David Finck and Linda Eder

"I've been working with Dave Finck for a long time. We have covered a lot of miles together and he has held my hand on some scary flights. I respect him in every way from his extreme talent as one of the finest Bass players ever, to the way he cares for his children and lives his life. From him I learn things about music and I learn things about life. He's the best."

It's been said time and time again — a Linda Eder concert isn't just a concert… it's an experience! Among the many thrills Linda's fans have come to expect of a fabulous night on the town seeing Linda perform are her beautiful, unrivaled voice blending so magically with the music from the band, her playful interaction with the crowd, perfect musical selections, and of course… David Finck!

David Finck has been Linda's friend and Bass player since the early 1990s. Linda's fans always enjoy the sweet, yet sometimes sorrowful, melodic tones David produces. Long-time readers of THE VOICE will remember the feature article on David in the Summer 2003 issue. Because David is so accomplished as a musician, arranger and producer, we thought it would be fun to sit down with him again and "cover all the basses!"

VOICE: You are an amazing artist and your music is a perfect complement to Linda as well as to so many other singers. Before you play a song for a 'live' performance or a recording, is there a process you go through to stay true to what the composer/lyricist intended while at the same time bringing your unique musical interpretation to each song?

DAVID: That's no easy question! I don't really have a process now, but I had a process when I was learning to play and learning to record. For a live performance or a recording, the music is either written or talked about before we begin and so I basically bring my musical vocabulary to the moment. At that point somebody either likes what they hear or they don't, and if they don't we might adjust some things so it's more accommodating to their interpretation. Usually on Linda's jobs and records, someone comes in with an arrangement and it's already conceived. Most of the time I play the notes that are there and they say 'In this section, here are the chords… here's the harmony… do your own thing.' Clint and John, and Andy and I, and the rest of the guys in the band have played together enough that we come up with things because we have a lot of common language — and the same with Linda! Only we're more behind her — she's kind of soaring over us in a way. She participates in a different way.

VOICE: Does Linda give you input?

DAVID: Once in a while. Usually her input is about tempo — she wants something a little faster or a little slower. Every now and then she asks us to change the feeling and approach a little bit. But usually those kinds of things are worked out before we get there. So, Linda says she wants to do 'The Trolley Song,' for example. She hires someone to do an arrangement of the song, and that person has already sat down with her and figured out how it's all going to go. That's the process of this job.

VOICE: You must have learned so much over the years from working with a varied list of musicians and singers. Is there something that you have learned from Linda that has made you a better musician?

DAVID: I always learn something from everybody when I can! Even people whose music or artistry I don't like [laughs]… there's always something to be learned! And Linda is such a powerful singer… she has interesting ideas, and I guess I also learn a lot about the process. Linda is somebody who lives with the song and it evolves and develops along the way. You know she added a few songs yesterday [Dec. 1 concert at Mohegan Sun] that she is just getting comfortable with, and I know that things are going to change. She may decide, 'Hey, ya know what? I think I'm going to let the saxophone player play for these eight bars and then I'm going to come in…' and so on and so forth. And so from Linda I learn a lot about the process and the interpretation also. Other singers and instrumentalists offer all kinds of things. Some are very knowledgeable about harmony or I might play with a drummer, for example, from Cuba, so I would learn a whole lot about the language of Cuban music. Next week I am going to Japan and sometimes we go see those Koto drummers and it's all interesting. It all, just like speaking any language, increases your vocabulary and you can use it and apply it.

VOICE: Are you going to Japan with a group?

DAVID: I am going with a quartet — with a Japanese saxophonist named Sadao Watanabe, a Jazz pianist named Hank Jones, and drummer Omar Hakim. It will be my third trip there with Hank, who is now 89! So we're hoping he takes it easy and rests a lot! It's quite a schlep to get over there! [laughs]

VOICE: Do you like Japan? You've been there quite a bit…

DAVID: I've been there 27 times! And I do like it, but, [laughing] I'm kinda' over it at this point… it's like here [Mohegan Sun]… I've been here so many times the excitement wears off after a while. But, it's cool. And Japan is very interesting and it's always a little bit of a challenge to go to a place where the culture is so drastically different from ours.

VOICE: So do you usually go with a Jazz group?

DAVID: Yes.

VOICE: Is Jazz big over there?

DAVID: Yes… it's big. It is in some ways… I think it was bigger 15 years ago, honestly! They have the same pop stars… they love Justin Timberlake and all those types, but there is a significant audience for Jazz. In the 80s, there were a lot of famous Jazz musicians you would see in Japanese posters and commercials selling shaving cream and all kinds of stuff! [laughing] …

VOICE: Do you prepare differently for a performance or recording depending on the artist?

