John White of the Mind Behind The Music podcast recently spoke with legendary bassist Billy Sheehan, who will celebrate his 73rd birthday this week, was asked if there was a specific moment that he really felt like he had discovered his own voice on the instrument.
He responded in part (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “Not really. I don’t really think much of myself. I don’t really think anything about my playing. I do what I do. In my mind I suck all the time because I’m always trying this new thing and I’m this far away from it. So once I get that, I don’t throw a party and congratulate myself and put a crown on my head. Now I find the next thing I suck at and work at that. So it’s always a challenge. I’m always challenged and challenging myself, so I never look at myself as anything other than some bass-playing schlep who’s trying his best to survive somehow on bass. So, yeah, I’ve never really looked into it.”
He continued, “I think it’s really, really important for any musician to really dig deep and dive into the deep end of humility, because no matter how good you think you are, somebody out there is way better, no matter what. And so I’ll see some Chinese girl sit down and do Rachmaninov on the piano and it’s, like, ‘Who am I kidding? This kid is a genius player.’ Yuja Wang is her name. Look her up on YouTube and watch her playing Flight Of The Bumblebee. Not one of my favorite pieces, ’cause it’s pretty cliché, but she plays it like a fiend. And any musician anywhere, especially in the rock world, who looks at that and doesn’t go, ‘I suck’, then you need help. It’s really an important thing for musicians because you stop yourself from moving forward, if you think, ‘Oh, I’m pretty fabulous at this,’ or ‘I’m pretty awesome at that.’
So, yeah, I think it’s really important to be really careful about what you think about yourself. I avoid any praise as best I can. It’s important, because you really do shut the door to improving, I believe. There can be no other way, really, if you really wanna continue to grow.”
Sheehan has played with David Lee Roth, MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS, TALAS and SONS OF APOLLO. He’s also won Guitar Player magazine’s “Best Bass Player” poll several times and is in-demand at clinics and as a session player.
Sheehan has played bass on dozens of records and toured all over the world for many decades, with a unique and original style of playing that has been widely celebrated and documented. Starting in his former hometown of Buffalo, New York with the now legendary hard rock trio Talas, he went on to join former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth in 1985, along with guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Gregg Bissonette. In 1987, Billy left to start his own band, Mr. Big and in 1996, he founded Niacin, a fusion/blues trio that featured drummer Dennis Chambers. More recently, Billy joined Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist Richie Kotzen to form The Winery Dogs.
Sheehan has changed the way bass guitar is played. He recorded two platinum-selling albums with Roth before setting out on his own. Forming Mr. Big in 1989, the band achieved a Billboard No. 1 single in the U.S. and 14 other countries with To Be With You from Mr. Big‘s second Atlantic Records album release Lean Into It. While developing his trademark style of playing, he performed over 4,000 live gigs on every continent except Africa and Antarctica.
On January 27, 1999, Billy‘s handprints and signature were preserved in cement on the Hollywood RockWalk at Guitar Center, an honor reserved for those artists who have made a significant contribution to rock and roll.
One Response
I LOVE him, what an excellent example of a good human.
Firstly, being humble, and wanting to remain that way proves how disciplined, and evolved, he is as an individual.
Secondly, he is anything but a less than stellar and unique bassist. In my humble opinion, he is my favorite rock bassist, and one of the best, to ever play the instrument.
God bless Sheehan and many happy birthdays.