Interviewing bassist stories

[Arthritic_Tom]

Just wanted to chime in and say CONGRATULATIONS!! I won't lie...I am a little upset that your daily stories will be coming to an end. But to see you get an offer to share these crazy/scary/horrifying stories with the world instead of just our little community is AWESOME!!

Here's to you Tom!!
Slow Clap - YouTube

Thank you. And you have only yourselves to blame for me not telling the stories here exclusively. You're the people who convinced me to pitch it to a publisher.

I can't emphasize enough that I honestly thought I was done writing about music forever. This thread was to be my final word on the matter.

Wrong!

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Good tip. I just subscribed to the thread to make sure I don't miss it when the book comes out.

Speaking of striking while the iron's hot, Schiffer would do well to offer an opportunity for us to sign up for an e-mail notification list, too.

Tom, huge congratulations on the book deal! Simply can't wait to read it. I'll be sad to see this thread come to an end. On the upside, I might actually get some work done next week!

I'll figure out an e-mail list. I know nothing about technical matters, so if anyone can tell me how to post something to sign up, drop me a PM. And if anyone from Talkbass is reading this, would that be okay with you if I used this thread to get an initial mailing list to have on hand for when the book is published?

Talkbass deserves all the credit for making this happen, so I'd like to keep everyone up to date.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Just wanted to chime in and say that I've been following this thread since the beginning! Congrats on your deal, Tom, consider me a day-one buyer. I'm anticipating the acclaim you get with this book will turn into a movie starring Liam Neeson. Calling it.

Thanks very much. After watching Taken, I agree that Liam Neeson would be perfect... for playing Scott Thunes.

Although I appreciate your kind thoughts, I don't worry about accolades anymore. I've finally assimilated the advice given to me over ten years by Thunes, Chi Cheng, Andy West, Ray Shulman, Curt Smith, John Taylor, Duff McKagan, and my Russian pen pal, who's also an author.

My satisfaction will come from writing the book. Accolades will be nice but not necessary.

 

[stambroker]

Thanks very much. After watching Taken, I agree that Liam Neeson would be perfect... for playing Scott Thunes.

Although I appreciate your kind thoughts, I don't worry about accolades anymore. I've finally assimilated the advice given to me over ten years by Thunes, Chi Cheng, Andy West, Ray Shulman, Curt Smith, John Taylor, Duff McKagan, and my Russian pen pal, who's also an author.

My satisfaction will come from writing the book. Accolades will be nice but not necessary.

As a 20 year old bassist/history student living in Baltimore, you're definitely going to have my full attention.

To my experience, doing something for the sheer cathartic experience and with total enthusiasm will always yield a better result than doing it for monetary gain or the desire to be famous. I apply the principle to my job, to music, and to relationships, and I would definitely consider you a role model in the principle. Keep on keepin' on!

P.S. If you run into John Taylor tell him I love him.

 

[Blueszilla]

Hi Tom, great read this thread, I've enjoyed the stories. I like those writers that hold my attention because of their unique style and not necessarily the subject at hand (Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Maclean, Harper Lee..). Your style holds my attention easily, and obviously I'm not the only one. I found myself laughing out loud numerous times.

Can't wait for your book.

 

[Versatek6]

It has taken several days, but I made it to the end.

Thank you for this. You have me reexamining a significant aspect of my life by just saying,

"Make sure it's a good fit."

And you also caused me to look up the Stephen Crane piece you have cited here and there. I read that through today, and thought I should quote one back to you, which resonated with me, and somehow seemed fitting.


From Stephen Crane's The Black Riders and Other Lines:

XLVII

"Think as I think," said a man,
"Or you are abominably wicked;
You are a toad."

And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad."


Thanks for everything, and I look forward to the book!

 

[CGramazio]

Just catching up again. Congrats Tom!

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

And you also caused me to look up the Stephen Crane piece you have cited here and there. I read that through today, and thought I should quote one back to you, which resonated with me, and somehow seemed fitting.


From Stephen Crane's The Black Riders and Other Lines:

XLVII

"Think as I think," said a man,
"Or you are abominably wicked;
You are a toad."

And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad."
!

YES!!!!!!

Nice to meet you, brother from another mother. I love that poem. It's such sublime genius that it cheers me up every time I read it.

There's a Crane poem for all occasions. He lived only 28 summers, so he taught me to count my blessings and adopt a sense of perspective. At least I've made it to almost 50 and am told by my doctors that except for my incurable autoimmune disorder, I'm in good health.

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

And thanks for reading and for your support. It means a lot to me.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Just catching up again. Congrats Tom!

Thank you. Permissions are coming in from all over the planet, so apparently a lot of people think this is a good idea.

I'm going to bite the bullet and ask my bass idol if he'll let me use a photo of him in the insert. It'll be the first time I've had the courage to contact him even indirectly since 1997, when his article was killed.

Wish me luck.

 

[effenj]

Luck!!!

 

[Vinz Clortho]

As a 20 year old bassist/history student living in Baltimore, you're definitely going to have my full attention.

To my experience, doing something for the sheer cathartic experience and with total enthusiasm will always yield a better result than doing it for monetary gain or the desire to be famous. I apply the principle to my job, to music, and to relationships, and I would definitely consider you a role model in the principle. Keep on keepin' on!

P.S. If you run into John Taylor tell him I love him.

