Ex-WAR bassist talks about new projects with PHILM and Dig Infinity
Exclusive video interview with FBPO’s Jon Liebman
May 13, 2019
By David Sands
Francisco “Pancho” Tomaselli is the kind of bassist who always keeps you guessing what he’s going to do next. A native of Ecuador, he attended the Berklee College of music and after graduation moved to L.A. where he got a job with Virgin Records A&R department working with artists like Lenny Kravitz, Janet Jackson and Ben Harper. Later, he got more into the music side of things, performing early on with The Latin Project and La Sonora Dinamita and later landing gigs touring with legendary groups like WAR and Tower of Power.
Tomaselli has also been involved with some heavier and more experimental acts like PHILM, Ultraphonix and Project Nfidelikah, a punk-funk outfit he formed with Angelo Moore of FIshbone and George Lynch of Lynch Mob. In addition to performing, he’salso put his talent to work as an music educator, working with the LEAP program in Los Angeles, and teaching an electric bass at the Community Music School of Springfield in Massachusetts.
FBPO’s Jon Liebman had a chance to catch up with Tomaselli at this year’s Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California, where they spoke about an upcoming PHILM album, collaborating with Rex Brown of Pantera and Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power, his current music project with Facebook and why he’s really not into doing covers.
Watch our interview with Pancho!
