Interviewing bassist stories

[Arthritic_Tom]

Originally Posted by slagbass

Thanks for sharing these stories Tom. FWIW, I actually think they are more entertaining without the names..... kinda like watching a magic show where the mechanics behind the illusion aren't revealed.

It's been ages since I've picked up a Bass Player mag. I believe the departure of people like yourself and Jim Roberts have a lot to do with that.

Since I started this thread, I've been going through my tapes and looking at old copies of the magazine going back to the beginning. I haven't done that since about 2003.

It really is a crying shame what happened to Bass Player. The thing is, all the other competitors have folded! This would be a perfect time to go back to what it was before and feature articles on every kind of bassist doing every weird, unexpected, fun, bizarre gig. Write entertaining articles again! Make people look forward to the next issue!

Disney just announced that John Carter will lose $200 million. It's the biggest financial catastrophe in film history. Do you realize how many hundreds of supposed experts were involved in green lighting and creating that disaster? The reviews say it's utterly incoherent. It's a genuinely lousy film, so it died a swift and justified death.

I'm betting you and I--and I don't even know you!--could've made better decisions than they did at Disney, and I'm sure we could do so at Bass Player, too. Your one comment here shows you're more competent to run it than they are.

[Arthritic_Tom]

Originally Posted by colcifer

Well, it's a shame that I can't find music by the people you describe as being so gifted.

Well, I feel that I would be doing them a disservice by dragging their names out into public, since they had nothing to do with their articles being killed.

I mentioned Ray Shulman by name, because he gave permission for the article to be published on the Gentle Giant fan site. I haven't contacted any of the others and I wouldn't want to. Having their articles killed was a slap in the face that I'm sure all would not want to relive. As far as I know all are still working bassists.

I can't play anymore and I have no intention of trying interview anyone about anything again, so I'm like your senile grandfather who blathers away about his bowel movements and nighttime erections because he has nothing left to lose.

[Kitsapbass]

Originally Posted by Arthritic_Tom

Well, I feel that I would be doing them a disservice by dragging their names out into public, since they had nothing to do with their articles being killed.

I mentioned Ray Shulman by name, because he gave permission for the article to be published on the Gentle Giant fan site. I haven't contacted any of the others and I wouldn't want to. Having their articles killed was a slap in the face that I'm sure all would not want to relive. As far as I know all are still working bassists.

I can't play anymore and I have no intention of trying interview anyone about anything again, so I'm like your senile grandfather who blathers away about his bowel movements and nighttime erections because he has nothing left to lose.

I really have to say I love how you turn a phrase - especially in that last sentence! Is your book still in print?

[colcifer]

I don't blame you-it's just unfortunate. That really is too bad about Shulman; GG is one of the greatest bands people ever forgot about. Second to The Band.

[diehard70]

Great read, Tom. Been a while since i've read every word in a thread for six pages (been holding a pee for the last two...). Just can't seem to look away. Thanks, again. :O

[Arthritic_Tom]

Originally Posted by Kitsapbass

I really have to say I love how you turn a phrase - especially in that last sentence! Is your book still in print?

Well, I haven't followed its progress, because Bass Player refused to help me promote it. They charged me hundreds of dollars to run one ad for it way in the back of the magazine, and they refused to review it, so of course sales were dismal. If you Google it, you might find a copy. I can't bring myself to see if it's still available.

It's another reason I got out of music journalism. I thought the smart thing for the magazine to do would have been to help me sell as many copies of the book as possible, since the name Bass Player was all over it. But I was wrong.

I invited the entire staff to come to a reading not far from the magazine headquarters. It was free, of course, and Scott Thunes appeared with me. Thunes did it as a favor to me. It was a hugely generous gesture on his part that was surely hard for him to do, but he suggested it himself. He volunteered to do it out of respect for me.

Not one person from Bass Player showed up. If I live to be a billion years old, I'll never understand why.

[Arthritic_Tom]

Originally Posted by diehard70

Great read, Tom. Been a while since i've read every word in a thread for six pages (been holding a pee for the last two...). Just can't seem to look away. Thanks, again. :O

Another fantastic compliment. Thank you very much. I appreciate it far more than you can imagine.

