StuartZender.net

Stuart’s Facebook Fan Page

// June 10th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News & Updates // Entry by: Simon

A fan page has been set up on Facebook for followers to keep up to date with Stuart’s happenings. If you are on Facebook, click here to become a fan of Stuart.

Running Out of Heroes

// May 8th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // News & Updates // Entry by: Simon

Stuart has just announced the name of his new project. The band will be called “Running Out of Heroes” and there is promise of music for us all to hear soon. There is no indication yet as to the style of the music, but Stuart’s Facebook and Twitter status updates indicate he could be bringing the Funk back! Stay Tuned!

Warwick Forum Interview (Part 2)

// April 30th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News & Updates // Entry by: Simon

Here is the second lot of questions presented to SZ by Warwick Forum users.

SZ: Before we start Pt 2, i would like to thank all the people that submitted questions. There were so many and I’m sorry if we did not get to your question but, because I babble on and on, I might answer some anyway, ha ha!

What made you choose Warwick in the first place when playing with Jamiroquai?

SZ : Its a funny story really. I left home properly when I was seventeen. Before I left, my beautiful darling mother gave me two thousand pounds that she had saved. I guess this was to give me a head start with things in life. We were a lower middles class family and 2k was a lot of money at the time. Needless to say, I have never had the best business acumen. Instead of saving the money or investing it in some way, I ran straight out and blew the lot on a Warwick Streamer. I had been playing a Musicman Stingray and the Streamer was the next level, the Rolls Royce of basses so to say. I loved the look and feel. I honestly think it made me a better player and was an integral part in me getting the gig with Jay and Toby. The deal with Sony was not yet on the table and the beautiful sound of my bass on the demo of Too Young To Die defiantly helped secure the signing of Jamiroquai. Lincoln Alias , the A&R man for Sony said, and this was the first thing he said when listening to the song: “Wow, I really like the bass”.
I guess to me, Warwick have always been the Rolls Royce of basses. Having the chance to visit the factory has done nothing but compound that fact in my mind. The care and attention that goes into every bass is second to none. I hate calling it a factory as that does nothing but conjure up images of thousands of people sweating, slaving away at huge machines, pumping out steam and churning out tins of beans in monstrously long lines of winding metal runways.
The intelligent assembly centre (factory) is an amazing place. I never imagined such a place. Its like Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory… Where the dreams of many musicians are born. I was truly blown away and all that work there have the same passion as the people that end up playing their instruments. See….I told you I babble on and on, ha ha ha!

Have you ever checked out a RockBass and if so, what’s your opinion of them?

SZ : I have a RockBass and absolutely love it. Hans-Peter is an amazing person and wanted to give everyone the chance to own a Warwick. The same care and quality goes into each RockBass, it’s just cheaper to make in China. Hans-Peter has a lot of integrity and would never do anything by half measures. I’m sure he would be fine with Warwick in Germany the way it is now, however, he has taken the time to go to Shanghai and form a division of Warwick out there. This is to afford people the same build quality and attention at a fraction of the price. My hat is raised to him. I know how much work he is putting into the company to make sure it is absolutely right. I am behind him 100% and am also bringing out a RockBass in 2010. We are developing it at the moment and will be bringing out a four and five string Zender RockBass. This bass will also give you platinum sales around the world and have the ability to make men/women fall at your feet. This bass has the extra added bonus of world peace and an end to the third world deficit! Eternal happiness is an add-on option and does not come as standard.

What bassists influence you today? And what are and were your general influences or sources of inspiration?

SZ : Funny this… There is a gas station called Q8, ha ha ha!! My influences on bass are Nathaniel Phillips(Pleasure), Jaco, Larry Graham(Sly Stone), Chuck Rainy, Bootsy Collins, Paul Jackson, Bernard Edwards, Alfonso Johnson, Eberhard Weber, Helmut Hatler, James Jamerson and Ron Carter to name but a few off the top of my head. Oldies but goodies. .I’m sure you will find all modern bass players playing styles in these players. My first instrument was the drums so I find drummers to be a great source of inspiration.
I guess its always the rhythm section that gets me first. Harvey Mason and Chuck Rainy are at the top of my list for groove followed by Mike Clark and Paul Jackson.
My sources of inspiration are far and wide. From that lone glove left on a park fence, to the rants of a raving lunatic… I find inspiration in everything. I have an acoustic album in the making and have written an entire song about the journey of a plastic bag I once saw floating in the street. I said to myself: I wonder where that bag has been on its journey? It probably had the high hopes of becoming re used, part of a family unit, but then blew away in the wind, got stuck on a speeding cars bumper, travelling miles and miles across town or even to another city only to find itself far away from where it ever thought it would end up. The plastic bag ends up getting burnt on a bonfire and seeping into the ground, becoming a part of the earth once again. Just as we shall all. One day.Woooooow. How deep!!! ha ha ha. Oh dear…I forgot that plastic bags are not bio degradable….ha ha ha.

