An interview with Desiree' Apolonio Bassett

Written by Hank "Hitman" Hart
Thursday, 11 March 2010

Hitman: Desiree, first off, thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with Southern Fried. You certainly got my attention by the picture I saw of you with Chris Hicks, and also knowing that you’ve jammed with members of Dickey Betts’ band and members of The Allman Brothers. In the truest sense though, you wouldn’t consider yourself purely a “southern rock” guitarist, would you?

Desiree‘: Well, I mainly play rock music, it’s what I love to play, but rock is not just one main genre, there are other forms of rock, such as classic rock, alternative rock, modern, etc. Those of which I also play, along with some southern, so I don’t play just one form of rock, but I play many forms of it.

Hitman: You grew up in Connecticut, and a question I’ve asked several musicians, including Henry Paul of The Outlaws is, why do you think Southern rock, probably a good 25 years after its heyday, still has such a loyal, strong following in the Northeast?

Desiree‘: Southern rock still has it’s following because some people that are in their 40’s to 60’s still listen to the kind of music that they’ve grown up listening to, and it would be passed onto each generation; interest would constantly build because its great music.

Hitman: Your first recording, which featured five tracks, was done in 2005, and if I’m correct, you played all the instruments? I’m fascinated by that, being a drummer myself, since you are primarily known as a guitarist, so how much time do you spend doing any “sticks” work?

Desiree‘: Yes, on my very first demo CD, that was done in 2005, I played all of the rhythm tracks, lead tracks, and I played on the drums. I didn’t do a bass track only because at the time, I didn’t know how to play one, let alone, I barely really knew how to play drums either. Usually, I would practice in the studio outside our kitchen for hours when it wasn’t cold out, then I would practice in my room. However, when I practiced in the studio, I would practice a lot on my vocals, guitar, and sometimes I’d play on the drums and play along with some songs, and I always try to build to be better.

Hitman: I’m paraphrasing from your website, and that is you teach guitar on Sundays, go for vocal lessons during the week, get private lessons for yourself whenever you can, and also try to fit in live gigs, so my question is, are you still in high school, or if you recently graduated, how did you manage all of this?

Desiree‘: I am currently in my last year of high school and I will be graduating in June. Because I’m still in school and I feel that it’s most important to finish my education first, I had to stop teaching. I can only plan so much into my schedule in terms of band practices, shows, lessons, studio sessions, etc., along with keeping up with homework and also being able to hang out and keep in touch with friends whenever I can. When I have vacations, it is easier to be able to plan more shows, studio time, band practices, etc. If shows were still planned during the school week, they would only be planned on the weekend, unless it was a show that was sometime after school, until later in the afternoon where I would have time to finish my schoolwork. It is a challenge, but some how with my dad’s help, I manage.

Hitman: I read where you were inspired by the voice of Reba McEntire. I make it a habit to ask those who I’ve been fortunate enough to interview, what group, musician is/are the one where the light went on, with “Yeah, that’s what I want to do”. Guys my age always say The Beatles, who was it for you?

Desiree‘: Since I was about two years old, I have been listening to Reba McEntire, Triumph, and Boston, and I loved singing along to their songs, and to this day, I still listen to them. Reba’s music also used to be my lullaby when I was little, but the one musician that took a HUGE role in my childhood was Joe Satriani. It was at age 3 when I first picked up the guitar and my dad taught me everything he knew. I was constantly practicing and playing along to Triumph, Boston, and Reba every single day. At age 5, I learned my first song entirely, all by ear, which was Joe’s song “Always With Me, Always With You” off of the album Surfing With The Alien. Although I’ve played mostly this type of music through my childhood, I’ve also been playing some Lynryd Skynrd , Dickey Betts, and The Allman Brothers and learning some of their material as well.

Hitman: Your first “official” CD was released in 2008, entitled, Power and Force, and now you’ve recently released Power and Force II. You in fact had a lot to do with the CD artwork, also?

Desiree‘: I have done some of the artwork, such as the drawings and the DB initials, but most of the artwork was done by my photographer, Susan Dzeidzic, along with the help of my dad’s creative mind.

Hitman: My impression of you is you are some type of genius! Seriously, I’m half teasing, half serious, but honestly, from what I’ve learned about you, with your musical abilities at a very young age, your other talents as far as designing the artwork, being an honor student, just how much influence and help have your parents been in all of this?

Desiree‘: My dad has always been a major influence in my life, he was the one who started it all. He first started playing guitar when he was in the Marines, where he would be on the aircraft carrier or in the barracks learning songs out of Guitar World Magazine, and he gave me my first lesson at two weeks old when I was propped up on the couch in between two pillows, staring and watching him play. It was at age 3 when I first laid hands on the guitar. He was teaching me everything he knew on his guitar, and eventually, he was determined that I needed a guitar that would fit me, so he got me a mini-sized electric guitar and he continued to teach me. My mom has been a major influence as well when it comes to singing, which I started at age 2. I feel extremely fortunate to have two extremely loving parents who are very supportive in the path that I’m taking, and it helps to have my dad as my manager, especially if he’s had experience working with bands before and the fact that he truly believes in me.

Hitman: Time for the sexist question: Obviously you are a very attractive young lady. Does that help or hinder or both when attracting new fans? What I am trying to say, I’m sure you want to be known as a great guitarist, not, “Hey check out the great looking chick playing guitar”.

