Michael Anthony...

[CTC564]

...Adam Clayton....Gene Simmons

OR...

Victor Wooten....Marcus Miller....Jaco (etc)

Seems to me that while we ALL play bass because of our love for music and the instrument itself, we seem to BASH our "brethren" that "aren't as good as..."

So...tell us here on TB....if you were able to receive ONLY one of the gifts of SUCCESS or CHOPS....which would YOU choose and why???

[VitalSigns]

Success. There are so many INCREDIBLE street musicians... But there just that, street musicians...

[fourstringdrums]

You might want to edit the thread title. I was thinking "oh god not another michael anthony thread"

I'd rather have the chops..or rather the ability to fully express myself musically. I don't care if anyone ever heard so long as I could make myself happy by being able to put out whatever my heart wanted me to.

[avvie]

Cliff Williams knows what his job is and what AC/DC is supposed to sound like and doesn't feel frustrated or imprisoned at all. There's plenty of other opportunities for him to stretch out on.

[CTC564]

Regarding the thread title, I actually thought of "RE-TITLING" but my phone won't allow me to edit the title...and it wound up "pulling you in" anyway ;-)

I admire your choice, but I believe it's easier to attain than worldwide success...

[CTC564]

Originally Posted by avvie

Cliff Williams knows what his job is and what AC/DC is supposed to sound like and doesn't feel frustrated or imprisoned at all. There's plenty of other opportunities for him to stretch out on.

This isn't about knocking anyone for "imprisoning" their creativity....

Just a discussion

If given the choice....

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by CTC564

So...tell us here on TB....if you were able to receive ONLY one of the gifts of SUCCESS or CHOPS....which would YOU choose and why???

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "false dichotomy" before. But allow me a moment to break it down for you here:

Good musicianship consists of a LOT more than just good chops. And believe it or not, in the grand scheme of things, the number of genuinely bad musicians who achieve substantial "success", is still relatively small compared to the number of good musicians who achieve similar degrees of success. Talent and skill still leads to success much more often than lack of talent and skill leads to success.

All this, of course, is in addition to the fact that "success" is a surprisingly subjective entity, and can mean many things to many people. It's not nearly as cut-and-dried and simple a question as it appears on the surface...

MM

[robbotbass]

You could take Nate Medal of the Foo's not a stand out in the Foo's but in Sunny day he's actually a very good melodic bassist. I would guess the same is true for Adam in U2 although I can't say for sure. Sometimes you play what fits for the band. Let's be honest u2 music would be far to busy with the edge doing his thing and Adam bipity bopity all over the neck.

[CTC564]

Interesting points MM...but yes, it truly is as simple or as difficult a question as you make it out to be...

Success is success....as defined by the general population...Gene Simmons is much more successful as an individual who makes a living as a musician than say Marcus Miller...but Marcus (or whoever you'd like to name) is a much more accomplished musician (chops)

[rickwebb]

Success.

[jimmydean]

I will take success over chops any day. My playing is more in line with John Paul Jones and Willie Weeks , but that fits the types of music that I play. Being the next Jaco is awesome and more power to you , but some players have got to get it in their heads that you can't slap ans play a million notes on everything you play. I'm tired of all the forced over playing that I see and in some cases ,being put down for not doing it . If your out for personal satisfaction,that's great . If your out to impress other musicians,it's a wasted effort ,but that's just me.

[jimmydean]

One more thing,Adam Clayton plays great bass!

[Savage_Dreams]

just because theres people with success that dont seem to have what you would call 'chops' doesnt mean they dont have 'chops'. one of the keys to success is to know when to use your chops, and when not to, to be part of the bigger picture. so when your asking about success vs. chops, i dont see in any way how they are mutually exclusive.

[MHT75]

Originally Posted by fourstringdrums

You might want to edit the thread title. I was thinking "oh god not another michael anthony thread"

I'd rather have the chops..or rather the ability to fully express myself musically. I don't care if anyone ever heard so long as I could make myself happy by being able to put out whatever my heart wanted me to.

I was thinking the exact same thing

[Hamrhed]

I watched a performance by Tab Benoit recently with Cory Duplechin on bass and Doug Gay on drums. Now, Duplechin has his YouTube moments- but with Benoit he is pocket and groove, and seems to have a blast playing. You may not have heard of Cory, but that is my idea of success: play for the song and from the heart... the rest is semantics

[knumbskull]

i really like solid players who rock, and am not keen on very technical jazz fusion players, so i'll take Cliff Williams' career please any day

[ksandvik]

Good bass players know exactly what to play *and not to play* with specific songs -- it's called professionalism.

[corinpills]

Reading the Tommy Simms interview in the new BassPlayer and I notice him mentioning some bass players he really enjoys: "Rainey, Jamerson, McCartney, John Paul Jones, Michael Anthony-all the greats. I can hear in their essence the fact that they loved being the guy laying it down thick and strong..."


Funny how he's a world class musician for 25+ years and nobody has come along to explain to him how untalented Michael Anthony is. I wonder what he's hearing when so many people here just think Mike's a hack because he plays simply. As if there's something wrong with playing 8th notes and the roots of chords- cars with 4 wheels are old news, too.

And it's BS saying you can't even hear Mike's bass because there is rarely anything but bass and drums under Eddie's solos. Not even a tambourine!

I'm not even a big Michael Anthony fan, but I'll always defend the concept of the bass playing what's right to support and drive the band.

[CTC564]

I couldn't agree with that notion any more

Seems to me that some people missed the POINT of the question....I'm not bashing anyone....just seems that certain threads pop up that do just that and favor "musical gymnastics" over knowing when to play, when not to play and what/how and why to play...

[hotrodjohn]

Dusty Hill: the root, the whole root, and nothing but the root! And a great guy to boot!