Well, the first band I have been in, in 25 years, officially broke up today! I must admitt, I am somewhat relieved. Here's why;
-the singer insists that we play Kiss songs! He also insists that he will perfom live, with the lyrics to all the songs on a music stand in front of him!
-the drummer didn't show up for 5 weeks, however he too insisted that he would learn the songs and be prepared to rehearse, when time allowed. Well, he didn't! Actually, not only did he not learn the songs, he didn't even learn their basic structure, much less the correct parts! I'm not one of those blessed people who can learn a song just listening to it, I have to work to learn it. I came prepared, I knew my parts, heck, I even helped others with their parts!
-we couldn't agree on what songs we were going to cover (outside of Kiss songs!LOL) Now, I may be opinionated, but if the songs is dripping of Cheezwiz, I'm not going to be inclined to learn it and play it. But I did and they showed up not knowing their parts!

Am I being un-reasonable expecting each member of the band to pull their own weight?
PS... I named the band "Le Grande Fromage" for a reason...but I have been recruited to play bass in a BLues band! I gots alot of learnin to do!
Fishheadjoe

Does not sound like you were in a band. That's not what a "band" does. Don't waste time with'em-----go find a real band and have some fun!

I agree whole heartedly! The last little while was not good, tense and downright unpleasant. I'm hoping that the Blues Band will turn out to be a much better situation.
Fishheadjoe

I played with a singer who couldn't do it without the lyrics in front of him on a stand. I put up with this (for some bizarre reason) for two years. I would have thought that if you repeatedly sing something (or say it, for that matter) it would sink in to the memory. Not with this bloke, it didn't. Thank Christ I am out of it.

I feel your pain, I'm in a similar situation. We are all working guys with family and have limited time so we only learn a few songs a week, well all but the singer/guitar. It's frustrating to show up for a practice and he did no work that week and is not prepared so we can't move on. I'm starting to look for other opportunities myself.:hmm:

What's the problem? Sounds like a pretty normal average band...

Just joking. :)

Sort of...

..but I have been recruited to play bass in a BLues band! I gots alot of learnin to do!
Fishheadjoe

Have you been in a blues band before?

At least you've got something to put you in the right frame of mind for blues... just think about if you were still in the old band! Enjoy yourself, you deserve better than what you were dealing with.

I was in a band once where the drummer didn't show up for 6 weeks to rehearse, and I had to argue with the singer and guitar player (GF-BF combo) to fire the dude (who was thier hipster buddy).

I just quit instead and found a new band 5 minutes later. So I guess what I saying is, you'll find a new band 5 minutes later.

No, never been in a blues band before, my entire life I have been playing progressive rock... well, until this 80's cover band that just ended.
I know I have quite a learning curve in front of me and I am prepared to do the work. My expectation is that the other players, who are much more mature than the last band, will be prepared and attack this from a "professional perspective".
Yes, this will be a hobby band so to speak, I won't be counting on this to pay my bills, but again, I feel that if the band decides to play a song, any song, than the whole band should learn it on their own time, and be prepared to play it. Not perfectly, well that would be nice, but well enough for everyone to be able to walk away knowing what they have to work on for the next rehearsal.
That word rehearsal became a real problem for me with the last band. I told them rehearsal means as a unit, you rehearse the song, not learn it! Simply put, they did not respect each othere's time.
Fishheadjoe

PS... anyone ever use a Roscoe for blues?:bassist:

Fishheadjoe

Bummer.

sounds like you made the right choice.

As far as the lyric book, not ideal, but David Bowie and Sting do the same thing ?

Does not sound like you were in a band. That's not what a "band" does. Don't waste time with'em-----go find a real band and have some fun!
I was thinking it..he said it!!!

Blues to me was always easy to grow with. Just study alot of walking lines at first then just keep in the pocket with the drummer. Blues can be alot of fun easy to play and all about short sweet accents in bass to me.

I have a few tips if you're going from a prog rock style to blues:

1.) You will want to play a lot of notes...don't. In this style of music, you are there to support the singer and the soloists.

2.) You will want to play too loud...don't.

3.) Work with a metronome and learn to play on the back end of the beat. This is more difficult than it seems it should be but it is the key to good being a successful blues bassist. It defines the pocket.

4.) The kick drum is your friend.

5.) The blues is easy to play poorly but difficult to play well. Listen to all the Willie Dixon, Tommy Shannon and Larry Taylor material you can get your hands on. Blues music is all about subtlety.

Have fun with it. Locking onto a fat groove with a good drummer is one of life's greatest joys for a bass player. Good luck!

Here are some links that may help you out:
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/appendix/blues/Bluesprogression.html progressions explained w/ audio samples
http://www.bassblues.com Basic Blues Bass lesson/tracks by NickonBass
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=506931 Slow blues
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=517439 First blues "open mic." jam 1 of 3
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=469825 2 of 3
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=517730 3 of 3
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=523050 Blues gig coming up
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125536 Target Approach to creating bass lines

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=522409 Influential blues musicians (mostly) pre-1959
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues History

http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Bass-Jon-Liebman/dp/0793586682 "Blues Bass" by TB member Jonster (John Liebman)
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=502819 Blues books
http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Sharp-Blues-Guitar-Turnarounds-Music/dp/B000PHU7J2 "101 Razor-Sharp Blues Turnarounds by Larry McCabe
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Rhythm-Guitar-Guide-Blues/dp/1574241389/ref=pd_sim_b_1 "Complete Rhythm Guitar Guide for Blues Bands" by Larry McCabe

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=491679 Playing behind/ahead of the beat
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=500896 "Feel"

I also suggest that you might want to start listening to blues tunes as much as possible.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

-... I named the band "Le Grande Fromage" for a reason...

Isn't that what they called Rusty Staub when he played for expos back in the '70s?

Thanks for the kind words folks! And a special thanks to Stumbo for all the links... I'll take a look tonight and begin the process.
Band is expected to begin meeting and discussing tunes in early May, I want to get ahead of the game and start now, those links are a fantastic place to start.
Fishheadjoe

Good luck and let us know how it's going.

Also, be aware of the different styles of blues. And ask for keys. Not many blues band that I know of don't change some of the keys of "standards" for whatever reason (harp player, easier vocals, horns, etc.).

It's true that blues is very easy to play poorly (wanky, out of time). But the solution to this is easy. Play less notes and concentrate on rythmn.

You'll do fine, especially if you are like me (only guy in the band who practiced the song before rehearsal).