MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., came up learning the bass from his father in Memphis, Tennessee, but for some reason, he decided to flip his dad’s 4-string bass around and play it with the string order inverted—E string closest to the ground and the G on top. That’s how MonoNeon still plays today, coming up through a rich, inspiring gauntlet of family and community traditions. “I guess my whole style came from just being around my grandma at an early age,” says Thomas.His path has led him to collaborate with dozens of artists, including Nas, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, and even Prince, and MonoNeon’s solo output is dizzying—trying to count up his solo releases isn’t an easy feat. Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with the bassist before his show at Nashville’s Exit/In, where he got the scoop on his signature 5-string, Ampeg rig, and simple stomp layout, as well as some choice stories about influences, his brain-melting playing style, and how Prince changed his rig.
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Orange You Glad to See Me?
This Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V was created after a rep messaged Thomas on Instagram to set up the signature model, over which Thomas had complete creative control. Naturally, the bass is finished in neon yellow urethane with a neon orange headstock and pickguard, and the roasted maple neck has a 10"–14" compound radius. It’s loaded with custom-wound Fireball 5-string Bass humbuckers and an active, 18V preamp complete with 3-band EQ controls. Thomas’ own has been spruced up with some custom tape jobs, too. All of MonoNeon's connections are handled by Sorry Cables.
Fade to Black
MonoNeon’s Ampeg SVT stack isn’t a choice of passion. “That’s what they had for me, so I just plugged in,” he says. “That’s what I have on my rider. As long as it has good headroom and the cones don’t break up, I’m cool.”
Box Art
MonoNeon’s bass isn’t the only piece of kit treated to custom color jobs. Almost all of his stomps have been zhuzhed up with his eye-popping palette.
Thomas had used a pitch-shifting DigiTech Whammy for a while, but after working with Paisley Park royalty, the pedal became a bigger part of his playing. “When I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard,” Thomas explains. “After he passed, I realized how special that moment was.”
Alongside the Whammy, MonoNeon runs a Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge (for any time he wants to “feel weird”), a literal Fart Pedal (in case the ring mod isn’t weird enough, we guess), and a JAM Pedals Red Muck covers fuzz and dirt needs. A CIOKS SOL powers the whole affair.
Premiered by Rolling Stone this morning alongside an exclusive interview with Bootsy, the single “Album of the Year #1 Funkateer” is a funk-filled jam, which Rolling Stone praised, "with Collins' bulging low end and the heavy rhythms he and his bandmates keep 'on the one,' the track echoes the party-starting funk Collins recorded throughout the Seventies with Parliament-Funkadelic and his own Rubber Band."
Listen to the single “Album of the Year #1 Funkateer” https://ffm.to/aoty-funkateer. Pre-order Album of the Year #1 Funkateer https://ffm.to/aoty-album
Bootsy told Rolling Stone, "I wanted to give the people what they wanted back in the Seventies: a sense of hope, joy and freedom."
On his 23rd studio album Album of the Year #1 Funkateer, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer finds himself in a new position – that of coach and above all, producer. Crafting a sound that sonically runs the Bootsy gamut from bedroom Bootsy, to space-alien adventures to unexpected rock, Collins has drawn together a network of collaborators from Snoop Dogg, Dave Stewart, Wiz Khalifa, October London, Fantaazma and many more who light the fire in him and helped him make the album of the year.
“When I start on a project now, it's about getting the energy from people around me,” says funk maestro Bootsy Collins. “Then I proceed to gather transmissions from the universe to know what to talk about. It's important to me to see who the universe brings to me, and I've been really blessed that every time I want to do a new record, I get these incredible musicians around me, right on time. That's what this album helps me do—Transmitting & receiving with different musicians and artists that have the same desire I had when I was their age.”
Album of the Year #1 Funkateer (Visualizer)
From his early work bringing a youthful vigor and refreshing James Brown’s backing band as a founding member of the J.B.’s and learning the Power of the One to his seminal work with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic universe, playing on most of their landmark albums over the next decade and co-writing such classics as "Up for the Down Stroke," "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)," and the chart-topping "Flash Light." He also led the side project Bootsy’s Rubber Band, recording multiple gold-certified albums and the Number One R&B hit “Bootzilla,” and began contributing to recordings by artists including Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, and Herbie Hancock. When Rolling Stone put together their list of the Greatest Bassists of All Time, Bootsy was ranked in the top five.
He collaborated with dance superstars Deee-Lite on their 1990 smash “Groove Is In the Heart,” provided the lead vocal on Fatboy Slim’s Grammy-winning 2000 hit “Weapon of Choice,” and acted as the narrator on Silk Sonic’s 2021 platinum album An Evening with Silk Sonic (he even gave Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak the name for their project).
Album of the Year #1 Funkateer - Track Listing
- “Album of the Year #1 Funkateer” feat. Myra Washington and Bootdullivan
- “So Soopafly” feat. Ouiwey Collins, Kokane, and Daz Dillinger
- “The Influencers” feat. Westcoast Stone, Wiz Khalifa, Dave Stewart, Snoop Dogg, and Fantaazma
- “Bubble Pop” feat. Ice Cube, FANTAAZMA, and Brother Nature
- “Fishnets” feat. Myra Washington, Kurupt, and Daz
- “Satellite” feat. Dave Stewart and Brother Nature
- “The JB’s Tribute” feat. Harry Mack, Clyde Stubblefield, John (Jabo) Starks and Fred Wesley
- “Ubiquitous” feat. Casper the Funked up Ghost and Kid Talk (Explicit)
- “Hondo P” feat. FANTAAZMA and Snoop Dogg
- “Chicken & Fries” feat. Soopafly, Myra Washington, BABY TRIGGY, and FANTAAZMA
- “Anybody Out There” feat. Myra Washington and Brother Nature
- “Pure Perfection” feat. FANTAAZMA, Giz, and Bedroom Bootsy
- “Barbie T & Me” feat. Barbie T and Zillatron
- “BeWild” feat. Alex Belle, Isis V, and Brother Nature
- “Alien Flytrap” feat. Dave Stewart and Bootdullivan
- “I.Am.AI” feat. Tobotius, I.AM, and Kid Talk
- “Reach the Zone” feat. October London, Musiq Soulchild, and Bedroom Bootsy
- “2Nite We Rise” feat. Da'Dreion Murrell, FANTAAZMA, ZGM Precious Praisers, and Casper the Funked up Ghost