How long can you handle "Blues"?

[Skel]

I don't know if I'm just strange, but I don't think I could handle playing strictly Blues. I realize there are lots of variations but for some reason at the end of the day it's all pretty much 12 bar I-IV-V....blues. I like to exercise to it, but I think I would go crazy having to play blues exclusively, day in and day out. I don't know how those old guys with names like "Fat this", "Slim that", "Junior", "Blind", etc. did it.

[sobie18]

You gotta have some good partners to enjoy it.

It's gotta have feel, groove, pocket, SOUL, and some HEART for it to feel/play/sound good.

Ever hear a country band play blues (or rock for that matter)? Still sounds country, don't it?

Find some good blues players and open your mind & heart.

[Baryonyx]

About 3 minutes. Give me fusion any day!

[anechoic]

Depends on what we mean by "blues".

Anybody ever seen Ghost World?

If it's anything like Blueshammer, maybe about 10 seconds (although I might stick around for teh comedic value).

If it's like that old black dude that everyone but Steve Buscemi's character seemed to be ignoring, I'd stay for the whole set.

[Skel]

Originally Posted by Chris2112

About 3 minutes. Give me fusion any day!

All I can say is...

[Vandelay]

I've seen some great blues shows, and I've seen some that have bored me senseless. It really all depends on the players and how much variety and dynamics they bring to the music. Some bands can take the basic I-IV-V and vary it with a lot of different tempos, counter-rhythms, dramatic stops and starts, changes in volume, etc. Others take the lazy approach and play everything the exact same way.

[Skel]

Originally Posted by Vandelay

I've seen some great blues shows, and I've seen some that have bored me senseless. It really all depends on the players and how much variety and dynamics they bring to the music. Some bands can take the basic I-IV-V and vary it with a lot of different tempos, counter-rhythms, dramatic stops and starts, changes in volume, etc. Others take the lazy approach and play everything the exact same way.

I guess this is blashphemy, but the last time I saw BB King, after about the 4th song it was like "enough already". You spent 4 long years...big deal.

[Vandelay]

Originally Posted by Skel

I guess this is blashphemy, but the last time I saw BB King, after about the 4th song it was like "enough already". You spent 4 long years...big deal.

I felt the same way when I saw Clapton earlier this year (after about the 20th guitar solo of the night). Too many songs in the same tempo and style, too many guitar solos that ran about 128 bars, or at least it felt like that. The solos were always technically impressive, but too many of them didn't really explore any new territory, musically speaking. There's something to be said for a short, effective solo.

[Asa Samuel]

The blues? about two minutes, then i take some prozac and i'm as happy as a hare =D

as for 12 bar blues, i absolutely LOVE IT.

i hate guitarists who try to put a million different chords into one bar, i jsut tell them to do a 12 bar blues and shut up, then the song sounds so much better.

its like fenders, yes they are standard but they are tried and tested goodness.

[manicbassman]

Originally Posted by Vandelay

I felt the same way when I saw Clapton earlier this year (after about the 20th guitar solo of the night). Too many songs in the same tempo and style, too many guitar solos that ran about 128 bars, or at least it felt like that. The solos were always technically impressive, but too many of them didn't really explore any new territory, musically speaking. There's something to be said for a short, effective solo.

Clapton is samey... he basically has the band play the same tune but sings different words and does a different guitar solo over it

the only decent tunes he does are "Wonderful Tonight" & "Stormy Monday"

ps. if you want to see good blues, then go see Walter Trout

www.waltertrout.com

he has what they call pedigree as well... was in Canned Heat and also did a stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers

[Phalex]

I can play blues for hours or weeks on end.

The enjoyment of being in a blues band is based largely upon the quality of the guitar player (He's gotta be really good!) and the drummer (He has to have incredible feel). There is an incredible amount of room for embellishment and improvisation within the loose confines of a blues type setting. A harp player that can sing doesn't hurt either.

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by Phalex

I can play blues for hours or weeks on end.

The enjoyment of being in a blues band is based largely upon the quality of the guitar player (He's gotta be really good!) and the drummer (He has to have incredible feel). There is an incredible amount of room for embellishment and improvisation within the loose confines of a blues type setting. A harp player that can sing doesn't hurt either.

Amen to that.

But an evening spent in a bad Blues band is a week of hell.

[Phalex]

I once spent a weekend filling in with a wretched country band. (Horrible drummer and the everything the guitar player did had a very 80's thrash metal feel to it.) It was really comical, but I was very glad it was over. It's a good thing I'm not afraid to look stupid.

Anytime with a "Bad Band" is time you'll never get back. Genre makes no difference.

[Gard]

Originally Posted by Phalex

I can play blues for hours or weeks on end.

The enjoyment of being in a blues band is based largely upon the quality of the guitar player (He's gotta be really good!) and the drummer (He has to have incredible feel). There is an incredible amount of room for embellishment and improvisation within the loose confines of a blues type setting. A harp player that can sing doesn't hurt either.

Yup, it's all about the band and the feel they get.

A really good group of players can take the simplest form and make it infinitely interesting. A really lame group of players can take the same exact form and make it unlistenable.

I loved being in good blues bands with players that "got it", particularly when I was living in Baton Rouge, LA...man, there are some smokin' blues acts there that no one will ever see or hear. Used to just do pickup gigs with guys that I'd never seen before or since and have the time of my life for 5-6 hours a night. Unfortunately, I also had some less wonderful times, but the good far outweighed the bad during those days.



I honestly don't give a rat's @$$ about what kind of "music" I'm playing, if the guys I'm playing with are GOOD and can play with good feel and listen & react to what is going on around themselves.

[Skel]

Yea, I guess I'd much rather play in a really good blues band than a bad "any other genre" kind of band when I really think about it.

I still don't feel that bad about BB King having to spend 4 long years though. I had to spend what seemed like 4 long years for that song to end.

[Mojo-Man]

It depends who you are playing with.
If it's just, guitar mastabation, it get boring.

if you play blues with musicians, who listen.
And play from, the heart.
And lay down the groove.
It's fun.

[superbassman2000]

Originally Posted by Mojo-Man

It depends who you are playing with.
If it's just, guitar mastabation, it get boring.

if you play blues with musicians, who listen.
And play from, the heart.
And lay down the groove.
It's fun.

thats it if you ask me--I am in a blues band, and we can go for hours...like vandelay said, if you are just going through the motions, then you lose exactly what i perceive the blues to be--an emotional statement with music--if you don't feel the blues, then they are going to sound cold and lifeless, and thats what people get sick of.

[rdmjazz]

I did quite a few Blues gigs for several years and yes, it helps to have great players with you, but it’s definitely a soloing form of music. Bass and drums are limited in what you can do without taking it too far out of the traditinal Blues box. I am still recovering from shuffleosis (a condition from playing shuffle after shuffle all nite).

I will say that I think Blues and Country gigs are great for really honing your skills as a sideman. You have to be precise and really in the pocket and be able to make it feel right for long periods of time. It's really a great place to learn the meat and potatoes of being in a good rhythm section.

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by rdmjazz

I did quite a few Blues gigs for several years and yes, it helps to have great players with you, but it’s definitely a soloing form of music. Bass and drums are limited in what you can do without taking it too far out of the traditinal Blues box. I am still recovering from shuffleosis (a condition from playing shuffle after shuffle all nite).

I will say that I think Blues and Country gigs are great for really honing your skills as a sideman. You have to be precise and really in the pocket and be able to make it feel right for long periods of time. It's really a great place to learn the meat and potatoes of being in a good rhythm section.

This is true. When you can play in E for 20 minutes with no key changes and still keep the audience engaged you have to be doing something right.

[Thor]

I recently watched John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert
DVD shot in Liverpool.

Some BEEEEG stars.


Mayall has a great band. Some of the tunes really killed.

Clapton was the headline gunslinger with his good old
dishwater thin Strat solos, same constant position playing
he has always used. He got pushed to show some stuff
finally, because 2 other guys were kicking his butt. He got all
the audience noise but as a musician I noted:

Mick Taylor. Sounds as good as ever. Killer slide player. Tasty
bluesy soulful licks. Great thick Les Paul tone forever. Humble
and unassuming, but kicked major bootay. Has a very interesting
approach to phrasing. Fingerstyle electric work is his forte;

Buddy Whittington, Mayall's current guitarist. Had a Strat with
a hotter set up. Great dynamics. Killer riffs, TOTALLY showed
Mr. Clapton what it was all about. Excellent command of the
fretboard and didn't linger in the same positions but used the
whole fretboard to maximum effect. If you like a killer blues
player with taste and tone, this guy will bring the blood
rushing to your head!

Clapton, pffft. I was in Milwaukee about 5 years ago,
and he was in town that night. I picked up a ticket, left by
halftime. Guy's way overrated.

There are reasons to love blues, and reasons to hate blues.
It always has to do with who the artists are.