Bath And, while checking up on his list of credits, I was delighted to see that it was him on bass no some of my favorite albums. [4][7][8] Sklar took to it immediately and began playing string bass in the orchestra and dance band. The foursome rehearsed and cut the first, self-titled album, Barefoot Servants, live in the studio. They did this really goofy version of Summertime Blues as an encore and there was Leland hopping around, with that beard bouncing and swinging in the air. But when I went to junior high at 12 years old, the music teacher told me that there were 50 kids who played piano, and that he would give me lessons on string bass if I wanted. Rick: When you and The Immediate Family were formed, and I know that you guys played with The Section, and that Had you not played for a while, and then so it became kind of a reunion to you guys? He's a legend. The Sklar Signature model is constructed using a unique dual-density construction method that couples a piece of northern ash with a piece of alder. In his work, he uses fretless sparingly. My dad bought me a Melody bass guitar, because no-one could hear the upright bass in those days, and I went through a series of basses until I finally got a 1962 Jazz for 90 bucks. Junior high probably around 60, I guess. And he turned, and introduced me to Brian Wilson. I figure right now, the most important thing is to stay safe. Leland Sklar: So, we were really kind of learning on the gig. Jose' Feliciano At the Top of His Game Talks About His Musical Journey, Eric Johnson Interview: Austin, Strats and Standel Amps, Eric Johnson Interview: On the Road with the Guitar Masters, Shop our popular Accessory products at the new Brookstone.com. Published date: Tuesday, April 21st 2020 - 4:27 am. Leland Sklar Photo credit: Rob Shanahan. And I go, These have been my friends for 50 years, and we still love seeing each other, love playing music, and were still moving forward, and not sitting . Leland Sklar: Well, primarily. Leland Sklar: Rarely did we get a copy of it. Do you remember those sessions with Spheeris and Phillips? And they were sitting in lawn chairs and on blankets, some in cars, and we were a little loud. But, we can intersperse that with All She Wants To Do is Dance, and Somebodys Baby, and Werewolves, and things like that. Although, its not religious. I was like a giant Mothers of Invention fan. I met Sheldon Dingwall at NAMM 14 years ago, Sklar remembers. (Jon Butcher is a great admirer of Jimi Hendrix.) And like, when we finish this up, Im doing a video every day, and telling stories about it. "As long as there's work, I'll be there," he says. The Dingwall is what I used with Phil Collins and Lyle Lovett, and I used it on the James Taylor and Carole King reunion tour. I'm not a real gearhead, though.". And then I had a friend of mine headline it. When playing with Lyle Lovett, the 12" cabinet and Subkick were omitted. And have had Grammy winners, Grammy nominees, Johnny Farina from Santo and Johnny came in and he played Sleep Walk on his steel. He has collaborated with a number of well-known performers and recorded sound tracks. Leland Sklar: Yeah. L.A. had tons of clubs, and I could carry a bass with me, walk into a club andjust ask if I could sit in, and thats how I networked and met people. Im going to do it for like five years and retire. Ill go, Man, youll be lucky if youre still not schlepping your gear in five years. Leland Sklar has a net worth of about $5 Million as of 2023. Youve heard Lee Sklars bass parts more often than you think. He does voices on The Simpsons, and all that. I would say Ive probably heard maybe at the very outset, maybe 100 of them. And then we went out and did the Finally, The First Farewell Tour, was I think around 2004. How he sat there so matter-of-factly, kind of discussing the end of his life. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. Leland Sklar: Oh, no. Leland Sklar: I know him by name, but I dont know him. Because we did that cruise just before all hell broke loose. Its just that the time frame is so flexible at this point, because nobody knows what tomorrows going to be. Leland Sklar is one of the few elite session musicians to rise to the peaks of the competitive LA rock scene. And Im in the Washington, D.C. area. You just knew that he was going to do a good job? When we met Lee he was recovering from an unexplained infection - possibly the result of a spider bite sustained while doing some yard work, he thinks - that left him with a baseball-sized swelling on his arm and a raging temperature. Hearing Leland say his name right out of the start blew