Interviewing bassist stories

[Arthritic_Tom]

I am digging these stories, and also enjoying the detective work trying to figure out who you're talking about. Keep 'em coming!

Okay. I dug out my box of tapes to refresh my memories.

Here's one: A woman who was a brilliant bassist and who started playing professionally at the age of 30. Very attractive, very friendly looking, very artsy and hippie-crunchy-granola. In the interview, she said "Y'know" and "like" every second or third word, and she laughed after every sentence. I knew transcribing the interview was going be incredibly tedious.

I asked her why she'd come to playing professionally later in life than so many others.

"I was, like, in the federal pen, man, y'know? Doing, like, ten years for, like, narcotics trafficking. That's, like, where I learned, like, how to play the bass, y'know? Bwah-hah-hah-hah!"

Awkward pause.

Having learned my lesson from the debacle I described above, I called the publicist and told her what the bassist had said.

"G-D it all to hell!" she yelled. "We've told her a million times to stop talking about this! What's she trying to do, kill her career before it even gets off the ground? Look, if she said it I can't tell you not to print it, but do you have to put it in, since you're a bass magazine and not a tabloid?"

So I left it out.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Oo, here's a good one!

Interviewed a bassist who had played for a legendary legend who never had the same band for more than a couple years. We spoke about several tracks the bassist had recorded.

Several years later, I was interviewing another bassist who had played with the legendary legend. I asked, "When you were first hired, you were just a kid, and there had already been several bassists before you, such as ___________."

I was going to ask, "As such a young guy, did you feel any pressure to live up up to the high technical standards set by the bassists who came before you?"

But as soon as I mentioned the previous bassist's name, the bassist I was interviewing exploded into a roar of profanity.

"Don't you mention that @#$%er's name in my house!" he roared. I was quite afraid of him at the time, because he's huge and powerfully built and has a scary reputation, so I shut right up. Later, we went outside into his back yard to continue the interview. As we were talking, a tiny, light-blue butterfly landed on the back of his hand. I watched it in horror. I couldn't take my eyes off it. My toes were clenched in my shoes.

The bassist was on a brilliant monologue about his view on what made a great bass player, and suddenly, without missing a beat, he said, "You're expecting me to crush that butterfly, aren't you?"

"No!" I screamed with hysterical laughter. "Of course not!"

"I'm not the type of person who crushes butterflies," he said quietly, and gently lifted his hand so that the tiny, fragile creature could flutter away.

But he'd read my mind. I thought for sure he'd smash the poor thing and laugh at me. I discovered later that I'd read him all wrong. I still feel bad for thinking that about him, and for him being able to see it so plainly on my face.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

This still haunts me.

I interviewed a young woman who played bass for a local band and ran a recording studio. She was very good both at the bass and at her business. The studio was used by all the big names in the business. The day I interviewed her, as we walked through the studio parking lot to go off to lunch, a tiny woman in a headscarf and big dark glasses got out of a Mercedes, followed by a nine-foot-tall black man with watchful eyes. The tiny woman walked past, and the bassist said, "Hi, Lourdes!" and stroked the baby.

We did the interview, and my photographer and I came back a few days later to shoot the bassist in her studio. She wore an amazing miniskirt outfit, and the photographer made her look ravishing. The bassist said this was the happiest moment in her life.

I turned the article in, and then we had the change of the editor I keep yapping about. He called me and told me he'd killed the article about the bassist who ran the studio, because her band hadn't released any records. I argued with him for half an hour, mentioning all the huge names that used the studio, and the point of the article was that this person exposed to all these fabulously successful musicians was a bassist by choice. She was one of us! She hauled around that heavy axe as an act of love!

No dice. The editor was indifferent. He'd already killed my interview with Ray Shulman, my idol, and I hadn't had the balls to tell him, so this time I called the bassist and told her the article had been killed.

She started crying. "But I've told everyone I know that I'm going to be in Bass Player!" she sobbed.

