Brett Tuggle R.I.P

[Dont disturb my Paradise]

Accidentally posted this in Sammy’s threads. He died yesterday (no reason given yet). Dave’s keyboardist and co writer from’86 to ‘94.

[YankeeRose]

Sad to hear.

[Raldo]

RIP Brett

[Simon Ribeiro]

Sad news!!

May he rest in peace!!

[Dont disturb my Paradise]

Brain cancer. Aged 70

[edwardv]

Fuck cancer rip

Sent from my BE2028 using Tapatalk

[DFVH5150]

That's terrible. He was working with Dave on his latest tour at the beginning but didn't end up ultimately playing. He was even on the ad.

[YankeeRose]

Here is an interview that Brett did a few years ago. It talks about him joining Roth's band. I also found the Coverdale/Page stuff interesting....





Let’s move ahead to David Lee Roth. How did you wind up in his touring band in 1986?
Here’s another offshoot because his music is nothing like Steppenwolf or Rick Springfield. Again, it was kind of right place at the right time. And a lot of rock bands need singing keyboard players that play guitar. Luckily for me, I was earning a reputation as kind of a rock keyboard player. My name had come up when they had done Eat ‘Em and Smile.

I get a call that they were auditioning keyboard players. I say, “Of course. I want to check it out.” I realize that a lot of his Van Halen music has a lot of guitars, obviously, but a lot of keyboards, too, that Ed did. It was brilliant. I loved Ed’s keyboard playing. Dave added a bunch in his solo stuff with Edgar Winter on keys along with brass and synths.


I had a lot of great horn samples and synthesizers. I went in and really studied pretty hard for the audition. I worked out all the brass arrangements for “Just a Gigolo” and stuff from Dave’s EP Crazy From the Heat. It was getting parts nailed and keyboard parts, obviously like “Jump” and “Cradle Will Rock” and “California Girls.”

When I went into the audition it was at Perkins Palace [in Pasadena]. I’ll never forget that day as long as I live. As I was pulling up to the building I heard this rumble, this noise, coming from inside. It sounded like that building was going to take off. It was [Steve] Vai and [Billy] Sheehan and Gregg [Bissonette] all blasting away in there on something. I pulled the van right up to the stage door and I’m going, “Holy shit! This is going to be something.”

I really prepared for that one. I went in and did the audition and they couldn’t have been nicer to me. I had the keyboard set up and I played the obvious keyboard stuff with them. Everything was going fine. Dave was blown away that I had all these samples. He couldn’t believe I could play all these horn parts out of keyboard. He loved that. It kind of freaked him out. I had the intro to “California Girls.”

I’ll also never forget Gregg running over from the drums to my side next to Billy. He goes, “Tuggs, he wants to hear you sing. Can you sing something?” I said, “Yeah. No problem.” And Dave is sitting in the audience. I called for “I’m Down” by the Beatles. Gregg and Billy knew it, but I don’t think Vai knew it. Anyway, we launched into it and I started singing in a screaming rock voice: “You tell lies thinking I can’t see …” Halfway through the song, Dave throws his hands up like, “Stop. Stop. OK. Gotcha.”

He came up to the stage and told us to sit at the end of the stage and kind of started talking about the tour and whether or not I’d be interested. I just came by recommendation of people, but I came in prepared.

Did you guys feel a sense of competition with Van Halen when you went on tour?
I didn’t. I don’t think the band did. We all had nothing but super respect for the Van Halen brothers and Michael Anthony and their body of work. We were all fans. I was maybe a bit less so since I wasn’t a shred guitar player, but I loved the band and I appreciated the band. It was nothing but respect.

What happened is there was a lot of bad blood in the press between the two camps and it got very heated. We had security guards when we went places, especially on the first tour. There was a lot of verbal stuff in the press and bad things being said in each camp, from the [Van Halen] brothers or by Dave. We never really said anything. We always spoke about them in high regard, but we never talked much in the press about them.

Vai got probably the most press being who he was and he’d just come off the movie [Crossroads]. He was just blossoming at that time. It was never a competition. It was more politics and unfortunately part of that was ugly for a while.




Tell me about writing “Just Like Paradise” with Dave.
We had just done the first tour behind Eat ‘Em and Smile, and it went great. It sold really well. David always called the band in for meetings every week on a day off. “Let’s make some tracks. Tuggle, I want you on this.” More than any other band I’d ever worked with, Dave was very open to your musical ideas. He encouraged it. He wanted you to give him stuff.