Dad away, and throughout the video Leland incorporated all of the customized notes that I left for him to riff of off. And eventually, Ill get it back on the street again. "I'm not an analytical player by any means. Leland Sklar. That dictates my approach, rather than, 'Here's a bunch of cool notes'", Kiss's Tommy Thayer names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound, Joe Bonamassa on why he loves the Gibson Les Paul: Pretty much all of the English guitar legends of the 1960s, thats what they were holding, The Lowlist: Def Leppard's Hysteria, the album that changed melodic rock, I had been warned I might be shot immediately but I decided to do it anyway": The unstoppable Charlie Haden, The 1973 Paul McCartney TV Special is not only the most 70s thing youll ever see, its a fascinating snapshot of a post-Beatles McCartney, "The Breeders, Hole, Sonic Youth, The Smashing Pumpkins all had female bass players. A veteran of countless recording sessions and world tours, he's known far and wide for his stellar grooves, wry sense of humor and long, flowing, white beard. All rights reserved. His mother's family was from Duluth, Minnesota. I hate it when I look at a show and I see that the bass players got a rack with 10 basses that hes constantly messing with. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Other than that, I can pretty much get by on just store-bought stuff. Because you get to play music at the end of the day. Remember him? I was listening to, you streamed, Somebodys Baby by Jackson Browne. And I had done so many projects in between, that I wasnt following through on anything. But, I spent 20 years with James. I had a case built for it, but it was cumbersome. With his foot-and-a-half-long gray beard, bassist Lee Sklar has been one of the most instantly recognizable musicians on stage or in videos for decade. We were in South America, and in Mexico, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, all over the States. Sklar has also been a part of the annual bands assembled in support of the "We Write The Songs" event sponsored by ASCAP at the Library of Congress . And Celia was old at this point. Leland Sklar: Well, no. It all made sense with that bass.. Biography: In addition to being a very active correspondent on the TOTO Network, Leland (Lee) Sklar has been a prominent figure among studio/touring bassists dating back to 1970.Sklar (born Leland Bruce Sklar, May 28, 1947, Milwaukee, WI) has more than 2000 albums to his credit (and still counting), and is considered to be one of the "A" players in the highly selective L.A. rock music . But, right now, the most important thing is to stay out of harms way. And for me, one of the good things that came out of it is, on a whim, I started a YouTube channel of my own. Because, for Europe and South America, and all that, it was all stadiums. But, the clubs are mostly gone, and nobodys going to let you come in and jam. Mike Deasy, Dennis Budimir, Al Casey and Tommy Tedesco were on guitars. This group of musicians so frequently supported many of the artists on Asylum Records, both on stage and in the studio, that they became known as Asylum's de facto house band. David November 19th, 2022 Pep Talk Can't have enough birthday celebration..", "Leland Sklar: Relative Pitch - Lee Sklar Gets Up Close and Personal with The Immediate Family, His YouTube Channel, and His New Book", "Interview: bass legend Leland Sklar on sessions, gear and getting hired", "The most recorded bass in music history? Ive got a few instruments and stuff. Has his beard ever got caught in his bass strings? Leland Sklar: For a guy thats kind of been counted out. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was. "The bird headstocks actually come off. But, that list of people is very extensive at this point. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. We had just pulled the radiator out of it to be re-cored, and set it up to near San Francisco, where theres a shop that can do it, because its a specialty thing. With his long, silky, fluorescent white beard, making him look like a holy figure or an ultimately thin Santa, Leland Sklar, one of the planet's most iconic bass phenomenas, sat prepared to shed . It took us a year to get 1000 people. Lets do this. And he gave me rudimentary lessons, and I fell in love with the bass and never looked back. So its more on my frontal lobe, in terms of thinking about the stuff. One of John's superb hand built necks with frets. Leland Sklar Famed session bassist on Phil Collins, Judith Owen and the state of the music industry Exclusive video interview with FBPO's Jon Liebman