Courtesy of Leo Lyons Com

Among the great success stories to emerge from the original Woodstock Festival in 1969, British blues barons Ten Years After were essentially a one-trick pony; however their singular stunt afforded the lads several hit albums, extensive FM radio play, and two unquestionable classic rock anthems: “I’m Going Home” and “I’d Love to Change the World.”

Leo Lyon’s battered Fender Jazz looked like a toy in the hands of this towering bassist. Though Leo gave the appearance that he was savagely attacking his instrument as his right hand visibly thumped the strings while his left hand flew up and down the neck – the Nottinghamshire native is quite the focused, articulate player.

Ssssh (1969) and Cricklewood Green (1970) are essential British blues rock albums. Highly influential on both sides of the pond, the late, great Alvin Lee and Ten Years After are deserving of Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame recognition.

A composer for various stage productions, cartoon and film soundtracks, and MTV videos, among Leo’s high-profile production credits include  UFO, Magnum, Waysted, Procol Harem, Frankie Miller, Richard and Linda Thompson, Brigitte St John, John Martin, Kevin Coyne, Sassafras, Motorhead, Hatfield and The North, The Bogie Boys, The Winkies, and Chris Farlowe, to cite a few.

After Ten Years After initially folded, Lyons migrated to Nashville to compose, produce, and play various sessions – then reformed TYA again with Lee, then with Joe Gooch in place of Alvin Lee. Leo currently anchors Leo Lyons & Hundred Seventy Split, wherein he also works his craft on the doghouse.

A Conversation with Leo Lyons: 

Leo Lyons Sound & Vision…

“I’d Love to Change the World” https://youtu.be/eOCtHjQKySw

Dig Leo and TYA in rehearsal in ‘69 https://youtu.be/289AGcGogQI

Lyons soloing on “Good Bye Little School Girl” https://youtu.be/SlUAuM7oRTc

Leo Lyons & Hundred Seventy Split:  https://youtu.be/a23S-NEuSYc

His professional career commenced with The Sweet Inspirations as an opening act for Elvis Presley on The Strip in Las Vegas.

A left-handed player who utilizes a righty Fender P inverted, Johnson’s soulful pocket playing, warm resonant tone, and engaging stage presence earned him a position at the top of his profession as an in-demand session player, concert performance sideman, and vocalist. In addition to his stellar tenure with Miller (The Joker, Abracadabra, among others), you know Gerald from his timeless work with the Pointer Sisters (“Fire”); Dave Mason (Split Coconut, Let It Flow, Mariposa de Oro, among others); Crosby, Stills & Nash & Young (CSN, Looking Forward); Stephen Stills (Thoroughfare Gap, Man Alive!); Les Dudek (Ghost Town Parade, Say No More); Gregg Allman, and Carl Wilson, to cite a few.  

KYBP Readers:

Tom Lawton: I saw Gerald with Steve Miller Joker tour, Dave Mason on the Certified Live Tour, once with Les Dudek and later with Dudek, Finnigan, and Krueger Band an all-time favorite.

Doc: I just watched Gerald on a DVD of Steve Miller Band’s “Rock Concert” from 1973 and he blew me away!

Gerald Johnson Sound & Vision…

Steve Miller:

“The Joker” https://youtu.be/tYTgtsCm0DA

“Sha-Ba-Ba-Du-Ma-Ma” https://youtu.be/adAW08eWfc4

Dave Mason: “Give Me Some Lovin” https://youtu.be/MAb2mHRBah4

Stephen Stills “Woman Lleva” https://youtu.be/YuoFOZTkuRM

Photo courtesy of Mo Foster Com

Among the most revered and versatile British session and touring bassists, Mo Foster’s talents as a composer, musician, educator, and author were equaled by his uncanny wit, hospitality, and sidesplitting sense of humor!You know Mo the bassist from his stellar work with a wide range of artists and ensembles including Affinity, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Luka Bloom, Howard Jones, Russ Ballard, Michael Schenker, Maggie Bell, Gerry Rafferty, Joan Armatrading, Kevin Ayres, Gary Moore, Scott Walker, and the London Symphony Orchestra, among scores of others.

