Duncan Coutts From Our Lady Peace On This Month’s Groove – The No Treble Podcast

“Wait… did I miss something? Why is there an article about a bass podcast on Six Pixels of Separation?”

Here’s why:
In the late nineties my first job was as a music journalist (actually, my first interview was with Tommy Lee from Motley Crue right before the band released Dr. Feelgood).
I spent many years interviewing musicians and artists for local weekly alternative newspapers, national and international magazines (and even published three music magazines – before we had the Internet).
I also studied and played the electric bass (in high school and post-secondary) and always felt like bass players never really had a chance to tell their stories.
So, about ten years ago, Seth Godin introduced me to Corey Brown (founder of No Treble – one of the world’s biggest bass platforms – and he also worked on Squidoo with Seth).
From there, Corey and I decided to try this monthly podcast where I would interview bass players and talk about their music, art, creativity and more.
I’m hopeful that these conversations will inspire your work, creativity and innovation as much as they do for me…

Duncan Coutts from Our Lady Peace is this month’s conversation on Groove – The No Treble Podcast.

You can listen the new episode right here: Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #125- Duncan Coutts.

Duncan Coutts joined Our Lady Peace at a pivotal moment in 1995 – just after the band’s breakout debut Naveed – but in this conversation, we dig much deeper than just liner notes and tour dates. Duncan and I have known each other for almost the entire 30 years that Our Lady Peace (the band is rounded out by singer, Raine Maida, guitarist Steve Mazur and drummer Jason Pierce) has been around and we have been friends since those early days. In our conversation, he opens up about how he discovered the bass out of necessity, his early fascination with the low end, and how a broken leg and a record player in Whistler, British Columbia brought him closer to Rush than most fans will ever get. From that formative period to a fateful audition following a tour with Van Halen, Duncan’s journey into Our Lady Peace is equal parts chance and relentless pursuit. But this isn’t a simple origin story. It’s a reflection on what it means to find your voice as a musician. Duncan talks about being invited in, learning to stop feeling like a guest at the table, and how specific songs like ‘4 am’ and ‘Superman’s Dead’ helped him find his emotional footing. We get candid about studio tension, the influence of producers like Arnold Lanni and Bob Rock, and how certain decisions – like Raine’s shift toward more accessible lyrics – pushed the band into unexpected creative territory. There’s a lot here about gear, tone chasing, playing with restraint, and how Duncan approaches negative space on the bass – not to mention his admiration for players like Graham Maby and James Jamerson. We also revisit major OLP milestones like the albums Spiritual Machines and Gravity, including Duncan’s experience recording with Matt Cameron (Soundgarden and Pearl Jam) and why those sessions still define who he is as a player. Plus, we go behind the curtain: how the band copes with off nights, the emotional weight of playing hits like ‘Clumsy’ 30 years on, and what it’s like to be the emotional anchor in a band whose sound constantly reinvents itself. Whether you’re a lifelong fan, a fellow bassist, or just someone curious about what keeps a rock band thriving for three decades, this one is full of stories, laughter, lessons… and maybe even a few state secrets? Duncan Coutts is not just the heartbeat of OLP, he’s a reminder that humility and evolution can coexist in the spotlight. Enjoy the conversation…

What is Groove – The No Treble Podcast?

This is an ambitious effort. This will be a fascinating conversation. Our goal at Groove is to build the largest oral history of bass players. Why Groove? Most of the content about the bass revolves around gear, playing techniques, and more technical chatter. For us, bassists are creative artists with stories to tell. They are a force to be reckon with. These are the stories and conversation that we will capture. To create this oral history of why these artists chose the bass, what their creative lives are like, and where inspiration can be found.

Listen in: Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #125- Duncan Coutts.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends).