40 YEARS INTO LIFE ON
THE ROAD WITH THE EAGLES,
POCO & JIMMY BUFFETT, TIMOTHY B. SCHMIT PULLS OFF
TO RECORD EXPANDO, HIS
STRONGEST SOLO SET YET
Timothy B. Schmit knows the road. From his childhood years tagging along with
his musician father in the family’s “Expando”
trailer home to his seven years in the saddle
with Poco (country-rock’s boldest
pioneers), Schmit has logged more miles
than even the toughest road dogs. Of course,
most know him as the high-tenor-voiced
bass man for the Eagles. Timothy got his
Eagles wings in 1977, on the tail end of the
band’s blockbuster Hotel California tour, and went on to record
1979’s The Long Run, the last before the band split in 1980. The
Eagles re-convened once in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over, again in
2007 for Long Road Out of Eden, and has just wrapped a summer
tour with Keith Urban and the Dixie Chicks. In October, Timothy
and the boys will play the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Schmit’s varied career goes far deeper than just the Eagles or
Poco. In his 1980s downtime from the Eagles, Schmit hit the
road with Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band [Note: it was Schmit
who first dubbed Buffett fans “parrotheads”], and he has worked
as a session vocalist for artists as wide-ranging as Steely Dan,
Toto, Bob Seger, Poison, Tim McGraw, and Spinal Tap.
None of that has kept Schmit from consistently delivering highquality
solo albums, starting with 1984’s Playing It Cool, and
continuing with last year’s Expando, certainly Schmit’s most selfassured,
mature offering to date. Featuring guests Keb’ Mo’, Kid
Rock, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Dwight Yoakam, Kenny Wayne
Shepherd, and Graham Nash, the album is in fact the clearest
demonstration of Schmit’s under-celebrated talents as a multiinstrumentalist
and vocalist.
How do you view your position as a bass
player and singer?
It still amazes me that I get to do what
I do. I consider myself a singer first, and a
rather basic bass player. I’m not an improviser—
I’m really an accompanist. There are
guys who play bass like a lead guitar, but
that’s way beyond my comprehension and
abilities. Sometimes they go so far that it
doesn’t even seem like bass anymore. To
me, the bass should hit you low; it’s the
foundation. You can make a mistake on
a piano or guitar riff. But if you’re off by
a fret on bass, everybody turns and looks
at you. So it’s pretty important. There are
a lot of non-musicians who may know
nothing technical about music, but who
will certainly know it if you take the bass
out of a piece of music.
Do you have a hard time playing when
you’re singing?
No, I don’t. I’ve been doing it a long
time. If I’m learning a new piece or working
something out for the first time, I’ll work
on it until it becomes second nature. I have
a pretty good work ethic, because I don’t
want to appear like I don’t know what I’m doing. I want to be confident when I do
something, so I usually take the time to
work it out.
For instance, in 1992 I got a call from
Ringo Starr, who wanted me to play in his
band. We had a long list of tunes to learn,
but nobody knew which ones we were going
to actually play. So I learned them all. I just
sat in my little music hour upon hour for a
week or two learning these songs and picking
out the parts I would probably be
singing.
Poco is often cited as being the first
authentic country-rock band. In terms of
your own contribution, how do you view that
legacy?
We were really known as a live act; the
live stuff didn’t translate that well on
records, and we never had a hit record until
after I left. With Poco, there was a great
energy onstage, but there was some weirdness
offstage. But that’s like every band,
right? Towards the ends of our shows we
used to stretch out and do some actual jamming.
I always really enjoyed that.
It’s very hard for me to listen to old Poco
now. It feels really young and unsophisticated,
at least in terms of my contributions.
I was young, and that’s how it sounds to
me. There’s nothing wrong with that—it’s
like going through an old photo album. It
can be a really strange experience and you
can get hung up on it. But I don’t want to
do that with music. I really try to look forward.
I’m proud of most of the things I’ve
done. I’ve had a really exceptional career,
which I’m still pretty mystified about and
grateful for.
How have you managed such a long and
successful career?
People want to talk about this a lot. In
some ways, I have no idea. That would be
my honest answer; I’m not trying to be
overly humble. I have talent, but there are
people out there with way more talent. So
there’s a certain element of serendipity in
how my career has evolved. But as far as
work goes, I think I have more hustle in
me than I sometimes realize. I might also
be a bit more aggressive than I sometimes
realize. Because if somebody hands you
something, you have to take it in order to
see what it is. So I didn’t play a totally passive
part in this. When I got these
opportunities, I took them.
How did you come to record this new
solo album, Expando?
It was something I wanted to do for fun.
Because there was no pressure from a
record label, I could do whatever I wanted.
