10 Questions with Amos Heller

Amos Heller is a certifiable metal head. When he began playing upright at age ten, he would borrow his middle school’s bass to learn songs from his favorite heavy albums. He went on to study classical upright bass for the next decade, but he always kept his metal edge outside of his lessons, building his chops and taking on the hardest and most brutal riffs out there — which he still displays on his Instagram profile today. After becoming a first-call player in Cincinnati and then Nashville, Heller began landing high-profile gigs with increasing demand in the studio and on the stage. On the side, Heller is always toying with distortion and fuzz pedals to get the most sinister tones. Oh, did we mention that he’s also Taylor Swift’s bass player? 

Having joined Swift while her career was still budding back in 2007, Heller grew close with the pop icon and, has become a fan favorite to the millions of adoring “Swifties,” many of whom packed arenas during the most successful tour of all time. On the road Heller employs a large number of basses for the singer’s sizeable catalog. And despite the music being far from metal, Heller still gets down onstage as an integral part of the highly orchestrated performances. When he’s not on the road with Swift, he can be found woodshedding at his Nashville home, likely to the sound of some blaring drop-tuned riffs. We checked in with him after the dust cleared from the Eras Tour to ask him our 10 Questions. 

1. What’s something readers would be surprised that you listen to?

It might be an open secret by now that I love metal.  I grew up playing in thrash bands and listening to bands like Metallica and Megadeth, as well as Faith No More, Pantera, and Sepultura. On the more modern side, I love Ghost, Four Year Strong, and the album Paradigm Shift by Korn. Also, just about anything Jacob Umansky does.

2. What is an element you’ve been working on in your playing? 

I have an exercise where I pick a random key, call up a drum loop, and set a timer for eight minutes. By the time it runs out, I want to have composed a solid four-bar groove.  It’s great for improvising, pocket playing, and the slippery skill of dividing your attention between playing and listening. I’ve come to love practice and look forward to it, rather than trudging through it as something I have to do. I’ll work on things like endurance and strength, ear training, repertoire, pick playing, or transcribing melodies. There’s always something new to work on and it helps prevent boredom, which is maybe the worst way to practice.

3. What was the first concert you ever attended?

My parents took me to see Talking Heads on the Stop Making Sense tour when I was about six years old. I don’t remember much of it, but I win this conversation whenever it comes up! It’s a revelation for many kids to grow up and learn that their parents are just normal people with their own flaws and struggles, but I had to go through the emotional work of realizing my parents were really cool.

4. What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended?

I got to see Paul McCartney a while ago, and the whole experience just floored me. His band is amazing, he’s been playing shows since the dawn of rock & roll, and Dear God the repertoire that man gets to pull from.  He’s such a master of so many aspects of the craft — singing, songwriting, performing, bass playing. I’m so grateful I got to experience it, and it felt important and fun at the same time. 

5. If you could have lunch with any bass player today, alive or dead, who would it be?

Okay I’m going to cheat on this one: The brain I’d most want to pick about the business, Chris Chaney. To sit and stare at in slack-jawed awe, Cliff Burton. Because I just think we’d have a great lunch, Bryan Beller. And best bragging rights after the fact, Flea.

6. If you could sub for any bass player in any band, who would it be?

It would have to be Robert Trujillo in Metallica. That band is a huge part of why I fell in love with music, and it informed so much of my teenage years and how I perform. I would learn songs off Kill ’Em All on the upright bass. Cliff Burton was one of my earliest heroes, and he still is.

7. What was your first bass?

I got an Ibanez EXB 404 when I was 13. It weighed like six pounds, and I covered it in surf stickers — I went surfing exactly once in my late 20s. I’ve been thinking about tracking it down.

8. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given about playing bass?

A drummer friend of mine hipped me to the concept of playing as much as you can with one finger on your plucking hand. The way it levels out the dynamics, the adjustments it forces you to make, the fills it asks you not to play — it was a late-career game changer. For the last tour, I made a playlist for the sole purpose of warming up my right pointer finger.  If I could get through the instrumental/solo section of “Tom Sawyer,” I knew I was good to go.

9. What is the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you during a performance?

I had a quick change onstage between songs, and I accidentally tore a sizable chunk out of my pants in the chaos. I didn’t realize it until after the next change some 30 minutes later.

10. What are four items that you absolutely need to have on the road with you?

My yoga mat, a portable practice rig — currently the excellent Waza Air Bass, a fan — I can barely sleep without one, and a bass to keep in the room for practicing.

Follow Amos: HERE