Ravi: Were music stores important to you while you were growing up and discovering musicianship?
Lee: A music store to a musician can be a place of wonder that sparks the imagination, a source of inspiration to anyone who can dream of “stretching out” into new directions. When you see an instrument, you either imagine its sound in your head or wonder what sounds it can make with you playing it. I have been so inspired over the years walking into Gables Music, Ace Music, Manny’s, Sam Ash, Guitar Center, etc. Believe it or not, I am very shy about trying out instruments when people are watching. The ultimate “Fantasy Land” for a musician in America is, of course, the NAMM Show every January or Summer NAMM in July. The most mouth-watering of all is the music-merchandiser’s show in Frankfurt Germany each year, MusikMesse—fuhgedaboutit!
Ravi: Did you ever take lessons at a store?
Lee: Actually, I have never taken or given any lessons.
Ravi: How about now, do you shop at music stores?
Lee: These days, I do a lot of online shopping when I need something. If I need a piece of equipment right away and don’t have time, I will usually beeline it to the nearest store that has the item I need, walk in the door with blinders on, and grab and run.
Ravi: What is the most important thing you look for in a music store in terms of being sure that they are able to satisfy your needs?
Lee: It is always great when there is an amiable salesperson who knows the products and can steer you to the right purchase. It is also great when stores have a return policy that allows you to get a refund or store credit when you buy something that “sounds good in the store,” but after you take it home or to a gig, you discover that it is not exactly right for you.
Ravi: Fab Faux, how did that come about, and what gear do you use to emulate Paul McCartney?
Lee: The funny thing about that is that the music of The Beatles has been a thread running through my soul since 1964, driving every musical and professional move I have made since then. It is an actual fact that because I was so close to it, I could not see myself playing Beatles music. The idea of having a “Beatles band” hit me after meeting our drummer, Rich Pagano, on a tour of Europe with Hiram Bullock back in 1997. He had such a great voice and command of Ringo-style drumming that I asked him if he might want to do something in the realm of bringing the Beatles records to the stage. Luckily, he was all for it and we were on our way. In order to play this music authentically, the first things you need gear-wise are the instruments. In the case of playing Paul’s magnificent bass lines, you must use fairly dead flatwound strings, a Höfner 500/1 violin-shaped bass (the early ones sound best, but you can bypass the electronics on the new ones and they sound OK) for earlier Beatles—up to the Rubber Soul period, and a Rickenbacker 4001 for most later stuff—except for some “White Album” tunes where Paul plays a Fender ’66 Jazz bass, and then back to the Höfner for the “Let It Be” “rooftop” stuff. There are other bassists like John and George who played parts on either the Fender Bass VI, or in the case of “Helter Skelter,” it is John on a Fender ‘66 Jazz bass.
Ravi: Most people know you as the bass player on “Letterman” or from the countless records on which you have played, and now Fab Faux. Are you planning to continue your existing gigs/projects for a long time or do you have other pursuits on the horizon?
Lee: As far as live playing, Fab Faux is something I want to keep doing for as long as we all are able to continue. I also love playing with Chris Parker’s band Toph-e and the Pussycats, The Oz Noy Trio, Hiram Bullock, and anything that Chuck Loeb does. I plan on trying to find time to write. I hate when my songs are derivative on purpose. Those are the ones I would just as soon throw away as soon as I think they sound like something else. For whatever reason, certain people will always feel a need to compare a song with something else, but I like it when ideas are free of that, and I need real freedom of creativity to get to that place. When I leave New York City and get into an environment where I have no schedule and few responsibilities, the ideas start to flow like a river. In other words, my immediate goal is to try to go on vacation so that my long-term goal of writing can happen.
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