Joy Basu

Joy Basu

Joy performing with Jessica Simpson on The Tonight Show

Born: Calcutta, India.

Moved to the USA at age 2.

Grew up in India, Indiana, and Boston.

Currently resides in Los Angeles with wife Jennifer (Hennacy) Basu.

Occupation: Musician

Your first thought might be, who is Joy Basu? Or, maybe you already know that this Los Angeles based guitarist has performed with some of the biggest names in Rock, Pop, and R&B. Artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Tamyra Gray (American Idol) , Miki, Coco Lee, Kotoko, and many others. He has graced some of the biggest stages, and appeared on hit TV shows The Apprentice, The Tonight Show, The CBS Early Morning Show, Regis and Kelly, The Newlyweds, Last Call with Carson Daly, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, The Pre-Inauguration Youth Concert, and The American Music Awards. The list goes on and on.

Along with the impressive list of performers/performances, Joy has also established himself as a well respected solo artist, by releasing 2 CD's of his own. The 1996 "self titled" release (Bandai/Innergroove) consists of funky rhythms, bluesy licks, industrial headaches, and last but not least, total shred. His more recent 2003 release, "SinErgy" (Innergroove), is for the Electronica fans out there. Guest appearances include keyboarsist David Vee (The Gap Band, Jody Watley, David Lee Roth), Keyboardist Julie Greaux (Billy Idol, Berlin, Louis Migel), Iloara Basu on Indian slide guitars, and Shawna Basick on vocals.

You can also add instruction to his growing list of accomplishments. Since his training at Berklee College Of Music in Boston, he has taught at well known LA music schools Musicians Institute, and Los Angeles Music Academy.

With being an in demand musician, you have to demand good equipment to stay on top of your game. For that, Joy turns to companies like ESP guitars, Morley pedals, Godin acoustic-synth guitars, Seymour Duncan pickups, Dean Markley strings, and Framus amps for endorsements. He can currently be seen in the new ESP 30th Anniversary Catalog.

Now you have a better idea of just who Joy Basu is, and where he has been. So let's find out more about the person J Lo and Jessica called on to handle their guitar duties. Recently, I caught up with Joy to ask him several questions , and see inside the "Innergroovings" of this exceptional guitarist.

On the web: Joy Basu

Hi, and thanks for joining us today Joy.

My pleasure, thanks for having me.

So what's going on in the world of Joy Basu.....what are your musical plans in the near, and distant future?

I have gotten a little taste of music placement on TV. I really want to get more music in the media. Television, movies, video games etc. is a great market. I have been building a good sized music library for that. I will still keep doing session work and live gigs in the meantime.

You recently got married, how is that going? Has it affected your musical life in anyway?

Great question, you are the 1^st to ask this one. My career actually really took off couple of months or so after I met my wife. She helps me stay focused, loves a wide variety of music, and is very enthusiastic/supportive of my work. Not sure if it’s being married or just that I have hit a point in my age and career where now it’s really time to get working within a game plan. I am way pickier on what gigs/jobs I will take or keep because I need to make time to work on my own music and music library. In general I am getting more specific and narrowing down on my goals. Before my goals were not as focused, which was fine for that point of my life and career.

Do you have any brothers or sisters? Anyone else musically inclined in your family?

I am an only child. My Mom plays slide guitar and is awesome. Even though she chose a career in science she is talented enough to be a pro musician. My Grandfather’s cousin is an amazing, successful Indian classical singer.

I know that you have moved around quite a bit before settling in Los Angeles . Born in Calcutta , India , and lived in Indiana , and Boston for a while. Are there a lot of differences between those places and LA, or was the adjustment pretty smooth?

Well sure, any place in America is quite different than India . Adjustment as a kid was difficult but adjustment to any place as an adult is pretty easy. LA is different than the other places because one can surround themselves with very talented motivated people who are also striving or working successfully in entertainment.

There are a lot more opportunities in So. Cal. Would you say it's better for someone wanting to pursue a career in entertainment to move there, or try and acheive their goals from where they live now?

It depends on one’s goals. If someone wants to make a living doing music they can pretty much do it out of any town in this country and there is nothing wrong with that. However, I wanted to be in high profile situations. For that LA, NY or Nashville seems to be about it. It may be possible to get into something high profile from other places but the chances are way less. Usually one ends up working with the circle of people they are associating with.

