William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

with acts such as Talas,

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

, Mr. Big, Niacin, and

The Winery Dogs The Winery Dogs are an American rock supergroup formed in 2012 by Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy. Background The idea of the band started out as a project featuring drummer Mike Portnoy and bassist Billy Sheehan, who were aimi ...

. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing style, including the use of

chording Chording means pushing several keys or buttons simultaneously to achieve a result. Musical keyboards In music, more than one key are pressed at a time to achieve more complex sounds, or chords. Computer keyboards Chording, with a chorded ke ...

, two-handed

tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

, "three-finger picking" technique and controlled

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...

. Sheehan has been voted "Best Rock Bass Player" five times in ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

'' readers' polls.

Career

Early years

Billy Sheehan's first electric bass was a

Hagström Hagström () is a musical instrument manufacturer in Älvdalen, Dalecarlia, Sweden. Their original products were accordions that they initially imported from Germany and then Italy before opening their own facility in 1932. During the late 19 ...

FB, which was soon joined by a

Precision bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instr ...

. After acquiring the Precision bass, he removed the frets from the Hagström. Over the years, he heavily modified the Precision bass as well, scalloping the five highest frets, adding a neck pickup and additional support for the bolt-on neck, which Sheehan considers the instrument's greatest weakness. The neck pickup was added for what Sheehan referred to as "super deep low end" modelled after Paul Samwell-Smith of the Yardbirds and

Mel Schacher Melvin George Schacher (born April 8, 1951) is an American musician who is the bassist of the hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Early career Schacher was born in Owosso, Michigan, and was raised in Flint, Michigan. He became interested in ...

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succ ...

. The

Gibson EB-0 The Gibson EB-0 is a bass guitar that was introduced by Gibson in 1959. When production ceased in 1979, a total of 20,844 instruments had been built. History The EB-0 was first marketed in 1959 in response to the declining sales of Gibson's EB-1 ...

type pickup in the neck and the original split-coil Precision bass pickup each have their own separate stereo output jacks on the bass itself, allowing for control of the tone via the bass. The Precision bass has since been retired, but Sheehan still affectionately refers to it as "The Wife". Sheehan's signature Yamaha Attitude bass is patterned after this instrument. Sheehan also uses two amps to achieve his signature tone, one with full distortion and high pass filtering to sound more guitar-like, and one super-clean for the low end of the neck pickup.

Talas

Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan (Milan, 2005)

Sheehan's first full-time band was Talas, a power trio with Dave Constantino on guitar and Paul Varga on drums. The band played a mixture of cover songs and original material, and all three instrumentalists alternated on lead vocals. Talas was a popular local band in Buffalo for over a decade, attaining a cult status which spread into the northeast US and into Canada. In 1979, Talas released their eponymous debut album, which generated the regional hit single, "See Saw". It was during this time that Sheehan wrote "Shy Boy" (later re-recorded with David Lee Roth), and "Addicted to that Rush" (later re-recorded with Mr Big). In the late 1970s, Sheehan also played in a band called Light Years with drummer Ron Rocco who had earlier played in a band called Black Sheep with Foreigner singer Lou Gramm in Rochester, NY. After Sheehan returned to Talas they opened a show for UFO in Buffalo. This led Sheehan to an association with guitarist Michael Schenker and also helped land him the job touring with UFO in 1983. Talas' first national exposure happened in 1980, when they opened thirty shows for Van Halen. However, success was elusive, and even as their brand of what came to be known as "glam metal" gained popularity over the next few years, Talas remained an unsigned act, partly due to poor management. They independently released their debut "Talas" LP on Evenfall Records (reissued by Metal Blade), and then "Sink Your Teeth into That" on Relativity Records. Seeking to take Talas further than just regional success, Sheehan reformed Talas with another drummer (Mark Miller), guitarist (Mitch Perry, also later of Heaven), and a dedicated vocalist, Phil Naro, with whom in the late 1970s Sheehan had previously worked in his side project (the Billy Sheehan Band). Talas would release only one more album, Live Speed on Ice. After Mitch Perry left the band, he was replaced by Johnny Angel, who played guitar with them for their 1985/86 US tour opening for Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. There was a fourth Talas record, tentatively titled "Lights, Camera, Action" to be issued on Gold Mountain/A&M, but it never got past the demo stage due to Sheehan leaving to join David Lee Roth's solo band. Talas did briefly continue on under Phil Naro sans Sheehan, enlisting

