This interview appears in the Tastes Like Rock! webzine, January 2010.
Interviewed by Michael Meade
Posted 1/20/2010 9:00PM EST
TLR!: Hi Ben, thanks for doing this interview with us.
Ben Kuzay: Glad to be here!
TLR!: How long have you been playing bass guitar?
Ben: 17 years.
TLR!: Why the preference for the bass?
Ben: I don’t know, honestly. It’s a preference I’ve had ever since I first picked it up, but I can’t pinpoint a reason. I find the keyboard and guitar (as well as some other instruments which I don’t play) to be equally as expressive, but I favor the bass.
TLR!: Who or what got you playing bass and into metal?
Ben: I was inspired to play metal early on by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Ozzy, etc. I mistook the rhythm guitar on “...And Justice For All” for the bass (since the bass is non-existent yet credited on that album), and I was completely uneducated on the respective sounds of the different instruments. Once I started playing the bass, I realized which instrument it was within my first couple months. The first piece I set out to play was Cliff Burton’s “(Anesthesia)- Pulling Teeth”, which I play live at every Ben Kuzay concert to this day. I believe that that lead-bass approach Cliff displays in that song helped to shape my view of, and approach to, the bass guitar.
TLR!: What led you to applying shred guitar techniques and speed to the bass?
Ben: It is arguable whether or not I use shred guitar techniques. I do not see what I’m doing as being influenced in any way by shred guitar. Rather, my lead bass is influenced by guys like Stuart Hamm and David Harbour. My more rhythm-oriented fills are influenced by Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee, Harbour, Steve Digiorgio, etc. I think I have my own style, but I definitely and happily give credit where credit is due. Whether or not my influences were influenced by shred guitar is another question; but I know that I wasn’t. Another common misconception about my playing and approach is that I was influenced by Billy Sheehan and Steve Harris. I was not influenced by either of these bassists at all! I respect both of them, but have never been influenced in the slightest by either.
TLR!: Speaking of technique, when performing, given the speed you're playing at, do you slap, finger pick, or use a pick?
Ben: I finger-pick and tap, primarily. I occasionally slap, but quite seldom. I never use a pick. I don’t look down on bassists who use one as much as most people do- but I steer clear of picks, myself.
TLR!: There's only one thing in the liner notes of Perpetual Reign, the phrase "where there is compromise, there is no art." I share that philosophy with you, the past two years creating and building TLR! has ingrained it in me; any experiences you'd like to share that helped lead you there?
Ben: No, no experiences. My philosophy of life is a product of my reflections and observations, and yes, sometimes experiences (and subsequent reflections thereof). This particular aspect of my philosophy is one that is inborn in me and needed no cultivation.
TLR!: Ben you get some really cool sounds out of your bass on the songs "Vortex", "Fantasy Girl", and "Ascension", what type of pedals and effects do you use?
Ben: In the studio, I just have Joel show me a bunch of different EQ settings, and we throw one on that sounds good. We use this primarily for the leads, to bring them more to the forefront in the mix.
Live I use a pedal in, I think, only two songs. I don’t even use any compression live. I plug straight from my instrument into my amp. I have never used a pedal in my life, in any of the bands I’ve played for. The pedal I use is a guitar pedal: a Digitech rp5. I actually use this for both bass and guitar live- but like I said, only a couple of songs.
TLR!: Since we're on gear and tech specs, are you a four, five, six or more string guy?
Ben: I use a four-string bass on both of my albums.
TLR!: Given that shred bass isn't a common subgenre of shred metal, Ben could you describe your creative process while writing new material?
Ben: I think that I’m the only person ever to create a bass-shred cd. If I am wrong, I hope someone tells me, because I am advertising Perpetual Reign as the first album in the history of recorded music to feature as its format lead bass with metal accompaniment.
My writing process is based upon spontaneity and emotion. I write many different genres of music, shred bass being one of them. When assembling an album, I want to make the album flow smoothly and sensibly from beginning to end. This particular album called for continuity, due to my desire to create a bass-shred cd. I did not, however, ever contrive to create this type of music; rather, it was all the result of the natural process of mental abandon and emotional outpouring.
TLR!: How long did the production of Perpetual Reign take?
Ben: I would say that I was going to the studio, on average, once per month for a three-day session. This took place from the middle of September, 2008 through the beginning of May, 2009.
TLR!: Run into any hold ups or problems during the production process?
