- Billy Sheehan
Infobox musical artist
|
Name = Billy Sheehan
Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = William Sheehan
Alias =
Born =March 19 ,1953
inBuffalo, NY
Died =
Origin =
Instrument = BassElectric guitar Acoustic guitar Vocals
Voice_type =
Genre =Hard rock , Heavy metal,Jazz fusion ,Instrumental rock ,Progressive rock
Occupation =Bassist ,Musician ,Songwriter
Years_active = 1978 - present
Label =
Associated_acts =David Lee Roth , Mr. Big, Talas,Steve Vai , G3, Niacin
URL = http://billysheehan.com/
Notable_instruments =William 'Billy' Sheehan (born on
1953 March 19 inBuffalo, NY ) is anIrish American bassist known for his work with Talas,Steve Vai ,David Lee Roth , Mr Big, and Niacin.Sheehan has won "Guitar Player Magazine"'s "Best Rock Bass Player" readers' poll five times for his "lead bass" playing style. [ [http://www.billysheehan.com/bio.html Sheehan's Bio on his Official Site] ] "Guitar Player" has likened his soloing on the four-string instrument to
Eddie Van Halen 's on the six-string guitar.Fact|date=July 2008 Sheehan's repertoire includes the use of chording, two-handedtapping and controlled feedback. However, Sheehan is also noted as a steady "true" bassist, fulfilling the traditional supportive role of the electric bass in the rock idiom.He has also been with the
Church of Scientology since 1971 [cite web |url=http://www.globalbass.com/archives/oct2001/billy_sheehan.htm |title=~The Complete Package~ |accessdate=2008-02-28 |publisher=Global Bass online] and appeared on the street offering to defend it duringProject Chanology . [YouTube|dQZxv1kdrvY|Scientology: Billy Sheehan Interview 1/4]Early years
Billy Sheehan's first instrument was an
acoustic guitar that he borrowed incessantly from his sister. Legend has it that Sheehan wanted anelectric guitar , but his grandmother said: "Over my dead body!" and that there would never be an electric guitar in her house as long as she was alive. She died soon after, and with some of her life insurance money Sheehan bought his first electric guitar.However, Sheehan says that when he saw
Tim Bogert of the bandVanilla Fudge using a Fender Precision bass with amaple fingerboard , he switched to the bass. Fact|date=February 2007Billy became a Scientologist in 1971 when somebody knocked on his door and sold him a
Dianetics book. After he had read it, he became a member of theChurch of Scientology and now holds a level of OT III (Operating Thetan Level 3).Electric bass customiser
Billy Sheehan's first electric bass was a
Hagström FB, which was soon sistered by a Precision bass similar to Tim Bogert's. After acquiring the Precision bass, he removed the frets from theHagström . Over the years, he heavily modified the Precision bass as well, adding a neck pickup and additional support for the bolt-on neck, which Sheehan considers its greatest weakness. The neck pickup was added for what Sheehan referred to as "super deep low end" modelled after Paul Samwell-Smith of theYardbirds . The EB-O type pickup in the neck and the original split Precision bass pickup each have their own separate output jacks on the bass itself, allowing for control of the tone via the bass. Sheehan also uses two amps to achieve his signature tone (as doChris Squire of Yes and Doug/Dug Pinnick ofKing's X ), one with full distortion and notch filtering to sound more guitar-like for solos, and one super clean for the low end of the neck pickup. This bass has been retired, but he affectionately refers to it as "The Wife." [ [http://billysheehan.com/gear/instruments_34.html Gear article] ]Sheehan regularly played "The Wife" until the late 1980s when he began using self-designed Yamaha Attitude basses. These instruments are modelled on his Precision, but feature, in Sheehan's estimation, a number of improvements, including multi bolt-on neck construction style and an aftermarket device called the "Hipshot D-tuner" on the E-string, which allows him to quickly drop the pitch of the string to D and raise it again.