Even now, all these years later, I still seethe with hate for what the editor did to her. To me, it was totally dishonorable. I don't give a damn if it's what all new editors do, as he told me with a laugh. We owed it to her to publish that article, which the readers would've loved. She was smart, successful in the music business, beautiful, and a bassist. Who would've objected to it?

It was heartless, and it still pains me.

 

[famousbirds]

I would buy a magazine that was nothing but stories axed from Bass Player..

Edit: your stories, that is...

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

I would buy a magazine that was nothing but stories axed from Bass Player..

This is, without question, the best thing anybody has ever said to me. Bless you.

 

[dhsierra1]

I would buy a magazine that was nothing but stories axed from Bass Player..

Edit: your stories, that is...

+1, please keep 'em rollin', great way to finish off a week and much better than reading some of the troll-fests going on around here

 

[lowfreq33]

Does Bass Player own the rights to those interviews? Maybe you could put them on a blog.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Bass Player also killed an op-ed they asked me to write. It was sometime after the Iraq War began. My piece was titled "Shut Up and Play." It was in a section of the magazine devoted exclusively to a bassist's views as applied to every day life. Several of the previous pieces had been overtly political in nature.

I said we're bombarded every single day with political messages, and I was sick of being told by a rich, famous musician how I should think about geopolitics. My own politics never went into what I had written about music, and if I ever had the good fortune of becoming a famous novelist, I would never inflict my political views on people who had done me the courtesy of buying my product. It would be disrespectful. I would shut up and write, and I expected all professional musicians to shut up and play.

Dead, dead, deadsky. Deader than a doornail. That's when I asked them to take my name off the masthead.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Does Bass Player own the rights to those interviews? Maybe you could put them on a blog.

I gave the Ray Shulman interview to a Gentle Giant fan site. It's not an article but rather the raw transcript. I didn't want to give them an article, because I wanted the fans to be able to read Ray's words unfiltered. So it isn't smooth and polished.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I wouldn't feel right about publishing the other interviews without the permission of the interviewees, because they consented to an interview with Bass Player, not Arthritic Tom.

The owner of the Gentle Giant fan site is in contact with Ray, so he got Ray's permission before he posted it. As I said, I never had the courage to speak to him after that. He's a wonderful, positive, cooperative man, but this was such an epic failure that my face still burns writing about it now.

Imagine interviewing your idol, and then having the interview unceremoniously and contemptuously given the axe, and the guy who does it even laughs about it, as though Ray Shulman was some ludicrous bum on the street.

Shulman has more talent in one eyelash than that editor--a bassist himself--has in his entire carcass. Shulman has played bass lines that are almost superhuman in their originality, and HE'S A VERY NICE MAN, TOO.

He deserved better, and I will never get over the unwitting part I played in the way he was denigrated.

 

[famousbirds]

This is, without question, the best thing anybody has ever said to me. Bless you.

Well, shucks. It seems pretty obvious to me that person might want to read something honest, insightful, and unusual instead of the cookie cutter 'interviews' and album reviews. But maybe that's what sells the most subscriptions.

Keep it up!

 

[dhsierra1]

so you're Tom Wictor?! I've read your articles in the past, some great stuff, I'm sorry about your situation w/BP.

Please don't take it so hard on the Schulman piece as well as that LA lady bassist article. You can't control what mgmt will do.

Wonder if you can do some sort of column here on TB because your stories, even w/the names changed to protect the innocent, would be very informative and helpful for a lot of folks to see an unvarnished view of the pro music world, esp as it pertains to bassists.

Thanks for joining here and please keep posting your stories

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Well, shucks. It seems pretty obvious to me that person might want to read something honest, insightful, and unusual instead of the cookie cutter 'interviews' and album reviews. But maybe that's what sells the most subscriptions.

Keep it up!

Thank you. When the magazine became cookie cutter, as you say, I lost interest. And so did the subscribers. We're in this weird era in which nobody knows how to create a successful business model anymore.

