This was a great conversation that touched on Victor’s thoughts on modern technology, bass influences, drum influences and parenting.
Summary Notes
Play to learn (12:00)
“Just learning and practicing yourself does good, but if you use that knowledge in a real context, that is how we learn to talk, we learn words and we use them with people…”
Playing for others is about eliciting a response, you play and see how people respond.
New technology (14:30)
“I can’t say if they are good or bad, it’s how we use them…”
Every generation has access to new technology, it’s about using it to make us better, faster.
Current inspirations (17:00)
It’s not just from music, or new music. It’s from life experiences. Gave an example of riding a roller coaster over the weekend, that experience may come out in his playing.
“Sometimes finding old music and rediscovering it, is just as inspiring as new music…”
Bass influences (19:15)
Jazz musicians: Stanley Clarke, Larry Graham, Jaco Pastorius
Dream gig would have been Billy Sheehan’s bass playing with Steve Vai and David Lee Roth.
Paul McCartney for how musical and lyrical he is on the bass.
Drum influences (20:30)
Would have become a drummer had his brother’s band not already had a drummer.
“That’s the main reason I play so rhythmically on the bass, I used to learn drum solos, a lot of drum licks on the bass…”
Parenting (27:20)
Shares various insights regarding his approach to parenting and teaching his kids about music.
“They are learning the reverence and the respect for music, for at least what I think it is, and hopefully they will grow up believing in it also in the way I do, or even in a better way than I do…”
Making time for your priorities (33:00)
“There is time for whatever it is you want to do in life. That’s what I believe. We just have to sometimes make the time, schedule the time…”