Steve Vai bassist shares stories from the road, advice for learning bass
Exclusive video interview with FBPO’s Jon Liebman
October 3, 2022
Session and touring bassist Philip Bynoe has received no shortage of accolades during his multifaceted career. The Berklee College of Music graduate is a three-time Grammy nominee who also earned an Emmy award in 2005 for his work on the soundtrack for Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical. Over the years, he’s developed a close working relationship with Steve Vai, recording several albums and embarking on numerous world tours with the noted guitar wizard. Bynoe, a multi-genre bassist and composer, has also collaborated with the likes of Slash, Kevin Eubanks and The Tonight Show band, Mike Mangini, and Tony MacAlpine. Beyond that, he’s a member of Warlord and has released several albums of children’s music with PB & Deb and Jambo.
Watch our interview with Philip!
See Jon’s blog, with key takeaways from this interview here.
Another great interview with a very articulate bassist. Met Philip maybe 7 yrs ago, and got to shoot the breeze with him and the rest of the band before Vai came out…
I am very excited to be seeing them again, tomorrow night at The Egg in Albany NY…
To give a glimpse into Philip as a person, as we were waiting for Vai to exit the theater, I called my nephew, who had attended the show also, and being a high schooler, I wanted to make sure that he was ok on his ride home… Not sure how it came sbout, but Philip got on the phone with my nephew. Of course, that made my nephew a bit of a hero amongst this friends, and was the buzz around his scoop for a week or so. I got the whole band to sign my ticket, which I mounted, then printed out all their names, and framed, and gave it to my nephew as a Christmas present. It blew him away, and is a reminder of Philip, taking the time to do something very out of the ordinary.
Little did I(or my wife know, her sister’s son) there was a lot of things on the home front he was dealing with, so he was having some self worth issues…
Philip’s small gesture made a big impact with my nephew, who needed positives in his life, as we found out a couple of years later when he rented an apartment from us, and had some long talks with my wife. He now is out west coaching ski racing!
So, thank you Philip, for impacting a young man’s life, for the better!
Maybe, I will get to relate this story directly to you Sat/ tomorrow night!
Inspiring story. Thanks for sharing it, Jon!