Robbie Merrill
{{short description|American bassist (born 1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Robbie Merrill
| image = Godsmack - 2019160161742 2019-06-09 Rock am Ring - 0424 - AK8I1193 (cropped).jpg
| landscape = yes
| caption = Merrill performing with Godsmack in 2019
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1963|6|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}}
| origin =
| instrument = Bass
| genre = {{flatlist|
- Hard rock
- post-grunge
- heavy metal
- nu metal
- {{nowrap|alternative metal}}
}}
| occupation =
| years_active = 1986–present
| current_member_of = Godsmack
| past_member_of = Another Animal
| website = {{URL|godsmack.com}}
}}
Robbie Merrill (born June 13, 1963){{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1694416/bio |title=Robbie Merrill - Biography |publisher=The Internet Movie Database}} is an American bassist, best known as a founding member of the rock bands Godsmack{{cite web |url=http://www.askmen.com/celebs/interview/19_godsmack_interview.html |title=Godsmack - AskMen.com |publisher=AskMen.com}}{{cite web |url= http://www.godsmack.com/bio/bio.asp |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930171134/http://www.godsmack.com/bio/bio.asp |archive-date= September 30, 2007 |title=Godsmack – Bio |access-date=October 10, 2007 |publisher=Godsmack.com}} and Another Animal.{{cite web |url=http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=26718 |title=Metal News - Godsmack Celebrating 10th Birthday With Boxed Set |date=May 7, 2007 |publisher=Metal Underground . com}} He was featured in the Behind the Player interactive music video.{{cite web |url=http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/item.html?id=69435&item=18753009 |title=Sheet Music Plus - Behind the Player: Robbie Merrill |publisher=Sheet Music Plus}}
Biography
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Merrill started playing bass at age fourteen, having traded in his train set for the instrument.{{cite web |url=http://www.askmen.com/celebs/interview/19_godsmack_interview.html |title=Godsmack - AskMen.com |publisher=AskMen.com}} He was inspired to pick up the bass by watching his father, a guitarist, and his uncle, a bassist. He began playing entirely by ear, gradually gaining musical versatility by performing in a variety of genres, including country, 1950s and 1960s cover bands, and wedding bands. This broad experience laid the foundation for his adaptive playing style. His first bass was a Fender Precision, which he used to record the early Godsmack demos that would form the basis of the band’s debut album.{{cite web |last1=Atkins |first1=Jamie |title=An Interview With Godsmack’s Robbie Merrill |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/godsmack-robbie-merrill-interview/ |website=udiscovermusic.com |publisher=Udiscovermusic |access-date=13 May 2025}} Before joining Godsmack, Merrill worked as a self-employed carpenter, a trade likewise pursued by Tony Rombola.{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13956587.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025133157/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13956587.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |title=Cover Story: Hard rock smack down; Godsmack remains close to its working-class roots | work= Charleston Gazette |via=HighBeam Research}}
Merrill lives in Florida, with his three daughters. Although he is righthanded, Merrill plays lefthanded due to a birth defect that renders him unable to move the middle finger of his left hand.{{cite web|url=http://blogzone.timesheraldonline.com/cd_reviews/2006/09/godsmack_interview_with_bassis.html|title=Karr's CD & Music Reviews: Godsmack Interview with Bassist Robbie Merrill|date=September 28, 2006|publisher=Karr's CD & Music Reviews|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131194935/http://blogzone.timesheraldonline.com/cd_reviews/2006/09/godsmack_interview_with_bassis.html|archive-date=January 31, 2009}}
Musical style
Merrill uses Dunlop Clear "D" plastic fingerpicks on his plucking-hand index and ring fingers, which contributes to his distinctive style of play.{{cite web |url=http://www.bassplayer.com/article/robbie-merrill/aug-06/22706 |title=Robbie Merrill |date=September 28, 2006 |publisher=BassPlayer.com}}
Discography
=Godsmack=
- 1998: Godsmack
- 2000: Awake
- 2003: Faceless
- 2004: The Other Side
- 2006: IV
- 2007: Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack
- 2010: The Oracle
- 2012: Live & Inspired
- 2014: 1000hp
- 2018: When Legends Rise
- 2023: Lighting Up The Sky
=Another Animal=
- 2007: Another Animal
Gear
- Bass Spector Euro 4LX-35.
- Fretless Spector 4-string D'Addario XL strings tuned DADG or CGCG; Dunlop Clear "D" fingerpicks.
- (Up Through the Oracle album)-Rig SWR 750x heads and SWR 4 x 12" 12-STACK cabs.
- (Current)-Gallien-Krueger Fusion 550 head, and Gallien-Krueger RBH410 cabs.
- Effects Line 6 PODxt (studio), Line 6 Bass PODxt (live).
- Aurora Strings.
- On the back cover of the April 2010 Bass Player magazine issue, Robbie is now an official Gallien-Krueger user. It shows him with a Fusion 550 amp and a NEO412 cabinet
According to Merrill, when he is in the studio, he runs a Line 6 guitar POD direct for growly, midrangy distortion, and he blends that with miked cabinets."
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commonscat}}
- {{IMDb name|id=1694416}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLSqEzUScAc Robbie Merrill bass solo] – YouTube
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niDbiH7MLCQ IMV Trailer: Robbie Merrill, bassist for Godsmack] - YouTube
{{Godsmack}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Robbie}}
Category:People from Lawrence, Massachusetts
Category:American bass guitarists