My Interview with Rick Rosas, Bassplayer for Neil & Pegi Young, Joe Walsh etc.

Written in 2009

 

Old story, Right Concept

Rick “The Bassplayer” Rosas

Rick Rosas has the good fortune to have played with two of the most biggest guitarists in rock: Joe Walsh and Neil Young.  In particular, with the latter, he has found himself almost non-stop tour on a tour that apparently will not be ending in this lifetime.  It brought Rick for the first time in his life to Germany; we met him in hamburg, a few hours before a first class performance, in which Neil Young and his Electric band shook up the (eavesdropping) city park. In the middle of the sound-fury: Rick Rosas, the tranquil counterpart and a bassist like a bassist should be ?? And one who is of the opinion that the notes that are notes you don’t play are just as important as the ones you do play.

The man, through whose veins flow equally Mexican and Indian blood, fits perfectly, not just in terms of looks, in Neil Young’s band. “The Indian,” as Rick was always referred to by the boss in the beginning, plays just exactly as a bass player should when he’s got an exalted musician like Neil Young at his side:  held back, understated, reliable and with a bass sound that good naturedly provides just as full a foundation for the boss’s Les Paul cacophony as it does for his acoustic guitar playing.  No wonder, that Joe Walsh  once introduced his bassist Rick Rosas to the audience with the words, “Rick The Bassplayer Rosas – old story, right concept!”  And it fits!

Rick, when did it become clear to you that the bass would become your instrument?

I started in 1963, 1964, to play the guitar.  I was living in one of the ghettos of East Los Angeles, in the same part of the city that Los Lobos came from.  They had a lot of bands there, but not really a lot of bassists.  And a friend of min who already played in a band, said to me, if I played the bass, I could get myself a job right away. That sounded pretty smart to me and so I b ecame a bassist.  And then there were really practically limitless possibilities to step in as bass player with a band.  At that time, everyone wanted to be a little Elvis Presley – and so they all played guitar.

And you were able, in fact, to join a band right away?

Yes, and not just one, but many!  My parents had bought me some sort of cheap bass, a maker I can’t remember anymore,  and immediately I found myselfof on stage again, had something going on every weekend and played dance venues, parties, in clubs – it was really easy as a bass player to get those jobs.  We played surf musik, R&B, later the Batles, but also, for example, soul.  Already one year after that I got on my knees before my father asking him to buy me a Fender bass. A Fender bass was at that time the standard bearer, the real thing.  Thank God my parents always supported me – and still today I play that bass, the one that my Dad bought for me new, a 64 Fender Jazz Bass.  I don’t play it too much anymore, maybe on one song in our show – but it’s still the bass that I recorded “Rockin’ in the Free World’ with.  A great bass and today almost a work of art, an antique.

You have played mainly Lakland basses for some time now, right?

Yes, for twelve years I’ve been playing these basses out of Chicago.

Rick Rosas and his Lakland Bass

Is that your signature model?

No – but it is put together using two other signature basses by Lakland.  I wanted the fat sound of a Precision bass, but was used to the neck on my Jazz bass. The Lakland simply built me this model, which has a body off a Bob Glaub Signature bass, but yet looks like a Precision.  The heck comes from a Joe Osborn Signature Bass and has Jazz-Bass dimensions.  The best of both worlds.  And this bass just sounds super good, warmer, rounder and deeper than my old Fender, but at the same time very clean.  Besides that, I like the solid way these basses are built – it like when you’ve always driven a Chevy, and then you climb into a Mercedes-Benz.  Welcome to the land of luxury!

Did you have a teacher in the beginning or did you learn everything on your own?

In the beginning I did in fact figure out all the songs myself.  But then I took a couple of hours of instruction with a bassist who played in some of the best bands in the  area.  Among other things, he taught me how to read notes.  But at that time, nobody needed a bassist who could read notes, and I was too young to be working as a studio bassist,  so I lost a lot of my sight reading ability.

But I’ve seen on the DVD recording (of Neil Youngs album) ‘Prairie Wind’ how you all sit in front of big music stands.

That always makes it look real important J.  Neil – and this is the way we always do it – played the songs from me and I jotted down the chords, so I know where I need to go and where Neil’s going.

There seemed to be a very good atmosphere at this studio and during this recording. . .

Yes, it was a terrific atmosphere there in Nashville.  Especially for me, because that’s when I started playing with Neil again.  First I played with him in 1987 or 88 for about three years until he put together another band for a new project.  So we took a 16 year break from each other, but one where we never lost contact.  And then he called me shortly before the Prairie Wind sessions, asking if I had time to participate in that.  Apparently he hadn’t written any songs yet, but already knew with whom he wanted to record them.

And you played for a long time with Joe Walsh, right?

Yes, also during this period when Neil called.  I’ve been playing in Joe Walsh’s band since 1985, and we toured really intensively back then.   Joe gave me a lot of jobs, even after he joined up with the Eagles, and pretty much kept me in business, for which I’m very grateful to him.  Then in the Spring of 2005, neil called first, and then later his management and asked if I could be in Nashville within 24 hours.  That’s how it is sometimes with Neil young – first a 16 year break, and then everything has to happen between now and tomorrow. J But I could, and I wanted to and I was happy to be a part of the Electric Band. 

So it’s that spontaneous with all of you?  Actually, I wanted to asked whether you planned your schedules with Neil far in advance, but that question seems a bit unnecessary now, or?

Yes, it is in principle.  When you work for Neil, you have to be able to react quickly and you never know exactly what will happen in the next moment – or in the next year.  On this tour, for example, Neil decided to go on stage without a fixed set list.  So he doesn’t exactly make it easy for the crew, who, for example, have to have certain guitars ready for certain songs.  And we don’t ever know which song is going to come next. But that makes it all the easier for him to put together a show that’s spontaneous and dynamic.  He doesn’t need to keep to a list, but rather to what happens to come to mind for the next song.

And how many songs do you have ready on-call?

Oh, that’s a good question – many, very many! An exact number I can’t even tell you, I never counted them, but it’s a lot.  This tour began in October of 2007 and was originally to promote Neil’s last album “Chrome Dreams II”.  From this album, though, we only still play just a few songs, because Neil has constantly changed the program.  Sometimes we also play entirely new songs that he may have just written last week and that we rehearse at the soundchecks.  So – you never really know what’s gonna hit you J.  Or: you know, we never did a tour to promote “Prairie Wind”, but shot the concert film at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, where we played that material.  Soon after that, then, Neil called and asked if I could stop over at his rach near San Francisco to record a couple of songs with him.  Out of these five new pieces came “Living with War,” an album we recorded inside of one week.  That went fast . . .  And already during these sessions, he was taking me aside to ask if I had any interest in playing with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young . . . I said to him, Wow – that would be a lot of fun. And he said:  Don’t tell anyone else, but I’m going to try to organize something.  And when the Living With War” album came out, Neil presented it to Crosby, Stills and Nash and asked if they could imagine themselves playing these songs with him.  They could, and in 2006 the  “Freedom of Speech” tour and film developed out of that.  You see, one step leads to another and you have to be ready for anything when you deal with Neil.

How was it for you playing concerts with this living legend?

They were something really special for me, because I was long a big CSN & Y fan and now was standing next to all four on stage.  Stephen Stills I knew through Joe Walsh pretty well before that.

Could you sense the magic in these four?

Yes, definitely!  When all four are together, there’s a very particular kind of magic.  That was really a very special assignment to play with these legends, and I’ll always be grateful to Neil that he chose me to do that.

When was it that you were finally able to make a living with music?

That was around the middle of the sixties. I moved from East LA, where I grew up, to the Hollywood Hills area.  That’s where I met a bunch of musicians and never had problems finding a band that needed a bass player.  My first big concerts were in 1984 with Dan Fogelberg, who is unfortunately no longer among us.  Joe Vitale [who later became Joe Walsh] introduced me to Dan. A short while later I landed in Joe’s band.  I still play with him today, when time permits.  Over the years, Joe has always been my life insurance.

It’s always good, isn’t it, to know people like that, especially as a bassist?

