Andy King (The Hooters) tone

[IMMusicRulz]

Not sure if anybody remembers them well enough, but they were the touring band for Cyndi Lauper in the eighties...
Hailing from Philadelphia, PA, this new wave group, led by keyboardist Rob Hyman and guitarist/sax player Eric Bazilian had hits with And We Danced and All You Zombies.
Having picked up a copy of their Hooterization The Hooters greatest hits cd from Half Price Books in February, and just last month picked up a vinyl record copy of their debut album Nervous Night, I wondered what basses, amps, strings he used.
He also played on their second studio album, One Way Home, in 1987 before being replaced by Fran Cosmo, Jr. he also sang backing vocals on their live cover of the Beatles Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, which was issued as the B side of the All You Zombies single.
If I had to guess, it would probably be either a Fender precision or Jazz Bass, or something else like an Alembic or Kramer Ferrington bass guitar. Eric Bazilian is also credited as playing bass on the album along with guitars, bass guitar, hooter and saxophone. Probably through an organ speaker, or some sort of Ampeg, Vox or Fender Reverb or Bassman amp.

if anyone has any information on his bass playing I would like to know. Thanks

 

[LBS-bass]

Those guys were customers of mine when I worked in a Philly area music store, but I can't shed any light on this because I wasn't in the guitar department. I'm sure someone here knows, though.

 

[Picton]

Have you Google-imaged him?

He was very versatile.

Great, great band. "Nervous Night" is an outstanding album.

Couple Ps, a headless... that last one, I don't know. A Squier in there...

NOT recommending the outfit in the big Squier pic.

 

[Spectrum]

I grew up listening to WMMR and WYSP in the 80s. They were on the radio all the time. Don't know much about them, though. Interesting memory you brought up, though.

 

[IMMusicRulz]

Have you Google-imaged him?

He was very versatile.

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Great, great band. "Nervous Night" is an outstanding album.

Couple Ps, a headless... that last one, I don't know. A Squier in there...

NOT recommending the outfit in the big Squier pic.

Have you Google-imaged him?

He was very versatile.

View attachment 4295759
View attachment 4295757
View attachment 4295760
View attachment 4295758

Great, great band. "Nervous Night" is an outstanding album.

Couple Ps, a headless... that last one, I don't know. A Squier in there...

NOT recommending the outfit in the big Squier pic.

Cool that he plays a Black Fender Squier Precision Bass. As for the headless bass, looks to be a Steinberger...

 

[Picton]

Cool that he plays a Black Fender Squier Precision Bass. As for the headless bass, looks to be a Steinberger...

I was just looking at it again and I think it might be a Telecaster. The real one, the guitar kind. But heck, that pic is so grainy it could just as easily be my Aunt Barbara playing a banjo.

Regardless, a P seems like a safe bet, though the one in the top pic seems to have a '51 bridge and a modern pickup, side-mount jack. And then, whatever that one in the bottom pic is...

 

[IMMusicRulz]

Although Rob Miller played bass on The Hooters' self released album, Amore, in 1983.

That record has been out of print for years, but is definitely a must own for any Hooters fan like me.

 

[dougjwray]

I played in a band who once opened for them, around 1983-86. Unfortunately, I can't remember much about it, and can offer no help.

 

[BBQV]

Resurrecting this thread because I love the sound of the bass in this song.
In the video he is playing a P-bass, but somewhere in the back of my head I have an image of a Thunderbird being used live on stage.
The sound is powerful and slightly distorted and could be coming from either one of the two.
Does anyone else here remember a T-bird or is it just wishful thinking on my behalf?

 

[5StringBlues]

Those guys were customers of mine when I worked in a Philly area music store, but I can't shed any light on this because I wasn't in the guitar department. I'm sure someone here knows, though.

Did they dance?

 

[roller]

What type of bass was The Hooters bassist paying at Live Aid?

Check it out at 5:48 and again at 10:08...

 

[tim gueguen]

It's a Riverhead Jupiter. Riverhead was a short lived '80s Japanese brand that has been revived a couple of times since.

 

[roller]

Thanks for the info.

They look like a blind kid tried to make a Spector.

It's a Riverhead Jupiter. Riverhead was a short lived '80s Japanese brand that has been revived a couple of times since.

