You've got it all in one exchange there, thanks Lee. Interviewers were crapping their pants on the way to these encounters. You recall the flurry of mainstream Press activity around 2VN release time? Here in the UK cub reporters were sent for the gig as a baptism of fire, which would've been funny except for the crassness of the ensuing questioning. Mostly.

Thx Matthew and Mod for reminding me of Walter's later bass forays. I have an outsider's dim idea that the bass stand was occupied on tours by the dude who recorded as part of the muso's pact to support each other?

I think Walter got intimidated by some of the great session bassists passing through the studio from The Royal Scam and on. The same kind of insecurity that Donald had for his vocals. I wish Walter had brazened it out similarly, his bass was so much part of the Dan's aura - you just couldn't legislate for his pauses and the way he'd play with the melody. All the hired guns that followed were industry standard and you knew where they were taking the bass line, not so WB. I saw them live in the UK twice in the 2VN era and he seemed a bit of a passenger in the band, noodling for noodling's sake. So my feelings for the switch from bass to lead are negative, a road I wish he'd left untravelled.