Bass legend Tony is 70 . . . but he will not slow down or hand over his licence to rock
Jewish Telegraph, August 2016
Hitting 70 hasn’t seen Tony struggle with his chosen profession. “When you love doing something, it doesn’t ‘cost’ you in terms of energy,” he says. “Performing is easy as ever. It’s the travelling that gets harder to hold up to as you age. “I’m very lucky to have my good health, so it’s not an issue for me at this time — but I realise, of course, that it won’t always be that way.” Tony has a good relationship with his brother. “Pete is the older brother and was always extremely supportive and is so to this day,” he says. “We haven’t performed together too often. We toured a bit last year and will again when schedules permit.”
TONY Levin may be 70, but he’s not ready to hand in his licence to rock. And the legendary bassist isn’t allowing age to slow him down.
This year, the veteran of more than 500 albums has already released the second CD from his group Levin Minnemann Rudess, a poetry book titled Fragile as a Song and has just finished playing on the Peter Gabriel/Sting tour.
Later in the year, he will tour with prog rock giants King Crimson, followed by dates with Stick Men in support of their soon-to-be-released album Prog Noir.
Tony has already started to look to next year, when he is planning a photography exhibition based around his Road Diary blog, which can be read at tonylevin.com
First up for discussion, though, is the new CD From the Law Offices of Levin Minnemann Rudess (Lazy Bones).
The group also includes Marco Minnemann on drums and Jewish keyboard player Jordan Rudess, whose day job is as a member of prog rockers Dream Theater.
“I met Jordan years ago, when we recorded the first of two albums for the group Liquid Tension Experiment, which also featured John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy, of Dream Theater,” Tony told me.
“After that we did a second album and a tour. I also did a tour opening for Dream Theater with Stick Men, the trio I often tour with.”
He added: “Marco, I did not meet until years later, when we played together in Poland, on a small tour with Eddie Jobson’s UKZ.
“Both Marco and Jordan are excellent musicians who, like me, mostly live in the prog rock realm.
“Unlike me, they have virtuoso ‘chops’ and can play anything, no matter how fast or complicated — so I’m the guy sometimes playing catch-up on the recordings, but that’s a nice challenge for me, and with practice I can get things right and feel that I belong in the group with these two amazing players.”
Before recording with Liquid Tension Experiment, Tony and Jordan spent time writing together, but his first meeting with Marco was on stage for the first show of the tour.
The trio find it difficult to make time for Levin Minnemann Rudess.
“We all have busy touring schedules and also a lot of writing music for our various bands,” Tony said.
“That’s why it took a couple of years for the second LMR album. But, for me at least, it helped to begin the writing process while on the road — in hotel rooms, sometimes with a small recording rig, so after a tour I could move that material to the next stage easily. Still, two years is a long time between releases.”
The new album also sees Marco playing guitar.
A deluxe edition includes demos from the recording while an accompanying DVD includes DIY videos made by the trio.
“It’s unlikely we will tour because of other touring commitments,” Tony said. “But you never know — things can get cancelled and . . . well, in rock, you just never know.”
Tony doesn’t like to call Levin Minnemann Rudess a side project.
He said: “It’s hard to find the right term. Maybe ‘project’ says it better, because it involves a lot of time, musical effort and passion to get an album like this out.
“I should work on coming up with a better name than project! How about ‘bandlet’?”
The artists with whom Tony has played is an impressive who’s who.
The following list is just a snippet: Cher, Asia, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Buddy Rich, Todd Rundgren, Seal, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Warren Zevon, Laurie Anderson, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Paul Simon, Peter Frampton, Carly Simon and Richie Sambora.
But does Tony prefer to see his name on the front cover or just listed in the credits as a member of the band?
He answered: “It makes no difference — and I can say the same about playing live, which is my favourite thing to do: I’m equally happy being in the back, behind an ‘artist’, being one of an equal band or being in the front doing the talking between songs.
“It’s the music that excites me, and if that’s good — and it certainly is with the great players I’ve been able to tour with — then I’m a happy bassist!”
Boston-born Tony began playing double bass at the age of 10, primarily studying classical music. In high school, he learned tuba, soloing with the concert band, and he also started a barbershop quartet.
Tony told me that a few years ago he asked his parents why he had taken up the double bass.
“They said they’d asked me and I really didn’t have a reason,” he laughed. “I would say that I love good music and I just love playing the bass — hence there was no objective for me, no goal of being famous or making a lot of money
. . . all of which could explain why now, 60 years later, I’m actually happy doing that same thing.”
He added: “I also played piano, as did my brother Pete, because my parents realised that is the best background in music — then you choose another instrument if you like.
