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BigMusicGeek.com recently conducted an interview with legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, David Lee Roth, Talas).
BigMusicGeek.com: What ultimately led you to your decision to no longer work with David Lee Roth following the release of (1988's) "Skyscraper"? Was there the proverbial "creative differences," or was it something on a more personal level?
Billy: "Dave took a chance. He decided to try a new direction with the music. In a way, he was right because he wanted to mix dance beats into the music. He was like, 'We need to be more dance-orientated.' And I was like, 'That's great', but it just wasn't me. I just couldn't get up there and do that kind of thing. So I was gone, but in a way he was right because dance music did become the next giant thing and now that's pretty much all there is. I call it karaoke aerobics. It's basically people doing karaoke because they're singers who don't really sing on their records and just get pitch-corrected. And then they get eight to twelve people to do aerobics next to them and that's ninety percent of the music that you see on TV now. So in a way, he was right, but the problem with doin' a switch like that when you're a rocker guy is that the rockers are going to hate you because you've turned on them and the dance guys are going to hate you because you were once a rock guy. So unfortunately, he fell between the cracks, but in a way he was right. He accurately predicted that dance music was going to come in. It did, but at the same time, we had a lot of other great music by a lot of other great bands. I just think he threw the dice and they just didn't come up with the number he needed."
BigMusicGeek.com: What ultimately led you to your decision to no longer work with David Lee Roth following the release of (1988's) "Skyscraper"? Was there the proverbial "creative differences," or was it something on a more personal level?
Billy: "Dave took a chance. He decided to try a new direction with the music. In a way, he was right because he wanted to mix dance beats into the music. He was like, 'We need to be more dance-orientated.' And I was like, 'That's great', but it just wasn't me. I just couldn't get up there and do that kind of thing. So I was gone, but in a way he was right because dance music did become the next giant thing and now that's pretty much all there is. I call it karaoke aerobics. It's basically people doing karaoke because they're singers who don't really sing on their records and just get pitch-corrected. And then they get eight to twelve people to do aerobics next to them and that's ninety percent of the music that you see on TV now. So in a way, he was right, but the problem with doin' a switch like that when you're a rocker guy is that the rockers are going to hate you because you've turned on them and the dance guys are going to hate you because you were once a rock guy. So unfortunately, he fell between the cracks, but in a way he was right. He accurately predicted that dance music was going to come in. It did, but at the same time, we had a lot of other great music by a lot of other great bands. I just think he threw the dice and they just didn't come up with the number he needed."
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