Jason Momoa has credited a Tool song with igniting his love of playing the bass guitar in a new interview.
The actor has shared videos of himself playing the instrument online over the past year and was given a bass lesson by Primus’ Les Claypool in September.
Now, speaking to Bass Player magazine, the star has explained how he first picked up the instrument. “I always have instruments on the set, so my son was playing drums and my daughter was playing guitar,” he said.
“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 added that he had “always” known he wanted to play bass and said he has “studied and studied and studied” the instrument. “I was like ‘My God, I wish I would have done this when I was young’,” he said. “I wish that I had that opportunity – but I’m making up for lost time.”
The feature also saw the Aquaman star field questions from a host of artists including Slayer’s Tom Araya.
The musician asked Momoa if he would ever make the switch from acting to music, to which Momoa replied: “Oh man. A lot of my friends are musicians and I love them, and I feel like it’s fine for them to be actors, but I don’t know, when I see actors being musicians I’m like, ‘Oh my God’. It’s just like ‘Ugh…’ It never really works out.”
He didn’t rule out the change-up in careers entirely though. “It’s all good, and I would never want to say, ‘I’ll never do anything’,” he said. “I enjoy playing up there with my friends if they’re raising money for a charity, of course, because it’s always good to help – but I feel very out of place up there.”
In August, Momoa posted a video of himself jamming to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground’ on his Instagram page. In the clip, he showed off a Fender Precision Bass that he’d been gifted for his 41st birthday by the Fender Custom Shop Master Builder, Vincent Van Trigt.