So I asked myself, What do I do best? I
thought back to when I first started strumming
ukuleles and tenor guitars, singing
folk music. I went to my home studio, and
when I was ready to record, I would get my
engineer and put down an acoustic guitar
track. Then I would sing the song and edit
it to however I wanted, so I’d end up with
a final vocal and an acoustic guitar. I built
everything from there. I’m really happy with
that album and I’m really anxious to see
what comes out of me next.
You play fingerstyle with the Eagles. Did
you do anything differently on your solo
album?
I pretty much always play with my fingers,
except that on the Beatle Bass and the
Kay—which both have flatwounds—I either use a pick or I play with my fingernail.
You also played guitar, baritone guitar,
and a bunch of other instruments.
I played as much as I could, until it just
got out of my league—like tuba or vibes. My
engineer, Hank Linderman, is really talented.
He’s a great guitar player, but I
stopped putting a guitar in his hands for my
stuff because he’s too good. For a lack of
better words, I needed something dumber—
that’s me—on guitar.
How do you work out your vocal
harmonies?
I just hear it in my head and I try it out.
I might not know a couple passing notes,
but those are easily worked out by recording
them. I layered my voice on a few things,
but in other places I didn’t want that same
sound. For a song like “Down Time,” I
wanted voices that sounded different. I actually
recorded all the parts myself to see what
all the parts were, but it was too smooth—
it was too pretty. I really wanted something
that sounded more like The Band. They had
all these different singers that blended in
an odd way. They weren’t smooth, and that’s
what I liked about it. For “Down Time,” I
got Kid Rock and Dwight Yoakam to sing
background. Those guys sound like night
and day, which is exactly what I wanted.
That was a lot of fun.
What drew you to your current SWR rig
for the Eagles tour?
It’s durable, and I just like the way it
sounds. I just need it to sound like a bass.
So I turn off all the tweeters. As I’ve said,
I’m really basic. In fact, when I first started
building a home studio I hired Hank to help
me learn about using all the gear. But after
a few days it started to get in the way of my
music, because my head doesn’t work both
ways. I know I could run the equipment,
but I think my music would suffer because
it takes a lot of energy. That’s why I still
document all my ideas with an old ’70s Sony
boom box.
How did you first get the call to join the
Eagles?
Poco had leveled off in popularity, and
I was becoming a little disenchanted with
it all, so I began to put out feelers to determine
my next move. I had met [Eagles
manager] Irving Azoff through things like
working with Steely Dan, and I think he
brought my name up to Don Henley and
Glenn Frey when things with Randy Meisner
started to fall apart. A little while later,
I got a call from Glenn asking if I was interested
in joining the band. I just said. “Where
do I sign? How soon can we do this?” Here
they were asking me to join the band outright
without playing one lick of music with
them. I was ecstatic.
I was really happy when we had our first
rehearsal, just because I wanted to really
feel it. Up to then it had all felt like science
fiction. Right from the time I heard of the
possibility of my becoming an Eagle, I
thought that it was an ideal fit. It was obviously
the perfect for me. But it was also the
perfect for them, too. And I don’t mean that
in a cocky way.
To your ears, what were some of Randy
Meisner’s strongest moments in his tenure
in the band?
He’s on their first six albums; he’s the
one that was in the trenches. I was in the trenches, too, just not with the Eagles. He
obviously had a beautiful voice, he was a
real decent bass player, and he was just part
of that whole movement. I have a lot of
respect for him because of that. When the
Eagles were inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, I felt a little
funny, like, should I really be here?
When you first joined the band, how did
you adapt to your new surroundings?
I really was careful. I knew there were
some pretty large egos in the band … and bviously huge talent. I watched gingerly
for a while to see where I’m going to fit in
sociologically, and as a player. And I’m pretty
good at that—I’m perceptive about people
and situations, and I’m not a big troublemaker.
I’m the guy who wants things to work
out, so we didn’t have any problems.
In what ways, either general or specific,
have you come to put your own stamp on
those bass parts that were there before?
The Eagles have always been sticklers
for making things sound just like the
records. So I didn’t have too much wiggle
room when I joined, because I pretty much
copied parts. I knew I was copying them,
and that I didn’t make them up. But later
on, when I did my first studio album with
the band, The Long Run, I got to run with
my own ideas. That was really satisfying.
But I have no problem with playing Randy’s
parts, and I have no illusions.
Do you have a warm-up routine?
My warm-ups have more to do with my
voice than playing, but I do a bit of playing.
It’s usually to accompany myself when
I’m warming up my singing. I have this
whole exercise routine I do with my voice.
Of the many sessions you’ve done as a
singer, do any stand out as supremely satisfying?
I would say Steely Dan—almost anything
I sang on there. That was the first time I
ever heard myself on the radio nearly every
hour with that song “Rikki Don’t Lose That
Number.” Those sessions were great because
their music is so truly awesome—and I don’t
use that word lightly. Another highlight
would be Randy Newman. That was the
first gold record I ever got, for the song
“Short People.” But I’ve done a lot of stuff
I’m really happy to have been a part of. I
love to sing, and I’ve always been thrilled
when somebody calls on me to do it. Of
course, there have been jobs I probably
shouldn’t have taken! [Laughs.]
