NukedMetal.com's 20 Questions With Tim Gaines
I am very pleased to bring you this 20 Questions With Timothy Gaines, former bassist for Stryper! Tim is one of the nicest guys I have had the honor of communicating with. Thank you Tim for taking the time out of your very busy life to do this interview! www.timandrenie.com is Tim and his wife Irene's site, or www.TimothyGaines.com. Please do visit and let them know you came from Nuked Metal's Interview with Tim! Thanks!
1) Why did you decide to play music and what was the deciding factor for you to pursue it as a career ?
It was just something that I always did ever since I could remember. I grew up in a family of musicians. Playing music was just a natural thing for me. It was my calling.
2) Which instruments do you play ? Which are your favorite(s) and which is your least ?
Fretted and fretless bass, piano, keys, guitar, harmonica, clarinet, sing.
My favorite is fretless bass and my least is clarinet.
3) Which do you prefer to do the most : Arranging and recording or playing live ?
I prefer recording over playing live. I can be more creative in the studio and experiment with different sounds and techniques.
4) What inspires your music and your lyrics ?
I really don't write lyrics. My music can be inspired by just about anything. It usually depends on my mood and the song God places within me. It could be a chord progression on the guitar or the piano. I don't really do any writing on the bass except for when I was in Sin Dizzy. Most of those songs were written around a bass progression.
5) What are some of the various bands you have been a part of and which instruments did you play ?
All of the bands I have been in I played bass and some I played bass and keys.
Some bands I was in early on were; Visions, Afton Kid, White Lace, Stormer, Stryper, No Stranger, King James, Sin Dizzy, and Irene Kelly.
6) Who would you say is your biggest influence(s) and why ?
On bass it would be Dee Murrey from Elton Johns early band, John Paul Jones, John Deacon, Graham Maby, Wilbur Bascomb, Joe Osbourne, Duck Dunn, Carol Kaye, Joe Scherme, James Jamerson, Jaco Pastorius, Jeff Berlin. Musically, I grew up listening to 60's and 70's pop radio. That had the biggest musical influence on me.
7) Which band was your most favored to play in and which one was the least ?
Afton Kid, Stormer, No Stranger, Sindizzy and Irene Kelly were my favorites because they were fun and enjoyable.
How did you become involved with Stryper and No Stranger , etc ?
Stryper I think has been well documented how we came together. No Stranger I hooked up with my old Stormer singer Tom Hardy and he was looking for musicians to finish of a writing project that he and guiatrist Joe Reggatore were working on. When we all got together for the first rehearsal at SIR in Hollywood everything just came together. I stayed with them for a few years.
9) Have you recorded anything with them lately ? If so , then what ?
No
10) Do you have any touring plans ? If so , then where and when ?
None - but I am for hire if the price is right.
11) How do you feel when you hear the musicians of today attempting to replicate the sounds and time signatures that you did/do ?
I really don't think that would be a possibility. I would be the last person someone would want to copy.
12) Who are some of the current musicians you like ? If you could jam with them , would you ? Why ?
I don't really listen to what's going on anymore in the MTV or VH-1 scene. I think most of it is crap that is obviously geared to reach the teen crowd. At 43 I don't relate to "fad" music. I am into the real writers like John Maher, Norah Jones and stuff like that. I am paying more attention these days to what's going on in Nashville. I like CMT and GAC. I like Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, and people like them who are great musicians and songwriters. I would like to work with them.
13) How much input do you have on the music , lyrics , melody etc ?
Depends on the band. In Stryper I had no input except for the Against The Law album. I was more or less in that band because I "fit the suit." In other groups I have been in we treat it as a band where everyone has an input in some form or another. In Sin Dizzy and Irene Kelly I have had alot of input.
14) Did you ever think that your dream of being a pro musician would become a reality ?
I never really gave it much thought. I just knew that this is what I was supposed to do and just went for it.
15) What are the most important part(s) to you when you write a song ?
A good bass line and groove under the melody
16) Do you ever get tired of being on the road touring and been to the point of burnout , debating giving up the Rock & Roll life ?
Yes, that's why I retired in August 2004.
17) If one day , Yngwie Malmsteen or James Byrd asked you to play on some of their songs , would you consider it ? If so , then why ?
I dont know who James Byrd is. As far as Yngwie goes I would say no because I am not into what he does.
1 Are you married ? And if so , what does your spouse feel about your chosen career as a musician with all the rehearsals , tours , long hours spent recording ?
My wife is also my band mate Irene Kelly. She is usually right there with me. It works out quite well.
19) What equipment do you use when you are recording and touring ?
In the studio I use an SWR Workingmans 12 combo that we use the direct out to the board as wel as mike the cabinet. I usually play a Fender Jazz or P bass, or my custom built fretless. For live it depends on the venue.
I use Ampeg SVT classic tube heads with 8x10 cabs with Stryper. For Irene Kelly I use my SWR combo or my SWR 750X head with a Goliath III 4x10 cab.
20) If there was something you could go back in time and change , what would it be and why ?
I am happy with my life as it is - no need to change anything. I have always been on the path where God has wanted me to be. He directs my footsteps. Every experience good and bad builds the charactor of a man. I can't change the past so why dwell on it.
Source: www.NukedMetal.com
NukedMetal.com Questions Tim Gaines