Now go pee!

[Kitsapbass]

Originally Posted by Arthritic_Tom

Another fantastic compliment. Thank you very much. I appreciate it far more than you can imagine.

Now go pee!

Hopefully he's gone there by now...but after all, you never can be too sure!

[roadkill2309]

Originally Posted by Frank Tuesday

Are we allowed to guess names? Capital of Germany.

I had the same thought...

[klaus486]

Originally Posted by Arthritic_Tom

Not to take anything away from Michael Anthony, because his longevity is amazing.

But this former bassist studied Indian vocal music and applied it to his bass playing. He does stuff similar to this, but with a fretted bass and a pick:

Monsoon Music Presents: Justin Gray - First Offering (Solo) - YouTube

He was the greatest pick-using player I've ever seen. He uses vibratos and slides like nobody else.

Thanx for posting Justin Gray! I love what he is doing.

[flashboom]

Tom's book is still available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/In-Cold-Sweat-...2657791&sr=8-2


For those like myself who didn't have a chance to read the Scott Thunes article when it originally came out, I found a link to a website that has it. SCOTT THUNES, Requiem For A Heavyweight?

Tom, I'm enjoying your stories and would join the others in suggesting that you write a book. As a show business expose book, I think it would appeal to a lot of folks.

I can also relate to your writing career. I used to write freelance for a couple magazines. It didn't pay much but it was fun to meet and interview some really interesting folks. Most of the time things went smoothly except for the one time an editor completely rewrote one of my articles but kept my name on it. Apparently, the article didn't promote the subject the way he wanted to so he rewrote it (without my knowledge or permission) in exactly the opposite direction. I was pissed but there was nothing I could do. I don't write any more for a number of reasons but I feel I can understand your hurt feelings. I do want to encourage you to keep at it though. You are a good writer with a refreshing and enjoyable point of view. The bad guys might have won briefly but you are still standing . As they say, "living well is the best revenge.

[Kitsapbass]

And it's in a Kindle edition. Cool - another book for me to read when I have the time. Thanks man.

[Arthritic_Tom]

The unpublished Ray Shulman article, killed by Bass Player as "yesterday's news." It was on a floppy disk written in Apple OS 2.0! I had to go into my closet to find an ancient external floppy drive, hook it up to my iMac, download the article, open it with Simple Text, copy and paste it to Pages, export it to Word, and then spend half an hour removing all these weird symbols and correcting the formatting.

I did the same thing with the unpublished article on women bassists, but it's too long to post here. I realize now, reading this for the first time since 1997, why I was demoted and shunted off to the side: My writing was too opinionated, in the sense that I wasn't marching in lockstep with the editor who killed this article. I wrote it as an homage to my hero and to introduce him to readers who had never heard of him, and in doing so I committed the mortal sin of not sharing the corporate culture that took over the magazine.

I once read a sci-fi book about a futuristic totalitarian society that had posters everywhere reading "WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT!"

That's me. I've always been a mutant. Here's to you, Ray! My fellow mutant.

Ray Shulman - Gentle Giant

If you love something, let it go. This is one of the hardest things to do in life, especially for fans of groups like Gentle Giant. From 1970 to 1980, this adventurous, fiercely idiosyncratic British band released fifteen albums of experimental music usually called “progressive” for convenience. It’s tough to describe Giant’s sound, an amalgam of intricate, arpeggiated melodies, dissonant instrumentation, complex vocal arrangements, and diabolically difficult rhythms. Though not as well-known as Genesis or Yes, Gentle Giant were usually one step ahead artistically. Their best work is warmer, more organic, and much funkier, abounding with wicked bass-heavy grooves. Quality alone is never enough, however, and the band eventually called it quits because they were sick of fighting record companies over their non-commercial approach.