Musical influences
Sheehan cites a variety of influences, from Tim Bogert to
Johann Sebastian Bach , but creditsJimi Hendrix as his primary influence, possibly because his first show was a Hendrix concert.Fact|date=July 2008 He also claims to have gotten the idea for two-handed tapping fromBilly Gibbons ofZZ Top , who he saw use his right hand index finger to tap a note on the fretboard of his guitar at a concert.Talas years
Sheehan’s first full-time band was Talas, a power trio with Dave Constantino on guitar and Paul Varga on drums. The band played a mixture of cover songs and original material, and all three instrumentalists alternated on lead vocals.
Talas was one of Buffalo's most popular local bands for over a decade, arguably attaining cult status which spread into the northeast US and into
Canada .Fact|date=July 2008 In1978 , Talas released their eponymous debut album, which generated the regional hit single, "See Saw". It was during this time that Sheehan wrote some of his most famous songs, namely "Shy Boy" (later re-recorded withDavid Lee Roth ), and the complex and frenetic "Addicted to that Rush" (later re-recorded with Mr Big).In the late 1970s,
Sheehan also played in a band called Light Years with drummer Ron Rocco who had earlier played in a band called Black Sheep with Foreigner singerLou Gramm in Rochester, NY. AfterSheehan returned toTalas they opened a show for UFO in Buffalo. This ledSheehan to an association with guitaristMichael Schenker and also helped land him the job touring with UFO in1983 .Talas' first national exposure happened in
1980 , when they opened thirty shows forVan Halen . However, success was elusive, and even as their brand of what came to be known as "glam metal " gained popularity over the next few years, Talas remained an unsigned act, due largely to poor management. They independently released their debut eponymous "Talas" LP on Evenfall Records (reissued by Metal Blade) and then "Sink Your Teeth Into That" on Relativity Records.Seeking to take Talas further than just regional success, Sheehan reformed Talas with another drummer (Mark Miller), guitarist (Mitch Perry, also later of Heaven), and a dedicated vocalist,
Phil Naro , with whom in the late 1970s Sheehan had previously worked in his side project (the Billy Sheehan Band). Talas would release only one more album, "Live Speed on Ice". After Mitch Perry left the band, he was replaced by Johnny Angel, who played guitar with them for their 1985/86 US tour opening for Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. There was a fourth Talas record, tentatively titled "Lights, Camera, Action" to be issued on Gold Mountain/A&M, but it never got past the demo stage due to Sheehan leaving to join David Lee Roth's solo band. Talas did briefly continue on under Phil Naro sans Sheehan, enlistingJimmy Degrasso on drums,Al Pitrelli on guitar andBruno Ravel on bass, but by this time Talas was dead.In the early 1980s, Sheehan became involved with the proto-
thrash metal band Thrasher, during this time he shared the stage with future Anthrax guitaristDan Spitz . His involvement with Thrasher did not last long but he did play on 2 songs from the self titled LP, which has not been released on cd to date.Recent Talas shows
Sheehan has recently reunited the original Talas trio for a few shows here and there as well as the live CD If We Only Knew Then, issued on Metal Blade. ("Sink Your Teeth Into That" and "Live Speed On Ice" were combined and re-released as the CD Billy Sheehan: The Talas Years on Relativity Records.) On 2006 December 23, Sheehan sat in with the Dave Constantino Band at Club Impact in Buffalo. Johnny Angel was the solo opening act for the evening.
On February 10th, Billy Sheehan attended an Anti-Scientology picket answering questions regarding his allegiance to Scientology.