DAVID: It depends on the music more than the artist. The music might require different preparation. I have been presented with extremely challenging music that did require a lot of preparation — practicing — figuring out how I was going to execute something. Usually when you do a recording there are no rehearsals. So, the arranger comes in with something written, we play it, fix the little spots and record it. There is no rehearsal the day before and then record it the day after — it's all on the spot. We go in and read it down but everything is supposed to be worked out when we get there.

VOICE: So you don't have the music ahead of time?

DAVID: No, we read it then and there. Very rarely do we see it ahead of time. Sometimes a guy will say, 'Look I wrote a really difficult Bass part and I'd like to fax it over to you' [laughs] but generally speaking, no, we see it for the first time and read it when we get there.

VOICE: Does that make for a lot of pressure?

DAVID: It's a lot of pressure when the writer is bad and they don't know how to write for the instruments. I've had some experiences — not on Linda's records! — in recording sessions where something was written for the Bass that wasn't on the instrument. It was out of range, either too high or too low. Then you have to stop and figure it out. And then there are a lot of stories about artists who change things. You could have an entire orchestra sitting there but the artist will stop everything and insist a part be in a different key — so you have to stop the recording — write the new parts — it could get expensive if you have people sitting there whom you're paying by the hour!

VOICE: You can be heard on many recordings. Can you explain the differences between the instruments you can be heard playing… Bass, Double Bass, Acoustic Bass, and Bass Guitar? And, are there other instruments you play which we may not know about?

DAVID: Bass, Double Bass, Acoustic Bass are all the same instrument, it's just different names… it's like car, automobile, horseless carriage!

VOICE: Are you serious!

DAVID: [laughs] Yes, I am serious!

VOICE: [Continuing to laugh] We didn't know that! We feel like dummies!

DAVID: No, no, it's okay! A lot of people don't realize that. Bass Guitar is the Electric Guitar version. It's shaped like a guitar but it's in the lower octave. It's in the same register and plays the same notes as the Acoustic Bass, only it's a different sound and it's in a Guitar shape. So… that's the difference! There are a lot of names for the Bass. I guess for the Bass Guitar, it's Bass Guitar, Electric Bass, or some people will call it by name, like Fender Bass. Then there is the Acoustic Bass, Bull Fiddle, Bass Fiddle, Bass Violin, Contra Bass, Double Bass… all the same instrument!

VOICE: Wow… guess you really do learn something new every day. [all laugh]

DAVID: Yeah, see,… now you can pass an exam at Julliard!

VOICE: Maybe we should sign up for classes! We've learned so much from you that we'd really impress the other students! We've gone through your discography — it's amazing! Can you tell us about some of the recordings you have done that have received a Grammy or gone Gold or Platinum?

DAVID: Sure… but let me say that they are not my recordings… I play on them. I did all of the Rod Stewart sings the standards records. They all went multi-Platinum I believe. I did one with Vanessa Williams (Gold), Natalie Cole's STARDUST was a gold record, and others… I also did a record with Pete Seeger that won a Grammy and one with Jon Secada, who's singing here [Mohegan Sun — in the Wolf Den]… he's a very good singer. That was a number of years ago but that won a Grammy. I also did one with Tony Bennett, and one with Paquito D'Rivera — the Cuban saxophonist — that won a Grammy. And interestingly enough, if you are a sideman on any of these… they don't send you a Grammy or Gold or Platinum records. If you want one, you have to buy it… if you want to hang it on your wall! [all laugh]

VOICE: In addition to being a gifted musician, we hear you are also a very talented songwriter. When did you begin seriously writing music? What artists have you written for?

DAVID: I began writing seriously not that long ago — probably about eight or nine years ago. I started doing it because I realized I knew a lot of songs and I understood what I liked about them and realized that would be a nice way of expressing my ideas away from the Bass. Sometimes I write the lyrics, sometimes not, but I always write the music. I've written for… well, perhaps not that many artists in particular… but I've written songs, then sling 'um out there and see if anybody wants to sing them! [laughs] And some people have. I wrote a couple of songs that came out really nicely with this guy Marty Panzer, who worked with Barry Manilow, and we wrote a couple of songs for an independent film… they didn't make the cut unfortunately, but the songs are nice so we may put those out there and see if anybody wants to do them. The songwriting is just another outlet for creativity, really, and I've written some instrumental music as well.

VOICE: What or who influenced you to take the leap into the world of arranging and producing? Please tell us a little bit about the work you have done in these areas.

