Q&A with Steve Bailey!

[TM]

Hello folks,

Steve Bailey has graciously agreed to take our questions!

In case any of you aren't aware, Steve played bass on most of the songs on the Roots To Branches album. The specific songs are the title track, Dangerous Veils, Beside Myself, Wounded Old and Treacherous, & At Last, Forever.

Steve mentioned that he had a lot of fun recording these songs and that it was one of the best projects of his career.



Steve has worked with numerous artists playing a multitude of styles:

He has recorded and/or toured with…

* Beboppers such as Dizzy, James Moody, Lew Tabackin, Dave Leibman……etc
* Latin Jazzers such as Paquito. Claudio Roditti, Michel Camilo…… etc
* Smooth Jazzers such as the Rippingtons, David Benoit, Kilauea…..etc
* Rockers such as Jethro Tull, Skynyrd, Jon Anderson (YES)…etc
* Country guys such as Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Billy Joe Shaver….etc
* Fusioners such as Larry Carlton, Emily Remler, Brandon Fields….etc
* New agers such as Kitaro, Max Highstein, T Lavitz…..etc
* Bluesers such as Tab Benoit, Johnny Witherspoon, Toni Price….etc
* Jazz singers such as Mel Torme, Ernestine Anderson, Mark Murphy…etc
* Fellow Bassists such as Victor Wooten, John Patitucci, Billy Sheehan…etc

Rules:
No limit to the amount of questions you can ask. All questions will be sent. Steve will select the questions he would like to respond to.

Please include your name and town. Thanks!

Enjoy!

Steve's website:

www.stevebaileybass.com/

[jtul07]

Steve: Have you ever played with Tull in a live setting?
What was your favorite track on "Roots to Branches"?


from: Jim / Tryon, North Carolina

[austrian]

This is a great chance to ask some questiosn I always had in my head while listening to the tracks he played on for Tull:

Steve, I know little of your work, but I understand that you are probably best known for your work in the fusion/jazz context. Having that in mind I always wondered how your input on the musical ideas of Ian Anderson and the rest of Tull were taken and if they corresponded to your ideas in a way that altered the original musical ideas in a significant way. Were you involved in the creative process as a whole or were you just asked to add bass lines to finished music? For me the album Roots To Branches very often has some sort of jazzy or fusonesque touch that is rare or not existent in Tulls previous work or the work after Roots To Branches. Was this a road that Ian or the other guys wanted the music to go or have these ideas evolved in the process of you und the guys working out the music?
Since your involvement with Tull remains in my head as one of the most unusual cooperations the band has made in it's career, it's really interesting how musical ideas were worked out and agreed upon.

Finally, how was working with Tull, personally and musically speaking? Did you find the experience to be a pleasant one?

Thanks for taking our questions, I never take part in these Q&As because there's not much I could ask the past and present band members about, but you & Tull was always a thing that kept me wondering. :-) Great music, I enjoy your work on that album very much.

Thanks!
Jakob

[sealdriver]

Hello Steve, Was there ever any talk of you playing with Tull on a more full-time basis? I remember 16 years ago being surprised that you were "one and done." I was impressed by your playing on Dangerous Veils.

Best wishes,
Big Al
Castine, Maine USA

[TM]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for taking part in this and thank you for your contributions to Roots To Branches.

I'm sure there will be many of us that go back and listen to your style of play on those tracks.

Couple questions if I may:

Can you describe the recording process with Tull and how it compares to others you have worked with? Past members have stated that Ian doesn't put the vocals in until the very end which had they heard them earlier they may have played differently.

Also, we heard years ago (from another Tull fan) that Ian played a prank on you by locking you in a room at his house or studio. Is this true? And if so can you tell us about that?

Thanks very much Steve!

Paul from New Jersey

[mike]

Hello Steve did you play your parts with the band or did you play to a track and it was mixed later? Do you know my Friend and Fellow Bass Player ( Larry Junstrom)from Lynyrd Skynyrd back in the 60's to 74 and 76 till now with 38 Special? He remembers you from somewhere I hear or at least I heard it from Barns or Donnie Van Zant when when I saw them earlier this year.

Mike

[sealdriver]

Doane Perry used to talk about a track called "Never Been to Andalusia" that was dropped from the RtB album. Did you play on it? If so, what did you think, and why was it not included?

[dooovall]

Hi Steve,

Daniel S. Duvall from Westlake, Ohio here. Just wondering:

1. Who played bass on tracks 2 (Rare and Precious Chain) and 4 (This Free Will) of Roots to Branches?
2. Do you have any anecdotes about the recording of Dangerous Veils (my favorite track on the CD)?

[Nonfatman]

Hi Steve:

I think I saw somewhere that you peformed some European gigs on Ian's solo Divinities tour. Is that correct? If so, how did you like that and how was it compared to performing with Tull? That leads me to my next question....did you perform any RTB shows with Tull? I know Jonathan Noyce played on at least some of the tour.

Do you have any good stories that you can share with us about your time in the band?

What have you been doing musically since then and now?

Thanks,

Jeff, from NYC

[Deleted]

Hi Steve
By the way my favorite track on Roots To Branches was Beside Myself, I was wondering how you got involved with Tull, did you answer an advertisement or was there another way in.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us, it is much appreciated.

Charlie from Boston