Matt Freeman appreciation

sevenyearsdown · #1 02-25-2008, 07:33 AM

Most of talk around here seems to be about Jaco, Geddy, and a lot of fusion/progressive players (nothing wrong with that BTW)......but does anyone have love for Matt Freeman?

He's pretty much the guy that made me want to play. I kind of think of him as almost an Entwhistle type of player. Great lines in band throwing out 3 and 4 chord songs, and very versitile across different styles. Probably the best musician I've ever seen in a punk band.

Luv the Matt Freeman!

JeremyBender · #2 02-25-2008, 08:59 AM

I enjoy his playing but he's mostly fast and having seen Rancid 4 or 5 times live I wasn't as blown away as I was before I saw them.

He does have some tasty lines all things considered but his speed, his attack and his tone (love it or hate it) is all that makes him unique in my humble opinion.

That said, I really enjoyed his playing in Operation Ivy a lot more then in Rancid. It's good he inspired you to play though simply for the fact of one more person playing bass..

As for the best musician in punk I respect the opinion but I would have to disagree. Watt's the man and although he's out of "punk" Watt is still the living embodiement of the DIY punk creedo.

sevenyearsdown · #3 02-25-2008, 09:20 AM

There's a lot of stuff he does that isn't all about speed. Life Won't Wait has some pretty good stuff that isn't typical speed playing.

And Mike Watt is great, but this is the Matt Freeman appreciation thread!

JeremyBender · #4 02-25-2008, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sevenyearsdown

There's a lot of stuff he does that isn't all about speed. Life Won't Wait has some pretty good stuff that isn't typical speed playing.

And Mike Watt is great, but this is the Matt Freeman appreciation thread!

I didn't like Life Won't Wait. After Let's Go I lost interest in Rancid to be honest. I know they became a popular band after AOCTW but I fell off.

I loved Freeman's playing up to that point. In Rancid songs like Rejected and Detroit really were awesome.

Infernal Affair · #5 02-25-2008, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sevenyearsdown

Most of talk around here seems to be about Jaco, Geddy, and a lot of fusion/progressive players (nothing wrong with that BTW)......but does anyone have love for Matt Freeman?

Sure. There's tons of love for Freeman. If you do a search you'll come up with a ton of threads about him. I agree that I liked his Op Ivy lines more even though they aren't as complicated as his Rancid lines. Maybe it's just I like Op Ivy songs more in general.

gottadog · #6 02-26-2008, 11:57 AM

i also fell off the rancid wagon a while ago but i love matt freeman's bass lines. both op ivy and rancid. i used to play along to their songs for literally hours a day. with the exception of the few songs i couldnt keep up like maxwell murder.

ERIC31 · #7 02-26-2008, 04:25 PM

Always a fan of Matt! I've had Let's Go and AOCTW on heavy rotation recently in fact. Lots of great lines to try to cop from him.

'Journey To The End Of the East Bay' has one of the coolest opening basslines ever. Another fun song to play is 'Old Friend'....it's one I can actually play! lol

OPIVY is awesome also with amazing basslines!!!

Matt is the man!!!!!