Michael Sunday began playing
bass guitar in 1992. He initially
became interested in learning to play, because most of his friends were
musicians and he spent some time attending their gigs…and wanted to be part of
that life experience. Around the
same time his step-daughter was taking guitar lessons, and he decided that if
he learned bass guitar he could at least accompany her, never imagining that
within a few short months he’d be playing in a band of like-minded musicians.
The bass guitarist who has
most influenced him is Nathan East, a studio musician who plays with Phil
Collins, Eric Clapton, and Anita Baker.
Michael says, “When Nathan plays bass guitar, it’s almost like singing
on the bass.”
Michael has also been
influenced by James Jamerson, and other Motown musicians. His current favorite
Bass Guitarist is
Pino Palladino (with John Mayer) whom he calls a “groove master.”
Michael first played Bass
Guitar with Blues Underground, which was rated the Number One Blues band in
Southern California at one time.
He later played with Peter Tork’s band “Shoe Suede Blues” for ten years,
which was a valuable experience to him, in addition to traveling all around the
U.S. and meeting a lot of people.
Michael is currently playing
with the Santana tribute band, “Savor” (pronounced Sa’-Vor), and a Gospel band,
in addition to doing a lot of studio work. He is also the host of the new musician-interview show, “BackStage:
Los Angeles.”
