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From: Ethel Mann and Ray Todd
To: PETE SEARS
Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2003 11:00 PM
Subject: Pete and the Bass
WHY DID PETE SEAR STOP PLAYING BASS?
POSTED by the FUNDAMENTALIST on the JS ADECK
Forwarded to Pete and Jeanette by Ethel
HI YOU GUYS! Ray and Eth
If you answer me, Pete, I will post the answer to the Adeck.
Best, E
Hope your gigs are GOING STRONG!
Hope to see you both soon!
FROM FUNDY:
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I reckon Pete Sears has been the technically most-accomplished musician to pass through the Airship ranks. (That Jorma hasn't made more use of him in Tuna simply beggars belief!!!)
Stepping into Jack's shoes in late 74 was a hell of a task - especially as the also very-accomplished Peter K had just had a go!!
But within a year fans and critics alike were raving about Sears' basswork.
Certainly his basswork late 74 to 95 was much more interesting than Jack's.
Once Tuna separated from the Airpane Jack pretty much limited himself to holding down the bottom end.
When Tuna split, Jack - as he told Guitar Player in 89 - took a conscious decison to play "on the beat" as opposed to "around the beat".
Though it's hard for me to say this, it's to Michael Gaiman's eternal credit that he strongly
encouraged Jack to revert to his finger-picking style. (I don't believe for a second that Michael made it an absolute pre-condition of Jack joining JS in 91-2 that he revert - but undoubtedly he exerted a strong influence....Jack's work on Tuna's Sweetwater albums around the same time is dullsville. By the time we reach 'VIRGIN SKY' in 95 Jack is beginning to sound like his old self!
So why isn't Sears held in higher veneration as a bass player?
Certainly he was much more restricted in the Craig-Mickey era. (Oppo Freiberg gave up playing interesting bass altogether!) But he still played some pretty amazing stuff - especially on Paul's songs.
Yet he's hardly played bass in public since leaving Starship in 87.....
So why did he effectively give the bass up in 87?
I think the clue might lie in the 89 JA reunion.
When he published my retrospective review of Sears' excallent post-Starship album, 'WATCHFIRE' in Holding Together several years ago, then-editor
Bill Parry added a comment that Jorma had wanted
Sears on keyboards but Paul and Jack had insisted on ex-KBC Tim Gorman.
On 'WATCHFIRE' - released over 9 months before the reunion but after JA had said they were serious aout a it - Sears played bass on just one track - the rest of the time having the by-comparison-undistinguised David Heyes on 4-string duties.
Did Sears drop the bass and concentrate on keys to avoid being competiton to Casady?
Certainly the Sears-keys/Casady-bass combo worked well for several years - for Tuna, JS (97-98) and a run of Marty 'solo' gigs.
Maybe Pete came to recognise that, how ever good he was - and could get - Casady's work 70-74 was just so oustanding he could never supplant him in the eyes of critics and dedicated fans....therefore better to concentrate on keys
where Nicky Hopkins was fading fast and Gorman was still to fully realise his potential....
Anybody with any insider information to comment on these speculation
From: Peter Sears
To: Ethel Mann and Ray Todd
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: Pete and the Bass
Dear Ray and Ethel,
Thank you for drawing my attention to the questions concerning my bass playing. I've been on the road and in the studio, just on the go constantly. Jeannette showed me all your correspondence and it made me realize I should put together some kind of a clear response for the chat room.
So here it goes:
I appreciate everyone's comments regarding my bass work over the years, and I'll try to answer the questions about why I don't play bass much these days. I have played bass, keyboards or both, depending on which instrument a band has asked me to play, since 1965, in England, when I first started touring Britain and Europe.
There is a comprehensive bio on my website at PeteSears.com, if anyone's interested. There's also a story on there outlining my career in a "Discoveries" magazine article written by Jeff Tamarkin, author of the new Jefferson Airplane book, Got a Revolution.
I do miss playing bass, but in this business, you sort of go where the cards fall, and after my very enjoyable nine years with Hot Tuna and the Jorma Kaukonen Trio, I found it easier to express myself as a solo performer by playing keys instead of bass, even though I enjoy both instruments equally. In my first pro band in England in 1965, I played bass, in my second band, piano (pre-Experience Hendrix played on one of our demos), in the third, I played both Hammond B3 and bass (a psychedelic trio called Sam Gopals Dream, Sam is a Tabla player from India. Jimi Hendrix jammed with us on a show one very memorable night in late '67). I then played lead guitar in my own band, "Giant" (named after a glow in the dark, one-eyed giant I'd painted on the wall of my room, which was actually just a friend's closet in her flat in London) and we played gigs like the "Roundhouse" in London. I did a lot of session work on people's albums on keys or bass around that time, like piano for the blues band, Steamhammer. Mitch Mitchell talked to me around that time about playing bass in a band he was thinking of starting while still with Hendrix. I also played bass on the folk album, Jade, that is about to be re-released on CD. It was 1969 when I came to the States to play bass and keyboards in "Silver Meter," with guitarist Leigh Stevens from Blue Cheer, and Micky Waller from the Jeff Beck band. I played piano and a little bass on Rod Stewart's, "Gasoline Alley" and then joined "Stoneground" (met Wavy Gravy with the Hog Farm in Europe), playing both bass and keys (around this time I played bass on Papa John Creach's first solo album in San Francisco, and also played piano on a live KSAN radio broadcast with Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, John Cipollina and Mario Cipollina. There's a bootleg somewhere). I left Stoneground to return to London to play piano on Rod's "Every Picture Tells a Story", then came back to the States on bass with "The Long John Baldry Blues Band". At that time, I started "Copperhead" with John Cipollina, in which I played bass and keyboards. I did many shows and recordings with them, but left them just before their first album to play bass and some keyboards with Nicky Hopkins. But Nicky was burned out from road stresses after playing the "Stones" tour, so the band didn't pan out, but ironically, although Prairie Prince and I didn't know each other at the time, he would also have been a part of Nicky's band. Meanwhile, I was back to England to play piano and a little bass on Rod's next album, "Never a Dull Moment". Then back to the States to co-produce and arrange "Insane Asylum," for Kathy McDonald, playing both bass and keyboards on the record. While making "Insane Asylum" at Wally Heiders, my friend, David Freiburg, introduced me to Paul and Grace, who asked me to join a band they were putting together, to be called Jefferson Starship, and although I couldn't join them, due to other commitments, I had time to play play piano on Grace's, "Manhole." I also met Jorma at that time, who was downstairs recording "Qua," and we went out to a bar for a drink or two. I was playing bass around this same time in an instrumental power trio (sort of like Cream without a vocalist) with Neil Schon (Santana, Journey) & Greg Errico (Sly Stone).
