When did YOU first realize you wanted to play bass?

goatghost · #1 11-05-2011, 09:49 PM

Hey guys...

Not sure if this was covered in the past (I did a cursory search)...

When did YOU first realize you wanted to play bass?

I realized it as a child, listening to Kiss...back in 1979 (I was 12). I used to, subconsciously, focus in on Gene Simmons' melodic bass lines (always humming them wherever I went, etc.).

I started off on guitar in 5th grade (the local music store convinced my mom that I should learn guitar, first), but bass had always been my first love. I didn't start playing bass until 12th grade (when I could actually afford to buy one...lol).

When did YOU first realize you wanted to play bass?

buckeyebragi · #2 11-05-2011, 09:54 PM

Gene Simmons for me as well, but it truly took hold when I heard Duff McKagen of GnR.

mcglyph · #3 11-05-2011, 10:00 PM

About three months ago. Nah, actually a few years ago, just got around to getting a bass and doing it. Love the bass.

PaulMacCnj · #4 11-05-2011, 10:02 PM

The Who - Who's Next, Quadrophenia
Led Zeppelin - II, IV
Lou Reed - Rock and Roll Animal
Mott the Hoople - All The Young Dudes
Deep Purple - Made in Japan

Those are some early ones that struck hard and pushed me to play music.

Swampman Cory · #5 11-05-2011, 10:12 PM

I started off taking guitar lessons, but I never practiced so I gave up because it was "too hard." I then took drum lessons for a couple of years, this time actually practicing, but I never got any good until after I stopped to learn how to play bass...

I still wanted to be cool so I started taking bass lessons. Somewhere down the line I realized I was not cool, but I really liked what I was doing, so I kept playing.

marinecorpsman6 · #6 11-05-2011, 10:18 PM

I started out as a guitar player ....but then I started with a band that didn't have a bass guitar player and my friend had a Gibson eb something ...can't remember it was a long time ago ...lol.... I was always a big Beatles fan and just loved pauls bass lines.....and from that point on I never looked back ....I love being a bass player ....

NOT · #7 11-05-2011, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buckeyebragi

Gene Simmons for me as well, but it truly took hold when I heard Duff McKagen of GnR.

Same here.

Mike 257 · #8 11-05-2011, 10:22 PM

I realized I wanted to play bass a year ago when I heard Marcus Miller for the first time, it took me 9 months to save for a Marcus Miller Sig .

Clammy · #9 11-05-2011, 10:42 PM

During the second set I ever played bass on. Let me explain:

In 1997, a friend (guitarist) and I decided to form a Metal band. The idea was to have a typical 2 guitar (him and I), bass, drums, singer lineup. We manged to find a singer and drummer, but after looking for over a year, we couldn't find a bassist. Being a huge Motorhead fan, I had bought a Rickenbacker 4001 from a former band mate. We wanted to start gigging, so I volunteered to play bass (and essentially rhythm guitar, too, hehehe...), a la Lemmy style, temporarily until we could find a real bassist. I plugged that Ric into my Marshall guitar stack, cranked up the distortion, and we rehearsed that way for a couple of months. So we decided to use a "band wars" thing to wet our feet live. Turns out, we won our preliminary round and had to come back the week after for the final. So we came back the next week, and left the place with the windows steamed up, hehe... it was during that set, that I decided I wanted to stay with bass. We didn't win (it was a fixed deal, as ALL band wars things are), but I had so much fun playing bass, and was loving the chemistry we had going as a four piece, that after it was over, I got the guys together and asked them what they thought of keeping it going as a 4 piece with me on bass. The best part? THEY were gonna ask ME to stay on bass, and keep it as a four piece, so we were really all on the same page. Been rocking the low end ever since, and loving it!

Looking back now, it makes sense that I now play bass. Most the guys I dig/dug the most in my favourite bands are/were bassists: Lemmy, Gene Simmons, Nikki Sixx, Steve Harris, Cliff Burton, etc... Plus when I played guitar, I was always more interested in playing rhythm, rather than lead. I just love jamming in the pocket, so the transition to bass felt very natural to me.

Cheers!

bThumper38 · #10 11-05-2011, 11:02 PM

Stanley Clarke/George Duke project '82, it was all over for me. All the piccolo bass on that album kills. I was twelve at the time. I didn't start for another four years, but that was the album that turned on the light-bulb.

