13 QUESTIONS WITH BILLY SHEEHAN

If you clicked on the link to read this, chances are you know who BILLY SHEEHAN is. He's what you'd call a Rock N' Roll Veteran (which is a nice way of saying 'he be old'), and from his years in the Buffalo-based band TALAS, to his time with DAVID LEE ROTH (Steve Vai-era DLR band, that is...you know, when everyone could play their asses off), to the formation of MR. BIG, to his numerous guest appearances and studio work and world tours...he's seen just about everything a senior citizen who can play a million bass notes per minute can play. Those of you who embrace the 'shred-head' moniker know that Billy, along with Paul Gilbert, pioneered playing their instruments with Mikita brand electric drills...most prevelant on MR BIG's disc, 'Lean Into It'. Those of you with vaginas know Billy from MR BIG's sappy hit song, "To Be With You", which was all over MTV for fifteen minutes.

While fame may have been fleeting in the U.S., Billy and Mr. Big were able to flourish in Japan, and sustained a career for another decade beyond their initial spike in the States.

We thought someone with Billy's résumé and worldly experience, that he'd be an excellent candidate to answer some awful questions. Thankfully, he was cool with them, and managed to show off a little of his big, shiny sack with a few of them.... Off we go!

SteveC: You're working on a new solo disc, a new NIACIN disc, new music with STEVE VAI, and you've appeared on recent releases by GLENN HUGHES, DEREK SHERINIAN, and PLANET X. With so many projects being released at one time, which one(s) of these takes precedence over the others?

Billy Sheehan: They all may seem to be released at once, but actually it happens over a long period of time. My solo disc, Niacin & Steve are my main priorities now, but any session I work on is important to me.

SC: Billy, you hail from Buffalo, New York originally. The ladies in Buffalo are notorious for being labeled "Buffalo Betties". Is this a well-earned distinction, or is there somewhere else on this great big blue planet of ours that has it worse?

BS: Is “Buffalo Betties” a derogatory term? Actually, Buffalo at one time had more Polish people than Warsaw (IN Poland). On my tour with UFO in ’83 of Poland, we all agreed they had the most beautiful women in Europe. Buffalo also had a lot of German and Irish heritage. The combinations thereof brought about some of the hottest babes I remember from anywhere. I’ll vouch for the Buffalo Girls anytime. Some of my fondest memories! (You know, I might have to investigate that whole "Buffalo Betty" thing. I always thought the term applied to roughed-up, homely chicks from Buffalo...but Billy's FROM Buffalo, and has NO CLUE as to what I'm talking about. I think I might be the asshole on this one)

SC: You dated adult film star Savannah (otherwise known as Shannon Wilsey) for a period of time prior to her untimely passing. What we really want to know is this: How do you hook up with a porno chick? What's the move? Is it the standard "Hey honey, let me buy you a drink!", or the "Hey honey, I'm famous", or the ever-popular "I give good dumper love"? Something else? Do tell... we're all fairly pathetic, and would love to know how to lands us some porno chicks.

BS: I’m glad you asked. I never dated Savannah---I dated Shannon Wilsey. She got into porn at the end of our relationship, and that was one of the primary reasons it ended. I literally begged her on my knees to NOT get into it. I still tried to be a voice of reason to her for several years after, but I was drowned out by the porn people who were in her face constantly. I obviously never got through to her. My best quote (I thought) on the “E!” special about her got left out---it was that I thought, regarding how we treat women that get involved in that mess, was that “We should stop being males & start being men”. I love naked, beautiful women as much as anyone---more actually. But when they are pushed to heroin addiction resulting in blowing their brains out onto the driveway I think it’s time to step back a bit an re-evaluate what the pornography “biz” is doing. True it was her choice, but look what happened. Actually, I would recommend going elsewhere for a date. How about a girl that works at a bank, or has a job! Woo hoo! (Heh...Billy says "Woo Hoo!" We like Billy now. He is NOT, however, telling us what the move is to pick up a porno chick. This makes me believe it's a well-guarded secret. Either that, or he's hung like a donkey, and chicks love the big penis, you know)

SC: You've been exponentially more successful in Japan than you have in the U.S.(You could shake just as many hands and sign just as many autographs in the U.S. and not make nearly the same impression on the American fans), and you've also released more material overseas than you have domestically. Are the record labels THAT much more demanding in Japan, or is there just that much more demand for Billy Sheehan material from the Japanese fans?

