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Famous bassist encounters...
- Thread starter b15fliptop
- Start date
Back in 1994 or so (when I was around 15 or 16), my local music store had this trade show. Among the people there doing a clinic and talking about Ampeg gear was Alphonso Johnson. My bass teacher introduced me to him. At the time I was still a wet-behind-the-ears kid (I'd only been taking lessons for a couple of weeks at the time) so I was a tad nervous. But Mr. Johnson turned out to be the absolute nicest most down-to-earth guy I've met. And during his clinic, I was one of 3 people he picked out of the audience to share the stage with him. I was so nervous since I wasn't confident of my skills at the time, but it was loads of fun anyway.
I used to see the John Pizzarelli Trio play at this local restaurant quite often and was friends with bassist Martin Pizzarelli for a while. We've lost touch, but he was darn cool. John Pizzarelli and Ray Kennedy (brother of bassist Tom Kennedy) were both also very very cool gentlemen.
In fact, every bass player I've ever met has been very cool. And response is usually very positive, "You play bass too? Awesome! You don't meet too many bass players. Everyone seems to play guitar."
I made a comment on Clayton Ingerson's blog (Clayton Ingerson is the bass player for Dysrhythmia) and he was kind enough to write me back. He seems like a congenial fellow and a bassist I would love to meet in person. I think his playing and his band are terrific.
I've also exchanged a few e-mails with Karen Horner- bassist for ReadySet who are a Dysrhythmia side project. She seems a nice lady.
Although he's not a bassist, I have exchanged a few e-mails with Burnt By The Sun's vocalist Mike Olender. He seems like a cool guy. He's quite intelligent and deeply into politics.
I used to see the John Pizzarelli Trio play at this local restaurant quite often and was friends with bassist Martin Pizzarelli for a while. We've lost touch, but he was darn cool. John Pizzarelli and Ray Kennedy (brother of bassist Tom Kennedy) were both also very very cool gentlemen.
In fact, every bass player I've ever met has been very cool. And response is usually very positive, "You play bass too? Awesome! You don't meet too many bass players. Everyone seems to play guitar."
I made a comment on Clayton Ingerson's blog (Clayton Ingerson is the bass player for Dysrhythmia) and he was kind enough to write me back. He seems like a congenial fellow and a bassist I would love to meet in person. I think his playing and his band are terrific.
I've also exchanged a few e-mails with Karen Horner- bassist for ReadySet who are a Dysrhythmia side project. She seems a nice lady.
Although he's not a bassist, I have exchanged a few e-mails with Burnt By The Sun's vocalist Mike Olender. He seems like a cool guy. He's quite intelligent and deeply into politics.
john turner
You don't want to do that. Trust me.
warwick666320 said:
i met nicko and steve as they were going into the fox theater for the 7th son show in atlanta. amusingly enough they didnt' end up playing that night - bruce got stuck in new york, so they played the next night. both of them were very cool - steve seemed a bit distracted, and nicko was a total ham - very funny and pleasant to the crowd. dave and adrian stepped in quickly, smiled and waved but otherwise didn't hang too much. nicko and steve weren't exactly doing a meet and greet either, more of a "hey how are you guys, hope you dig the show" kind of thing.
met bootsy collins.... i installed a satellite tv system in his house here in cincinnati. unbelievable studio in his basement!
oddly enough about a year later i found myself with a house gig with his personal sound tech as the sound guy every week.
that's my brush with greatness.
oddly enough about a year later i found myself with a house gig with his personal sound tech as the sound guy every week.
that's my brush with greatness.
brianfromlangus said:
When Jelousy Attacks........
He May not be a bassist, but i installed a few phone points in greg jennings house, he's kosta tsu's bodyguard, very nice guy, rather large too, he has saom rather nice cars in his garage, 60's mustang, new v8 landcruiser, and a few bmw's and a beatle for his oldest daughter
The first bassists I meet was Vince Hornsby from Sevendust. It was their first US tour and they stopped in my town I was hanging outside of the club and he walked outside, we chatted and then I walked him to the nearest Subway. It was snowing and he wasn't used to it. Very cool guy rocks on stage
Met Fieldy of Korn, cool guy but to much image in his personality.
