Billy Sheehan: Difference between revisions

| current_member_of = {{hlist|[[Mr. Big (American band)|Mr. Big]]|[[The Winery Dogs]]|[[Sons of Apollo]]}}

| past_member_of = {{hlist|[[Mr. Big (American band)|Mr. Big]]|[[Sons of Apollo]]|Talas|[[UFO (band)|UFO]]|[[David Lee Roth]]|Niacin}}

'''William Sheehan''' (born March 19, 1953<ref name="allmusic">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-sheehan-mn0000770404/biography|title="Billy Sheehan -– Biography & History -– AllMusic"|website=[[AllMusic]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328165351/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-sheehan-mn0000770404/biography|archive-date=2018-03-28|access-date=5 July 2018}}</ref>) is an American musician known for playing bass guitar with acts such as Talas, [[Steve Vai]], [[David Lee Roth]], [[Mr. Big (American band)|Mr. Big]], Niacin, and [[The Winery Dogs]]. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing style, including the use of [[chording]], two-handed [[tapping]], "three-finger [[Fingerstyle guitar|picking]]" technique and controlled [[audio feedback|feedback]]. Sheehan has been voted "Best Rock Bass Player" five times in ''[[Guitar Player]]'' readers' polls.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billysheehan.com/bio.html |title=Sheehan's Bio on his Official Site |publisher=Billysheehan.com |access-date=2011-08-09}}</ref>

Billy Sheehan's first electric bass was a [[Hagström]] FB,{{refn|group=lw|"...your 00:31 first electric bass was a Hagstrom FB 00:33 true true"<ref name="loudwire">{{cite AV media| people= Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (Interviewer), Billy Sheehan (Interviewee)| date = 14 Oct 2015| title = Billy Sheehan -– Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction? -– YouTube| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1PoUgZz17g| access-date = 5 July 2018| type = Video| location = YouTube| publisher = [[Loudwire]]| id = See [[#Notes|notes]], group "lw", for auto-generated transcripts and time}}</ref>}} which was soon joined by a [[Fender Precision Bass|Precision bass]]. After acquiring the Precision bass, he removed the frets from the Hagström.{{refn|group="lw"|"...after acquiring your first 00:57 fender precision bass you removed the 00:59 frets from the Hagstrom. I did."<ref name="loudwire"/>}} Over the years, he heavily modified the Precision bass as well, [[Fingerboard#Scalloping|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 [[The Yardbirds|Yardbirds]] and [[Mel Schacher]] of [[Grand Funk Railroad]]. The [[Gibson EB-0]] 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billysheehan.com/gear/instruments_34.html |title=Gear article |publisher=Billysheehan.com |access-date=2011-08-09}}</ref> 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.

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 (band)|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.

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Thrasher-Burning-At-The-Speed-Of-Light/release/4810151|title=Thrasher (5) -– Burning At The Speed Of Light|website=Discogs.com|access-date=2019-11-24}}</ref>

In 1996, Sheehan formed the jazz fusion band Niacin with drummer [[Dennis Chambers]] and keyboardist [[John Novello]].<ref name="Huey">{{cite web |last1=Huey |first1=Steve |title=Niacin |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/niacin-mn0000865691/biography |website=AllMusic |accessdate=26 October 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004308/Niacin.html Niacin Biography], musicianguide.com</ref> The band's name comes from the timbral foundation of the [[Hammond B3]] organ; vitamin B₃ is also known as [[Niacin (nutrient)|niacin]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Sheehan, along with Portnoy and [[Richie Kotzen]], recorded the debut album for their new band [[The Winery Dogs]] in August 2012. The [[The Winery Dogs (album)|self-titled album]] album was released on May 5, 2013 in Japan, and July 23, 2013 worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|last=Portnoy|first=Mike|title=MP Studio Diary for Portnoy/Sheehan/Kotzen sessions – Day 1|url=http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/tm.aspx?high&m=2780180&mpage=1#2783837|access-date=April 11, 2013|archive-date=October 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019031708/http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/tm.aspx?high&m=2780180&mpage=1#2783837|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Portnoy|first=Mike|title=MP Studio Diary for Portnoy/Sheehan/Koten sessions – Day 14|url=http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/fb.ashx?m=2785902|access-date=April 11, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=May 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=THE WINERY DOGS: Official Logo, Band Photo Unveiled|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=187862|publisher=BLABBERMOUTH.NET|access-date=April 11, 2013}}</ref> Their second album ''[[Hot Streak (album)|Hot Streak]]'' was released in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/hot-streak-mw0002872692|title=Hot Streak -– The Winery Dogs {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2016-08-04}}</ref>

Sheehan has been an active member of the [[Church of Scientology]] since 1971, having converted from Catholicism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalbass.com/archives/oct2001/billy_sheehan.htm |title=~The Complete Package~ |access-date=2008-02-28 |publisher=Global Bass online}}</ref> Sheehan and his wife, Elisabetta, live in Nashville, TN.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/billy-sheehan-why-i-moved-from-los-angeles-to-nashville | title=Billy Sheehan: Why I Moved from Los Angeles to Nashville | date=August 4, 2021 }}</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/{{cite tweet|user=BillyonBass/status/|number=1639056615281418241|title=Yeah, I know it was several days ago, sorry, but I just had to post the surprise I had, courtesy of my sweet wife Elisabetta}} {{user generated source|date=March 2024}}</ref>

*1998: ''If We Only Knew Then What We Know Now -– Live in Buffalo''