By Jeb Wright
“I Can’t
Tell You Why” reached #8 on the singles charts in 1980. The
parent album, The Long Run, made it all the way to the
top spot, selling over eight million copies in the process. The
song, and album, introduced Timothy B. Schmit to millions of
Eagles fans around the world. Written by Schmit, Don Henley and
Glenn Frey, “I Can’t Tell You Why” is one of the groups’ most
popular numbers. In fact, one could not imagine an Eagles
concert without that one moment where the longhaired bass player
takes center stage.
Schmit,
while still an Eagle, has released an amazing solo album titled
Expando. The album sees the musician reaching out to
many of his famous friends to lend a hand in the studio. Unlike
many collaborative efforts in this day and age, the recordings
all took place in Schmit’s studio. The music was created
face-to-face instead of emailing music files through cyberspace
from one studio to the next. The result is a wholesome album
that feels homey and comfortable. Expando is a
collection of songs that encompass a wide range of styles and an
eclectic group of musicians. As wide reaching as it seems, the
songs fit together like a musical crossword puzzle, some pieces
long and lean, while others are short and stocky. The end
result, once all the pieces are joined together, is a beautiful
musical landscape.
Jeb: I am
very impressed with Expando. The CD has many
styles from rock to Americana to blues to some funky stuff to
folk, yet when you listen to it in one sitting it is a very
complete album. It is cool how you experimented with different
styles yet still kept the album very cohesive.
Timothy: It
was a great sort of mistake I guess. I didn’t plan this group
of songs to be that much of a unit when they were put together.
I wrote them all in different times, different setting and in
different moods. I agree with you that it does feel like a
complete set of songs and that is really great. I picked up on
that when I was listening back to it. It is not like I did it
on purpose, though. I didn’t go, “This one has to go with this
one and that one has to go with that.”
Jeb: What is
the oldest song and what is the newest song?
Timothy: It
took me a long time because I was so busy with the Eagles. The
oldest song is around four years old. It is either “Compassion”
or maybe it is “White Boy From Sacramento.” The newest song is
“A Good Day.” It was completed within the last year.
Jeb: Before
we talk about the music and the guests you have on the CD, I
want to talk about the front and back cover art. Did your wife
do the artwork?
Timothy: She
is the one who did the artwork. She didn’t take the inside
photo in the studio as that was done by a cinematographer friend
of mine. The front of the album, with my hand holding the
orange, is a piece of art she did quite a few years ago and from
the moment I saw it I thought it would make a really cool album
cover. My album was not nearly finished when she did that but I
kept it in my hip pocket. The actual piece of art is quite a
bit more rectangular. As soon as it came time to think about
album art, I had it cropped into the proper shape and it worked
really great. I think that it expresses, in an abstract way, of
course, what this album is about. It is hard to explain art and
music but I believe that it implies some sort of growth or
light.
The photo on
the back cover is of a willow tree that is on our property. She
made it into a collage and she put in the Expando trailer and
processed it on a clear piece of plastic. She is a prolific
artist. I wanted to keep it in the family. I could not have
asked for anything more. There is also a painting on the
booklet, which is a painting she did of me, quite a few years
ago.
Jeb: The art
stands out. That is a great compliment to her because it is not
like the days of albums where the artwork was big. On a CD the
images are small so for the art to stand out is really
something.
Timothy: I
think so. By the way, the album is being released on vinyl
too. If you ever get a chance to see the record cover then it
really looks huge.
Jeb: I could
not figure out what you were holding in your hand. Now that you
said it is an orange it is obvious.
Timothy: The
artwork is doing its job. There is a lot in that photo that is
head scratching material and I think that is a good thing.
Jeb: The
last word about the artwork comes from the back cover. Why is
there a picture of toy moose?
Timothy: It
is a great conversation piece. If you read the liner notes, and
the credits, then you will see that it was recorded at
Mooselodge, which is what I call my studio. I had a dear
friend, who was an elderly lady, who has now passed, who gave me
a plastic moose on a plaque. I saw it in her house and I said,
“Wow, this is really great.” It was a souvenir from Yosemite or
something like that. It is really a cornball piece. I took it
into my studio and I put it on the wall and took a picture of it
and processed it a little bit. I thought it ended up being a
great thing to put on there because of the name of my studio.
Jeb: I will
confess that I didn’t notice that in the liner notes. However,
I did notice the number of musical legends on this thing. On
the song “Friday Night” you have Garth Hudson from The Band
playing organ.
Timothy: The
Band is one of my favorite groups of all time. I met Garth
Hudson back when I was making a Poco album. I had a producer
friend who was from upper state New York. Garth was living in
LA at the time – this is back in the mid Seventies. He got
Garth to play organ on an obscure Poco track. I don’t even
remember what album it was on.