BS: It’s not that the labels are demanding. We put it on ourselves to do the same for the fans there as we would here or anywhere else. The problem is—the “Spinal Tap” syndrome. Everyone goes there and disrespectfully thinks fame is “automatic” for a Western band. It’s not. We just worked as hard as we did anywhere, and they were thankful for that. It wasn’t us that chose to release more material there, it was the label. They (Atlantic in the USA) did nothing for us after Lean Into It. The wouldn’t release any special stuff, and didn’t support any releases after the Lean Into It CD. They DID collect every penny of royalty they could possibly extract from us, but did absolutely nothing in return here. The Japanese subsidiary worked every album as hard as possible. As a result, we had #1 or top 10 singles & more on each album. (Hey all you aspiring rock bands out there... how's about listening to a guy who's been humping away at this business for 30 years? Go learn how to drive a truck. You'll make a better living)

SC: After more than a dozen years with MR. BIG, the band was dismantled, mainly due to differences between you and Eric Martin. He calls you a bully. You've said that you'll never work with him again. When we spoke with Richie Kotzen and asked him what the main tension was all about, he seemed pretty unaware of the underlying problems in the band. What, if anything, could have saved MR. BIG from its demise?

BS: Management. Eric INSISTED his little buddy Sandy be the manager. Sandy was not the original manager of the band, never negotiated ANY deal the band ever had with anyone anywhere (FACT!), and never actually had a management deal with the band. But he was ERICS FRIEND! So that made it OK to put the fate of the bands business in his hands. As a result everything fell apart. True to form, soon after the band broke up, Eric FIRED SANDY AS HIS MANAGER! Citing incompetence! GO FIGURE!
We could have TOURED EVERYWHERE! I had promoters calling my house, begging for dates. I gave them the “managers” phone number, and they called back telling me he said the band wasn’t interested in touring. That, in my humble opinion, is totally on Eric.
As far as me being a bully?!? That’s HILARIOUS! I’m the only Mr. Big Member who never hit Eric. Every other band member at one point or another was pushed to the brink of tolerance from Eric’s non-stop abuse that they punched him. Pat, Paul, & Richie included. That’s a fact.


SC: Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you're teaching a bass clininc somewhere in the Northeast United States. You're sitting in front of a room full of aspiring rock musicians. One starry-eyed young fella asks you "Mr. Sheehan, what advice can you empart to someone who really wants to be a famous rock and roll musician"... You can belt out one of the following responses. Which one is it?
a) Follow your heart, kid. Even if you have to eat Cheerios three times a day, it'll be worth it if you're doing what you love to do.
b) Learn a trade and give up on the music business! Go and study how to become a plumber. The world needs more plumbers!
c) Move to Europe or Japan. At least you'll have more than a snowball's chance in Hell of making a living with music.


BS: Answer “A”. Though “B” is true---we need more plumbers, why give up music for that? Imagine a world of musician/plumbers! Awesome! And “C” is absolutely untrue. It’s WAY tougher over there I think. (Hear that, kids? Go learn a trade. Honesty. We LOVE honesty 'round here)

SC: Billy, playing bass guitar as fast and furious as you do develops thick callouses on your fingertips. How does having big, unwieldy callouses on your fingers assist with such menial activities as ...oh, say... picking your nose?

BS: Good question! Actually, if I go blind (as I was warned I would when I was young—for “a certain activity…”) I’d have a hard time reading braille. Also it’s not the callouses that make a good pick difficult, it’s the short fingernails. I still manage to get in there & get the job done though. (personally, I like to get in there with a tweezer and grab a whole big chunk, but no one asked me. This is Billy's thing. Resume interview)

SC: After touring the world as extensively as you have, which languages have you been forced to/attempted to learn, and which cuisine from which country (which dish, specifically) sends you sprinting to the restroom clenching your asscheeks?

