Double the Tapping Fun: Billy Sheehan (far left) shreds on his double-neck Yamaha bass while Mr. Big drummer Pat Torpey capos it at the second fret.
Singer Eric Martin does the same for Paul Gilbert and his custom, dual-neck Ibanez. “We’re friendlier now than we ever were,” Sheehan says of the
band’s interpersonal dynamic, “and I’m more pleased about that than any sales figures.” Photo courtesy of Union Entertainment Management
show-stopping moments
onstage and on record are
only possible because he has
always pushed himself to be a
better musician and to redefine what’s achievable with a
4-string bass.
“I know a lot of great play-
ers who use 5- and 6-string
basses,” says Sheehan, “but you
can do just about everything
you need to do on a 4-string.
I think people think they can
solve their problems as play-
ers by getting a 5- or 6-string
bass, but maybe they haven’t
explored all the possibilities of
a 4-string.”
Sheehan’s journey began in
his native Buffalo, New York.
While he was paying his dues
with legendary metal band
Talas, he developed his high-
octane style and an absolutely
incredible bass tone. Playing
a heavily modified Fender
Sometimes music has to be precarious
—if it’s too easy and too automatic,
then it’s not art to me.
Precision with two outputs
he ran through a complex rig,
Sheehan created an inspiring
bass tone that, paired with
groundbreaking technique
and showmanship, made him
a top candidate for the group
that would make him an MTV
and radio fixture—David Lee
Roth’s solo band. In those
post-Van Halen days of 1985,
Sheehan was probably the only
bassist with enough technique
and presence to share a stage
with the flamboyant Roth
and shred deity Steve Vai on
hits like “Yankee Rose” and
barn-burning rockers like
“Elephant Gun” and “Shyboy.”
After leaving Roth’s group,
Sheehan formed Mr. Big in
1988 with former Racer X
guitarist Paul Gilbert, vocalist
Eric Martin, and drummer Pat
Torpey. From the start, Mr. Big
focused on powerful lead vocals
and rich vocal harmonies that
complemented Sheehan and
Gilbert’s fretboard pyrotechnics.
The formula was popular from
the start—especially in Japan,
where Mr. Big continues to
have a massive following. But
it was the band’s second album,
’ 91’s Lean into It—which
included the hugely popular
ballad “To Be with You” and
the rocking “Green-Tinted
Sixties Mind”—that launched
the group to the top of the
charts in America.
