Freekbass

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the funk bassist who performs as Freekbass—previously billed as FreeBass—completed his training at the city’s School for Creative and Performing Arts and stepped into a thriving local music environment that had once supported the King Records label and funk pioneer Bootsy Collins. Enlisted by P-Funk veteran and former Bootsy’s Rubber Band vocalist Gary “Mudbone” Cooper to lay down a track for a Jimi Hendrix tribute project, Freekbass encountered Collins, who supplied the stage name that has since defined him. In 1992 he assembled the band SHAG with guitarist Chris Donnelly; the group’s first release, Bootsy Collins Presents SHAG Live, appeared two years later. His own debut solo album, Ultra-Violet Impact, surfaced in 1998, followed by Body Over Mind in summer 2001.