Added: 4 years ago
From: sicmick112
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  • shredding is gooda and all, but the songs that are simple but somehow leave jizz stained are the best.

  • 3:40 !!!

  • what he is saying, he lives. Billy Sheehan the solo artist or the shred bassist, is not the same musician as BS the rock bass player. Don't underestimate though, BS the rock bassist. He just pummelled you. Not kidding when he says he was on top. Talas blew down the doors, on your top 100 classic rock tunes. You'd swear they were BETTER than the originals. Live, in a 3 piece, he had plenty of space to put in chops. He did. But he rocked the joint. Like no other. Blue collar beer drinkin. Bammo!!

  • i had to sit thru 3 minutes of crap to hear billys groove

  • Sheehan is a great bassist and a super cool guy. Really humble and totally gracious. A true professional.

  • they just barely suck each other before taking this video..

  • What this boils down to, and he is right is, being a bass player means not playing for the bass player. Nothing wrong with solos except when used in excess, I mean, if you wanta show off there are plenty of roles to do so and too often bassist try to fall into that trap. Now, to get a good drum/bass groove going to create a stable foundation for a song, that is being a sucessful bass player.

  • Billy is capable of playing the bass as a background instrument, as part of the rhythm section. But the same can be said for other great bass players like Victor Wooten, Stu Hamm, Marcus Miller, Bill Dickens, Jaco and Stanley. The difference is, when they solo they also play fast, but the notes follow the key and chord progression of the song. They sound MELODIC. When Billy Sheehan solos he plays a flurry of meaningless notes that follow no scale or chord progression - I don't hear a melody.

  • Long Hair rocks!!! Even Jesus had long hair!

  • I dont know how much proof this video is but Billy has made his career being an accompanist and he happens to be one of the best bass soloist ever...But you dont get to tour with Steve Vai because you got "Chops" Billy is a pro musician All I can say is check out any of his work with Niacin and STFU...

  • As soon as a bass player plays a bit faster and with more technique - shredding- everyone starts screaming "he´s playing guitar".. WTF!!!!??? Why is shredding the guitarists prerogative? Who the fuck decided that? It is - in my book - just an effect of one class of musician who think they are better than other, and for some fucked upp reason think they can decide what is right or wrong - GUITARISTS!! I say - Stop the reigning terror and set free the other musicians !

  • Stanley Clarke including him on his Stanley Clarke and Friends,

    Nuff said.

  • Billy Started with the band Talas in the 80s , he was bad ass.

  • iLOVE Long Walk Home!!!!!!!!!

  • I don't know who told you that Sheehan was just a shredder who plays random blinding notes. As a basis who has played many of his pieces... I just don't know how someone can come to that conclusion. They OBVIOUSLY have never listened to much of his music—especially from before Mr. Big, and AFTER Mr. Big. THAT'S a LOT not to hear; and very little of his life's performances to conclude upon. Most people who make such statements can't play to save their own life, so they make up with bad critique.

  • Nice hair...

  • i understand what hes saying, cause u gotta give ppl what they want, in ur own way cause not lotta ppl might like what u like D:

  • billy rocks... used to br my God

    then i heard all the other guys that where godly too.

    Victor Wooten

    Stu Hamm

    Randy Coven

    Flea

    Stanley Clarke, and so many other speed bassists.... the fast notes are just part of the whole over all feeling... all leads are linked scales played in different cycles and repetitions aren't they??? it's either that or three long sustained notes in a row like an Aerosmith tune or something horrible like that. no feeling?? really??

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  • Dont get me wrong, Billy is amazing. With that being said, lets come down to reality. He does like to play fast, he does like to run scales together. And for him for his style of music and his audience it works...There is tons of feeling..with that being said..Its ok to admit thats hes "square" in what he does. I think if he thought more outside the box he would be so much better and colorful

  • Sheehan playing in Niacin is proof enough that he's not just a shredder.

  • I've studied music for years and I got quite good, but the one thing I wish I could do is shred on a bass. It's flipping impossible.

  • "Sheehan bashing"... is this a joke??? He is one of the most respected bass players and performers. If you are bashing him it must because you only understand Whitney Houston or Justin Bieber.

  • Ya that clip at the end proves everything...

  • Sheehan is a master of the craft,and if you have to be told that you are the many who are not.He is one of the few true players that I can watch over and over again and I'm all about Guitar till Billy kicks it off..... Great post and dump the uninformed haters of one of the best. Period ! ! !

  • im with you my guy. billy sheehan is one of the sickest bassist ever! long live the king!

