Paisley patterned bass - a bitter sweet story

”Do not be deceived by nor take lightly this piece of musicianship simply defined as bass” - Lowell George

I bought 2 jetblack finished Warwick basses in 1993. They looked great if not a bit stark.

I‘d recently been introduced to the artist Guy McLean from Glasgow and always admired John Lennon’s hippy painted Rolls Royce.

With this in mind off I went to a shop on Great Western Rd and bought some pink paisley pattern material from an Indian Sari materiel supplier - as you do.

Guy then hand painted the pink paisley design onto the bass. Due to the Warwick coming up so well, we proceeded to ‘paisley up’ the other black Warwick. This time with a blue colour pallet.

Unfortunately Guy took his life a few years back. I know he had enjoyed doing the artwork for me and it gave his art a place where people could see it.

It’s been on every tour and recording session I've ever been on. I met his daughter Jay a few years ago and she loved being close to something he had created.

All my guitars are dear to me but these 2 have an added significance. They are steeped in history now, not just my history but Guy’s too. I love that.

There’s a bit more of a profile on male suicide nowadays. A subject like this can be uncomfortable & difficult for us but it affects lots of families.

I’m no expert but talking about it might be a good place to start.....

GCx