Rascal Flatts' bassist and why Nashville sucks

JimmyM · #1 02-01-2010, 08:28 PM

Reading through a recent BP magazine while in the "library" today, along with a thread on here today angered me yet again. a lot. they had an interview with Rascal Flatts' bassist, who said he wasn't allowed to play on their album until he offered to pay for the sessions if they didn't go well. what's wrong with this picture? the bassist of rascal flatts is the leader of the band, and if anyone should have been allowed to play on it, it should have been him.

This is a major reason why nashville can't make any compelling music anymore. besides all the record companies being run by idiots who know nothing except how to read profit-loss statements, they have developed a system where only a select few musicians are deemed good enough to record, and they and only they are allowed to record while the road musicians are treated like nimrods who will ruin everything if even allowed in the studio to watch.

i have seen a few arguments on here in favor of that system, but honestly, they're lame. like the one about studio time being too expensive to allow road musicians the opportunity to waste money by not knowing how to play for the studio. i have yet to hear a popular country tune that's difficult for any good bassist or drummer. for that matter, i don't hear a whole hell of a lot on other instruments that any competent musician couldn't play.

but the morons who run country music cling to this outdated system of having 4 or 5 musicians on each instrument who play on everything at the exclusion of all others, regardless of their competence level. and everything all sounds the same, and it's all watered down and ultra-safe because everyone is afraid to try anything different lest they never get called again.

what a shameful turn of events. pretty much every other type of music allows musicians who may not have recorded before but have something on the ball in their live performances in the studio. yeah, it may result in a few blown takes, and it may result in some experimentation that doesn't work. so what? you never hear anyone say all jazz music sounds the same, or all rock music sounds the same, but you damn sure hear a lot of people complain about how all country music sounds the same. and that is why. the idiots who run nashville have nickel and dimed all the goodness out of the music and replaced it with technically perfect but soulless performances designed to not waste time in the studio. occasionally an original artist comes along with a fresh new sound, but they almost always had to go out of nashville to accomplish it.

i don't get it. are the road musicians in nashville that bad where they couldn't hang in the studio? they sure seem pretty competent to me. someone who's a part of that scene please explain it to me because i don't get it. and if you are part of that scene, please understand i'm not blaming the musicians for doing their jobs. if i had one of those jobs, i'd go in and do the exact same thing i'm complaining about because i have to eat. but since i'm not, it completely bewilders me why it's this way in nashville and has been for a couple decades. it's stupid, and the producers and record company heads who insist on it are morons.

bassdoubler · #2 02-01-2010, 08:33 PM

damn Jimmy, I wish I knew more about the Nashville scene so we could talk about it!

1954bassman · #3 02-01-2010, 08:36 PM

First: I basically agreed with you 100%

But I guess their point of view is:

If you manage the NY Yankees, Derrick Jeter is going to play short stop, not some other great short stop. Why? Because he is a part of a winning team.

Also, I worked in a studio for a while, and most folks (not the Rascal Flatts type of guy) had no business recording any of their tracks.

ShavedHippie · #4 02-01-2010, 08:40 PM

Jeter doesn't play shortstop for every team.

M0ses · #5 02-01-2010, 08:40 PM

Welcome to the "I Hate the Man" club. Choose a number.

100% agree. The Man has ruined the music industry. Not just in Nashville, have you heard ANY good popular music lately? I haven't.

Jerry Ziarko · #6 02-01-2010, 08:51 PM

Great post Jimmy. Give a listen to some alt. country stuff. There are actually some fresh sounds there. The top 40 "country" product has been stale for years IMO. It's not that the players aren't great in their own right, but the Funk Bros they're not. The same players, with the same producers, and same songwriters worked back in the Hitsville days, but most of the drivel that poses as country radio today has little or no identity.

BigOldHarry · #7 02-01-2010, 08:53 PM

That is mind-boggling... Sounds like a good reason to do your work in another town.

VitaminC · #8 02-01-2010, 08:57 PM

I am from Nashville and I am proud great musicians like Taylor Swift share the same home as me...

I feel that good songs have a since of true expression behind them but the only expression that popular music has anymore is the smile on the artist's when they get that fat check.

djembe · #9 02-01-2010, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0ses

Welcome to the "I Hate the Man" club. Choose a number.

100% agree. The Man has ruined the music industry. Not just in Nashville, have you heard ANY good popular music lately? I haven't.

seconded. I haven't heard anything good as far as popular music goes since the mid-90's. Everything's been watered down to appeal to the widest consumer base possible.

Jazzdogg · #10 02-01-2010, 08:59 PM

Jimmy, I find your argument logical and compelling. As my brother likes to quip, "Death to all absolutists!"

That said, I personally find the recording studio far different than playing live; IME, there are additional skills that are required to produce a high-quality recording at a reasonable price - and recording ain't exactly cheap!

I'd rather hire a pro sound company to record a live gig than record in the studio; in almost 42 years as a bassist I've become comfortable and proficient playing live, but my few studio excursions were drudgery in comparison, and I definitely wasn't comfortable with what I found to be a wholely unnatural process.

