Jeff Pilson, A Man of All Talents

By Ken Boyd.

Bassist Jeff Pilson is, without a doubt, one of today's most versatile and expressive of musicians on the market. Before speaking with Jeff I did a little research to make sure I had all my own ducks in a row, and was quite amazed to discover more than I had ever expected. I had known this talented musician to be involved in number of high caliber rock bands from the '80s through present day, and also knew him to be skilled at numerous instruments. But that seems to only scratch the surface with this man.

Throughout this article I will disperse information about Jeff and his career, along with REAL audio files from our telephone interview.

 Opening Comments

A little bit of personal information on Jeff from his homepage here: http://jeffpilson.com/ 

Name: Jeffrey Steven Pilson

Birthday: January 19

Birth Place: Lake Forest, IL

Bands played in: Dio, MSG, War and Peace, Randy Hansen, Cinema, Christmas, Flesh & Blood, "13th Floor"

Instruments: bass guitar, electric & acoustic guitars, cello, string bass, piano, keyboards, bass pedals.

Favorite Bands: The Beatles, Led Zepplin, Heart, Yes, Seal, The Eagles

Favorite TV Show: Friends

Favorite Book: Yoga - The 8 Steps to Health & Peace by Richard Hittleman

War & Peace--How it all came together.

If you want to take a look at the versatility of this man first hand, take a look at this extensive discography:

1980 Various Artist - Rock Justice (Bass, Vocals)
1984 Dokken - Tooth and Nail (Bass, Vocals)
1985 Dokken - Under Lock and Key (Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals)
1987 Dokken - Back for the Attack (Bass, Vocals)
1988 Dokken - Beast from the East (Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals)
1990 Firkins, Michael Lee - Michael Lee Firkins (Bass)
1990 Wild Horses - Wild Horses (Bass)
1992 Mcauley Schenker Group - MSG (Bass)
1992 LA Blues Authority - L.A. Blues Authority (Bass, Vocals)
1993 Craig Goldy - Insufficient Therapy (Vocals)
1993 War & Peace - War & Peace (Bass, Vocals)
1993 Lynch, George - Sacred Groove (Bass, Piano)
1994 Dio - Strange Highways (Bass, Keyboards)
1995 Dokken - Dysfunctional (Bass, Vocals)
1995 Dokken - One Live Night (Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Guitar (12 String))
1996 Dio - Angry Machines (Bass)
1997 Cage - Cage (Bass)
1997 Dokken - Shadowlife (Bass, Vocals)
1997 Free World--Munetaka Higuchi and Dream Castle (Bass)
1997 Stairway to Heaven--A Tribute to Led Zeppelin (Bass)
1998 Forever Mod: - A Tribute To Rod Stewart (Bass, Vocals)
1998 Thunderbolt - A Tribute to AC/DC (Bass)
1998 Krunk - Greatest Hits (Bass)
1999 War & Peace - The Flesh and Blood Sessions (Bass, Vocals)
1999 Dokken - Erase the Slate (Guitar, Bass, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals, Producer, Mellotron)
1999 Dokken - Very Best of Dokken (Bass, Keyboards, Vocals)
2000 Dokken - Live From The Sun (Bass, Vocals)

Jeff Talks about Underground Moon

Check out the Underground Moon web site here: http://www.undergroundmoon.com/

And make sure to take a listen to these GREAT full MP3 tracks from that new project: Open Circles, Imaginary Jesus, Suicidal Maze, and Backslide

http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/237/underground_moon.html

Not only does Jeff prove to be a multi instrumental , but also quite a lyrical forger and melody writer.

Some sample lyrics off of War & Peace--Light At The End of the Tunnel " Playing God Again"

It's the age- old fascination
It's a twisted line of fire
It's a brazen kind of warning
It's a grave desire

Would you try to walk on water
Could you feed the crowd
Can you burn the cross that binds you
To this broken crown

Jeff Pilson also wrote What Cost War and Stay Out Of My Mind in association with Ronnie James Dio related projects.

Jeff talks about Stay Out Of My Mind

When I asked Jeff about his association with the band Dokken, he still spoke very fondly of the band and the--especially--the fans, despite the fact that it looks like he is no longer involved in the current line up.

How Dokken Started For Jeff Hooking up with Don Dokken Video

Erase The Slate Dokken Break Up 

We then went on to talk about Jeff's acting debut in the motion picture Rock Star.

If I weren't a musician About Rock Star Steel Dragon, LLRnR

Rock Star vs Nightmare on Elm Street 

Chris Cole (MARK WAHLBERG) was born to rock. His longtime girlfriend Emily (JENNIFER ANISTON) believes Chris's talent could take him all the way - but instead of writing his own music, Chris worships at the altar of Bobby Beers, the fiery frontman for Steel Dragon, the heavy metal rock legends that both inspire and consume his life.

By day, Chris still lives at home with his parents and spends his days repairing copy machines, push-starting his sputtering Dodge Dart and fighting with his brother. But when Chris takes the stage, all of that disappears. When he's fronting Blood Pollution, Pennsylvania's premiere Steel Dragon tribute band, Chris Cole is Bobby Beers - mesmerizing audiences with his perfect imitation of Beers' electrifying vocals and sexy snarl. Blood Pollution's low-rent recreation of the Dragon's elaborate arena shows drive the locals (including Chris's loving parents and amused choir director) into a head-banging, hair-whipping frenzy.

The night his bandmates boot him out of the group he founded, Chris is devastated - until an unexpected phone call changes his life forever: he, Chris Cole, has been tapped to replace Bobby Beers as the lead singer of Steel Dragon. In an instant, Chris rockets to the dizzying heights of sudden stardom, rising from devotee to icon, from the ultimate rock fan to the ultimate rock god - the wanna-be who got to be.

So what happens when an average guy gets everything he wants... and discovers it's not enough?

Rock Star is directed by Stephen Herek and produced by Robert Lawrence and Toby Jaffe.

Now for you hard core Dio fans out there, you know that the time Jeff Pilson spent in the band Dio, it was a divergent creative time for the band. With Strange Highways and Angry Machines, it is my contention that Jeff had a great deal of influence on those particular forgings. In truth it is the first time that Ronnie has EVER placed a piece of material on any release that was solely credited to someone besides himself. Jeff Pilson has that honor with Stay out of My Mind. 

How Ronnie and Jeff began working together  Jeff Talks about Being in Dio

Working with Craig Goldy and Scott Warren prior

Before closing up with Jeff, I spent some time talking with him about  some of his own personal thoughts on the music industry in general and, more specifically,  his role in its future. Jeff has worked with a lot of high caliber musicians and, interestingly, there are a lot of links to the band members in Dio. 

West Coast Music Community

Sense of humor Level of Energy

Jeff Pilson talks about the role of the Internet in the music industry's futre

Washing machines on tour with Dio, Jeff spins the tale.

Closing

And so there you have it. One hard working man!

Will he ever work with Dio again? Who knows, it certainly seems in the realm of possibility. But either way, make sure to check out the new Underground Moon--it REALLY rocks!

See you in Thirty!

'Til then...All The Best,

KEN