DAVID: It was a similar experience to songwriting. After a while I realized I had participated in the making of so many recordings that I knew a lot about the process and always enjoyed it! So I enjoyed the idea of finding material that I liked and the challenge of working with an instrumentalist or a singer and helping them communicate the music in the best possible way for who they are. And it's different for everyone. Some people have their own ideas with which I don't agree and in a good working relationship we can tell each other how much we hate each other's ideas [with a laugh] and still be friends but also find something that will help it out in the end. I always feel that if the argument is well defended then the art is better for it in the end.

VOICE: You have been in charge of hiring musicians for some of the recordings you have done with Linda as well as others. Please tell us about the process of putting together a band or orchestra for a recording or concert.

DAVID: Usually I am working with an arranger and he'll say, "I have a song that is just 'trio' or 'a big band' or a 'symphony'"… and the first thing I do is ask if there are any musicians they do or do not want to use. Many artists have their favorite musicians who they tend to use over and over and so that is where I begin. The rest of the process is all rather clerical. The real challenge comes in the bigger ensembles when I have to figure out who sits in what chairs because there is a hierarchy in a symphony. It's almost like setting up the tables at a wedding reception! [all laugh] But I do wind up using many of the same people over and over again.

VOICE: What do you find most gratifying about your life as a musician?

DAVID: Well, it's gratifying first of all because it's something that I am truly interested in. It's not as if I have a job that I go to that I don't like. There are times when I don't like it! But generally speaking it's a career that is endlessly changing and I like the variety. I'm here with Linda Eder this weekend… Monday I have a recording… Wednesday I go to Tokyo and play with someone else…

VOICE: It keeps you fresh!

DAVID: It keeps me fresh and it keeps me educated because I'm always learning something new. I enjoy some of the travel. I have basically been everywhere… actually now I've been everywhere a few times! [chuckles] So now I know where I want to go again and where I would be fine if I never went back! But, to be serious… on some level it's emotionally gratifying… it's kind of hard to explain, but I guess because music is a way of self-expression, there is something in there that allows me to feel expressive. As a Bass player I certainly have tried not to be limited by standard Bass player 'stuff'… it's hard to explain this to people who aren't musicians… but I try to express my ideas sometimes more fluidly than the instrument allows. I try to play a little more differently than most people.

VOICE: Have you done Broadway?

DAVID: I have. I've done JEKYLL & HYDE. Before that I did a show called CITY OF ANGELS… Cy Coleman wrote the music and Larry Gelbart wrote the book. It was a great show — it won a lot of Tony awards and it ran a few years… it was very clever and creative, and a lot of fun. Before that I did LITTLE ME, also a Cy Coleman show, and there was a show called BLACK AND BLUE. And then I subbed on a few shows… these things come and go rather quickly!

VOICE: What advice would you give to young people today wanting to pursue a similar career as a musician?

DAVID: I hate to sound like an old guy [all laugh!] but the 'today' is very different from when I went to music school. I know that people who are involved in Classical music basically have to learn the same materials — the same repertoire — but Pop music… I'll confess that I don't have as much information about that and the way things are done. When I say 'Pop music' I don't mean the Rod Stewart records that I did. I mean the 'Snoop Dog' records, and such. There is a new approach that involves a lot of computer technology which I don't know a whole lot about. I'm around it a lot and I see the guys do it… but it's different now. And it's unfortunate because I think there are a lot of successful musicians now who really aren't musicians. They are good computer technicians! I have done records and film scores with people who have no idea how this works and they succeed in spite of themselves. It's pretty interesting to me… in other fields, for example, if you were an author and you couldn't construct a sentence, you would not get a publishing deal. However, in my business, you can have no idea how to structure a chord or notate a melody, and get a Grammy and a million-dollar record deal. Now I don't know what that means… I don't know if that's a statement about our society or education. I'm always amazed. Sometimes it all comes down to intuition and that can't be dismissed either. I think the most important thing young people today can do is understand that it is going to be a lifelong study — and any pursuit is like that. And even though there is new technology it's important to understand the history of music, how ideas got passed around — you know — how we got from beating on a log in a cave to Mozart! And in not that many years, in a way, when you really think about it. The more you learn, the better you get, and the more you'll be sought after, and the further you can go career-wise and musically. So, my advice… never stop learning. And play with different players… try not to peg yourself into one genre. Experiment and learn... maintain your musical flexibility.

VOICE: When we last interviewed you for THE VOICE, you told us your favorite songs to hear Linda perform were 'Children Will Listen' and 'We're All Alone.' Do you have any new favorites?

DAVID: No change! [laughs] She never sings those two any more and I thought she sang them quite beautifully. She does this song called 'It's All For You'… it's a John Meyer song. And I really like that one. I hope she records it… John Oddo did a spectacular arrangement of it … but really Linda could sing the phonebook if she wants! Anything she does is good!

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