In January, all of us (less Fred Marshall) went to the NAMM show in Los Angeles. Steve DiGiorgio had an appointment with Warwick basses in order to secure an endorsement deal with them. I have known Steve for quite a few years, and have played with him for the past three. I have never seen Steve nervous about meeting other players, playing shows, etc. But this time he was a bit wired up. When I asked him why, he said that his meeting was with whom he considered the most amazing bass player alive in the world. His name? Jonas Hellborg.
We met with Jonas, and Steve was noticeably nervous, which actually cracked me up. Steve is a font of complete confidence and this time he was more than just a bit star-struck as well as awed. When Jonas picked up an $8,000 fretless and started playing, I could see why. This guy was nothing short of the most incredible player I have ever seen. It was pretty damn funny when Jonas handed Steve the bass. Steve could barely play! He would simply thump a few notes, mumble something about how it sounded, and hand the bass back to Hellborg. This went on for the better part of two hours while Jonas played, handed Steve a bass, Steve plinked off a few notes, and handed the bass back. Round and round it went. Jonas didn't seemed to be phased by this, but it amused the crap out me! Steve was walking around talking to himself saying 'remember, you are one of them....remember, you are one of them..." over and over.
Steve's saving grace was when the bassist for Mudvayne came up and recognized him. The kid immediately started spewing about how Steve was the reason he started playing in the first place, etc etc. This seemed to return some of that DiGiorgio confidence that I have always known.
Anyway, check Jonas Hellborg out. I have seen a lot of amazing players listed in this thread - Steve included, but I have never seen anything like what I saw when Jonas Hellborg picked up a bass and started thumpin' away!