Oh yes, that can sometimes be very good.  And I still love it now, playing with Joe.  He’s an extraordinary guitarist like Neil.  And both were my idols, besides that, in the late 60’s.  I bought every record that both Neil and Joe put out.  That I later was able to play in the bands of both guitarists I look upon as a great big gift from God.

You were introduced to Neil young through Joe Walsh?

Yes, indirectly.  Neil and I met each other for the first time when I played with the Joe Walsh band at a Farm Aid festival that Neil organized.  I believe it was 1986, somewhere in the Midwest.  I can still remember Neil standing off to the side of the stage as we played our set.  I was honored and a bit nervous when I noticed him observing us.  It still took a couple of years, but this tour opened doors for me, because neil liked my bass playing. And when in 1988 he put together a band for “This Note’s For You,” he remembered me and called me up.

How would you characterize your bass playing?  What’s your philosophy?

My philosophy is: less is more!  For this type of music it’s not as important to play bass solos or to show how many notes you can pack into a certain amount of time. This type of music demands that you listen really well to the song and to the whole band and then find the place that best serves the song and that doesn’t put you in anyone else’s way.  That’s how I think and that’s how I play. Besides that, together with the drummer, as a bass player you are providing a groove, which is especially important.  The groove happens automatically when you’re not playing too many notes.  Moreover, everything sounds much bigger then.  Provided that you’re playing with a good drummer.  Chad Cromwell (from Nashville, with musicians including mark knopfler, Vince Gill and Trisha Yearwood] is a fantastic drummer.  He determines the groove and you only have to log in.  That makes my job really easy.  There is some music, that of the Rd Hot Chili Peppers for example, in which you want to play a lot of notes. With our music you have to think about it a little longer and  find out what you’re playing and   -- even more important – wht you’re not playing!

So the space between is just as important and the notes themselves?

Exactly!  Or put another way:  the notes that you aren’t playing are just as important as the one’s you are.

Neil Young once said that it actually didn’t matter which sounds he played, because the sounds that he heard in his head, he couldn’t play anyway . . .

Yes, that really makes sense!  I can remember a story, when we were recording a song once in new york City.  I played something  wrong in one spot and wanted to rerecord this track because of the bad note.   But he said: “No, no – that spot sounds really great!”  But I was unhappy with that  – and so he let me play the song again properly and sadi: “I’ll make a copy of this, and that will be for you.  And I’ll keep the version with the note that you don’t like.”  After this experience, I never questioned it again, and if Neil likes the outcome of something, then I’m happy.

Does your playing style, and the philosophy that lies behind it, tend to nurture a very specific bass sound?

Yes, definitely.  But first of all it depends on the particular song.  So, for many, many years I used round wound strings, which John Entwistle recommended to me.  John was a good friend of mind, I got to know him when he lived in Los Angeles.  By the way, he was a big influence on me, even though he’s a totally different type of bassist.  He showed me the Maxima Gold strings, that happen to be manufactured in Germany, and these strings were always on my jazz bass.  When I switched over top Lakland basses, I tried flatwound strings, and that totally changed my thinking and  my playing.  Everything sounds rounder, softer and fuller, whereas the roundwounds sound wirey with a lot more highs.  Both sounds are good, but for the moment I’m into the flatwounds. With them the bass sounds big, full and warm.  And it doesn’t drone as quickly, because the strings don’t swing out as long as they do with the roundwounds.

I noticed that you play mostly with the thumb and then also strike pretty far up beyond the end of the Fretboard. 

Yes, exactly!  The position just happened by coincidence, just makes the bass sound great.  I haven’t seen too many bassists who play this way.  Howie Epstein, the bassist for Tom Petty’s band, who is unfortunately no longer among us, also played this way.  He was also the one, by the way, who recommended Lakland basses to me, a really good tip.   Today I still play sometimes with a pick, for example, when we play ‘Rockin’ in the Free World”, and also still with the fingers, but my favorite sound comes about with the thumb and with this special strike position. 

Do you also play five-string basses?

I do in fact have a five-string, but as John Entwistle said also, I’m still busy studying the four-string.  Besides that, the low tones of the B-string don’t sound to me like those of a real bass, but more like a synthesizer.  Sometimes I tune the E string of the four-string note lower, but then that’s enough.  I’m sure that there are bassists who can start something decent with t five string, but I – I own one, as I said, but I don’t play it.

