"Master Bassist" Michael Visceglia Interview
www.Facebook.com/MikeViscegliaWorks
Interview by Roger Zee (11/28/20)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to play bass?
Michael Visceglia: Me playing the bass happened pretty much by accident. Born in the East Village, NYC, my family moved to New Jersey when I turned five. Started studying guitar at about age eleven. My sister, a year younger than me, befriended the local hot-shot, teenage, neighborhood band. My father, a sax player and an inveterate music lover, allowed this group, "The Young Loves," to rehearse in our two-car garage. One day, they argued with their bass player, who then walked out of their rehearsal. My dad, sensing an opportunity, told the band that if they wanted to continue rehearsing in our garage they had to audition me on bass. This came as a big surprise to me, as I had NEVER played the instrument before! As they pondered this, my father threw me in the car and sped off to the local music store where he bought me a bass. When we returned, the band asked me if I could play one of their songs. Because I had a really good ear, I picked it up in just a few minutes. I got in the band, and the rest is history!
RZ: You've performed with some major artists in the Rock and Folk world. Tell me about them.
MV: Fortunately, I moved back to NYC at fifteen. At that point I went full on into playing the bass and decided I would make that my career. My first real gigging band formed in high school and featured Bruce Kulick on guitar, later of KISS fame. Bruce had an older brother Bob, already a pro recording and touring guitarist. One day, Bob called me to try out for a John Cale (ex-Velvet Underground) European concert tour. I passed the audition and got the gig! At age 22, I left on my first pro tour. The drummer, Joe Stefko, turned into a very good friend and took me with him into other bands like Jorma Kaukonen’s Vital Parts, and Flo & Eddie and The Turtles. By this point, I established a reputation in NYC as a very good and reliable player. In 1985 I got a call to audition for Suzanne Vega, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who just signed to A&M Records. I passed the audition and started my longest professional association which continues until today. As well, for five years I held bass chair for the six time Emmy Award/Grammy Award winning Broadway show, "Kinky Boots."
RZ: What basses and amplifiers do you currently use?
MV: More or less, I've always played a Fender Jazz Bass, or anything derived from that design. I’m currently using a Lakland “Joe Osborn” Jazz bass, which feels just like an early 1960’s Fender J bass. Also, I'm currently in the process of buying a new Fender Jazz Bass as well. For those instruments, I put on D’addario Pro Steels Medium gauge strings (45-105) and set the action medium high. For more intimate, quieter settings, I play a Furch acoustic bass guitar that the Czech company built for me. As to effects pedals, I use a Boss-TU3 tuner, Aguilar-Octamizer Octave pedal, Nano-Holy Grail reverb pedal,
and an Eventide-H9 Harmonizer/Effects Processor. Regarding amps, I’m a big fan of 10" speaker arrangements. Whenever I go out on tour, I always request an Aguilar rig, usually a "Tone Hammer 500," or "750" with a 4x10 cabinet.
RZ: Do you teach private lessons?
MV: I’ve always taught privately as well as publicly. I’ve given many public talks about bass playing as well as master classes for "Bass Player Live." I’ve also written two curriculum books for the Musicians Institute College in Los Angeles as part of their bass player performance degree. As well, I’ve published a personal book titled "A View from the Side" (Wizdom Media) that’s a compilation of road stories and interviews with some of the world’s most iconic bassists including, Leland Sklar, Tony Levin, Marcus Miller, Will Lee, Donald “Duck” Dunne, and many more. It’s available through Wizdom Media or Amazon.com.
RZ: How's the Pandemic affected you?
MV: The Pandemic literally shut down the music business and we all suffer for it -- financially, creatively, and psychologically! I’m fortunate in that I’m not left in dire financial straits. But it's hard to come up with ways to keep creative and active in the community. I’ve put together a home studio where I record bass tracks remotely for several projects. I’ve also played a handful of live gigs, all outdoors, to interact with other musicians. I’m getting involved in some live stream performances as well. I have one coming up on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 5:00 PM -- a Facebook Live show of one of my bands, "The Pine Cats," with my partner and guitar master, John Putnam. We'll also feature legendary drummer, Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, Orleans, etc.) sitting in with us. So please go to my Facebook page on Dec. 5 to check it out.
As far as the future of music's concerned, I think everything depends on a vaccine and how quickly and widely it gets distributed. I know that Broadway, large and small venues alike, as well as touring, hang by a thread awaiting this. Things won’t get back to any sense of normalcy until there's an effective and widely disseminated vaccine.
RZ: What advice do you give up-and-coming musicians?
MV: Steel yourself against a great amount of adversity. The music business has never fallen into such bad shape. However, I do believe that by the end of 2021, some light will shine through this darkness. As far as your relationship to music and your instrument, work harder than you ever have to hone as many skills, including READING, as you can. Keep your ears and mind open to as many styles as possible. Learn to be a team player -- someone that everyone likes and wants to hang out with. Never let your ego get in the way of a good opportunity. Luck happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Grab it with all you've got when it comes your way!
RZ: Describe your most special and/or unusual gig.
MV: In the 1990’s I worked as the Musical Director for the artist Curtis Stigers. The great thing about this gig came when legendary music biz mogul, Clive Davis, took us on as his pet project! As such, we received so many great opportunities. We jumped in as one of Jay Leno’s favorite bands and he booked us on his show eight times in one year! We also got the chance to open for such amazing headline acts as Joe Cocker, Elton John, and Rod Stewart. But the most special bunch of shows came when Eric Clapton personally chose us to open his stadium tour across the USA. We played everywhere from Shea Stadium to Dodger Stadium with Clapton. So high profile. A dream come true! So, work hard and dream big! Stay safe y’all!
YouTube - Luka - Suzanne Vega
©2020 Roger Zee
