sayonara Tetsu Yamauchi

[Bass V]

he came into focus as the one who kept FREE alive after the departure of Andy Fraser, he recorded the successful Heartbreaker LP and toured with them before moving on to Faces, then banking his career as a reliable sideman, most notably with Rod Stewart. in the '90s he packed it in for music and moved to Japan's countryside with his family.

 

[roccobass]

Lol! The funny thing was, about the time he came into the Faces, he was still a partying kind of guy and Rod, Kenney and Ron were trying to taper off theirs. It still worked out for awhile.

Another great one gone. Sad. RIP Tetsu.

 

[jerry]

I was a Free-nut and dug everything Free even after Andy left and saw them with Tetsu, he did a great job considering who he was replacing. I even still have the Kossoff Kirke Tetsu & Rabbit album. I love both bands he got to play with!
Fly on Tetsu.....................................

 

[pbass2]

RIP. I saw Rod live with Tetsu on bass--I musta been about 14. Great show and what a great showman Rod was. I think Tetsu had a blonde single coil P.
My two clearest memories though are Rod throwing his mic stand waaaaay up in air and catching it in a very athletic fashion not skipping a beat. And, the opener was Blue Oyster Cult and their drummer had a big giant kit and played a big long solo, and then Kenny Jones came out with a four-piece kit and played a tasty brief solo that blew him away.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

What are two or three of his essential recordings?

 

[Rich Fiscus]

What are two or three of his essential recordings?

This would be his best known, from the final Free album.

 

[rodl2005]

He had a great groove going on. Was it Tetsu and Carmine Appice playing on Hot Legs and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

 

[ELG60]

He had a great groove going on. Was it Tetsu and Carmine Appice playing on Hot Legs and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

I'm pretty sure that Phil Chen played on those songs.

 

[rodl2005]

Ah yes. Phil Chen. Thank you.

Well it was Phil Chen who I saw in the live video I vaguely remember. And HE had a great groove going on too

No less condolences for Mr. Yamauchi tho

 

[ajkula66]

I always had mad respect for Mr. Yamauchi. KKTR was likely one of the greatest "could've been but..." British bands of the '70s.

RIP, sir, and thank you.

 

[Bob_Ross]

…Rod throwing his mic stand waaaaay up in air and catching it in a very athletic fashion not skipping a beat.

First time I ever heard about Tetsu was when my bandmate came back from a Rod Stewart concert circa 1975 or ‘76 and was raving about the bass player.

After the show my bandmate was standing at the edge of the stage watching the roadies tear down, and the guy packing up Rod’s mic stand saw my buddy watching and said “hey kid…catch!” and threw the stand to him.

Turns out the reason Rod Stewart was able to whip the mic stand around and toss it into the air so effortlessly is because it was a super-lightweight stand made of thin aluminum, practically as thin as a soda can.

For years afterwards we carried Rod Stewart’s mic stand around to all our rehearsals and gigs, and it eventually took up residency in a recording studio where my bandmate and I worked until 1981.

In all that time we always referred to it by its complete name: “Rod Stewart’s mic stand”

 

[pbass2]

First time I ever heard about Tetsu was when my bandmate came back from a Rod Stewart concert circa 1975 or ‘76 and was raving about the bass player.

After the show my bandmate was standing at the edge of the stage watching the roadies tear down, and the guy packing up Rod’s mic stand saw my buddy watching and said “hey kid…catch!” and threw the stand to him.

Turns out the reason Rod Stewart was able to whip the mic stand around and toss it into the air so effortlessly is because it was a super-lightweight stand made of thin aluminum, practically as thin as a soda can.

For years afterwards we carried Rod Stewart’s mic stand around to all our rehearsals and gigs, and it eventually took up residency in a recording studio where my bandmate and I worked until 1981.

In all that time we always referred to it by its complete name: “Rod Stewart’s mic stand”

Wow, that's wild. Makes sense, I mean, I'd probably seriously injure myself or someone else if I threw a regular stand like he did!

 

[jerry]

First time I ever heard about Tetsu was when my bandmate came back from a Rod Stewart concert circa 1975 or ‘76 and was raving about the bass player.

After the show my bandmate was standing at the edge of the stage watching the roadies tear down, and the guy packing up Rod’s mic stand saw my buddy watching and said “hey kid…catch!” and threw the stand to him.

Turns out the reason Rod Stewart was able to whip the mic stand around and toss it into the air so effortlessly is because it was a super-lightweight stand made of thin aluminum, practically as thin as a soda can.

For years afterwards we carried Rod Stewart’s mic stand around to all our rehearsals and gigs, and it eventually took up residency in a recording studio where my bandmate and I worked until 1981.

In all that time we always referred to it by its complete name: “Rod Stewart’s mic stand”

James Brown had the weighted base Mic stands that would always land upright when he would dip them.

 

[Michedelic]

he came into focus as the one who kept FREE alive after the departure of Andy Fraser, he recorded the successful Heartbreaker LP and toured with them before moving on to Faces, then banking his career as a reliable sideman, most notably with Rod Stewart. in the '90s he packed it in for music and moved to Japan's countryside with his family.
View attachment 7382460

That’s a great picture, I’m guessing that’s Keith Moon he’s rocking out with.
Him joining the Faces as they started to fracture must have been a bit stressful, but at that point, from what I gather, there was no love lost between Rod and Ronnie Lane.

 

[Bass V]

FREE in Japan - July 15 1972 to play two shows with Emerson, Lake & Palmer in Tokyo and Osaka
photo-Koh Hasebe

 

[Michedelic]

he came into focus as the one who kept FREE alive after the departure of Andy Fraser, he recorded the successful Heartbreaker LP and toured with them before moving on to Faces, then banking his career as a reliable sideman, most notably with Rod Stewart. in the '90s he packed it in for music and moved to Japan's countryside with his family.
View attachment 7382460

Here’s a detailed obituary/overview of his life and career…

Former Free and Faces bassist Tetsu Yamauchi dead at 79 — Louder

Tetsu Yamauchi replaced Andy Fraser in Free and Ronnie Lane in the Faces

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