Intriguing conversation about King’s X, Tres. Mts, Poundhound and 12-string basses. Not your typical bass player, by any means!
Exclusive interview with FBPO’s Jon Liebman
January 30, 2012
Bass player, songwriter and vocalist dUg Pinnick is perhaps best known for his long tenure with metal/progressive rock band King’s X. Pinnick has also worked with Phil Keaggy, Razr13, Greg X. Volz, Reb Beach, Dream Theater, Winger, Living Colour and many others and has also released several solo albums. In early 2011, dUg collaborated with Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament and the Fastbacks’ Richard Stuverud to form the “heavy R&B” band Tres Mts.
FBPO: Tell me about your musical upbringing. I understand you come from a very large family.
dP: Yes, I have fourteen half-brothers and sisters. It’s complicated. It’s eight fathers and three mothers. My dad had eight kids by two women and my mom had seven by six fathers. I am the only child born to the two of them. All the kids all are musical and artistic. I’ve loved music ever since I was born. My music and art teachers always took an interest in me because of my talents.
FBPO: How did you become a bass player?
dP: A friend brought me a bass when I was 23. Been playing ever since. It’s been my biggest passion to play bass all my life, actually.
FBPO: Tell me about the formation of King’s X. How did the band come about?
dP: We met in Springfield, Missouri, jammed a few times and then decided to be a band.
FBPO: King’s X enjoyed quite a long tenure. How would you describe the band’s musical development over the years?
dP: Around 1986, Ty (Tabor) wrote Pleiades. It was written in drop-D, tuning the E string down to D. It opened up a new way of writing and, twenty years later, it’s now standard tuning. When we go in to make a record, we have no idea what it will be like. It’s an adventure. We just keep doing it this way, and we’re always surprised at the results.
FBPO: How – and why! – did you end up with a 12-string bass?
dP: Tom Petersson from Cheap Trick played 12-strings exclusively since about 1970. We were on tour with them in 1988 and Tom let me play one of his basses. I loved it! So I got an endorsement from Hamer guitars.
FBPO: Tell me about Poundhound.
dP: It’s just me and my guitar, bass, drum machine and vocals. My little thing, thats all.
FBPO: How about Tres Mts?
dP: It’s with Jeff (Ament) and Mike (McReady) from Pearl Jam. A side project we’ve had for about ten years, actually, but we put the CD out a few months ago.
FBPO: What else is keeping you busy these days?
dP: Side projects and writing tunes for movies and TV. It’s been fun since I moved to LA, where all this work is.
FBPO: What lies ahead for you and your career? What would you like to do that you haven’t accomplished yet?
dP: I just love what I do and continue to do it. I would one day love to have a #1 hit song, so I keep writing tunes. It may never happen, but at least I have set the bar high and it keeps me pushing to write good songs.
FBPO: What would you be if you weren’t a bass player?
dP: A porn star. Seriously!
Photo: Norman Perkel
{adinserter jon liebman}