Jimmy DeGrasso Jimmy DeGrasso (born March 16, 1963) is an American heavy metal drummer. DeGrasso played with Mama's Boys and Lita Ford before eventually working with Y&T and Megadeth and as a session or touring musician for Ozzy Osbourne (1986), White Lion ...

on drums, Al Pitrelli on guitar, Bruno Ravel on bass and Gary Bivona on keyboards but by this time Talas was dead and Ravel formed

Danger Danger Danger Danger is an American glam metal band formed in Queens, New York, in 1987. History Danger Danger was formed in 1987 by former Hotshot members lead vocalist Mike Pont, bassist Bruno Ravel (born 1964), and drummer Steve West (born 196 ...

. Sheehan also auditioned for

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

based rock band

Max Webster Max Webster was a Canadian hard rock band formed in Toronto in 1972. The band's founder, Kim Mitchell, enjoyed a long and successful solo career in their native Canada. Biography Initially a trio for their first gigs in December 1972, the ori ...

, being a long time friend of Max Webster singer/guitarist

Kim Mitchell Joseph Kim Mitchell (born July 10, 1952) is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to a solo career. His 1984 single, " Go for Soda", was his only charted song on the US ''Billbo ...

. In the early 1980s, Sheehan became involved with the proto-thrash metal band Thrasher, during this time he shared the stage with future Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz. His involvement with Thrasher did not last long but he did play on the self-titled LP, reissued on CD in 2008.

David Lee Roth band

:''See

.''

Mr. Big

:''See Mr. Big (American band).''

Niacin

In 1996, Sheehan formed the jazz fusion band Niacin with drummer

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...

and keyboardist John Novello. The band's name comes from the timbral foundation of the

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia * Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in S ...

organ; vitamin B₃ is also known as

niacin Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...

. Niacin released their first studio album in 1996. Their music is primarily instrumental, with the exception of their third studio album, ''

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

'' (2000), which features vocals by Glenn Hughes of

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

. The album also includes guest guitar by Steve Lukather of Toto.

The Winery Dogs and Sons of Apollo

20121021-221248-760 Portnoy-Sheehan-Sherinian-MacAlpine Boerderij Zoetermeer (cropped)

Sheehan toured with PSMS ( Portnoy / Sheehan / MacAlpine / Sherinian), an instrumental supergroup, in the second half of 2012.Prokofiev, Dane (October 6, 2012). . Retrieved 2012-10-19.Cavuoto, Rob (December 2013)
"Tony MacAlpine Interview: New DVD Release Live In Tokyo"
. ''Guitar International''. Retrieved 2014-03-01. Sheehan, along with Portnoy and

Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...

, recorded the debut album for their new band

in August 2012. The

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

album was released on May 5, 2013 in Japan, and July 23, 2013 worldwide. Their second album '' Hot Streak'' was released in 2015. In August 2017, he joined another band with Portnoy, a progressive metal supergroup named

Sons of Apollo Sons of Apollo is an American progressive metal supergroup formed in 2017 and composed of drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan, keyboardist Derek Sherinian, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. History Sherin ...

and also featuring keyboardist

Derek Sherinian Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and ...

, vocalist

Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and (briefly) the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–2007. Soto also ...

and guitarist

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal Ronald Jay Blumenthal (born September 25, 1969), better known by his stage name Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal or just simply as Bumblefoot, is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. He adopted his nickname from the bacterial infection of the s ...

Personal life

Sheehan has been an active member of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

since 1971, having converted from Catholicism.

Partial discography

With Talas

*1979: ''Talas'' *1982: ''Sink Your Teeth into That'' *1984: ''Live Speed on Ice'' *1990: ''Talas Years'' (compilation) *1998: ''If We Only Knew Then What We Know Now'' (live) *1998: ''Live in Buffalo'' *2022: ''1985''

With Thrasher

*1985: ''Burning at the Speed of Light''

With Daniel Piquê

*2009: Boo!! *2012: Chu (websingle) *2013: Oldboy (websingle)

With Tony MacAlpine

*1986: '' Edge of Insanity''

With KUNI

*1986: ''MASQUE''

With David Lee Roth

*1986: ''

Eat 'Em and Smile ''Eat 'Em and Smile'' is the debut studio album by former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, released on July 7, 1986, after his unpredicted successful debut EP ''Crazy from the Heat'' (1985). History After releasing ''Crazy from the Heat'', an ...