“I chose bass, Pete chose French horn, but later went back to playing keyboards.”
After high school, Tony attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and played in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Also at Eastman, he studied with drummer Steve Gadd, who appeared on his debut album, Diana in the Autumn Wind, in 1968.
Tony admitted: “I didn’t think much about making music during my career in my youth — who does? But I was on a path to being a bassist from 12 onwards. If some other passion had trumped that, I’d have switched, but I didn’t.”
His parents were also very supportive of him following a musical career — “and I appreciate now that it’s not a ‘given’ and that my path might have been pretty rocky without that,” he said.
“It seems to be a tradition in Jewish families like ours to expose kids to music and playing an instrument — it had to be violin in my father’s days!
“And, though maybe they held hopes for some profession other than music, they supported my decision and my passion, as well as the same from my brother Pete.
“So, much later, in their 90s, my folks were coming to rock concerts, in Boston clubs, or with Peter Gabriel in arenas and hopefully feeling good about their sons doing something they love.”
Tony was raised Reform, “so there was Hebrew school and barmitzvah, but not deep into it. Our house had matzo, but bacon too.
“I identify myself as Jewish, but not practising.”
In 1970, Tony moved to New York City, joining a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast before starting work as a session musician. He says he “just fell into” session work.
“I went to New York as more of a live player, not particularly wanting to do sessions — but they paid the bills and eventually I came to like the life of different music every day,” he told me.
“However, when, in 1976, I played on a Peter Gabriel album and he asked me to tour, I jumped at the chance.
“I’m much happier playing live, which not only is the most gratifying thing I can do, but it gives me the chance to improve my playing, which is important.”
His link up with former Genesis singer Gabriel is still going strong today. He met Gabriel through producer Bob Ezrin with whom Tony had recorded Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare and Lou Reed’s Berlin.
On Gabriel’s first album in 1977, Tony also played tuba in addition to the bass.
In 1986, Tony developed funk fingers which are “circumcised” drumsticks used to hammer on the bass strings. He credits Gabriel with the idea, and his tech Andy Moore with making them workable.
In 1980, he also started his association with King Crimson after playing on singer Robert Fripp’s solo album. That same year, he performed on John Lennon’s final album, Double Fantasy.
In 1984, Levin released Road Photos, a collection of black and white photos taken during his travels with Crimson, Gabriel, Simon and others.
Twenty years later, he released another book of photos focusing on King Crimson’s travels in the 1980s, The Crimson Chronicles vol 1. Tony has also written a book of career anecdotes and road stories called Beyond the Bass Clef.
In 1998, Tony and former Yes member Bill Bruford formed Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, releasing two albums. He also continued to release albums with the Tony Levin Band, which included brother Pete. In 2006, he released Resonator, the first to feature him on lead vocals.
Tony has performed in Israel a number of times. He said: “I first played Jerusalem and Tel Aviv with Paul Simon in the late 70s, including at the beautiful Caesarea amphitheatre.
“Then with Peter Gabriel, one time, in the 90s, and a few times with smaller groups. As usual, when we’re touring, I haven’t had time to look around much — so I have experienced less of Israel than even the tourist who’s been there once.”
Tony has played on many classic and iconic albums, but he says this is “not really part of my awareness — except when I’m doing interviews, of course”.
He added: “I’ve done a lot of albums that were very special music and some of them became famous — others not so. It’s the music that captures us, when we’re playing. The success of the release comes much later.”
But has he ever been starstruck?
“I’m a little bit immune to that,” he replied, “so with Paul Simon, John Lennon, David Gilmour, I just felt like a professional musician brought in to play good music — and I was very comfortable with that.
“But, perhaps a bit, on meeting bassists Jack Bruce and Sting . . . I was a bit humbled being in the room with someone whose music had shaped me so.”
But don’t ask him to pick a favourite artist with whom he has worked.
“I don’t go for favourites in many aspects of my life, even my listening catalogue is pretty varied,” he said. “I’m lucky, though, to have done a number of tours with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson — both are wonderful musically and great fun.
“Let me give a different kind of answer: I’m just home after a five-week tour with Peter Gabriel and Sting. It’s my favourite tour I’ve done. But I almost always feel that way when each tour finishes.”
Tony, who is married to Andi, also says his family life is simpler now that daughter Maggie is grown up.
“There were years when it was pretty hard to juggle having a meaningful home life with a career on the road,” he said.
And how does he like to unwind?
“I’m not wound tightly to begin with,” he laughed, “but our three West Highland Terriers, when insistent on all licking my head, make for a nice break from work.”