  • mono in my phono :D

  • no Joey DeMaio is a guitar player with a bass

  • Ugg. Not melodic at all. Just silly scale runs and exercises strung together..

  • These 2 chicks are hot

    They have some deep voices though - for chicks

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  • check him out with niacin... just groovin... awesome stuff... ohh and btw thanks for the video

  • It's all coming out my left speaker?

  • 3:01 if you wanna skip the conversation.

  • At @1:04 the guy is thinking "I love you."

  • which one of them is the man?

  • the hair... oh the hair

  • Bash Billy, and I would have to say it's fueled by jealousy.

    Plain and simple.

    He's done it, he's been there, he was on top.

    Bashers, Where have you been?

    :)

  • Wonderful- he spends the whole video talking about how important grooving is and then starts shredding at the end.

  • he a douche too ... he thinks he's god's gift to music

  • he. is. just. a. shredder.

  • Technique should SERVE music, not the other way around... it's a MEAN, not an END.

  • where can i find this awesome song?!?!?!

  • Their hair is making it difficult to take this serious information seriously.

  • I've been Sheehan fan for years, but to be honest. That song sucked!

  • haha, people are jealous of shredders all the time, they just hate them because they can play good, and they think thred is just a bunch of mindless notes, but poeple never think:

    hey to become a shredder you must play A LOT do a loto of music, you just dont take a guitar and star playing lightning fast, all shredders can play good music, and its their choice or not to show that , most people that hate shredders do it because they are not used to itc, theres no such thing as mindless notes

  • @enematrocoya HAHAHAHAHAH what a joke

  • @enematrocoya What is there to be jealous of? His music is corny. He is talented, but so what?

  • I admit he has skill. and talent. Even actual technique.. but Honestly.. that way of playing bass is over-rated. I mean.. it takes a lot to do that. but it's still what everyone wants to do.. it's really pointless if thats all you do

    It's what I say for yngwie too

  • such a humble man. he knows that he rapes ass at bass and still he says this lol

  • 22 people don't like blondes...

  • that is one ugly bass...

  • The proof that he is not just a shredder is in every Mr.Big song.

  • AMEN!

  • His solos are crazy but I don't really care for them. But he can lay down a rythm like a motherfucker.

    I propose that he does the insane solos because he supports so well when playing capital B bass that he just fades into the background and makes everyone else sound great. :-D

  • Sheehan is like a very dangerous animal, is soft and polite and "you don´t really need to solo", etc... In the end of the day, he is ready to cut your head and serve it to you on a plate when he starts soloing ; D Just dont do this at home kids (let me do it!!), yes!

  • These guys are both personally responsible for the hole in the o-zone layer.

  • Billy has so much soul, it's incredible how many people bash him for playing fast. He's just proving that he can play many different styles, and play it well

  • Who's that hot chick interviewing him? haha

  • Look at the interviewer's hair. ROFLMFAO.

  • John Myung > This Random

  • @XxKhSephirotxX look at the people this guy has played with. i love DT but the musicians and band hes played hes alot more succesful and for sure not just a random. although john is a much better bass player.

  • @XxKhSephirotxX John Myung is EXCELLENT

  • @XxKhSephirotxX You're so fucking right, tehres so much reason behind what you're saying as well, ti makes so much sense.

  • I keep expecting them to kiss one another.

  • @Benj888 hahahaha

  • all due respect...love Billy...but he's coked off his head here...

  • BS = fine rock bassist. True, music shouldnt be a competition, but everything in life tends to teach us the opposite in the animal kingdom. However, its MHO [only] that if we are to "go there," then truth be told that VWooten or Jaco = much more well-versed AWA rounded bassists, altho i do like much of what BS has done in the rock genre.

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  • just amazing!

  • Hair fail

  • Nice head Mr. Interviewer...

  • Is this seriously Billy? He looks nothing like he does now! (Which is what I'm used to)

  • I didn't need a proof ;-).

    He's just that genius :P.

  • Billy is a class act.

    Man, I miss the 80's and 90's. You know, that era of REAL music...

  • Like the interviewer's silver boots. WTF?

  • search about lalo carrillo... he is groove!

  • 好帥喔!!~~

  • I wonder how long it took both guys to tease their hair lol. Miss 80's music but the "dudes imitating chicks" look can stay dead.

  • @jhushx hahahah have you been outside in the past 5 years?

  • Stop criticizing the musicians & just listen to them play, please. 

