Cover Band Bass Players, Dont you hate it when.........

[Makatak]

The lead singer jumps straight in with the vocals before you can even blink , even if the actual song has an 8 bar intro without vocals for example ..... so much for building the groove , its all about THEM isnt it . My gripe for the day lol .

[fraublugher]

How do you know when a vocalist is at your door?
They don't know when to come in.
[olde]

[Vakmere]

He'll calm down in 20 years...

[baileyboy]

Originally Posted by Makatak

The lead singer jumps straight in with the vocals before you can even blink , even if the actual song has an 8 bar intro withput vocals for example ..... so much for building the groove , its all about THEM isnt it . My gripe for the day lol .

I hear ya, brother. I play with a band that is all about improvising, so I have to be on my toes. They go from verse to chorus to bridge at will, often disregarding the original structure of the tune. It's all good, though.

[bucephylus]

As one or two time events, I just laugh about that kind of thing. Doesn't bother me at all. Seen just about everything by now. And, I think it makes for good camaraderie to get to where the band members can laugh among themselves when something unplanned happens.

If one of the band members is chronically doing something that is detracting from the band's effectiveness, I first and foremost say zero about it at the gig, and second discuss the point at rehearsal until the issue is addressed.

Guess I try to be mainly easy going, but there are non-negotiable points. Walk softly, carry big stick.

[Bassman7PM]

Next time he does it the whole band should stop playing adn tell him to do the intro like it was rehearsed. More embarassment will be heaped upon him as the frontman than the entire band. Bet he won't jump the gun again.

[DWBass]

Originally Posted by Makatak

The lead singer jumps straight in with the vocals before you can even blink , even if the actual song has an 8 bar intro withput vocals for example ..... so much for building the groove , its all about THEM isnt it . My gripe for the day lol .

Yep! Happened last night during rehearsal! Had to tell him to let the song simmer a bit before jumping in!

[viper4000]

Every now and then is okay. We all have our moments during a gig. I think it shows how good you and your band mates are to be able to account for it, and keep the song going. It's called "listening" and you can never be too good at it.

If it's habitual, then you should really address it at rehearsal, not during the gig.

[Howlin' Hanson]

I hate it when he's LATE. Because it's me.

[Makatak]

Yeah generally we [ the band ] , just look at each other and roll our eyes and have a little chuckle .
Singers , they`re not like us humans.............

[mellowinman]

I have never had this happen.

[BassAgent]

I don't care. When playing live, he (or she in my case) is boss. If she wants to sing another chorus instead of a keys solo, or do a verse twice, we'll do it. If you refuse, everybody will hear it, and if you screw up the form with the whole band (including vocals), people will probably think of it as an "arrangement". We've done this a couple of times, also on purpose. Nobody in the audience noticed.

[tekdiver500ft]

Originally Posted by BassAgent

I don't care. When playing live, he (or she in my case) is boss. If she wants to sing another chorus instead of a keys solo, or do a verse twice, we'll do it. If you refuse, everybody will hear it, and if you screw up the form with the whole band (including vocals), people will probably think of it as an "arrangement". We've done this a couple of times, also on purpose. Nobody in the audience noticed.

Exactly. Prima Donna or not, the singer is the band as far as the audience is concerned. You have to stick together and make it work. If it's an issue, bring it up at rehearsal, but be prepared for it to continue. The singer goes with the "feel" of the song, and the reactions of the audience, and makes it work for the best show possible. We even practice this in my band at every rehearsal. When we run through the songs we got down the previous week, we tell him to abbreviate any way he feels, just hitting the high points and/or trouble spots. We usually wind up with the opening, one verse, one chorus, closing, but it varies.

[JohnMCA72]

Sometimes that works better. If every song has an 8-bar intro, maybe they start all sounding the same. It might have been an attempt to mix it up a little & try something different. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The only way to know for sure is to try.

[dmusic148]

Originally Posted by fraublugher

How do you know when a vocalist is at your door?
They don't know when to come in.

...and can't find the key.

[tekdiver500ft]

Regarding the vocalist bashing: can YOU do better? (Yes, I sing, even while playing bass, which is why I'm one of the vocalists in my band.) Sure, you can keep your bass in tune. Easy to do when you have outside tools to do so, and there are frets there to keep you in tune (maybe not the right key - you do still have to know what notes to fret).

While it is one of the most natural things to do, singing well is amazingly difficult, and is the hardest instrument to master, which is why we idolize great singers. The bashing comes off as jealousy (which it is), and is hurtful without being helpful.

[nortonrider]

if you want it to get better...........
tell him about it - not us.

[JonahTheAmazing]

Originally Posted by fraublugher

How do you know when a vocalist is at your door?
They don't know when to come in.
[olde]

This made me laugh. I'll remember that one for my choir class.

[Makatak]

Originally Posted by nortonrider

if you want it to get better...........
tell him about it - not us.

Im surprised you even lowered yourself to REPLY to my post ......... you having a bad day mate ?? , c`mon , it was supposed to be a fun post , not a terrorist attack ! , besides , im not losing any sleep over it , im just the hired gun and play with a different lineup most weekends anway , just amuses me how many singers do it .
BTW it HAS got better , he`s not used much anymore............

[dbase]

Which is worse? Singers or Guitardists? (is that a word?)