Tony Levin discussed playing bass with Pink Floyd in a new Vulture interview.
“David Gilmour asked me to play bass on the album after Roger Waters famously left the band, thinking it was the end of them. I wasn’t part of any of the band’s intrigue and was thrilled to enter into the world of trying to play appropriately for a Pink Floyd context but also be somewhat myself.”
“I brought out the Chapman Stick, an instrument I can play as a bass. It’s not the most common instrument, but I use it as one of my regular basses. I found David to be a fascinating guy and a real gentleman – a wonderful person to be with.”
“I can remember one instance when I had a long vamp out and I played an extra few notes. I’m not talking about a fast bass riff here; I’m just talking about a couple notes.”
“After the take, when we got together to listen, David smiled and said, ‘Tony, in Pink Floyd you don’t do that extra couple notes until far later.’ I had the right idea, but I did it too quickly. He was silently saying, ‘You don’t know that, but the rest of us do.'”
After about a week of studio work, Levin got invited to go out on the road with the band. The bass legend ended up passing the offer, but admits his career might have looked different:
“It was one of those big career decisions, perhaps even my biggest, where I went to stay with Peter [Gabriel]. I’ve never regretted it, but I’m sure my career path would’ve been different had I spent that next year and a half doing Pink Floyd.”
