Recent from talks
Howie Epstein
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Howie Epstein
Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Epstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He grew up in a musical household. Epstein's father, Sam, was a top local record producer who worked with various rock and roll and soul groups in the 1950s and 1960s. Epstein graduated from Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin. He was Jewish.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Howie played mostly rhythm guitar or mandolin and sang in a number of both rock and roll and country Milwaukee bands that were regionally popular, including MHB Experience, Egz, Winks, Forearm Smash, and The Craze. When he felt he had gone as far as he could go in Milwaukee, Epstein decided to move to New York City, but before he could pack his gear, he was lured to the West Coast by a drummer friend to play bass in a new band that singer-songwriter John Hiatt was forming in Los Angeles. He stuck with Hiatt for two years and two albums (Slug Line and Two Bit Monsters).
While playing on a Del Shannon album that Tom Petty was producing (Drop Down and Get Me), Epstein impressed Petty with his ability. Consequently, when Ron Blair, who had been bassist with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers since the band's inception in 1976, announced that he was quitting due to burnout, Epstein was recruited to replace him. Epstein joined the band in late 1981.
Epstein found a natural style, which he said emphasized "simplicity, playing in the pocket, getting into a steady groove. I've always considered myself a good team player and that's the way that the Heartbreakers operate. Everyone listens to what everyone else is doing musically." On September 1, 1982, Epstein made his live debut at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz, California, on the tour to promote the album, Long After Dark.
In 1990, Petty made the following comments about Epstein:
You gotta love him, I don't know if I ever tell him how good he is. Tonight, there was a line early in the show I could just barely sing. I was having to work harder than I normally do to make it, I was getting really close on the mic. I was thinking, 'Oh boy, I hope I can do this ... ' I got to it and I heard Howie singing it with me over his mic. It sounded great, it sounded like a double track. I just looked at him, he caught my eye like 'Yeah!' It made me feel great, 'cause I know he was thinking the same thing, 'I know he's tired, I'll cover him. Wham! Got it!' That's what a great band's all about. That's what it's all about.
In 2002, Epstein was fired from the band due to his substance addiction. He was replaced with the returning Ron Blair. He made his final appearance with the Heartbreakers when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2002. In later interviews, Petty admitted that Epstein's behavior had become unpredictable: "He was just degenerating on us to the point where we thought keeping Howie in the band was actually doing him more harm than getting rid of him. His personal problems were vast and serious".
Hub AI
Howie Epstein AI simulator
(@Howie Epstein_simulator)
Howie Epstein
Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Epstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He grew up in a musical household. Epstein's father, Sam, was a top local record producer who worked with various rock and roll and soul groups in the 1950s and 1960s. Epstein graduated from Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin. He was Jewish.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Howie played mostly rhythm guitar or mandolin and sang in a number of both rock and roll and country Milwaukee bands that were regionally popular, including MHB Experience, Egz, Winks, Forearm Smash, and The Craze. When he felt he had gone as far as he could go in Milwaukee, Epstein decided to move to New York City, but before he could pack his gear, he was lured to the West Coast by a drummer friend to play bass in a new band that singer-songwriter John Hiatt was forming in Los Angeles. He stuck with Hiatt for two years and two albums (Slug Line and Two Bit Monsters).
While playing on a Del Shannon album that Tom Petty was producing (Drop Down and Get Me), Epstein impressed Petty with his ability. Consequently, when Ron Blair, who had been bassist with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers since the band's inception in 1976, announced that he was quitting due to burnout, Epstein was recruited to replace him. Epstein joined the band in late 1981.
Epstein found a natural style, which he said emphasized "simplicity, playing in the pocket, getting into a steady groove. I've always considered myself a good team player and that's the way that the Heartbreakers operate. Everyone listens to what everyone else is doing musically." On September 1, 1982, Epstein made his live debut at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz, California, on the tour to promote the album, Long After Dark.
In 1990, Petty made the following comments about Epstein:
You gotta love him, I don't know if I ever tell him how good he is. Tonight, there was a line early in the show I could just barely sing. I was having to work harder than I normally do to make it, I was getting really close on the mic. I was thinking, 'Oh boy, I hope I can do this ... ' I got to it and I heard Howie singing it with me over his mic. It sounded great, it sounded like a double track. I just looked at him, he caught my eye like 'Yeah!' It made me feel great, 'cause I know he was thinking the same thing, 'I know he's tired, I'll cover him. Wham! Got it!' That's what a great band's all about. That's what it's all about.
In 2002, Epstein was fired from the band due to his substance addiction. He was replaced with the returning Ron Blair. He made his final appearance with the Heartbreakers when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2002. In later interviews, Petty admitted that Epstein's behavior had become unpredictable: "He was just degenerating on us to the point where we thought keeping Howie in the band was actually doing him more harm than getting rid of him. His personal problems were vast and serious".