FRANCESCA ALINOVI intervIew/performance
In this video, we feature the wonderful Francesca Alinovi of Lovesick Duo! Known for her classic bass playing, dazzling slap style and use of the brush pad, Francesca is a bassist who’s making a significant impact as a rock and roll, blues, country and traditional jazz music bassist and singer. We are delighted to meet her in this special interview featuring two performances from her band, Lovesick Duo.
Meet Francesca Alinovi!
Based in Italy, Francesca’s background of playing piano and studying classic American music on both electric and upright bass has given her a strong sense of tradition. She has a forward looking and accessible approach to the double bass that keeps the audiences coming back for more. Her use of the brush pad is a great example of revising a seldom used approach that was made popular in the 1940s.
Her band, Lovesick Duo, have toured the world and released several albums to critical acclaim. Their authentic approach to American country, rock 'n' roll and western swing music of the 40s and 50s is wildly popular with a following that’s currently approaching 200k followers on social media!
Interview/performance
Our discussion covers Francesca’s musical origins, the journey from playing bass guitar in a punk band to playing double bass in Lovesick Duo, her first emotional connection and the moment she fell in love with the upright bass, main influences, teachers and why studying classical music didn’t work for her (but why she’s back into it now), how lyrics affect her bass lines, the Nashville Numbers System, brush pad technique, and more.
In addition to the in-depth interview, Francesca Alinovi and Paolo Roberto Pianezza of Lovesick Duo joined us in a vintage recording studio to perform two original compositions at the end of the video. Be sure to stick around to see them in action, and a very special thanks to Paolo for joining us! Be sure to follow Lovesick Duo via the links below.
I hope you enjoy this special interview/performance video. As usual, we have provided links to the people referenced in our conversation. There are also behind-the-scenes photos from the session; scroll down to check them out.
Timecodes
00:00 Introduction
01:41 RCA Studios
02:52 Lovesick Duo
03:54 Learning bass & punk music
04:17 Inspirations
05:15 Emotional connection
06:35 Learning double bass
12:19 Slap technique
16:44 Building bass lines
21:40 Brush pad
29:18 Bass gear
33:04 Performance: Aint No Other Place (For You and Me)
37:13 Performance: Black and White Light
FRANCESCA ALINOVI Links
Lovesick duo Links
Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Discussion Links
Adam Ben Ezra, Discover Double Bass course
Jimmy Sutton, bassist with JD McPherson - Geoff’s favourite YouTube video of Fire Bug.
Ray Price, Crazy Arms - YouTube video
Emiliano Barbieri, Instagram
Buy the brush pad on Fancesca’s website
Amplification - Gallien Kruger MB 200 or 500
Speaker cabinet - NUSiEDA
Behind the scenes
Photos © Discover Double Bass
More Interviews with Bluegrass and country Bassists
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