Circus Bass

[Roy Vogt]

Anybody on Talkbass had experience playing and touring with a circus? I just went to see a friend who is playing with the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Blue Cast in Nashville and the bassist, Mike Brown, was absolutely killin'! It's a tough show, all written out, constant cues, you have to read the charts and follow the conductor because the cues can change in an instant with every act.
Mike was not only doing this like a total champ, but he was totally putting on his own performance and playing a Ken Smith 6 String with some licks that would have done Bill Dickens or Victor Wooten proud!
I knew Rusty Springfield when he was doing the gig. He had a writeup in Bass Player Magazine in the early 90s about it. He was also one of the first 7 string players (using a Lyrical Lumber 7). I have another couple of friends (Dan Immel and Derek Jones) who are on the Road with Cirque Du Soleil shows (Derek's actually on a sit down Cirque gig in Vegas). Anyone else out there done this gig? I know it pays great and you get benefits, but those guys really work hard and earn their money.
Also, having seen my friend's room on the Circus Train it must be like an Endless Cruise Ship Gig.....

[Plays_For_Dog]

I bet partying with clowns is a unique experience....

[Roy Vogt]

Originally Posted by Plays_For_Dog

I bet partying with clowns is a unique experience....

The Blue Cast has all of these Brazilian Dancers and Showgirls. That would make for a "distracting" train ride for sure....

[Hutzbordello]

Originally Posted by Roy Vogt

The Blue Cast has all of these Brazilian Dancers and Showgirls. That would make for a "distracting" train ride for sure....

was that an extremely dirty joke?

[Roy Vogt]

Originally Posted by Hutzbordello

was that an extremely dirty joke?

I meant the Circus Train!
Some of the young ladies are apparently "liberal" with their lounging attire. Ergo the distractions....

[Bardley]

Last time I took my wife and daughter to a Ringling show I think I watched the band more then the acts. Those guys are all stinkin tight! Could be a fun gig, though the smell of elephant crap would get old pretty quickly.

[chokeslam512]

I did see a Cirque du Soleil performance (not the same, I know) and I thought the bass (along with the rest of the music too) was just awesome.

[Vuyani]

Yes....Roy Vogt is right, Chicago's Mike Brown is a great bassist...and I'm expecting bigger things from him in the future. The gig Mike's playing is not easy. It takes a great deal of discipline and focus to practice while everyone else is lounging or enjoying some R&R. Hopefully Bass Player Magazine, Bass Musician Magazine, Bass Frontiers Magazine & For Bass Players Only will take note of the great work Mike is doing.

[AztecViking]

I really liked the trombone part from the old Bozo the Clown theme. If I were playing Circus Music I'd definitely want a fretless so I could slide around like that.

[noahw1]

Here's an In Depth interview with Derek Jones of Cirque du Soleil from Bass Musician Magazine. It's a video interview actually. Interesting stuff.

http://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2010...and-las-vegas/

[AztecViking]

Actually I read somewhere that the guitarist from UZEB, Michel Cusson was now both composing and performing live with one of the branches of Cirque du Soleil. I think it's the one which features horses. Lemme Google for it...

http://www.cavalia.net/pages/theShow...spx?lang=EN-CA

Looks like a decent gig to me. Cusson is awesome along with Alain Caron and Paul Brochu. All too talented guys from UZEB.

The last time I saw a Ringling Bros show they had LOTS of great looking athletic women in the Pantheon. So I'm sure that really could be an added "fringe benefit" to a circus type gig.

[kcarr]

Just saw a version of RB&BB last w/e in Savannah,GA. and wondered about that gig. I noticed the constant cues and was impressed with the bands tightness. Great sounds!