Biggus Billus

Bill Clarke is a well known personality on the local music scene. He first became known to us through his energy and stage presence as a vocalist for a heavy metal band. Based in Hurstpierpoint, Bill is now a transformed musician known "largely" for his funky bass playing and as band leader of the excellent Motown function band: "No Town Like Motown".

I caught up with Bill after another successful showcase gig at the Hassocks last weekend and posed him a few questions:

What is your favourite Motown track?

Such a difficult question as there are so many! Although my favourite motown track would have to be "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" by the four tops because it's such a perfectly simple, cheesy song. the thing that really stands out are the vocals, some of the happiest lyrics sung in a way that you actually believe the singer is so completely infatuated with his love: "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, you know I love you, I can't help myself, I love you and nobody else". No matter how bad a mood i'm ever in if I hear the bass and keys leading in to this song, I know what's coming and I'm immediately transformed into the happiest man alive. (Anyone who has watched Bill play live will know he is not exaggerating about this...the man loves to groove...J).

How do you manage the politics and logistics of a nine piece band?

It's incredibly difficult to manage the politics and logistics of a 9 or 10 piece band, the main thing that is needed are band members that are enthusiastic, reliable, talented, communicative and generally great people to spend time with. I consider myself very lucky to have members who enjoy shared responsibility, different people have different roles within the band such as Alex Dunford on Tenor Sax is in charge of the brass section and arranges any adaptations or extra harmonies on top of the brass transcriptions, Jennie Taylor one of the female vocalists is in charge of art and design for the band. Everyone have roles within the band that make my work a lot easier.

Why did you choose to play the bass? Was it because it has less strings?

No! I chose to play the bass guitar because i've always had a fascination with the deeper, darker undertones from my days of being a huge metal fan. The amount of tones and strange frequencies that can be applied to the bass guitar along with all the different techniques applicable to the instrument have given me a lifetime of joy and experimentation. The bass guitar is the instrument that hold the band together and the groove. If the bass goes wrong the whole song falls apart. Also when I listened to Pino Palladino's playing of "Get Here" by Oleta Adams I found the endless possibilities for the expression of emotion in the instrument and how the smallest amount of vibrato in the right place can bring out the riht emotions and express the message and interpretation of a song. Most of all I need to tell every bassist out there to get to know James Jamerson's work as much as possible. He was the first motown bassist and he was nothing short of a genius as every famous bassist would tell you. To find out more I advise you get "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" Book and DVD. You will never regret it.

Thanks Bill...If you haven't seen "No Town Like Motown" you should definitely check them out. Go to www.notownlikemotown.com or find them on popular social networking sites (you know which ones).

I'll post more from Bill next time I catch one of their gigs...which I can pretty much guarantee will be in the in near future.