You've traveled the world, and been a part of several recordings. What has been your most memorable experience? 1) In studio 2) On tour

LOL, all the real answers would put me in jail, and lead my family to disown me. Actually there have been so many awesome times. I am very thankful to get to do what I do. Musically it is really satisfying when the whole band is sounding tight on stage, or when the mix is finally right in the studio. Those moments of adrenaline are priceless. Seeing the fans really into it is awesome. It is so great to see someone air guitaring to a part I am playing. This last gig I did in Japan had a lot of heavy guitars, and the people were so nice. That may have been one of the funnest tours so far. Those guys over there love to party and eat. That is FUN!!

With the number of shows you've played, surely there have been some gig bloopers. Any that stand out in your memory?

Gig bloopers: Just as all the fun gigs there have been plenty of gigs that were disasters, or just funny mishaps. 65,000 in the audience: the band (including myself) had no monitors working. This is not too bad if you are playing a small stage or a club. But on large stages there is no way to hear certain other players without monitors. The only thing I am hearing is some wacky feedback. It turned out to be a key on the keyboard that got stuck. He could not tell because his monitors were not working. Similar incidents have happened at other shows where I heard the crowd screaming way louder than the monitor white noise. Guitar being handed to me (change of guitars between 2 songs) at an outdoor concert in Texas , it was around a 100 degrees. The guitar was a nice quarter step off at the beginning of the song. Just like everything else in life couple of bloopers have to be involved with all the good stuff.

Playing with so many different artists, does your amp rig change from performer to performer? If so, how?

Sometimes it even changes from gig to gig. My main amp now is Framus, which is used with various pedals. From Framus, I have both the Dragon and Cobra ½ stacks, and a Ruby Riot combo. For lot of the pop gigs I have also used Marshalls, Fenders, and Line6 gear.

Though you've played with some of the most popular names in rock and pop, what musician(s) would you like to play on stage with, that you haven't already?

Rob Zombie, Ozzy, BT, DJ Irene, Britney, any of my influences, probably just about everyone.

What software do you use to make the electronic sounds (techno stuff)?
Does Jessica Simpson dig guitar solos?

I use Digital Performer and Reason as my main software. Lot of the electronic sounds are from a Novation Super Nova, Juno, Waldorf and sometimes Reason. Lot of times I will just run stuff through a zillion plug-ins till the desired sound is achieved. Very rarely is it a stock sound.

Does Jessica like guitar solos? Hmmm good one there, I remember on one of the tours I had about a 2 min guitar solo over an E minor jam while her and the dancers changed. But that was more of a decision by the Music Director. I know Jessica likes acoustic guitars a lot, never really talked to her about solos.

Joy, in your songwriting, do you ever get writers block, or stuck at certain parts of a song?

If you do, what do you do to get past it?

Ya, of course! Sometimes I just move on to another song and come back to it. If there is a deadline I may just use a generic change to make it work. But I have stacks of songs I go back to and when I hear it after some time off I get re-inspired.

What musician would you say has influenced you the most?

There is no one particular person that has been most influential. I like so many styles of music, and I really get inspired by it all. All the guitar players that influence most metal guys from 80’s had a huge role in how I play and write. To name a few: Neal Schon, Yngwie, Jason Becker, Van Halen, Jake E Lee, Randy etc... Bands in general influenced me as well. Now more than new players, new producers and writers inspire me a lot. To name a few: BT, Dezrok, The Matrix, Hex Hector, Hybrid etc. The more I listen to them, the more inspired I feel.

You're on the inside of the music business, have you seen any changes in the quality of musicianship in the last 15 years? Do you feel it has gotten better, worse, or no change at all?

Trends are always changing. I personally love modern music as well as old stuff. The good players and producers who can play the business game will always have work. As far as quality of musicianship goes, I’d say it’s about the same. There are some amazing producers and musicians working in the industry. I am blown away by how some music directors can chart out a whole song while listening to it for the 1^st time. The only thing that has had a downward fall would be the popularity/showcase of players with a lot of technical ability in the rock/metal genres.

If you could be in any band, from any time period, who would it be?

Something from the future.

If you could only play one style of music, what would it be?

Electronic metal.

When you aren't doing music, what else do you enjoy doing?

Mostly doing business crap so I can do more music, LOL. Completely separate from the career I enjoy similar things as most other people: eating, partying, dance clubs, working out, internet, shopping, TV/movies etc..

If you weren't making a living as a musician, what do you think you would be doing now?

Something else in entertainment.

Thanks Joy! Best wishes with all that you do.