We could go through modern music history and try and look for musicians who are as innovative as Tony Levin. But we wouldn't find that many. His approach to bass playing, as well as his Chapman stick work, has made an incredible impact on prog rock and rock music in general. But, as Levin explained in a recent interview with Mitch Lafon, it's actually not just about him. Being incredibly humble, Levin says that it's a cumulation of all the work that he did with other musicians over the years. He also teaches us that, through humility, we allow people to influence our playing and music, ultimately helping us become better and more versatile.
During the chat, Levin was asked about work with Peter Gabriel and whether he ever thought that he can't pull off any of the musician's requests, or whether he has this "natural talent" and manages to pull off whatever's thrown at him. Levin replied (transcribed by UG):
Very good question. Let's forget the last part of it. I don't have this natural talent. I have become a better player from all of the musicians who are very good musicians that I get to play with. It started when I was a kid and the drummer in my first band, the band was called The Cavaliers. The drummer was great. And I wasn't. [laughs] And I didn't become great from those couple of years. But you learn.
One of the great things about music is when you have the chance to be with players who were kind of at a level above you. You get to get to learn.
However, with Peter, I have become a very different and, I think, better musician because of his... Aside from his playing, which is darn good, and his thinking... And his stage presence, by the way. And I learned from that. I don't imitate him. But I learned from standing behind a guy who's a great performer - you not only get to enjoy it and appreciate it, but hopefully, you up your own game as a performer. But he's so open to alternative ideas, musical ideas. It's not because he's a prog player or because he came from Genesis, it's just the way that he is, as a person, as a musical personality. Starting in July '76, when I was first exposed to that. And maybe I played a somewhat normal bass part. And he said, 'Well, what if you went high?' Or all kinds of unusual things. Let me tell you a quick story.
Many years later, when I first showed up with the instrument, the Chapman Stick. He's looked at that and watched me playing it. It's a touch style instrument you play with your fingers. And he thought for a minute and he said, 'Well, what if you put cymbals on your fingers?'
And think about that. He was looking at the most alternative-sounding and looking bass he had ever seen. And his first thought was, 'How can we make that really alternative to what it is?' And frankly, the end of that story is that I still have not tried cymbals on my fingers. [laughs] So that's waiting somewhere in the future, but that gives you an idea.
And also, the piece 'Big Time,' in which I had drummer Jerry Marotta playing on the bass strings while I did the fingering when we did the album. Playing live I was trying to play it with one drum stick in my right hand and constantly practicing that at soundcheck. And one day at soundcheck, Peter went by me and looked at me and said, 'Why don't you take two drumsticks and cut them down and put them on your fingers?' And I did and I called them 'funk fingers.' A whole different way of playing. I would have never thought of it.
And he just... It's like rolling off a log to him, looking at things in a different way than other people look at them. And I think when we see his live show, part of the reason that it moves us so, the audience and the band, is that we just see this guy and his personality, his inside is out there for you to see. He thought, 'Well, what if I was hanging upside down singing this song and walking in a circle?' And nobody else would think of that no one else would dream of it. And we relate to that. And we were attracted to that. And that's part of the magic of Peter Gabriel shows.
