You’ve met Kato, Zeno, Smoke and Gary Who. Please allow me to introduce you to J He is the bass player for Grad Dai !
Shani: How long have you been playing bass?
J Alsina: I’ve been playing bass for about six years now. My father taught me when I first came out to Baltimore in 2004.
Shani: So, where are you originally from?
J Alsina: I’m originally from Riverside, California.
Shani: So, how has Baltimore been treating you?
J Alsina: Baltimore has been pretty good to me. I just learning what I can, it’s a different experience out here. So, I’m taking in what I can.
Shani: How did you become a member of Grad Dai?
J Alsina: I came back from visiting my family in California; my dad told me that Zeno and Kato were in the garage. They were making a band and they happened to need a bass player. We just took it off from there.
Shani: How did you become friends with Zeno and Kato?
J Alsina: I went to church with Zeno for a while. When they were looking for a place to practice, my mom told them that we had equipment at our house. She suggested that they ask my father to practice in our shed.
Shani: Do you play other instruments?
J Alsina: I play drums and a little piano, but I’m mostly focused on the bass.
Shani: So who else plays in your family, since you have instruments at your house?
J Alsina: My dad plays everything; he plays piano, bass, lead guitar and drums. Once I happened to come out here, my dad had the drums underneath the house. I happened to go under there to get the suitcases one day, and asked my dad about them. He pulled them out and set them up in the shed. From there, he started teaching me everything that he knew. As far as bass, I got into bass because I was into the drums. In high school, I was in the marching band and I saw how the bass drum basically carried everybody. It set the tempo for everything and is basically the backbone for the music. It’s pretty fun to play with my dad too. I’ll be on the drums and he’ll be on the bass.
Shani: It’s awesome how talent runs in some families!
J Alsina: My father was also the road manager for the group.
Shani: Which song from Grad Dai is your favorite song?
J Alsina: I would say “Self-Mutilation”.
Shani: Why is that your favorite song?
J Alsina: The lyrics, the lyrics are so deep! Once everybody drops down from the break, we seem to connect more on that song more than any other song. We don’t even have to look at each other, and we know whether we are going to continue, keep the break running, or slow down the tempo. We can feel what the music needs and we all pull in together. It’s like kinesthetic.
Visit Grad Dai’s Fan Page on Facebook!
Comments