Since then, Uriah has established himself as the go-to 4- (and sometimes 5-) string guy for session and live work in the Bay Area and L.A., working with dozens of artists whether pop, alternative or underground, indie or major, in just about any genre worth naming. As a general rule, bass players tend to get less press than the artists they back, yet Uriah’s skills haven’t escaped notice. He was recently featured in Bass Quarterly (Germany), and has also had write-ups in Rockinform (Hungary), Burn! (Japan) and Alma (Spain).

Duffy’s seemingly effortless versatility, which allows him to shift from Larry Graham-esque slap bass to hightly-technical Jaco Pastorius-like jazz licks to headbangin’ Steve Harris finger-blisterers, has made Duffy a hot commodity in the musician community. His influence has been particularly felt in the Bay Area, where he’s been a mainstay of its heavily-independent music scene, and a connecting link between the region’s many different stylistic niches.

Duffy’s bass playing has contributed much to the “live funk” flavor coveted by alt.hip-hop icons the Coup and Lyrics Born—enabling them to make highly original music outside of hip-hop’s typical sample-and-loop box. Furthermore, Uriah has solidified his urban street credentials working with the legendary Too $hort and achieved every slap-bass player’s dream by filling in for another legend—Larry Graham—with the reconstituted version of the Family Stone.