Funkiest bass players who don't fit any typical stereo-type

[MikeBass]

This thread isn't gonna last long....

But how about Jason Newstead.
Saw him at NAMM a few years ago. Please don't be fooled. The guy has SERIOUS chops that NEVER were displayed while in Metallica.
And he's funky too.

Will Lee......

[CannyBusDriver]

Speaking of metallica... How about robert trujillo. He slaps a mean bass in his other bands "infectious grooves" and "suicidal tendencies".

[Dr. Cheese]

I've said it before and I will say it again. Funk originated in the Black community, but it is simply a style of music. There is no secret mojo that makes someone funky. It is a style of playing that anyone can learn. More importantly, most bass guitarists learn funk to one degree or another because funk is such a large element of the standard repertoire of the bass guitar.

I honestly think a great deal of the hand wringing over the last thread was generated by bassists who have not subconsciously overcome a stereotype they had imposed on themselves.

IMO, the greatest white funksters were bassists who simply played the music and did not get caught up in whether they were "supposed" to be playing that way or not. I seriously doubt if Duck Dunn, Tommy Cogbill, Carole Kay, Bob Babbitt, Rocco Prestia, or Will Lee, ever spent much time worrying over whether they should get funky. They just did it.

As a Black person, I know something about limiting yourself by internalizing stereotypes. I've seen it in kids who under performed in school, or who wouldn't even consider doing certain things because it wasn't seen as "black."

Whites are no different. It is no accident, for instance that so many great white basketball players come from Europe or at least the European leagues while many white Americans shy away from basketball, assuming they are not "athletic" enough. The Europeans just do it. Many white Americans let themselves be defined by the stereotype and don't even try.

Before anybody starts talking about West African fast twitch muscle fibers, just remember that neither Magic or Bird had much of a vertical, and then go check out Olympic level volleyball and tell me white men can't jump!

The bottom line is that it is up to us not to limit ourselves by drinking the stereotype Koolaid.

[MikeBass]

Wow Cheesy ol' boy, maybe you missed my point. Never mentioned ANYthing about race in my post.
Just who do you think typically WOULD NOT be funky and are.


I could give a rats pootooty about their race or national origin.

[benbonewilly]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

I've said it before and I will say it again. Funk originated in the Black community, but it is simply a style of music. There is no secret mojo that makes someone funky. It is a style of playing that anyone can learn. More importantly, most bass guitarists learn funk to one degree or another because funk is such a large element of the standard repertoire of the bass guitar.

I honestly think a great deal of the hand wringing over the last thread was generated by bassists who have not subconsciously overcome a stereotype they had imposed on themselves.

IMO, the greatest white funksters were bassists who simply played the music and did not get caught up in whether they were "supposed" to be playing that way or not. I seriously doubt if Duck Dunn, Tommy Cogbill, Carole Kay, Bob Babbitt, Rocco Prestia, or Will Lee, ever spent much time worrying over whether they should get funky. They just did it.

As a Black person, I know something about limiting yourself by internalizing stereotypes. I've seen it in kids who under performed in school, or who wouldn't even consider doing certain things because it wasn't seen as "black."

Whites are no different. It is no accident, for instance that so many great white basketball players come from Europe or at least the European leagues while many white Americans shy away from basketball, assuming they are not "athletic" enough. The Europeans just do it. Many white Americans let themselves be defined by the stereotype and don't even try.

Before anybody starts talking about West African fast twitch muscle fibers, just remember that neither Magic or Bird had much of a vertical, and then go check out Olympic level volleyball and tell me white men can't jump!

The bottom line is that it is up to us not to limit ourselves by drinking the stereotype Koolaid.

Who said anything about race? I think they stereotype that was being talked about was more along the lines of "hey that guy is known for playing a style of music that's not usually considered funky" a.k.a. Metal in the Jason Nested instance. There is no need to make this about race. It's about music.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by MikeBass

Wow Cheesy ol' boy, maybe you missed my point. Never mentioned ANYthing about race in my post.
Just who do you think typically WOULD NOT be funky and are.


I could give a rats pootooty about their race or national origin.

Maybe I should have started my own thread. I was not trying to answer you so much as trying to get the point of some of the angst generated by the last thread.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by benbonewilly

Who said anything about race? I think they stereotype that was being talked about was more along the lines of "hey that guy is known for playing a style of music that's not usually considered funky" a.k.a. Metal in the Jason Nested instance. There is no need to make this about race. It's about music.

