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i'm currently a member of the coolest, new and unique country band ever, her & kings county. all six of us come from new york city and in the past year we've played over 150 shows and put 60,000 miles on the van. our home town didn't have much of a country scene which is why we left. life's been great ever since. this is my story...

A six year old boy sits in the back of a wood-paneled station wagon on the way to the beach with his family, watching the cars go by. Tucked in back, surrounded by beach towels, blankets, fold-up chairs and inflatable toys, the radio plays through the rear speakers. He sings along with the only thing he hears clearly resonating through the station wagon's cheap plastic side panels.

Maybe that's where I got it.

I remember singing bass lines before I even knew what they were, but it took a while.

When I was eleven, my brothers took me to my first concert: The Rolling Stones at the Garden. Then they took me to see The Who. Then I got to see Led Zeppelin reunite at Live Aid at RFK Stadium. When they were away, I'd sneak into their rooms, sit at the turntable and play the others I'd loved: Van Halen , AC-DC, Creedence Cearwater Revival, The Kinks, David Bowie, Steve Miller, Motley Crüe..."

But by the time I picked up a bass guitar, I thought my influences would be the Smiths, The Cure and New Order. I was following the line back to Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and the Jam. That took me to the Beatles. Finally it came down to one sound. Motown. One man. James Jamerson. The only one more important to the birth of the bass guitar was Leo Fender himself. So climb back up to disco, soul and even early funk if you want. You can't go wrong with Gaye, Mayfield, Wonder and Green.

A four-string Fender bass and an Ampeg rig were good enough for some of the greatest music ever recorded. Effects can be just right or they can be a crutch, a gimmick. When in doubt, keep it plug-and-play. Five string? Sure, but sometimes I'll use a killer octave pedal and a Jazz bass instead. If I'm mobile, a 7 pound, 1200 watt Walter Woods head is my secret weapon.

Good bass is the soul of the song, the bridge between rhythm and melody and the center of musical gravity. It's the bass you feel in your chest. It's the bass you hear before you even get inside the club. There's no formula, no substitute, no synthesized solution.

I believe in pure, simple grooves that never invade the vocal. Someone once told me that my bass lines move and lock clean with a kick, yet can leap up and compliment the lead vocal like a backing harmony. I want to strip it down until only the right notes remain in the right places. See for yourself.

-nicolas dipierro