Post-Talas
David Lee Roth tapped Sheehan, guitaristSteve Vai , and drummerGregg Bissonette to be his band for the "Eat 'Em and Smile " album, Roth's second after leaving Van Halen. The recording yielded the hard rock classic "Yankee Rose" and showcased Sheehan's rhythmic sensibilities. After Roth's "Skyscraper" album was issued, Sheehan left the band to pursue other opportunities. Steve Vai followed after the tour ended.In
1988 , Sheehan, along with singer Eric Martin, guitaristPaul Gilbert , and drummerPat Torpey formed Mr Big. Mr Big had two American hits with "Addicted to That Rush" from their eponymous first album and the ballad, "To Be With You" (from their second album, "Lean Into It ",) but were unable to duplicate it with later releases. However, the band had a dedicated following inJapan . Internal tensions led to Gilbert quitting the band in1997 .Richie Kotzen replaced him, and was with Mr Big until the group's breakup in2002 .Sheehan has toured
Poland with UFO.Sheehan has performed on many of Steve Vai's solo albums and was the bassist for Vai's touring band from 2001 until early 2007, an incarnation which Vai dubbed "The Breed". The Breed was noted by Vai as having "worked beyond his expectations" and has expressed that he hopes to will work with Sheehan and The Breed in the future as schedules permit. ["Setting Something Straight - The Breed", Vai, Steve http://www.vai.com/News/thebreed.html]
In
1999 , he helped to record the widely acclaimedalbum "Brotherhood", with the multi-platinum Japanese band,B'z , and subsequently played with the band live for their 2002 "Green" Tour in front of total 750,000 audience.In
2001 , Sheehan released a long-awaited solo album, "Compression", and in2005 , he recorded his second solo effort, "Cosmic Troubadour". Both feature Sheehan singing and playing guitar.In
2002 , Sheehan guested onmetal fusion band Planet X's "MoonBabies ", which led to his involvement on Planet X keyboardistDerek Sherinian 's solo album "Black Utopia "2003 .Another of Sheehan's projects is the three-piecejazz-rock-fusion band, Niacin, which also features drummer
Dennis Chambers andHammond B3 player John Novello.Sheehan is also the author of a popular series of instructional books and videos, and, even though he has little formal training on the electric bass guitar, gives bass clinics and has hosted seminars at the famous
Berklee College of Music .Sheehan along with
Mike Portnoy ,Gary Cherone , andPaul Gilbert performed three concerts in the end of May2006 as Amazing Journey: A Tribute to The Who.Sheehan recently joined up with bassists
Jeff Berlin andStu Hamm , along with guitaristJude Gold and drummerJohn Mader for thebx3 tour; a spin off of the G3 tour focusing on bass instead of guitar. They recently completed a short Southeast Asian tour, stopping in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Taipei.Equipment
Sheehan's main bass is a Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude 4 string bass with aftermarket blue LEDs and laser pointer, by Sims UK. He is a long time user of the Hipshot Bass D-tuner which allows him to drop the low E to a lower D on his bass' 4th string, all of his signature Yamaha basses have them factory installed. He also has a special deal with Yamaha that, as he puts it : "The basses in the store are the ones that i play, i don't get a custom shop version and a kid goes out with hard earned money and gets a plywood version."Fact|date=August 2008 Sheehan is a long time
Ampeg user, he has used Ampeg SVT-4Pro amplifiers for several years. Ampeg also makes his signature SVP-BSP pre-amps. A few more of his main rack units are: a no longer produced Pearce solid state dual channel pre-amp, he uses it to get distorted tones, as well as an Ashley dual channel compressor. He runs it all through two or four (depending on venue size) Ampeg 8x10 bass cabinets. He also has been known to occasionally use Hartke gear.ee also
*
Bx3 References
External links
* [http://billysheehan.com/ official website]
* [http://mrbigband.info/?id=video&cat=solo&pos=billy_solo Billy's solo with Mr. Big]
* [http://www.hardradio.com/shockwaves/sheehan1.html HardRadio.com interview by Joey Vera with Billy Sheehan Part 1]
* [http://www.hardradio.com/shockwaves/sheehan2.html HardRadio.com interview by Joey Vera with Billy Sheehan Part 2]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.