Talking to Stars

Artist, Ensemble: Bill Wilson
I’m Playing: Bass
Record Label: Bar-B-Q Records
Release Date: 1976
Website:

 

This was the first recording I ever played on. Recorded in Bloomington, IN in 1976. Stellar cast though all were unknowns then: 

This recording session was memorable for me because (besides being my first time in the studio) I had just come from hearing George Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale” performed and was intrigued by the seagull sounds in the cello part made by doing an artificial harmonic glissando. When they asked me to play some sound effects for Bill’s song “Lighthouse” I immediately thought of that. They liked it and had me record it over and over again. Never having done that before I quickly wore through the callous on my thumb and after the 6th or 7th take I had blood all over the strings. The sessions were also unusual for me in that they started at midnight and went on until 6:00 AM. Fortunately, there was a donut shop around the corner that took fresh cinnamon rolls out of the oven at 6:00. The line had already formed by the time I got there.