How it
happened for this album was really great. I had my friend Van
Dyke Parks over playing accordion on a few songs. I live in the
Los Angeles area but I live in a rather rural part. When people
would come over to record, I would usually feed them. We were
having some lunch when Van Dykes’ cell phone rang. It was a
friend of his who was in town for the Grammy’s and was
accompanying Garth Hudson, who was getting a lifetime
achievement award. I did not solicit this at all — the friend
who was on the phone asked, “Garth is going to be in town for a
few days and he likes to stay busy. Do you know anyone who
would like to do some work with him.” I couldn’t believe it; my
jaw dropped. This, who is from one of my favorite groups of all
time, is being dropped in my lap. Within a couple of days he
came over and we put him on that track.
He is a real
character. He is very methodical and he doesn’t play anything
the same way twice. The only thing that was a bit problematic
for me is that he is a nocturnal character. When I am not on
the road, I am an early riser and early to bed. He didn’t want
to get started until late in the evening. I learned how to work
with him. He would put a whole bunch of things on tape and then
we’d edit it down to what we needed.
Jeb: On the
song “Parachute” you have Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who plays great
on the song, by the way. What did you have to do in order to
talk Kenny Wayne into playing on your CD?
Timothy: I
didn’t have to talk anybody into doing it; everyone was very
gracious. I did have to deal with people’s schedules. I met
Kenny Wayne back when he was seventeen. We were in Australia
and he opened up some shows for us. I was not close to him but
I knew him. He was a great kid and a good guy. I needed
someone to play some balls out guitar and he was one of the
first guys I thought of and he did it. He drove himself over
with his guitar and we put it down. I did one show here in LA a
while back and he came and guest appeared with me on that show.
Jeb: Graham
Nash also appears on “Parachute.”
Timothy:
Graham and his wife are good friends of ours. After I finished
writing the chorus of that song I realized that I could either
deny that Graham would be on the song or I could embrace the
fact that he should sing on this song. I decided to embrace
it. Graham did great on that song. He is a really good worker
and he knows what he is doing. He didn’t need much guidance
from me at all to do what he did.
Jeb: “The
Opening” is a great song. You play almost everything on the
song but the slide guitar is played by a great player . . . Keb
Mo.
Timothy:
Before I ever met him I had his whole catalog. I love his
playing and I love his singing. I did shake his hand once at
some sort of gathering. I didn’t even know if he would remember
meeting me. I called him up. I actually called up everybody
myself who appeared on this record. I would call up their
management and tell them what I wanted to do and then I would
get on the phone with them. I called him up and told him what
an honor it would be for me if he would play on a song. He came
over within the next week or two. Everybody who worked on this
record really worked hard. Everybody was very concerned if I
was generally pleased or not with what they did. Keb and I have
become very good friends now.
Jeb: The odd
duck on here is Kid Rock.
Timothy: I
first met him in front of a hotel in London when I was with my
teenage son. This was quite a few years ago and my son was a
young teenager at the time. I said, “Look who is standing out
there in front of the hotel. It is Kid Rock. Do you want to go
meet him?” He said, “Sure.” I just went up to him and
introduced myself. He is younger than me and he is from a whole
different scene so I just walked up to him and said, “My name is
Timothy” and he said, “I know who you are.” It actually
surprised me. I introduced him to my son and he was very nice
and we talked for a bit. I, then, started running into him all
the time in Malibu. We were running into each other in
restaurants and here and there. We finally exchanged phone
numbers. He invited us over for some social events he was
putting on and he turned out to be a very nice fellow.
On the song
“Downtime” I didn’t want it to be very slick. I wanted it to
really capture a lot of character. I knew that I didn’t want to
sing all the parts myself. I called him up and he came over and
worked on it. After that I thought, “I know what would be an
interesting combination” and I called up my friend Dwight Yoakam.
They came over and they are both not used to singing in harmony,
as they are used to the leadership position. I worked with them
and it was really tricky because their voices are so different
from mine but that is exactly what I wanted. Everybody came
over because they wanted too; it wasn’t a matter of anything
else. They just wanted to come over and see what would happen.
Jeb: It is a
very organic and family type of atmosphere on the album.
Timothy: I
have often used that term myself. The other thing is that I
didn’t go to any other studio and I didn’t send my sound files
away so that somebody could sing on the album. I actually
didn’t use a couple of people that I wanted to use because I
couldn’t get them over to my studio because of scheduling. I
finally figured there is more music to come so hopefully I will
be able to get them to come over next time.
Jeb: “Ella
Jean” only features you on the song. This really shows that
Timothy B. Schmit is much more than just the bass player for the
Eagles. On this song you play bass, dobro, guitar, harmonica
and sing the vocals.
Timothy:
That is exactly right. I decided to not play it safe at all.
When I started this I had no record company, no deadline and
nobody to bounce things off of. I didn’t have any parameters
and rules. I did it really for myself. I started writing and
recording the songs and I did whatever I wanted to do on them.
I did that for really the first time. On my past solo records,
I think, musically, they are really scattered. I bounced my
songs off a lot of other people and I did a lot of
collaborations. I would often follow somebody else’s mood.
This time, I just did it just for fun and just for myself. This
time, I just said that I was going to get a good collection of
songs that come just from me and I will see what happens.
Jeb: You are
a multi-platinum selling artist who plays with the biggest
selling American rock band of all time. Does it still get you
pumped up when you play with a guy like Garth Hudson or Graham
Nash? Is it still amazing that it happens or do you just
consider yourself in their league now?