I had plans to interview bassists who played in the weirdest, most unexpected gigs you could imagine. I met a guy who was a bass extra. All he did was be a bass player in movies. Audiences are sophisticated enough now that they don't accept some non-musician pretending to play.

He had electric bases from every period, standup bases, and entire wardrobes from every period, so he could be a 50s rocker, an 18th century French bass player in a quartet in the palace at Versailles, a heavy metal rocker, a jazzer in a speakeasy in the 1920s--you name it. And he made a great living at it.

Nope. Who cares? Where are his records? The advertisers only wanted people who could sell music and endorse their products, so some genius who figured out how to be a movie star without any of the stress or stalkers never got mentioned.

It was infuriating how self-defeating and short-sighted the approach became, but that was their choice. I bailed.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

so you're Tom Wictor?! I've read your articles in the past, some great stuff, I'm sorry about your situation w/BP.

Please don't take it so hard on the Schulman piece as well as that LA lady bassist article. You can't control what mgmt will do.

Wonder if you can do some sort of column here on TB because your stories, even w/the names changed to protect the innocent, would be very informative and helpful for a lot of folks to see an unvarnished view of the pro music world, esp as it pertains to bassists.

Thanks for joining here and please keep posting your stories

Well, thanks very much. I'm pretty much out of the music industry now, because I can't even play anymore. I've published three books on military history and plan to set up a Web site to sell those, and then I'm going to finally try my hand at fiction.

I'm afraid my insider knowledge is too out of date to help very many people. I've just been posting all this stuff because I haven't spoken about music for so long. I was angry that my career hit a wall, and then I got arthritis and couldn't play anymore. It was just too painful to talk about.

But now I'm at peace with it all, as much as I can be. I'm still angry at the way some of my interviewees were treated, but I'm not angry at what happened to my own career or the fact that I can't play anymore. Poo happens.

 

[dhsierra1]

I'm afraid my insider knowledge is too out of date to help very many people. I've just been posting all this stuff because I haven't spoken about music for so long. I was angry that my career hit a wall, and then I got arthritis and couldn't play anymore. It was just too painful to talk about.

well, but that stuff is timeless and still pertinent to understanding how the music industry works. To understand the present you have to read and learn from the past. You're writing military history, I see no difference in terms of learning lessons and helping move things forward. You were in a unique position and your stories are valuable. But only if they see the light of day for others to read.

Just sayin', I'm not advocating you do this if it's painful for you, I know how that can be from my own experiences. But what you have learned and recorded is of value "for the record".

 

[afzoomie67]

Solid articles, bro. I dig the excerpts and such. How'd you get this job?

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

I know a fantastic bassist, once very famous. I won't mention his name, because he's sort of plagued by fans to this day, and he recently admitted to me that he's accepted that he's out of the business for good.

He band created an entirely new genre of music, but after the guitarist left, they couldn't replace him with anyone that the fans accepted. The guitarist was the star.

So the bassist tried for years to get gigs, but he's short, chunky, and older. He tried out for a well-known drugged-out disaster who was ubiquitous in the 80s, and they rejected him as soon as he walked in, the old, "Thank you! Next!"

He, too, was angry at his fate. He's in an entirely different line of work now, but a couple years ago his guitarist was touring, and this bassist invited me to the show, because he was going to be a "special guest star." They let him him play one song from the original band's repertoire, and he absolutely shredded, to the point that after he left the stage the band's current bassist was doing everything in his power to best the short, chunky fellow who had just ground his face into the dirt.

When my acquaintance came off stage, I did something I've never done before to a musician and said, "You're five hundred times the bassist he is."

He squeezed my shoulder and smiled. He knew it, too, but he couldn't agree out loud.

I'm glad to say that he's finally at peace with no longer being a musician. But it took him as long as it took me. Like me, he was hurt by the disrespect shown him. I can take a lot, but it's not necessary to be gratuitously cruel to people.