I took to heart what David said about everyone writing music and I ripped off a few demos. “Paradise” came to me by just literally sitting down at my keyboard. I could record MIDI tracks on my computer and I had a reel-to-reel tape. I remember laying down this chord sequence with this drum groove. It was that simple groove. I played it out of nowhere with my hands on the keys. I don’t know where it comes from, but I played the chord progression that was “Just Like Paradise.”

I’ll never forget having my little demo of it at home and calling Vai and saying, “Steve, I’ve got these three tracks. I’d really like to get you to play guitar on them.” He said, “Well, come on over.” I brought it over and pulled up the track. He just started playing over the track, just doodling around. We taped it and he laid down the guitar part.

I took the cassette out to Dave’s house in Pasadena a couple of days later. I remember going down to his basement where Van Halen rehearsed and were we rehearsed. We had a little PA set up and I put the cassette in. It was my keyboard, drum machine, and Steve Vai’s guitar parts. He took a big hit [from a joint] and said, “Play that again.” He had the lyric for it at the next rehearsal. It was interesting to see how fast that happened, and then to see it become the leadoff single from the second album was very exciting and thrilling for me.



By the 1991 tour and especially the 1994 one, I imagine it was apparent that his audience wasn’t exactly growing.
Absolutely. It was going the opposite way for Dave.

How did it feel for everyone when you’re watching it shrink?
I think it was disheartening for everybody to see him lose or be on a downward flow there. Really, a lot of it was that he had a hard time figuring out who he was. He’s a solo artist, but he wasn’t exactly Sting vocally or Rod Stewart. Then things happened with the band personnel. Billy dropped out after Eat ‘Em and Smile. David put this great thing together and then almost turned and changed his mind later and wanted something different, sometimes to a fault.


I think had he kept that band together somehow, it might have worked out a little better. But who knows? Things were changing. Seattle music was coming in. The long-haired bands were fading. A lot of it was the timing and he lost … there was no more Steve Vai. There was no more Sheehan. It was Dave and some band people. They were good musicians and all that, but it was more about Dave trying to be this solo artist. I think he came off stronger as a pirate with his well-known pirates with him.

I know that Coverdale-Page was just a few weeks in Japan, but that must have been a lot of fun.
My God. That was a highlight for sure. I owe that to Vai. He introduced me to Coverdale when he went off to Whitesnake for that album [Slip of the Tongue]. David was looking for a keyboard player that could sing. Steve introduced me to David, and David ended up calling and asking me for some stuff. He wanted to send Jimmy Page stuff something of me playing keyboards, guitar and, singing. I put together a little CD for Coverdale.

I give huge credit to Gregg Bissonette here. I said to him, “I have a chance to play with Page. Can you imagine how great that’ll be?” It was super exciting. Gregg said, “You know, Tuggs, you oughta go into the studio, and I’ll play drums, and we’ll lay down some Zep keyboard parts with me playing drums. We’ll do 60 seconds of ‘Kashmir’ and ‘Rock and Roll’ and other Zeppelin songs with keyboards.”

It was a brilliant idea. We did that. I laid down all the keyboard parts to some of the well-known Zeppelin songs and had some Hammond B3 stuff I put in there and played guitar. I learned Jimmy’s guitar parts from their album [Coverdale-Page]. I sent that off to Coverdale and he sent it over to Page. Page said, “Yeah, thumbs up. Let’s get this guy.”



There was talk of the tour coming to America. Why do you think that didn’t happen?
I think a lot it was timing. They released the album and then waited too long for the tour. There was a lot of variables there and speculation. But what they did was they released the album and a video. They had kind of a buzz. It was like, “Wow, wow. New project with Jimmy and David.” And then they waited to book a tour. When they booked the tour, they booked too large of venues.

They were selling like 3,600 tickets in Detroit initially. It was going to cost too much and they just pulled it. We ended up rehearsing in L.A. for the Japanese deal, which was a blast. But it really did deserve a better shot. It was too bad. It was a one-off album anyway, but it would have been great to take it to the States. The band was slamming. It was really good. Everyone was firing on all cylinders. It was just a great experience to play those songs. It was just legendary.

