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Jodie Forrest (Dragonship)

Jodie, what’s your full name? Josephine Forrest, but everyone calls me Jodie.

Where were you born? Arlington, Virginia, USA., based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

Did you ever perform onstage as a child? If you count school plays, local little theatre productions, and the piano at my sixth grade graduation

What attracted you to playing bass? It's hard to explain without sounding spacey, but the best analogy I've come up with is that when I first played bass, I felt as if I were in the middle of an audio hologram, and suddenly I could hear and feel the tune and all the players in it in a completely different and cohesive and compelling way. Plus I loved the resonance of the low frequencies.

Did you play any other instrument before you started playing bass? Piano

Are any of your relatives involved in music? Not many of them. My father would sometimes pick out tunes on the piano by ear, but had no training. A first cousin plays piano and composes music. A nephew plays guitar.

Can you remember the first piece you ever learned on bass? I took a CD of some favorite songs to my bass teacher, and we worked on all of them. "Walking on the Moon" by the Police was one. So was "God Shiva" by M'shell N'degeoceo. So was Peter Gabriel's "Digging in the Dirt."

Are you self-taught or did you have a tutor/teacher? I had a great teacher for a few years. Also, my husband has played guitar for ages, and he was a big help. I still work out songs from CDs, or experiment with playing along to the radio. It's fun because you don't know what will come up next, so it makes you listen and be spontaneous.

Tell us about your current band, Dragonship? We're a rock and roll/art-rock band with a Celtic feel; a Welsh friend, Rhiannon Jones, is our fiddle player and one of our singers. My husband Steven Forrest writes our songs, plays guitar and is the other singer. Our friend Scotty Young plays drums, and I play bass and keyboard, mostly bass. We perform my husband's rock opera which is based on The Elves' Prophecy, the second novel in my Nordic-Celtic historical fantasy trilogy, the "Rhymer" trilogy, set in 9th century Europe (what are now Norway, England, Ireland and Sweden), Elfland and Asgard (home of the Norse gods).

We've done another show based on the first novel, The Rhymer and the Ravens, but this current one is based on the second novel, The Elves' Prophecy. We narrate the plotline of the novel and the rock opera by taking turns reciting rhymed verses between songs while the rest of the band plays more softly than usual. A friend jokingly calls it "pagan hiphop." But really we're a rock and roll band; we also have a program explaining the narrative, so we can rock out and not worry too much about whether people will follow the story from the narration alone.

How did you come to start this band? I gave Steven a good guitar for his birthday. He'd been starting to drift away from music, and I knew he really loved it. He was so happy with the guitar that he started secretly writing songs, based on my first novel, to thank me. After he had about half a dozen of them done, he sat me down and played them for me, and I loved them. We started playing the songs and telling the story with a local singer, who brought in a bass player--this was before I started playing bass--and a percussionist, and voilà! we were a band.

Do you play with your fingers, pick or both? With my fingers. I've tried a pick but prefer to use my fingers, I like the direct contact with the bass.

Have you played fretless bass? Yes. I love it. My fretless has richer, warmer, more lush feel, and lends itself better to glissandos. It takes concentration and practice to hit the notes dead on, but that's good for me.

Have you played double (upright) or acoustic bass? Upright, no, although I've been introduced to my teacher's upright and I love their sound. Acoustic, yes, I enjoy it. Great for hanging outside on the deck, and jamming with other acoustic players, and coming along on short trips if I don't want to bother with an amp.What bands do you enjoy listening to? I could spend a long time answering that question! I'm musically omnivorous. What I listen to varies with my mood, but I love Jethro Tull, Sting, U2, Peter Gabriel, Bill Miller, Robbie Robertson, Joanne Shenandoah, a fabulous New Orleans band called The Iguanas whom you should move heaven and earth to hear playing live, a lot of classic and older rock and roll (Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Stones, the Band, the Who, Traffic, Yes, Santana, Beatles, Cream, It's A Beautiful Day, etc), the Talking Heads, Daniel Lanois, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell,Seal, the Bodeans, M'shell Ndegeoceo, Rush, the Dave Matthews Band, a lot of funk and R & B and Motown and soul, Tower of Power, Johnny Winter, John McLaughlin, Bela Fleck, Elvis Costello, Ry Cooder, a lot of Celtic music, John Renbourn, Pentangle, Horslips, Steeleye Span, Loreena McKennit, a lot of jazz, Miles Davis, Marcus Miller, Jade Warrior--as I said, I could spend a long time on this question.

Have you recorded any of your music? Dragonship's done a CD for The Elves' Prophecy, and I play a few tracks on a CD that Steven and Rhiannon did together, Siant y Ddraig.

What was your worst moment onstage? We were playing outdoors, and a small insect flew in my mouth, so rather than spit it out in front of hundreds of people, I swallowed it. I still don't know what it was!

Has anything funny happened with a fan or fans? One woman prostrated herself before me after a show. She didn't just bow; she lay down full length on the floor with her face down and her palms flat on either side of her head.

Do you play any other instruments? A Roland XP 50 keyboard, a Yamaha grand piano nicknamed "Her Glory," a Lakland 5 string bass, a Jack Casady signature Epiphone semi hollow body bass, a Fender BG29 acoustic bass, and an old pawn shop bass.

What other instrument would you most like to play? I wish I could sing. The world is fortunate that I know that I can't. Next lifetime, I hope.

What was the best concert you were ever at (in the audience!)? One of the many Jethro Tull shows I've attended.

Where would you most like your band to play? That's hard to answer. We all have day jobs, and that can make touring difficult. Realistically, I'd say in *non-smoking* venues with good acoustics and good ventilation, and we want our own sound guy with us. He's a member of the band. Unrealistically, I'd love to play at Red Rock. (All venues in Ireland are now non-smoking - Ed.)

Is there a bassist whose sound/technique you really like? The Iguanas' bassist, René Coman.

What musician(s) or singer(s) would you like to share the stage with?

What’s your opinion on basses with more than 4 strings? I love my Lakland 5, although I'm more used to a 4. More than 5 strings is more than I want to take on, although I love hearing them played. Steve Bailey and Anthony Jackson are astonishing.

Do you have any “bassist” jokes to share? I love musician jokes... You've probably heard all of them, but if no one tells any on your website, I'll never hear any new ones, so here goes:

Q. How do you get a bass player off your front porch?
A. You pay her for the pizza.

What are your ambitions, musically and personally? Musically, to have fun playing and to keep improving. Anything else is a gift!  Personally, to keep being creative in all three fields I enjoy: music, writing and painting. Creativity is one of the greatest joys of life, and it's also exceptionally good for you. And I want to stay curious about the world, and healthy enough to keep hiking as long as possible into my old age .

Many thanks Jodie. Dragonship's website can be accessed through our Links page. - Ed.

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