Steve Vantsis
Encyclopedia
Steve Vantsis is a Scottish
bass guitarist. He has played live and recorded with River City People
, Horse
, Billy Mackenzie
, Jill Jones
, John Young
, Candy Dulfer
, Bonnie Tyler
, KT Tunstall
and Heather Findlay amongst others.
He currently lives in Worcestershire
with his partner and son. Vantsis has also worked as a graphic design
er.
's permanent live and studio bass guitarist from the Sunsets on Empire
tour (1997) until July 2008. During that time, he has appeared on the studio albums Raingods with Zippos
, Fellini Days
, Field of Crows
and 13th Star
. Vantsis also performed hundreds of gigs around the world during his time in the band. On the latest Fish album, 13th Star, he was Fish's main songwriting collaborator writing and arranging most of the album.
On 27 July 2008, Fish announced via his mailing list, that Steve Vantsis had left the line-up, having played his final gig with Fish at a festival in Germany on 19 July 2008. Vantsis did not issue any official statement himself.
, Frank Usher
, Irvin Duguid
, all of who have also been working with Fish and/or Marillion
at some point, and vocalists Holly Tomas, Paul Dourley and Kaela Rowan.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
bass guitarist. He has played live and recorded with River City People
River City People
River City People were a folk rock quartet formed in Liverpool, England in 1986, by vocalist Siobhan Maher, guitarist Tim Speed, his drummer brother Paul Speed, and bassist Dave Snell. Siobhan, Tim and Dave had both been with Liverpool Band "Peep Show" until summer 1987 - at one point in both bands...
, Horse
Horse (musician)
Horse is a Scottish female singer-songwriter. She has a wide following in the United Kingdom, including many lesbian fans, has toured with Tina Turner and secured several record chart hits in Europe...
, Billy Mackenzie
Billy Mackenzie
William MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie was a Scottish singer, with a distinctive falsetto voice best known as a member of The Associates.- Biography :...
, Jill Jones
Jill Jones
Jill Jones is an American singer and songwriter, who was a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s.-Biography:...
, John Young
John Young (musician)
John Young is a British progressive rock keyboardist and singer from Liverpool.-Biography:Young spent his early years at the Liverpool Cathedral where he was classically trained on the keyboard and voice. His first bands were mainly semi-pro jazz rock bands, and he played in these into the mid 1980s...
, Candy Dulfer
Candy Dulfer
Candy Dulfer is a Dutch smooth jazz alto saxophonist who began playing at the age of six. She founded her band, Funky Stuff, when she was fourteen years old. Her debut album Saxuality received a Grammy Award nomination. Dulfer has released nine studio albums, two live albums, and one compilation...
, Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
, KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
and Heather Findlay amongst others.
He currently lives in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
with his partner and son. Vantsis has also worked as a graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
er.
Work with Fish
He is perhaps best known for having been FishFish (singer)
Derek William Dick, better known as Fish, is a Scottish progressive rock singer, lyricist and occasional actor, best known as the former lead singer of Marillion.-Biography:...
's permanent live and studio bass guitarist from the Sunsets on Empire
Sunsets on Empire
Sunsets on Empire is a studio album by Fish, the fourth with original material since he left Marillion in 1988. It was mostly written together with Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, who co-composed six of ten tracks on the original version and also produced the album...
tour (1997) until July 2008. During that time, he has appeared on the studio albums Raingods with Zippos
Raingods with Zippos
Raingods with Zippos is a 1999 Progressive rock album by ex-Marillion vocalist Fish. It was released on the Roadrunner record label, more well known for its heavy metal releases. Raingods with Zippos is often hailed one of Fish's greatest achievements along with his 1990 debut Vigil in a Wilderness...
, Fellini Days
Fellini Days
Fellini Days is Fish's seventh solo studio album since he left Marillion in 1988 and the first since Raingods with Zippos . Released on Fish's own label Chocolate Frog Records Company.-Track listing:Note: "Dick" is Fish's actual surname....
, Field of Crows
Field of Crows
Field of Crows is Fish's eighth solo studio album since he left Marillion in 1988 and the first since Fellini Days . Released on Fish's own label Chocolate Frog Records Company, retail distribution is now handled by Snapper Music....
and 13th Star
13th Star
13th Star is an album by Fish. Released as a limited edition via mail-order in September 2007 and to retail in February 2008, it is his ninth solo studio album since he left Marillion in 1988 and the first since Field of Crows...
. Vantsis also performed hundreds of gigs around the world during his time in the band. On the latest Fish album, 13th Star, he was Fish's main songwriting collaborator writing and arranging most of the album.
On 27 July 2008, Fish announced via his mailing list, that Steve Vantsis had left the line-up, having played his final gig with Fish at a festival in Germany on 19 July 2008. Vantsis did not issue any official statement himself.
Tilt
In 2009, Vantsis formed the band "Tilt" whose nucleus consists of himself (bass, guitars, keys, loops, programming), Robin Boult (guitars) and Dave Stewart (drums, percussion). Tilt's first release, the EP Million Dollar Wound, also featured John WesleyJohn Wesley (guitarist)
John Wesley is an American singer, songwriter and guitar player. John Wesley's professional music career began in the early 1980s in the Tampa, Florida area where he founded 1991 Southwestern Music Conference's showcase act Autodrive along with drummer/producer Mark Prator...
, Frank Usher
Frank Usher
Frank Usher is an English guitarist best known for his work in Fish's band. Usher lives and operates a guitar-manufacturing business in Innerleithen, Scotland...
, Irvin Duguid
Irvin Duguid
Irvin Duguid is a Scottish musician and composer.He studied piano and violin at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow before going on to become keyboard player in the live line-up of Stiltskin, a rock band with the number 1 hit single "Inside" in the UK in 1994.Duguid went on to...
, all of who have also been working with Fish and/or Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
at some point, and vocalists Holly Tomas, Paul Dourley and Kaela Rowan.