Any new band, music or musician that impressed you?

SZ : I saw The Battles last year at Coachella and loved them. Bat For Lashes,The Magnetic Fields, Phantom Planet, Jose Gonzales, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Friendly Fires and Ladyhawke are some of the current bands that I enjoy listening to.
As for musicians, I have a drummer friend called Ronald Brunner who constantly blows me away. I might be as bold to say he is the best drummer in the world! He is from LA and I met him there through a friend of mine whilst auditioning drummers for Leroi. Well, Ronald is in a league of his own and I couldn’t see him being in a song based band like Leroi. He is an exhibitionist and now plays with many of the worlds great jazz musicians. A true genius talent at the age of 24!

Why or because of who did you choose bass over any other instrument?

SZ : I picked up the bass because of an amazing musician called Roland Wynne. I first saw him play with his band, The Ozric Tentacles, at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, when I was fifteen years old. He looked like a white version of Jimi Hendrix. He shared the same gaunt facial bone structure and was a towering figure with piercingly deep blue eyes. I watched him play the most amazingly complex lines without looking at the bass. He was in “the zone”….off on a trip, in his own world with what seemed to me, a deep connection with something other worldly. I was in awe to say the least and there began my obsession with the electric bass guitar. We soon became friends shortly after the gig I saw. We later lived together in various squats (free housing via your own methods of entry into empty housing) in south London. We spent lots of time playing in underground stations, trying to earn a meager living. He was my mentor and I learned a lot from him. Roly is no longer with us and i miss him terribly.

First SZ Signature Bass Review

// April 21st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News & Updates // Entry by: Simon

We’ve just received a review from Samuel Vidén, the first owner of Stuart’s new signature Warwick bass. He was kind enough to drop us a review of the bass for you all to read. As well as this, the Warwick Forum have an interview with Stuart about his new signature bass. You can read the first part here.

I must admit I was a bit skeptic to the bass when firtst seeing it on
pictures on the web, but after getting a chance to play the bass through a
Warwick Hellborg rig, the design made perfect sense.

To begin with, I’d like to mention the weight, or rather, the non-existant
weight. The bass is really light and perfectly balanced, and the
construction makes it easy to reach all 24 frets with ease.

Since the bass is constructed with a neckthrough design and a slab body,
everything lies really low on the bass, pickups are mounted very flush to
the bass, which gives the neck and bass a really fast feeling. Your hands
will literally fly over the bass (if you’ve got the skills).

Warwick has gone back to the old, flatter neck shape this year, and the new
neck profile feels great and fast. The only thing stopping you from playing
great is your own technique!

Now to the tone. Stuart mentioned in a recent interview on the Warwick
forum that he wanted to recreate the tone of his first Streamer Stage I
4-string he used with Jamiroquai. After trying the bass for an hour or two,
I can say that he really has succeeded.

Favor the neck pickup more and you get instant “Too young to die” and Space
Cowboy tone. Play some slap and you have Virtual Insanity. Center the
pickups and you get a great “Cosmic Gir”l or “Travelling Without Moving”
tone.

Now don’t think that this bass can’t do anything but old Jamiroquai!
Regardless of the settings you use on the bass and the preamp, this bass
sounds BIG, which is amazing considering how small the bass is and how
little it weighs. The bass speaks with authority and has great punch over
the whole fretboard register. This is a bass that will be heard on stage!

Now the looks might not be appealing to everyone at first (I liked it), but
after playing the bass in person, everything about the desing makes sense on
this bass. Everyone I talked to agreed that the bass looked smashing when
played.

I am not exaggerating when I say that Stuart and the Warwick team has
managed to create their finest 4-string bass ever, heck, I would go so far
even to say that they have created one of the best basses ever of any
brand.

So all you Zender fans, do yourselves a favor and find a Zender bass and
try it. I promise you won’t regret it!

Samuel Vidén