Jason Newsted is one of the biggest reasons I play bass, I meet him at this winters NAMM show and he seemed kind of pissed, grabbed a picture and a handshake thats about it.
Maybe he was pissed because directly across from him was a 30ft picture of Robert Truijo with his Fernandez bass and it said Robert T. METALLICA. hahaha that sucks
Um oh one really grooving super cool guy Raphael Saadiq, that guy was walking past me in a club and I said hey, he took the time to say hi and chat a little bit cool cool guy.
The last is my friend Marty Meisner of the Mayfield Four (RIP) I meet him not knowing he was in one of my favorite rock bands now he teaches bass at the music store I work at and he is good friend.
Thats all folks
Met Fieldy of Korn, cool guy but to much image in his personality.
Jason Newsted is one of the biggest reasons I play bass, I meet him at this winters NAMM show and he seemed kind of pissed, grabbed a picture and a handshake thats about it.
Maybe he was pissed because directly across from him was a 30ft picture of Robert Truijo with his Fernandez bass and it said Robert T. METALLICA. hahaha that sucks
Um oh one really grooving super cool guy Raphael Saadiq, that guy was walking past me in a club and I said hey, he took the time to say hi and chat a little bit cool cool guy.
The last is my friend Marty Meisner of the Mayfield Four (RIP) I meet him not knowing he was in one of my favorite rock bands now he teaches bass at the music store I work at and he is good friend.
Thats all folks
I've got a new website running at Link Removed with interviews with some of the bass player's I've met. Some were done through email, but some were face to face, they were all really nice guys.
I still haven't managed to get Steve Harris yet though I did play bass in Bruce's solo band for a few years so I got to meet most of the rest of Maiden...
Cheers
Chris Dale
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I still haven't managed to get Steve Harris yet though I did play bass in Bruce's solo band for a few years so I got to meet most of the rest of Maiden...
Cheers
Chris Dale
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Let's see......
Chris Squire ( at the Rickenbacker booth at NAMM)
John Entwistle (walking around at NAMM)
Stanley Clarke (also at NAMM)
Mars Cowling-before Pat Travers Band show-a long time ago.
Jaco (blown out of his mind and TOTAL jerk-Playboy Jazz)
Greg Lake (In-store, Virgin Records-hollywood)
Billy Sheehan ( very cool guy--had a beer with him after a GTR show)
Gene Simmons (not impressed with him...real snide)
Roger Glover (Before DP Show-HOB-LA)
John McVie (nice guy, sat in front of me on a flight to Hawaii)
& a bunch of others & non-bassists I can't remember right now.
Slug
Chris Squire ( at the Rickenbacker booth at NAMM)
John Entwistle (walking around at NAMM)
Stanley Clarke (also at NAMM)
Mars Cowling-before Pat Travers Band show-a long time ago.
Jaco (blown out of his mind and TOTAL jerk-Playboy Jazz)
Greg Lake (In-store, Virgin Records-hollywood)
Billy Sheehan ( very cool guy--had a beer with him after a GTR show)
Gene Simmons (not impressed with him...real snide)
Roger Glover (Before DP Show-HOB-LA)
John McVie (nice guy, sat in front of me on a flight to Hawaii)
& a bunch of others & non-bassists I can't remember right now.
Slug
warwick666320 said:
Yes. I met Steve Harris (and Iron Maiden) last year during their Dance of Death (the name kills me
) tour. He came across as a truly humble and thoughtful person. I asked him to sign my pickguard and he did, right before he took to the stage. I have also met Roger Glover, who was equally as nice and very down to earth.Visited the London Guitar Show on Saturday with urb_munki. We got to meet:
Jonas Hellborg
Laurence Cottle
Jeff Berlin
Steve Lawson
Not bad for one day!
Jonas Hellborg
Laurence Cottle
Jeff Berlin
Steve Lawson
Not bad for one day!