I told Paul and Grace I had to return to England to play on Rod's last English album, "Smiler." It took about a year to complete. Paul called me several times during this period to talk about me joining the JS. Rod's record went longer than expected, so Jefferson Starship used Peter Kaukonen on bass for their first tour. I returned to the States in June of '74, and joined Jefferson Starship, after having a very productive meeting with Paul and Grace at their house overlooking the bay. I played bass and keyboards with them, alternating between the two instruments with David Freiburg (as I had done with Jim McPherson, in Copperhead). I often doubled up on the Jefferson Starship recordings, like on "Miracles" on which I played bass and piano, with David playing the song's wonderful signature line on B3. I also used to do a ten minute bass solo back in those days (the seventies) when the band still had a sense of musical and philosophical freedom, and an "anything goes" attitude toward music (which was lost in the eighties, but has been regained in PK's J.S). We played stadium sized places in the seventies.
When I joined Jefferson Starship in 1974, although we still retained the spirit of the Airplane, we only played a few classic Airplane songs, like Somebody to Love, White Rabbit, and Volunteers (we also did Across the Board, but I'm not sure if that was Airplane or solo Grace). When Jefferson Starship started rehearsals, and played the three Airplane tunes, I wasn't asked to learn Jack's parts. I played what I would if I'd just heard the songs for the first time. I had played many styles over the years, including power trio bass, so I did what came naturally to me for the songs. Paul and Grace weren't looking to replace Jack, so I did my own thing. I'd been too busy as a working musician to be all that aware of the Airplane albums anyway. I knew they were a good band, but I'd been in Britain touring throughout the sixties, and was thoroughly engrossed in what I was doing at the time. I played on the same show as Hot Tuna once, (can't remember where, must have been around 70 or 71) and saw Jorma and Jack play with Sammy Piazza on drums. Through my stoned out fog, I remember liking the music. Although Jack is undoubtedly one of the great, innovative bass players of our time, Jefferson Starship was a new band, and as I had been a working bass player for many years, I felt absolutely no pressure to play like him. I have always regarded Jack as a peer and a friend. I in no way felt I was trying to fill his shoes, as I might have done if the band was still called Jefferson Airplane. I am close friends with Jorma, Jack, Michael and Harvey of the electric Hot Tuna, and look back on my nine years and many thousands of miles, playing keyboards with them, with great fondness. Nothing stays the same, nor should it. I've moved on. When the acoustic Hot Tuna duo is not playing, Jorma is making great music with his fantastic new series of Nashville CDs on Columbia. Jacks made a wonderful solo CD, Michael is working on a new CD, Harvey is playing Jazz, I made a solo record called "The Long Haul", and I often sit in with friends such as Steve Kimock, Phil Lesh, David Nelson etc; and I am having tremendous fun playing keyboards full time with the "Flying Other Brothers" band. I still teach keyboards every year at Jorma and Vanessa's, "Fur Peace Ranch" guitar camp and man, do we have a great time. The last few Starship albums I played on were pretty obnoxious.The mid 80's producer (and certain other band members) wanted everything to be heavily arranged pop, using only outside material (I had already stopped playing keyboards for this reason. It wasn't my cup of tea, and I made this fact known, becoming a thorn in their sides on many fronts). Upon leaving Starship in 1987, just after "Knee Deep in the Hoopla," (after thirteen years in the band, going back to 1974), I didn't play much bass. I mostly played piano and produced a CD with an environmental and human rights theme, entitled, Watchfire, which featured guest artists like Jerry Garcia & Micky Hart. It wasn't until a year later, during a spectacular jam at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley, featuring Jerry Garcia, Elvis Costello, James Burton, all on stage together, that I started playing bass again. What a night, I have it on Video. I still occasionally sit in with bands on bass, especially a new band called "WAKE". For what it's worth, I love both instruments equally and will never voluntarily stop playing either, but will continue my 38 year journey (not counting my high school band, and early piano lessons) to find new musical directions to fly in, and to continue the lifelong task of trying to improve my technique on keyboards and bass whenever I can.
Thanks for making all this possible by keeping the musician, listener, musician cycle alive. We all need each other if we are to retain the freedom to express ourselves through the arts alive.
All the best,
Pete
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