Tom Fowler? Wow!
Tom Fowler is my all-time favorite bass player, and he is why I play Alembics.
My first experience with Zappa and Tom Fowler was at the old Capitol Theater in beautiful Passaic, NJ on November 8, 1974. It was one of the
most important experiences in my musical life. I had been playing bass for about a year...I was using a Gibson Ripper (ugh!) with flatwound strings, and my tone, such as it was, was a muddy, punchless mess. I had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but I wasn't sure what , or why. All I knew was that the sound I heard in my head was nothing like the sound that Ripper made. Anyway, at this Mother's show, I was close to the stage, the hall had good acoustics, and the FOH sound was great...and the bass player (whose name I didn't know then) was playing this large, sorta ugly bass with a funny point at the end of the body...and it sounded like diamonds!. I
mean, Fowler's tone was a full-ranged piano-like sound , but with punch! As I heard it, I knew that it was the sound I heard in my head, and ,
coupled with Tom's wonderful sense of rhythm melody and harmony, the whole experience forever changed my feelings about what a bass could sound like, and about what kind of music it could make. A few months later, in a Guitar Player story, I learned that the bass was an Alembic. I knew I had to have one -- and then I found out how much they cost! It took me damn near 20 years to afford one, and I've got a bunch now -- and they still sound as good as they did that night in Passaic! A 20 year GAS-attack!
I have been on a 10 year quest to find Fowler's old Alembic, which I am told he sold years ago (BTW, he is Ray Charles's bassist these days). Any help would be greatly appreciated!
(Message edited by s_wood on September 17, 2003)
