What's Your Story?

[Samthebassist]

ok i wanna know

A) why you chose to play bass (or how it chose you!)
B)How Long You've Been Playing
and
C) What's Your Story/HIstory (your greatest moments, favorite moments, what you love about the instrument, etc.)

I luv reading about how other people got into bass and what their philosophies on it are.

A) It almost chose me....My orchestra teacher in 6th grade announced to the class that there would not be a bassist for next year (the start of Jr. High). I asked, would i have to buy a bass? (knowing that my family just bought a violin for me) She replied with ....no, there will be a bass for you to use!...and i was sold...i was like..sure i'll do it! then i started my training..making flash cards to learn a whole new clef and practicing with her after school. I practiced over the summer, then the next school year rolled around..and i had 2 re-learn a few things..but i picked up on it quite fast. Since then i've been a bassist, not just a bass player. (the only time i played my violin, was for ren-fest. Since they didnt have basses back then i had 2 switch over 2 violin for a few months, on top of bass)

B) I've been playing violin for 5 years...but i've kinda stopped. Cello for....1 year (sorta). Guitar..just you know here and there messin around for....about 5 years (wouldnt call myself a guitarist)
But bass i've been playing for 4 years, bass guitar for about a year, but it feels like i was born to play this instrument, and like i've been playing forever. But out of all those instruments, Bass is deffinently #1, and unless i get into a horrid crippling accident, i'll never give it up

C)My story...well #1 kinda covered most of that..but some of my greatest and most memorable moments have been goin on tour with orch. and playing gigs with friends, or just jamming at a music store. I have the time of my life playing bass, and i wouldnt trade it for the world.

[fourstringdrums]

I'm a drummer but I've been playing bass off and on since 2001. I picked it up after I gave the drums a year off for various reasons. I've quit bass completely and come back a few times for various reasons, the most recent being health related (CTS), but I'm back to stay. Every time I go away from it I just miss it too much.

I first got interested in bass when I was about 10 years old. I really wanted to play drums, but that wasn't going to work out at the time, so I got put on bass instead. It only lasted a summer but it was enough where I knew that if I was to ever pick up another instrument or do something other than drums it would be bass.

I'm just a homebody amateur so I have no great moments to speak of

[ErebusBass]

I started off playing the drums. Snare when I was 9 in the school band, got my first set when I was 12. I've always had a good sense of rhythm and have always enjoyed playing the drums, but it wasn't what I was looking for. Then I saw the bass. I got my first when I was 13 and fell in love right away. I've been playing bass for almost six years now.

My favorite moments include every time I've finished writing a song with the band I've been with for a couple years now, and my first show (I've had others, but none quite compare to that first time getting onstage and making people move).

[Arsenal_Fierce]

A) I have a pretty sketchy and sporadic music history, which I finally pegged as a reaction to never getting the instrument I wanted. In 5th grade I wanted to play flute: Band Director, "Oh, your mouth is shaped wrong, play clarinet." I ended up quitting after a year (which later on I regretted because I was actually pretty good at it). In 8th grade I wanted to play electric guitar: Mom, "Here, have an acoustic, it's cheaper." That, combined with an odd and inexplicable resentment towards my instructor, ended my guitar days.

I played classical guitar for a year as a high school elective until senioritis set in. My interest in bass came during college; I had always been more comfortable playing individual notes on the guitar than chords (which is probably why I preferred classical to my previous lessons), so I thought it would be a good fit for me, plus I love the low sexy thump of a p-bass. I talked to a guitarist friend who said, "oh, your hands are too small, play guitar," and bought me a Squier Bullet. I futzed with it a bit but ultimately abandoned that too.

While living in Japan I toyed around with the idea of playing piano and bought an inexpensive keyboard, but my mind kept wandering back to bass. I finally decided that I would pick it up once I moved back to the States, and one of the first things I did after returning was buy a bass and amp from a friend of mine who gave me a great deal. It's a short scale, but according to UPS tracking my p-bass special should arrive tomorrow

B) I haven't been playing that long, and for a few months a wicked combo of hellish commuting and insomia left me too wiped to do much practicing, but now I make a point of playing for at least a little while each day.

C) I think I've exceeded my story allotment in A.

[DudeistMonk]

A)

In 5th grade I wanted to play flute:

ROFL, same here, I thought "hey look at this little thing, it sounds smooth and mellow (compared to like a sax) and its so easy to carry I could take it anywhere ext. I was the only boy in the whole flute class, I lost interested as soon as I found out it was shameful to play flute...I played the rhythms but the same note over and over until the teacher suggested to my mother that I quit.

