playing bass and singing, solo

[visa]

anybody plays and sings, using solo bass as accompaniment? i'm thinking of doing this for a solo set i have up. any examples i can follow?

[()smoke()]

that's great!

i do it at home/with friends, but i've never gigged solo before--i think bass can accompany voice very well though for the right song/artist

good luck

[barbarbass]

I've seen it done -- but can't remember the fellow's name. He was playing an upright, and doing old standards like, "It's a Wonderful Life," and "Unforgettable." It came off nicely, I thought.

[visa]

i'll be doing it on electric bass though.

I will be using arpeggios, 3 note chords in the higher register on the upper string, power chords in the upper register.

i hope it works out

[()smoke()]

i'd be interesting in hearing how it goes, keep us posted

your thread had me thinking of this last night, and when i got home, i persuaded my wife to sing (she's shy) along to some stuff with me while i played

[Johnny Crab]

does a good job.

Seth Horan
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mDc7rGGio-0

all results for utube:
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Seth+horan

[petchimp123]

Geddy Lee

Look for Nathan Hughes on Youtube. Nate drops through these forums once in awhile also.

[cschenk78]

There used to be a guy that played the subways in Boston years ago. I think his name was Gonzalo Silva. Worth googling...

[johncg]

I've actually done this quite a bit. It is a lot of fun.

I mixed good old fashioned root/five type playing with two handed tapping, chords, harmonics, strumming...basically every trick in the book.

It worked very well because my voice is somewhat trebly, providing a nice contrast to my supple bass sound. The other great thing about performing this way is you immediately stand out against most solo perfomers because the bass is an unusual companion for voice.

If you are reasonably good at a variety of techniques and work hard at arranging things to sound "full" it can come off so well that people will have a hard time believing its just bass and voice.

[Pacman]

Seth Horan is a monster!

[GradyBass]

Seth Horan is ridiculous. Crazy technique, but he its his song craft that makes him my favorite. I've met Marcus, Victor, Stanley... (now don't get me wrong, but) Seth is the nicest guy. He's a very accessible virtuoso.

Very inspirational. Pick up some of his CDs.

[Modo74]

I was in London a few years back and saw a guy busking with a rick 4001, and singing too. I never knew it could be done and sound good until then. He had some great technique.

[Jazz Ad]

John Lester is fantastic and a hell of a nice guy.