OK, gotta vent.....was in a local guitar shop just killing time and checking out some stuff (BTW, played this import MTD fretless...WOW!!!!) anyway...just screwing around.
OK, lemme toot my horn a little and you'll see why in a sec....I can play. I'm pretty far from sucking. I have good tone. I have good technique, I know some theory, got some chops. Get calls for gigs very regularly because of all this. In fact I joke, but in seriousness, I've forgotten more gigs than I can remember and forgotten more than a lot of guys have played. I've been lucky to play on some nice sized tours (nothing massive world tour like- but nice none-the-less).
Oh, I have some chops and what not.
Played everything from new "pop" country to R&B to jazz to rock to blues to CCM to gospel to........you get the point.
So back to the shop....this jack-pole moron wanna be-thinking-he's a rock-star waste of a nice bass idiot walks by as I'm just banging away on a bass and says- in a condescending way......."Hmm, neat" (yeah he said "neat") "Ya know I could play like that, but I choose not to. I just choose to groove. Play for the music. You should just groove man. Just groove."
***?!?!?
I looked at him and had to ask him what he said again....yeah, because I wasn't sure if he was serious and if I heard him correctly or not.
And he said it again "You should just groove man".
I just responded with.."Uh..yeah..sure"
OK here's the deal...you can't play like me because it's not a choice....you lack the ability.
Your "choice" is one out of necessity not ability. Or I should say it's because lack there of.
And if you did indeed to choose to stylistically play like me, you'd sound like a ******.
It would be like me singing opera. Yeah, I choose not to sing opera. Not because I "could", because I would sound like a bull being dragged behind a New York taxi with no muffler through the Holland Tunnel at 60mph dodging traffic.
This guy would sound like a Rickenbacker thrown down a flight of stairs in the high school gym while plugged into a Crate practice amp and Big Muff if he tried to play half of what I can/did.
I see the same crap on YouTube comments..........ya know jackasses, if you want to test drive a Corvette and do 35, great. But when someone gets in the same car and opens it up on the freeway, STFU and let them.
You don't buy an F250 to haul around cotton balls for the same reason you don't try a bass out playing whole notes at 80bpm for 10 min. at Guitar Center.
Sure, I play some longer notes to hear sustain etc....but I play the damn thing up and down the neck, slap, tap and fire off some fast runs or what not.
Just groove.......
I love "My Girl" as much as the next guy. And to be honest, to play it right really takes a concentrated effort IMO. But I'm not gonna grab a bass and play it in the middle of a guitar shop (truth be told, I have. But usually for a few seconds).
So, before ANYONE gets all uppity, this jackwagon does indeed pick-up a bass and starts playing.
Did he suck? Not really. But did he have the ability to play what he called his "choice not to"??? Not by a long shot.
Even on a good day.
I gave lessons for a long time. Part of that is being able to judge someone's ability and determine what needs to be fixed/worked-on/improved/guided towards or what ever you want to call the roll of a teacher. He didn't have it.
Could he get it? Who knows. But I listened to him noodle around for a good 5+ min and heard zero that would suggest that he could back up what he claimed the other day.
OK, so here's a tip to any of you who decide to go down the path this idiot did and run your mouth. Don't.
Because if you make the choice "not to" and fly that flag, publicly, at least show that you may at the very least have some basic ability to chose to.
Get it?
Good....
Oh, I did kinda be an arse back. When I was walking out I looked at him playing a bass. and said "Wow man, nice" to which he replied "Yeah thanks".
I said "I was talking about the bass, not you, don't get excited- listen thanks for the advice. But there isn't a gig you do, that I can't do. But there are plenty I do that you could never do".
Now, here's my "disclaimer" in this....if you do indeed chose not to play a certain way, or a certain style that's totally cool and fine. I chose not to play like a lot of guys and styles. But if I hear someone doing something I choose not to do, I don't for any reason feel the need to bag on them for doing something I don't find appealing. If you don't wanna play like Jaco, great. Just don't be a moron and make statements saying you could, but you "choose not to".
Or in this ass-flaps case feel the need to elevate himself and make it out like he's some kind of superior player or what-not. I would pretty much never put myself above someone else like this tool-bag did. Talk about balls.
I wouldn't walk up to Victor Wooten and say to him "I could play like that, but I chose not to".
OK...I'm done now...flame the crap outta me......
He sounded like a pretty cool guy.
