**”So, who are you and what do you do?”**
For nearly a decade, I have started every single episode of my podcast, [Six Pixels of Separation – The Twist Image Podcast](http://sixpixels.com/podcast “Six Pixels of Separation”), that way. There have been close to 450 weekly episodes published online. It’s a business podcast, but it’s not really a business podcast. Over the years, it has changed and morphed. It has become a conversation. A real conversation. The idea for the show was to take and corner business thinkers who inspire or provoke me, and to have a chat with them. To crack the walnut. To dig deep. Like one of those intense conversations you have with a close friend at a cafe. I’m not sure how many people listen, download or stream the show, because the creation of it is truly a selfish act. I want to learn. I want to grow (if you want to better understand how I see podcasting in relation to radio and other audio media, please read this: [What My Podcast Is Not](http://sixpixels.com/blog/archives/what-my-podcast-is-not/)). Long before everyone got all excited about [Serial](http://sixpixels.com/blog/archives/the-thing-about-serial-and-the-golden-age-of-podcasting/), I have never wavered on my love for podcasting.
**That’s why I am going to do it again… but different.**
I was having coffee in NYC last year with [Seth Godin](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ “Seth Godin”). It was a social meeting, but I wanted to ask him about other outlets (beyond writing, publishing, speaking and projects) that he finds useful to stay sharp and creative. I was telling him how I was finding joy in rekindling my relationship with the electric bass. My first bass was a Fender Precision bass, when I was in high school. It was sunburst. It was second-hand. It was a fake Fender. The previous owner had ripped out the frets. I had no idea why anybody would do that, but it was all that I could afford, so that’s what I learned to play on. Now, that all makes sense… the previous owner was trying to replica the bass of [Jaco Pastorious](http://jacopastorius.com/ “Jaco Pastorious”). I am no Jaco. In fact, I just fiddle around with the bass, but I do get real joy from what others can create with the instrument. And, while I studied the electric bass in college as a music major, my real professional interests dragged me further away from bass playing. As I told Seth about my newfound passion for the bass, he told me that the founder of [No Treble](http://www.notreble.com “No Treble”) (one of the largest online publications for bass players) is [Corey Brown](http://www.notreble.com/buzz/contributors/corey-brown/ “Corey Brown”), who also happens to be the co-founder of [Squidoo](http://www.squidoo.com/ “Squidoo”) with Seth. I knew/followed No Treble and Corey, so you can imagine the spinning in my brain as this story unfolded.
**So… yeah… another podcast.**
Introductions were made, and I came to realize that it would be fun to take the long-form style of the Six Pixels podcast, and do something with bass players. Most of the content about bass playing revolves around gear, playing techniques, and more technical chatter. To me, bassists are creative artists with stories to tell. This is what I wanted to capture. To create an oral history of why these artists chose the bass, and what their creative lives are like. I quickly learned from Corey and Managing Editor, [Kevin Johnson](http://www.notreble.com/buzz/contributors/kevin-johnson/ “Kevin Johnson”), that bass players are a tight community. With that, welcome to [Groove – The No Treble Podcast](http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2015/01/08/groove-episode-1-robert-trujillo/ “Groove Podcast”). Right now, we’re going to publish the show monthly. The first episode went live today, and it’s with [Robert Trujillo](http://www.metallica.com/band/band-bio-robert.asp “Robert Trujillo”).
**Welcome to [Groove – The No Treble Podcast](http://www.notreble.com/buzz/contributors/mitch-joel/)**.
Robert Trujillo is known to millions of people – all over the world – as [Metallica](http://www.metallica.com “Metallica”)’s bass player. Fans of Metallica know Trujillo as the guy who replaced [Jason Newsted](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Newsted “Jason Newsted”) in 2003. Both Trujillo and Newsted had tough boots to fill after original Metallica bassist, [Cliff Burton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Burton “Cliff Burton”), was killed in a tour bus accident in 1986. Prior to Metallica, Trujillo rose to rock notoriety as the bass player in [Suicidal Tendencies](http://www.suicidaltendencies.com/ “Suicidal Tendencies”). He then went on to play in [Infectious Grooves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectious_Grooves “Infectious Grooves”), for [Ozzy Osbourne](http://www.ozzy.com “Ozzy Osbourne”) and has done work with [Black Label Society](http://blacklabelsociety.com/home/ “Black Label Society”) and [Alice In Chains](http://www.aliceinchains.com/ “Alice In Chains”)’ [Jerry Cantrell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Cantrell “Jerry Cantrell”). As Metallica heads back into the studio to write and record new music, Trujillo has also been hard at work keeping the spirit of Jaco Pastorius alive. Along with being the producer for the soon-to-be-released documentary, [Jaco](http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/jacothefilm “Jaco Documentary”), Trujillo also played an integral role in recovering Jaco’s famed instrument, the bass of doom, which he now holds on behalf of the Pastorius family. In this, Trujillo has become both lauded and questioned by the bass playing community. In this first episode of Groove – The No Treble Podcast, we talk about the influence of Jaco in his life, his creativity, his plans for Metallica, and the art of playing the bass. Enjoy the conversation…