  • he's right, this is cool, and he rocks

  • Billy Sheehan is a GREAT bassist! If he was a failed guitarist shredding on bass...OBVIOUSLY he would be using a pick, not 3 fingers, THEREFORE debunking the myth of Billy Sheehan being a failed guitarist!

  • :D i think people should do what ever they want to do ^_^

  • @bcbluecheese Thumbs up for a much needed simple comment ^.^

  • @Mindlabytinth :D ohh yeaaa

  • music isnt about performing, its about making music

  • @XxDisciple666xX Exactly. Thank You.

    I like Billy. Great bassist. But, the old attitude of the purpose of music being to entertain people, and perform for as many people as possible is just pathetic. It's a shallow approach to the art. Just make the music, and make it good. I'm not against performing or entertaining, but it's NOT the base purpose of music.

  • @PorcupineFloyd68

    Good point. I'm going with what Wooten said, "Music is a language".

  • @PorcupineFloyd68 So you're saying the sole purpose of music is just to make money? Everything is about money these days. Can we leave the people who do what they do because of the heart they put into it alone? Billy does it cuz he loves to entertain. He could make zilch doing this and he'd still do it. WHY? Cuz there are a few of us out here who still love it! As long as we're here, Billy will keep playing! Get over it and stop being so brainwashed! EVERYTHING isn't about money!

  • @bluesruley2k No, I said NOTHING about money. I said MUSIC. It's about MUSIC. You don't create it for money either. You create MUSIC for the purpose of creating MUSIC, because you love the MUSIC. Not for entertainment or performance. Those are all after thoughts, and by products (if you're lucky). The sole intention should be to create MUSIC that (to your ear) is good.

    I don't know where you pulled that money bit from. You should probably read it again before making such gross overstatements.

  • @PorcupineFloyd68: nice. & true, that. +1. "Dig" that.

  • Who is the interviewer? Looks like David Bach, bassist of Guardian in the 80's.

    If VH won't cut his son loose and get Mike back, I wish they would get Sheehan.

  • @calbeza: Then that would be TWO guitarists on stage. ;P, J / K. That might or might not debatedly be overkill, but still would be interesting AWA cool to see.

  • Look at that guy's boots. 3:02. LMFAO.

  • I wish my hair was that cool.

  • not JUST a shredder? Its like pff you are just a shredder :P

  • The hair makes this look like an intro to a gay porno movie.

  • @Kohe321 You watch a lot of them?

  • @Kohe321 actually it just makes it look like it was filmed in the 80's...

  • Which one looks more like David Coverdale?

  • Well I've always believe he's one of the best. Very down to earth. The cocky ones are those without talent! This man is a God.. His passion is pure!

  • wow that song at the end is beautiful, love the harmonies he gets with the 2 basses

  • Sheehan's hair is cool. The other dude looks like a tool.

  • i think if both of them put their hair together, they could make a ship that would make it to mars, and using their hair power establish a colony out there

  • @pntballfreek bwwaaahahahah!

  • @lastinlineband1 my job here is done haha

  • "Just" a shredder, as if it's easy. If it's so easy then let's see the critics do it. Oh that's right, they can't. If they could, they wouldn't feel the need to criticize to begin with. They need to take their small dicks and inferiority complex elsewhere, or better yet, just shut up and play.

  • @PinkPoodle1988 "shred" is dedication, and practice, but not artistry in the sense that other styles can be. when a man sits in his room and plays arpeggios till his fingers bleed, i suppose he deserves credit, but i think he should instead invest that time and energy elsewhere, because he could probably achieve more, and become a more well rounded player.

  • @IJmackdaddy I'll say it again: All players have their strong and weak points. Some are really fast, some have amazing improv skills, some are well versed in many styles, and so on. That said, there's really no need for competition and stuff, and no matter how good you are at what you do, there will always be someone better. The point is though, nobody ever bashes someone like B.B. King for doing his same old thing forever, yet they'll bash someone like Yngwie for doing his same old thing.

  • And regarding theory and whether or not a player needs it, for one, music came first, theory came second.Two, it's ironic that most of the players these critics idolize(lots of the early blues and rock greats) most knew little or no theory... why is that ok?Oh I know, because they didn't play fast, they didn't give these critics an inferiority complex, so that's ok.Anyways, it's definitely good to know some theory, but the way these nerdy critics act all anal about it is completely ridiculous /:

  • And I am so fucking sick of talentless people who are in reality just too lazy to ever practice always saying negative shit about "shred."Whether we're talking guitar, bass, whatever, its ridiculous and obviously just jealousy.Someone is a good player and these losers will try and find ANY weak point the player has to make themselves feel better, even if the "weak point" is non-existent.Besides, all players have their strong and weak points.