Since 1980, Ray Shulman has written music for TV commercials, including Nike Air Jordan shoes, and he’s produced successful records for the Sugarcubes, the Sundays, and Ian McCulloch, among others. Currently, he heads his own London production company, Orinoco Sound Source, where he composes soundtracks for CD ROMs. The one thing Ray hasn’t done lately is play the bass. Since his is one of the most original voices ever expressed through the instrument, his style characterized by eccentric patterns, unique phrasing and prodigious technical skill, this is disappointing. “I know, I know, I know,” Shulman laughs ruefully. “People give me sh*t for it. But it wasn’t a conscious decision. Things happen by accident. You’re playing keyboards or programming, learning a whole different bunch of skills, and suddenly you realize the bass has been in the closet for years. After the band finished, my interests went back to composition, which was more attractive to me than that single instrument. Bass was meant to be played in an ensemble, and it’s been years since I’ve been in one.”

The sons of a professional trumpet player, Ray and his brothers Phil and Derek had their first success with Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, a ‘60s R&B/psychedelic band that later mutated into Gentle Giant. Having studied trumpet, guitar, and violin since childhood, Ray had intended to become a classical musician, but “... once rock and roll came into my life, that idea went out the window.” Yes, despite the medieval and avant-garde influences brought in by keyboardist Kerry Minnear, Shulman does consider GG’s music rock. He rejects the title of bass virtuoso, and the slight rawness of his work keeps it from being overly cerebral. “There was never a conscious desire to write perverse bass lines,” he insists. “The violin had developed dexterity and technique, and the bass parts themselves were often just Kerry’s or my own left hand on the keyboard. The bass was never an anchor, it was just another piece of the whole.”

This is a rather low-key description of a style that’s impossible to categorize. A superficial overview would be that Ray relies heavily on complicated, highly melodic ostinatos and classical-sounding arpeggios, as well as near-funk riffs, huge and dirty heavy-rock licks, and mutated takes on the blues scale. A pick-wielder, he likes to experiment with his sound, producing an amazing range of tones from his Fender Precision and applying a wah-wah pedal and distortion on occasion. Finally, there’s the speed and clarity with which he tackles his many double stops and upper-register fills, a skill necessary for doubling the fast, often odd-time keyboard, guitar, or vocal lines. A purely subjective opinion is that his finest work is found on records up to and including 1977’s Playing the Fool [Capitol], the best of these being Acquiring the Taste [Polydor], Three Friends, Octopus, In a Glass House [all on Columbia], The Power and the Glory [Capitol], Free Hand [One Way], and Interview [Capitol]. Most are now available on CD.

So how does Shulman feel about the undying dedication of Gentle Giant’s more hard-core followers? “It’s flattering in only one way: People remember the band. The rest of the time, it sort of inhibits what I do. Once, a fan even called me and asked, ‘What's it feel like to have your best work behind you?’ Well, I like change, and I can’t write music now like I did then, because it’s all about environment. I’m living a different life now. I wouldn’t even want to make music like that again. For me, it would be a lie. It’s easy to be rosy and say, ‘We made this lovely music together and it was great,’ but sometimes it wasn’t. Things were very tense and there was a lot of friction toward the end. The fans can’t see how things really were. We were told to be less experimental, to write songs instead of pieces, but the more the music was compromised, the more it suffered. Everything became very serious and life-threatening, a matter of survival.”

Ray has indeed survived--even flourished--but on his own terms and with a perspective upsetting for some of us to hear. “One of the things about having a fan base is that they put pressure on you to make the kind of music they want, yet they forget that we always ignored such pressure. We never listened to people who said, ‘Why don't you make another record like the one I liked?’ We had to trust ourselves. I’m very flattered by the continuing interest, but it doesn’t determine what I do. It wasn’t sad when we ended; it was right. We did one last tour, and that was it. We didn’t just fizzle out. I really loved all of it, touring and playing live, and I’d never deny it. But I haven’t done either since, and I haven’t missed it a bit. Music changes, and you can’t go backward." TW

[Arthritic_Tom]

Originally Posted by flashboom

Tom's book is still available at Amazon: Amazon.com: In Cold Sweat: Interviews with Really Scary Musicians (9780879109561): Thomas Wictor, Gene Simmons: Books


For those like myself who didn't have a chance to read the Scott Thunes article when it originally came out, I found a link to a website that has it. SCOTT THUNES, Requiem For A Heavyweight?

