Tony Levin
Encyclopedia
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar
, Chapman stick
and upright bass (although he also sings and plays synthesizer
).
Levin is best known for his work with progressive rock
pioneers King Crimson
and Peter Gabriel
. He has also been a member of Liquid Tension Experiment
; the King Crimson-related bands Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
, ProjeKct One and ProjeKct Four; and currently leads his own Tony Levin Band.
A prolific session musician
since the 1970s, Levin has played on five hundred albums, including those of Cher
, Alice Cooper
, John Lennon
, Sarah McLachlan
, Stevie Nicks
, Pink Floyd
, Dire Straits
, Lou Reed
, Tom Waits
, Buddy Rich
, The Roches
, Todd Rundgren
, Seal
, Yes
and Warren Zevon
. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Paul Simon
(with whom Tony appeared in Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony), Gary Burton
, James Taylor
, Herbie Mann
, Judy Collins
, Carly Simon
, Peter Frampton
, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
, Peter Gabriel
, Tim Finn
, Richie Sambora
, and Claudio Baglioni
.
Levin helped to popularize the Chapman Stick
and the NS upright bass
. He also created "funk fingers
", modified drumsticks attached to fingers used to hit the bass guitar strings (which sounds similar to slap style bass).
Levin is also one of the first blog
gers, as he began sharing his tour experiences in a diary way as early as in 1996, one year before the terms "weblog" and "blog
" were coined.
. He began playing double bass
at 10 years old, primarily studying classical music. In high school, he learned tuba
, soloing with the concert band, and also started a barbershop quartet.
After high school, he attended the Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, NY and played in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
. Also at Eastman, he studied with drummer Steve Gadd
. He traded in his Ampeg
electric upright "Baby Bass" for a Fender Precision Bass
; his first bass amplifier on early days was an Ampeg Portaflex
B-15.
Tony's brother, Pete Levin
, is a New York keyboardist
and writer who is best known for his work with Gil Evans
. In the 1970s, Tony and Pete collaborated with Steve Gadd in the comedy band The Clams. Levin has stated that some of the Clams's material may eventually be released.
, joining a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast, with Don Preston
of The Mothers of Invention
. Soon after, he began working as a session musician, and through the 1970s he played bass on many albums, including Buddy Rich
's big band jazz album, The Roar of '74.
In 1976, Levin joined with Steve Gadd on drums to create the lush textures the two created on Andy Pratt
's critically acclaimed "Resolution" album that included other A-list studio musicians like Arif Mardin, Andy Newmark, Hugh McDonald, and Luther Vandross. Allmusic.com and Rolling Stone Magazine rated this album as one of the best singer/songwriter albums of the 1970s.
In the late 1970s, Tony joined Peter Gabriel
's band. He had met Gabriel through producer Bob Ezrin
(with whom Tony had recorded Alice Cooper
's Welcome to My Nightmare
and Lou Reed
's Berlin
). Levin has been Gabriel's bass player of choice ever since, both on the road and in the studio. On Gabriel's first solo album, Levin played tuba as well as bass, and directed a short barbershop quartet version of a song.
In these early years with Gabriel, Levin developed his playing of the Chapman Stick
. In 1986, the song "Big Time", from Gabriel's So
album, inspired the development of funk fingers
, which are chopped off drumsticks used to hammer on the bass strings. Levin credits Gabriel with the idea, and Andy Moore, his tech at the time, with actually making them workable.
In 1978, Levin moved to Woodstock, New York
, to join the band L'Image, which included his old friend Steve Gadd
, as well as Mike Mainieri
and Warren Bernhardt
. The band broke up after a year, and Levin stayed in Woodstock, where he still lives. While recording and touring Peter Gabriel's first album, Levin became acquainted with Robert Fripp
, and in 1980, after having played on Fripp's solo album, Exposure
, he became a member of the 1980s incarnation of King Crimson
. He also played all of the bass guitar and Chapman Stick parts on Pink Floyd
's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason
as a session player.
In 1989 Bruford asked Levin to play in Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
, a splinter group of the band Yes
. Because of the obvious emphasis on this being a band of former Yes members, Levin was never invited to become an official member, but played on ABWH's eponymous album (as well as the accompanying tour), and also on Yes' 1991 album Union.
