The highlight of your bass playing life

russjm · #1 02-08-2005, 10:22 AM

I just wondered,

Some of you must have some good stories and playing highlights, y'know, tell us about your best gig, support slot, or have some of you even played along side some famous musicians? Maybe you are famous, tell us about it.

The highlight of my musical life is not all that impressive. I did a couple of Radio 1 sessions here in England back in the eighties, and played briefly along side a drummer called Ted McKenna, who had played with, the Michael Scehnker Group, Rory Gallagher and Alex Harvey.

Hummpphh

best I can do......how about you??

buddahbass · #2 02-08-2005, 10:45 AM

ok, we are going to have to go back to 1991. i was in a local punk band and we had an opening slot on a show with green day and the queers. at the end of the show green day went into a cover of punk rock girl, and everyone was going nuts. all of the guys in my band and the queers came on stage to sing along, well the stage started getting really crowded so some of the guys started to go into the crowd and sing, and they started to head toward the door, when everyone started to go outside mike dirnt asked me if i knew this song, when i told him i did he handed me his bass, without missing a beat and hopped on the drummer for the queers shoulders and went out side with everyone else. so her i was on stage with the guitarist from the queers, and tre from green day playing a really extended version of punk rock girl. by the end, the entire club, minus us three is in the clubs parking lot screaming...JUST YOOOOUUU AND MEEEEEE PUNK ROCK GIIIIRLLLLL. at the time it was just another crazy punk show, but now i look back and think how cool it really was

russjm · #3 02-08-2005, 10:49 AM

That's excellent, nice one buddahbass. Lets have some more.

vintageampeg · #4 02-08-2005, 11:16 AM

ohhh let's have a child we'll name her Minnie Pearllllllll......

that was a great story. I don't have celebrity jam memories, but at this point I think it's pretty cool to look back to "back in the day" and be able to say I've played at some pretty great Boston landmarks - the Channel, The Rat and the Hatch Shell (where the Boston Pops play 4th of July) are pretty standout memories.

Philbiker · #5 02-08-2005, 11:31 AM

Playing bass in my brother Andy's Master's Thesis project, "Joe Jackson's Night And Day" where I got to play every note of both albums on a stage with actors and other great musicians. (Including the best drummer I've ever worked with) We're doing it professionally this year, it should be even better.

russjm · #6 02-08-2005, 11:32 AM

That's all we want, your personal highs, doesn't have to involve any big names.

Discrepancy · #7 02-08-2005, 11:45 AM

The highlight of my bass playing career was when my band opened up for The Slackers when the played in Pittsburgh. Before the show, the guitar player and I went out to The Slackers van to help them unload all of there equipment. When we got their, they asked us what amps and drums we had, and if they could use them. Of course we said yes. The show was amazing, people liked our band, and The Slackers were probably one of the best live bands I have ever seen. It was an awesome night. Im never going to sell that amp. Marcus told me it sounded good, and so did the sound guy at the venue.

Rasmuth · #8 02-08-2005, 11:46 AM

last November when I bought a bass for home-recording purposes...having never played one before...(guitar player...kinda) and realizing I could do it....

and it was much more fun than I ever expected!

matthewfoote · #9 02-08-2005, 11:49 AM

I played in a blues band which never played live but for about 2 years we jammed together every week in a garage and on a couple of occassions the Drummer from Stiff Little Fingers sat in.

Thats the best I can do.

LoJoe · #10 02-08-2005, 11:58 AM

Dave Moody http://www.davemoody.com/home.htm is probably not that famous, but is a well respected studio musician who has also received nominations for Grammy and Dove awards. He was doing some gigs in Charlotte NC for NASCAR and a local benefit concert and his regular bassist was not available. He broke me in on the NASCAR gig at Lowes Motor Speedway during the Little Trees 300 and the main Winston Cup event (Cocal Cola 600 I think). Being my first real gig, it was deer in the headlights all the way. I posted about it being similar to first time sex HERE I did well enough though that he used me for his benefit concert also. It was a full production with cameras, big flat screen TV's on the wall rotating between bigger than life images of us as we played etc.. The bigs for me. I was so pumped up I couldn't sleep that night. Pictures of both events are in my GALLERY , not that anyone cares!

russjm · #11 02-08-2005, 12:07 PM

This is cool, great stories, and before anyone complains, yes I guess I posted in the wrong department, but what the hell, it's fun anyway.

Oh..hang on....is that the FBI I hear pulling up outside?

makaky · #12 02-08-2005, 12:10 PM

Back in 1990, i was playing in a local Montreal band. We had a shot for and openning act with Primus. Stage was small and the 2 drum kits were taking all room so i asked Les if i could play on his amplification rig... he said "no problem man "

Even got to play on with his 4 strings Thompson bass during soundcheck.

