Interview with Will Michael from Puppy

Hi, my name is Will, i’m the bassist of Puppy, I’m here at Desertfest 2018.

When I started playing bass, I was a guitarist, probably like most bassists! I was a guitarist and then nobody wanted pick up the bass, so I was like I will do it. It’s been a journey trying to find the right combination of a good rukus, kind of rumbling low end but something you can pick out the melody. I don’t just want sub, something that really bites through, that’s what I look for.

I always looked up to bassists who really stood out, I love Cliff Burton, I loved the way he played the bass like a guitar. That approach not just being the rhythm section and a lot of three pieces were always my favourite bassists because they had a third of the job to carry. You couldn’t be a wallflower bassist in a three piece. Al from Sleep, for me a massive influence, I play a Rickenbacker as well pretty much, Cliff and Al pretty much my two favourite bassists of all time.

My interest in Orange came really young actually, before I was in any bands, I used to love Oasis when I was a kid. I remember seeing them playing and they had an all Orange backline, obviously they were huge. Black Sabbath as well on some German performance I remember seeing they had an all Orange backline and I thought this is the coolest thing I had ever seen.  Then I learned a bit more about the history of the company and I got the Orange book, I was reading about the shop they used to have on Carnaby Street. I just thought the whole thing was so cool. The old logo, the tree growing off the world, the voice of the world! I thought it would make a great tattoo, so I got it there. That’s it man, i’m somewhat of a loyalist to the brand and i was super stoked to be asked to use their equipment. I would be using it anyway, they have got a fan for life in me!

First stack was an Orange, AD200, two 4×10’s and I was super proud to have that on stage. We would play the tiniest venues and I would never go anywhere without a full stack! Even if it meant piling it into a cab and pissing off a cab driver. It feels amazing to be asked to use their equipment, as I spent so long drooling over their equipment and looking at pictures of musicians I adored. Prince and Al from Sleep, all these people I thought were super cool, using their gear. I obviously I just wanted to be like them, that’s why I was using the gear in the first place. So it feels great to be actually an ambassador for the brand, it feels awesome.