Timothy: I
try to stay in a state of gratefulness; if you can pull that off
then it is a really a great place to live. If I think about it
then it is really amazing to me. I remember going to see The
Beach Boys, many times, in Sacramento when I was kid and sitting
in the back and being in total awe and wonderment about what
these people were doing up there. Years later, I became friends
with Carl and Brian Wilson. I loved The Byrds and then years
later I found myself hanging in the studio with
Roger McGuinn
and I played on an album with Chris Hillman. I
could name a ton of people that I have been fortunate enough to
be associated with who I would have never even had a clue that I
would ever be in the same room with earlier in my life. I don’t
really think about it as being in the same league. I just think
about it as how fortunate my career has been. I have really
found out that we are all human beings. What is the worst thing
that can happen if I call somebody up and ask them to be on my
album and they say ‘no’? That is the worst thing that can
happen. The cool thing is that 95% of the people I asked said
‘yes.’
Jeb: I love
the Eagles. As we have talked, I began to wonder how making
this solo album compares with making an Eagles album?
Timothy: It
is similar in many ways and it is different in maybe even more.
It is almost like you can’t compare the actual experience. When
you are doing something on your own, for your own reasons, then
that is a big difference right there. When you are in a group
situation then you always have to compromise. There is a
tradeoff and I am not saying that in negative way — that is just
how it is. Some people like orange and some people like
purple. When you do something for yourself then you have nobody
to please but yourself. For instance, on my solo project if I
wanted to put fuchsia in there then I could do it. I think that
explains the main difference.
Jeb: Henley
and Frey are the main songwriters in the Eagles so this project
really allows you to expand your own creativity.
Timothy: It
allows me a lot more than I would do in a band situation.
Jeb: I am
not just blowing smoke up your butt because we are talking but I
like Expando a lot more than I like the last Eagles
album.
Timothy:
Thank you.
Jeb: When I
say that it makes me sound like I hate the last Eagles album. I
don’t hate it but your CD has an energy that the Eagles album
does not have. I find myself putting this CD back in my player
day after day and it really speaks to me.
Timothy:
That is really kind of you and that is really great. I don’t
think I can compare the two albums. They are night and day to
me and I can’t say one is better than the other; they are just
different. I think what you might be feeling is the element of
being really loose. There are some things that I did on this
record that just wouldn’t have been approached if I had been
doing this with the Eagles. I am not saying that is a bad thing
or a good thing; it is just different.
Jeb: Tell me
the lyrical inspiration for “White Boy From Sacramento.”
Timothy: I
have found myself describing myself a few times in my life with
that very phrase. I grew up, for the most part in Sacramento.
My mother and my brothers and their families still live up
there. I grew up in a white suburban setting. The music I was
exposed to was really the white bread stuff, at first. When I
was in high school, a girl I met, who had moved there from Los
Angeles, took me to a James Brown concert. I think that twisted
me right around to another extreme. The song is really a tongue
in cheek autobiography. When I started writing the song, I
really was thinking of what my life was like growing up there as
a young boy and that is what came out.
Jeb: The
last couple of questions I have are about your career. You
replaced Randy Meisner in Poco and then you replaced him in the
Eagles. The Eagles have worked out great for you. I bet you
are glad Randy didn’t have another successful band because then
you may have had to leave the Eagles to replace him again!
Timothy:
After the second time I replaced him I would bump into him and
say, “So what are you going to be up to next.”
Jeb: The
Long Run is an amazing album by the Eagles. You joined the
band in an odd time that was filled with turmoil. You were able
to come in with “I Can’t Tell You Why” and really make a name
for yourself. What was it like to come in and join the Eagles
and then be featured singing one of their biggest hits?
Timothy: I
brought a piece of that song to Don and Glenn and we all
finished it together. I think it was a perfect move for me and
for them. I was actually looking around for something to do
because Poco had really sort of leveled off. I wasn’t extremely
happy with what was going on. Just about that time, I got a
call from Glenn asking me if I would be interested in joining
the Eagles. They brought me into the band without me ever
playing one note. They actually made me a member of the band
without playing with me at all. That actually made me very
nervous. I didn’t have thoughts that were negative, and I
didn’t think that I couldn’t do it, but the fact is that I
hadn’t done it. It was quite a long process and it took a long
time for that first rehearsal to happen. I was very happy when
it was over. I don’t mean this in a cocky way but it was not
just a good move for me but it was a good move for them because
I think it really was a perfect situation for them.
Jeb: Last
one: The Eagles are known for inner turmoil. You, however, are
the one person in the band that never causes any problem. Your
role in the band seems to be the good guy. I wonder do you ever
get tired of having to be the nice guy in the band?
Timothy: I
am what I am, whatever that is. I don’t know, maybe I am just
good at covering up the dirt [laughter]. I am not one to
purposely create a bunch of unnecessary waves. I really do try
to get along with people. I don’t know what else to say about
that. I am living life the way I do. I don’t really know how
to comment on that. I really am who I am.
www.timothybschmit.com
