Tony Levin Interview – Sting & Peter Gabriel Tour 2016
Article by Eric Larson, © Copyright 2016 FretlessBass.com
We caught up with Tony Levin while he was on tour for the Sting & Peter Gabriel 2016 “Rock Paper Scissors” Tour. This is a unique tour with Sting and Peter Gabriel sharing the stage with a mixed group of members from both of their long-time touring bands. Tony was very generous with his time, as always, and gave us some interesting insight into the tour setup from his unique perspective, including some information on his legendary, road-worn equipment.
FB: You are currently on tour with Sting and Peter Gabriel. Tell me a bit about that tour.
Tony Levin: It’s a lot of fun (and I’m writing now from a hotel on the morning of a show day.) The main takeaway for me has been that, though I knew Sting is a very good bass player, he’s really, really good – so, even after quite a few shows, I’m still fascinated by watching his techniques from up close, and digging the feel he gets on his 8th note grooves – really a learning experience for me.
How we’ve worked out the bass playing on the tour is like everything about the two bands – it’s shared in a number of ways. Sometimes Sting has asked me to reinforce the low part of his bass line on one of his songs (or just be there playing it in case he wants to dance a bit and take a few bars off from playing.) I do that on 5-string, or the synth that I use on a few of Peter’s songs. On Peter’s “Big Time” Sting joins in on bass, doubling the synth part I’m playing. And there are songs of Peter’s that have just me on bass. There are no separate sets, just alternating or intermingling of Sting and Peter and the players of both bands. It’s no wonder we’re having fun. Another note that, for me, this is the first time touring with Sting’s great drummer Vinnie Collaiuta, though I’ve done a lot of albums with him, so that’s a hoot for us too.
FB: I am based in Boston, and know you grew up in the area. How does it feel to be playing live in the Boston area after all these years?
Tony Levin: I live only 4 hours away from Boston, in the Albany NY area. I don’t come in regularly, though certainly for Pats games whenever I’m not touring (Foxboro is only 3 1/2 hours, and it’s not a bad drive home if we win!). I have some family and some close friends, so it’s great to come to town and see some of them. At shows, like Worcester, I can also see people I know, but only for a few minutes, in crowded situations, so that’s just doing the best you can.
FB: What equipment and basses do you have on this tour?
Tony Levin: Got the MM5, and a very vintage StingRay 4 that I use for Peter’s “Don’t Give Up” and his soul version of Sting’s “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free”. Have the Music Man “Sledge” model fretless 4, which I use for, duh, “Sledgehammer”! Have the NS Upright, that I use on a few songs, and the Chapman Stick, though currently only playing that on one song, “San Jacinto”.
Other equipment is just some effect pedals – compressors, ddl, fuzz… and an Ampeg SVT.
FB: After all these years which of your basses are special and important to your music?
Tony Levin: I do have some very special ones, though I respect and enjoy the sound of each of the basses I own. On this tour, I have my ‘Toast Bass’ that I don’t usually take out on the road because it’s fragile. It’s an old Music Man Stingray 4 that was in a fire, and turned pretty much to toast, but sounds great. Injected epoxy saved it from falling apart, and as you’d imagine, it’s special to me.
My late 80’s “Barbie Bass” has been my main instrument ever since then — one of the first 5’s that Ernie Ball made, and like all of their basses, it’s got a great sound.
My main NS is crucial for me (I have a backup one also, for when, like now, two tours of equipment are in different continents). The NS has such a big warm beautiful sound that all I have to do with it is plunk a low note, and everybody smiles… you gotta love having a bass like that.
On the Crimson tours (and hence now on it’s way to England for rehearsals) I use my “Yellow Bass”… an early Music Man 4 string that I used to paint the colors of each tour I did. Stopped doing that after the 1984 “Three of a Perfect Pair” tour, and it’s yellow with an odd blue figure on it, that was the Crimson album cover. That’s a bass that I re-discovered a few years ago when we re-formed Crimson and I was looking for a particular sound to use on the classic repertoire. So it’s another bass that represents a long relationship to me, and warms my heart.
FB: What other projects are you working on?
Tony Levin: I have a few other things coming out: a poetry book I’ve just released (of my lyrics and poems) – the link to that is on my site, tonylevin.com.
Stick Men have been working hard on a special release that’ll come out in October – it’s titled “Prog Noir.”
King Crimson will tour from September until December, all in Europe and the UK. There’s a break from that tour in October, and Stick Men will do some European shows then. Lots of touring next year, with Stick Men, Levin Brothers, King Crimson, and maybe more.
Thanks again to a very busy man, taking time out of his day on tour to tell us a little more about his life on the road. Check out Tony’s projects and sites to learn more.
http://lazybones.com/artists/levin-minnemann-rudess
http://lazybones.com/buy-stuff
http://shop.bandwear.com/collections/tony-levin-shop
Get music:
