Post by wingsj0 on Jul 8, 2007 15:33:38 GMT
Will Lee is one of the world’s most sought-after session musicians; he has a musical resume that most musicians can only dream of. Throughout his 30 year career he has toured and recorded with the who’s who of the music industry, Sir Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior, Barry Manilow, Bee Gees, Cat Stevens, Ricky Martin, Mahria Carey to name but a few.But most people especially Americans will recognize Will Lee for his nightly appearances on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ because Will holds the distinction of playing with Paul Shaffer longer than any other member of the CBS Orchestra.
Lee’s musical intelligence led him to master several instruments, and provides backup vocals even though bass is the instrument he his renewed for.
Q: What was it like growing up in Texas and what kind of music did you listen to back then?
Will Lee: It was cool for me because my Dad and Mom were jazz musicians, so I was exposed to a lot of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderly, Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. Also, Dad, a great jazz pianist played constantly and Mom would sing around the house and with Dad. Texas was a place of Country music and early Rock and Roll and Baptist church music-a special kind of Gospel. My parents weren't that into it, but my ears were wide open. I was a little wierd- I used to go out in the yard and sing, pacing slowly & dreamily as if I was doing a video or appearing on TV, crooning my little brains out.
Q: How old were you when you discovered you had a musical ability, and what was the first instrument you learned to play?
Wil Lee: I never realized I had any special ability, but I knew I loved the act of trying to make the sounds. I think I had drums first, but my parents sent me to a piano lesson once, which I hated. That was purely and simply because of the teacher's personality. Just like any other subject you're taught, the teacher's attitude can really get you interested in something, or make you wanna bail out altogether!
Q: Where you in bands at school?
Will Lee: Once the Beatles hit, I was off to the races. I was always in at least one or more bands from then on. Scholastically, I was playing trumpet in school for a lot of years, then switched to French Horn, just before college.
Q: Your mother was a singer, what was her reaction when you told her music was all you wanted to do?
Will Lee: She never discouraged me about that. It was kind of subtle how it happened slowly over many years. What started out as a fun, challenging thing to do just kept going and getting more fun and challenging. I never thought twice about "what to become".
You have received many awards for being a great bass player (congratulations, it’s well deserved); how old where you when you decided that you where going to make the bass guitar your main instrument?
Will Lee: It's funny-I don't know who's voting, but it ain't me. I'd definitely not vote to have me on the list of greats-there are too many! My decision was made fairly unwittingly, as we (our band of 13-year-olds, The Chances R) were looking for a bassist and couldn't find anyone amongst our age group, so I volunteered!
Q: At what age did you turn professional, and who was it on the music circuit that noticed you had something special to make it within the industry? When did you decide to move to New York?
Will Lee: I had done my first pay music gig at age 12 for six dollars a man, so I guess that's professional, right? Greed must have set in early on, because after that I kept looking to get paid for playing! In our lives we encounter any number of "angels" that look out for us. There has always been a great deal of support in my direction. I think I may have generated some of it with my enthusiasm, but there was much unwarranted love that came my way. Here's the story about coming to NYC: I was in college in Miami, studying jazz by day and playing rock gigs by night. A band named "Dreams" was causing a big commotion because of a Columbia LP they had cut under the same name. I and all my Miami muso friends were heavy into this stuff. Out of the blue I get a call one day to come to New York and audition for this band! Those cats didn't realize how into their music I was. Once I got to the audition, I was floating through the process. It was like a dream (no pun intended). I got the gig and never looked back-that was 1971. I was 18.
Q: How did you get involved with session work?
Will Lee: Here's where the angels took over: Dreams was not able to stay afloat past the 2nd album, so the band was folding (everybody on good terms) but I basically had all my eggs in one basket with really no firm grip on the NY scene. I was ready to purchase a one-way ticket back to Miami. However, 2 of the cats who had played with Dreams said to me "You're not going back to Florida. We're gonna put you up and get you work." Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. They were heavily connected in the music scene. Their names? Bob Mann & Alan Schwartzberg. Thanks again, my friends!
Q: What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Will Lee: Hard to say. I have so many great moments. Meeting Paul Shaffer, playing Live Aid, playing each year with the inductees as they go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, writing with my hero Brazilian artist Ivan Lins, getting a lifetime achievement award from Bass Player magazine, playing with George Harrison at Royal Albert Hall, McCartney at The Concert For NYC, having The Fab Faux do well, marrying Sandrine (my wife). It sounds crazy but one of the things that I'll never get over is having my name be listed amongst the greats on the back of The Cavern Club's official t-shirt!!!
