By Ralph Greco, Jr.
Timothy B. Schmit’s 2022 solo album, Day By Day, his seventh and the third in a row where he penned all the tunes, is quite an eclectic mix. Featuring guests like Lindsey Buckingham, Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, and Kenny Wayne Shepard, there’s a full range of well-composed, well-sung and well-played songs to the standard you’d expect from this bass player and singer who has lent his talents to Poco, Steely Dan, and, of course, his most high-profile gig, the Eagles.
From the opener, harmony vocal-layered “Simple Man,” with Buckingham lending his sparkling magic of simple guitar lines over the almost-all acoustic-guitar track, to the rockin’ “The Next Rainbow,” complete with spiking horns and a great tight beat, to “Feather In the Wing,” where Schmit switches up his high-range vocal deliver ever so slightly, to the 50’s vibe of “Conflicted,” and the jaunty near Irish-jog of “Grinding Stone,” where we can hear Schmit’s underrated bass players melodic low-end punch, these dozen tunes deliver — Day By Day captures the best of everything Schmitt can do.
As he told me during the following exchange, when he works on a solo album, he’s given the freedom to explore his creativity alongside what he does full-time with the Eagles. Left to his own devices, he certainly delivers on Day By Day.
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I was especially taken by how eclectic Day By Day is musically. There’s a whole bunch of styles here that you manage through. Did you set out with this in mind — to create such a wide a variety of tunes?
Not at all. My tastes come from what comes to mind. I never thought, ‘I’m going to make this whole concept.’ Basically, I come to my studio, sometimes don’t even turn it on, use it as a workspace to write songs, come up with anything that suits my fancy and that dictates the direction I go.
Considering the guests you have here, do you consciously think when writing a song or even in the early stages of recording, ‘Hey, it would be great to have so and so on this?’ Or do you even write with someone in mind?
Any time during writing or after recording a track and putting on the lead vocal, it usually pops into head: Wow, if I get Lindsey [Buckingham], it would be perfect: or have my daughter Jeddrah sing on this song. Or I reach out to [John] Fogerty and just ask. Having penned all the songs for my last three solo albums, everything is just up to me. I don’t have to please anybody, so I just reach out and ask whomever I want. Most of the time, they have accepted.
Lyrically, it sounds like you are reflecting on a perspective of not looking back or even considering the future, as much as just enjoying the now.
I think as everybody gets older, your take on things changes. You realize there’s not as much time in front of you as there is behind; I mean, there are tons of books written on this stuff. But living longer, you have the perspective of realizing how important it is to live in the present. The past is the past; it’s gone, the future is yet to be seen, and while you can certainly plan for things, the best you can do is fully live your life as presently as possible.
So, how long did it take you to record Day By Day?
Well, I’m not such a prolific songwriter. I cranked this out over time when I had time off from The Eagles when I’d get a few months to work things out. Then when COVID came, I had no other distractions; we couldn’t even go out to dinner (laughs), so I could come out, and there were days when I really yielded nothing. But you need those to bring you to a higher level to the days when something good comes. So, I just persevered. Some days only a line or two came; other times, whole songs came easier.
I noticed particularly there were some songs where I could really hear and enjoy your bass playing. Is that a conscious decision or just the way things come out in the end?
No, it’s not conscious. Some songs, it’s easier to bring out the bass. It’s funny people don’t talk about my bass playing as much as they do my singing, but I enjoy playing bass very much; I think it is the real foundation of the song.
Actually, I am a fan of your style of bass playing. You seem very conscious of melody, and you do swing.
Thank you. But people who listen to music, who aren’t musicians, love what they love but won’t notice bass unless it is suddenly pulled out of a song, and then they ask: ‘What happened?’
On “Simple Man” (an acoustic song laden with some amazing harmony vocals), reading the credits, I see you used some specific vocalists to round out the harmonies. At first, I thought it was all you.
Well, in the video for the song, you see me singing all the parts, but actually, I hired two guys who sing with the Beach Boys, Chris Farmer, and Matt Jardine, to help me there.
Is Matt related to the Beach Boys’ Al Jardine?
Yes, Matt is his oldest son.
Did they record remotely, then send you the tracks?
No, they came down to my studio. I don’t do remote. I’m not a big fan of recording that way. I can’t interact with the musicians, if somebody has something to say, I’d rather it be face to face. Chris and Matt came down to add those vocals, really dug in, it took couple of days. My voice has changed over the years, and with my past throat issues, I am not so comfortable going up to the stratosphere with my singing. I can do it, but I thought why not hire these guys and see what they can do. And it came our great.
I also noticed a deceptively quick change-up from minor key to the major in the chorus of this song.
Yes, that just came out of me. The thing is, that does happen in songs all the time, where you hear the third. It’s just that the listener doesn’t usually know what that is, but it was a logical way to bring in the chorus, I thought.
Can you tell me what percussion you are playing on “Something You Should Know” (Schmit sings and plays all the instruments), it sounds like you are slapping your knee?
Yes, that’s it exactly (he starts slapping his knee), plus a tambourine. I pulled that song off relatively fast.
As I mentioned, I do like the change up of styles on the record especially. Like when you layer strings into “Taste Like Candy.”
I always liked the possibility of strings, and then with Kenny Wayne Shepard on the track, I think it made it more bluesy overall. I was thinking of, but certainly, it in no way it sounds like it, but I was thinking of “The Thrill Is Gone,” modeled loosely on it; there are strings on that record, so that was some of my thinking there.
And are you possibly touring behind Day By Day?
If the Eagles are done for the year, I might try and do something for the fall.
Can you tell us what the status is for the Eagles?
We’re presently waiting on some answers about touring — what if any Eagles activity might happen in Europe. But there has been some talk.
So the Eagles is your first priority.
Yes, being in the Eagles allows me to pursue this process of making solo records. My solo records are not great moneymakers, but being in that band gives me time and space, and the wherewithal to do this.
With a band that’s been together for as long as the Eagles have, when Glenn Frey died, did you think it was more or less over for the band?
Honestly, from my personal perspective, I always said, and even before Glenn got sick, that people could come and go in this band, but the Eagles could never be the Eagles without Don and Glenn. So, with Glenn’s passing, I just thought it was over. But time does heal, and you live your life entertaining other possibilities, and the seed got planted over time, and we carried on.
Well, with the Eagles or out there on your own, I hope we all get to see you singing and playing bass live again, very soon. It has been too long for us all.
I agree and thank you.
