Playing behind for emphasis?

[Burwabit]

Last night caught an amazing vid of Michael Rhodes playing with Pat McLaughlin. About 3:50 he purposefully starts playing behind a little... at least it seems that way to me. Sounds really cool, especially since his groove is so sweet and perfect before that. Slow playing seems to really provide emphasize.

Curious if this is something you do at times, and when? Is this mainly a technique for blues? When to avoid?

http://youtu.be/305RFwP7B0k
(I'd recommend watching the entire vid up to that point... really good stuff).

[gmarcus]

Wow that guy can play! Pulling back behind the beat just opened up a giant pocket for the guitar player. That was a really extreme example and it worked. I'll have to give that a try, just have to make sure the drummer knows to keep on the beat so it doesn't kill the groove.

Its really common for reggae bass players to to play profoundly behind the beat.....makes everyting relax mon

[Unrepresented]

I hear it more like he shifted to a triplet feel rather than playing behind the beat. But whatever you classify it as it is a cool shift.

[JimmyM]

Absolutely play behind the beat. Also play on it and ahead of it depending on what needs to go down. It's a total feel thing, and you do what it takes to make the feel happen in whatever song you want.

This dude Pat McLaughlin is freaking amazing. Can't believe I never saw him before. And you're right, he was playing quite behind the beat, almost a triplet feel as Unrep says. It was almost like a contest between Michael Rhodes and Pat McLaughlin to see which one could hit the farthest behind without losing the beat.