RIP Michael Been

NathanTbass · #1 08-20-2010, 09:17 AM

We lost another great bass player and musician last night!
Leader/vocalist/bass/guitarist of The Call, father of Robert Been (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) as well as the sound engineer for BRMC, died last night. Michael was instrumental in the developement of BRMC.
He was in the backstage area of Pukkelpop in Belgium.

“The first aid was immediately administered by the workers of the Flemish Cross and the doctors present backstage.” says festival organizer Chokri Mahassine. “The Medical Emergency Team was immediately on the spot.” The 60-year-old man was rushed to the Salvator Hasselt hospital where he later died.
Apparently it was a heart attack.

Please have your thoughts and prayers with Robert, his family & the band. He was an inspiration to all of us!

RIP Michael Been

pbass2 · #2 08-20-2010, 09:25 AM

Very sad. He was a great player, and an incredible singer as well.
Had no idea about the BRMC connection.

MonetBass · #3 08-20-2010, 09:55 AM

Oh man, that sucks.

He's from Oklahoma originally, and I grew up a huge Call fan. I was just listening to Reconciled yesterday. RIP Michael.

scott123 · #4 08-20-2010, 09:58 AM

RIP, another Okie here...what a loss. A local station used to play "Let the Day Begin" every morning. A great way to get going!

lavaman67 · #5 08-20-2010, 10:02 AM

RIP Michael. Great musician, bass player, singer, songwriter and most importantly a great guy. A band I was in during the late 80's had the pleasure of opening up for them a few times and he and the band were great to us... other than blowing us off the stage

. The Call were one of the most underrated band from that era. He will be sadly missed.

DreadRaver · #6 08-20-2010, 10:06 AM

Oh this is sad news.

Oh this is sad news. He was one of my favorites.
I saw The Call live in 1986. Watched him playing bass and singing and thought maybe I could do that.
He was a great inspiration to me as an aspiring songwriter - Bought my first bass later that year.

RIP Michael Been

bigtexashonk · #7 08-20-2010, 10:22 AM

"They blew their horns, and the walls came down."

Jim Nazium · #8 08-20-2010, 10:30 AM

Oh, what a bummer.

I saw The Call at a small club in San Diego in 1990 or 1991, and it was the best concert I've ever seen, before or since. I'v e never felt such a powerful emotional connection between a band and an audience. It was just mesmerizing.

RIP Michael.

selowitch · #9 08-20-2010, 01:23 PM

I saw The Call live at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine in the winter of (I believe) 1986. They opened for Simple Minds and totally stole the show. You seldom see such passion, intensity, and intelligence in rock 'n' roll.

I love Michael Been's unique bass playing style and his operatic singing. He rocked that Ampeg scroll bass big-time. I'm pretty sure it was a fretless and he played with a plectrum. Interesting combination!

How awful to lose him so young. Earlier this year, he had much of his gear stolen. Now he apparently has a heart attack while working sound of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in Belgium and passes away.

It's a terrible loss.

DreadRaver · #10 08-20-2010, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by selowitch

I love Michael Been's unique bass playing style and his operatic singing. He rocked that Ampeg scroll bass big-time. I'm pretty sure it was a fretless and he played with a plectrum. Interesting combination!

Yeah, he used a pick, and that fretless bass is so awesome.

This gives me chills, "I Still Believe" live from 1986:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=272T8hZUqcs

Cool detail: Near the end (at about 4:40) he turns and you can see that he's worn through the black paint on the back of the neck.

phat5 · #11 08-21-2010, 07:00 PM

Very sad to hear of Mike's passing, he's the one I had always wanted to meet. Michael Been often visited 2 of the guitar shops I worked at in Santa Cruz, CA. and had never met him. I started watching him when he was playing for Jerry Miller's band "The Haze". Then Mike formed a very popular bar packin' band, known as Airtight. When Airtight disbanded he formed "Motion Pictures" with Dickey Dirt from the Artichoke Brothers (Tom Ferrier) which later became The Call. In the early 80's, I lived across the harbor from a small club called the Crow's Nest. The Call played there weekly, and that's where I got my fix. Another fact, I believe Michael and his long time friend and drummer, Scott Musik, left Oklahoma for So. Cal and joined the "Node Gang" which was the 2nd Chapter of Act's first back up band; also appeared on Barry McGuires album, "Lightin Up".
Jerry Miller (Moby Grape) once described Been as "finer than frog fuzz".
Been IS my biggest influence and he will be missed greatly.

