Bassist at Ringling Bros. Circus

[lamonica78]

So....I went to the Ringling Bros circus last night and had yet another, "I'm such a bass nerd" moment. I'm way up in the nose bleed section and as the show gets started, I notice the pit orchestra all the way across in the corner. The bassist is standing up and rocking out on a Bootsy Collins sig bass. A few songs later, he's sitting and playing a sweet fretless (couldn't identify it, but it had some sick tone!). My girlfriend constantly had to poke my ribs to get my attention cause I was missing half of the actual circus acts, haha

Oh, and during one of the acts, the band played an instrumental medley of Prodigy's "Firestarter" and "Smack my bitch up".....I was cracking up the whole time just thinking how wrong it was to be playing "smack my bitch up" at a circus, but I think most people were completely oblivious!

Just thought I'd share

[Spinal Tapper]

That's awesome!

Reminds me of when I went to Blue Man Group recently. My gf was pissed cause I was watching the sick band above the stage the whole time instead of paying attention to the show. Then they strung me upside-down and put my head in a Jello mold.

Was the bass player rocking it during Smack My Bitch Up? I can't even think of how that bassline goes...

[willgroove2]

That was Micheal T Brown from Chicago,He's been holding down that gig for the last few years

[Dan Kahanamoku]

It doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing... if there's a bass player in the vicinity, I'm watching him (or her).

[willgroove2]

check out www.me-and-my-bass.com

[RED5]

The circus band is killer, I sw the show a few years back and was blown away by the pit band. They covered everything in sight and did'nt miss a beat. The ring master was the lead vocalist and did his whole act from the center while the band just rocked. I forget the details but did'nt Stu Hamm cover a circus gig a couple of years ago? Big Apple or Cirque? Who'd have thought?

[lamonica78]

Originally Posted by willgroove2

check out www.me-and-my-bass.com

Awesome! I had no idea that was him from where I was sitting, but it's not surpirsing considering he had some serious chops. I'm gonna have to go to the circus more often, haha

And to answer the question above, he was totally rocking out to "Smack My Bitch Up" I have no idea what the original bass line was, but it seemed like he was doing most of the vocal melody himself which is how I recognized it in the first place.

[Phantopeth]

That medley choice is hilarious. I had a similar experience at the Big Apple Circus this past winter, paying as much attention to the band's bass player and drummer as I did to the circus itself. Guy was playing a pretty fretless J, 3-Tone Sunburst, through an Eden combo: sounded great!

[JAUQO III-X]

That's our (me and willgroove2) good friend Mike T. Brown. Avery talented bassist and good guy all around.


Here's a clip of him with his Washburn Bootsy bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMPAGVvjNWU


And his fretless is a Lakland 55-02

[logicman69]

Originally Posted by Spinal Tapper

That's awesome!

Reminds me of when I went to Blue Man Group recently. My gf was pissed cause I was watching the sick band above the stage the whole time instead of paying attention to the show. Then they strung me upside-down and put my head in a Jello mold.

Was the bass player rocking it during Smack My Bitch Up? I can't even think of how that bassline goes...

The band @ Blue Man Group here in Boston is sick as well! No bass player , but they have keys, drums, and a stick player (sick!!!!)

[Jason Hollar]

There's a bass player here from Pittsburgh named Steve Palko who ran off and joined the circus! He's a nice guy -- I met him before he split. Now I'm playing some of his gigs while he's on the road!

[MakiSupaStar]

I went and saw Cirque De Solei "O" in vegas and was doing the same thing. I kept checking out the bassist in the band. Sick player with massive chops.

[Spinal Tapper]

Originally Posted by logicman69

The band @ Blue Man Group here in Boston is sick as well! No bass player , but they have keys, drums, and a stick player (sick!!!!)

Yea, the one out here in Chicago has a keys dude that picks up the bass once in a while and thumps around on it for a few scenes. Funny thing - they were selling his bass on ebay not too long ago - MIA Fender Jazz w/ crazy glow in the dark paint swirls all over it...

[GBGLJE]

The ability of these players to play any kind of music and do it flawlessly is amazing, such as the band on "American Idol".

[santucci218]

Originally Posted by Jason Hollar

There's a bass player here from Pittsburgh named Steve Palko who ran off and joined the circus! He's a nice guy -- I met him before he split. Now I'm playing some of his gigs while he's on the road!

Just reviving an old thread to point this out, haha. I took lessons with Steve Palko for about 2 years. Man did he know his stuff. His playing is really top notch, so check him out if you have the chance!

[Joe Gress]

Originally Posted by JAUQO III-X

That's our (me and willgroove2) good friend Mike T. Brown. Avery talented bassist and good guy all around.


Here's a clip of him with his Washburn Bootsy bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMPAGVvjNWU


And his fretless is a Lakland 55-02

So is there any bassist with massive chops that you don't know?

[JAUQO III-X]

Originally Posted by joeinsprings

So is there any bassist with massive chops that you don't know?

Of course but Mike Brown just happens to be one of my close friends.


I went to see the circus back in November and the band was one of the best bands Ive heard in a very long time.

[Joe Gress]

Hehe, I was just kidding. But your widespread knowledge and acquaintances throughout the music community amazes me.


I also would go ahead and say that pit orchestras are some of the tightest and most musically talented groups of musicians out there. Most of the time I don't even watch plays and shows. I watch and listen to the music.

[JAUQO III-X]

Originally Posted by joeinsprings

Hehe, I was just kidding. But your widespread knowledge and acquaintances throughout the music community amazes me.

I knew you were.

[wazoppi]

I saw the blue man group and their bassist gave me his pick!

It disappeared though...