Race is at the bottom of this and I mentioned it. There is no need to go off the deep end. If anything, my post argues about the need not the worry about race, and just play the music.

[ghiadub]

Speaking of stereo types, I have a marantz running some jamo power 150s. it totally rocks.

Funk? Bobby Vega is my current fave. He is one of the few who can get super funky without a drummer.

Paul Jackson is also funky as he wants to be.

Proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFcpBB4Yy_M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksT3CY_wlbk

[kenlacam]

as a Black person, I am highly offended when other Black people try to put race into everything, even stuff that has nothing to do with race, always looking for something that isn't there. No wonder racism still exists! Black folks help keep it alive. Jeez!
The topic is Funk, not what race has it or not!

[Double Agent]

I'm not involved in this, but it was my understanding that this thread directly results from another thread that WAS about race. Maybe I was wrong, but I thought the good Dr. Cheese's remark was in line with the thread, regardless of whether it was about race or not. I mean, it IS a stereotype, even if it's only one of many different stereotypes, that black bassists are funky and white bassists aren't. By listing a bunch of funky white players, as Dr. Cheese did, that stereotype is dismissed. It isn't that dissimilar from asserting that Newsted, a metal bassist, can play funky IMO.

Back on topic, I always thought that King Nothing was a pretty funky line, especially for a metal song.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by kenlacam

as a Black person, I am highly offended when other Black people try to put race into everything, even stuff that has nothing to do with race, always looking for something that isn't there. No wonder racism still exists! Black folks help keep it alive. Jeez!
The topic is Funk, not what race has it or not!

Wow, I write a post about how we need to overcome stereotypes, and just be ourselves, and I get accused of simply injecting race into a post!

I guess the road to hell is paved with good intentions after all.

[JAUQO III-X]

Originally Posted by kenlacam

No wonder racism still exists! Black folks help keep it alive. Jeez!

Ok.

[Double Agent]

Originally Posted by kenlacam

as a Black person, I am highly offended when other Black people try to put race into everything, even stuff that has nothing to do with race, always looking for something that isn't there. No wonder racism still exists! Black folks help keep it alive. Jeez!
The topic is Funk, not what race has it or not!

Maybe it's because I'm white, but I don't see how you could actually READ Cheese's post and see him interjecting race into the topic. Did he bring it up? Yes. But, he did so to dispel a fairly common racial stereotype regarding funk music. That is hardly the same as keeping racism alive IMO.

[kenlacam]

Originally Posted by JAUQO III-X

Ok.

It is the truth. If you look for something hard enough you can find it, and sometimes people are always looking for something to be seen as "racist" when there isn't ANYTHING.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by kenlacam

It is the truth. If you look for something hard enough you can find it, and sometimes people are always looking for something to be seen as "racist" when there isn't ANYTHING.

What on earth did I call racist in my post? I can tell you, NOTHING! What I talked about was the need to overcome stereotypes. If that is racist, you are working with a definition I do not know.

My guess is you may reacting to my "reputation" instead what I actually said.

[Double Agent]

Originally Posted by kenlacam

It is the truth. If you look for something hard enough you can find it, and sometimes people are always looking for something to be seen as "racist" when there isn't ANYTHING.

Please quote the section of Dr. Cheese post(s) in THIS thread that you deem to be racist. I'm dying to know.

[()smoke()]

Stu Brooks

pretty funky, even though sometimes some of the dub trio stuff can get a little harder edged...so, depending on which song one heard first, one might be pleasantly surprised at how funky he can get on the next song

[Dr. Cheese]

As a young bassist, the guy getting funky that was the biggest surprise was Chris Squire on "Fish Out of Water." "Lucky Seven" is an inspiration to this day for me.

[bass12]

Well this one's gotten off to a good start! I think Cheese was just trying to clear the air after the last thread. No harm done as far as I'm concerned. As for the OP's question, I was pretty surprised when I first heard Marco Mendoza (who played with Whitesnake) with his Straitjacket trio. Just nasty!

[noahw1]

Pino Palladino - a funky Welsh Italian! I mean before teaming with D'Angelo who knew the nasty funk lurking inside that man?