Jane's Addiction w/ Chaney on YouTube...

[meursault42]

I figured there would already be a thread about this, but seeing as how there is none, I'll go ahead and chime in with my 2 cents...

Anybody catch the Jane's live webcast on YouTube last night? I have to admit to being a lukewarm fan of the group at best, and my take on the show as a whole was that it was heavy on hype (obviously) and lacking in (for lack of a better way of putting it) genuine rock'n'roll energy. Despite being extremely tight and obviously well-rehearsed (perhaps to a fault), they sadly couldn't seem to avoid a kind of anachronistic self-caracature that seems to be more and more prevalent as rock music continues to age. Of course, I couldn't help feeling nostalgic. After all, sneaking a copies of Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual into my music collection was one of my earliest acts of adolescent subversion towards my parents. But anyway I digress...

How about that Chris Chaney? Has he not become the quintessential 'ace' of rock bass playing or what? Perfect tone, fantastic time (despite some wish-washiness from Stephen Perkins), great vibe. And all from a steeped-in-Jazz/Fusion Berklee grad who moonlights with the likes of Robben Ford and Michael Landau. Of course, that shouldn't come as a surprise I guess. In fact, this raises an interesting question (to me at least). How essential is it nowadays for someone trying to be 'competitive' in the LA fishbowl to have a 'serious' background in jazz? It seems that more and more, when I look up the bios of some of rock's top bass players, they tend to reveal an institutional jazz education. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[Toastfuzz]

I like Jane's Addiction.

[rickenbaker]

I didn't get to check out a lot of it. Really only got to see the encore number (jane says) but I liked what I heard. And I agree Chaney is quite good

[fleabee]

I watched it and was impressed with Chaney. I felt so old watching it though. I was obsessed with Jane's when I was around 15ish and I'll be 37 in a few days. On a side note, the original bassist Eric Avery has a really good solo album.

[meursault42]

Indeed, I felt bit old myself. I'd imagine that the people that went to try to recreate some 'wild' experience that they had at a JA show when they younger were probably feeling rather old and perhaps disappointed as well.

[meursault42]

About Chris Chaney's tone... it was pretty consistent throughout the entire show as far as I could tell. Of course, I noticed the Aguilar rig behind him. But does anyone have any idea what kind of signal chain he uses to achieve that tone?

[MatticusMania]

Chaney is a great bass player, but to me, without Eric Avery on bass, Janes Addiction's songwriting suffers, as evidenced on the release of Strays. It was a good album in its own right, but lacked the groove that made Janes Addiction my favorite band.

I didnt catch the webcast, but Im sure Chaney's tone was great.

[meursault42]

Yeah I hear that, for sure. Avery is just a pretty deep cat in general. If you've ever checked out his blog, it's clear that he's not only quite intelligent, but also maintains a kind of curiosity about the world that seems to be a common trait among the more talented writers that I know personally. I need to check out that solo album.

[fleabee]

The solo album is pretty deep/dark and not necessarily a "bassist's" type album but it grew on me like a fungus...heres a link ‪Eric Avery-Belly of an Insect‬‏ - YouTube

[chuck norriss]

I caught JA last night at the Ford Theater in Los Angeles. Great show. I actually got in (didn't sneak in or take the hike--from another tb discussion). I don't know who Chaney is but he was rock solid & I love his (P bass) sound. Although, I wish Avery was there. Not the same without Eric Avery.
I saw them at the Ford in 88? 89? When they last played there. There was a pit in front then; now there are seats where the pit used to be. If there was one it would've taken 20+ years off my life & you would've seen a bunch of old farts stage-diving. I guess it's a good thing. Brilliant band & significant in my life.

[mpdd]

i thought you meant the former vice president