SactoBass · #11 11-05-2011, 11:17 PM

It was when I heard Chris Squire grinding away in "Yours Is No Disgrace" from The Yes Album in 1971. I started playing in 1972.

finfrocka · #12 11-05-2011, 11:22 PM

Strangely enough it was a mixture. I was a mediocre guitarist (what you would consider mediocre for an 8th grader) and felt like I failed. Got into Queens of the Stone Age and was thinking about getting a baritone guitar but my uncle told me I should play bass because they are always in demand. So I bought a bass and a few months later he took me to lollapalooza and Primus was there. After seeing Les play I was totally inspired and now I can learn/play ANY primus song. But I owe most of it to my uncle, QOTSA, and Les Claypool.

But for the record, I don't play a whole lot of primus anymore. But I am sure glad I did because because immersing myself in difficult techniques slapping/tapping early in the game really stimulated my learning at an alarming rate. Practiced from the time i got home from school till bed time. Bass came much more natural to me. Love the low end.

skychief · #13 11-05-2011, 11:26 PM

i realised I wanted to play bass when it became painfully apparent I couldnt cut it as a guitar player. And also the fact there were a gazillion good guitar players in my area, but very few bass players.

It was a no-brainer!

FreshTrooperXBL · #14 11-05-2011, 11:32 PM

Back in middle school like 8 years ago i guess: A few buddies and I were playing Guitar Hero 3 on PS2 and we played YYZ. My friend told me to pick bass and I soon loved the low end thump coming from the stereo. With that one Rush song, I saw how bass could be just as fricken awesome as guitar. ...so now fast forward 2 years to the summer before my freshmen year when those same buds are picking up instruments, I decided to put down the fender strat in the pawn shop and go get a bass starter package from a local GC. My parents thought I was wasting my money that Christmas, but that has probably been the best investment ever ...that bass has been with me for 6 years now.

...Its something I'm glad I decided to stick with. And out of those 10 or so guys who played only really only 3 of us have picked instruments and stuck with them. And man when we jam, it really shows how we're all on the same page with each other.

goatghost · #15 11-06-2011, 11:52 AM

Wow...all great responses and some really interesting stories, as well! Thanks, guys.

Anyone else out there have a "lightbulb" moment and realize that THIS is the instrument they want to play?

sonic assassin · #16 11-06-2011, 10:54 PM

after 5 or so years of guitar (which i still play full time), it became pretty apparent that no one in town played bass. i figured id pick one up to record bass parts for the songs id been writing and recording. id have one laying around for my own amusement and little fill in gigs. 2 weeks later i joined a band playing bass full time. was in that band for the better part of 3 years. it was my first REAL band, so i became pretty well known as "the bass player" around town. got weird looks when i went to audition for a buddy's band for guitar. got the job.

but i think what really made it stick was rage against the machine and rise against. such bass driven music. that first band was very Tool like in that the majority of the interesting parts were drum and bass.

guitar is and always will be the love of my life. but i will still pwn people with a bass when needed.

JakeDPR · #17 11-07-2011, 01:43 AM

Honestly, it was Sliver by Nirvana. I still love that bass line

Rage1331 · #18 11-07-2011, 01:55 AM

Driving around Colorado with my dad when I was about 10 years old, listening to 'Sailing The Seas Of Cheese' and 'Frizzle Fry' by Primus. Pretty much sealed my fate. When I started playing bass around 3 - 4 years later, Tim dot com and Rage Against The Machine kept me engaged during the learning process, until I was able to learn Primus tunes. I barely play slap anymore, but when I do it's usually something by Claypool.

**nickpower** · #19 11-07-2011, 01:58 AM

In my Dad's car on the way back from a boot fair and as we pulled up to the house, Level 42 played on the radio, Being a 15 year old muso n00b at the time, I asked my dad what that slap sound was and he replied it's "Mark King on the bass". Got hold of a bass and the bass quest started!

Rage1331 · #20 11-07-2011, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickpower

In my Dad's car on the way back from a boot fair and as we pulled up to the house, Level 42 played on the radio, Being a 15 year old muso n00b at the time, I asked my dad what that slap sound was and he replied it's "Mark King on the bass". Got hold of a bass and the bass quest started!

I basically did the exact same thing, only we were listening to Primus.