Afi IPlayBass Scruggs

My name is Afi Scruggs. I play bass and keyboard, and I'm a singer-songwriter. I love blues, jazz, funk, but my tastes are wide-ranging; I won't blink if you ask me to play bluegrass.
I'm one of the few female bassists here in Cleveland. I've laid down the low end for some of the city's finest musicians: blues harpist Wallace Coleman; guitarist Michael J Calhoun, founding member of the Grammy-winning Dazz Band; as well as guitarists Charlie Christopherson and Butch Armstrong. I played with the Park Brothers blues band as the opening band for national blues guitarist Samantha Fish.
I love my work because a bass player’s job is simple: make the listener dance. If you’re not patting your foot or bobbing your head when I’m playing, then I’ve failed.
I know my age, gender, and race make me a role model. I can’t tell you how many women have approached me saying, “I’ve always wanted to (fill in the blank).”
I respond with a question, “What’s stopping you?”