I met Alain Caron once after a free outdoor concert in Longueuil (my and Caron's hometown). He was pretty cool, but really busy. He signed of my records.
I also met Dave Holland after a concert in Montreal with his quintet a couple of months ago. Cool laid back guy. Also signed one of my records.
And I also met John Patitucci in Montreal after a show with Renee Rosnes a few years ago. He was super stoked about playing in this room with "great acoustics". He seemed surprised that I was interested in jazz at my age (must've been 14 or something back then), and he signed one of my records.
I also met Dave Holland after a concert in Montreal with his quintet a couple of months ago. Cool laid back guy. Also signed one of my records.
And I also met John Patitucci in Montreal after a show with Renee Rosnes a few years ago. He was super stoked about playing in this room with "great acoustics". He seemed surprised that I was interested in jazz at my age (must've been 14 or something back then), and he signed one of my records.
Recently I e-mailed Bill Batstone (Richie Furay) about his sound on a Mark Heard album back in the early 80's. He kindly answered my questions. The root of his sound was a DiMarzio ultra jazz pup on a '65 P bass, which was run thru a Countryman d.i; he asked me for my address, and one week later, I received an autographed cd and the DiMarzio pup he spoke about..........pretty cool guy!!!!!
H2
H2
What, no Glenn Cornick encounters? I'll remedy that...
Sat with Glenn at a bar in Hollywood, early-80's, and we had a nice chat while consuming about 150 beers. I'm sure he told me some juicy stuff about Ian Anderson that I've since forgotten. Also jammed with (OT) Dwight Yoakam (pre-fame) during this period in history, then later borrowed his girlfriend for a few weeks. Fun stuff.
Non-bassist wise, I've shot pool and played ping-pong with Jeff Goldblum (throttled him in both, haven't seen him since) and shared a few Fosters with Mel Gibson. Had Kim Cattrall in my lap while sharing Thanksgiving dinner with her and her date Jerry Casale (of Devo). Alas, I was an entertainment writer here in Los Angeles, so I guess that stuff doesn't count.
Great thread, TBers!!
Sat with Glenn at a bar in Hollywood, early-80's, and we had a nice chat while consuming about 150 beers. I'm sure he told me some juicy stuff about Ian Anderson that I've since forgotten. Also jammed with (OT) Dwight Yoakam (pre-fame) during this period in history, then later borrowed his girlfriend for a few weeks. Fun stuff.
Non-bassist wise, I've shot pool and played ping-pong with Jeff Goldblum (throttled him in both, haven't seen him since) and shared a few Fosters with Mel Gibson. Had Kim Cattrall in my lap while sharing Thanksgiving dinner with her and her date Jerry Casale (of Devo). Alas, I was an entertainment writer here in Los Angeles, so I guess that stuff doesn't count.
Great thread, TBers!!
I went to Victor's Bass Nature Camp and obviously met Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey as well as Bela and Jeff Cofin from the Flecktones. I also met Felix Pastorius there. He's really good..... no wonder with genes like that 
I met Freebo. For those of you under the age of 40 or so, he played with Bonnie Raitt for quite some time earlier in her career and also with Maria Muldaur. I went to see Maria Muldaur at a small blues/jazz club (Chan's in Woonsocket, RI-great place, btw) a few years ago. She had just released a new blues album. Freebo was there playing a fretless J, an acoustic guitar and a bass tuba! I believe he also plays URB. He was pretty funny on stage, joking about the fact that he didn't get called by Bonnie when she finally "made it big." I met him after the show. A very cool, very funny, laid-back guy who's been in the biz for probably close to forty years.
I know he's not a bassist, but I also met Larry Coryell at the same club. Chan's is a Chinese restaurant that has great live jazz/blues acts. I was next to Larry in the buffet line before he played. I turned to him and said "You may want to stick around, I hear this Coryell guy can play." He laughed and responded "Don't believe a word of it. It's just hype." Mark Egan and Paul Wertico were playing with him. I didn't get to meet Mark though. They kicked a**!
