Do Skinny Musicians have More Cred than Beefier One's???

[BrandonBass]

topic.

[elgecko]

I like turtles!

[GeneralElectric]

Not as bass players. Unless you're morbidly obese you can't hold a groove.

[MikeBass]

Carrots.

[thirtypoint87]

LOTS of carrots.

[Vincent P]

Potatoes and carrots...

[kesslari]

Nathan Watts.
/thread

[spaz21387]

zombie kid... " I Like Turtles"

[lowfreqgeek]

And the point of this thread?

[BrandonBass]

cause musicians hav been mainly stereotyped as skinny with long hair, much like how the public's image of a wrestler = huge, greasy and in spandex. And it has been like that way before the mtv period, think jimi hendrix, jaco, mozart.

not to say there are no talented musicians who are on the bigger side, think wooten. But for every 'big' famous musician you can name me, i can prolly name you 10 who are skinny.

so...opinions?

[bassben12]

a lot of incredible (well the ones that can groove like mofos at least) bass players i've seen are big guys. Nathan Watts, Anthony Jackson, Abraham Laboriel, and Victor Wooten is getting kinda honky nawaydays.

[pklima]

Hmmm.... Country musicians don't seem to be all skinny, and quite a few rappers are either fat or meaty as well. Those are the main counterexamples I can think of.

I remember running across the idea that so many rock guys with multi-decade careers are skinny and short because if they were big their knees couldn't take the pounding of running and jumping around stages, and they would have retired or faded away.

I can think of another more out-there reason why originals band guys would tend to be skinny. In the early 1990s in Germany, Marianne Hassler did a series of research studies on the hormone levels of musicians and artists (here's one abstract: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs...07459108985404), and consistently found that composers tended to have testosterone levels at the low end of the normal male range and the high end of the normal female range. So guys who are good at writing music wouldn't be expected to have a ton of muscle mass.

Or maybe it's just musicians' habit of wearing black a lot more than most people. Black is supposed to be slimming, right?

[ducknturtle]

I think the music industry tries to enforce this "aesthetic" on us and has succeeded to some extent.

[Zeb Norris]

Yes.

But only with fans who have no "cred".

[C.Linton]

Willie Dixon?

[Tampabass]

younger, skinnier
older, beefier

(yes, there are exceptions, but ...)

[Hoffman6000]

Originally Posted by ducknturtle

I think the music industry tries to enforce this "aesthetic" on us and has succeeded to some extent.

Yep. SHOULDN'T matter....but unfortunately, some artists won't hire you without that "look".... I think cred has everything to do with you "owning" who you are. If your bigger, cop an attitude while on stage, be confident with your stance, your parts, and head movements, and no one will care, they'll love you for it. I've seen bassists rooted to the floor with trenchcoats, sunglasses and cowboy hats who ROCKED without moving an inch. They OWNED not moving.

[JimB52]

Thin has more cred in almost any occupation except pro sports.

[pklima]

Eh. I've gained some 60 pounds over the past four years, and it's been a definite advantage as far as attracting attention and having a good image. I'm not sure about if people now perceive me as less artistic or a less credible musician, maybe, but I've been offered quite a few arty gigs anyway.

Originally Posted by JimB52

Thin has more cred in almost any occupation except pro sports.

And cooking. Never trust a skinny cook.

[GeneralElectric]

Originally Posted by pklima

And cooking. Never trust a skinny cook.

Why? I'm a cook and I'm skinny. Some of the best cooks I know are too.

When I worked 60 hours a week in a restaurant I lost a lot of weight. Mainly because I was too lazy to cook anything for myself when I had downtime.