 

[corinpills]

People who did not grow up in the tri-State area would not believe how popular the Hooters were in the suburbs of Philly in 1984 and ‘85. They got regular airplay on the two biggest commercial rock stations and opened up Live Aid. That “Amore” EP is a total classic.

 

[dave64o]

Sorry for reviving the zombie.

My wife and I just saw The Hooters this past weekend at The Keswick Theater in Glenside. We had seen Andy King solo at The Chestnut Cabaret years ago after he left the band but that was the last time. We were wondering what happened to him and I couldn’t find much recent news, but I did stumble across this thread so … revived!

I wasn’t a bass player way back then, but I always remember him playing the black Precsion. Not sure about amps.

I’m amazed at how long we’ve been fans of the band. The first time I saw them was in my freshman year of college in 1982 at the commuter cafeteria at St. Joseph’s University. Beru Revu opened that show, which was hosted by, of course, Pierre Robert of WMMR. I took a poster advertising the show and it hung in my dorm room throughout college and I framed it and hung it our home office after we got married. It got lost somehow when we moved to our current house (I have my suspicions…) but, even if she did get rid of it, she’s still as big a fan as I am and we go just about every show we can. They still sound great and I like that they tend to cover their entire career at each concert (though I’d love to see them play the entirety of Amore sometime).

 

[bassbrad]

Hooters fans should be sure to check out their earlier band Baby Grand's 2 albums that are woefully unknown.



Has a brilliant solo from Michael Brecker on the outro of the last song.

 

[heatheroo1]

Sorry for reviving the zombie.

My wife and I just saw The Hooters this past weekend at The Keswick Theater in Glenside. We had seen Andy King solo at The Chestnut Cabaret years ago after he left the band but that was the last time. We were wondering what happened to him and I couldn’t find much recent news, but I did stumble across this thread so … revived!

I wasn’t a bass player way back then, but I always remember him playing the black Precsion. Not sure about amps.

I’m amazed at how long we’ve been fans of the band. The first time I saw them was in my freshman year of college in 1982 at the commuter cafeteria at St. Joseph’s University. Beru Revu opened that show, which was hosted by, of course, Pierre Robert of WMMR. I took a poster advertising the show and it hung in my dorm room throughout college and I framed it and hung it our home office after we got married. It got lost somehow when we moved to our current house (I have my suspicions…) but, even if she did get rid of it, she’s still as big a fan as I am and we go just about every show we can. They still sound great and I like that they tend to cover their entire career at each concert (though I’d love to see them play the entirety of Amore sometime).

Elaborating on this vibe…..my band opened for Beru Revu a few times and once at the Ambler Cabaret, Andy dropped in. Man…..that was a long time ago. Beru’s bass player, the late Johnny Sax, was pretty badass too.

 

[Spectrum]

Sorry for reviving the zombie.

My wife and I just saw The Hooters this past weekend at The Keswick Theater in Glenside. We had seen Andy King solo at The Chestnut Cabaret years ago after he left the band but that was the last time. We were wondering what happened to him and I couldn’t find much recent news, but I did stumble across this thread so … revived!

I wasn’t a bass player way back then, but I always remember him playing the black Precsion. Not sure about amps.

I’m amazed at how long we’ve been fans of the band. The first time I saw them was in my freshman year of college in 1982 at the commuter cafeteria at St. Joseph’s University. Beru Revu opened that show, which was hosted by, of course, Pierre Robert of WMMR. I took a poster advertising the show and it hung in my dorm room throughout college and I framed it and hung it our home office after we got married. It got lost somehow when we moved to our current house (I have my suspicions…) but, even if she did get rid of it, she’s still as big a fan as I am and we go just about every show we can. They still sound great and I like that they tend to cover their entire career at each concert (though I’d love to see them play the entirety of Amore sometime).

Pierre Robert is still DJ'ing at WMMR, last time I visited the Philly area. Always loved that guy. In a world of sell-out stations, MMR is still pretty legit.

As for Beru Revu...

 

[japhy4529]

Andy also played Spector basses. It certainly sounds like a Spector NS-2 (with the P pickup favored) on the studio recordings of Day by Day and All you Zombies, but who knows.

 

[BBQV]

Reviving this thread with a question about the One Way Home album.
I understand Andy King played bass on this album and his weapon of choice is the P-bass (or at least it was back then), but I don’t hear it. It sounds like a two pickup bass to me.
Does anybody know anything about the recording of this album?