In July, 2007, I went to an open-air music Festival in Lausanne/Switzerland where I met Fernando

after the show.

He was very friendly, we spoke for a while and I told Lou's fans on the forum about this very pleasant meeting and about this "easy to meet" personality.

I sent him an e-mail, asking if it would be possible to send him our questions by e-mail to get his answers, and he replied that he was living really not far away from me so...we would do this interview...live.

I first of all got into a great panic attack, then Thomas and Doc encouraged and coached me and I finally had this appointment and went to meet him.

He is a very nice person and he really took time to reply this interview.

I am not a journalist and my English is not really fluent so I took my computer with me to write his answers down directly. Fernando was reading the questions and he dictated the replies very slowly, being sure I understood them well. We sat in a cafe; my hands were shaking so hard that I was not able to type a word correctly at the beginning of the meeting. I was under so much pressure! I was afraid of failing my "mission", of disappointing my "bosses"... but finally Fernando made sure everything went ok. He was friendly, joked, put me at my ease and replied all the questions very patiently.

He seems to know almost everybody in the village he's living, and people really appreciate him a lot. Fernando stopped to say a few words to a person or another and it's really as if he had always lived here; that was amazing. He's really unique.

I would like to thank him, once again, for his kindness and his so precious help.

And of course, thanks to Thomas and Doc for their confidence.

                                   -- Lisa

Fernando first of all thank you so much for giving us this interview and congratulations on your excellent playing during the Berlin shows. As the fans of Lou Reed and his band it is a real honour to have you answering our questions!

Fernando in 1978, you were a key member of Jeff Beck's jazz-rock outfit along with Jan Hammer. When did you first become involved with Lou Reed and how did that come about?

I met Lou in 1983-a friend of mine had the same manager as Lou. This manager asked him if he knew a bass player and he recommended me. Lou came to hear me play with my band in NY and he liked my performance and asked me if I would like to do his next CD, which actually was The Blue Mask. He was amazed by the song "Reviens Cherie", which I wrote when I was 19 or so, and also by my bass playing and the way I was singing too.

You are the musician who has played with Lou for the longest period in his entire career. It seems that the two of you have an incredible onstage chemistry that continues to get better and better. What do you think it is about yours and Lou's styles that allow you to gel together so well?

I have been in contact with Lou since 1983 but I have not worked with him straight that time. I did 4 records with him and then I stopped in 1985 cause I had my first solo record and I met him again in 1986, but in between there were periods I worked with Steve Winwood, Marianne Faithfull, Eric Clapton and various artists. I was also producing records and writing music for "I Will Break Your Fall". The reason why Lou and I get along so well musically is because we have a similar background even though we are from 2 different parts of the USA . By the way, we have been through the same paths. When we met there was a strong musical connection because I'm from Detroit Michigan , where Motown is too. And it was Lou's environment too, so it helped. For sure, we have a good connection offstage but onstage the musical connection is really strong. Moreover, we have been through a lot of ups and downs together and I showed him the beauty of the light and he showed me the beauty of the dark. We have two completely different personalities, but from this connection we noticed that we had a great synchronicity together.

When did Lou first mention the idea of performing the Berlin album in its entirety? Were you surprised at first that he was considering revisiting an album that he wrote 30 years ago?

He mentioned it in September 2006 and he was not sure if he wanted to do it, as it was other people's idea. He considered doing the shows in NY and Australia , to see how it would go on and to maybe make a DVD, but he didn't want to make a big tour. After we did those shows, he liked it. And he decided he would like to do it in Europe too. If there wouldn't have been fun, there would have been no reason to do it, so he had to test it before. I was not surprised by his decision because I was focusing on my own project, but I was looking forward to do it with Lou as he helped me (for example, he came to Switzerland to promote my CD).

There is some fantastic bass-playing on the album itself, played by the fantastic Prakash John and of course Jack Bruce. What was your approach to learning the songs? Did you make a conscious decision to listen to the parts and try to emulate the styles of the original players? Or did you go for your own interpretations of the songs?

I decided it was better to learn the bass parts that were performed on the album because Berlin is to me like theater. Everything was fixed and had to be interpreted the same way. The producers made sure we would learn the right parts as they had to be. It was a little boring, because Jack Bruce is a great bass player but the parts were minimalist, really straight. During the NY shows and Australia shows the parts pretty much stood the same, but in Europe the whole band opened up and I then put up my own personality there. I have to add that as I'm singing while playing my parts had to change a little too.

What equipment were you using during this last tour? Are Modulus basses still your instruments of choice?

MTD and JMC Bass, KYDD bass (the one which was used as a cello) Electric guitar and acoustic guitar (and my voice, which I really consider as my first instrument)

In recent times, and on this tour, Lou has spoilt his audiences with not just one world-class bass player but two! How easy is it for you and Rob Wasserman to share bass duties, and how did you go about arranging the bass parts between you for the Berlin performances?