What does your amplification set up look like?

Rick´s Rig

I play through an old Ampeg SVT form the seventies.  The new Ampegs are very good, too, but I like the old ones, because they simply sound even warmer and rounder.  Daryll Jones recommended these old VTs to me, and he was right about it. He has two old SVTs, that now and again blow up, but he plays nothing else.  The top I combine with a newer Ampeg 8 x 10” box.  Parallel to the Ampeg stack I use a Fender set up that Larry (Cragg, neil young’s Amp and guitar technician) and his people built for me.  Originally, it was a Fender Twin Reverb, I believe, from which the techs took just the top part and bumped the capacity up to 235 watts.  Inside the box there’s a 15” JBL speaker.  This Frankenstein set up may look like an old Showman stack, but it isn’t.

How come you use two set ups?

The Fender set up gives me the sound that I need when we play the quieter acoustic songs – it sounds very deep, very warm and soft.  And the SVT comes into play when we do the loud stuff.  I think our sound man uses both set ups parallel to each other, and depending on the sound, puts the one or the other in the foreground.

That seems to be a very simple set up.

Yes, it is simple, and it does its job.  Like I said before:  less is more, even with equipment.

So, no pedals, effects, etc.?

No, I used them early on, but now the priority is a good, clean sound.  And when I need some feedback on occasion, then I go close to the amps – and pretty quickly it’s whistling.  You know, I’m a man who, in his late fifties, still plays with feedback – is that not a little crazy? J

Who besides Entwistle has also influenced you?

Many bassists.  Paul McCartney, for example.  But also a lot of black bassists like Wilton Felder, who isn’t actually all that well known as a bassist.  He’s a saxophonist for the jazz Crusaders, but he often played bass on their recordings, and really had a great style.  Then Motown man james jamerson of course, or Duck Dunn.  Or Joe Osborn, who was the most booked studio bassist in LA.  He played on thousands of albums and hundreds of hit songs – a wonderful bassist and a big influence on me.  I ove his sound, even though he often played with a pick.  Or Jaco Pastorius, even though I don’t play jazz.  He brought bass playing to a new level.  I almost quit playing bass myself after I heard Jaco for the first time – it was simply too much, simply too good.

What was the personal highlight of your career?

Hmmm – maybe the tour with CSN&Y, which we just talked about.  But also everything that Neil does is always a highlight for me.  The filming of “Heart of Gold” was simply outstanding, and the film in my opinion turned out really well.  Also my work with Joe Walsh is great and always a highlight.  And two years ago we did a TV show for Jerry Lee Lewis, for which I got to play with a few really great musicians: Jim keltner, nils Lofgren, Aaron Neville and some others.  We were the backup band and accompanied people like Tom jones, Don Henley, norah jones, Salomon Burke, Willie nelson, Ron Wood and many more.  That was surely a big moment in my career.  And there are still a few to come.  Right after this part of the tour is over, that is, end of August, I will fly with Ben [Keith, the guitarist/pedalsteeler for the Electric Band] to Nashville, to record an album with Jerry Lee Lewis, which Ben is producing.  Again with Jim Keltner and all the rest. And on October 14^th, this tour is continuing on in Canada and North America,  and Neil has already let on that we will hang on for another year yet, maybe go to Australia, Japan and New Zealand, and possibly also back to Europe, because the resonance here is really excellent.

Then you are keeping very busy these days . . .

You can say that again.  And in between that, we play shows now and again with Neil’s wife Pegi, with whom we made a great album.  I don’t even know when I’ll make it back home next. J But that’s OK.

Do you have family at home?

Both my parents are no longer among us, but my brother is still alive.  And then I also have a girlfriend, who lives with me.  We don’t have any children, so it’s pretty peaceful at our place, when I happen to be there.

But you have been to Germany before?

No – believe it or not – this is my first time in Europe and I’m very grateful to Neil for bringing me here with him.  Germany has really impressed me, Berlin was simply outstanding and I imagined Hamburg to be completely different.  I always though it was a dirty industrial, harbor city, but it has a whole lot more to offer.  Hamburg is probably one of the most beautiful cities in Germany, is that possible?  My favorite city in Europe, however, is Amsterdam, a very special city. 