Desiree‘: Well, I won’t compliment myself only because I never want to be an airhead or a bragger or anything, but to answer the question, I believe that it both helps and hinders when attracting new fans. I want to be known as a great guitarist, not just a girl who can play because being a guitarist shouldn’t be looked at as just for men, but also for women and kids as well. And there are kids and women out there that can play, and probably just as well as men can. It is my belief that music should NOT be presented as a competition, but rather a way where people are able to express themselves and be able to help others by inspiration, because there are many great musicians in this world who have a lot of talent, regardless of gender or age, and people shouldn’t be so negative towards each other and exclude one another. We musicians should be there to help each other, give each other advice or friendly constructive criticism , inspire each other to help each other build to be the best we can be, and with the power of music, this world can change into something really great.

Hitman: Is there any guitarists past and or present you wish you had or will get a chance to play with?

Desiree: There are a lot of great guitarist out there, and I was able to have the opportunity in my lifetime to be able to sit in with Living Colour, Kal David, Andy Aledort, some members of The Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, and Sammy Hagar along with several other musicians, and I was even offered to be able to jam with the Los Lonely Boys. However, there are a lot of musicians/bands on my mind that I really want to be able to sit in with or jam with such as, Joe Satriani (the one I’d like to sit in with most), Rik Emmett from Triumph, Foghat, and Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, to name a few.

Hitman: You’ve primarily played in the Connecticut and New York area, any touring plans to expand a little further this coming year or perhaps being a supporting act for a nationally known group?

Desiree‘: I have done a lot of shows within the CT area, and I do shows in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York, and I’ve gone as far as California and Arizona. However, I am hoping that this year, I will be able to do more shows around the country, and maybe even outside the country if it can be supported financially. I also believe that I will be able to have more opportunities to be able to sit in with more musicians along the way.

Hitman: One thing that I find among successful musicians is there are goals that they all have. Not just hopes and dreams, but well written business plans with time frames for their goals. Have you done something to that affect yet?

Desiree‘: I have made the goal for sure that I want to go beyond what I can do, and become a famous musician, but my other goal is also the fact that I want to help those around the world in any way I can with my music, whether it’s giving others inspiration, or helping the needy with food, clothing, shelter, etc., and I especially want to help my mom’s family in the Philippines as well as my family here. I currently run my own business, Desiree Bassett LLC, as an independent artist, record label, publishing company, etc. I not only want to have this business for my own benefit, but I want to be able to run this business and present it as help for musicians who seek help anywhere from studio sessions, being signed by a record label, etc. I have not really set a time frame.

Hitman: You’ve had a lot of wonderful success stories already in your life. Some of them are being voted Talent America’s Musician of the Year in New York, being invited to play at Ozzfest, playing at the NAMM show in California, and getting an endorsement from Peavey Amps, by Mr. and Mrs. Peavey themselves! What in your heart and mind has been the biggest thrill for you?

Desiree‘: In my mind, there are many great memories, there have been many wonderful opportunities, but one memory I will never forget was the time I got to sit in with Sammy Hagar, that was the biggest moment for me, followed by playing with the great Marshall Tucker band.

Hitman: As someone of your age, whether or not you realize it, you can be a wonderful influence on others of your age. What advice would you give them if they have dreams of a musical career?

Desiree‘: Advice I would give others is to practice every day, if you are going to take it seriously, it is important to be on top of things, stay focused, you have to be able to multi-task, but most importantly, you have to love what you do. And to kids, listen to your parents, they give the best advice and give you then most amount of help that you can get.

Hitman: What has been your greatest obstacle/hurdle you’ve had to overcome to this point?

Desiree‘: I’ve faced many obstacles in my life, in the music world, I face the obstacles of people who don’t live up to their word, people with big egos, people saying that I shouldn’t be playing because I’m a girl, and one of the biggest obstacles is being able to finance. In the other world, there’s school, kids that make fun of me and pick on me, kids who become friends with me for the wrongs reasons and don’t actually spend the time to get to know who I really am as a person. They’ve use me, took advantage of me, and ended up hurting me, so I don‘t really make a ton of friends. There is so much to be able to juggle around, but that does not stop me from fulfilling the dream of becoming a successful musician. As along as I have the support of my real friends, my family, and my fans, that’s all that matters to me, and knowing the fact that I am able to inspire people of all ages, especially kids at a very young age, really keeps me going.

Hitman: You’ve displayed quite a range of sound on your CDs. An example is the absolutely beautiful song, “Love Her” which is followed by “Fretboards on Fire”. Watching your YouTube video of Dylan’s “All Along the Watch Tower”, the Hendrix’ version, there seems to be a deep well of music within you that may take years for us to be able to enjoy. Is there that much within you that you’re going to unleash on us?

Desiree‘: The well is very deep, I have been writing songs since I was 10. Music has been a life long passion of mine, I absolutely love playing the guitar and I love writing along with other forms of art such as drawing, painting, jewelry making, etc. Music is a very powerful tool that can be used to help millions, music affects our lives greatly. And whether people will accept me for who I am and what I do or they don’t, I will never stop, music is what I love, and no one can ever take that away from me.

Hitman: Desiree, thanks again, please keep me informed of any future gigs so we keep our readers here on Southern Fried as well as on Facebook informed. Let’s see if Dad, yourself and I can eventually meet at one of your gigs in Connecticut. Take care.

Desiree‘: Thank you for interviewing me, it was a pleasure. I also have a website, www.desireebassett.com for all of the latest info, we just recently had the biography updated. I hope to see you in the near future. My next show is at the Mohegan Sun casino on April 4th 2010, it is my third time playing there in nine months, and I am really not even allowed in there, lol, because I am under age! We look forward to meeting you too Hank.

This was a real joy to do this interview, and wow, hard to believe I was interviewing a senior in high school. This young lady has her self together a lot more than some adults I know! (HHH)