I know he's not a bassist, but I also met Larry Coryell at the same club. Chan's is a Chinese restaurant that has great live jazz/blues acts. I was next to Larry in the buffet line before he played. I turned to him and said "You may want to stick around, I hear this Coryell guy can play." He laughed and responded "Don't believe a word of it. It's just hype." Mark Egan and Paul Wertico were playing with him. I didn't get to meet Mark though. They kicked a**!
Ok, maybe a handful of people here (besides the Icelanders on TalkBass hehe) have heard of the Icelandic fusion band Mezzoforte and their bassist Johann Asmundsson .
I went to a concert of a side project of his where he played very well. A few days later he came by the video store where I worked and he was buying a Coca Cola or something.
And I just stood there grinning like an idiot
Finally I uttered "it's very nice to meet the best bassist in Iceland", and thanked him for the great solo on "three views of a secret" he played at that concert I mentioned.
He was rather surprised, took his change and left in a hurry
I went to a concert of a side project of his where he played very well. A few days later he came by the video store where I worked and he was buying a Coca Cola or something.
And I just stood there grinning like an idiot
Finally I uttered "it's very nice to meet the best bassist in Iceland", and thanked him for the great solo on "three views of a secret" he played at that concert I mentioned.
He was rather surprised, took his change and left in a hurry
I met Billy Sheehan last year when he toured Australia with Vai. Billy actually came up to me and my gf and said 'hi,' after the show. We mentioned how we were going to see them play the next night in another city and he said he'd put our name on the list for back stage. After the show, we go up to the security guard and say our names, and sure enough, Billy is good to his word. We spent the next few hours hanging out with Billy, Vai, Tony McAlpine and Virgil Donati! It was a great night and I got heaps of advice from Billy!
Then, January of this year, I travelled to the US for a holiday. While in San Francisco, I went to dinner at a place called Teatro Zinzanni (or sumething like that) Stu Hamm was the house bassist! I couldn't believe it, and the waiter heard my enthusiasm over seeing Stu 5 feet away from me and organised for me to meet him after the show. We sat around chatting for ages and he even let me play Mel, the red metallic Urge!!!!
I can't believe I met my 2 biggest influences within 6 months of eachother!
Then, January of this year, I travelled to the US for a holiday. While in San Francisco, I went to dinner at a place called Teatro Zinzanni (or sumething like that) Stu Hamm was the house bassist! I couldn't believe it, and the waiter heard my enthusiasm over seeing Stu 5 feet away from me and organised for me to meet him after the show. We sat around chatting for ages and he even let me play Mel, the red metallic Urge!!!!
I can't believe I met my 2 biggest influences within 6 months of eachother!
A few years ago I got to meet Geddy Lee at an autograph signing for "My Favorite Headache" on the day it came out. I literally had nothing to say.....I was speechless.
Robert Trujillo sold me a Suicidal Tendencies hat on his first tour w/ ST. Apparently the venue wouldn't let them sell ST merch in the venue(something about the word Suicidal) so they set up shop across the street. I really didn't know much about him at the time but I had a rude awakening a few years later when I saw Infectious Grooves live......WOW! He was a pretty nice guy.
Over the years I've also met Pantera, Slayer, Rob Zombie, Stone Sour, Kansas, Mike Portnoy, Will Lee, Vinnie Moore, Tony MaCalpine, & some of the members of Mercyful Fate.
Also just the other week I got to meet Eric Johnson....he was a really nice guy & put on a great show.
Robert Trujillo sold me a Suicidal Tendencies hat on his first tour w/ ST. Apparently the venue wouldn't let them sell ST merch in the venue(something about the word Suicidal) so they set up shop across the street. I really didn't know much about him at the time but I had a rude awakening a few years later when I saw Infectious Grooves live......WOW! He was a pretty nice guy.
Over the years I've also met Pantera, Slayer, Rob Zombie, Stone Sour, Kansas, Mike Portnoy, Will Lee, Vinnie Moore, Tony MaCalpine, & some of the members of Mercyful Fate.
Also just the other week I got to meet Eric Johnson....he was a really nice guy & put on a great show.