RIP Michael Been, and thank you.

lavaman67 · #12 08-23-2010, 06:52 PM

I wanted to share this link I found with all the TB'rs interested in Michael and the Call's music. The show I am including in this post was recorded in 1986 at New York’s famed Ritz Club and features material from their first three albums, with a good chunk from Reconciled. Charlie Burchill from Simple Minds joins the band for “The Walls Came Down.” You can also hear 5 extra tracks from this show found on the original multitrack tapes that were not included in the radio broadcast here on Wolfgang’s Vault’s Concert Vault.

http://www.thefrontloader.com/2010/0...-ritz-5-29-86/

I know this show was also filmed and some low grade footage can be seen on You Tube. Hopefully, the original footage will see the editing and remastering it deserves someday and we will all be able to see it in our homes.

Long live the Call and Michael's memory.

ErikW · #13 08-23-2010, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lavaman67

I wanted to share this link I found with all the TB'rs interested in Michael and the Call's music. The show I am including in this post was recorded in 1986 at New York’s famed Ritz Club and features material from their first three albums, with a good chunk from Reconciled. Charlie Burchill from Simple Minds joins the band for “The Walls Came Down.” You can also hear 5 extra tracks from this show found on the original multitrack tapes that were not included in the radio broadcast here on Wolfgang’s Vault’s Concert Vault.

http://www.thefrontloader.com/2010/0...-ritz-5-29-86/

I know this show was also filmed and some low grade footage can be seen on You Tube. Hopefully, the original footage will see the editing and remastering it deserves someday and we will all be able to see it in our homes.

Long live the Call and Michael's memory.

Thank you

lavaman67 · #14 08-23-2010, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErikW

Thank you

My pleasure Erik. All the best.

Thundar · #15 08-23-2010, 07:11 PM

wow...I cant believe it....Im just devastated. RIP Michael. Let The Day Begin

rodl2005 · #16 08-23-2010, 07:12 PM

RIP!! Thanx for posting I, too, had no Idea re the BRMC connection

srxplayer · #17 08-23-2010, 07:21 PM

Sad news. RIP Michael.

Always liked The Call...

phat5 · #18 04-11-2011, 07:57 PM

Prior to Michael's passing (Feb 2010?) his vintage guitars, including his signature Ampeg Scroll bass, were stolen from the the BRMC storage locker in Los Angeles. I had the extreme pleasure of spotting it on e-bay; I remember it being modded at the guitar shop I frequently visited in Santa cruz back in the late 70's. I guess the pictures of "MKB" carved in the back were a dead give away. So.....I contacted the seller, Been's former agent and 2 days later Mike Been's son, Robert, was able to get it back. as a result the other guitars surfaced and the "douche bag" who stole them was busted. We're still looking for Robert's '64 P bass though. Please see the "stolen/missing" forum.

selowitch · #19 04-11-2011, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phat5

Prior to Michael's passing (Feb 2010?) his vintage guitars, including his signature Ampeg Scroll bass, were stolen from the the BRMC storage locker in Los Angeles. I had the extreme pleasure of spotting it on e-bay; I remember it being modded at the guitar shop I frequently visited in Santa cruz back in the late 70's. I guess the pictures of "MKB" carved in the back were a dead give away. So.....I contacted the seller, Been's former agent and 2 days later Mike Been's son, Robert, was able to get it back. as a result the other guitars surfaced and the "douche bag" who stole them was busted. We're still looking for Robert's '64 P bass though. Please see the "stolen/missing" forum.

Very good to know. I was distressed to hear about the theft and the recovery will help preserve Michael's great legacy. What an awesome bassist, vocalist, composer, and visionary! He is greatly missed.

rtslinger · #20 04-12-2011, 06:24 AM

My God we are losing a lot of bass players this year RIP Micheal