I'm 20 and I was just about to say something very similar after reading [nearly] this entire thread.

What gets me about all of these stories is, in contrast to how human and reflective Tom is, how disgusting people can be, mostly ones twice my age. Not that I'm a model citizen by any means, but the amount of anti-Semitism, spousal abuse, egotistical ranting, and overzealous drama that transpires in these stories is absolutely staggering, like something that would be in a morbid late-night cult-following sitcom or something. Clearly age does not automatically beget wisdom.

 

[CGramazio]

Good luck brother!

 

[Downunderwonder]

I'm suffering ripping yarn withdrawal here Tom.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

I'm suffering ripping yarn withdrawal here Tom.

I'm truly sorry. I was going to spill all the beans here as my swan song, but I owe it to my publishers to retain the best stories now. They're taking a big chance on me, and I'm ethically obliged to repay their confidence in me.

It pains me, since so many people have been entertained, but I promise you that you ain't seen nothin' yet.

If you can be patient, you'll eventually read about Shark Tooth Man, the Witch, The Woman Who Bragged That her A**hole Is Too Small to F*ck, the Man Who Bragged About His Affair with His Sister, how the record label repaid me for the best article about Gene Simmons ever printed, the First Really Weird Disease, a Test Of Character From God, Warnings Ignored by Experts on Disaster, How to Live the Rest of Your Life without Your Soul Mate, the Real Ghost, the Russian Colonel, What it Feels like to be Murdered, Surviving Character Assassination, the Chicken-voiced Fabulist, Taking Flamethrowers to it All, How a Cat Saved my Life, the Singer Who Saved my Life, the Poet Who Saved my Life, the Letter the Radio Talk Show Host Never Forgot, the Con Man Who Would Not Die, The Manimal and His Noises, How a Blind Date Almost Killed Me, the Family who Set a Trap for Me, the Fake Novelist, Saving the Gay Emo Teen, Advice for the Single and Housebound, the Nightmares Before Publication, the World's Best Editor, the World's Best Therapist, the Lady Who Lived in Disneyland, the Hardest Interview of my Career...

And much, much more. You can wait for that, can't you?

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

I'm 20 and I was just about to say something very similar after reading [nearly] this entire thread.

What gets me about all of these stories is, in contrast to how human and reflective Tom is, how disgusting people can be, mostly ones twice my age. Not that I'm a model citizen by any means, but the amount of anti-Semitism, spousal abuse, egotistical ranting, and overzealous drama that transpires in these stories is absolutely staggering, like something that would be in a morbid late-night cult-following sitcom or something. Clearly age does not automatically beget wisdom.

The worst people I ever met were older. Here's why:

Pathologies ALWAYS get worse if not addressed. The longer you live your life in a hideous, immoral fashion, the worse you get. You never plateau and coast. You descend, and the descent picks up speed, you achieve critical mass, and suddenly you're a barking loon.

My memoir will not be at all Oprah-y. I choose to not reveal my own issues. But I will say that I can tell you from personal experience that problems not addressed always get worse, which is why older people tend to be sicker than younger.

If you catch your problems early on, you'll be better for it in the long run. Whatever problem you have now will get worse unless addressed.

 

[jeffbrown]

Trying to figure out how to subscribe.... Trying to follow directions...

HAH! Got it! Waiting for the book!

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

I'm suffering ripping yarn withdrawal here Tom.

More stories for the book:

There are No Women between the Ages of 35 and 70 in Pasadena, Saying Goodbye to the Friendliest Woman I've Met, In the Elevator with Olympia Dukakis, Building the Backdrop with my Brother and Being Called F*gs, My Underworld Guides, Confessions of a Self-Saboteur Who Tried to Kill Me, How to Infuriate a Perfect Stranger in Seconds, the Publicist and My Father's Heart Attack, Affairs with Grade B-list Celebrities, How to Know that You've Lost Enough, Goulash with My Deranged Future Self, the Girl Who Really Loved her Father, Perfect Happiness Lasts Exactly 90 Minutes, I'm a Just a Little Bipolar, the Director who Promised and Never Delivered, I'll Talk as Loud as I Want...

And!

Keep in mind that Scott Thunes will serve as a narrative counterpoint throughout, explaining in his own words how he took the opposite road that I took, yet we ended up in the same place, he much less the worse for wear.

The memoir will read like an anthology, but there will be the two competing narratives set against the backdrop of what Martin Amis described as a "moronic inferno."

You've just gotta wait! Be patient! This is going to blow your mind. It'll be worth it.

To quote Hannibal Lecter, "All good things to those who wait."

 

[Stumbo]

Don't forget to add a story on "How TalkBass changed my life!"

Looking forward to your book.

 

[Arthritic_Tom]

Don't forget to add a story on "How TalkBass changed my life!"

Looking forward to your book.

Thanks.

And that goes without saying. Talkbass will be in both the introduction and the final chapter. So it'll get mentioned TWICE.

 

[scarified]

It took three days but I just made it to the end of this thread. Most of the comments you have had are from people agreeing with your points of view (with the notable exception of Scott Thunes).

I don't work in the music industry, but the industry I do work in seems to be similar and I can relate to many of your stories. I see myself in some of the people who you vilify. I am not sure we'd get along in real life.

However, I want to compliment you on your ability to capture peoples attention and imagination and wish you the best for your upcoming book which I look forward to reading.