Couple of weeks after we had our first gig in NYC, i decided to go take a look at the Sadowsky shop. The man locked me in a room with 5 of his basses and every high-end amp possible, what a blast

those were the days.....

Dan Knowlton · #13 02-08-2005, 12:28 PM

I play at Churches, so you get to back up a WIDE range of people. The biggest names I have had the priviledge of backing up are Gary Puckett (Union Gap) and Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis (5th Dimension). All three were very cool and easy to work with.

Dennis Agajanian was a hoot - no charts, new songs and he played them in a different key than he did at the sound check. It was one of those "just hang on and play" moments and a LOT of fun and I did fine. Nothing like having the opportunity to look like an idiot in front of 2500 people!

Dan K.

GSPLBASSDC · #14 02-08-2005, 12:45 PM

I've been in choirs that have opened for The Williams Brothers, and Andre Crouch, but the biggest moment is when gospel singer Beverly Crawford's sound guy came up to our Praise Team band and said "...since Bev's singing to a track there's only a certain amount of time before the track stops. You guys need to find your way thru it so that if she's still going, you'll pick up where the music drops off". Sure enough, the "Spirit" kicked in, she overran her tracks, and we played six songs that way.

Nervous?? OMIGOD!!! but it was the most fun I've had as a bassist

Eric Grossman · #15 02-08-2005, 01:26 PM

I have a couple.
When I was about 19 or 20, I played "School Days" for Stanley, on his "Brown Bass". After that, I used to go to his house every few months for lessons. We became casual friends after that, and even though I sometimes don't see him for years, he always remembers me, and greets me like an old friend.

Another more recent high for me, took place in '98. My band, K's Choice was on the Lilith Fair. In the middle of the tour, Me'shell Ndegeocello joined on. I was sitting on the stage left wing, waiting to be introduced (we got up and jammed with the Indigo Girls every night, which was a highlight itself). I was sitting next to Me'shell, so I introduced myself as an admirer. She was a little stand-offish. She didn't know me, and probably thought I was some random fan who happened to be there.

Anyway, The Indigo Girls brought us out, and we played "Rockin' In The Free World". It was a great jam. As I came back off the stage, Me'shell was literally jumping up and down. She ran over and gave me a big hug, while grinning from ear to ear.

There are more great moments, thankfully, but those jumped into my head immediately, so there you go.

theboognish · #16 02-08-2005, 01:27 PM

I just had a highlight at a show the other night. My band played second slot out of four bands. The bass player in the first band had really good technique, way better than self-taught thrashiness. After our set, he came up and to me and complimented my playing, said I was impressive and "had an awesome groove" or something. I always get self-conscious when my band plays show with "actual" bass players, so this was really cool to hear.

Another highlight, my band played with Saccharine Trust and they were very complimentary, they even asked to play another show with us. I was thinking, you know, "You guys are ****ing legends. Of course we'd like to play another show with you."

Ralphdaddy · #17 02-08-2005, 01:53 PM

The early highlight of my young bass career is actually about to happen on Friday. My band got offered a spot at the Chrysler stage at the Chicago Auto Show, they're giving me a full SVT stack, which to me is extremely sweet, and we've got time for one set only but still should be sweet. I'll report back after the gig but nothing else I've ever done tops this for sure!

Lorenzini · #18 02-08-2005, 01:57 PM

opening for maroon 5

**IvanMike** · #19 02-08-2005, 02:11 PM

nothing quite that exciting. biggest gig i did was as a headliner at toad's place (i was filling in with shakedown) around '97 or so. i dunno what capacity is there but it was at or over it. And they were, um, pumped.

most recent, last night at my 3rd practice with a band im going to be working with in addition to my other one. In a bad mood, felt crappy, and we're playing "Brandy"

. We heavied it up a little, and had a cheapo hard disk recorder running. Not only was i having fun all of a sudden, but on playback it actually sounded like we knew what we were doing and the song lost its "cheese factor".

fivestringdan · #20 02-08-2005, 02:15 PM

I got to jam with Bob Dorough for an afternoon. We just played some standards, he was fooling around with a Rhodes I had. It was really fun. Everytime I see him he asks me to come to New York to sit in with him. How cool!

I also played with Ed Soph in a clinic. It was the scariest thing I have ever been through. Three beats into the song he turns around to me and says, "Hey man, the quarter notes are right here". Motioning to his right hand playing the ride cymbol. I knew I was in troble when I couldn't get the quarter notes right.