In 1984 Tony released Road Photos, a collection of black & white photos taken during his travels with Crimson, Gabriel, Simon and others. Another book of photos focusing on King Crimson's travels in the 1980s, The Crimson Chronicles volume 1, was released in 2004. There has been no word yet on the release of volume 2, which will cover the 1990s and possibly 2000s versions of the band. Levin has also written a book of career anecdotes and road stories called Beyond the Bass Clef.
Tony was part of King Crimson
up until the mid-1990s breakup of the "Double Trio" line-up of the band which consisted of Tony Levin, Robert Fripp
, Adrian Belew
, Trey Gunn
, Pat Mastelotto
and Bill Bruford
. Fripp then reformed King Crimson
as a quartet, without Levin and Bruford. Levin also took part in two of the post-breakup experimental sub-groups, ProjeKct One (1997) and ProjeKct Four (1998).
with trumpet
er Chris Botti
and guitar
ist David Torn
; the group released albums in 1998 and 2000. Levin also continued producing albums with his own band, the Tony Levin Band. This band consists of Jerry Marotta
, Jesse Gress, Larry Fast
and his brother, Pete Levin.
In 1997, Levin teamed up with Mike Portnoy
and John Petrucci
, members of Dream Theater
, as well as future Dream Theater
keyboardist Jordan Rudess
, for a project called Liquid Tension Experiment
. The combo released two albums, Liquid Tension Experiment
and Liquid Tension Experiment 2
in 1998 and 1999 respectively, as well as playing short tours in 1998 and 2008. There have also been two CDs of material released under the name Liquid Trio Experiment; the first composed of studio jams from the LTE2 sessions sans Petrucci (Spontaneous Combustion), released for the band's tenth anniversary, and a live recording from a 2008 Chicago gig where Rudess's rig crashed and the other three covered for it with a nearly hour-long improvisation (When the Keyboard Breaks).
Levin also regularly plays live and occasionally records with the California Guitar Trio
when schedules permit.
In 2004 Trey Gunn left King Crimson, and Fripp reinstated Levin as the bassist, although the band remained inactive until 2008. In 2006, Levin released Resonator
an album which features long time band mates Jerry Marotta
, Jesse Gress
, Larry Fast
, with the addition of his brother Pete Levin. The album is the first to feature Levin's singing.
2007 saw the release of Stick Man, an album of pieces recorded on the Chapman Stick
, which was followed up in the winter of 2008-09 with a tour also including King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto and fellow Chapman Stick player Michael Bernier. This group, under the name Stick Men, toured Europe in late 2009 and America in May 2010. To coincide with the tour, Stick Men's first album Soup was released on May 9, 2010. Meanwhile, they have released a limited edition CD billed as a preview of the upcoming album, which was sold only during their autumn 2009 tour with Porcupine Tree
. Michael Bernier left the group shortly after the release of Soup and was replaced by Markus Reuter
in early August 2010. Subsequent to the band's South American tour in March 2011 Reuter was working with Levin and Mastelotto on learning the old material, as well as writing and recording the EP Absalom.
A re-formed King Crimson played eleven live dates in August 2008, but no further plans have been announced.
In 2009, Levin reunited with his band from 1973, "L'Image", featuring Mike Mainieri
, Warren Bernhardt
, David Spinozza
and Steve Gadd
. The group performed at the Iridium Jazz Club
in New York City, toured Japan, and released the album "L'Image 2.0".
In 2010 Levin toured with HoBoLeMa
, a super group consisting of Allan Holdsworth
on guitar, Levin on bass, and Pat Mastelotto and Terry Bozzio
on drums. They performed sets completely of improvisation with no prewritten music.
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Chapman stick
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
and upright bass (although he also sings and plays synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
).
Levin is best known for his work with progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
pioneers King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
. He has also been a member of Liquid Tension Experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment is an instrumental progressive rock/metal supergroup, founded by Dream Theater's former drummer Mike Portnoy in 1997. The band has released two albums through Magna Carta Records...
; the King Crimson-related bands Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
Bruford Levin Upper Extremities was a musical group composed of drummer Bill Bruford, bassist Tony Levin, guitarist David Torn, and trumpeter Chris Botti....
, ProjeKct One and ProjeKct Four; and currently leads his own Tony Levin Band.
A prolific session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
since the 1970s, Levin has played on five hundred albums, including those of Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
, Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, The Roches
The Roches
The Roches are a female vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.The Roches have been active as performers and recording artists since the mid-1970s,...
, Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
and Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
(with whom Tony appeared in Simon's 1980 film One Trick Pony), Gary Burton
Gary Burton
Gary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
, Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...
, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe was a project of four progressive rock musicians, vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe . They had played together in Yes in the early 1970s...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Tim Finn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
, Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
, and Claudio Baglioni
Claudio Baglioni
Claudio Baglioni is an Italian musician. His various works include the official Anthem for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. He has also written for previous sporting events....
.
Levin helped to popularize the Chapman Stick
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
and the NS upright bass
Electric upright bass
The electric upright bass is an electronically amplified version of the double bass that has a minimal or 'skeleton' body, which greatly reduces the size and weight of the instrument. The EUB retains enough of the features of the double bass so that double bass players are comfortable performing...
. He also created "funk fingers
Funk fingers
Funk Fingers are a kind of drumsticks that are attached to the fingers of a bass player for producing percussive, funky sounds on a bass guitar. They were created by Tony Levin and his guitar tech, Andy Moore...
", modified drumsticks attached to fingers used to hit the bass guitar strings (which sounds similar to slap style bass).
Levin is also one of the first blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers, as he began sharing his tour experiences in a diary way as early as in 1996, one year before the terms "weblog" and "blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
" were coined.
Early life and education
Levin was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in the suburb of BrooklineBrookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
. He began playing double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
at 10 years old, primarily studying classical music. In high school, he learned tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, soloing with the concert band, and also started a barbershop quartet.
After high school, he attended the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
in Rochester, NY and played in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, Monroe County, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music....
. Also at Eastman, he studied with drummer Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
. He traded in his Ampeg
Ampeg
Ampeg is primarily a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, though they also manufacture guitars to a small extent...
electric upright "Baby Bass" for a Fender Precision Bass
Fender Precision Bass
The Fender Precision Bass is an electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...
; his first bass amplifier on early days was an Ampeg Portaflex
Ampeg Portaflex
The Portaflex is a line of amplifiers created by Ampeg. Originally designed by Jess Oliver, the main characteristic of the Portaflex is that the head of the amplifier is stored inside the cabinet and flips over when being used...
B-15.
Tony's brother, Pete Levin
Pete Levin
Pete Levin is a jazz keyboardist, composer, and horn player with a 15-year association with the Gil Evans Orchestra and an 8-year association with Jimmy Giuffre. As a bandleader, he produced the album Deacon Blues in 2007...
, is a New York keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and writer who is best known for his work with Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
. In the 1970s, Tony and Pete collaborated with Steve Gadd in the comedy band The Clams. Levin has stated that some of the Clams's material may eventually be released.
1970s-1980s
In 1970, Levin moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, joining a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast, with Don Preston
Don Preston
Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
of The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
. Soon after, he began working as a session musician, and through the 1970s he played bass on many albums, including Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
's big band jazz album, The Roar of '74.
In 1976, Levin joined with Steve Gadd on drums to create the lush textures the two created on Andy Pratt
Andy Pratt (singer-songwriter)
Andy Pratt is an American rock music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In the 1970s, he made a number of experimental records that were appreciated by small audiences, and scored a commercial hit with "Avenging Annie"....
's critically acclaimed "Resolution" album that included other A-list studio musicians like Arif Mardin, Andy Newmark, Hugh McDonald, and Luther Vandross. Allmusic.com and Rolling Stone Magazine rated this album as one of the best singer/songwriter albums of the 1970s.
In the late 1970s, Tony joined Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
's band. He had met Gabriel through producer Bob Ezrin
Bob Ezrin
Robert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
(with whom Tony had recorded Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
's Welcome to My Nightmare
Welcome to My Nightmare
Welcome to My Nightmare is the eighth album by Alice Cooper, released in 1975. This was Alice Cooper's first solo album . The cover artwork was created by Drew Struzan for Pacific Eye & Ear. Rolling Stone would later rank it as one of the "Top 100 Album Covers Of All Time".Welcome to My Nightmare...
and Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's Berlin
Berlin (album)
Berlin is a 1973 album by Lou Reed, his third solo album and the follow-up to Transformer. In 2003, the album was ranked number 344 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, though the publication had called the album a "disaster" 30 years prior.-Background and...
). Levin has been Gabriel's bass player of choice ever since, both on the road and in the studio. On Gabriel's first solo album, Levin played tuba as well as bass, and directed a short barbershop quartet version of a song.
In these early years with Gabriel, Levin developed his playing of the Chapman Stick
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
. In 1986, the song "Big Time", from Gabriel's So
So (album)
So is the fifth studio album by British rock musician Peter Gabriel, released in 1986. Many of its songs reflect a more conventional pop-writing style and became radio hits, while others still retain Gabriel's dark, brooding sense of experimentalism.It is Peter Gabriel's second album produced by...
album, inspired the development of funk fingers
Funk fingers
Funk Fingers are a kind of drumsticks that are attached to the fingers of a bass player for producing percussive, funky sounds on a bass guitar. They were created by Tony Levin and his guitar tech, Andy Moore...
, which are chopped off drumsticks used to hammer on the bass strings. Levin credits Gabriel with the idea, and Andy Moore, his tech at the time, with actually making them workable.
In 1978, Levin moved to Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
, to join the band L'Image, which included his old friend Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
, as well as Mike Mainieri
Mike Mainieri
Michael T. Mainieri, Jr. is a vibraphonist best known for his work with the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead....
and Warren Bernhardt
Warren Bernhardt
Warren Bernhardt is a noted pianist in jazz, pop and classical music.His father was a pianist, leading him to have early childhood exposure to piano, and he learned some rudiments of keyboarding from his friends. At five his parents moved to New York City where he began studying seriously under...
. The band broke up after a year, and Levin stayed in Woodstock, where he still lives. While recording and touring Peter Gabriel's first album, Levin became acquainted with Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
, and in 1980, after having played on Fripp's solo album, Exposure
Exposure (Robert Fripp album)
-Side two:-2006 bonus disc third edition:-2006 bonus tracks :-Personnel:* Robert Fripp — guitars, Frippertronics* Daryl Hall — vocals on "Preface," "You Burn Me Up," "North Star," "Disengage II," "Chicago" disc two, "New York" disc two, "Exposure" bonus track, "Mary" bonus track; piano on "You Burn...
, he became a member of the 1980s incarnation of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
. He also played all of the bass guitar and Chapman Stick parts on Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK and US in September 1987. In 1985 guitarist David Gilmour began to assemble a group of musicians to work on his third solo album...
as a session player.
In 1989 Bruford asked Levin to play in Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe was a project of four progressive rock musicians, vocalist Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and guitarist Steve Howe . They had played together in Yes in the early 1970s...
, a splinter group of the band Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
. Because of the obvious emphasis on this being a band of former Yes members, Levin was never invited to become an official member, but played on ABWH's eponymous album (as well as the accompanying tour), and also on Yes' 1991 album Union.
In 1984 Tony released Road Photos, a collection of black & white photos taken during his travels with Crimson, Gabriel, Simon and others. Another book of photos focusing on King Crimson's travels in the 1980s, The Crimson Chronicles volume 1, was released in 2004. There has been no word yet on the release of volume 2, which will cover the 1990s and possibly 2000s versions of the band. Levin has also written a book of career anecdotes and road stories called Beyond the Bass Clef.
Tony was part of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
up until the mid-1990s breakup of the "Double Trio" line-up of the band which consisted of Tony Levin, Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
, Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
, Trey Gunn
Trey Gunn
Trey Gunn is an American musician, known for his membership in progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003, playing Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick.-Biography:...
, Pat Mastelotto
Pat Mastelotto
Pat Mastelotto is a rock drummer who has worked with Mr. Mister and King Crimson, amongst others. For King Crimson he initially formed part of the "double trio" lineup, joining Bill Bruford on drums...
and Bill Bruford
Bill Bruford
William Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...
. Fripp then reformed King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
as a quartet, without Levin and Bruford. Levin also took part in two of the post-breakup experimental sub-groups, ProjeKct One (1997) and ProjeKct Four (1998).
1990s-2000s
In 1998, Levin and Bruford formed Bruford Levin Upper ExtremitiesBruford Levin Upper Extremities
Bruford Levin Upper Extremities was a musical group composed of drummer Bill Bruford, bassist Tony Levin, guitarist David Torn, and trumpeter Chris Botti....
with trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er Chris Botti
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist David Torn
David Torn
David Torn is an American composer and guitarist.He is known for the organic blending/manipulation of electronic and acoustic instruments and performance techniques that have an atmospheric or textural quality and effect, along with a particular harmonic richness...
; the group released albums in 1998 and 2000. Levin also continued producing albums with his own band, the Tony Levin Band. This band consists of Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
, Jesse Gress, Larry Fast
Larry Fast
Lawrence Roger 'Larry' Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Hall and Oates.- Biography :Fast grew up in...
and his brother, Pete Levin.
In 1997, Levin teamed up with Mike Portnoy
Mike Portnoy
Michael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and a co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater, as well as the temporary drummer for the hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold. Known for his drumming prowess and technical...
and John Petrucci
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Along with his former bandmate Mike Portnoy, he has produced all Dream Theater albums since their 1999 release, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory...
, members of Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, as well as future Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
keyboardist Jordan Rudess
Jordan Rudess
Jordan Rudess is an American keyboardist best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive rock supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment.-Biography:...
, for a project called Liquid Tension Experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment is an instrumental progressive rock/metal supergroup, founded by Dream Theater's former drummer Mike Portnoy in 1997. The band has released two albums through Magna Carta Records...
. The combo released two albums, Liquid Tension Experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment (album)
Liquid Tension Experiment was released in 1998 by Liquid Tension Experiment through Magna Carta. The group is formed by John Petrucci , Mike Portnoy , Tony Levin , and Jordan Rudess . The album was written and recorded within one week of studio sessions.-Track listing:-References:...
and Liquid Tension Experiment 2
Liquid Tension Experiment 2
Liquid Tension Experiment 2 is the second album by the band Liquid Tension Experiment. The tracks were largely improvised with little rehearsal, and there are no vocals.-Track listing:-Personnel:*John Petrucci - guitars...
in 1998 and 1999 respectively, as well as playing short tours in 1998 and 2008. There have also been two CDs of material released under the name Liquid Trio Experiment; the first composed of studio jams from the LTE2 sessions sans Petrucci (Spontaneous Combustion), released for the band's tenth anniversary, and a live recording from a 2008 Chicago gig where Rudess's rig crashed and the other three covered for it with a nearly hour-long improvisation (When the Keyboard Breaks).
Levin also regularly plays live and occasionally records with the California Guitar Trio
California Guitar Trio
California Guitar Trio is a band of threeguitar players founded in 1991. Paul Richards of Salt Lake City, Utah, Bert Lams of Brussels,...
when schedules permit.
In 2004 Trey Gunn left King Crimson, and Fripp reinstated Levin as the bassist, although the band remained inactive until 2008. In 2006, Levin released Resonator
Resonator (album)
Resonator is a 2006 album by Tony Levin. The album is significantly different to Levin's previous solo efforts mainly due to the introduction of lead vocals on most of the tracks as well as an overall more rock-oriented sound....
an album which features long time band mates Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
, Jesse Gress
Jesse Gress
Jesse Gress is a rock guitarist. He tours and records with Todd Rundgren and the Tony Levin Band, and plays on all four of John Ferenzik's albums....
, Larry Fast
Larry Fast
Lawrence Roger 'Larry' Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Hall and Oates.- Biography :Fast grew up in...
, with the addition of his brother Pete Levin. The album is the first to feature Levin's singing.
2007 saw the release of Stick Man, an album of pieces recorded on the Chapman Stick
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
, which was followed up in the winter of 2008-09 with a tour also including King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto and fellow Chapman Stick player Michael Bernier. This group, under the name Stick Men, toured Europe in late 2009 and America in May 2010. To coincide with the tour, Stick Men's first album Soup was released on May 9, 2010. Meanwhile, they have released a limited edition CD billed as a preview of the upcoming album, which was sold only during their autumn 2009 tour with Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...
. Michael Bernier left the group shortly after the release of Soup and was replaced by Markus Reuter
Markus Reuter
Markus Reuter is a German musician, composer and record producer, specialising in touch guitar playing and loop music. Recently he has expanded his activities by moving into instrument design.-Biography:...
in early August 2010. Subsequent to the band's South American tour in March 2011 Reuter was working with Levin and Mastelotto on learning the old material, as well as writing and recording the EP Absalom.
A re-formed King Crimson played eleven live dates in August 2008, but no further plans have been announced.
In 2009, Levin reunited with his band from 1973, "L'Image", featuring Mike Mainieri
Mike Mainieri
Michael T. Mainieri, Jr. is a vibraphonist best known for his work with the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead....
, Warren Bernhardt
Warren Bernhardt
Warren Bernhardt is a noted pianist in jazz, pop and classical music.His father was a pianist, leading him to have early childhood exposure to piano, and he learned some rudiments of keyboarding from his friends. At five his parents moved to New York City where he began studying seriously under...
, David Spinozza
David Spinozza
David Spinozza is an American musician , who worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing Taylor's album Walking Man....
and Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
. The group performed at the Iridium Jazz Club
Iridium Jazz Club
The Iridium Jazz Club is a jazz club located on Broadway in New York City. The club hosts weekly performances by John Colianni, and also featured weekly performances by Les Paul for nearly fifteen years.- History :...
in New York City, toured Japan, and released the album "L'Image 2.0".
In 2010 Levin toured with HoBoLeMa
HoBoLeMa
HoBoLeMa is an improvisational instrumental supergroup consisting of Allan Holdsworth, Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto. The group toured Japan in November 2008, the West Coast of the United States in January 2009 and Europe in April and May 2010...
, a super group consisting of Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...
on guitar, Levin on bass, and Pat Mastelotto and Terry Bozzio
Terry Bozzio
Terry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.-Biography:Terry Bozzio was born December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw The Beatles premier performance on The Ed...
on drums. They performed sets completely of improvisation with no prewritten music.
Selected discography
Levin has played on about five hundred records as session musician or guest artist. The following records are those on which he is credited as a fully contributing band member or composer.- Discipline (1981) — King CrimsonKing CrimsonKing Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
- BeatBeat (King Crimson album)Beat is an album by the British rock band King Crimson, released in 1982.Of King Crimson's thirteen studio albums, this is the only album that does not have a title track, although its title is included in the name of the song "Heartbeat"....
(1982) — King Crimson - Three of a Perfect PairThree of a Perfect PairThree of a Perfect Pair is an album by the band King Crimson, released in 1984. The album is the culmination of the band's 80s period and is a balance between the experimental sounds of the "Red" album, Discipline, and the accessibility of the "Blue" album, Beat. Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew took...
(1984) — King Crimson - Cloud About MercuryCloud About MercuryCloud About Mercury is the second album by guitarist David Torn recorded in 1986 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Glenn Astarita awarded the album 5 stars stating "Simply put, Cloud About Mercury looms as one of the finest jazz fusion dates of the '80s, and should be...
(1986) — David Torn - Anderson Bruford Wakeman HoweAnderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (album)Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe is the self-titled album by four alumni of the progressive rock group Yes: Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman, and Steve Howe.- History :The project began in 1988...
(1989) - Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - Spin 1ne 2wo (1993) — Spin 1ne 2wo
- THRAKTHRAKTHRAK is an album by the band King Crimson released in 1995, the successor to the preceding mini-album Vrooom . This album was recorded in the "double trio" format of King Crimson.-Track listing:...
(1995) — King Crimson - World DiaryWorld Diary-Track listing:# Chasms # The Train # We Stand in Sapphire Silence # Smoke # Etude In The Key of Guildford # Espresso and the Bed of Nails # Mingled Roots # Nyatiti # Jewels...
(1995) — solo - Black Light SyndromeBlack Light SyndromeBlack Light Syndrome is the first studio album by Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin, and Steve Stevens released under the band name Bozzio Levin Stevens. The tracks are all instrumental and were all "spontaneously composed", according to the liner notes...
(1997) — Bozzio Levin StevensBozzio Levin StevensBozzio Levin Stevens is a supergroup power trio of rock, fusion, jazz and instrumental classical music, consisting of drummer Terry Bozzio , bassist and Chapman Stick player Tony Levin and guitarist Steve Stevens,... - From the Caves of the Iron MountainFrom the Caves of the Iron MountainFrom the Caves of the Iron Mountain is a music album by Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and Steve Gorn released in 1997 on Papa Bear Records.The album was recorded inside the Widow Jane Mine in the Catskill Mountains, New York by Tchad Blake using a binaural microphone setup...
(1997) — GornSteve GornSteve Gorn is a master bamboo flautist and saxophone player.Gorn has performed Indian classical music, jazz and new American music on the bansuri bamboo flute and soprano saxophone in concerts and festivals throughout the world...
, Levin, MarottaJerry MarottaJerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer.... - Liquid Tension ExperimentLiquid Tension Experiment (album)Liquid Tension Experiment was released in 1998 by Liquid Tension Experiment through Magna Carta. The group is formed by John Petrucci , Mike Portnoy , Tony Levin , and Jordan Rudess . The album was written and recorded within one week of studio sessions.-Track listing:-References:...
(1998) — Liquid Tension ExperimentLiquid Tension ExperimentLiquid Tension Experiment is an instrumental progressive rock/metal supergroup, founded by Dream Theater's former drummer Mike Portnoy in 1997. The band has released two albums through Magna Carta Records... - Bruford Levin Upper ExtremitiesBruford Levin Upper Extremities (album)This album is the debut album and the only studio album of the band Bruford Levin Upper Extremities.- Track listing :# "Cerulean Sea" – 7:03# "Interlude" – 0:23# "Original Sin" – 4:55# "Etude Revisited" – 4:57# "A Palace of Pearls" – 5:33...
(1998) — Bruford Levin Upper ExtremitiesBruford Levin Upper ExtremitiesBruford Levin Upper Extremities was a musical group composed of drummer Bill Bruford, bassist Tony Levin, guitarist David Torn, and trumpeter Chris Botti.... - Liquid Tension Experiment 2Liquid Tension Experiment 2Liquid Tension Experiment 2 is the second album by the band Liquid Tension Experiment. The tracks were largely improvised with little rehearsal, and there are no vocals.-Track listing:-Personnel:*John Petrucci - guitars...
(1999) — Liquid Tension Experiment - Waters of EdenWaters of EdenWaters of Eden is Tony Levin's second solo record, released in 2000. Most songs feature the basic quartet of Levin, Larry Fast, Jerry Marotta and Jeff Pevar...
(2000) — solo - Situation DangerousSituation DangerousSituation Dangerous is the second studio album by Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin, and Steve Stevens released under the band name Bozzio Levin Stevens. The band continued in the same progressive rock vein from writing their first album Black Light Syndrome, but with more time to prepare the tracks. These...
(2000) — Bozzio Levin Stevens - B.L.U.E. NightsB.L.U.E. NightsB.L.U.E. Nights is an album by Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, recorded live in Japan and the USA during 1998 and released in 2000.-Line-up:* Bill Bruford — drums* Tony Levin — bass guitars, Stick* Chris Botti — trumpet...
(2000) — Bruford Levin Upper Extremities - Pieces of the SunPieces of the SunPieces of the Sun is Tony Levin's third solo record. It is an often jazzy, progressive rock, instrumental record. It features the Tony Levin Band, which includes Levin on bass guitars, stick and cello, Jerry Marotta on drums, Larry Fast playing synthesisers and Jesse Gress on guitars...
(2002) — solo - Double EspressoDouble EspressoDouble Espresso is a live album performed by The Tony Levin Band at the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock, New York-Disk One:# "Pieces Of The Sun" - 7:15# "Geronimo" - 3:27# "Silhouette" - 4:35# "Dog One" - 5:36# "Tequila" - 5:15...
(2002) — solo - ResonatorResonator (album)Resonator is a 2006 album by Tony Levin. The album is significantly different to Levin's previous solo efforts mainly due to the introduction of lead vocals on most of the tracks as well as an overall more rock-oriented sound....
(2006) — solo - Stick Man (2007) — solo
- Spontaneous CombustionSpontaneous Combustion (album)Spontaneous Combustion is an album by Progressive metal/Fusion group Liquid Trio Experiment, and is the result of the studio improvisations of Liquid Tension Experiment which occurred while John Petrucci was with his wife while she was giving birth. The trio of Mike Portnoy, Tony Levin and Jordan...
(2007) - Liquid Trio Experiment - When the Keyboard Breaks: Live in ChicagoWhen the Keyboard Breaks: Live in ChicagoWhen the Keyboard Breaks is a live album by progressive metal group Liquid Trio Experiment 2. The album was recorded during a live show of Liquid Tension Experiment in Chicago, IL. The album came about when, during the track "Universal Mind", Jordan Rudess' Roland Fantom-G8 keyboard started...
(2009) - Liquid Trio Experiment 2 - L'Image 2.0 (2009) - L'Image
- Soup (2010) - Stick Men
- Absalom (2011) - Stick Men
- Levin Torn White (2011) - Tony Levin Dave Torn Alan White