Other Artists

Alice Cooper co-founder and Hall Of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway answers your questions!

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livinluvin72
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Other Artists

Post by livinluvin72 » Sat May 01, 2021 2:06 am

Did you ever try auditioning for another established artist? Not starting a group from scratch with friends.
In my musical circles, bass players are always in demand because everybody always wants to play the guitar.
When David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright decided to come back as Pink Floyd in the 80s they decided not to come back with Roger Waters because he was a tyrant. They brought in this bass player I had never seen before. He was good but having seen Pink Floyd in 1977 with Roger Waters I could tell that dark edge was missing.
I remember thinking that Dennis could do this gig. He liked Pink Floyd and he likes the dark side of music.
Or Elvis Presley; in the mid-70s. His long-time bass player Jerry Scheff wanted to take some time off for a couple of years so Elvis needed a new bass player. A guy named Duke Bardwell nailed the job after learning all the Elvis songs before the audition but he did have some conflicts with Elvis so it wasn’t always a good fit.
Or backing up Crystal Gayle on tour or in the studio; did you ever consider those options? Once a musician gets a reputation for touring and studio work, they are in high demand and the money can be pretty good, especially if you have some song writing skills.
Jerry Scheff has backed up not only Elvis Presley but Elvis Costello, Nancy Sinatra, The Association, Neil Diamond, The Doors, Bob Dylan and John Denver both in the studio and on stage.

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Dreary
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Re: Other Artists

Post by Dreary » Sat May 01, 2021 3:54 am

livinluvin72 wrote:
Sat May 01, 2021 2:06 am
Did you ever try auditioning for another established artist? Not starting a group from scratch with friends.
In my musical circles, bass players are always in demand because everybody always wants to play the guitar.
When David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright decided to come back as Pink Floyd in the 80s they decided not to come back with Roger Waters because he was a tyrant. They brought in this bass player I had never seen before. He was good but having seen Pink Floyd in 1977 with Roger Waters I could tell that dark edge was missing.
I remember thinking that Dennis could do this gig. He liked Pink Floyd and he likes the dark side of music.
Or Elvis Presley; in the mid-70s. His long-time bass player Jerry Scheff wanted to take some time off for a couple of years so Elvis needed a new bass player. A guy named Duke Bardwell nailed the job after learning all the Elvis songs before the audition but he did have some conflicts with Elvis so it wasn’t always a good fit.
Or backing up Crystal Gayle on tour or in the studio; did you ever consider those options? Once a musician gets a reputation for touring and studio work, they are in high demand and the money can be pretty good, especially if you have some song writing skills.
Jerry Scheff has backed up not only Elvis Presley but Elvis Costello, Nancy Sinatra, The Association, Neil Diamond, The Doors, Bob Dylan and John Denver both in the studio and on stage.
As much as I respect and admire those amazing road-loving gun-slingers, backing up a singer has never appealed to me.
As for Pink Floyd, I couldn't stand still for a full minute on stage let alone a whole show.
Crystal Gayle would likely be looking back at me thinking, what is that guy doing?

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