By David Grundy

 Chris Wolstenholme is the bass player and back up vocalist for Muse, an English alternative rock band.  Although he is currently the bassist, Chris’ first instrument is the drums. Despite this, he has managed to come up with some very interesting bass lines.  Although Chris wasn’t in the original line-up for Muse (then called ‘Rocket Baby Dolls’), Matt Bellamy and Dom Howard invited him to play bass with them. At this point, he didn’t know how to play bass, and because he was so eager to join the band, Chris picked one up and taught himself bass.  He has a vocal range from G2 to D5.

 Bass Guitar  Double Bass  Drums  Synthesizers/Keyboard  Harmonica  Vibraphone  Lead & Backing vocals

 Birth: 2 nd December 1978 (Rotherham)  Musical Influences: Beach Boys  The first instrument he learnt was guitar, which was followed by learning the drums.  Although he was born in Rotherham, Chris moved to Devon age 11.  Shoe size:11

 Before becoming a full time musician, Chris previously worked as a guitar shop assistant.  Even though he used to smoke, Chris gave up smoking when the ban came into force. However, in 2009, he took it up again, and has been seen smoking a pipe. Mid February 2011, Chris announced he was no longer smoking. Despite this, Chris was back to regular cigarettes the following May. He has recently said he has not smoked since then.  On Muse’s sixth studio album ‘The 2 nd Law’, one of Chris’ songs ‘Save Me’ is about his drinking problems.

 I am inspired by Chris Wolstenholme because he can play very interesting and complex bass lines.  When he plays live it is obvious he enjoys playing bass, as well as having a good chemistry with his band mates.  I enjoy playing some of his songs as I find them very interesting and fun to play.  He has inspired me to compose some bass lines of my own.