April 2, 2018 By David Sands When it comes to session bassists, Leland Sklar is definitely one of those names. "It's really not a conscious effort. If you have your physical abilities and your faculties, theres no reason not to keep going. But, theres a lot of people, thats the first thought they have about the music business, is theyre going to get rich. Starting when I was going on five years old, I was a classical pianist. As soon as The Beatles came along, and the English Invasion, that turned my head around. But, I couldnt do it, because I was already committed to James Taylor at that point. Jimmie fit right into that. 11 0 Comments Best Add a Comment We're almost like Siamese twins when we play together. I was just used to being in bands and playing clubs, and things like that. For the most part, I haven't been confronted by anything too bad.". Thats when I knew Id come home, with that Jazz. And I figured Id be in bands and itd be a hobby. Because The Section was Russ and Kootch and myself and Craig Doerge on keyboards. Because suddenly, you found yourself with multiple artists, and trying to make decisions. Because I was co-majors in that. Henry seemed like a genuinely really nice guy. [14] Two other bands from this period were important to his career: Group Therapy (1967)[4] and Wolfgang (1969). So, its pretty impressive. I saw too many people fall victim to booze and drugs, he tells us, and so Ive never done anything like that myself. What, no vat of whiskey before the show like real rockers do? Right? 2021 Leland Collectible Card Contest Official Rules . [24] Their first, eponymously titled, U.S. album, The Immediate Family, was released in 2021. A global pandemic is not how Leland Sklar imagined his decades-long music career would come to a screeching halt. Phil Collins B-Day day 2. Leland delivered quickly and personally, making a video that Dad really cherished. When I look back I rarely look back, because I really still enjoy looking forward. I work with Euphonic Audio in New Jersey, who I discovered - once again - at a NAMM show a few years ago, he explains. Perhaps this should come as no surprise. I like that. Until such time as we can actually go back to real venues. But when I listened to the heads on the stuff, I thought, Man, this is a handful. The style of music doesn't really matter. What are you talking about?" I said, "Hey man, if one of the Everly Brothers tells me to shave my beard off, I'll do it in a second. I was talking to an engineer the other day, who told me, 'Yeah, we had a young band in here the other day. It was silly and joyous and that song always stood out and I never forgot it. Uploaded: 16 Aug, 2008. So when I finally got to meet him as Henry Diltz the photographer, I went, Youre Tad Diltz.. pleasantly surprised how well Steve did it with the vocal. And I was fully expecting to be doing something in art or science. Then there's Jim Keltner, Jim Gordon, Mike Baird, John Robinson - and Phil Collins. A staple of L.A. studio scene, Sklar put his stamp on music of all genres for over four decades with artists like James Taylor, Reba McEntire, Billy Cobham, Phil Collins, and more. Or these livestreams, where people can sit home and watch it on TV and listen that way. When I play, it's like I'm having an out-of-body experience. I walked out of college and never looked back.". I dont know anybody else in the business quite like him. Ill never get sick of life on tour, although I do get tired of certain aspects of it: you get tired of airports and sitting in buses for eight hours. Follow Artist +. Judith is amazing, and we were playing up in the North of England, playing a pub, and thered be 50 people in the place. Leland Bruce Sklar was born May 28, 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He's even signed it! [Both laugh]. We just dont know yet. But, so many times, by the time the record came out, it was like six months later. "I remember my first time in a studio, it was 1966 and I was in a band, and the musicians that were hired to play on the record were people like Carol Kaye and Hal Blaine, and the next few days there's Earl Palmer and Mike Melvoin and Jim Gordon. Sklar recalls the path that led him to become a bass player, and unsurprisingly - given his laissez-faire attitude to gear - it didnt involve any high-quality instruments until some years into his playing career. Weve been, like I said, friends forever. In redoing the neck, we had to strip the frets off, and we ended up replacing them with mandolin wire, which is very small fret wire. . As I mentioned, Lee and I talked about his cool Beagles, and you can see them on his channel, along with him showing you how he played various legendary tunes. The presence of mind. Leland Bruce "Lee" Sklar was born May 28, 1947 in Milwaukee is an American musician and film score composer. The Immediate Family (Left to Right) Russ Kunkel; Leland Sklar; Steve Postell; Danny Kortchmar; and Waddy Wachtel. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. I figured, if I had one note that required a five-string, I'll just bring out a five-string for the whole show. Rick: Oh, thats true. Seven. A prominent bass guitarist, Sklar has contributed to over 2,500 albums as a session musician. In addition, he has contributed to many motion picture and television show soundtracks. I checked a lot of your recordings, and it amazed me, the folks that you had worked with over the years. But, with Jimmie, the saddest thing was, for me, was just when I heard that he had passed awayreally a young man. His ability to play pop, rock, jazz, country and easy listening has made him one of the industry's first-call players. I pinch myself every day. He said, then, "It came alive." World Tour, which ran between February and October 1990, covering 121 dates. by Mitch Joel Thursday, March 5th, 2015. "I work with Euphonic Audio in New Jersey, who I discovered - once again - at a NAMM show a few years ago," he explains. Im a voracious gardener. Leland Sklar plays his Warwick bass at the Frankfurt Musikmesse show in 2011. Its not like one of those reunions where theyre trying to put a band back together, and the guys havent played in 15 or 20 years. NAMM 2023: Duran Durans John Taylor has a new signature bass its name is Rio Dream and its a Dingwall with four-strings, Harley Benton strikes gold for its 25th Anniversary, debuting a Firemist finish and high-quality specs on eight Special Edition models priced under 500, NAMM 2023: Yamaha wants you to ditch the cables with its YH-WL500 wireless headphones for musicians. Ive been lucky, thats the way I see it. So that's been my main bass since about 1983. But the real tragedy is that we had an incredible momentum going that just, like for everybody else, the pandemic just ground everything to a halt. Whats the car? I mean, he was living in Italy, then he moved to South Africa, Texas. Leland Sklar:Yeah. The 72-year-old bassist with The Section, who has backed such artists as Phil Collins, Jackson Browne, Carole King and James Taylor, said he is being penalized for using the platform to express views . [2] Those artists would become the standard bearers of the singer-songwriter era in the 1970s. For me, its really this incredible community of people are sending me pictures of them having dinner with their family watching my videos on TV. "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."-- Aristotle Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Sklar also created a coffee table book, Everybody Loves Me, of approximately 6000 photos from a collection of over 12,000 images of celebrities and common folk giving him "the finger," which has become his signature gesture. Ive talked to a lot of kids, and their whole idea is, Were going to get rich, and were going to do this. They opened for Led Zeppelin,[6] but their only recordings were unreleased demo tracks. And there we were. While finding a video of Tracy Chapman (Bang, Bang, Bang), while drilling down on her own music legacy, I got a pleasant surprise to notice Mr. Sklar harnessed to his bass. How tall is Lee Sklar? We were out, off and on, for two and a half years, doing that. His bass playing has appeared on over 2600. Instantly recognizable by his long white beard, he's been an established presence on the L.A. scene for decades. He's credited on over 2000 albums and has played on a staggering 25,000+ songs (and counting). And I was. Leland Sklar: Yeah. I mean, I was aware of folk artists and the Barry McGuires and all the people, Peter, Paul & Mary. Your career has spanned so many genres. I had won awards from the Hollywood Bowl. And then came off and folded up like a flower. I love an old Boss OC-2 Octave Divider. In 1993 while recording at The Site[22] in Marin County on what would become Linda Ronstadt's album Winter Light, Sklar got a phone call from Michael Frondelli, who ran Capitol Records Studios and was producing a band, the Barefoot Servants. And normally on these cruises, they say all the acts, they usually skip a year or two, because they dont want to be redundant the following year with the acts that theyve got on the cruise. Sklar worked on the Phil Collins album No Jacket Required and toured as part of Collins' band on The No Jacket Required World Tour from February through July 1985. Read reviews from the world's largest community for readers. And I think were going to do it at a club we played a bunch of times, and itll just be us there. The Immediate Family is Lee on bass, Danny Kortchmar (guitar/vocals), Steve Postell (guitar, vocals), Waddy Wachtel (guitar/vocals) and the iconic percussionist, Russ Kunkel. Or you get them, and you just havent been able to get to them? 839K subscribers in the beards community. Fortunately, tried and trusted equipment keeps Sklar on the road and performing at his best. But for me, I only have really, two instruments that I have any nostalgic feelings about it all. Our guest today is Leland Sklar, studio and touring bassist for artists like Phil Collins, Toto, and James Taylor. Legendary Bassist Leland Sklar Talks About The Immediate Family, James Taylor, Jackson Browne and More! For me, theres nothing like a house concert where you can actually meet the people, talk to them, and sort of hang out with them. Yeah. He and his wife stayed for a couple nights, and a buddy of mine from Minnesota, he came. Special appearance by Steve Bailey. Is it just your dogs and bass guitar? 1967 Fender P Bass body. I cant play a note of guitar. Its a monster; its a beast. Also, I have two sets of Precision pickups, and I have them where Jazz pickups would've normally gone. For me to go from country to fusion isn't a leap - I don't change my tone; I don't change anything. Leland Sklar: Yeah. I dont really dwell much on the past. That way I can hit a low E on the fretted neck, for example, and let it ring while I play some fretless parts., Asked if he finds fretless as satisfying to play as fretted, Sklar explains: I played one of their fretless Star Basses and it was funny - Im one of those guys whose intonation is terrible if there are fret markers on the fretboard, but if its a pure black fretless fingerboard Im fine! He still has his baton. Yeah. And my neighbors were with their kids in their own driveways, and they were probably anywhere from 30 to 100 feet away. And I would go to these clubs. I would find these cars really cheap, and think about working on them, and then, it requires too deep a pocket and too much time. But, that should be really great. Rick: Yeah. And we would do the same thing with the group. They had no clue how to get a sound or play in time.'. He is an actor and composer, known for Man of Steel (2013), The Ant Bully (2006) and Playing by Heart (1998). Rick: Okay. And playing with Billy is a handful. Hey, the music business can be pretty tough to figure out. It was his tour for his 90th birthday. [7], On the recording sessions for the album Framed by Dave Lambert (of the Strawbs) in 1979, Sklar shared bass duties on the project with John Entwistle of The Who. [16] On his five string basses, he use GHS Super Steels: .040, .058, .080, .100 and .130 gauge. Was that the 80s? And bullshitting during the show with them, and stuff. I see some of these bands where the bassist has, like, three SVT rigs on stage. And we did the Im Not Dead Yet tour. Of Jackson Browne, he said: "I didn't know anything about this guy Jackson Browne. [8] He created a web presence for social interaction called Lee's Clubhouse. And it ended up taking off. Also during this period, Sklar was in a band called Little John Farm with singer/guitarist Denny "Steve" Aaberg, Dennis Dragon on drums, and Doug Dragon on B3 organ. That he can be in the middle of stuff, and youre completely unaware of him. Leland Sklar: No. But, were down there playing like R&B covers and stuff for a bunch of people who had no idea who the hell we even were. Sklar chose to become one of the dual drum majors. "In my heart, I feel like I'm 19 years old, back when I started. At Jeff Schmitt Auto Group, we buy cars of any make or model. Leland Sklar: Yeah. Rick: What did you do with Phil Collins? Bass Player is the worlds most comprehensive, trusted and insightful bass publication for passionate bassists and active musicians of all ages. We were cutting to analog tape. "I said, This is for me and its become my main touring bass, because if theres one song in the show that requires five-string, Ill play five-string for the whole show. His major source of income is his career as an electric guitar bassist. Leland Sklar: Movie director, film director, or producer. "Well, I have a real 'give a shit' attitude. A 400 turbo and a completely built Jag rear end, and stuff. Rick: Yeah. Its really hard. And I had a strap wrapped around it, and a cord, and no case.

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