This past Thursday, March 5, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello hosted an intimate bass clinic at the Long & McQuade musical instrument store in Quebec City, Canada. The full video of the event, which featured the legendary musician sharing personal stories and practical advice, was recently broadcast and published by the metal radio show Démentiellement Vôtre on CKRL 89.1FM.
During the session, Bello opened up about his difficult childhood and how the loss of his father pushed him toward heavy metal. Searching for father figures, he found inspiration in some of the genre’s most iconic bass players.
“When my dad passed, I needed heroes. I needed heroes in my life, somebody to look up to. And you know what those heroes were? [Rush‘s] Geddy Lee, [Iron Maiden‘s] Steve Harris, [Black Sabbath‘s] Geezer Butler. They were my guys. I said, ‘I wanna do that. How do I do that?’ And I created this tunnel vision. Because the pain was so rough from that time. It was rough. So the thing that made me feel better was was music,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The bassist elaborated on how immersing himself in playing became an essential coping mechanism for the negativity surrounding him. He also touched upon his early days jamming with his uncle, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante.
“Music is a great outlet,” he continued. “Coming from an American right now, I can tell you this: We have a very, very ugly world right now. And from what I had when I was young was a very ugly world around me. And the outlet that made me feel better was always music. Music got me out of that, ‘Everything’s coming down on me. Oh, man, this is a great oasis right there. I can just go here and feel better.’ And then that’s what made me wanna start playing. It just made me start doing it. And so I would play — I would play nonstop. I jammed with [Anthrax drummer and Frank‘s uncle] Charlie Benante. We grew up together.”
Shifting his focus to the aspiring musicians in the crowd, Bello detailed his own unorthodox practice methods. He urged young players to actively study their favorite records, recounting how he obsessively learned every note of the Iron Maiden album Killers in his childhood bedroom.
Using his bed as a makeshift drum riser, he would envision himself performing to a sold-out arena. It was a mental exercise that translated directly into his explosive stage presence with Anthrax decades later.
“Those of you who don’t know how to start, you can go home, put your music on and just start developing your ear. What are your favorite musicians doing? ‘Ah, let me develop that.’ I remember I used to go to my room and learn the Iron Maiden album Killers… I would go to my room. My room was just a normal bedroom with a bed. But when I put Iron Maiden Killers on, I would learn each riff to the tee — every little part. So then when I got good at it and I had the confidence, I said, ‘All right, now I’m gonna take it to another place. How do I get my stage thing going? How do I feel confident on stage?’ What’s the stage in your room, in your bedroom? The bed. The bed is your stage. All of a sudden, in my mind, I’m in Madison Square Garden. And all of a sudden I put Killers on. All of a sudden, Steve Harris starts that great riff. So I’m on my bed. So I jump on my bed. Madison Square Garden — it’s sold out every night. In my head, it’s sold out. The crowd’s going crazy in my head. I loved it. It was my world. You know what my big move off that bed was? I jumped off the riser — that was my riser — and I did a big jump. It sounds pathetic, but it works, ’cause now I use it with Anthrax. It does work. So what happens is the things you create in your head really brings you forward to what you can actually do in life. ‘Cause I’m still a big [kid]. Look at me. I’m a big kid. My brain is four years old. It really is. I just like to have fun and enjoy life.”