Q: You’re the most long-standing member of the world famous CBS orchestra, (from the David Letterman show,) how did you become involved with the CBS/David Letterman show?
Will Lee: It started when the show began at NBC in 1982. I was working with Paul Shaffer on lots of records (Cher, Barry Manilow, my band "The 24th Street Band", etc.) and we were hanging out a lot as friends. He came to me and said he was bandleader on a new comedy/music/talk show with David Letterman and he wanted the band to play instrumental Motown, James Brown and Beatles as the music for the show and would I be interested in 13 weeks of solid work. Thirteen weeks? I was thrilled to get that much steady work. That sounded like an eternity! Anyway, that was about 25 years ago and it's still going strong.
Q: What is it about the Letterman show you love?
Will Lee: Playing with live musicians, of course, but being able to watch a fun TV show (from the Ed Sullivan Theatre*HELLO*) while doing it is a gas-and-a-half!
Q: Which do you prefer, playing live or studio work?
Will Lee: Each one is great for it's own reasons and benefits the other. I dig playing live because you're performing in front of an audience that's giving you constant feedback. The vibe is strong because of the energy between you and the audience. This gives you something special to bring to the studio, because of all that accumulated inspiration you get from the audience. However, the studio is a much more controlled environment where you can really tweak your sound and perfect your parts while you're in there, and that kind of focus you can't get on stage. Overall, live performance is the most fun!
Q: You’ve worked with some of the biggest legends in showbiz, which sessions have stood out the most for you, and which artist was the most inspiring to work with?
Will Lee: That's a hard one. D'Angelo was fun. Chaka Khan, Phoebe Snow. Having played with (not all 4 guys at the same time) John, Paul, George and Ringo is a blessing. Some of the studio experiences can be quite a calculated effort, so I had would have to say, because of how much fun it is to play live, that maybe playing on Letterman with James Brown was a real big standout.
Q: You obviously write your own songs, who or what inspires you to write?
Will Lee: Emotions are the strongest inspiration to me. It's probably easier to state that which is the biggest enemy of writing for me, and that's self-consciousness.
Q: Which make of guitars do you use?
Will Lee: I like a huge variety. I have Fender Jazz basses, Sadowskys, Pedullah fretlesses. Of course for Beatles music, you have to use Hofner and Rickenbacker, with the occasional Fender VI (six-string guitar with strings an octave lower than normal) and 1966 Fender Jazz bass for some of the songs from the White Album!
Q: One of my favourite records which your featured on is ‘She Bangs’ by Ricky Martin, were you sing 2nd vocal. Can you tell us the story of how the recording came about?
Will Lee: I was called in to sing background vocals, along with some other professional studio singers. After we were done, the producer Walter Afanasieff asked if I would stay around and double the melody. If you listen to that record, you hear a lot of my voice!
Q: How does it make you feel, knowing that your style, techniques, have influenced other artist over the years?
Will Lee: I'm not sure that's true, but I am the same way-I listen to everybody!
Q: Sir Paul McCartney, recently included you among his favourite bassists, how did it feel?
Will Lee: It's more than a great honor to have someone who is that high-up on the influential scale acknowledge your musicianship-it's hard to describe in words, really.
Q: What tips can you give to other up and coming artist, wanting to make it in the music industry, esp. in New York City?
Will Lee: From my own experience I can only say, put your soul into what you are doing, and the rewards begin immediately. By that I mean that the satisfaction of playing is instantaneous, in real time. If you are sincere in your love for what you are doing, I find that it's contageous and people just want more! It doesn't hurt to be in a creative career in a city where culture really thrives. I often imaging being on a farm in Iowa, where the farmer is banging on the door at 4 AM, shouting "GET UP, BOY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVERSLEEPING?" I would say, "But sir, I play bass real good." His reply would be, "HUH? SHUT THE HELL UP AND GRAB A PITCHFORK. YOU GOT WORK TO DO!!". Being in a city like New York alleviates all that kinda dialogue!
Q: What kind of venues do you play and where can people/fans come and see you?
Will Lee: I play all over. I love playing live and do it often at small places in NYC with people like Chris Parker in his "Toph-e and The Pussycats" group, or with the Oz Noy trio, or Terry Silverlight's group. Check my homepage www.willlee.com for stuff.
Q: What are your opinions of the music industry of today?
Will Lee: It's changed so much over the years and is still changing rapidly. Don't follow trends. There's too much good stuff out there. Look around, hear samples of music on iTunes for example & checkout different kinds of stuff. Do random searches & surprise yourself. Decide on your own what you like. It's a drag that corporations would dictate what kids listen to, but that's what happens to music these days.
Q: Describe Will Lee’s career to us:
Will Lee: My career is a series of lucky accidents mixed with wrong turns, which led to surprises around every corner, driven by a passionate love for music and nurtured by hard work!
I’d like to thank Will Lee for talking the time out of his busy schedule to talk to us, and for his continued support in our online magazine.
To find out more about Will please check www.willlee.com
Lee’s musical intelligence led him to master several instruments, and provides backup vocals even though bass is the instrument he his renewed for.
Q: What was it like growing up in Texas and what kind of music did you listen to back then?
Will Lee: It was cool for me because my Dad and Mom were jazz musicians, so I was exposed to a lot of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderly, Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. Also, Dad, a great jazz pianist played constantly and Mom would sing around the house and with Dad. Texas was a place of Country music and early Rock and Roll and Baptist church music-a special kind of Gospel. My parents weren't that into it, but my ears were wide open. I was a little wierd- I used to go out in the yard and sing, pacing slowly & dreamily as if I was doing a video or appearing on TV, crooning my little brains out.
Q: How old were you when you discovered you had a musical ability, and what was the first instrument you learned to play?
Wil Lee: I never realized I had any special ability, but I knew I loved the act of trying to make the sounds. I think I had drums first, but my parents sent me to a piano lesson once, which I hated. That was purely and simply because of the teacher's personality. Just like any other subject you're taught, the teacher's attitude can really get you interested in something, or make you wanna bail out altogether!
Q: Where you in bands at school?
Will Lee: Once the Beatles hit, I was off to the races. I was always in at least one or more bands from then on. Scholastically, I was playing trumpet in school for a lot of years, then switched to French Horn, just before college.
Q: Your mother was a singer, what was her reaction when you told her music was all you wanted to do?
Will Lee: She never discouraged me about that. It was kind of subtle how it happened slowly over many years. What started out as a fun, challenging thing to do just kept going and getting more fun and challenging. I never thought twice about "what to become".
You have received many awards for being a great bass player (congratulations, it’s well deserved); how old where you when you decided that you where going to make the bass guitar your main instrument?
Will Lee: It's funny-I don't know who's voting, but it ain't me. I'd definitely not vote to have me on the list of greats-there are too many! My decision was made fairly unwittingly, as we (our band of 13-year-olds, The Chances R) were looking for a bassist and couldn't find anyone amongst our age group, so I volunteered!
Q: At what age did you turn professional, and who was it on the music circuit that noticed you had something special to make it within the industry? When did you decide to move to New York?
Will Lee: I had done my first pay music gig at age 12 for six dollars a man, so I guess that's professional, right? Greed must have set in early on, because after that I kept looking to get paid for playing! In our lives we encounter any number of "angels" that look out for us. There has always been a great deal of support in my direction. I think I may have generated some of it with my enthusiasm, but there was much unwarranted love that came my way. Here's the story about coming to NYC: I was in college in Miami, studying jazz by day and playing rock gigs by night. A band named "Dreams" was causing a big commotion because of a Columbia LP they had cut under the same name. I and all my Miami muso friends were heavy into this stuff. Out of the blue I get a call one day to come to New York and audition for this band! Those cats didn't realize how into their music I was. Once I got to the audition, I was floating through the process. It was like a dream (no pun intended). I got the gig and never looked back-that was 1971. I was 18.
Q: How did you get involved with session work?
Will Lee: Here's where the angels took over: Dreams was not able to stay afloat past the 2nd album, so the band was folding (everybody on good terms) but I basically had all my eggs in one basket with really no firm grip on the NY scene. I was ready to purchase a one-way ticket back to Miami. However, 2 of the cats who had played with Dreams said to me "You're not going back to Florida. We're gonna put you up and get you work." Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. They were heavily connected in the music scene. Their names? Bob Mann & Alan Schwartzberg. Thanks again, my friends!
Q: What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Will Lee: Hard to say. I have so many great moments. Meeting Paul Shaffer, playing Live Aid, playing each year with the inductees as they go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, writing with my hero Brazilian artist Ivan Lins, getting a lifetime achievement award from Bass Player magazine, playing with George Harrison at Royal Albert Hall, McCartney at The Concert For NYC, having The Fab Faux do well, marrying Sandrine (my wife). It sounds crazy but one of the things that I'll never get over is having my name be listed amongst the greats on the back of The Cavern Club's official t-shirt!!!
Q: You’re the most long-standing member of the world famous CBS orchestra, (from the David Letterman show,) how did you become involved with the CBS/David Letterman show?
Will Lee: It started when the show began at NBC in 1982. I was working with Paul Shaffer on lots of records (Cher, Barry Manilow, my band "The 24th Street Band", etc.) and we were hanging out a lot as friends. He came to me and said he was bandleader on a new comedy/music/talk show with David Letterman and he wanted the band to play instrumental Motown, James Brown and Beatles as the music for the show and would I be interested in 13 weeks of solid work. Thirteen weeks? I was thrilled to get that much steady work. That sounded like an eternity! Anyway, that was about 25 years ago and it's still going strong.
Q: What is it about the Letterman show you love?
Will Lee: Playing with live musicians, of course, but being able to watch a fun TV show (from the Ed Sullivan Theatre*HELLO*) while doing it is a gas-and-a-half!
Q: Which do you prefer, playing live or studio work?
Will Lee: Each one is great for it's own reasons and benefits the other. I dig playing live because you're performing in front of an audience that's giving you constant feedback. The vibe is strong because of the energy between you and the audience. This gives you something special to bring to the studio, because of all that accumulated inspiration you get from the audience. However, the studio is a much more controlled environment where you can really tweak your sound and perfect your parts while you're in there, and that kind of focus you can't get on stage. Overall, live performance is the most fun!
Q: You’ve worked with some of the biggest legends in showbiz, which sessions have stood out the most for you, and which artist was the most inspiring to work with?
Will Lee: That's a hard one. D'Angelo was fun. Chaka Khan, Phoebe Snow. Having played with (not all 4 guys at the same time) John, Paul, George and Ringo is a blessing. Some of the studio experiences can be quite a calculated effort, so I had would have to say, because of how much fun it is to play live, that maybe playing on Letterman with James Brown was a real big standout.
Q: You obviously write your own songs, who or what inspires you to write?
Will Lee: Emotions are the strongest inspiration to me. It's probably easier to state that which is the biggest enemy of writing for me, and that's self-consciousness.
Q: Which make of guitars do you use?
Will Lee: I like a huge variety. I have Fender Jazz basses, Sadowskys, Pedullah fretlesses. Of course for Beatles music, you have to use Hofner and Rickenbacker, with the occasional Fender VI (six-string guitar with strings an octave lower than normal) and 1966 Fender Jazz bass for some of the songs from the White Album!
Q: One of my favourite records which your featured on is ‘She Bangs’ by Ricky Martin, were you sing 2nd vocal. Can you tell us the story of how the recording came about?
Will Lee: I was called in to sing background vocals, along with some other professional studio singers. After we were done, the producer Walter Afanasieff asked if I would stay around and double the melody. If you listen to that record, you hear a lot of my voice!
Q: How does it make you feel, knowing that your style, techniques, have influenced other artist over the years?
Will Lee: I'm not sure that's true, but I am the same way-I listen to everybody!
Q: Sir Paul McCartney, recently included you among his favourite bassists, how did it feel?
Will Lee: It's more than a great honor to have someone who is that high-up on the influential scale acknowledge your musicianship-it's hard to describe in words, really.
Q: What tips can you give to other up and coming artist, wanting to make it in the music industry, esp. in New York City?
Will Lee: From my own experience I can only say, put your soul into what you are doing, and the rewards begin immediately. By that I mean that the satisfaction of playing is instantaneous, in real time. If you are sincere in your love for what you are doing, I find that it's contageous and people just want more! It doesn't hurt to be in a creative career in a city where culture really thrives. I often imaging being on a farm in Iowa, where the farmer is banging on the door at 4 AM, shouting "GET UP, BOY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVERSLEEPING?" I would say, "But sir, I play bass real good." His reply would be, "HUH? SHUT THE HELL UP AND GRAB A PITCHFORK. YOU GOT WORK TO DO!!". Being in a city like New York alleviates all that kinda dialogue!
Q: What kind of venues do you play and where can people/fans come and see you?
Will Lee: I play all over. I love playing live and do it often at small places in NYC with people like Chris Parker in his "Toph-e and The Pussycats" group, or with the Oz Noy trio, or Terry Silverlight's group. Check my homepage www.willlee.com for stuff.
Q: What are your opinions of the music industry of today?
Will Lee: It's changed so much over the years and is still changing rapidly. Don't follow trends. There's too much good stuff out there. Look around, hear samples of music on iTunes for example & checkout different kinds of stuff. Do random searches & surprise yourself. Decide on your own what you like. It's a drag that corporations would dictate what kids listen to, but that's what happens to music these days.
Q: Describe Will Lee’s career to us:
Will Lee: My career is a series of lucky accidents mixed with wrong turns, which led to surprises around every corner, driven by a passionate love for music and nurtured by hard work!
I’d like to thank Will Lee for talking the time out of his busy schedule to talk to us, and for his continued support in our online magazine.
To find out more about Will please check www.willlee.com