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A Conversation With Billy Sheehan at Lane Music in Brentwood

by Rich and Laura Lynch

On July 16, 2021, Lane Music located at 1625 Galleria Blvd, Brentwood, TN hosted A Conversation With Billy Sheehan. The free event started promptly at 7:00 pm - although Billy was there beforehand picking on his bass and playing stump the band while chatting with the crowd. During the event it was revealed that he has been conducting private lessons at Lane Music since January as part of the store's new "Legends" series.


At the flagship franchise location of Lane Music in Brentwood.

Billy is well respected for his work with Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, The Winery Dogs and Sons of Apollo. Mr. Sheehan has won the "Best Rock Bass Player" readers' poll from Guitar Player magazine five times because of his unique style that includes the use of chording, two-handed tapping, the right-hand "three-finger picking" technique, controlled feedback and more.


Toddzilla and Billy Sheehan start conversing in Brentwood.

Todd Austin - or "Toddzilla" served as Master of Ceremonies and started off by asking Billy about his early life. Billy who is from Buffalo, New York mentioned that his Mom loved music. He was the youngest of four so he was exposed to different artists from his siblings and his first rock concert was Jimi Hendrix. Over time he became interested in the bass and even early on he enjoyed tinkering with pickups and other parts of the instrument. Sheehan shared that he is not formally trained but generally plays by ear and memory.


Sheehan fresh off of new Winery Dogs sessions was chomping at the bit to talk to his friends.

Next, the two moved into the Talas era which flowed into a lengthy conversation about Van Halen who Talas opened for. Sheehan shared that Eddie gave him the spark he needed when he was at a low point. Billy said that the guitarist was kind and cool to him. As many know, Billy joined Roth's band after David left Van Halen. This led to him reminiscing about those days. Mr. Big was the next big move for the bass player. Luckily, they had a good manager who did a lot to promote the band which included a profitable tool endorsement and Billy paired that memory with a funny story. Throughout the night the bassist would play bits of songs to punctuate his commentary.


A wide selection of guitars is now available at Lane Music.

By the time Todd and Billy got to more current events it was getting close to nine so they switched gears to take questions from the audience. Billy had brought along some giveaways so folks who asked a question got something cool from his archives. The personable Mr. Sheehan made it point to thank people for listening all these years and acknowledged that he gets to do what he does because of the fans or as he prefers to call them friends. A Conversation With Billy Sheehan covered a lot ground - touching upon Billy's career, experiences and influences.


Pay a visit to the expanded retail space and get your six string on in Brentwood.

In addition to hosting interesting events, Lane Music is a full-line instrument store that features expert piano delivery and repair along with local private and group lessons. Art work adorns the walls of this inviting shop. A special announcement during the A Conversation With Billy Sheehan event revealed that the shop would be expanding its retail space by opening a new second floor featuring string instruments. This new addition was designed and curated by host "Toddzilla" and a quick trip up the flight of stairs revealed a shopping experience on par with the best that Nashville has to offer as the flagship store expands to cater to the Brentwood and Franklin area aspiring musicians.

Related Links: For more information on BILLY SHEEHAN and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links - Billy Sheehan | Lane Music


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