Sons of Apollo – Psychotic Symphony

By starrymag | June 6, 2018

By: Arlene Allen

 

 

Q) Congratulations on the new album, Psychotic Symphony. I realize I am talking to a legend. I didn’t realize you’d played with so many big name folks over the years!

 

A) Thank you! A bunch over the years, I guess! [laughs]

 

Q) So how is Sons of Apollo different from other bands you’ve played with?

 

A) Well, it’s definitely a pretty heavy band as opposed to some bands which were straight up rock and song oriented with a lot of singing and harmony. There’s singing and harmony in this band, but most of the other bands have had more of that. This is more instrumental, more heavy. It’s a modern take on what’s happening in music now, I believe.

 

Q) Was it inspired because two of the band members were in Dream Theater? Was that “doom metal” vibe from Dream Theater brought over a little bit?

 

A) I don’t think so. That’s not my thing at all. I’m sure they’re a fine band, but that’s not what I”m into, not what I listen to. We’re just taking it from the beginning. There’s just two band members who just happen to be associated with the band. I think Mike [Portnoy] started the band Dream Theater, actually. But it really should have no bearing on what we’re doing.

 

Q) How did Sons of Apollo come together and how did you get your name?

 

A) I’m not sure how the name came about; that was Mike’s doing. When he told me I liked it, so I said it’s a good name. I’ve known Mike; I’ve played with him in the Winery Dogs, which is my favorite band. Winery Dogs is taking a little break and Mike said, “Do you want to do this other thing with me and Derek (Sherinian) and we’re going to get Bumblefoot (Ron Thal) and Soto involved too?” So, I said certainly! We got together, wrote some songs and recorded them pretty quickly. It went very well and when the record came out it was received with a lot of celebration. A lot of people liked the record. Now we’re seeing the results of that on tour; we’re doing great business everywhere; good crowds. So, from its inception to implementation it been pretty easy and enjoyable, and a lot of people seem to be enjoying it and quite happy about it.

 

Q) Do you have a favorite song or piece off the album?

 

A) It’s hard to say, I like everything on there. I enjoy playing live very much so anything that I can play live I’m happy with. We open with “God of the Sun,” which is a lot of fun to play and people respond to it very positively. So, it’s hard to pick one!

 

Q) And what do the fans react most to?

 

A) It’s quite an impact sonically when the band starts. I’m playing an extra low toned bass. It’s big and heavy so there’s this monstrous tone and the drums are flailing, and we’ve got some very nice vocals on top of everything. So, there’s been quite an impact to it right away. The other things we play are pretty challenging musically to execute. I think some of them are watching to see if we can do it and how we can do it. They seem interested in that when we start and are extremely happy after we get going to see that we are playing what is actually on that record, which is a good thing!

 

Q) How is your bass playing style different on this record than with other bands you’ve played with?

 

A) I’m playing a lower tuned bass on this, so you can’t really move around as much. The piano player’s left hand is the low notes and the right hand is the high notes, so the right hand does all the fancy stuff. Generally, but not always, the left hand kind of supports that so the lower notes you don’t tend to move those around as much as you would higher notes because it’s just harder to move a giant note like that around. So, I play a little bit more I guess…Well, not as many notes as I normally would do. It’s at the super low end and it requires a lot of precision to keep those low notes in line because they’re big and fat and they flop around all over the place!  It takes a lot more precision and strength to hold them and play and have them land exactly in time with the drums. So, it’s an interesting change of pace for me that adds to my bass vocabulary of what I know, what I can do and what I can play. Again, playing it live is quite challenging. In the studio you are seated and the conditions are perfect where in a live situation you’re on stage, you can’t hear everything like you normally would. You’re moving around and it’s a hot sweaty crowd, so you have to be able to do all of those things with finesse in a studio and be able to perform them live while standing and dripping in sweat with all hell breaking loose around you. So, it’s always a challenge and I always feel like I’m improved afterwards.

 

Q) Well you are an award winning Best Rock Bass Player! Readers of Guitar Player Magazine voted for you five times and you can play across many different styles. Do you have a favorite style of playing your bass?

 

A) Straight up rock and hard rock. I love music. Most of the bands I’ve been in are “singin’ song” bands. Mr. Big was a lot of singing, interesting arrangements and construction. It wasn’t simple by any means, but was definitely more song oriented. But I have played some fusion-y, jazzy stuff with Dennis Chambers, played pop stuff, played heavy metal stuff…all kinds of things. But for me straight up rock is pretty much a center point and from there I will go forwards, backwards, to the left and to the right, up or down. One way or the other!

 

Q) When did you first pick up the bass?

 

A) I’ve been playing over fifty years. So, I started when I was very young.

 

Q) What inspired you?

