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Bass, Japan, and Videogame Music with Bubby Lewis (Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Stevie Wonder)
Metadata
- title
- Bass, Japan, and Videogame Music with Bubby Lewis (Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Stevie Wonder)
- description
- Fresh off of the Snoop Dogg tour, Bubby joins the pod to talk about improvisation, musical growth, the church community, and his move to Tokyo. Bubby is one of the wisest, kindest, most joyful musicians I know. Bubby Lewis began playing the bass at the age 14. A son of a pastor, his first performance in front of an audience was at his father’s church in Flint, Michigan. During those early years, Bubby realized his love and passion for music would lead him forward. Bubby made his way to Los Angeles to attend video game design, only to find that he was not enrolled in the school. And so music it was; alone in the competitive world of A-List players Bubby’s positive attitude and drive to learn and succeed soon led him to real connections and acceptance from one world class artist to the next. Bubby went on to work with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Lupe Fiasco, Jhene Aiko, AI, EXILE the Second, Stevie Wonder and many others. You can connect with him on IG @bubbylewis
- status
- complete
- date
- 2023-09-12
- kind
- guest
- guestSlugs
- bubby-lewis
- listenUrl
- https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lovemusicmore/episodes/Bass--Japan--and-Videogame-Music-with-Bubby-Lewis-Snoop-Dogg--Dr--Dre--Stevie-Wonder-e297934
- lmwUrl
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFZJymV3ygE
- appleUrl
- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bass-japan-and-videogame-music-with-bubby-lewis-snoop/id1567355195?i=1000627602314&uo=4
- spotifyUrl
- https://open.spotify.com/episode/63VMrazXKY9eohAh2NNXFz
- youtubeUrl
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdJ1t8XCZtg
- topicsDiscussed
- Bass
- Japan
- Drums
- Jazz
- Loneliness
- Touring
- Swimming in it, learning from networks vs. school alone
- Videogame composers as unsung heroes (Final Fantasy, Square era)
- Session life with Stevie Wonder, Dr. Dre, and West Coast lineage
- hostNote
- Bubby Lewis connects **West Coast session gravity** to a life now centered in **Tokyo**: church-kid origins, a Tom Kennedy solo that sold his parents on bass, and years of "swimming in it" around great musicians rather than treating school as the whole path. The Snoop tour thread is especially vivid: what started as playing the record note-for-note evolved into alternate lines, swing feels, and harmonic left turns only a bassist can steer. We also get Japan-specific love, fan culture, pandemic-era connections with local players, **every train station's jingle**, and a whole segment on videogame composers whose melodies live in millions of heads while they walk unnoticed through Nakano.
- selectedMoments
- label
- Shared love of Japan
- startSec
- 50
- note
- Host and guest orbit, bass lesson, then Tokyo life as the through-line.
- label
- Swimming in it
- startSec
- 362
- note
- Real-life musician networks vs. classroom learning, night and day.
- label
- Snoop tour evolution
- startSec
- 1507
- note
- From literal record bass lines to alternate notes and swing sections live.
- label
- Bass takes you to jazz
- startSec
- 1597
- note
- One note change, slash chords, same harmony, different world.
- label
- Why Tokyo: Ninja Turtles
- startSec
- 1730
- note
- Master Splinter, ninjas, and a Japan fascination since age four or five.
- label
- Fans in Japan appreciate music
- startSec
- 2245
- note
- Support culture contrast vs. working hard in your own backyard at home.
- label
- Videogame composer heroes
- startSec
- 2872
- note
- Final Fantasy melodies everyone knows, composers invisible on the street.
- label
- Train-station jingles
- startSec
- 3045
- note
- Tamagawa, Harajuku, and the sonic identity of each stop.
- excerptQuotes
- text
- From the very first moment I performed with Snoop to now, it's evolved so much — it went from literally playing the bass line exactly like the record to alternate notes and sections where we pretend we're swinging a little bit.
- startSec
- 1506
- reviewed
- true
- text
- If you choose a different note, now all of a sudden I'm playing a slash chord — I'm playing the same chords, but now it's jazz. The bass player can take you into incredible places.
- startSec
- 1595
- reviewed
- true
- text
- I was four or five years old watching Ninja Turtles. I heard Master Splinter talking about Japan — ninjas, the Foot Clan — and that was it.
- startSec
- 1726
- reviewed
- true
- text
- The fans here in Japan really appreciate music — all music. Where we come from, you often have to work really hard to get people in your backyard to support.
- startSec
- 2242
- reviewed
- true
- text
- All of my heroes are composing these video games. If this dude who did Final Fantasy IX walked around Nakano, nobody would look his way — but most people have played those melodies.
- startSec
- 2866
- reviewed
- true
- faq
- question
- Does Bubby Lewis discuss Japan on Love Music More?
- answer
- Yes, he lives in Tokyo and talks about moving there (a lifelong pull from childhood anime and Ninja Turtles), Japanese fan culture, local musicians, train-station jingles, and how videogame composers are revered differently than in the U.S.
- question
- What does Bubby Lewis say about playing with Snoop Dogg?
- answer
- He describes how his live bass parts evolved from copying the record exactly to reinterpretations, alternate notes, swing feels, and harmonic choices that transform songs night to night on tour.
- transcriptPublished
- false
- draft
- false
Content
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