Speaker 1: Now I've got a ripper for you today, as we
Speaker 1: shine the spotlight on an ordinary do is he doing
Speaker 1: extraordinary things? A fellow called Andy Sashan not a household name,
Speaker 1: but jeeves played with some He's a bass guitarist toured
Speaker 1: with some of the biggest names in music. We're talking
Speaker 1: about here, Billy Thorpe, Rose Katou, amongst others, Shanai Twain,
Speaker 1: and his success is unsurprising when you hear some of
Speaker 1: his work like this. I'm one of those people that
Speaker 1: could listen to someone play the bass guitar forever. I
Speaker 1: just it's wonderful. Currently playing his trade with the one
Speaker 1: and only Billy Joel if you don't mind Billy Joel.
Speaker 1: And we know we mentioned a few weeks ago Billy's
Speaker 1: not well and that's how we became aware of Andy.
Speaker 1: After my listener Tom, and good on you, Tom. He's
Speaker 1: a made of ban is. He called in to tell
Speaker 1: us that Billy wasn't well. I wanted to find out
Speaker 1: more about the Andy Sshon story. Here's some of his
Speaker 1: tales playing in New York City and around the world.
Speaker 1: I'm delighted to say we find him in the Big
Speaker 1: Apple today and he's on the line. Andy, What a
Speaker 1: delight to meet you on the telephone. I hope things
Speaker 1: are good.
Speaker 2: Look, it's great, nice to meet you, sir. How's my
Speaker 2: wonderful city. I flew into Sydney for the first time
Speaker 2: in ten years in December, and when you look out
Speaker 2: of that plane window and see the harbor, it just
Speaker 2: takes your breath away. I mean, I live there from
Speaker 2: eighty four to ninety seven, and it's still just one
Speaker 2: of the goat I mean, top five great cities in
Speaker 2: the world, of the ones I've seen. But I'm good.
Speaker 2: I'm actually not in New York City, which is one
Speaker 2: of my other favorite cities. I'm about one hundred and
Speaker 2: ten miles because I've been here too long now north
Speaker 2: of the city on a beautiful little thirty acre again,
Speaker 2: been here too long, thirty Acre Lake, and it's the
Speaker 2: sun is setting and it's gorgeous as the sun is
Speaker 2: well and truly up in Sydney beautiful.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's up at sixteen to agreed, it's a cool
Speaker 1: day here, but it's pretty clear outside. I guess always
Speaker 1: we started at the beginning, and at some point you thought,
Speaker 1: when you saw a bass guitar somewhere or a guitar. Gee,
Speaker 1: I might give that a go ad. Did it start?
Speaker 1: Was it family that encouraged you or something you just
Speaker 1: wanted to do?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Look, my dad was an amateur player, a trumpet player,
Speaker 2: played violin piano. He started me on piano when I
Speaker 2: was like six, and so I did classical piano until
Speaker 2: I was fifteen and sort of taught myself guitar and
Speaker 2: had actually had a gig with my dad where he
Speaker 2: asked me to read some Herb Albert tunes. I think
Speaker 2: I was thirteen, and it's the same son as a guitar,
Speaker 2: just an octavelowa. Read your way through it, you'll be fine.
Speaker 2: And that was it. That was the beginning of the
Speaker 2: love affair. And so I played around Adelaide where I
Speaker 2: grew up, you know, sort of four or five nights
Speaker 2: a week from fourteen till I was eighteen. And then
Speaker 2: I went and got a real job for a while
Speaker 2: in marine biology at the University of Adelaide, until I
Speaker 2: sat my folks down, made them cry and told them
Speaker 2: I was off to Sydney to join Roase Tattoo.
Speaker 1: If that's not the best story in the history of stories,
Speaker 1: I don't know what is how did you get to
Speaker 1: who did you know in Rose Tattoo? How did that happen?
