Leo Lyons Of Ten Years After On This Month’s Groove – The No Treble Podcast

“Wait… did I miss something? Why is there an article about a bass podcast on Six Pixels of Separation?”

Here’s why:

In the late nineties my first job was as a music journalist (actually, my first interview was with Tommy Lee from Motley Crue right before the band released Dr. Feelgood).
I spent many years interviewing musicians and artists for local weekly alternative newspapers, national and international magazines (and even published three music magazines – before we had the Internet).
I also studied and played the electric bass (in high school and post-secondary) and always felt like bass players never really had a chance to tell their stories.
So, about ten years ago, Seth Godin introduced me to Corey Brown (founder of No Treble – one of the world’s biggest bass platforms – and he also worked on Squidoo with Seth).
From there, Corey and I decided to try this monthly podcast where I would interview bass players and talk about their music, art, creativity and more.
I’m hopeful that these conversations will inspire your work, creativity and innovation as much as they do for me…

Leo Lyons from Ten Years After is this month’s conversation on Groove – The No Treble Podcast.

You can listen the new episode right here: Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #137 – Leo Lyons.

Leo Lyons has lived multiple musical lives… and somehow, they all trace back to a moment when the bass wasn’t even fully defined yet. Best known as the bassist and co-founder of Ten Years After, Leo helped shape a sound that bridged blues, jazz, and the emerging language of rock… long before genres were neatly categorized. But what makes his story so compelling isn’t just the legacy… it’s the mindset. In this conversation, Leo takes us back to a time when electric basses were rare, when you might lose your chance to buy one simply because there was only a single instrument in the shop, and when learning meant hearing a song once on the radio and figuring it out by instinct. He talks about moving from guitar to bass almost by accident, chasing the tone of upright players like Bill Black, and discovering his voice by pushing the amplifier as much as the instrument itself. As the story unfolds, you realize Leo wasn’t just present at the birth of modern rock… he was inside it, watching it form in real time alongside bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who, all building something new in parallel without a roadmap. There’s incredible texture here too… stories of trading a Fender Precision for a now-legendary Jazz Bass (once played by Jimi Hendrix), navigating the slow grind before success, and experiencing moments like Woodstock not as mythology, but as just another gig that happened to become history. Beyond the stage, Leo’s career expanded into production, working with artists like UFO and Motörhead, always chasing songs, riffs and arrangements that felt honest and immediate. What stands out most is his philosophy… that the bass isn’t just about holding things down, but about pushing the band forward, adding melody, tension, and lift. Even now, reflecting on decades of music, Leo speaks with the curiosity of someone still chasing the next idea, still listening, still trying to get better. This conversation isn’t just a look back at a legendary career… it’s a reminder that some of the most important musical innovations didn’t come from theory or training, but from instinct, experimentation, and a willingness to step into the unknown even as Ten Years After reissues their legendary 1969 album, Ssssh. Enjoy the conversation…

What is Groove – The No Treble Podcast?

This is an ambitious effort. This will be a fascinating conversation. Our goal at Groove is to build the largest oral history of bass players. Why Groove? Most of the content about the bass revolves around gear, playing techniques, and more technical chatter. For us, bassists are creative artists with stories to tell. They are a force to be reckon with. These are the stories and conversation that we will capture. To create this oral history of why these artists chose the bass, what their creative lives are like, and where inspiration can be found.

Listen in: Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #137 – Leo Lyons.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends).