Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 | 8:54 a.m.
Wayman Tisdale spent three years in college and 12 seasons in the NBA playing basketball in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans.
Yet when the Oklahoma native began his second career as a jazz bassist, he routinely felt nervous as he took the stage.
"When I first started playing, I was very shy," Tisdale said in a phone interview from his Tulsa, Okla., home Tuesday. "I didn't hardly like to look up when I was playing.
"Music is a little more personal (than basketball)."
Now, nearly eight years after retiring as a member of the Phoenix Suns, Tisdale says you'd never know he used to get anxious by watching him perform.
"Now they might think about putting a cage up because I'm a wild man up there," he said.
The 40-year-old Tisdale plays the Boulder Station's Railhead on Saturday night. Doors open at 7:15, with the show scheduled to begin at 8. Tickets run from $19.95 to $35.
Tisdale, a three-time collegiate All-American who averaged 25.6 points and 10.1 rebounds with the Oklahoma Sooners, released his first smooth jazz album, "Power Forward," in 1995, while still a member of the Suns.
He says that initially, many music fans weren't ready to embrace an NBA player crossing over.
"There were a lot of skeptics who believed that an athlete can't do something different," said Tisdale, who averaged 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds during his pro career with Indiana, Sacramento and Phoenix. "But once they heard the music and heard what was going on, it started taking off."
While many pro athletes struggle to fill their time after retiring, Tisdale eased into his second career.
"I enjoyed basketball, loved it while I was there, but when it was time to leave I feel very fortunate that I had something to step right into," he said. "And that was the music."
Tisdale's fourth album, 2001's "Face to Face," hit No. 1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz albums chart. His latest, July's "Hang Time," reached No. 4 and continues to sell well, thanks in part to a grooving cover of the McFadden and Whitehead disco classic, "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now."
Tisdale approaches the bass -- traditionally a rhythmic component of jazz music -- as a lead instrument, a style shaped by a desire to be unique.
"I feel that the bass had been defined long before I got here," Tisdale said. "So I didn't want to come out and try and fit into what they'd already done. I wanted to do something just a little different."
Tisdale stays involved in basketball, providing radio commentary for Sooners' home games. He is scheduled to perform during the NBA's upcoming All-Star weekend Feb. 17-18 in Denver.
Tisdale also remains in touch with fellow members of his 1984 Olympic gold medal team -- a squad of collegiate stars -- which he calls the "original Dream Team."
"We all talk to each other. I talk to Patrick Ewing. I talk to Michael (Jordan)," Tisdale said. "And everybody's still excited. We're all still buzzing from 21 years ago."
And from time to time, Tisdale still gets out on the court -- for a few minutes anyway.
"Every now and then I'll go out and mix it up and then realize, 'Hey man, I better stop this or I could hurt my hands,' " he said, laughing.
Mostly, though, Tisdale doesn't sit around thinking about the good old days. He's having too much fun playing bass to think about playing ball.
"I feel very fortunate to be able to do something different, to actually be appreciated on another professional level," Tisdale said. "It's something a lot of athletes can't even fathom."
Music notes
Coachella confirmed: As previously rumored, the dates for this year's Coachella Music & Arts Festival will indeed be April 30 and May 1, promoter Goldenvoice has confirmed.
Tickets for the event, which takes place at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, Calif., are scheduled to go on sale in February. The lineup has yet to be announced, but several bands -- including Gang of Four, the Fiery Furnaces and Las Vegas' own the Killers have confirmed their participation to various industry publications.
Stay tuned to www.coachella.com for further information in the coming weeks.
Kudos for Carlos: Guitarist and songwriter Carlos Santana will be honored with an Icon award at the BMI Latin Awards, which will be held in Las Vegas for the first time in April.
The Four Seasons will host the black-tie, invitation-only event, which has previously been staged in California, Texas and Puerto Rico.
Triple distortion: Veteran punk-rock band Social Distortion headlines an otherwise quiet concert week with three shows at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel from Wednesday to next Friday. Tickets are $24 each night.
On sale
Kenny Chesney plays the Mandalay Bay Events Center with opening acts Gretchen Wilson and Pat Green on June 10. Tickets are $52.50 to $94.50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Mandalay Bay box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.
Elvis Costello returns to the Joint on March 25. Tickets are $40 to $75 and go on sale at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Hard Rock box office and through Ticketmaster.
Billy Joel performs at The Joint on March 26. Tickets are $325 and go on sale at noon Saturday through the Hard Rock box office and Ticketmaster.
Billy Idol lands at The Joint on March 19. Tickets are $45 and go on sale at 2 p.m. Saturday through the Hard Rock box office and Ticketmaster.
Tickets are on sale for a Feb. 11 Mos Def show at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Tickets are $30 and $40 and can be purchased at the House of Blues box office and through Ticketmaster.
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