Speaker 2: I didn't know anybody. I didn't know anybody. I cold
Speaker 2: called every management company in Sydney and Melbourne. And I
Speaker 2: love the Tats. I remember the first time I heard
Speaker 2: rock and Roll out Law. Yeah, on countdown. I ran
Speaker 2: down the hallway and turned the corner and saw the
Speaker 2: television were like, oh my god, they're animals, but man,
Speaker 2: can they rock? So that was that was twenty one,
Speaker 2: I guess I was nearly twenty two and I joined
Speaker 2: the Tats, and you know, my father wept. He said like,
Speaker 2: I never would have started you on piano if it means,
Speaker 2: you know, you're going to give up the marine biology
Speaker 2: job and off of Sydney. But you know, first time
Speaker 2: on countdown. He got over that pretty quickly and he
Speaker 2: was supportive, you know, his entire life of what I
Speaker 2: was doing. So yeah, that's how it started. And one
Speaker 2: thing led to another, and it was Rose tattooed to
Speaker 2: Swanny to James Rain's you know, my own thing, and
Speaker 2: on and on.
Speaker 1: I think I've got rock and Roll out Law on
Speaker 1: a forty five somewhere, but I've got just this image
Speaker 1: of your old man saying MC kid's on campdown wonderful.
Speaker 2: Exactly that you know he would be if we were
Speaker 2: playing an Adelaide, whatever band I was in passing through Adelaide,
Speaker 2: you know, you go there for the weekend and play
Speaker 2: four or five nights, and on Sunday night there was
Speaker 2: one venue, the Tivoli Hotel, and I'd go home to
Speaker 2: mom and Dad's for dinner on the Sunday night, and
Speaker 2: on the way out, I'd always say, you know, my
Speaker 2: dad want me to put your name on the door,
Speaker 2: and so no, I know, no, Sonny, I've got to work.
Speaker 2: I've got to work right now. As I walk out
Speaker 2: and go, you know, just in case. Sure enough, you
Speaker 2: could see the front door from the stage and they
Speaker 2: were like, you know, nine hundred thousand crazy ROAs tattoo
Speaker 2: fans and my dad Max would walk in like you know,
Speaker 2: three songs into the set and stage. It's a great memory.
Speaker 1: That's beautiful, mate, it really is. And you've got to
Speaker 1: be I mean, I don't know, but you must be
Speaker 1: to have been able to play for so long with
Speaker 1: that and those wonderful people in Australia. You must have
Speaker 1: really been at the forefront of bass playing in Australia.
Speaker 1: You must have been so.
Speaker 2: So here's the thing, you know, I've always been a
Speaker 2: guy that never I didn't care about being a virtuoso.
Speaker 2: I cared about playing in a great band. And I've
Speaker 2: had that the joy of doing that my entire career,
Speaker 2: which is now forty years, you know, I mean from
Speaker 2: Rose Tattoo to then I was Sweany for a little while,
Speaker 2: and then James Rain when he first turned solo for
Speaker 2: those first two albums up until nineteen ninety. Then I
Speaker 2: went out of my own as a frontman singer in
Speaker 2: a band called Judge Mercy, which was kind of a
Speaker 2: hard rock band. We opened for like iron Maid and
Speaker 2: an AC DC what and then hang on.
Speaker 1: Let's not air brush this mate, that's enormous.
Speaker 2: No, no, it was great. I gave it. I gave
Speaker 2: it four or five years that we had an album
Speaker 2: and an EP and it didn't work in the end,
Speaker 2: but it was no regrets. And then back to base.
Speaker 2: It was back to like you know, Dragon Billy Thorpe.
Speaker 2: And then in ninety seven a buddy of mine and
Speaker 2: made of mine that I'd worked with in Australia, Noel Rush, said, look,
Speaker 2: you know, why don't you, why don't you roll the
Speaker 2: dice over here? My couch is your couch, you know,
Speaker 2: come over and roll the dice. And I did, and
Speaker 2: you know it basically did what I when I left
Speaker 2: Adelaide and moved to Sydney, I just I just called
Speaker 2: every management company in the United States from Aida z
Speaker 2: and and I got to l for John Landau, who
Speaker 2: managed Bruce Springsteen and Shania Twain. And the reception said, oh,
Speaker 2: we might be looking for someone for Shania Twain. I
Speaker 2: had no idea who that was. I looked over my mate, no,
Speaker 2: because she wasn't she hadn't released the big, the big,
Speaker 2: you know, come on. And so I sent my stuff
Speaker 2: through and you know, because of because of the awareness
Speaker 2: of bands like Rose Tattoo and Ice House, who I'd
Speaker 2: recorded with, and and Billy Thorpe, you know, my stuff
Speaker 2: got listened to. And then I auditioned, you know, with
Speaker 2: Mutt Lang, the great hard rock yeah who did a
Speaker 2: C D C. And deeth Leppard and Shaniah and let
Speaker 2: me just you know, this is what sums up my
Speaker 2: upbringing in Australia. After I'd played the first hour or so,
Speaker 2: he came out to me and said, New Izzies, you
Speaker 2: played different to any other musicians in the world. Why
Speaker 2: do you think that is? And I said, well, you know,
Speaker 2: I figure you worked with the best rock band from
Speaker 2: our country, you know ac DC. You know those guys played,
Speaker 2: you know, ten twelve shows a week, doubles on Friday,
Speaker 2: Saturdays and Sundays. I got to play six nights a week,
Speaker 2: you know, pretty much my entire career. And that makes
Speaker 2: you match fit. And you don't get that in a
Speaker 2: rehearsal room. And you couldn't do that in Los Angeles
Speaker 2: or New York or London. But in Australia you had
Speaker 2: our pub rock circuit and you went out and you
Speaker 2: played six nights a week, forty five weeks a year,
Speaker 2: and that's what made makes us play a little bit differently.
Speaker 2: I think the match fit well.
Speaker 1: But I'm loving talking to you. I've got to ask
Speaker 1: you some questions that are probably on the list I
Speaker 1: need to tick off. Tell me about the biggest show
Speaker 1: and biggest crowd you've played in front of.
Speaker 2: In front of the Colisse in Rome with Billy Joel,
Speaker 2: I think it was two thousand and eight, two hundred
Speaker 2: and fifty thousand people in the crowd and live streamed
Speaker 2: live streams on Italian television. You can see it on YouTube.
Speaker 2: Funny because we were on a turntable with Brian Adams
Speaker 2: when on first and then the stage would turn around
Speaker 2: and then we were set up, so it was a
Speaker 2: quick change. But during the be our opening song or
Speaker 2: there's a bald eagle just swimming over the lake, I'm
Speaker 2: looking at here, it's so gorgeous, and go and hit
Speaker 2: the wrong button and we got halfway through the first
Speaker 2: song in the stage started to rotate again around the
Speaker 2: wrong way and all the microphone leads. But you can
Speaker 2: find that on YouTube, just look up Billy Joel Rome.
Speaker 2: So that was the biggest one and a spectacular show.
Speaker 1: Wow, how did you get to play with Billy?
Speaker 2: I was already in Chennaia. Twain's band had been for
Speaker 2: a year and a half and I was New York
Speaker 2: based and we had mutual friends. He'd actually tried to
Speaker 2: get me to fill in with him back in ninety
Speaker 2: three when he was in Australia on tour and his
Speaker 2: bass player had to go home because his parent had died.
Speaker 2: I think and I missed a call. I didn't have
Speaker 2: a cell phone. Didn have a mobile and so I
Speaker 2: missed four hours of messages on my answering machine when
Speaker 2: I got home to my place in Sydney. And at
Speaker 2: that point they had to go with the guy from
Speaker 2: the opening band, so I had a chance in ninety three.
Speaker 2: So he was aware of me. He was aware that
Speaker 2: through mutual friends, I was with Shanaia, which in the
Speaker 2: late nineties was the biggest scene going album in the world,
Speaker 2: and so he just asked me to fill in and
Speaker 2: do a couple of songs in the studio with him
Speaker 2: that we used for Runaway Bride or something, and then
Speaker 2: his guy had to take two shows off. He had
Speaker 2: another opportunity. Billy was talking about maybe winding it down,
Speaker 2: and I filled in. I cold filled in, like I
Speaker 2: finished the Shania Twain tour and a Sunday after two
Speaker 2: years of solid touring with her, learning Billy songs in
Speaker 2: the back of the tour bus and flew into Saint
Speaker 2: Louis and with no rehearsal and just went up and
Speaker 2: did it. You know, I did my homework, but at
Speaker 2: soundcheck Billy was like, what do you need to run?
Speaker 2: It's all about you. Do they thank you for helping out.
Speaker 2: I'm like, they haven't got it. We're pretty much you
Speaker 2: know up, you know what creek without a paddle. And
Speaker 2: so we played Cream most of sound Chick and halfway
Speaker 2: through the set, and I had a lot of helpful
Speaker 2: queuing from the other band members, and but halfway through
Speaker 2: the city just leaned at the guitar play and made
Speaker 2: two quick downstrokes with his hand and launched into Good
Speaker 2: Times Bad Times by led Zeppelin, which, luckily I knew
Speaker 2: what he liked. I'd ask people, what else does he like? Kream,
Speaker 2: Hendrix and Zeppelin? So I touched on that song. So
Speaker 2: in front of seventeen thousand people, we rocked Good Times
Speaker 2: Bad Times. And I swear that's why I got the gig,
Speaker 2: Not because I knew how to play piano, man, because
Speaker 2: I knew how to play leads.
Speaker 1: Oh that is amazing. Oh mate.
Speaker 2: So I've been with him now for twenty twenty five years.
Speaker 1: Ah, that's extraordinary. And when and when he I'm assuming
Speaker 1: he does the band intro, does he have special words
Speaker 1: for you? Are you the are you the RZ? Or
Speaker 1: how does he refer to you?
Speaker 2: Now? Always? You know, all the way from Adelaide Australia,
Speaker 2: please work on the base because I always mentions my
Speaker 2: hometown always does in I think when we played the
Speaker 2: MCG back in twenty two, he launched into waltzing Matilda,
Speaker 2: oh no before. Yeah, he does that from time to
Speaker 2: time as well. Yeah, he's just the best, the best
Speaker 2: guy in the world to work for. I love him
Speaker 2: so much.
Speaker 1: Do you pinch yourself every day?
Speaker 2: I know that I am so lucky that I've been
Speaker 2: doing this professionally now for forty years, and I just
Speaker 2: it's what I absolutely love doing. I do it that
Speaker 2: the joy of playing with those musicians, with his band, specifically.
Speaker 2: I know that there's you know, this talk that things
Speaker 2: might be, you know, with his health issues and stuff.
Speaker 2: I don't believe we're done done, but the biggest tragedy
Speaker 2: would be and I know he's going to be okay
Speaker 2: health wise, but if that band doesn't get to play
Speaker 2: together again, that will be a tragedy because is to
Speaker 2: be a part of that collective, of that group of
Speaker 2: musicians where the sum of the past is way more
Speaker 2: than what we are as individual players. We're good musicians,
Speaker 2: We're a fantastic band and I love playing in that
Speaker 2: band so much.
Speaker 1: Mate, you are an inspiration. I'm going to spend the
Speaker 1: rest of the afternoon on YouTube watching Billy Joel Live
Speaker 1: as a result of this conversation. And I've got a
Speaker 1: listener who's a wiggle, Greg Page, who says, thanks so
Speaker 1: much for having Andy on. What a great story. It's
Speaker 1: been great to hear you got connected with him over
Speaker 1: the previous weeks. I've been following along. He sounds like
Speaker 1: such a great human being. And you know what, mate,
Speaker 1: without you know whatdding in your pocket. I've watched a
Speaker 1: few of your interviews on YouTube, and my executive producer Nelson,
Speaker 1: who had a chat with you, tell me what a
Speaker 1: great Australian story and just what a brilliant bloke you are.
Speaker 1: Continued great success made and I hope we can keep
Speaker 1: in touch.
Speaker 2: Thanks. Look, look, it's been a great journey. It's not
Speaker 2: over yet. I know my boss, the greatest boss I've
Speaker 2: ever had, is going to get well. I don't think
Speaker 2: he's prepared to hang it up yet. I think he's
Speaker 2: going to be fine eventually. I think what he wants
Speaker 2: is just a clean slate and to go like I
Speaker 2: feel great now, let's do some stuff again. I hope
Speaker 2: that's the case. But no matter what happens, I'm not done.
Speaker 2: I'm just still just I can't believe I'm saying this
Speaker 2: up before years. I'm just getting started. I still love
Speaker 2: it so much. Been a pleasure to chat to you.
Speaker 1: You too, mate, and stay well, let's keep in touch.
Speaker 1: Thanks Andy, Andy, Sir Sean, Wow, Well, you know sometimes
Speaker 1: we'd write in an introductory paragraph or two, this is
Speaker 1: a ripper, I am. I'm not speechless, but some of
Speaker 1: those stories, wow,