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Billy Sheehan
T his article is about the bass guitarist. For the Gaelic f ootball player, see Billy Sheehan (Gaelic f ootballer). For the Australian rugby union player, see Billy Sheehan (rugby union). Billy Sheehan Background information Birth name Born Genres Occupations Instruments Years active Associated acts Website William Sheehan (1953-03-19) March 19, 1953 (age 60) Buf f alo, New York, USA Hard rock, heavy metal, jazz f usion, instrumental rock, progressive rock Musician, songwriter Bass, guitar, vocals, harmonica, 1970present UFO, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Richie Kotzen, Marty Friedman, Tim "Ripper" Owens, Talas, B'z, Steve Vai, G3, Niacin, Glenn Tipton Billy Sheehan on Myspace

William "Billy" Sheehan (born on March 19, 1953, in Buf f alo, New York) is an American bassist known f or his work with Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, and Niacin. Sheehan has won the "Best Rock Bass Player" readers' poll f rom Guitar Player Magazine f ive times f or his "lead bass" playing style.[1] Sheehan's repertoire includes the use of chording, two-handed tapping, right-hand "three-f inger picking" technique and controlled f eedback.

Career
Early years
Billy Sheehan's f irst electric bass was a Hagstrm FB, which was soon joined by a Precision bass similar to Tim Bogert's. Af ter acquiring the Precision bass, he removed the f rets f rom the Hagstrm. Over the years, he heavily modif ied the Precision bass as well, adding a neck pickup and additional support f or the bolt-on neck, which Sheehan considers its greatest weakness. T he neck pickup was added f or what Sheehan ref erred to as "super deep low end" modelled af ter Paul Samwell-Smith of the Yardbirds. T he Gibson EB-0 type pickup in the neck and the original split Precision bass pickup each have their own separate output jacks on the bass itself , allowing f or control of the tone via the bass. Sheehan also uses two amps to achieve his signature tone (as do Chris Squire of Yes and Doug Pinnick of King's X), one with f ull distortion and notch f iltering to sound more guitar-like f or solos, and one super-clean f or the low end of the neck pickup. T his bass has been retired, but he af f ectionately ref ers to it as "T he Wif e"."Gear article". Billysheehan.com. Retrieved 2011-08-09. Sheehan's signature Yamaha bass is based on this Bass.

Talas

Talas
Sheehan's f irst f ull-time band was Talas, a power trio with Dave Constantino on guitar and Paul Varga on drums. T he band played a mixture of cover songs and original material, and all three instrumentalists alternated on lead vocals. Talas was one of Buf f alo's most popular local bands f or over a decade, arguably attaining cult status which spread into the northeast US 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 f amous songs, namely "Shy Boy" (later re-recorded with David Lee Roth), and the complex and f renetic "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 singer Lou Gramm in Rochester, NY. Af ter Sheehan returned to Talas they opened a show f or UFO in Buf f alo. T his led Sheehan to an association with guitarist Michael Schenker and also helped land him the job touring with UFO in 1983. Talas' f irst national exposure happened in 1980, when they opened thirty shows f or Van Halen. However, success was elusive, and even as their brand of what came to be known as "glam metal" gained popularity over the next f ew years, Talas remained an unsigned act, due largely to poor management. T hey independently released their debut eponymous "Talas" LP on Evenf all Records (reissued by Metal Blade) and then "Sink Your Teeth Into T hat" on Relativity Records. Seeking to take Talas f urther than just regional success, Sheehan ref ormed 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. Af ter Mitch Perry lef t the band, he was replaced by Johnny Angel, who played guitar with them f or their 1985/86 US tour opening f or Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. T here was a f ourth 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 brief ly continue on under Phil Naro sans Sheehan, enlisting Jimmy Degrasso on drums, Al Pitrelli on guitar, Bruno Ravel on bass and Gary Bivona on keyboards but by this time Talas was dead Ravel f ormed Danger Danger. In the early 1980s, Sheehan became involved with the proto-thrash metal band T hrasher, during this time he shared the stage with f uture Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz. His involvement with T hrasher did not last long but he did play on 2 songs f rom the self -titled LP, which has not been released on CD to date.

