May 18, 2006
Interviewed by Harvey Cline

Just weeks away from the release of his seventh disc, Way Up!, and only days away from his summer tour, bassist Wayman Tisdale sat down with SmoothViews to discuss his new project and tour.  The interview was as upbeat and positive as his onstage persona as we covered so many things going on with this former NBA superstar.

SmoothViews (SV):  Welcome to SmoothViews once again.  Your new disc is entitled Way Up!  I believe that’s been scheduled for release on June 27th.
Wayman Tisdale (WT): Yeah.  I’m very excited.  It’s always great to get one finished and get it ready to come out because you get a little breathing room and see how everybody reacts to it.

SV: Can you believe this is your seventh disc now?
WT: Man, you could have never told me eight or ten years ago that I would be on my seventh record, but it is a great feeling.  Once you get past a certain amount, you know you have that staying power and are able to get over that hump.  Now you’re considered, I guess, a very legitimate artist.

SV: Yes, I think so too, especially with this being your second one on Rendezvous Records.  That’s saying a lot for you right there.
WT: Yeah, I’m really excited to be with them and excited to have a company that’s really behind what I do and not just try to go out and do a concept record to sell records.  They let me be me, and it’s been working great for me.

SV: How’s your last year been with Rendezvous? 
WT: It’s the perfect marriage for an artist like me, because I had been on the Motowns and Warner Brothers and all these other places.  But once it got down to Rendezvous it’s a concentrated effort.  They really pay attention to details.  Very few things slip through these guys.  Man, we do our homework and they help me do my homework and make sure I have everything crossed.  And that’s what you want as an artist, somebody that cares about the music you’re making. 

SV: That’s great to hear.  Tell us who’s on the new disc.  I know there are a lot of great artists there.
WT: Oh man, it’s probably easier to tell you who’s not on the disc. (laughing)  I had a lot of fun.  I did a lot of duets, a lot of collaborations and a lot of getting together with great people that I’ve always wanted to work with. Number one being Bob James, and you have George Duke.  Those are two guys I’ve always wanted to write with and to do music with.  To have them on the disc, on the same one, is an awesome feeling.  Of course, we have Jeff Lorber, Kirk Whalum, and Jonathan Butler.  Eric Benet does a song called “Sweet Dreams” that is pretty much the only vocal tune on the record.  He just did an incredible job.  You can’t have a record and not have Mr. Dave Koz accompany you on it.  It’s a lot of friends.  It’s the Wayman and friends record. (laughs)

SV: The new disc is called Way Up!  Where did you get the title track for that?
WT: Dave Koz and I were at a dinner with my wife, and we were just tossing around some things.  And he said, “This record is such a great record man.  It’s going to go waaaay up!  (laughs)  It’s going to be way up on the charts for a while.”  Then we looked at each other and said, “Hey!  There’s the title right there. Way Up!”  It’s perfect. Everybody can relate to way up.  And we kind of related it to if you like my previous records, this record is going to take you way up from where you were.  So it’s going to lift your spirit. We want to be positive and happy.  That’s me.  Way Up! Is a perfect connotation to what I am about.
 
SV:  Do you have a favorite song yet?
WT: I don’t.  This record is a great record to me. I like “Conversation Piece” with Bob James a lot.  A song called “My Son” that Dave Koz and I do that I really love.  It’s a full record of stuff that I love to do.  There’s a song called “Sunday’s Best” that I love.  Probably my favorite one is “Sunday’s Best.”  That’s with myself, Jonathan Butler, and Kirk Whalum - the Rendezvous All-Stars.

SV: I was listening to a little bit of “Get Down On It” this morning, and that one’s just flying by.  That’s a good one to get going.  Tell us a little bit about that one.
WT: That was one of the songs that I’ve been wanting to do since I first heard it way back when I was in high school.  We used to warm up to that in the lay-up line and all we wanted to play was “Get Down On It.”  So I knew that song and how to play that song without ever playing it.  I’ve wanted to do that song for years.  I just had fun with it, and it’s just a great fun song to do live.  People just really lose their mind.  They get off to “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” but they lose their mind when I play “Get Down On It.”  It’s just one of those tunes that I just had to do.  I’ve been I guess you call, an ambassador for “throw-backs.”  I love to reach back and bring something to the front. Man, it’s been fun to bring the classics and the old school back to the forefront, and I always keep that in mind.  That’s my thing; I’m the ambassador of old school.  I want everybody to know that on every Wayman Tisdale record you’re gonna get a little element of the old school.  So I give you an assortment of old school hits.  It’s just so much fun to see people react to them when they first hear them on the record. They’re like, “Oh, you re-did that! Oh my goodness.”  So I don’t try to do my whole record like that because I feel that I have a lot music inside that I can create on my own.  I do that on my records, but when it gets down to the classics, I like to pick a great classic.  The first single is “Get Down On It.”  It’s flying up the charts.  It’s already up to number 14 after only being out four or five weeks.  So we’re really excited about that track.

