Lights. Camera. Bass!
Bass Player|February 2021
Jason Momoa, the movie star who everyone knows thanks to Game Of Thrones and Aquaman, plays bass every single day. Who knew, right? Well, you read about it here first. He often talks about his admiration for a long list of heavyweight bass players— so, in a world first, we sit down with Momoa and present him with a list of questions from those very bassists. Along the way he reveals his journey into the low end, his admiration for a certain Mr. Claypool— and his profound fear of something that we bassists do all the time...
Joel McIver
Lights. Camera. Bass!

When the music and cinema worlds collide, the results are often questionable. We can all name a long list of musicians who act and actors who play music, and the occasional gem aside, the crossover doesn’t usually work. Keanu Reeves tried it, Steve Martin tried it, Jared Leto tried it—and while they all gave it their best shot, there’s often something about the actor/ musician interface that doesn’t feel quite right.

When I interview the actor Jason Momoa, a meeting arranged by our mutual friends at Fender, there’s none of that slightly weird overlap. Momoa’s name—or at least, his face—is known to most people because he enjoyed a cinematic hit in 2018 as Aquaman, the DC Comics character, and before that as a warrior called Khal Drogo in HBO’s Game Of Thrones. His film career is doing just fine, thanks, and for that reason he isn’t trying to build a second career as a musician. He doesn’t have an album to promote, or any other musical agenda to push, which is what’s so refreshing about this interview. The man simply loves bass, using it as an outlet for creativity, honing his mental and physical focus with the instrument, and—as we all do—finding within the low notes a state of flow that takes him away from the everyday world.

This story is from the February 2021 edition of Bass Player.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2021 edition of Bass Player.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BASS PLAYERView All
Freekbass
Bass Player

Freekbass

The funk master talks us through five career high points.

time-read
1 min  |
Holiday 2021
ASHDOWN RM-800-EVO ll
Bass Player

ASHDOWN RM-800-EVO ll

What a lightweight! Kev Sanders tests the new head from Ashdown

time-read
3 mins  |
Holiday 2021
DUVOISIN Standard 5
Bass Player

DUVOISIN Standard 5

Mike Brooks gives this Swiss-style five a road test…

time-read
3 mins  |
Holiday 2021
I WAS THERE!
Bass Player

I WAS THERE!

A historic moment in bass world – recalled by those who were there to see it

time-read
2 mins  |
Holiday 2021
BAREFACED - One10T Cabinet
Bass Player

BAREFACED - One10T Cabinet

A new Barefaced cab? Kev Sanders feels the quality

time-read
3 mins  |
Holiday 2021
KRIST NOVOSELIC
Bass Player

KRIST NOVOSELIC

It’s 30 years since the release of Nirvana’s era-defining album, Nevermind, and high time that we revisited this 2011 chat with the great bassist turned political activist, Krist Novoselic, a musician who witnessed a truly chaotic period in music history

time-read
10+ mins  |
Holiday 2021
BASS PLAYER AWARDS 2021
Bass Player

BASS PLAYER AWARDS 2021

After a year off thanks to the pesky virus, BP’s annual Lifetime Achievement Awards return—and this time we add a new category. Raise your glass to this year’s winners, Marcus Miller, Gail Ann Dorsey, John Taylor and Charles Berthoud.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Holiday 2021
RUSH TO READ
Bass Player

RUSH TO READ

Rush’s Geddy Lee will release an “epic” memoir in 2022

time-read
2 mins  |
Holiday 2021
STAYING POWER
Bass Player

STAYING POWER

Tal Wilkenfeld’s recent album Love Remains features a five-string in tenor tuning with a capo. Ellen O’Reilly finds out why…

time-read
5 mins  |
Holiday 2021
Bass Player

TONEWOODS EXPLAINED

Do woods really determine tones?

time-read
3 mins  |
Holiday 2021