'' *1986: '' Sonrisa Salvaje'' (Spanish language re-recording of ''Eat 'Em and Smile'') *1988: ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

With Greg Howe

*1988: ''

Greg Howe Gregory Howe (born December 8, 1963)Malusardi, Guglielmo (October 2006) Guitar Nine Records. Retrieved 2012-10-14. is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to co ...

With Mr. Big

*1989: '' Mr. Big'' *1991: '' Lean into It'' *1993: '' Bump Ahead'' *1996: ''

Hey Man ''Hey Man'' is the fourth studio album by the hard rock band, Mr. Big. It would be their last album with guitarist Paul Gilbert until 2011's '' What If...''. The album was the most successful Mr. Big release in Japan, topping the Japanese Ori ...

'' *2000: '' Get Over It'' *2001: ''

Actual Size ''Actual Size'' is the sixth album by the American rock band Mr. Big, released in August 2001. It was their second and final studio album to feature guitarist Richie Kotzen. ''Actual Size'' would be Mr. Big's final studio album for 9 years, unti ...

'' *2010: '' What If...'' *2014: '' ...The Stories We Could Tell'' *2017: '' Defying Gravity''

With Niacin

*1996: ''Niacin'' *1997: ''Live'' *1998: ''High Bias'' *2000: ''

'' *2001: ''Time Crunch'' *2003: ''Live! Blood, Sweat & Beers'' *2005: ''Organik'' * 2005: ''Live in Tokyo'' (DVD) *2013: ''Krush''

With Explorer's Club

*1998: ''

Age of Impact ''Age of Impact'' is Explorers Club's first album, released in 1998. The album included guest appearances by guitarists Steve Howe and John Petrucci, singer James LaBrie, bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Terry Bozzio. Track listing Personnel * ...

Solo

*2001: ''

Compression Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression * Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a ...

'' *2005: '' Cosmic Troubadour'' *2006: ''Prime Cuts'' (compilation) *2009: ''Holy Cow!''

Terry Bozzio and Billy Sheehan

*2002: ''Nine Short Films''

With Richie Kotzen

*1998: '' What Is...'' *2003: ''

Change Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

'' *2006: '' Ai Senshi Z×R''

With The Winery Dogs

*2013: ''

'' *2014: ''Unleashed in the East / Unleashed in Japan'' *2015: '' Hot Streak'' *2017: ''Dog Years'' (EP) / ''Dog Years: Live in Santiago''

With
Michael Kocáb Michael Kocáb (born 28 July 1954) is a Czech composer, singer, and political activist. He is the leader of Pražský výběr, a popular music band suppressed by the Czechoslovak communist regime in the 1980s. At the spring 1989 Kocab with Mic ...

*2014: ''Aftershocks

With Sons of Apollo

*2017: ''

Psychotic Symphony ''Psychotic Symphony'' is the debut studio album by American supergroup Sons of Apollo. It was released on October 20, 2017. The album was produced by drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian under the name "The Del Fuvio Brothers" ...

'' *2019: ''Live with the Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony'' *2020: '' MMXX''

With MIWA

*2018: ''Reach Out and Touch Me'' *2020: ''Hell Is Real''

Notes

References

External links

*
Niacin official websiteBilly Sheehan interview on Lane Music, 2021Billy Sheehan interview on Guitar.com 2014
* ttp://www.hardradio.com/shockwaves/sheehan2.html HardRadio.com interview by Joey Vera with Billy Sheehan, part 2br>Interview with Billy Sheehan, 2009Extensive CD collection published by or with participation of Billy Sheehan—continuously updated
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Billy Living people Musicians from Buffalo, New York American rock bass guitarists American heavy metal bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American Scientologists Mr. Big (American band) members American session musicians American male guitarists Converts to Scientology from Roman Catholicism 20th-century American guitarists Explorers Club (band) members Michael Schenker Group members The Winery Dogs members 1953 births Favored Nations artists