The Michael League Interview: The Secret of Snarky Puppy

Hey all, Scott here... just wanted to say thanks so much for all the amazing comments and feedback! This new remote format was a total unknown for us, so we didn't know how it was going to be received. I'm sooooo pleased to see that you guys dig this style of content, not only because Ian and myself had a blast interviewing Michael, but also because I really do believe that these long form style interviews are so valuable to the global bass community... it gives us the ability to really 'see under the hood' of some of the worlds greatest bassists. We've already got a bunch scheduled, so keep a look out on the channel more interviews coming your way! Thanks so much. Scott xoxox

Snarky Puppy were a revelatory find for me. There's definitely a 'before' and 'after' in my life.

this is the most high production long distance interview I've ever seen. That aside, Michael is such an inspiration. And he is almost aggressively humble haha

One of their best interviews . Michael League is a great teacher that any bass player can gleen from.

It was interesting to hear Michael say "That's why music wasn't meant to be recorded". Just saw Snarky Puppy in Dallas, and thought every song sounded better live than it did on the recording. And the recording was awesome! Of course, you can hear more of the music live than any speaker can reproduce, but they had lived with the songs for a year, and they sounded more mature...if that's a thing.

Eugh. Everything this man says is just GOLD.

This is one of the best interviews I've ever heard. It sounds like a conversation between friends where everyone is super engaged and bringing out new insights in each other. Michael is hilarious and he's able to explain really abstract concepts like tone and technique effortlessly. You guys are perfect in a supportive role as hosts.

I met and spoke with Michael between sets at a Snarky Puppy concert in San Francisco at the Boom Boom Room. In fact I saw the band perform twice at that relatively small venue. Stood in the front row a few feet from Cory Henry and Mark Lettieri on stage! Magical performances!

Michael is fascinating; it's always been very clear that he is the bandleader and the guy steering the ship with Snarky Puppy, but never in a way that I would consider "showy", despite his evident chops. This is a great conversation (I'm not even a bass player!) with a lot of food for thought and philosophy just about life as well as music.

Michael League is a bassists bassist in the best way possible

The point of playing soft and relaxed really stood out to me. Giving it a shot to my playing has made the WORLD of a difference, positively! I’m grateful for hearing this.. it’s one of those details that pushes your tone “journey” feel more like you’re on the right path even more now. Thank you Michael, Scott and Ian.. and everyone at SBL. Again, you’ve helped me out more than you intended to.

FYI there’s a “bass” version of the Inner Game of Tennis book Michael mentioned — it’s called “The Inner Game of Music” and written by a bassist! (His name is Barry Green)

His warm tone while playing is also 5% due to his flip flops that can be seen 1:17:57. Jokes aside, his incredible bass intelligence is surely opening up some new bass doors in my mind. Big thank you to the team over at SBL as well as to Michael League. Listening to this is such a gold worthy of a privilege to us people who are trying to master this craft. Greetings from Serbia! :)

This interview is like a family reunion where your uncles go through all of the embarrassing family photos! Lol Michael is so humble and critical of his past work just like many of us, myself included. But he’s a megabeast! Thank you SBL for the incredible nuanced interview. Y’all rock! Snarky Puppy forever. ❤

Damn, this interview is PACKED with great advice/direction.

We're gonna look back and say ... Michael League is one of the best ever. I don't know that he gets enough credit. His mind ... it's next level.

I love seeing bass players vibe, man. League is hands down one of my favorites. It's so fun seeing Scott and Ian engage with him and be right on the same page with a lot of his points. These videos are gold.

Michael League has such a divine message from Music itself to Musicians (basically everyone on earth). This guy achieves the almost impossible feat of remaining both, extremely inhuman and gracefully human at the same time, in his playing as well as in his being. You are a true inspiration, and the works of Snarky Puppy and all affiliates of GroundUp and IT'S affiliates as well are all abstract yet extremely powerful motivating factors in my everyday life ❤ Blessings to you ML, Scott, and Ian.

It's good to know that every musician, including Michael, has an evolution over the course of their lives regarding tone, one day we prefer one thing and after a while, another. Exploring this is essential and very pleasurable, we learned so much!

Michael is one of the coolest dudes ever. What an incredible chat this was