There were too many gratuitously cruel people in the music industry when I was in it. I could easily have gone postal a few times. But I don't regret my ten years as a music journalist. I just wish more people had more imagination and more genuine love for music, because then we'd all benefit.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Solid articles, bro. I dig the excerpts and such. How'd you get this job?

Sent a query to the first editor of Bass Player, a visionary man named Jim Roberts. I told him I was a budding writer, and I had an idea, and he said go ahead and do it, and tell them you're writing for us.

He took a chance because he was brave and could see the big picture.

 

[afzoomie67]

Sent a query to the first editor of Bass Player, a visionary man named Jim Roberts. I told him I was a budding writer, and I had an idea, and he said go ahead and do it, and tell them you're writing for us.

He took a chance because he was brave and could see the big picture.

That's cool. Times have changed, it seems.

 

[lowfreq33]

I know a fantastic bassist, once very famous. I won't mention his name, because he's sort of plagued by fans to this day, and he recently admitted to me that he's accepted that he's out of the business for good.

He band created an entirely new genre of music, but after the guitarist left, they couldn't replace him with anyone that the fans accepted. The guitarist was the star.

So the bassist tried for years to get gigs, but he's short, chunky, and older. He tried out for a well-known drugged-out disaster who was ubiquitous in the 80s, and they rejected him as soon as he walked in, the old, "Thank you! Next!"

He, too, was angry at his fate. He's in an entirely different line of work now, but a couple years ago his guitarist was touring, and this bassist invited me to the show, because he was going to be a "special guest star." They let him him play one song form the original band's repertoire, and he absolutely shredded, to the point that after he left the stage the band's current bassist was doing everything in his power to best the short, chunky fellow who had just ground his face into the dirt.

When my acquaintance came off stage, I did something I've never done before to a musician and said, "You're five hundred times the bassist he is."

He squeezed my shoulder and smiled. He knew it, too, but he couldn't agree out loud.

I'm glad to say that he's finally at peace with no longer being a musician. But it took him as long as it took me. Like me, he was hurt by the disrespect shown him. I can take a lot, but it's not necessary to be gratuitously cruel to people.

There were too many gratuitously cruel people in the music industry when I was in it. I could easily have gone postal a few times. But I don't regret my ten years as a music journalist. I just wish more people had more imagination and more genuine love for music, because then we'd all benefit.

Cool, you're friends with Michael Anthony?

I kid, I kid

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

well, but that stuff is timeless and still pertinent to understanding how the music industry works. To understand the present you have to read and learn from the past. You're writing military history, I see no difference in terms of learning lessons and helping move things forward. You were in a unique position and your stories are valuable. But only if they see the light of day for others to read.

Just sayin', I'm not advocating you do this if it's painful for you, I know how that can be from my own experiences. But what you have learned and recorded is of value "for the record".

It's not painful anymore. I don't mind posting my ramblings in the threads. But I don't think a column would be of any use to anyone trying to get anywhere in the business. After all, even with ten years under my belt, I got nowhere in the business.

I will say this: If you want to get anywhere on the business side, you have to be able to schmooze and kiss you-know-what. If you want to get anywhere on the artistic side, you first have to have a modicum of talent, but you have to have connections up the wazoo. You have to go out and sell yourself, but only to the people who count. And never, EVER pass up an opportunity from an established artist.

I know a guy who was playing on the street in New York, and he was approached by a woman who really liked the way he played his slide guitar. She asked him if he'd be willing to record a song with her. He said sure. She introduced herself as Diamanda Galas.

When he told me he'd never heard of her, I sent him this link:

Diamanda Galas with John Paul Jones - Skotoseme (live) - YouTube

He then decided he was creeped out by her and blew her off. I asked him if he'd heard of John Paul Jones. Of course he had. Who hasn't? Well, you cretin, did it occur to you that you blew off a woman who knows one of the members of Led Zeppelin. You screwed yourself out of untold opportunities.

He shrugged. And he's still struggling, the dummy.