Tony Levin interview (excerpt)

Roie Avin: What do you remember about forming that group [LTE] and deciding to play in it, and how the writing process was?

Tony Levin: It was unusual for me. We did two albums. The first one, I didn't know the guys at all, and I was I was quickly stunned. They’re really technical virtuosos – all three of them – and usually I’m the fast guy at learning things and writing things and absorbing things in a band. I went from that to being clearly the slow guy – the guy who can't keep up. Especially that first album, we were writing it and then recording it right the same day, and I really fell behind quite a bit. I had an overdub a lot and fix my parts, which was a little bit of a drag on the speed, but the guys hung in with me. They very graciously let me be the slow guy, let me keep up, and I was very impressed. Playing live would have been out of the question for me that year. When we did the second album, the big difference [was] I knew what was coming and I focused on the stick more. I can play faster on the stick than on the bass. So I went in knowing I'm going to play more on the stick, and it was a little easier for me. They're great guys, really inspiring and amazingly when we toured that one week, as good as they are, those three guys are practicing all day. When we're not traveling, they get to the venue and they start practicing, and I wouldn't have guessed that someone at their level of playing needs to practice a lot. So it was a clear message to me that I better up my game and practice more than I did.