What’s the best thing about this new
album and what it represents to you?
I feel like there’s a new energy. I’ve done
a few solo shows for the first time in my
career where it’s me with my own band,
doing my songs. That is so exciting. It doesn’t
make me feel younger, but there’s a
young energy about it. It’s very energizing,
and I really love being able to reenergize
after all this time—to have something new
in my life.
GEAR
Basses 1962 Fender Jazz Bass (sunburst), 1962 Fender Jazz Bass (black) tuned
EbAbDbGb, 1964 Fender Jazz Bass (white), 1964 Fender Jazz Bass (refinished brown),
1965 Fender Jazz Bass (sunburst) tuned EbAbDbGb, Pedulla Buzz Fretless Bass tuned
DbAbDbGb, Rob Allen MB-2 Fretless Bass tuned EbAbDbGb
Rig Shure U4D wireless, Countryman DI, two SWR 750x heads, SWR Son of Bertha 1x15
cab, SWR Goliath III 4x10 cab, SWR Goliath Jr. 2x10 cab (all tweeters turned off)
Effects Boss BF-3 Flanger
Expando Gear 1962 Fender Jazz Bass, 1977 Ernie Ball Earthwood bass Kay 162 bass,
’60s Hofner “Beatle Bass”, Ernie Ball baritone guitar
Strings Ernie Ball Roundwounds on Jazz Basses, tapewound strings on the Earthwood,
old flatwounds on the Kay and Hofner basses
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
(“v” indicates vocals only)
1970 Poco, Poco
1971 Poco, Deliverin’; Poco, From the Inside
1972 Poco, Good Feelin’ to Know
1973 Poco, Crazy Eyes
1974 Poco, Cantamos; Poco, Seven; Linda Ronstadt, Heart Like a Wheel; Steely Dan,
Pretzel Logic (v)
1975 Poco, Head over Heels
1976 Poco, Live; Poco, Rose of Comarron; Steely Dan, Royal Scam (v); Roger McGuinn,
Cardiff Rose (v)
1977 Steely Dan, Aja; Poco, Indian Summer; Randy Newman, Little Criminals (v)
1978 Joe Walsh, But Seriously, Folks… (v)
1979 The Eagles, Long Run
1980 The Eagles, Eagles Live; Elton John, 21 at 33 (v); Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet
Band, Against the Wind (v); America, Alibi (v); Boz Scaggs, Hits! (v)
1981 Joe Walsh, There Goes the Neighborhood (v); Crosby, Stills & Nash,
Daylight Again (v)
1982 Steely Dan, Gold (v); Don Henley, I Can’t Stand Still; Toto, Toto IV (v)
1983 Joe Walsh, You Bought It: You Name It (v)
1984 Timothy B. Schmit, Playin’ It Cool, J.D. Souther, Home By Dawn (v); Poco,
Inamorata; Dan Fogelberg, Windows and Walls (v); Carl Wilson, Youngblood (v)
1985 Joe Walsh, Confessor; Jimmy Buffett, Last Mango in Paris (v)
1986 Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Like a Rock (v)
1987 Timothy B. Schmit, Timothy B.; Dan Fogelberg, Exiles (v); Richard Marx,
Richard Marx (v)
1988 Jimmy Buffett, Hot Water; Boz Scaggs, Other Roads (v); The Jeff Healey Band, See
the Light (v); Glenn Frey, Soul Searchin’ (v)
1989 Sheena Easton, Lover in Me; Junian Lennon, Mr. Jordan (v); Jimmy Buffett, Off to
See the Lizard (v)
1990 Timothy B. Schmit, Tell Me the Truth; Dan Fogelberg, Wild Places; The Simpsons,
The Simpsons Sing the Blues (v)
1992 Jimmy Buffett, Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads; Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind (v)
1993 Steely Dan, Citizen Steely Dan (v); Vince Neil, Exposed (v) Poison, Native Tongue
(v); Clint Black, No Time to Kill (v)
1994 The Eagles Hell Freezes Over; Ringo Starr, Live from Montreux, Vol. 2 (v)
1995 Nelson, Because They Can (v)
1997 Tim McGraw, Everywhere (v)
1998 Crosby, Stills & Nash, Carry On (v)
2001 Timothy B. Schmit, Feed the Fire
2002 Tim McGraw, Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors (v)
2003 Dwight Yoakam, Population Me (v); Warren Zevon, Wind (v)
2005 The Eagles, Farewell Tour: Live from Melbourne; Dwight Yoakam,
Blame the Vain (v)
2007 The Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden
2009 Timothy B. Schmit, Expando