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Christa Hillhouse (4 Non Blondes)

Christa Leigh Hillhouse, you're very welcome to BassGirls.Com. Where were you born and where are you now based? I was born in Arkansas, USA. My musical career is based out of San Francisco, California. I currently live in Omaha, Nebraska.
 
At what age did you first take a bass in your hands? At 15, although I had a six string Gibson guitar that I played the top 4 strings of.
 
What attracted you to playing bass? I have no idea. I guess it just felt good!

Did you ever perform onstage as a child? Occasionally I played tamborine and sang with my dad's band.

Do you play with your fingers, pick or both?  Both, and thumbs! I use Dunlop picks, the orange ones!
 
Have you played fretless bass? I have a 70's fretless P-bass. It has a nice, warm tone and I use it for specific styles or moods.

Have you played double (upright) or acoustic bass? Yes, but not professionally.   How would you best describe the type of music you mostly play? Hmmm .... punk rock acoustic funk.   Who did you listen to as a young teenager? Rock-n-roll and funk. I loved Aerosmith, The Brothers Johnson, Heart, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Bonnie Raitt, The Staple Singers and everything in between.   Tell us about your recordings Christa? I have recorded with many bands and projects, but the only band I have recorded with that is well-known is 4 non blondes. check out my website's audio page for more.

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Tell us about musicians/bands with whom you have shared a stage or opened for? Whew, lots. Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, Prince, Bob Dylan to name a few.
 
What was your best gig/venue ever? I played the Billboard Music Awards in 1994 and had my picture in TV Guide, that was pretty cool.

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What was your worst moment onstage? Hmmm ... probably in my first band in Oklahoma, we were playing at an Arts' Festival outside and somebody pulled the plug!   Has anything funny happened with a fan or fans? A lot of our fans got tattoos of our logo, that's pretty amazing stuff!   Do you play/own any other instruments? Sure, I have several 6-string guitars and have owned drums and keyboards. What other instrument would you most like to play? Some kind of horn. a saxophone, perhaps.   What was the best concert you were ever at? Whoa... I would say the first time I saw Lucinda Williams, before she won her Grammies, at a small club in San Francisco.   Do you find singing while playing bass difficult? It's a bit tricky...   Do you write/compose? Yes.   If forming your ideal live band, what instruments would you have with you onstage? Bass, drums, guitar. I love a power trio!   Do you see the bass as a solo instrument? Depends on who's playing it!   If you could be taken to a concert anywhere on earth tonight, who would you want to see live? Aretha Franklin.   What music are you listening to most these days? My own stuff, mostly.   Do you have a pet? A beagle named Bijou.

Do you have a day-job or do you play professionally? I play professionally, but these days I primarily make a living designing web sites and doing computer animation.
 
What are your hobbies/interests outside of music? HO scale model trains, writing essays, reading about history and politics, working on the computer, compiling video footage and writing the narrative to a film I am working on about the San Francisco music scene in the 80's.

Give one piece of advice to someone who has just bought their first bass? Tune it!
 
Have you ever performed onstage without a bass? Yes, I have jumped up on stage and sang with a few friends' bands.
 
Have you played outside the USA? Yes, in Europe and South America.
 
Have you ever been to Ireland? Yes! I love it!
 
Where would you most like your band to play? Amsterdam!

Is there a bassist whose sound/technique you really like? Jaco Pastorius.
 
What musician(s) or singer(s) would you like to share the stage with? Johnette Napolitano! (see our interview with Johnette - Ed.)
 
What’s your opinion on basses with more than 4 strings? If you can't do it with 4 strings, you ain't no bass player!

Did you ever have a famous person in your audience? Yes, quite a few ... I was just telling someone that Bill Graham was at one of our gigs a few months before he died, that was pretty special. Janis Joplin's sister came to a show I did with Linda Perry back in 2000. Prince sat behind Dawn when we opened for him back in 1994 and watched, that was interesting.
 
What are your ambitions, musically and personally? Be happy, give love, get love and make enough money to pay my bills.

Christa, thank you. Christa's website can be accessed through our Links page. - Ed.

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