[YankeeRose]

"My dear pal of 36 years, Brett Tuggle, passed away yesterday at the age of 70 after a long battle with cancer. Brett was the best of the best, as a friend and musical inspiration. Lots of super fun tours on the road together. Here’s a photo of Brett, my brother Matt, and I recording on Brett’s solo album last year. We love and miss you Tug! I know you are playing and singing in Heaven. Please check out this great Rolling Stone interview with Brett from a couple years ago."

-Gregg Bissonette

https://www.rollingstone.com/.../brett-tuggle-keyboard.../

[jszfunk]

https://blabbermouth.net/news/former...gle-dead-at-70

Billy Sheehan has paid tribute to Brett Tuggle, his former bandmate in the David Lee Roth group. The 70-year-old keyboardist, who also spent two decades in FLEETWOOD MAC during the band's reunion era, died on Sunday, June 19 from complications related to cancer.

Tuggle's son Matt confirmed his death to Rolling Stone. "He was loved by his family so much," Matt said. "His family was with him throughout the entire time of his illness. He was a lovely father. He gave me music in my life."

On Monday, Sheehan took to his social media to write: "Brett Tuggle—truly the 'secret weapon' of the Eat 'Em & Smile band and tour. Loved by everyone that ever met him, and gifted with supreme vocal, keyboard, and compositional talent, as well as being one of THE funniest and friendliest human beings to ever exist—a dear friend, devoted Dad, indispensable component to so many other great bands and tours as well. Brett passed away last night.

"We will all miss you, my brother. Thank you for enriching our lives, as well as supplying countless one-liners that we will use for the rest of our lives and be forever reminded of you.

"My condolences to his family and friends.

"Rest In Peace, my brother. We will never forget you."

An award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist, Tuggle was one of the most in-demand players in the music industry. In addition to Roth and FLEETWOOD MAC, he had toured and recorded with such artists as Jimmy Page, Chris Isaak, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and Steven Tyler. Brett played and toured with Rick Springfield on the heels of Rick's hit single "Jessie's Girl", and later with Roth after he had split from VAN HALEN. During this period, Brett was able to stretch his songwriting legs, co-writing several songs with Roth, including the top 10 single "Just Like Paradise" in 1988.

[Elwood P.]

RIP

[YankeeRose]

It's sad. We have been talking about it in the David Lee Roth forum. jszfunk I merged your topic with this one.

[YankeeRose]

I was fortunate enough to tour with Brett Tuggle during the David Lee Roth years. Myself, Billy Sheehan, Greg and Matt Bissonette and Brett were brothers of the highest order and to say we had fun together would be like saying the sun is hot. Brett was one of the finest people I have ever met. He was the consummate musician, singer, keyboard player, guitar player that was the glue that held together so many of the music biz’s most prominent artists and bands. Besides his immense talent, he was the most centered, funniest, friendliest and considerate person you could ever want to know. A loving family man with a deep deep compassionate heart that had to be experienced to understand.
I was an intense young man in those days and Brett was always the voice of reason. He could defuse any drama with a perfectly placed one liner that showed you that nothing is serious enough to loose yourself over. There were things I learned from Brett that I have taken with me my whole career and have served me incredibly well in my life in general, and I assume anyone that was fortunate enough to know him feels the same way. Our lives were incredibly enhanced by having him in it and I could not be more grateful to the Universe to have had this blessed relief of a man in my life.
In my minds eye I see his smiling face in its most happiest state, and that’s the “Tugg” that always was, and still is in mythology mind.
Brett moved on from this world recently after a long and heroic battle with cancer. My heartfelt condolences to his lovely family at this time.
Thank you Brother Brett. You were exceptional and we are grateful.

Steve Vai

[Little Dreamer]

Dude wrote Just Like Paradise. Cool to hear how hard he prepared for the audition for the EEAS band.

Apparently, he was also Dave's partner in crime for some extra-curricular activities during the 1986 tour.

[YankeeRose]

R.I.P. Brett Tuggle.
I had so much fun with you while we were with David Lee Roth. I remember going to your house and writing tunes with Matt and Gregg Bissonette. In Vancouver, you wanted to perform the Beatles song "Oh Darling." You asked me to learn it just as it was; not to add anything fancy. That was a fun night playing at the club.
Your voice was incredible and I knew who I wanted to sing 'Meet Me in the Morning.' I cherish our time together. You taught me so much. Thank you for your friendship.
Love,
Jason Becker