Talas

Does anybody else here dig Talas? One of my all time faves.

If it wasn't for David Lee Roth, Talas may have become a huge band.
They were on the edge when Roth swooped in and stole their legendary
bassist.

I've never actually heard them. I only know them because of Billy Sheehan, but I've heard that they were fairly mediocre, with the exception of Billy. But again, I've never actually heard them, so my opinion may not be worth a plugged nickel.

Roth recorded one of Talas' songs on his "Eat 'Em and Smile" album.

ultmetal wrote:

Roth recorded one of Talas' songs on his "Eat 'Em and Smile" album.

Do you know which one? I think it was Shyboy, but I could be wrong.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Roth recorded one of Talas' songs on his "Eat 'Em and Smile" album.

Do you know which one? I think it was Shyboy, but I could be wrong.

Yup, Shyboy.

I'll have to check these guys out. How many albums did they record?

What would be a good starting point?

ultmetal wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Roth recorded one of Talas' songs on his "Eat 'Em and Smile" album.

Do you know which one? I think it was Shyboy, but I could be wrong.

Yup, Shyboy.

According to Wikipedia, Talas/Billy also wrote Addicted to that Rush, which was later recorded by Mr. Big. So between that and Shyboy, I apparently have heard some Talas songs, just not in their original versions.

I have "If we knew then what we know now" which was recorded live in 98 & cdr's of their earlier stuff but I cant remember the names of the albums, when I find out I'll post them. They were good at writing catchy hook filled songs, & Billy's playing was awesome, the whole band was awesome for a 3 piece.

Quote :

They were good at writing catchy hook filled songs

Okay - I love stuff like that.

I live in Buffalo and let me tell you Talas are/were Great!!!

Albums:
TALAS
Sink Your Teeth Into That
Live Speed on Ice
and the afore mentioned Reunion album
If We Knew Now...


Drummer /Vocalist - Paul Varge retired a few years back!

Guitarist/Vocalist - Dave Constantino is still very active in the Buffalo music scene, playing the Blues Rock of his roots!

Hey criss! Great to see you over here!


This has become my 'second' home as of late!

Of course I have all of Talas' stuff.

'Sink Your Teeth Into That' and 'Live Speed On Ice' were reissued together as 'Billy Sheehan - The Talas Years'

'NV4 3345' and '7718 (3A17)' are two of the greatest Bass solos ever recorded.

brontotex wrote:

'Sink Your Teeth Into That' and 'Live Speed On Ice' were reissued together as 'Billy Sheehan - The Talas Years'

I have that on cassette. Great stuff.

Hamer12 wrote:

Does anybody else here dig Talas? One of my all time faves.

Heck yeah!!! I've also got "Billy Sheehan-The Talas Years" on cassette. Excellent stuff!! I knew the name Billy Sheehan from Mr. Big, whom I've been listening to since '91. I heard of Talas in '03 when my job took me to Western New York quite a bit. I was talking about music with a coworker up there, and mentioned Mr. Big. He asked me if I had ever heard of Talas, and told how Sheehan and his band Talas were this amazing local band. I found my cassette at a local used music and movies type shop.

I liked the album a lot the first time I heard it, but it has been one of those albums that has built on me. The more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it. It sounds a lot like Mr. Big, but better. I like the moments where Billy really shows off on bass

some Sheenan news:

Legendary Bass Master Bill Sheehan is releasing his much anticipated third solo album entitled “Holy Cow!” on Mascot Records on April 14th, 2009.

The albums tracks showcase Sheehan’s immense talents as both a singer/songwriter and instrumentalist.

Sheehan pulled in top-notch arsenal with guest performances by Billy Gibbons on “A Lit’l Bit’l Do It To Ya Ev’ry Time,” Paul Gilbert (who played with Sheehan in Mr Big) on “Dynamic Exhilarator,” Doug Pinnick (Kings-X) on the song “Turning Point” as well as Ray Luzier on drums and shred master Tony MacAlpine.

Sheehan has played over 4,000 shows with a career that includes being a member of such bands as Talas, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, and Steve Vai. Voted the "Best Rock Bass Player" 5 times in Guitar Player magazines Readers Poll, an honor which placed Sheehan in their "Gallery of Greats" (alongside Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee and Eddie Van Halen to name but a few). With cumulative sales of over 4 million records in his career, Billy Sheehan has made the album his fans have been waiting for, over the top playing with strong songs.

Sheehan continues to stretch the boundaries of the bass guitar while showcasing his immense talent as a guitarist (Baritone 12 string and 6 string guitars) and singer. Look for a Billy Sheehan solo tour to promote this album in the very near future.

manny wrote:

some Sheenan news:

Legendary Bass Master Bill Sheehan is releasing his much anticipated third solo album entitled “Holy Cow!” on Mascot Records on April 14th, 2009.

The albums tracks showcase Sheehan’s immense talents as both a singer/songwriter and instrumentalist.

Sheehan pulled in top-notch arsenal with guest performances by Billy Gibbons on “A Lit’l Bit’l Do It To Ya Ev’ry Time,” Paul Gilbert (who played with Sheehan in Mr Big) on “Dynamic Exhilarator,” Doug Pinnick (Kings-X) on the song “Turning Point” as well as Ray Luzier on drums and shred master Tony MacAlpine.

Sheehan has played over 4,000 shows with a career that includes being a member of such bands as Talas, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, and Steve Vai. Voted the "Best Rock Bass Player" 5 times in Guitar Player magazines Readers Poll, an honor which placed Sheehan in their "Gallery of Greats" (alongside Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee and Eddie Van Halen to name but a few). With cumulative sales of over 4 million records in his career, Billy Sheehan has made the album his fans have been waiting for, over the top playing with strong songs.

Sheehan continues to stretch the boundaries of the bass guitar while showcasing his immense talent as a guitarist (Baritone 12 string and 6 string guitars) and singer. Look for a Billy Sheehan solo tour to promote this album in the very near future.

He's touring Japan with the re-united Mr. Big as well, isn't he?

as a matter fact metalguy here is the news story from Eddie 'The Tool" Trunk's website:

Renowned bassist Billy Sheehan tells Joe Bosso of MusicRadar that the original lineup of Mr. Big will reunite for a June tour of Japan.

"We got together last fall" says Sheehan. "It was just one of those things, the timing was right. We played a gig at the House Of Blues in LA and we smoked the joint. Afterwards, we all kind of looked at one another and were like, 'OK, that was cool...Now what?"

That 'now what?' will soon entail an extensive tour of Japan, which the band will officially announce at a press conference in that country next week. But as huge as the original lineup Mr Big were in the far east (and they were very 'big,' pardon the pun) Sheehan insists a cash-cow nostalgia tour was never the plan.

"The way I look at it is, it's like getting back with an old girlfriend," says Sheehan. "But because you want to, not because you have to. All of us are doing fine in our solo careers. This is something that felt right, and after that one gig we were like, 'We should do more of these. This was fun!'"

Fun was something that was lacking in Mr Big when guitarist Paul Gilbert left the group (which also included singer Eric Martin and drummer Pat Torpey) in the late '90s. He was replaced by guitarist Richie Kotzen, whom Sheehan describes as an "awesome musician and a dear friend." Still, in Sheehan's view, the chemistry in the band was never the same after Gilbert's departure.

"It's like The Three Stooges or something," he says. "One guy leaves, another comes in, it might still be good, but it's never the same. That's the way it was after Paul left. Everybody felt a void."

While Mr Big achieved significant success on both sides of the Atlantic during the days of hair metal ("such a bizarre term for a bizarre time," says Sheehan), they were viewed as kings in Japan, receiving the kind of treatment once granted The Beatles and, a decade later, KISS.

In turn, Mr Big churned out albums such as Japanemonium and Live At Budokan. They even wrote a song called I Love You Japan. Talk about giving back to your fans.

"Why we broke big in Japan is one of those things you can't even begin to figure out," says Sheehan. "It was just meant to happen."

Even so, the bassist stresses that their decision to stage their reunion shows has nothing to do banking serious yen. "Us going to Japan to plan is more about being in a place that's comfortable, and being around fans who will be good to us," says Sheehan. "And maybe they'll give us some constructive criticism too, who knows? But it's not about making money. Believe me, we could've done this ten years ago if that's was all we were after."

That said, the fact that this is now the 20th anniversary of Mr Big's formation doesn't escape Sheehan. "I know how it looks," he says. "Band gets together after 20 years to cash in. It's like Spinal Tap or something.

"But trust me, we're in this to play and have a good time. When you consider the amount of rehearsals you have to have with a band, how much time you have to spend together, how many hours you have to sit on planes and backstage and whatever, there's no amount of money that can make it worthwhile unless you really want to do it."

As for the animosity that tore the original lineup apart, Sheehan laughs and says, "You know what? I can't honestly remember who was mad at who. That's the great thing about getting older: you forget the bad times and remember the good times. And hopefully, this band will have a lot more of the latter."