John Myung answers to questions

October, 1998

Thanks go out to John Myung for answering the questions and Matt Goodluck at InsideOut for arranging this interview.

John Parks: Are there any plans for Platypus to go on tour in the U.S.?? Possibly with Liquid Tension Experiment???

John Myung: We have talked about the possibility of a tour together. But as of right now there are no immediate plans.

Edwin Voras: John, Why did you switch to Yamaha basses and how are the ones you use different from the standard RBX’s. Thanks.

John Myung: Well I wasn’t happy with the company I was with. I felt the need to move on. Yamaha makes great basses so I decided to give them a call, I started off playing Yamaha TRB -6 basses. Then I was given the opportunity to make a custom 6 string model for the Yamaha RBX bass line. As to how much different they are from the standard RBX’s, I don’t know, since I’ve been playing RBX -6 prototypes and haven’t had much experience with the 4 & 5 string models.

Steve K.: Are you guy’s going to tour to support platypus’s new album. You are an incredible bass player.

John Myung: As of right now there are no plans to do so. Thanks.

Michael Marshall: After recording with Mike (a brilliant drummer!) for so many years, what stood out as different when you recorded with Rod (another brilliant musician, but very different from Mike) for “When Pus Comes To Shove”?

John Myung: I think what stood out the most was just the different type of interaction we had. Up until we started writing for this album non of us really knew each other apart from me and Derek so there was this stranger element during the whole process.

Michael Marshall: Did you feel more inclined to find “The Groove” when recording Platypus as compared to your role in Dream Theater? The few sound clips I’ve heard sound that way.

John Myung: Well, I think this album has more of a blues feel to it, it’s just a different type of groove. I don’t feel it’s more or less on any album it’s just different. I love it......

Thibaudeau: Is there any chance of there being any parts of Platupus songs getting into Dream Theater setlists?

John Myung: I don’t think so.

GtrJohn69: Has Platypus given you a chance to explore ideas that DT might not have?

John Myung: Yes, there have been ideas that I’ve wanted to work with but for whatever reason it just doesn’t work out, so Platypus for me has become a way of exploring those ideas that don’t always work in the DT environment.

YTSEJAM600: Hey John, did you use the chapman stick on this project?

John Myung: No, I planned on using Stick on the song “Chimes” but I just didn’t have enough time to work it in, I was leaving for Europe with DT the very next day so it was a matter of just not having enough time.

Arne Stuermer: When will your Yamaha Signature Model (if in fact it will be a signature model) be available in stores and will there be a fretless version?

John Myung: It should be available by this November-December 1998 as a signature model. For now there won’t be a fretless version available, but it might be a possibility later on.

Andreas Huss: I would like to ask John if Platypus is meant to be a new band or just a put-together for the CD.

John Myung: Well, it started off as a project, but we plan on recording another album and would like to play some shows so I see it more as a side band.

Magnus Wall: I’m quite interrested in the 6-string you used during the Images and Words tour. I’ve been told that it was a Tobias Basic 6, but is that really true? The eq-section on your bass does not match any of the models that I have seen in the stores. I am thinking about bying one of those, but I still haven’t found any of the same model that you had.(What woods where used?)

John Myung: Yes, it was a Tobias Basic 6. I don’t have the bass anymore. But if I recall correctly the woods used were an ash neck thru body with a rosewood fingerboard.

Magnus Wall: Are you using the same equipment on “When Pus Comes To Shove” as you did on “Falling Into Infinity”?

John Myung: No, not exactly. I just used my red custom Yamaha bass. And for amplification I experimented by blending in a Roland Jazz Chours amp with my regular Mesa Boogie Tri Axis & Mesa Boogie 400+ set up.

Yaakov: I’d like to ask john if he and the rest of DT got time to write new stuff for the band (consider touring, side projects etc.)

John Myung: Right now we are taking a break through till Christmas. We will re-group for a new album early next year.

Scott Feldman: What inspired the music and lyrics for Platypus? Thanks.

John Myung: The music was from ideas we all had. We listened to Jeff Beck’s “Blow By Blow” album a lot during the two week period. The lyrics were written by Ty, so you would have to ask him on the lyrics.

Tony Hodge: What bass guitars did you use on “When Pus Comes To Shove”?

John Myung: I used my red custom Yamaha bass.

Justin Sepulveda: I was wondering if John Myung used only his Yamaha bass or a couple of basses. And I was also wondering if there will be a bass tab book out for this CD, because he hasn’t done one yet and a lot of bassists would kill to know what he plays.

John Myung: I’m using Yamaha basses now. I have a variety of Yamaha basses which consist of Yamaha TRB’s and RBX6 prototypes. As for a bass tab book for this CD, no there are no plans for one.

Eric Gustafson: On the several different albums you have recorded with DT, especially Awake and ...Infinity, you present several very different bass sounds, and it sounds like different instruments are being played from track to track. Yet, you endorse only Nicholas Tung bases, and now Yamaha.

Q1: Did you in fact use instruments other than the Tung Bass that you are frequently seen with to record? If so, what do you use other than Tung? (In the Images and Words Live video you are seen with what looks like a Spector bass)

John Myung: Well on Awake I used the same bass throughout the whole album which was the Tung -6 string bass with the exception of The Silent Man where I used a Bella fretless 6, I borrowed from Marco from Blue Murder. On Falling Into Infinity I used a combination of Fretless & Fretted TRB-6’s and a RBX-6 prototype. For example I used a RBX -6 Prototype on Trial Of Tears, and a freted TRB-6 on Burning My Soul, and a fretless TRB-6 on Hollow Years.

Q2: What accounts for these radically different tones?

John Myung: As for the different sounds that is from the way the bass sits in the track, to how I have the bass EQ’d from the bass, to how it’s EQ’d during the mix down process.

AL: Mr. Myung: What member of Platypus had the biggest influence on the overall sound on the album? Please don’t tell me you ALL had equal input and influence, that’s Very unlikely.

John Myung: It depends on the song. The first song Standing In Line was an idea that Ty had. The second song Nothing To Say started from an idea I had. Rock Balls/Destination was written while interacting during a jam. Platt Opus started from an idea Derek had. Blue Plate Special was an idea Rod had. The overall sound has diversity which is from everyone being involved. It’s hard to just take out one ingredient, because it would have changed everything.

Greg Putnam: How long has John been playing the Chapman Stick for, and is there any Stick work on the Platypus album?

John Myung: I’ve been playing Chapman Stick for about two years now. I started playing it during the writing period for Falling Into Infinity, around late ‘96 early ‘97. No there is no Stick work.

Stephane Picq: Dear John, are you using your new Yamaha signature bass on “When Pus Comes to Shove”? It sounds great on “Falling Into Infinity”, I can’t wait to get one ! Any Stick playing as well (also great on FII)? Is it hard to learn ?

John Myung: Yes, I’m using my red Yamaha signature bass on the Platypus album. The Chapman Stick does take a while to get use to. But like anything else, you learn by doing. I’m playing it more like a bass on FII, that has been my approach to it.