Ben: Yes, but I’m not going to badmouth any of this album’s participating characters, so I won’t elaborate. (laughing) I may have caused some hold-ups myself.
TLR!: I know this is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child, but if you do have a song or couple of songs that stand above your other compositions on Perpetual Reign, which are they and why?
Ben: No, I don’t have any favorites. I love every song on this cd.
TLR!: Out of curiousity Ben, every area seems to have a particular flavor among original bands that marks it, TLR's immediate area for example is marked by hardcore metal and rap/metal fusion; what genre is favored in your part of Wisconsin?
Ben: I’m pretty out-of-touch with the local scene. I live out in the country-side, where I’ve resided for almost three years, now. I don’t go to nearly as many concerts as I used to, and I like it this way.
I spent a number of years playing in local bands, sometimes as a member, sometimes as a session musician, and I don’t miss it. Being the object of the uneducated sound-guy’s condescension, promoter’s greed, and drunks’ simplicity is not my idea of a “good time”. Nor is being forced by my band-members into playing a half-hour set alongside a bunch of other groups of ne’er-do-wells who are unprofessional enough to be incapable of playing a real set if their lives depended on it.
Nowadays I set up my own shows at a university. At these events, we are the only band, we play for 90 to 120 minutes, and no alcohol is served. People can argue with me all they want, insisting that my approach is wrong, but I don’t see my peers who are still trying to make it in the bar scene doing better than I am. The only difference is that someone is making a lot of money off them, and no one is making a penny off me.
TLR!: Ben you're currently unsigned if I'm not mistaken, are you in the market for a label or staying independent?
Ben: I would love to be signed, if a company would offer me a good deal and stick to it! But like the previously spoken-of local scene, the record companies do not seem to even operate in a way which I find desirable. I have friends in signed bands. The commonality between them and me is this: we make no profit. The difference between them and me is this: someone is making a ton of money on them, while no one is making any money on me. I prefer my situation.
TLR!: Any big plans in the works for 2010?
Ben: No. I will consider my options as a session musician, and continue pushing Perpetual Reignand playing live with my four-piece band.
TLR!: Ben, thank you again for taking the time for Tastes Like Rock and our readers.
Ben: It’s been a pleasure chatting with you!
Interviewed by Michael Meade
Posted 1/20/2010 9:00PM EST
TLR!: Hi Ben, thanks for doing this interview with us.
Ben Kuzay: Glad to be here!
TLR!: How long have you been playing bass guitar?
Ben: 17 years.
TLR!: Why the preference for the bass?
Ben: I don’t know, honestly. It’s a preference I’ve had ever since I first picked it up, but I can’t pinpoint a reason. I find the keyboard and guitar (as well as some other instruments which I don’t play) to be equally as expressive, but I favor the bass.
TLR!: Who or what got you playing bass and into metal?
Ben: I was inspired to play metal early on by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Ozzy, etc. I mistook the rhythm guitar on “...And Justice For All” for the bass (since the bass is non-existent yet credited on that album), and I was completely uneducated on the respective sounds of the different instruments. Once I started playing the bass, I realized which instrument it was within my first couple months. The first piece I set out to play was Cliff Burton’s “(Anesthesia)- Pulling Teeth”, which I play live at every Ben Kuzay concert to this day. I believe that that lead-bass approach Cliff displays in that song helped to shape my view of, and approach to, the bass guitar.
TLR!: What led you to applying shred guitar techniques and speed to the bass?
Ben: It is arguable whether or not I use shred guitar techniques. I do not see what I’m doing as being influenced in any way by shred guitar. Rather, my lead bass is influenced by guys like Stuart Hamm and David Harbour. My more rhythm-oriented fills are influenced by Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee, Harbour, Steve Digiorgio, etc. I think I have my own style, but I definitely and happily give credit where credit is due. Whether or not my influences were influenced by shred guitar is another question; but I know that I wasn’t. Another common misconception about my playing and approach is that I was influenced by Billy Sheehan and Steve Harris. I was not influenced by either of these bassists at all! I respect both of them, but have never been influenced in the slightest by either.
TLR!: Speaking of technique, when performing, given the speed you're playing at, do you slap, finger pick, or use a pick?
Ben: I finger-pick and tap, primarily. I occasionally slap, but quite seldom. I never use a pick. I don’t look down on bassists who use one as much as most people do- but I steer clear of picks, myself.
