What do musicians Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, and the punk band Suicidal Tendencies have in common?
They’ve all collaborated with the virtuosic bass guitarist, Thundercat, whose real name is Stephen Bruner.
Thundercat is part of a jazz and R&B renaissance that has its roots in South L.A. Other principals include saxophonist Kamasi Washington and drummer Ronald Bruner, Thundercat’s brother.
Thundercat has had a long collaboration with producer Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus. The pair first worked together on Ellison’s album, Cosmogramma. Thundercat was also all over Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning album, "To Pimp A Butterfly."
Though he’s a prolific collaborator, Thundercat is also a solo artist and vocalist who recently released his third studio album, "Drunk."
The Frame producer Michelle Lanz met up with Thundercat at his home to talk about his writing process, and how he got so good at playing that six-string bass.
(Catch Thundercat at FYF on Saturday July 22 at 5:30 p.m.)
On how the name Thundercat came about:
The name started for me as, of course, the cartoon from the '80s. It resonated with me as a child. It was never where I was like, I want you to call me Thundercat! It actually started with my friends describing me in the studio, like, There's a guy with a Thundercat shirt on, go find him.
On how music is in his blood:
I grew up in Compton, 116th and Wilmington. My family is all musicians — my dad plays drums, my mom plays flute, my older brother plays drums, my little brother plays drums and piano. For some reason I didn't get the memo, so I just play bass. I want to say it's in the DNA a bit, and having very supportive parents who encouraged me to be creative.
On why he was drawn to the bass guitar:
I don't know what it is about bass guitar for me. I think it all stemmed from the idea of a sword, because, again, Lionel [from the Thundercats] with his sword. I think it stemmed from the infatuation of having something of that manner — that being the one toy I would play with. I would look back at all the pictures that my mom has of me, from being a baby where I was playing with a busted guitar, to the part where I'm in the backyard, a little older, missing my front teeth, but I've got this voice-changing helmet and I've got this toy guitar. Then from that to my first bass, around 5, 6 or whatever. I'd be watching cartoons, but I'd be practicing bass — listening to soundtracks from movies, practicing bass. My mom would always tell me if she saw me sitting there doing nothing, she'd say, Go pick up the bass!
On his musical education:
My high school teacher, Reggie Andrews, was a huge factor in my learning my instrument. He didn't play bass, but it was the part where he gave me a knowledgeable perspective of what it was that I was doing. I also studied upright bass at Colburn [Music School] for a couple of years in middle school. David Young was my teacher and it was a part of my curriculum. After school, it was like, OK, you have bass lessons at Colburn. Dave would come and teach me for about an hour, and he would leave and I would just sit there with the bass, like, What am I supposed to do now? I'd just sit there and practice a bit, hitting the bass with a bow ... completely wrong, like a kid left unwatched.
On how he met Flying Lotus/Steve Ellison:
I met Flying Lotus at South by Southwest almost 10 years ago. I remember I had known of his music and ironically, he knew who I was. He had heard, I imagine, something about me being around. We both had this moment that I can only describe like this one scene in "Nacho Libre" when Escalito and Nacho meet and they decide to team up. And it was like, Ok let's work! And it's been almost 10 years since.
The first thing we ever worked on was [the song] "Zodiac Shit," and he sent it to me in an email. I guess he was trying to see what it was. I remember how excited I was just to get the opportunity. At that moment it was one of those things like, Alright, let's do that. It was pretty comedic because the first thing we realized is that we lived down the street from each other. Worlds apart, but I could literally walk or ride a bike to his house. I was like, Alright, I'm coming over man, I'll see you. I'm looking at the little [map] and it says five minutes, I was like, Jesus, I'll be there in five minutes, man. Even though we've moved and changed, I still live like five minutes away. That will be on my tombstone: He lived five minutes away from Flying Lotus.
On a memorable moment in the studio with Flying Lotus:
We're always working on music. I like to go back to the beginnings of things, like [the album] "Cosmogramma." I think he was getting to learn me as a musician and I was beginning to learn him as a producer. It was this moment of him realizing that I could keep up with the music that was changing. He stopped the track one time and he was messing with the time and it was like, Man, keep going. Make it faster! It was this moment of, This is awesome! It was like, I can play as fast as you can program. That was one of many moments to come, but I'll never forget that one. He just kind of looked at me and was like, Really?
On the writing/recording of "Show You the Way" from his album, "Drunk":
For "Show You The Way," it started in the process of [working on Kendrick Lamar's] "To Pimp A Butterfly," actually. I remember I had written the hook of the song and that was the only thing that existed. I would play it on repeat, maybe a 30-second clip. I was like, OK, I don't know what this is, but that's something.
Somebody asked me at one point about [who] I wanted to work with. I said, Kenny Loggins was one of my heroes. I mentioned it on the radio one time, his son reached out in an email and I was kind of like, Whoa! And, sure enough, Kenny reached out. The first thing Kenny asked me [was], "Are you joking?" He thought that I was joking because it was like, Where's the part where it makes sense? I think he realized I was very serious.
It was just me and Kenny at first. As we were writing and I was playing him a lot of the music that I'd been recording, he said that he thought it'd be a good idea if Michael [McDonald] got involved. I kind of peed myself a little bit. The very next session we got together, Michael came. It was hilarious and intense, they look exactly like you would have thought they had looked. It was one of the greatest moments in my career as a musician ever — Michael McDonald showing up with Kenny Loggins. And the crazy thing that I didn't realize at first is they hadn't written together in like 20 years. That was even a deeper moment for me. That's how that song came to be. It was just awesome ... I felt like I was worth something.