Mo Foster Sound & Vision…

Affinity https://youtu.be/LVxTQZLVVYU

Jeff Beck https://youtu.be/P1vduurgxWQ

Mo Foster & Friends https://youtu.be/8VBu5E0WgRM

You’ve heard Mo’s bass artistry support James Bond in For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983).

As a bandleader Mr. Foster has waxed a handful of brilliant jazz/fusion/ambient albums including Bel Assis (1988) and Southern Reunion (1991) featuring guitar icon Gary Moore and drummers Gary Husband and Simon Phillips.

Bravely venturing where no voltage enhanced bassist had gone before, Mo founded the first academic course in electric bass at the Goldsmiths College, University of London in 1975.

Mo’s two terrific tomes: 17 Watts? The First 20 Years of British Rock Guitar: The Musicians and Their Stories (2000) and British Rock Guitar: The First 50 Years (2013) – the latter of which I reviewed for Huffington Post and interviewed Mo are essential for musos and fans alike.

My interview with Mo on Huffington Post for History of British Rock Guitar https://bit.ly/2QVBxwm

My interview with Mo’s Affinity bandmate Linda Hoyle on Huffington Post talkin’ Mo https://bit.ly/35A8d3M

Watch Mo Foster on Know Your Bass Player on Film Season One – 2014, from Mo’s home in London https://bit.ly/2EBNPHH

Courtesy of MC 5 Com

“I wanna hear some revolution out there! Kick out the jams mother….” They were among the most incendiary forces in American rock ‘n’ roll. Before bands became brands, these five outcast visionaries from Michigan harnessed the anti-establishment fervor of the industrial heartland. 

With the stinging libretto of front-man Rob Tyner (originally a bassist), fortified by the blazing two-guitar attack of Wayne Kramer and Fred “Sonic” Smith – the MC5 blasted blue collar counter culture blooze into adolescent bedrooms throughout Nixon’s fractured America.

At the center of the storm were bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson who anchored the MC5 with an unforgiving back-beat. Davis’ bass playing was unswerving – quoting time tested motifs as the guitarists waged war. Associated with John Sinclair, participants in the anti-war movement (Chicago 1968), and inspired by the Black Panther Party; not even The Stooges, Velvet Underground, nor The Doors – three pariahs of the same era who were eventually accepted by the establishment – approached the perilous stance of the MC5.  

Michael Davis Sound & Vision

Dig Michael on this live clip of “Ramblin’ Rose, Kick Out The Jams, Looking At You” medley from 1970 https://youtu.be/74jS3dW0DtE

Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joan Marie Larkin could care less about her bad reputation. However she cares about her bass players as evidenced by the innumerable, potent versions of Joan Jett’s Blackhearts on record and on stage  which featured the formidable talents of Kasim Sulton, Kenny Aaronson, and Joe Vasta. To my ears, the classic line-up of guitarist Ricky Byrd, drummer Lee Crystal, and bassist Gary Ryan was definitive.

Ryan’s, who cut a snarling rocker image on video and on stage, plied lower register passages which exuded harmonic and rhythmic movement within the constraints of three basic chords and a no-frills back-beat, anchoring such killer slabs as Album (1983) and Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth (1984).  

Kudos to Ms. Jett for her dedication, consummate work ethic, songs, and purist rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Nice to see that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame got it right and inducted the entire band.

Gary Ryan Sound & Vision:

“I Love Rock and Roll” https://youtu.be/wMsazR6Tnf8

“Do You Wanna Touch” https://youtu.be/DSqp-W1pWoU

“Fake Friends” https://youtu.be/Q9kZWlIgKyU

There are a select few players you must see before we depart this mortal coil for that great gig in the sky (I hope they have backline!) …and this is one of them, regardless of what genre(s) speak to you as a fan and / or a musician.

The noble undertaking of every bass player is to make those around him or her sound better -which brings us to virtuoso Billy Sheehan, who has been plying his craft before millions on record and on stage for over 40 years.

