
intervals.
That might require the development
new fingerings and chord shapes - but it
also requires you to listen more. It's like
becoming a beginner all over again.
Some people are terrified by that. And I
understand the frustration - I really do.
Interview with Jeff Schmidt
Conducted by Maik Reishaus for www.BassTheWorld.com
10/10
Composing this way can be really painful
for me.
But that sense of "I don't know what I'm
doing" can really force me into creative
problem solving. And that has resulted in
some of my favorite compositions.
The trick is to understand that while the
intervalic relationship between the
strings is altered - they are always the
same ON each string - 12 fret spaces is
still and octave - for example regardless
if your string is tuned to E or C#.
So ultimately it's a creative tool with the
goal of making music that I enjoy
playing.
What FX´s do you use in the studio and
live?
I'm still using the Boss GT series (6 and
10) foot pedals for live. I've increasingly
used USB out of the GT10 running into a
laptop running Ableton Live - so I can
add more DSP based plugin effects if
needed. In studio I'm mostly recording
direct through a Millennia TD-1 preamp
and then doing tone shaping/processing
in the box. I still have a collection of
weird boutique pedals like the
Metasonix Scrotum Smasher and Butt
Probe that just make horrible noise.
Essential for any Ruiner Severhead
project. :0
Jeff, thanks for the interview and much
success for all your projects!