It doesn't surprise me at all that so many otherwise proficient musicians belly flop in the studio, and that studio execs are hesitant to make a substantial investment if it's likely the work product won't be commercially viable.

funkydanbass · #11 02-01-2010, 09:02 PM

What about the musicians who are otherwise permanent members of the band?

JimmyM · #12 02-01-2010, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0ses

Welcome to the "I Hate the Man" club. Choose a number.

100% agree. The Man has ruined the music industry. Not just in Nashville, have you heard ANY good popular music lately? I haven't.

i did like that last ac/dc album a lot

the thing with other popular music is that at least the artists are allowed to have a little identity of their own and aren't forced to be assimilated into this little borg box which is the popular nashville music scene. so while i agree that there's a lot of bad music of all kinds out there, at least the musicians have a fighting chance to assert a little individuality.

jerry, your post about alt.country is well taken. that's the only place where anything interesting is going on. they respect the value of a good band, and they don't mind the road musicians playing on albums. unfortunately, the nashville idiots have done all they can to stop it from having anything larger than a cult following so they can push their own agenda of crap.

JimmyM · #13 02-01-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkydanbass

What about the musicians who are otherwise permanent members of the band?

if an artist has enough pull, they can sometimes talk the producer into letting the road band play on one song, but it's always the lamest song on the album.

wellshuxley · #14 02-01-2010, 09:11 PM

You know what's even more messed up? Even after going through that, Rascal Flatts still doesn't let their "road musicians" play on their albums. I've played gigs with their guitar player of 6+ years, and he's great. He has a buddy, another guitarist in town, who sometimes asks for help playing solos and more difficult parts on demos and recordings that he produers. This guy knows Rascal Flats' producer, so he is called in to do the session rather than the guy who has been in their live band for several years and happens to be, according to the guy being paid for the session, a better guitar player! Go figure.

funkydanbass · #15 02-01-2010, 09:17 PM

What about the situation where members of the 'road band' (what a stupid term), are co-writers or integral to the sound of the band? ie. the played on the bands first / original break through album?

Dbassmon · #16 02-01-2010, 09:18 PM

Well I don't think Nashville has a unique or different set of music politics than LA or NY.

Producers have "their guys". If you play a part down cold, first time, every time, with a great sound and a great feel, you can join the club.... It doesn't make it fair or right but it is a business and they are making a product. Ultimately, it's fair in the same way evolution is fair, the strong survive, the weak ones end up as lunch... no crying allowed. There are a hand full of guys that get all the studio work... because they perform flawlessly when they hit the record button.

We are all welcome to practice until we can be one of the first call guys. Only a very few are talented enough or are will to put in that kind of time and dedication.

For the next tier of very talented players, there is the road gig for top acts. Having done that for many years, it is not too tough to take. Those guys are having a blast, I guarantee

If you are an equity stake holder in the band (one of the owners) and you are getting a slice of the publishing, who the hell cares if Will Lee did the studio track anyway?

JimmyM · #17 02-01-2010, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

Jimmy, I find your argument logical and compelling. As my brother likes to quip, "Death to all absolutists!"

That said, I personally find the recording studio far different than playing live; IME, there are additional skills that are required to produce a high-quality recording at a reasonable price - and recording ain't exactly cheap!

I'd rather hire a pro sound company to record a live gig than record in the studio; in almost 42 years as a bassist I've become comfortable and proficient playing live, but my few studio excursions were drudgery in comparison, and I definitely wasn't comfortable with what I found to be a wholely unnatural process.

It doesn't surprise me at all that so many otherwise proficient musicians belly flop in the studio, and that studio execs are hesitant to make a substantial investment if it's likely the work product won't be commercially viable.

in that case, it would be your choice not to record. but some people really love it and want to do it.

as for commercial viability, considering that 95% of the records put out by record companies flop miserably, i'd say those morons who run record companies know about as much about commercial viability as your average music fan.

JimmyM · #18 02-01-2010, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkydanbass

What about the situation where members of the 'road band' (what a stupid term), are co-writers or integral to the sound of the band? ie. the played on the bands first / original break through album?

case by case basis. it's no guarantee that they'll be allowed to play, though.

ezrs · #19 02-01-2010, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Ziarko

Great post Jimmy. Give a listen to some alt. country stuff. There are actually some fresh sounds there.

+1

Check out the Avett Brothers, AA Bondy, The Autumn Defense. All A's

JimmyM · #20 02-01-2010, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wellshuxley

You know what's even more messed up? Even after going through that, Rascal Flatts still doesn't let their "road musicians" play on their albums. I've played gigs with their guitar player of 6+ years, and he's great. He has a buddy, another guitarist in town, who sometimes asks for help playing solos and more difficult parts on demos and recordings that he produers. This guy knows Rascal Flats' producer, so he is called in to do the session rather than the guy who has been in their live band for several years and happens to be, according to the guy being paid for the session, a better guitar player! Go figure.

absolutely shameful. i guess that's the reason i also hate rascal flatts, even though i do respect the bassist for putting his money where his mouth is.

one more potentially great band assimilated into the borg.