PLEASE PLAY MY VIDEOS THROUGH GOOD SPEAKERS TO HEAR THE BASS. I'm Steve DePra, a versatile, a veteran Fender bass player. I began my musical journey at the early age of 4, as a harmony backup singer for my mother, won my first talent show at age 5, (singing "Side By Side") and then I concentrated on horns from age 8 to 11, and finally attacked the drums from age 12 to 18. I jumped around from horns to all different drums in a competition drum and bugle Corp, in that same period. Then, in August of 1969, I hopped into my 59 Buick LeSabre, and headed for White Lake NY. and was fortunate to have met Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker and many others at the historic Woodstock Music and Art festival. I reluctantly returned home to reality, picked up a friend's Fender bass, and surprisingly discovered that all of my melodic, rhythmical, spiritual and personal experience, had one outlet, FENDER BASS. I instantly began to play as if I had been playing bass for years. It was shocking to me, and everyone who knew me. I literally began sleeping with this Fender Bass, that my friend had given to me to keep, and I never looked back. In 1970, I moved to San Francisco, and began to develop my craft, since I was interested in all styles of bass playing including rock, funk, fusion, blues, and even the dreaded disco. In 1977, as per my curiosity, I became involved in the SF Punk scene, which I helped establish. In 1978, I moved to Los Angeles, and then back to the NYC area in 1980, where I still reside. There's never a day that I do not hold a Fender bass. Here is a partial list of my most notable working experience, not neccessarily in chronological order. Albert Collins, The Fabulous Sylvester, Mary Monday, Luther Tucker, John Lee Hooker, Freddie Roulette, Haywood and Jeanie Gregory, Mark Naftalin, Jerry Garcia, Joe Henderson, Mike Henderson, Pete Levin, Dave Liebman, Pee Wee Ellis, Melvin Sparks, Nikki Armstrong, Charlie Karp, Matt Rae, Billy and The Showmen, Tim DeHuff, Bobby Radcliff, SaRon Crenshaw, Irving Louis Lattin, Sweet Georgia Brown, Mayaeni, Deena Miller, Danny Draher, Diamond Joe Siddons, Louie Bellson, Frankie Banali, Thierry Arpino, Larry Baeder, Mark Bowers, David Bennett Cohen, Pops Carter, Dave Fields, Dave Moore, Oz Noy, KJ Denhert, Doug Munro and so many more. Also there have been many guest appearances with the likes of Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lonnie Youngblood, Slam Allen, Jr.Mack, Elvin Bishop, Michael Powers, Hubert Sumlin, "Guitar"George Baker, Jimmy Vivino, Jon Paris, Frankie Paris, Gil Parris, Big Ed, Big Eric, George Benson, Bernard Purdie, Mathew Earl Jones, Merl Saunders, Tito Puente, and many more. There were also numerous private studio jam sessions with jazz and fusion greats such as Mike Clark, Narada Michael Walden, Corrado Rustici, Bill Frissell, John Goodsall, Evo Krizan, Ric Parnell, Mike Barsomanto, Bill Connors, Askold Buk, Russell Ferante, Dave Fields, Mark Isham, Frank Zappa, and Carlos Santana, and many more. And finally, my favorite inspirational moment was back in 1977, when at SIR studios in LA, Jaco and I, swapped each others fretless Fender basses, for an afternoon of rehearsal, and then played a game of pool, talking about each others Fender bass. That memorable Jaco encounter, led to a 10 yr. acquaintance that was cut short by his tragic death in 1987. All of the above had come to me as a result of no formal music training, no private teacher, and no instructional videos, just dedication, natural hands and ears, a strong passion for music and the Fender bass, a rock solid feel for time, the love of interacting musically, inspiration from great players and friends, and a distictive fretted and fretless style and tone. Hence the term " Natural Bass Player". I continue to work with select musicians/friends in the tri state area, mostly in New York City. My vast repertoire includes CLASSIC R+B, FUNK, JAZZ STANDARDS, BLUES, SOUL, FUSION, HEAVY METAL, and CLASSIC ROCK. [email protected]
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