SV:  You have a summer tour with the Rendezvous All-Stars. How are the practice sessions going with that?
WT: Oh my gosh.  We had a 12-hour day yesterday.  I started at eleven in the morning, and I think we played until eleven last night.  We’re really excited.  Lots of music.  Lots of preparation going in with the guys.  It’s so much fun.  It’s like you’re in a roomful of all stars.  That’s exactly what it is.  Guys who have hits after hits after hits.  It’s so much fun being on the road together.  We’ve all toured together in the previous years.  It’s just so fun this year.  It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for years.  We’re really having fun with the tour so far.

SV: Just so that our readers will know, tell us who’s on that tour with you.
WT: It’s Jonathan Butler, Kirk Whalum, and Brian Simpson.  It’s four amigos, and we’re having a ball. (laughs)  These guys are like nuts, too.  They act crazy and there’s some serious playing going on as well.  It’s a great mix of all types of music.  It’s a show you don’t want to miss.  It’s definitely a classic show that’s going down.

SV: I saw a great picture of you this week with Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller.
WT: Oh man, they were actually at my opening party for Way Up! where they had a CD debut party.  It was awesome to have my two heroes show up.  If you ever read any articles from me, from day one I always say that my two biggest influences on bass were Marcus Miller and Stanley Clarke.  Nobody told me that either of those guys were coming, and they showed up and surprised me.  They pretty much like handed down the baton to say, “Hey, you’re the next one.  You’re in the club.”  Man I am really excited about that.

SV: That’s gotta make you feel really great.
WT: Yeah, because you never know how guys or how your peers are going to accept you in this industry.  I’m coming from a total different background of basketball and broken ribs and cut elbows and broken all everything else, (laughs) to say, ok, I’m going to do music now.  (laughs)  And these guys just totally accepted me for having a great time, and for them to say, “Hey, Tis, we want to honor you and thank you for playing the bass and keeping the bass in the forefront.  You da’ man.”  That was a lot of fun.

SV: That probably ranks up there with getting a gold medal in the Olympics (1984).
WT: To me it is… on the music side.  To get that passed down like that.  It’s almost the equivalent of a gold medal to have these guys show up at your event. That’s what almost gives you chills.  It was one of those nights that nobody told me about it.  These guys show up and surprise me and I’m like, “Oh my gosh.”

SV: I bet a lot of people were wondering why you had taken up bass after basketball.
WT: Well, actually I had bass before basketball when I was a kid.  I thought I was going to be a bass player.  I aspired to be a bass player and not a basketball player.  So everybody was kind of tripping saying, “Wow.”  I’ve always wanted to do that and play bass or playing in little bitty garage bands.  Never play in an official band or go on the road.  But I played in a little garage band and played with the choir and the church band.  That’s where I got my start.  Then basketball came in my life.

SV: If it hadn’t been for music, what would have been doing after your basketball career?
WT: Probably announcing.  My major in college was radio and television broadcasting. That was still in the picture, but immediately music took over and was there for me after I retired.  And I can do music forever. (laughs)

SV: I see where you’re cruising in January with Warren Hill. How’s that coming?
WT: We’re hosting the cruise man!  It’s such a blast.  The ship usually sells out every year.  We’re just totally excited about it.  Warren is a great guy.  The cruise is like being at the high school prom.  It’s a weeklong high school prom for musicians.  It’s like “rock star for a week” and we just have a ball.  We’re looking forward to doing those things. It’s one of those things that’s just come up, and it’s taking the jazz world by storm.  It’s a perfect vacation for most people.  I love people and I love to mingle with people.  We get up and we hang out with each other.  It’s what it’s all about.

SV: It sounds like a lot of fun.  Who do you have signed up for that so far?
WT: If you go to www.smoothcruise2005.com or www.waymantisdale.com you’ll see the ad - Najee, Peter White, George Duke, Jonathan Butler, Rick Braun, and Will Downing.  I mean, if you’re not willing to party after that, man, and lose your mind, do not come on this cruise, because it is the party boat.  An Animal House on water! (laughs)  It’s a lot of fun, and we sit up together and talk.  Guys jam with people you never thought you’d be jamming with.  It’s just really cool, man.

SV:  Is there anything else you’d like to tell your fans?
WT: Well, it sounds like you’ve about got it covered, man.  I think we covered most of it and looking forward to reading the article when it comes out.

SV: Lot’s of luck on the new disc. I’m sure it’s going to go Way Up! the charts real soon.
WT: (laughs) I’m looking forward to it man… thanks.