Godspell

Jactap · #1 12-03-2008, 11:49 PM

My high school is doing Godspell and I'm playing bass in it. Tonight was opening night and it went pretty well. For the most part I kept fills to a minimum and as simple as possible.

My choir teacher played piano, one of the Spanish teachers played electric guitar, my band director's son played drums, and our guitar player from jazz choir played acoustic guitar. I think its always cool to play with teachers/ people with more experience than you.

It's been a great experience and I look forward to doing more musical stuff in the future.

Now to the point.

I'm wondering who else has done Godspell and how your experience was and how you handled the music.

In my opinion the music was pretty easy so I could enjoy the music and experiment instead of concentrating on not F*****g up.

Gordon of Eden · #2 12-04-2008, 02:03 AM

I have played Godspell a number of times in the past. It is relatively easy but kind of deceptive. There are alot of different styles represented and having the proper groove makes all the difference. once you and the rest of the band have the material down cold you can spice it up nicely but be careful to keep it tasteful. The key to playing shows is to make the singers and actors onstage shine, that is who the audience is watching not you in the pit. it is easy to overpower them. Playing musicals is great experience. Alot of schools don't have enough good musicians in their student body or faculty (especially bass players) and often have to bring in outside pros. If you enjoy it, talk to your school's music director about putting the word out to other MD's in your area. They often pay as well. I've done alot of shows. My favorite so far is Little shop of horrors. Great pass parts!
Good luck and have fun.

Hoover · #3 12-04-2008, 08:40 AM

I played guitar for Boston University's 1978 production of Godspell, and it was some of the most fun in a pit band I've ever had.

BassChuck · #4 12-04-2008, 08:44 AM

I've played Godspell on bass. Good show. I've done about 75 different productions of various musicals.

Post #2 says it all. Print it... read before each rehearsal and show. You are there to make the actors on stage shine. THAT'S your job.

zcwilkes · #5 12-05-2008, 06:00 AM

I played bass in Godspell at Marshall University around 95'-96ish (its fuzzy). It was a blast and I'd do it again. The music director loved the fretless, so I played it on a fretless P-Bass with P/J EMGs and Rotosounds. I did a lot of fills but tastefully, nothing crazy.

thumpbass1 · #6 12-05-2008, 10:32 AM

Great musical that's a lot of fun. You'll get a quick education on old school grooves performing Godspell, and I've performed some it's more popular numbers back in the day when it was still fairly new and even considered controversial in some circles back then.
Shows you how old I am. I'm glad it's still being done, and I've managed to catch newer performances over the years, enjoying how well it still holds together as a musical that can also adapt as different generations of youthful performers take their shot at doing it.I'm glad you had fun performing it.

SBassman · #7 12-05-2008, 10:41 AM

Haven't done Godspell, but I did sit in the pit as a teenager for
Guys and Dolls and Anything Goes. Most fun I ever had.
Got a girlfriend out of the deal as well.

That was a looooonnnnnnng time ago.

Jactap · #8 12-07-2008, 01:16 AM

Closing night was tonight. It was great. We had the second largest crowd, there was a lot of energy, everything just went well. Yesterday night was the worst of the 4 nights but I felt that it was the best night for me playing-wise.

I'm feeling a bit sad now that it's over.

Though it will be sort of nice to have my nights back again.
I really want to do more musical stuff now.

mjolnir · #9 12-07-2008, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jactap

Closing night was tonight. It was great. We had the second largest crowd, there was a lot of energy, everything just went well. Yesterday night was the worst of the 4 nights but I felt that it was the best night for me playing-wise.

I'm feeling a bit sad now that it's over.

Though it will be sort of nice to have my nights back again.
I really want to do more musical stuff now.

No worries, there's always the next show.

I've never done Godspell, but one of my old students did it so I got a chance to take a look at the music. Seemed like a fun little musical, and he told me he enjoyed it, so right on.

The BurgerMeister · #10 12-07-2008, 01:57 AM

i did lots of musical stuff in high school and for a few summers after... did godspell once. i remember it being quite fun! i did south pacific, cabaret, tommy and a few others i'm not remembering right now. not my thing anymore, but i did have a very enjoyable experience with musicals, in retrospect.

#11 01-02-2009, 12:26 AM

I played GODSPELL a few years back and I only remember there being one or two bass fills in the whole book, specifically during the Passion scene and maybe in "Light of the World." Do you guys just throw them in wherever you want or what?

Hoover · #12 01-02-2009, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SBassman

Got a girlfriend out of the deal as well.

Best advice my father ever gave me, hands down, was "Get involved in theater, it's a great way to meet girls." That was back in 1974.

Being involved in theater not only allowed me to survive high school with my self-worth intact, but it also got me a lot of work as a bassist. And of course Dad was right, it allowed me to meet a lot of girls, and eventually meet my wife (she was a singer/dancer in a theater production touring Europe that I played bass for).

tplyons · #13 01-02-2009, 11:48 AM

We did a bunch of songs from a bunch of plays (I was the theater department's go-to bassist) and did one or two from Godspell.

I managed to pick up a girlfriend during Guys and Dolls back in high school. We stayed together through Guys and Dolls, Gypsy, Sound of Music and broke up shortly before I did Footloose at the school. THAT was the best show I ever played.

Can't beat a four piece rock band. People came to see the band, not the performers.

pin_head_47 · #14 01-02-2009, 11:49 AM

I played in the pit for Godspell for our community summer theater a couple years ago, it was a really good time. The camaraderie is always alot of fun with theater productions; I did Jesus Christ Superstar a couple years before, and I learned alot from the more experienced people who I had the opportunity to play with. Kinda sad to be past that age now...

gottawalk · #15 01-02-2009, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jactap

Closing night was tonight. It was great. We had the second largest crowd, there was a lot of energy, everything just went well. Yesterday night was the worst of the 4 nights but I felt that it was the best night for me playing-wise.

I'm feeling a bit sad now that it's over.

Though it will be sort of nice to have my nights back again.
I really want to do more musical stuff now.

I did Godspell a few years back. Great show! I also always feel the same way when a show ends.

Had a great moment in rehearsals when "Jesus" talks about money, and at that point there was a break enough for me to (on a whim), insert the bassline intro to "Money" by Pink Floyd; just once; but the director loved it an we kept in in the show! That was really a great feeling!

Enjoy these times! Get into the pit as often as you can. Look for "Footloose" and do it, too. Lots of fun!!!