Billy Sheehan
Billy Sheehan (born 1953 in Buffalo, New York,) is a bass guitarist known for his work with Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, and Niacin.
Widely regarded as one of the best bass players in rock history, Sheehan has won Guitar Player magazine's "Best Rock Bass Player" readers' poll five times for his "lead bass" playing style. Indeed, Guitar Player has likened his soloing on the four-string instrument to Edward Van Halens' on the six-string guitar. Sheehan's repertoire includes the use of chording, two-handed tapping, controlled feedback, and sophisticated harmonic structures. However, Sheehan is also noted as a steady "true" bassist, fulfilling the traditional supportive role of the electric bass guitar in the rock idiom.
Reportedly, Billy Sheehan is a veteran of some six thousand live shows.
Early Years
Billy Sheehan's first instrument was an acoustic guitar that he borrowed incessantly from his sister. Legend has it that Sheehan wanted an electric guitar, but his grandmother said: "Over my dead body!" Sadly, she died soon after, and some of the life insurance money was used to buy him an electric guitar.
However, Sheehan says that when he saw Tim Bogert of the band Vanilla Fudge using a Fender Precision bass with a maple fingerboard, Sheehan switched to the four string.
Billy Sheehan's first electric bass was a Precision bass similar instrument to Bogert's. However, over the years, he heavily modified it, adding a neck pickup and additional support for the bolt-on neck, which Sheehan considers its greatest weakness. He affectionately refers to it as his "The Wife." [1] Sheehan played it regularly up until the late 1980's, when he began using self-designed Yamaha Attitude basses. These instruments are modeled on his Precision, but feature, in Sheehan's estimation, a number of improvements, including neck-through-body 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.
Sheehan cites a variety of influences, from Bogert to Johann Sebastian Bach. But he calls Jimi Hendrix his primary influence, possibly because his first show was a Hendrix concert.
Sheehan’s first full-time band was Talas, a three-piece power trio with Dave Constantino on guitar and Paul Varga on drums. Talas, with all three instrumentalists alternating on lead vocals a'la The Beatles, played a mixture of cover songs and original material.
Talas was one of Buffalo's most popular local bands for over a decade, arguably attaining cult status which spread into the northeast and into Canada, In 1978, 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 with David Lee Roth,) and the complex and frentic "Addicted to that Rush" (later re-recorded with Mr. Big.)
Talas' first national exposure happened in 1980, when they opened thirty shows for Van Halen. However, success was elusive, and even as their brand of what came to be known as "hair metal" gained popularity over the next few years, Talas remained an unsigned act.
Talas would release two more albums, Sink Your Teeth into That, and, with the addition of a second guitarist, Live Speed on Ice before disbanding in 1983.
Post-Talas
When David Lee Roth left Van Halen to pursue a solo career in 1985, he tapped Sheehan, guitarist Steve Vai, and drummer Greg Bissonette to be his backing band. His first album, Crazy From the Heat, yielded two hit songs: "California Girls" (a cover of the Beach Boys hit,) and the swing/big band-influenced "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody". The next Roth album, Eat 'Em and Smile, yielded the hard rock classic "Yankee Rose" and showcased Sheehan's rhythmic sensibilities. Both albums attained platinum status. However, after Roth's Skyscraper album was issued, Sheehan left the band to pursue other opportunities. Steve Vai followed shortly thereafter.
In 1988, Billy Sheehan, along with singer Eric Martin. guitarist Paul Gilbert, and drummer Pat Torpey formed Mr. Big. Mr. Big had a huge American hit with 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 huge following in Japan. Internal tensions led to Gilbert quitting the band in 1997. Richie Kotzen replaced him, and was with Mr. Big until the group's breakup in 2002.
Billy Sheehan has toured Poland with UFO, and joined Steve Vai on the well-regarded G3 tour. In 1999, he helped to record the widely acclaimed album "Brotherhood", with the multi-platinum Japanese band, B'z, and subsequently played with the band live for their 2002 "Green" Tour.
In 2001, Billy Sheehan released a long-awaited solo album, Compression, and in 2005, he recorded his second solo effort, Cosmic Troubadour. Both feature Sheehan singing and playing guitar.
Another of Sheehan's projects is the three-piece jazz-rock-fusion band, Niacin, which also features drummer Dennis Chambers and Hammond B3 player Tom 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, and Paul Gilbert will be performing three concerts in the end of May 2006 as Amazing Journey: A Tribute to The Who.