It was very easy because we have 2 different styles, but we understood each other on how we like to play. It was making it easy for me for Rob to be there as I didn't have to only play bass and I could bow when he was finger picking. When we played the two basses, the instrument tones were different, but specifically on the Berlin tour there wasn't a problem as I was playing the main parts and Rob was playing more with the orchestra. It was pretty easy to know the way to arrange the parts because it was clear who would play what. Rob and me are really good friends and he enjoys playing with me because he likes how I can switch around with other instruments, and of course he is really happy when I'm singing and he can play the bass alone.

Did you feel that Lou and the band felt under more pressure than other recent tours because of the far more elaborate instrumentation and the greater media involvement?

We didn't feel pressure but we had to put a lot more work into this because of the variety of people on stage. That was like a puzzle. It was big pleasure to have a challenge and of course, we like that. There was also a lot of (media) focus and we had to be careful on that point. There was a bit of nervousness before the show but it's a good thing to have. You won't play well if you don't get a bit nervous before a show you know...

Katie Krykant recently told us that you were the person who taught her the vocal parts for these performances. So would it be fair to say you had a huge input on arranging vocal harmonies in these performances as well as the bass playing?

Yes (laughing).

You know, singing is my fist instrument before the bass. I used to sing in churches since I was 7. Two of my uncles were preachers and we used to sing gospels.

For this tour, Lou asked me to teach Katie's parts and also the choir's ones. I also had to make sure that the children of the choir were confident, that it was a fun project and so on. And then Rupert worked with them afterwards. Katie's vocals and mine were naturally working together so we had no problem with that.

You have toured with Lou Reed more times than anyone! Lou always gets a fantastic reception from his audiences, but did you get the feeling that this tour was an extra special one for the band members and concert-goers alike?

Yes it was special but only because of the choirs and the orchestra, all the surroundings, the arrangements, etc. But we had played many of those songs before, so that was not a really special tour as far as this is concerned.

Was there a night that really stood out for you either musically or because of the atmosphere?

Berlin was very strong night, it was a very special concert. The venue and the whole place were beautiful and the band was really set free. London was very good too as well as Paris, but the most outstanding audience was in Italy , in a place called Arrezzo, because Italian people are really devoted to Lou. But I have to say all concerts have their special moments.

Do you have a particular favourite song from this album that you would look forward to performing? Or did it change from night to night?

Each song is part of the Berlin... and Berlin is Berlin... But I have to say Caroline II had a big effect on the audience. Anyway, I really was looking forward to singing Satellite of Love on each night.

You are considered by many to be one of the world's greatest bass virtuosos standing alongside players like Billy Sheehan, Pino Palladino, and so on. Could you tell us about some bass players that have given you inspiration over the years, or have been an influence on your playing?

Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Tim Bogart.

The first bass part I learned was "Come Together".

Many fans of music ranging from jazz-rock like Jeff Beck and John McLaughlin to world music to urban rockers like Lou Reed and Marianne Faithful have been impressed by your formidable technique. Are you one of those players that used to practise for 10 hours a day to develop this?

My relationship with them is related with music of course but it first came from our personal lives. Music just happens when it has to, the rest has to do with friendship and moral support and that makes music even stronger.

They were really impressed but that's not only about music; there was more going on.

I used to practise a lot when I was younger but I don't anymore. How you get better musically is by experience and not by practising that much, in my opinion.

For example, my bass is not even with me now, I'm only going to play again in one week but how exciting it will be!!

One of our editors met you when you were playing a date in Switzerland to promote your own album, in between dates of the Berlin tour! How do you manage to have the energy to maintain such a non-stop schedule?

I'm not always working non stop but when I have to I have no problems  doing it. I'm not a party person, I don't do drugs and I get the energy from playing-it doesn't get me tired!

Lou Reed fans were treated to your song "Reviens Cherie" during the 2003 tour, and many of us bought your solo album "I Will Break Your Fall". What has Fernando Saunders the solo artist got lined up for us in the future?

I'm doing touring in Italy, Spain, UK and Australia this year and early next year. It takes time for people to see you as a complete artist and not only as a bass-player. I would like to tour in America too. And I'm soon starting recording a new CD. Singing Satellite of Love during the tour helped a lot because a lot of people didn't even know I was a singer too.

If you had to pick one song in Lou's huge back catalogue in which you are particularly proud of your bass-playing, which would it be (and why)?

I can't pick only one bass part but I have to say I love my bass playing in The Blue Mask as it was my first CD introduction with Lou. I love this album very much. The rest of the records have not that much to do with emotion. The Blue Mask is a kind of a Berlin... in another manner. Strong thoughts, no commercial expectations.

Finally, having completed the Berlin 2007 European tour, how do you feel about the whole thing? Did it meet your expectations?

Yes I have enjoyed it and I was glad to be part of it. It went to a higher level that we expected.