  • @PinkPoodle1988 I totally agree w/ you, and most of them don´t even know the astrists many times they just judge an artist for a solo or a video. Even Micheal Angelo Batio has some melodic and slower stuff but those fags always say bullshit about them w/o knowing

  • He's one of the best bassists ever, I think it's ridiculous that any "proof" of anything is even needed to begin with. Uhh... well hmm... let's just look at his career, that's "proof" enough that he's good. Now as for the armchair critics, where are their careers, and where is their "proof?" They need to shut the hell up already. If they spent even half the time actually practicing as they do criticizing people way better than they'll ever be, then maybe they'd have a career in music as well.

  • Dont hate me this guy is one of the best

    but i cant dig his bass tone i dont know why it sounds reaaaally grainy

  • this dude sucks how can he say that techinque is not important , thats like learining how to ride a bike with out traning wheels this guy holds no grove knows nothing about bass playing and just cant play.. hes not good he knows nothing and his solos suck honestly

  • only one person has bashed Billy. . . the JEALOUS person!!!! The dude is a monster on every level of musicianship.....get real, naysayers!!! Don't hate....

  • i can agree that he isnt JUST a shredder, but id like to see more than shredding when he does do a solo. Bassists like Cliff Burton, Victor Wooten, and Stu Hamm can all play insane, but they also have slower, clean solos that are amazing. Its that small element that impresses me most. I respect Billy very much, and he is tons better than I am, but all this is just my opinion

  • who cares if people just shred, most of the time people who shred alot can hold a groove just as well, there's no reason to bash someone for doing wat they like doing, unless that stops you from doing wat you do

  • He's the man. Met him in Pittsburgh and he was the most humble cool dude ever.

  • His best stuff imo playingis when he just grooves. Check out the groove from The Animal live from the Astoria with Steve Vai. That's in the pocket playing.

  • billy`s real good at guitar he uses it alot for making his music also

  • I have had the priviledge of meeting Billy Sheehan after a G3 gig (he was Steve Vai's bassist) and we had a brilliant chat. What a really nice guy and a pleasure to talk to.

  • the guy is a genius. and everyone should be aware that they shouldnt get caught up with all his shred videos even though they are very very good.

  • sicmick, im glad im not the only one out there that recognize sheehans greatness. The guy is not only one of the greatest shredders alive, the man has serious feeling for the groove.

  • he should just play guitar, feck sake!?!

  • @SurveyofFilmMusic

    Yeah, I get the same feeling everytime I hear him... Why didn't anyone show him a guitar? Poor bastard, played his whole life the wring instrument and tried desperetly to avoid that people wouldn't notice.

    He's okay, but I don't like his style at all.

  • the hair is great

  • Ehm that isn't grooving, the drum is grooving and Billy plays a solo over it, like he always does..

  • @onerom666111666

    there is also a bass groove in the background.  2 basses?

  • Yup but you would have the same effect if the back groove was played by a beginner, it doesn't really groove. Listen to let's say Tal Wilkenfeld or Pino Paladino and you know what grooving is.

  • lol pino paladino is a personal favorite of mine :)

    I dont wanna start an argument or anything but Billy Sheehan is actually pretty good at grooving.

  • This sounds like shit

  • Of course Sheehan is a great groover and not only a shredder, but in my opinion bass shredding is freakin' awesome.

    Do you know if he can read at all?

    Does he know music theory? I just wonder.

  • He doesn't know music theory. There is a video of him saying he doesn't know scales and all that stuff... He just learned hand positions, and he knows when he is in the key of c, but does not know what scale is it, or why he plays that notes that he does to be in the key of c....

  • Ok interesting. Amazing... a natural talent.

    Allan Holdsworth, the guitar genius, says that theory is only meant for communicating things to other musicians; it is not music (although Holdsworth is a grandmaster of theory and practice of course). Thanks

  • he did say in a home interview of his that his music theory at this point reduces to knowing in what key he is and the Gmajor scale up and down the neck....a bit on the basic side of things but yeah...he is amazing... he is the living proof that experience,practice and feel outdo THEORY anyfuckin day:D:D:D

  • @kIwiZaLegEND Absolutely right! (I feel bad for not practicing enough though - it sounds simplistic, but the main thing to achieve your goals in music is to... play your ass off). Cheers

  • i hate when people say you cant shred if you play bass or your just a guitarist playing bass you dont need to play the bass a certain way the main thing i think is that if it sounds good to you then keep doing it

  • @lilfili123

    If you like it you should keep doing it.

