Don Schiff
Encyclopedia
Don Schiff is a bass guitar
, Chapman Stick
, NS/Stick
, and bowed guitar
player on recordings, TV, and film sessions. He is one of the earliest Stick, NS/Stick, and bowed guitar
players. He helped popularize the NS/Stick and a technique of using a carabiner
as a slide and tapping device.
A native of Wilmington, Delaware
, Schiff moved to Las Vegas, Nevada
immediately after high school in 1974. At age 19 he quickly developed a reputation and within five months got his first break when hired to be the 'house bassist' for the Flamingo Las Vegas
and Hilton Hotel
Showrooms. There, he played for such artists as Elvis Presley
, Tina Turner
, Peggy Lee
, Sammy Davis, Jr.
, Ann-Margret
, Perry Como
, and The 5th Dimension, as well as others.
Schiff purchased his first Chapman Stick in 1975 and quickly adapted to it, creating his own style of playing. Gradually, around the time he was making the move to Los Angeles in 1977, he began using it during live dates and recording sessions for various artists including Eddie Money
, Lana Lane
, Dwight Yoakam
, Erik Norlander
and Sheryl Crow
. He met screenwriter and director Patrick Sean Duncan who hired him to score the films Live From Death Row and Family Values. He can be seen briefly in both of those films since Pat Duncan cast him in films he directed, placing him in odd scenes.
In 2000, Emmett Chapman
and Ned Steinberger
developed the first prototype NS/Stick. Schiff was given one of the first two prototypes to try out. He developed many new techniques on it including "tapping while plucking" and "slide technique" using a carabiner while tapping.
The song "Cerebral Man", which he wrote along with Tully Winfield, was recorded by Pat Benatar
on her album entitled Wide Awake in Dreamland
for which he received a gold album in 1988. The song "With Every Word" recorded by Nia Peeples
on her self titled album was also written by Schiff and Winfield.
Schiff currently plays NS/Stick in the band Rocket Scientists
.
He also scores music for and wrote the theme for the web series "The Guild
".
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Chapman Stick
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
, NS/Stick
NS/Stick
The NS/Stick is an 8 string tapping instrument designed by Emmett Chapman and Ned Steinberger. It incorporates design ideas from both the original Stick and from Ned Steinberger's instruments such as the Stick's tapping fretboard and the Steinberger Bass' knee bar and headless design...
, and bowed guitar
Bowed guitar
Bowed guitar is a method of playing a guitar, acoustic or electric, in which the guitarist uses a bow to play the instrument, similar to playing a cello or a viola da gamba. Unlike other bowed instruments, the guitar has a flat bridge, making it difficult to bow individual notes on the middle strings...
player on recordings, TV, and film sessions. He is one of the earliest Stick, NS/Stick, and bowed guitar
Bowed guitar
Bowed guitar is a method of playing a guitar, acoustic or electric, in which the guitarist uses a bow to play the instrument, similar to playing a cello or a viola da gamba. Unlike other bowed instruments, the guitar has a flat bridge, making it difficult to bow individual notes on the middle strings...
players. He helped popularize the NS/Stick and a technique of using a carabiner
Carabiner
A carabiner or karabiner is a metal loop with a sprung or screwed gate that is used to quickly and reversibly connect components in safety-critical systems. The word comes from "Karabinerhaken", meaning "hook for a carbine" in German.-Use:...
as a slide and tapping device.
A native of Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, Schiff moved to Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
immediately after high school in 1974. At age 19 he quickly developed a reputation and within five months got his first break when hired to be the 'house bassist' for the Flamingo Las Vegas
Flamingo Las Vegas
The Flamingo Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada and is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp.. The property offers a casino along with 3,626 hotel rooms...
and Hilton Hotel
Las Vegas Hilton
The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent...
Showrooms. There, he played for such artists as Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
, Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, and The 5th Dimension, as well as others.
Schiff purchased his first Chapman Stick in 1975 and quickly adapted to it, creating his own style of playing. Gradually, around the time he was making the move to Los Angeles in 1977, he began using it during live dates and recording sessions for various artists including Eddie Money
Eddie Money
Eddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums...
, Lana Lane
Lana Lane
Lana Lane is a North American rock singer. She sings lead in her eponymous band, and has sung backing vocals for the band Rocket Scientists and guest sung on Ayreon and Erik Norlander albums....
, Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
, Erik Norlander
Erik Norlander
Erik Norlander is an American musician who describes himself as a 'keyboardist, composer, producer and engineer'. Norlander has produced albums for Rocket Scientists and his wife, Lana Lane. He also has a progressive rock solo project titled simply Erik Norlander...
and Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
. He met screenwriter and director Patrick Sean Duncan who hired him to score the films Live From Death Row and Family Values. He can be seen briefly in both of those films since Pat Duncan cast him in films he directed, placing him in odd scenes.
In 2000, Emmett Chapman
Emmett Chapman
Emmett Chapman is a jazz musician best known as the inventor of the Chapman Stick and maker of Chapman Stick family of instruments.Originally a guitarist, Chapman began recording and performing beginning in the late 1960s...
and Ned Steinberger
Ned Steinberger
Ned Steinberger is an American creator of innovative musical instruments. He is most notable for his design of guitars and basses without a traditional headstock, which are called Steinberger instruments...
developed the first prototype NS/Stick. Schiff was given one of the first two prototypes to try out. He developed many new techniques on it including "tapping while plucking" and "slide technique" using a carabiner while tapping.
The song "Cerebral Man", which he wrote along with Tully Winfield, was recorded by Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
on her album entitled Wide Awake in Dreamland
Wide Awake in Dreamland
Wide Awake in Dreamland is Pat Benatar's eighth album, released in 1988. After a string of successful albums, this was her last rock-oriented album of the 1980s, before she would go on to try a blues-based sound. The album's lead single "All Fired Up" reached a high of #19 on the Billboard Hot 100...
for which he received a gold album in 1988. The song "With Every Word" recorded by Nia Peeples
Nia Peeples
Virenia Gwendolyn "Nia" Peeples is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Nicole Chapman on Fame...
on her self titled album was also written by Schiff and Winfield.
Schiff currently plays NS/Stick in the band Rocket Scientists
Rocket Scientists
Rocket Scientists is a progressive rock band formed in the late 1980s by keyboardist Erik Norlander and vocalist / guitarist Mark McCrite. The band released their first CD, Earthbound, in 1993 joined by session bassist Don Schiff...
.
He also scores music for and wrote the theme for the web series "The Guild
The Guild
The Guild is an American comedy web series created and written by Felicia Day, who also stars as Cyd Sherman . It premiered on YouTube on July 27, 2007. Subsequent webisodes premiered on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace, Zune Marketplace, and MSN Video. The webisodes were later made available on...
".