Who inspired you to become a bassist? (part 2)

[Einherjar]

Matt Freeman from operation ivy/rancid. It hit especially hard once I had heard the song Maxwell Murder on "...And out come the wolves".

[DrPFunk]

Allen Douglas Woody

[Plantbrain]

Stu Hamm mostly in the 1980's, I picked it back and play for the love of the instrument since then.

[rapidfirerob]

Berry Oakley was one of my first influences, along with Jack Bruce. Playing in yet another Allman Bros. tribute band. http://allmanstepbrothers.com/

[Kingbreaker]

Originally Posted by Chowderboots

I played bagpipes for a number of years and I always really loved The Who. I was interested in playing the drums, but there wasn't any room in my family's apartment. After Igot Live At Leeds where the bass is so prominent, I HAD to be able to do that. I got a bass a couple weeks later, gave up bagpipes, and I haven't looked back. But the person who really backed me up was my oldest friend Dustin, who's now my drummer. He said there were plenty of guitarists and drummers he knew, but none of them any good. He convinced me that I should play the bass once I got the idea in my head.

Holy ****. . . . Highland pipes?

I played pipes competitively in high school in the eighties, got burned out by the military aspects of it. I now get my jig 'n' reel fix by playing Irish flute. Similar fingerings, a lot more versatile, a lot more portable I'm in an Irish band again for the first time after a hiatus of several years.

I started playing bass in high school as well. Got hooked by listening to cassettes of early REM when I was walking the dog.

So, I guess Mike Mills is the biggest inspiration.

My other favorite bass tunes are Rain/Paperback Writer, and most early Rush songs. I guess that explains my Ricky fetish. . .

[Sasabonsam]

Oddly enough, Merrill Osmond was the first bass player to catch my ear as a young child. I got the Crazy Horses LP for Christmas one year, and loved the heavy songs on it.

When I was a bit older, a friend's older brother turned me onto All the World's a Stage and Tarkus, and well, that was all she wrote. So Geddy & Greg were my first two 'real' inspirations.

[BassPlayer900]

When I first heard the bassline to Under The Bridge by RHCP, I became interested in bass.

Several years later, a friend got me into Rush and when I heard Geddy's playing and bass sound, I finally decided to buy my first bass.

He didn't inspire me to become a bassist, but recently, I have really been influenced by John Paul Jones's bass playing/sound.

[dmoplaysflats]

Alex Blake...he was playing at a jazz club on Long Island..a Black Fender Bass and he played lots of 10ths..I thought this was the hippest thing ever...Club was called Sunny's Place..Was playing trumpet at the time, and that night I decided to check out bass...thanks Alex Blake

[truecanadian04]

Rex brown.

[PipeRain]

Initially, a local crossover thrash/punk band that I hung out with as friends asked me to pick up a bass, learn it and their songs and help them out when they lost their bass player and couldn't find one. I did, then started listening to the bass in the music instead of just the overall song. It was at that point I started paying attention and discovered Jason Newsted, or what I could hear of him. Then came Jeff Bellew of The Crucified and I was hooked.

Incidentally, that band did finally find a bass player who was an absolute monster and I wound up not getting the gig. It was cool tho, I was actually glad for them as he could play their stuff well and I was hanging on by my fingernails just to keep up. 25 years on, I am picking up the bass again and am loving it, even if I am too old to reasonably be playing the music I like.