BS: I’ve been nicknamed “Iron-gut” by many associates. I’m almost immune to any of that, and continually challenge restaurant’s & chef’s to come up with something “too hot” for me. They always fail. I DID have a problem in Mexico—about 2 minutes before I went onstage for a clinic. It was the coffee! It’s made from water!! Yeow! I made it through somehow, but took about 10 days to return to normal. Lesson learned! (That folks, is more commonly called 'Montezuma's Revenge'...and it makes you poo red, white, and blue)

SC: Hypothetical situation: One sunny Los Angeles day, David Lee Roth calls you up and asks you to play on a summer tour with him, Steve Vai, and Greg Bissonette. The gig pays three grand per week, and you'll be playing in front of large club and theater crowds. The same day, a promoter calls you up and offers you no less than a one million dollar guarantee to play one week's worth of shows with Eric Martin, Pat Torpey, and Paul Gilbert in Japan as MR. BIG. Do you hook up with Vai and Diamond Dave, or do you play out with Mr. Big for a week for the big money?

BS: Dave, Steve, & Greg. Easy decision. Dave treated me like a human being. You’re asking for a choice between money & dignity. (Fuck. More honesty. Way to go, Billy)

SC: After playing with the band for a dozen years, which Mr. Big song(s) illicited the "Oh God, not this one...AGAIN" tought? (in other words, which Mr. Big songs were you sick of playing after playing it for the seven hundredth time?)

BS: None actually! In spite of what went down against me personally, I loved that band. The songs were awesome, and everybody in the band was supremely talented. I’m proud of everything we did.

SC: What do the chicks in Kuala Lumpur have that American chicks don't have (other than small, bony bodies)?

BS: They are willing to participate, and very happy to do so! (Kuala Lumpur chicks are evidently "so horny", and may in fact, "Love you long time")

SC: You've stated that you were the ONLY member of MR. BIG who has never hit or struck or physically attacked Eric Martin". This leads me to believe that Paul, Pat, and Richie, at one point or another, had a physical confrontation with Eric. What were those all about? Were they friendly little love taps, or were they full-blown, "I'm gonna rip your nuts off" brawls?

BS: They were serious! He cried each time, too. I’m glad I never let myself get pushed that far. Non-stop abuse. It was tough, it hurt, it was unnecessary, and was ruining everything. I just kept hoping that it would stop. What a fool I was. (He fucking CRIED?!?! Holy shit, man. Someone's got to have video of this. Pony it up, fuggers. We need video and audio of Eric Martin getting punched by his bandmates and then crying about it!)

SC: Hypothetical situation #2: During a weekend excursion to the L.A. Zoo, a bumbling cage-cleaner leaves the door to the gorilla cage unlocked, allowing the lumbering primates to run free. While enjoying a fruity beverage at the concession stand, you're attacked by a six hundred-pound gorilla who tears off your arms and beats you with them. You're never going to play bass (or anything, for that matter) ever again. How is Billy Sheehan going to support himself once he recovers?

BS: I’ll open up a bikini shop in Malibu! It’s my dream. Yes, a wet one too. Seriously, that’s a tough one. I can’t reach it with my feet! (I'm guessing 'it' = 'penis'...and yeah, that is one hell of a problem... although so is not having any arms)

(Wow! That was a lot of fun, wasn't it, kids? We learned that chicks in Kuala Lumpur are willing to please. We now know that Eric Martin got bitch-slapped by his bandmates and cried about it. We also know that Billy once got the shits from some Mexican coffee, and that heroin makes porno chicks blow their brains out in their driveways. I'd say that was a pretty F-ing killer interview! Thanks to Billy for being able to hang, and hopefully we'll get to see him hammering out a million notes a minute on the road soon.)

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