David Lee Rot h band

See David Lee Roth.

Mr. Big
See Mr. Big.

2000-present
In January 2009 Billy Sheehan reunited with his old Mr Big band members: Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert and Pat Torpey f or a reunion tour in Japan. In April 2009 Sheehan's third solo album, Holy Cow!, produced by Simone Sello, was released by Mascot Records. T he album f eatures guest appearances f rom Paul Gilbert, Z Z Top's Billy Gibbons and King's X bassist Doug Pinnick. Gilbert has stated in an interview that his amicable collaboration with Billy on Holy Cow!, recorded prior to January, was likely a f actor in the decision to reunite Mr Big.[2] Mr. Big is still together and their new album What If... produced by Kevin Shirley[3] was released December

15, 2010 in Japan, and January 21, 2011 in Europe. It was released February 8, 2011 in the U.S. Sheehan reunited with his f ellow Talas bandmates f or a reunion concert at the Hard Rock Caf e in Niagara Falls, New York on July 28, 2012.[4] Sheehan, along with Mike Portnoy and Richie Kotzen, recorded the debut album f or their new band T he Winery Dogs in August 2012. T he album is slated f or a May 2013 release in Japan. [5] [6] [7]

Personal lif e
Sheehan has been an active member of the Church of Scientology since 1971[8] and appeared on the street of f ering to def end it during Project Chanology.[9]

Partial discography
Wit h Talas Wit h Thrasher
1985: Burning at the Speed of Light

Tony MacAlpine
1986: Edge of Insanity

David Lee Rot h

1986: Eat 'Em and Smile 1988: Skyscraper

Greg Howe
1988: Greg Howe (album)

Mr. Big Niacin Wit h Explorer's Club

1998: Age of Impact

Solo Terry Bozzio and Billy Sheehan

2002: Nine Short Films

See also Ref erences

1. ^ "Sheehan's Bio on his Of f icial Site". Billysheehan.com. Retrieved 2011-08-09. 2. ^ "Paul Gilbert: 'People Really Didn't T hink T hat You Could Be A Musician'" . Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2011-08-09. 3. ^ "MR. BIG Begins Recording New Album". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2011-08-09. 4. ^ Gallivan, Seamus (July 29, 2012). Reunited Talas, T he Road push it into stratosphere in double bill. The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 29, 2012. 5. ^ Portnoy, Mike. "MP Studio Diary f or Portnoy/Sheehan/Kotzen sessions - Day 1". Retrieved 11 April 2013. 6. ^ Portnoy, Mike. "MP Studio Diary f or Portnoy/Sheehan/Koten sessions - Day 14". Retrieved 11 April 2013. 7. ^ "T HE WINERY DOGS: Of f icial Logo, Band Photo Unveiled". BLABBERMOUT H.NET . Retrieved 11 April 2013. 8. ^ "~T he Complete Package~". Global Bass online. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 9. ^ Scientology: Billy Sheehan Interview 1/4 on YouTube

External links
Of f icial website Billy's solo with Mr Big HardRadio.com interview by Joey Vera with Billy Sheehan Part 1 HardRadio.com interview by Joey Vera with Billy Sheehan Part 2 Interview with Billy Sheehan..., 8/01/2009 Extensive CD collection published by or with participation of Billy Sheehan - continuously updated

[show] David Lee Roth Former guitarists Former bassists Former drummers

Gregg Bissonette Ron Wikso Ray Luzier Pat Torpey Jimmy DeGrasso

Former keyboardists

Brett Tuggle

EPs

Crazy from the Heat

Albums Compilations

The Best

Songs Related articles

[show] Mr. Big

Richie Kotzen

Studio albums Live albums Compilation albums Singles Related articles

[show] UFO

Studio albums Live albums Compilations

Related articles

Discography

[show] Explorers Club

Studio albums

Age of Impact Raising the Mammoth

Persondata Name Alternative names Short description Date of birth Place of birth Date of death Place of death American musician March 19, 1953 Buf f alo, New York, USA Sheehan, Billy