Aquaman and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa has been outspoken about his love of heavy metal in the past, and he's now shared that Tool are to thank for his burgeoning passion for bass guitar.
Speaking about his love of the low-end with Guitar World, Momoa shared that a performance of Tool's "Sober" on the set of Aquaman was what drove him to pursue the instrument — perhaps surprising "Schism" players everywhere.
"I always have instruments on the set, so my son was playing drums and my daughter was playing guitar," Momoa recalled. "It was my assistant's birthday, and she really loves Tool, so I borrowed a bass from my buddy and we all played 'Sober' for her. Right then, my passion for bass really exploded. The moment I put it on, I could just feel the connection — and it was all over."
Momoa continued: "I always knew I wanted to play bass. After that I wanted to play standup, so I bought one and now it's a passion for me, with how it makes me feel and how it sounds. I studied and studied and studied bass, and I was like 'My God, I wish I would have done this when I was young.' I wish that I had that opportunity — but I'm making up for lost time."
The actor shared that his teenage musical diet included Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, Primus, Black Sabbath and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
"I really, really love John Frusciante and Flea, they're really huge in my life. Tool, too. I listen to pretty much all of it. A lot of the music I search for is a lot more off the beaten path nowadays. I respect everyone out there doing it, because it's so hard and so challenging, and I just try not to judge."
These days, Momoa isn't only partial to heavier music, telling GW, "I'm really rooted, like one of my gods in music is Tom Waits, but having said that, my goddess is probably Ani DiFranco. I was raised with Miles Davis and Janis Joplin, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor is one of my all-time favourites, too."
Momoa also spoke about his 2020 jam session with Primus leader Les Claypool, a "childhood dream" that was surely made even more special with Claypool giving him one of his own Pachyderm bass guitars.
The actor made sure to record some of their jam for future learning on his own, and made sure to ask Claypool "a lot of questions."
"I asked him what his hardest song is to play, and if he can still play it," Momoa shared. "The song 'DMV' is his hardest; he has a very hard time playing it. I got the story behind why he did these really challenging things, and how he's pissed because now he can't do it on stage!"
You can read Momoa's entire interview with Guitar World here.
Speaking about his love of the low-end with Guitar World, Momoa shared that a performance of Tool's "Sober" on the set of Aquaman was what drove him to pursue the instrument — perhaps surprising "Schism" players everywhere.
"I always have instruments on the set, so my son was playing drums and my daughter was playing guitar," Momoa recalled. "It was my assistant's birthday, and she really loves Tool, so I borrowed a bass from my buddy and we all played 'Sober' for her. Right then, my passion for bass really exploded. The moment I put it on, I could just feel the connection — and it was all over."
Momoa continued: "I always knew I wanted to play bass. After that I wanted to play standup, so I bought one and now it's a passion for me, with how it makes me feel and how it sounds. I studied and studied and studied bass, and I was like 'My God, I wish I would have done this when I was young.' I wish that I had that opportunity — but I'm making up for lost time."
The actor shared that his teenage musical diet included Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, Primus, Black Sabbath and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
"I really, really love John Frusciante and Flea, they're really huge in my life. Tool, too. I listen to pretty much all of it. A lot of the music I search for is a lot more off the beaten path nowadays. I respect everyone out there doing it, because it's so hard and so challenging, and I just try not to judge."
These days, Momoa isn't only partial to heavier music, telling GW, "I'm really rooted, like one of my gods in music is Tom Waits, but having said that, my goddess is probably Ani DiFranco. I was raised with Miles Davis and Janis Joplin, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor is one of my all-time favourites, too."
Momoa also spoke about his 2020 jam session with Primus leader Les Claypool, a "childhood dream" that was surely made even more special with Claypool giving him one of his own Pachyderm bass guitars.
"We just hit it off. He was playing the drums and I was playing bass and going 'Jesus Christ, man', I was so nervous. Les is like fuckin' God, so it was really hard to relax because he was just playing drums and I was supposed to start filling space and I was like 'Oh my God, what's going on?' I look forward to the day when I can communicate on the bass on that level."
The actor made sure to record some of their jam for future learning on his own, and made sure to ask Claypool "a lot of questions."
"I asked him what his hardest song is to play, and if he can still play it," Momoa shared. "The song 'DMV' is his hardest; he has a very hard time playing it. I got the story behind why he did these really challenging things, and how he's pissed because now he can't do it on stage!"
You can read Momoa's entire interview with Guitar World here.