Tom, I'm enjoying your stories and would join the others in suggesting that you write a book. As a show business expose book, I think it would appeal to a lot of folks.

I can also relate to your writing career. I used to write freelance for a couple magazines. It didn't pay much but it was fun to meet and interview some really interesting folks. Most of the time things went smoothly except for the one time an editor completely rewrote one of my articles but kept my name on it. Apparently, the article didn't promote the subject the way he wanted to so he rewrote it (without my knowledge or permission) in exactly the opposite direction. I was pissed but there was nothing I could do. I don't write any more for a number of reasons but I feel I can understand your hurt feelings. I do want to encourage you to keep at it though. You are a good writer with a refreshing and enjoyable point of view. The bad guys might have won briefly but you are still standing . As they say, "living well is the best revenge.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I've published two military-history books and have a third one coming out in May, and then I'm tackling my life-long goal of becoming a novelist. I may write something about the even more disgusting aspects of the entertainment business that I haven't posted here, but I really want to try my hand at fiction. I've written a novel (title still secret) that I describe in one phrase as "a black comedy about love and suicide in wartime America."

I understand completely your own teeth-gnashing anger at not being able to do anything when editors ruin your work. Since I began discussing all of this with you, I've found two more articles that were killed that I'd forgotten all about. They were on a floppy disk, which tells you how long it's been since I thought about this topic.

My two (soon to be three) military books were edited by the most understanding, helpful, open-minded, considerate man in publishing, Bob Biondi of Schiffer Books, a HUGE FRANK ZAPPA FAN!! He had bought my interview book, so when I pitched my first idea to him in 2005, he already knew I could write. Synchronicity, maybe.

After I lost my gig at Bass Player, it was a truly depressing time since it had literally amounted to nothing. I felt I'd wasted 10 years of my life. I felt like the biggest jackass who ever lived. One day, after I don't know how long of thinking what an idiot I'd been, I went to a Chinese restaurant, and the fortune in the cookie really struck me. It seemed genuinely kind and humane, as though whomever had written it really wanted to help someone. So I took it home and framed it. I look at it every day. I try to feel it every day. Whatever happens, though, I'm not angry any more.

[Sketchy]

It's a shame it wasn't published, it's a good read.

Thanks for this thread, I've enjoyed it a lot.

[Arthritic_Tom]

Originally Posted by Sketchy

It's a shame it wasn't published, it's a good read.

Thanks for this thread, I've enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you very much. It's been my pleasure writing about all this. I never thought I would again.

[Plays_For_Dog]

Why not write a fiction novel based off real events? Use a few anchor characters in the book, and have them experience all the various stories you have from the music business.

Maybe about someone in the industry fighting their way through it all, or maybe keep it simple and write about a writer doing interviews for some commercialized magazine that he despises?

That might make your first fiction novel a lot easier to do. Then tackle aliens and unicorns on the second one.

[Arthritic_Tom]

Originally Posted by Plays_For_Dog

Why not write a fiction novel based off real events? Use a few anchor characters in the book, and have them experience all the various stories you have from the music business.

Maybe about someone in the industry fighting their way through it all, or maybe keep it simple and write about a writer doing interviews for some commercialized magazine that he despises?

That might make your first fiction novel a lot easier to do. Then tackle aliens and unicorns on the second one.

Believe me, I've tried every angle for a novel about the inside of the music business, but nobody wants it. The other novel is already written and has been professionally edited. The editor--who formerly worked with Random House--says it has a lot of commercial potential, because it has sex, violence, race, social upheaval, and redemption.

He may have just been saying that because I paid him to edit it, but maybe he's right. I won't know until I try to sell it.

[crentest]

subscribed!

[Kitsapbass]

So, I've got to ask you Tom....


Did you play the lottery numbers on the bottom of the fortune?

Sorry - couldn't help it.