Interview With Bassist Richie Kotzen

Bass Musician is proud to premiere the LA-based country band, The Roamers, and their new single, “Playboy” which releases on 9/6. With enough rough edges to call it rock n roll and enough dusty twang to call it country, The Roamers embrace every genre of American music they can put their ears on!

Photo, Joe Curet

Matt Rice is the frontman and bassist for the band and shares more about the single and how he gets his sound…

“I wrote this song over 10 years ago. It didn’t fit the band I was playing in at the time so it just sat there on the back burner for a while. I always liked it and it never left my mind. Over the years, I’ve played in different bands that I liked, but I knew we wouldn’t get there with this song for one reason or another. Finally, it got the treatment that I always thought it deserved with this recording.

I love how nasty the rhythm guitars are. And Brian’s lead guitar is what I always heard in my head but couldn’t play myself. I had always imagined guitar parts for this song as some blend of Mick Taylor, Keith Richards, Mike Campbell and Johnny Thunders. I never explained that to Brian. Didn’t have to. He heard my demo and just knew exactly what was needed. Luke’s drumming has such a nice pocket. Drummers that have a great sense of song are hard to find and Luke is one of the best. He thinks like a writer/ arranger/producer in addition to being a drummer. And I dig how grooving and free my bass playing is on this track. It was fun to record.”

My Gear:

“90% of the bass playing on the album is my trusty Fender Precision Bass, which I’ve had since I was a kid. I ran that through an early ’70s Ampeg V2 head and a new Aguilar 1×12 cabinet. That’s a stripped-down version of what I often use live. It sounded great in the studio so we ran with it. We mic’d the cabinet and we split the signal direct into the board so we could have a little further bottom end and EQ control of the clean signal. What’s on the album is about a 50-50 split between a direct-to-board sound and the mic’d amp+cabinet.

I’ve got new gear too. But I’m a sucker for old stuff, whether it be guitars, amps, cars, houses or clothes. When something is mass-produced like most products, it may be great but it’s a little bit unspecial. But then once it gets to lead its life for a while, it becomes one of a kind. And I dig that.

For live shows, we rarely play venues larger than bars and clubs so I’ll often use the rig we used in the studio but with the addition of an Aguilar Tone Hammer Preamp/DI. It helps make everything sound great and allows you to control the tone if it’s also running direct to the house system. For bigger rooms, I’ll add another speaker cabinet. For a really small room, I’ll use my Ampeg Micro SVT. But always with the Tone Hammer Preamp. I also have an early 70s Acoustic 150B amp, a newer Fender Mustang Bass, an old Jerry Jones Danelectro-style Shorthorn bass with “lipstick” pickups, and a mid-’60s Kay Truetone semi-hollow body bass with a single “speedbump” pick up on it. They all get used for one thing or another. I do my songwriting most often on an acoustic guitar.”
— Matt Rice, The Roamers

Album Credits:
Brian Whelan-Guitars, Piano, Organ, Accordion, BV | Luke Adams-Drums, Percussion, BV | Matt Rice-Bass Guitar, Upright Bass,Lead Vocals, BV | Matt Pynn-Lap Steel Guitar | All Songs Written by Matt Rice | Recorded at Sharktank Recording Los Angeles, CA | Produced by Brian Whelan, Luke Adams, and Matt Rice | Engineered by Luke Adams | Mastered by James Driscoll for Hot Tonic Mastering

Visit online at theroamers.net/