A) When I was young it was all about music. There were bands in every neighborhood. In school you were into this band or that band, this kind of music or that kind of music. There was no internet. No video or games or gaming. It was all about music. So, everybody had to be into music as a fan or played it. And I was bold; I liked to play it, but I was also into it as a fan. But when I saw The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” at a very young age…I had older brothers and sisters and they were into music I was a little too young for, but I was exposed to it because of them. I got into all kinds of music just prior to The Beatles and then, of course, when The Beatles hit everyone wanted to be in a band. And I was one of the 400 million who decided to do that!

 

Q) And you obviously did it very well!

 

A) Well, I never had any natural talent. I just loved it so much that I worked at it hard. It was never automatic. I didn’t pick it up and suddenly I was playing. I had to figure everything out. I’m self-taught. I play by ear. I never had any music training. So, I had to use my ear to figure everything out, which is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s a good thing. There are advantages to that. But I just worked at it. I still work at it. Yesterday before the show I played for about two or three hours warming up, figuring things out, coming up with new things. So, the adventure thankfully never stops!

 

Q) That’s wonderful and wonderful advice for fans! If you want something go for it and practice, practice, practice!

 

A) I think it’s within reach to way more people who may think it’s not. I think so many things require self discipline and relentless pursuit. And it can happen. I’ve seen people start with nothing and get to an incredible high point, in life and in many endeavors. I do happen to believe that anything is possible.  And just play, even if you’re not going to make it a career or become some virtuoso. Get guitar, a bass, a set of drums, sing and play. It’s great, it’s fun! It’s one of the greatest therapies there are. There’s all kinds of research for what it does for you and your brain, your logic and your intelligence. It really is a great, great thing to be able to play a musical instrument. So why not play the songs you love by the band you love?! I encourage people to do it. I do bass seminars and clinics around the world where I talk about music and playing, being in a band, songwriting and all kinds of stuff. Often gentlemen will come with their kids. They used to play a long time ago, but they don’t anymore, and they want their kids to play. I’ll end up talking to them and saying, “Why don’t you play?! You should play! Why’d you stop? Just because you didn’t make it in the rock and roll business that’s no reason to stop. Keep on playing! It’s great! It’s fun!”  And I’ll get an email a couple of weeks later (this has happened a dozen of times) and they’ll say I got together with my old buds and we go out to the garage and tapped a keg and played an old set list and had fun. Now they do it every week. It’s a great thing. I’d love to see more people playing musical instruments. It’s really a great way for your mind to figure out the connections between your ears and your fingers and your thinking.

 

Q) There’s been a lot of changes in both rock music and the music industry. What do you like about today’s music and the music industry and what would you like to go back to?

 

A) I’m not looking to go back to anything really. I think that change is an evolution that happens. There are going to be people who oppose it initially and people who are going to embrace initially and this has happened dozens of times already. Rudy Valli was a famous guy in the 20’s and 30’s and then Sinatra came along and bumped him off. And then Elvis came along and pushed him away. And then The Beatles came and then Elvis was no longer relevant. And then everything else just exploded from there. Initially it was 78’s then 33’s then 45’s, albums and cassettes and then 8-tracks and then CDs in the 80’s…It’s a constant change. It always happens like that. Art is the driving force and everything will align to it. People love music and will want to hear it and will do it the easiest way possible for them. Right now, everyone’s got a phone in their pocket – every human pretty much on the planet. Traveling to India and South America there pretty much no one without a cell phone and that is pretty much how everyone gets their music now.  It’s great! Great opportunities. Every time people think it’s all going to hell, someone else is getting smart and saying there’s an opportunity here. We have a new thing! Sure enough, streaming services are prospering now. I just read a great article in Bloomberg, the financial magazine, about how things are taking off. Income from recorded music is skyrocketing. It’s a good thing. And I can carry around my entire music collection in a device as small as a pack of cigarettes and I’ve got terabytes of music from my whole lifetime.

 

Q) Now what kind of device do you have that on? That’s not your phone.

 

A) No, that’s a separate hard drive I have plugged in to my laptop. But I can access it through my phone through a couple of programs. I can get my whole library through my phone at any time, with all of the correct metadata and cover artwork. Many hundreds of hours have been spent on it. I’ve got a broad range of music, just about everything in the history of music, if you can imagine. The collection is still expanding, too. It’s great to have it all available.

 

Q) What are some of your favorite albums and artists throughout time?

 

A) Frank Sinatra Live at the Sands, Count Basie Orchestra with Quincy Jones Conducting, Santana, Jethro Tull’s Stand Up, the Yardbirds, all Beatles records, Pepper’s, Three Dog Night, Crosby Stills and Nash, some jazz stuff and a lot of classical. Tons and tons of classical. It’s probably one of the most represented genres in my collection.

 

Q) Who inspires you today?

 

A) It’s hard to say. I often have to enlist the aid of friends to say who’s new and who’s good! I don’t always have the time. Most of my collection ends around 1980. There is some.  There will be more I’m sure.

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Bassist Billy Sheehan