High Five

What counts in music today

September 23, 2011|By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff

Bassist Tony Levin’s remarkable career has included membership in King Crimson and prolific work as a sideman, appearing on hundreds of records and onstage with artists like Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, and David Bowie. Levin’s band, Stick Men, opens for fellow Crimson-ite Adrian Belew’s Power Trio on Tuesday at Royale. The groups band together for an encore of Crimson tunes. We recently chatted with the Boston native - who also has a new album with another project, Levin Torn White - about his five worst onstage disasters.

1. The cuff links incident. As a teen soloist with the Greater Boston Youth Symphony, Levin was sabotaged by his outfit. “As soon as I hit a high F sharp, the cuff links started banging against the shoulder of the bass with a loud, machine-gun-like rat-a-tat.’’

2. The broken strap debacle. Just as Gary Burton tapped him for a solo at Carnegie Hall, Levin’s strap disconnected. He balanced the bass on one knee while standing on the other leg, like a flamingo. “Unlike a flamingo, I don’t have very good balance and I ended up hopping around stage on one foot.’’

3. The sunglasses problem. Levin’s purchase of mirrored sunglasses as a cool stage accessory while playing with Peter Gabriel backfired when he was blinded by the stage lights. “I took a step forward into the middle of my bass pedals, disconnecting them and resulting in a loud buzz.’’

4. The head wound. Again on tour with Gabriel, Levin got a nasty thump running through a tunnel connecting two stages. “The crew duct-taped the skin on my head together.’’

5. The technical difficulty. During a gig with the California Guitar Trio, instead of pressing play on a CD player accompaniment, he shut it off and couldn’t turn it back on. “It was a real, ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up’ moment.’’

Stick Men open for the Adrian Belew Power Trio at Royale on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets: $26. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com