  • just as long as the bottom doesnt drop out for the sake of showmanship, like when a drummer stops using his bass drum for a drum fill, it leaves stuff real empty and theres an abrupt stop that should have a reason to be there. its ok for the lead guitarist because hes not as important as a bass player or rhythm player to the groove. bass players that shred too much are leaving a roll unfilled and should think about ways to make up for it because bass is the mortar that holds the band together

  • @lilfili123 so right man

  • @lilfili123 i agree i play guitar but i still love when some bassists do solos i think they sound cooler than some guitar solos... Like look at john myung from dream theater...Then Buckethead. hes an amazing guitar player and an amazing bassist.

  • @lilfili123 The thing you may have missed is that Sheehan isn't a "shredder" he plays with groove and melody. Maybe if a few more "shredders" realized that and learnt from it there'd be players who could be up there with him a considered as a great.

  • @lilfili123 deff i think as long as you can play and do it well who cares if your playing a simple jazz rift or metal

  • mmmmm big ratty hair

  • wooten the best groover? I dont know, there are a lot of bass players out there, you can just say that this one is better than that one. Music is music not a competition.

  • @LGshwm and there are so many genres of music. "the best bassist" in one area of music might not compare to another in a different style

  • @LGshwm Truefax. Some say Wooten is best, some say Marcus is best, etc. etc. But it all boils down to whose groove is your personal favorite.

  • @LGshwm I can't feel the groove in Wooten or Marcus Miller'smusic, unless it is old session work Marcus did for Bernard Wright and Tom Browne.

  • touch people=boost my ego=hypocrisy...

  • uhh ima let you finish. but uh. victor wooten is the best groover out there. Thanks.

    just for the lolzy value. sheehans good and all. His style is really hyper and all. Hes pretty beastly

  • i completely agree with him. like look at Paul Simonon in The Clash, he learnt bass when he got into the clash and his bass is powerful and groovin, such passion is what matters.

  • Sheehan is a great bass player. It seems that ppl hate him for his solos, but they're pretty entertaining to watch if you ask me. Besides he grooves just fine.

  • love the bass solo in the end.

  • Why is this in Mono?

  • the bass is a mono instrument

  • The whole video i mean

    Its paned to my left speaker (my speakers are backwards i think)

  • its doin the same to me

  • I think Billy over plays a lot. Mike Portnoy over plays a lot too. Sometimes simplicity works best.

  • Sheehan is IMO one of the greatest bassists of our time. There are really only a few bassists with the kind of notoriety he has. Yes he's fast, but more importantly he's powerful. On stage he commands your attention (I've seen him live). Even with all of Vai's faggy dancing and T-Mac (One of the greatest musicians of this century) on stage, your attention is still pulled to the bassist. Most of the time bassists are over looked.

  • Dude is soo right, all musicians need to see this video, this guy GETS IT!

  • holy shit, at 1:08 whats that thing behind Billy, totally freaky!!!!

  • i'm not seeing anything behind him

  • I know I lied a big lie to you.....

  • lol i was gonna say.

  • @socksandpistols

    "I knew Billy Sheehan was shit" "Therefore based on his comment, I say he can't do it and furthermore doesn't even understand it"

    See, this exactly what's wrong with your logic. You don't have to be Allan Holdsworth or Pat Metheny to realize that (with all due respect) Al DiMeola's playing, while possesing an amazing technique, doesn't have much heart. Anyone out there, musician or not can feel the lack of soul in it.

  • It's precisely musicians, often young, that get a stiffy when a guy can play really fast, regardless of whether it has any artistic or emotional value. They forget that technique is a means to an end. not an end onto itself.

    Nearly all musicians go through this stage in the beginning. The thing is, you're supposed to grow out of it...

  • It's been my experience that musicians who tried to perform the more advanced techniques and thought it was too much work are the most vocally opposed to said techniques. Or in the case of bass, try to limit its role to just playing the groove, in the pocket, forever, no solos, nothing flashy, minimalist, stagnant, unoticeable - because that's all they can do. But you're right, DiMeola's a great player, but doesn't have a drop of feeling.

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  • Having said all that, I can't think of one song any shredder has done that was noteworthy just on the basis of "the song".

  • wow. i knew billy sheehan was shit, but this video opened my eyes to the true scale of his ineptitude. (that means he's awful for you idiots)

  • @marcthelark HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!