Rick Beato interview with Tony Levin

[JJTee]

 

[Old Man Riva]

He comes across as such a lovely (and talented!) guy.

 

A really enjoyable interview. Thanks for sharing!

[Woodinblack]

Coincides with getting a Tony Levin orange bass!

[Linus27]

Really enjoyed that, thank you. He's done a hell of a lot more than I knew, a bit of a living legend and comes across as a really nice guy.

[toneknob]

I'm about half way through, but the Rochester/Boston/NY/Buddy Guy/Slime Beast etc material is gold.

 

[ezbass]

If you can source a copy of his book, Beyond The Bass Clef, it’s a thoroughly good read. I recognise some of the subjects covered in it mentioned above.

[Mykesbass]

Just watched. Very enjoyable, thanks for posting @JJTee

[stevie]

Bookmarked to watch later.

 

[Dan Dare]

On 04/09/2024 at 10:46, Woodinblack said:

Coincides with getting a Tony Levin orange bass!

 

Barbie flesh, I believe he called it.

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Barbie flesh, I believe he called it.

You are correct.

[Woodinblack]

Yep, I guess it lost that in translation, as this is most definitely orange!

[Hellzero]

Excellent interview, watched it all in one go as it was really interesting.

 

Thanks for sharing @JJTee!

[BassTool]

And duplicated by me 😆 I'd just finished watching the whole thing and shared it on here without checking first 🫣

[Marvin]

I really enjoyed watching the interview. 

 

Tony Levin is, without doubt, one of my favourite bass players. I'd go as far to say, if I wanted to be like any of the top players, or have had their careers, it'd be Levin. An excellent musician. 

[ezbass]

23 minutes ago, Marvin said:

I really enjoyed watching the interview. 

 

Tony Levin is, without doubt, one of my favourite bass players. I'd go as far to say, if I wanted to be like any of the top players, or have had their careers, it'd be Levin. An excellent musician. 

One of my favourite players and biggest influences. His career would be awesome, or maybe Lee Sklar’s.

[Wyrdlow]

Really enjoyed that over a couple of beers. Good call, mate! Much appreciated. 👍

[drTStingray]

On 05/09/2024 at 18:22, Woodinblack said:

Yep, I guess it lost that in translation, as this is most definitely orange!

The colour of Tony Levin’s Stingray 5 is peach, and only offered as a custom colour for around a year - 1989/90 - orange in some lights and an orangey pink in others (hence Barbie flesh monica!). Ultra rare to find a Musicman bass in this colour - never reissued except on an OLP signature instrument many years back. 

[Woodinblack]

26 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

The colour of Tony Levin’s Stingray 5 is peach, and only offered as a custom colour for around a year - 1989/90 - orange in some lights and an orangey pink in others (hence Barbie flesh monica!). Ultra rare to find a Musicman bass in this colour - never reissued except on an OLP signature instrument many years back. 

 

Mines an OLP signature instrument. But not peach, most certainly orange!

[rodney72a]

6 hours ago, drTStingray said:

The colour of Tony Levin’s Stingray 5 is peach, and only offered as a custom colour for around a year - 1989/90 - orange in some lights and an orangey pink in others (hence Barbie flesh monica!). Ultra rare to find a Musicman bass in this colour - never reissued except on an OLP signature instrument many years back. 

It would be rude not to, thanks for the cue, drT!

 

Very rare indeed. Actually most of the Peaches I’ve seen were from 1988, with the odd one from 1989. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a 1990 but there might be the odd one out there. 
 

The bass on the left is from 1987, it’s one of the prototypes EBMM made for the SR5. It has some unusual features, as does Tony Levin’s, so his might also fall into that category.

 

The SR4 is a 1988, the other SR5 a 1989.

 

[drTStingray]

36 minutes ago, rodney72a said:

It would be rude not to, thanks for the cue, drT!

 

Very rare indeed. Actually most of the Peaches I’ve seen were from 1988, with the odd one from 1989. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a 1990 but there might be the odd one out there. 
 

The bass on the left is from 1987, it’s one of the prototypes EBMM made for the SR5. It has some unusual features, as does Tony Levin’s, so his might also fall into that category.

 

The SR4 is a 1988, the other SR5 a 1989.

 

Indeed it would - and they all actually look slightly different in colour……. so what about the Sabre?!!

 

I’ve noticed Tony Levin’s SR5 has the black switch head, knobs, pick up cover and pg screws like yours - your other SR5 has the standard production arrangement with a white pickguard. 

Edited September 7, 2024 by drTStingray

[visog]

Yes, great interview and he seems such a cool guy - probably why he's got so many (good) gigs over the years. 

Here's hoping the Beat tour makes it over to here in the UK next year.

[Daz39]

Thanks for posting that; I do like Rick Beato's interviews.

 

Tony's one of my fave players - loved him since I heard him on the LTE albums, then discovered King Crimson and the epic trio of albums he was on, and then lots of other stuff - the metallic bass on half the tracks on Union (the Yes album no one admits to owning or liking, or somesuch.)

Love his quirkiness - funk fingers!, Chapman Stick work, love of Espresso machines, some good solo stuff too.

Amazing to think he played for JFK as a teen, and is still making fine music in 2024 - hope there's a live album for the Beat tour.

[rodney72a]

On 07/09/2024 at 23:00, drTStingray said:

Indeed it would - and they all actually look slightly different in colour……. so what about the Sabre?!!

 

This might be the rarest of the lot. I think I've only ever seen one other Peach Sabre and that's the one Tony Levin played in the Peter Gabriel: Live in Athens 1987 concert. Maple board, 3-band EQ. Sounds phenomenal in his hands. I seem to recall someone saying it was destroyed in a fire - I sure hope not!

 

It's a concert worth watching with Tony Levin playing a variety of Music Man basses.

 

I got mine, a 1988, without the original guard unfortunately, I suspect it would have been a clear one.

 

Edited September 11, 2024 by rodney72a

[pineweasel]

Tony Levin is the guest on the latest Bob Lefsetz podcast. It covers some of the same ground as Rick Beato but plenty of extra stuff in there too... worth a listen. Spotify link below but it can be found in all the usual places.

 

 

[msb]

He did a workshop here , and I immediately grabbed a ticket , it quickly sold out. He was down to earth , and funny , and chatty. He talked about his career , and sessions , and occasionally played some parts he made legend. Possibly one of the most fascinating presentations I’ve ever experienced.