If a young bassist were to ask you how to become a successful and good player, how would you answer?

Regardless of how long it takes, learn the music that you yourself love to hear.  And then go out and play with others as often as you possibly can.  Then you keep getting better, because it expands your mind and also your playing.  Play in clubs, play at every opportunity that arises!  I played in dance clubs for years, six days a week – that was a good schooling.  There isn’t much more that can happen to you up on stage after that.

Is there a particular musician with whom you’d like to experience playing with?

Yes.  I have said this before, that I like Jazz.  And I am a big Pat Metheny fan,  really like him and his music.  He and Lyle mays create a really unique sound.  But, also as I just said, I don’t play jazz – and so it looks like that will remain a dream.  I’m better off sticking with my roots, with what I know.  Oh – I’d love to play sometime with the Rolling Stones, a really great band.  Darryl Jones, their bassist, is a very good jazz musician, but atleast as good a rock musician, simply an insane bassist.  Back then, when Bill Wyman left the Stones,  all hell broke loose among bassists in LA.  Everyone wanted that job J.  By the way, I also like to play country music.  It’s simply great to play with folks like Willie Nelson.  Nerle haggard’s music is also great.  So – the list of people I’d like to play with is actually endless, there are so many great musicians out there.

OK, Rick – thank you very much for the conversation!

I thank you and I hope that I haven’t told you a bunch of nonsense.  Have fun at the show tonight!

The Concert

Oh God – we photographers get to be in the first row, but only for the first two songs. – and please only shoot without a flash!  But what happens when old Neil gets a notion to open the show by himself with a pair of acoustic numbers?  We still need photos of the band. . . so, good – very broad shoulders and a particular tone in addressing the head of security permit no further discussion.  The spectators behind me, who had stood in the first row for  two hours behind a barricade fence probably also had something against photographers spending extra time in the photography pit, which, in the Hamburg city park, isn’t even a pit, after all.  Some already had tears in their eyes, that they – who had each paid through the nose, 83 Euros, and who had been there two hours before start time, now had photographers standing in front of them.  Others even swore at and threatened us.  But the nonchalant colleague shooting photos for the NDR, recommended that they address their complaints to the venue management and leave us alone.   

Ben Keith, Rick Rosas & Neil Young

But then the mood quickly improved, since the band – and not in fact Neil solo – arrived about ½ hour late and broke loose immediately with a wild rocker – and the wild ride was on it’s way, on into a thought-provoking concert.  During the second song, the woman who’d scolded me in the beginning, whacked me hard on the shoulders and shouted in my ear that I should at least do my job and not be dancing – and she, dammit all, had a point.  But what could I do, the man up there happened to be playing ‘Cowgirl in the Sand,” and for that I can’t stand still – not with all the memories that it conjures up! OK – one half hour and many, many photos later, we had to finally leave our spot in the sun and join the public to become just another fan. And we were heartily served, as the band, and above all Neil Young himself, was playful, intense and generous.  They offered a colorful program from the comprehensive material of their boss, of which, if I recall correctly – only one song (“No Hidden Path”) appeared out of the last album ‘Chrome Dreams II’.  But for that, a rich offering of classics like ‘Unknown Legend,’ ‘Heart of Gold,’ ‘The Needle and the Damage Done,’ ‘Too Far Gone,’ ‘Hey Hey, My My,’ a cashing, long, hypnotic ‘Powderfinger,’. . . you name it! Outstanding the single encore, “A Day in the Life,” for which even John Lennon from above would have had paid no less than respect and high esteem.  A terrific concert is at an end,  we travel the long path home on the now empty A1 and we are – totally unexpectedly – still impressed. 

The band: Neil Young, Ben keith (guitar, pedal steel, organ), Rick Rosas (bass), Chad Cromwwell (drums), Pegi Young (vocals, piano, vibraphone), Anthony Crawford (vocals, guitar).

Translation: Ilsabe Schlingensiepen
Pictures: Ampeg, Lakland, Rebellius