TLR!: There's only one thing in the liner notes of Perpetual Reign, the phrase "where there is compromise, there is no art." I share that philosophy with you, the past two years creating and building TLR! has ingrained it in me; any experiences you'd like to share that helped lead you there?
Ben: No, no experiences. My philosophy of life is a product of my reflections and observations, and yes, sometimes experiences (and subsequent reflections thereof). This particular aspect of my philosophy is one that is inborn in me and needed no cultivation.
TLR!: Ben you get some really cool sounds out of your bass on the songs "Vortex", "Fantasy Girl", and "Ascension", what type of pedals and effects do you use?
Ben: In the studio, I just have Joel show me a bunch of different EQ settings, and we throw one on that sounds good. We use this primarily for the leads, to bring them more to the forefront in the mix.
Live I use a pedal in, I think, only two songs. I don’t even use any compression live. I plug straight from my instrument into my amp. I have never used a pedal in my life, in any of the bands I’ve played for. The pedal I use is a guitar pedal: a Digitech rp5. I actually use this for both bass and guitar live- but like I said, only a couple of songs.
TLR!: Since we're on gear and tech specs, are you a four, five, six or more string guy?
Ben: I use a four-string bass on both of my albums.
TLR!: Given that shred bass isn't a common subgenre of shred metal, Ben could you describe your creative process while writing new material?
Ben: I think that I’m the only person ever to create a bass-shred cd. If I am wrong, I hope someone tells me, because I am advertising Perpetual Reign as the first album in the history of recorded music to feature as its format lead bass with metal accompaniment.
My writing process is based upon spontaneity and emotion. I write many different genres of music, shred bass being one of them. When assembling an album, I want to make the album flow smoothly and sensibly from beginning to end. This particular album called for continuity, due to my desire to create a bass-shred cd. I did not, however, ever contrive to create this type of music; rather, it was all the result of the natural process of mental abandon and emotional outpouring.
TLR!: How long did the production of Perpetual Reign take?
Ben: I would say that I was going to the studio, on average, once per month for a three-day session. This took place from the middle of September, 2008 through the beginning of May, 2009.
TLR!: Run into any hold ups or problems during the production process?
Ben: Yes, but I’m not going to badmouth any of this album’s participating characters, so I won’t elaborate. (laughing) I may have caused some hold-ups myself.
TLR!: I know this is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child, but if you do have a song or couple of songs that stand above your other compositions on Perpetual Reign, which are they and why?
Ben: No, I don’t have any favorites. I love every song on this cd.
TLR!: Out of curiousity Ben, every area seems to have a particular flavor among original bands that marks it, TLR's immediate area for example is marked by hardcore metal and rap/metal fusion; what genre is favored in your part of Wisconsin?
Ben: I’m pretty out-of-touch with the local scene. I live out in the country-side, where I’ve resided for almost three years, now. I don’t go to nearly as many concerts as I used to, and I like it this way.
I spent a number of years playing in local bands, sometimes as a member, sometimes as a session musician, and I don’t miss it. Being the object of the uneducated sound-guy’s condescension, promoter’s greed, and drunks’ simplicity is not my idea of a “good time”. Nor is being forced by my band-members into playing a half-hour set alongside a bunch of other groups of ne’er-do-wells who are unprofessional enough to be incapable of playing a real set if their lives depended on it.
Nowadays I set up my own shows at a university. At these events, we are the only band, we play for 90 to 120 minutes, and no alcohol is served. People can argue with me all they want, insisting that my approach is wrong, but I don’t see my peers who are still trying to make it in the bar scene doing better than I am. The only difference is that someone is making a lot of money off them, and no one is making a penny off me.
TLR!: Ben you're currently unsigned if I'm not mistaken, are you in the market for a label or staying independent?
Ben: I would love to be signed, if a company would offer me a good deal and stick to it! But like the previously spoken-of local scene, the record companies do not seem to even operate in a way which I find desirable. I have friends in signed bands. The commonality between them and me is this: we make no profit. The difference between them and me is this: someone is making a ton of money on them, while no one is making any money on me. I prefer my situation.
TLR!: Any big plans in the works for 2010?
Ben: No. I will consider my options as a session musician, and continue pushing Perpetual Reignand playing live with my four-piece band.
TLR!: Ben, thank you again for taking the time for Tastes Like Rock and our readers.
Ben: It’s been a pleasure chatting with you!