Country Bassist Club

[Roadkill]

I only play one: "Before He Cheats" . But I'm trying to put together a country project . Does that get me in ?

[AuBassMan]

I'm in! I used to play in rock bands back in the day, had to take a long break (20+ yrs) to raise a family. When I got back into playing in a band a couple years ago I wanted to play country. Man! It's been great fun...good crowds that like to dance and party!!

I enjoy playing pretty much everything from the old stuff to the new...But I guess I like to play Today I Started Loving You Again, When You say Nothing At All, and Good Hearted Woman, since I do the lead vocals on those.

[tekdiver500ft]

I sing Willie's part on Good Hearted Woman while our usual lead singer does Wayland's part. I love singing harmonies!

[AuBassMan]

On that song I do Waylan and the LS/acoustic does the Willie part. We make a big deal of it...we start the song and he says something like Oh, can I do the Willie part...and I go well you have to be able to get that Willie sound with your voice...so he takes his capo and clamps it on his nose....one time he clamped it to...well lets say a good bit lower than his nose!!! And hit some high notes, then put it back on his nose. Had me cracking up so bad I had a hard time singing the first verse!

[Yesplz]

I love playing Hillbilly Shoes by Mong Gentry. Can I get a number please

[BayStateBass]

Okay, new numbers;

mongo2 #00
BayStateBass #1
heynorm #2
bassbully #3
lfmn16 #4
tomydacat #5
Tx Basser #6
Bert Slide #7
Nate74 #8
Mr-Wunderful #9
Hammertime3 #10
Lazylion #11
coop #12
Fish and teach #13
jazzbill #14
el_tee #15
seanm #16
Marty Forrer #17
Rockin Mike #18
pedulla-2007 #19
RadioBob #20
denton57 #21
Texan #22
blueflamerick #23
Synthax #24
Johnny Crab #25
jj4001 #26
bootsox #27
calfroper #28
Russell L #29
kjpollo #30
Marial #31
Downlowd #32
etoncrow #33
rnarrington1 #34
tekdiver500ft #35
wyatt #36
dlb1001 #37
domdec314 #38
dancedad5678 #39
rodl2005 #40
templar0707 #41
shadven #42
SpecialBlender #43
davedblyoo #44
OHBandit #45
Roadkill #46
AuBassMan #47
Yesplz #48


Wow, cool.

Nice to see so many that like this type of music.

Tonight I've been working on Jason Aldean's "Hicktown", along with going over some of our standards like "Mama Tried", "Good Hearted Woman", "Silver Wings", "Fast As You", and Marty Stuart's "Hillbilly Rock".


Thanks for coming aboard!

[shadven]

Originally Posted by BayStateBass

Okay, new numbers;

Tonight I've been working on Jason Aldean's "Hicktown", along with going over some of our standards like "Mama Tried", "Good Hearted Woman", "Silver Wings", "Fast As You", and Marty Stuart's "Hillbilly Rock".

I saw Marty Stuart a couple weeks ago and got to meet him. Great show, crazy tele! My band plays "Mama Tried", "Silver Wings", "Fast As You" and the crowd favorite "Good Hearted Woman". Great song choices!

[seanm]

Originally Posted by BayStateBass

I came out of a blues/rock/classic rock background before doing this.

After I was hired, our frontman at the time pulled me aside by the second practice and said he had to talk to me. He had been fronting country bands for the better part of 35 years.

He explained how "country" works. And it went kinda like this;

"Listen, I know you're a 'rock star' and all, but this isn't like what you've done before. Country music is simple music with a lot of feel that focuses on the vocals and the story of the song. Back down the volume, simplify the basslines, and listen to what else is going on. It's not about how much you play, but how you play what is needed."

Good advice. It's all about the vocals. My jobs was to make the vocals sound better. The bass can really fill out the vocals.

For example, have the bass not play the intro and come in with the lead vocals. It makes the vocals seem big.

[dlb1001]

All good advice.
Another genre of country that doesn't get too much airplay is western swing. One of the my favorite bands are the Timejumpers...Dawn Sears can really sing! Glad to hear that they are still getting noticed, beyond the Nashville area. They played in the SF area, over the summer, at a bluegrass festival.

[tomydacat]

Just saw somethign on Facebook with the Timejumpers and they ROCKKKKK

[Roadkill]

So, what are yous guys wearin' for hats?

[Roadkill]

Anybody playing rounds or are flats mandatory for Country?

[tekdiver500ft]

I wear Western hats (Resistol 10x beaver & Stetson straw), but I do that anyway, even in rock bands.

I use flats exclusively, but the bassists in the bands for whom I engineer all use rounds. One of them uses a Warwick & cops a mean Entwistle tone.

[Session1969]

Aimee, Pure Prairie League. Love playing that song !

[BayStateBass]

Originally Posted by Roadkill

Anybody playing rounds or are flats mandatory for Country?

I was playing flats and it was okay, but I recently went back to coated rounds. I have string ADD, really. Can't stay with one set or type for some reason.

Honestly, I'd say flats are a better general fit for most of the music.

I would, however, recommend a 5 string bass if you are playing modern country.

[MikeBass]

I'm in!!
And yeah, a 5 for the more modern country for sure- or in my case a HipShot D-Tuner with the Double Stop lever on my Sadowsky WL4.

[Bobby Bass]

I guess I should jump in here too. Playing Country Music since 1990 & playing bass since 1964. Fender P-Bass & Jazz Bass. Ampeg bass amp & GK 1001 amp & 410 cab. Now in a Classic Country Band. Nothing newer than about 1980's. George Jones, Hank Williams Senior, Gene Watson, Marty Robbins. The older side of Country. How about some Merle Haggard, That's the way love goes. Number please.
Photo is about one year ago photo. I've lost 50 lbs. since then. Still don't have much hair but added a full beard.

[BayStateBass]

Numbers to come soon!

Thanks!!!!

[Alexander]

Count me in - we play kicked up old country, southern rock and blues. I love playing Georgia on a Fast Train, Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way?, Jackson, Everybody's Talkin at Me, This Ol Cowboy, 1000 Miles From Nowhere, My Wife Thinks You're Dead, etc. we mix that up with lots of Allman Brothers, some Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi and some old blues. And stir to taste!

[calfroper]

I wear a black Stetson cowboy hat. I am currently using flats.