Randy Coven

The '80s saw the emergence of quite a few technically accomplished hard rock bassists -- tops being Billy Sheehan and Stu Hamm -- as well as several lesser-known (yet just as skilled) players, including Randy Coven. Coven happened to come from the same locale that two of the decade's top guitarists hailed from, Long Island, New York, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. Word has it that another renowned player, bassist Jeff Berlin, lived nearby as well, and offered Coven some pointers early on. Learning bass by playing in local cover bands that specialized in the top hard rock names of the day (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, etc.), Coven packed up his bags after high school graduation, and enrolled in Boston's Berklee School of Music. The old adage 'it's a small world' came into play, as it turned out Vai had enrolled in the same school as well. It wasn't long before the two formed their own local band, Morning Thunder, and while the band never issued any recordings, quite a few band compositions would later turn up years later on both Vai and Coven's debut solo albums. After the group's split, Coven turned up in a Canadian based fusion band, Orpheus (not to be confused with the late-'60s band of the same name), which gave the up-and-coming bassist his first taste of touring, and his first appearance on record, on the group's sophomore outing, Orpheus II, which featured a pair of songs penned by Coven. By the mid-'80s, Coven had returned to New York, and set out to form his own group, the Randy Coven Band. Joined by guitarist Jim Hickey and drummer Todd Turkisher, the trio recorded their debut, Funk Me Tender, in 1985. The title track featured a guest spot by Coven's old pal Vai, and when Vai achieved stardom a year later when he joined David Lee Roth's band, interest in Coven's...