Billy’s all-embracing playing technique, which incorporates tapping, picking, and the use of extensive chord voicings, is nothing short of astounding. And Sheehan’s expressive use of progressive, funk, jazz, pop, classical, soul, and blues motifs and rhythms along with his improvisations are legendary – as is his ensemble playing.

His note choices whilst toiling in-the-pocket always bring out the colors of a chord and the composition. Which is precisely why Sheehan enhances the work of any artist he collaborates with as evidenced by his chart- topping metal-pop work with David Lee Roth and Mr. Big; his forays into fusion with Niacin and Richie Kotzen; his gritty post-grunge blues venture The Winery Dogs; Sons of Apollo,  and his exemplary, far-reaching canon as a solo artist – and in tandem with Steve Vai, Talas, and Terry Bozzio, among scores of others.

A true, prolific giant of the instrument, and an acclaimed clinician, educator, songwriter, winner of several notable instrumentalist polls and awards, and bass designer (Yamaha Signature Altitude) – the best way to keep up with Billy is to check his website daily www.BillySheehan.com

Dig Billy with The Winery Dogs https://youtu.be/4qhxvnMDf2E

Dig Billy with Steve Vai and Tony McAlpine: https://youtu.be/3IQ-WWn6mYE

Dig Billy with Mr. Big https://youtu.be/mHGv5FCS2j8

Dig Billy with David Lee Roth: https://youtu.be/C8XnCVA5-6I

Dig Billy with Sons of Apollo https://youtu.be/J_1N8kVYfkE

From Johnny Echols to KYBP: We were musicians, we were not independently, wealthy playing live gigs was our livelihood, we needed to play in order to eat. The reason we did not tour as often as our contemporaries is because we were a mixed race group playing in the turbulent sixties. We were not welcome in many parts of the country, promoters often booked us only to cancel the gig when they learned the racial makeup of our group. We could have played to segregated audiences, but of course we would never involve ourselves in that crap, hence we did not tour as often as we would have liked.

Amen to Scott Ian of Anthrax who proclaimed, “Steve Harris’s right hand, that’s the essence of heavy metal.”

Iron Maiden founder, chief-songwriter, producer, occasional keyboardist and backing vocalist, and video director, among other roles – the bass artistry of Stephen Percy Harris indefatigably defines the British New Wave of Heavy Metal, which continues to inspire generations of players as you are reading this!!! 

Noted for his “galloping” triplet rhythms rendered with his digits rather than a plectrum; Harris’ hammer-ons, harmonics, open-string pedal tone passages rendered with a timbre that allows his lines to be heard at massive volumes are the stuff of legend. Every motif Harris plies is of strict metal origins – no blues, jazz, funk, soul, nor classical references – nada!

With his beloved Precision strung with 50-110 flats, Harris traverses Maiden’s stage as metal god should; propping his right foot on front stage monitors whilst surveying the metal minions who have worshipped his band for decades and counting. With millions in record sales,  box office attendance, and overall longevity in addition to their artistic accomplishments, Steve Harris and Iron Maiden’s absence from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame is appalling, especially given the fact that the RRHOF is an appalling “institution” whose governance is comprised of wankers, gits, and posers… (reckon I won’t be receiving my ballot this year…). 

In 2009, Fender issued a Steve Harris Signature Bass which reproduces his long-time sparkle-blue finish instrument, which Harris has since replaced with a white veneer complimented by the crest of his beloved West Ham United Football Club (see photos).

For all things Maiden, https://www.ironmaiden.com/

“Kick with a Bam! We love West Ham!”

Steve Harris Sound & Vision as rendered by…

KYBP Adjunct Professor Tony Senatore:

“Run to the Hills” https://youtu.be/-odrQck3Ppg

“Killers” https://youtu.be/HYiCnZdG74I

“Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” https://youtu.be/XgwjMfjPqMM

“Losfer Words” https://youtu.be/sete2GLts6Q

KYBP Austin Bureau Chief Robert Jenkins:

“Children of the Damned” https://youtu.be/oY2CHVgY39s

Steve Harris Photos Courtesy of Fender