I never touched a musical instrument again until 16 when I was bored at Grandmas and my cousin had his newly acquired squire bass and the ability to play 3 songs, I learned how to play that day and bought my own bass a week or two later. From there on he embraced punk and played with bands and whatnot, I played in the school bands and developed reading ability but hit a wall after HS because my musical taste at the time Dream Theater, TOOL, RATM ext. was too hard to write for. I also crapped out of private lessons in HS cause the guy never did anything but hand me scales, I had no clue how to use, or how they would help me write anything and didn't see the point so I stopped practicing.

I only occasionaly played for the next 3 or so years (and by that I mean took my bass out of the case made sure I could still play a few riffs and put it back).

A year ago I signed up for a music theory course on a whim and started practicing (well taking my bass out and playing, learning a few tabs here and there) again in preparation. I also found groove that summer at 6 in the morning on a night I won't ever forget (but this isn't the time or place for that story). Took that music theory class and realized what all those scales and crap where for and how they worked and how much of a fool I had had been, started taking lessons again, practicing regularly and posting here.

The End/Beginning

[Ampeg SVT]

A)I initially chose to play bass because i thought it looked cool, i know lame reason? I eventually started listening to music like Franz Ferdinand and the basslines started getting me interested. This is three and a half years ago.

B)I have played bass for 3 and a half years, a month ago i decided to play guitar so i did so, completely abandoning bass. It was a short lived decision, just yesterday i sold my XXX halfstack and bought a Warwick Corvette. I still have a Jackson Dinky for creating ideas and tooling around.

C)I think my greatest moment was when i finally got into a band, finally three and a half years of hard work would be put good use. I think my favorite moment was playing my first show, it may have been terrible but it felt just right. I love bass it just fits me, im a very quiet and shy person so i tend to be in the shadow of everyone else except the drummer. I do find that i play a little more complex riffs on bass since i played guitar. However i love slapping it just lets me channel my anger through it.
Bass is a part of me, i can never stop playing.

[mikeypbass]

15 Year Old's Story:

A) Bass definately chose me here. In 6th grade a buddy and i saw someone playing bass and guitar for the highschool's jazz band and we were like, whoah thats cool, so we rock paper scissored it to see who would play bass for the middle school, and it was me. I already had come from a background of guitar and drums a couple years back. After switching to bass, it's been much more rewarding than guitar or drums.

B) Playing since 6th, seriously since 7th, so that puts me at 3-4 years ish

C) My greatest moments were making it into SE Districts Jazz Band last year (I was the first in my town to get in), graduating to an upright, and then 3 weeks later being asked to sit in with my teacher and a local jazz trio for a couple songs, not the greatest of gigging pedigrees but, hey, it's been great.

[Dogbertday]

I chose bass because in 4th grade my dad convinced me that it was to coolest instrument to pick up... also that everyone needs a bass player.

I've been playing since then (i was 9) and I am not coming up on 11 years (almost 20)

I don't really have a story I've just always known that this is what I was meant to do. I've gotten plenty of people not understanding that playing is something you can do for a living. Everything from family and family of friends who think I'm going to just end up playing in bars with cover bands for the rest of my life and also be an asst. manager at a fast food joint. (no shame in that btw).. to band mates who don't understand that by making a living playing i mean I have to play with more than one group and also play non commitment gigs in many styles. It's this constant challenging that keeps me going.

[dela217]

It all started for me back in high school (1975 or 1976) when some friends had a band. I played guitar at the time, but they asked me to come over to play bass because no one else would. One of the guys in the band had a P copy bass that I played. I thought it was pretty cool. But that is not what really set the hook. I still considered myself as a guitar player. Then one day we went to a music store to check out some gear. There was an Alembic bass in the store that someone ordered but didn't pick up yet. I asked if I could try it out, and they let me. THAT was it. I was ruined. I HAD to play bass and it HAD to be an Alembic. I guess that is why to this very day I have never owned a Fender, a bass with a bolt on neck, or any type of instrument like that. I am sure they are nice, but not for me.

My most memorable moment came in 2004. I was playing with a country artist and was hired to do a particular concert. I picked up the CD and started learning all her songs. I locked myself up in my music room and just absorbed that stuff because I really wanted to do a good job. I really didn't think anyone else was listening in the house, or even cared for that matter. When I went to do the concert, I went with my wife and my 7 year old son. They got comp tickets and were close to the front row. While we were playing, I looked out at my son and he was singing along with the words. That to me was the best ever!!!!

[ryco]

A) Started in public grade school. Wanted to play drums, but there were too many drummers. Orchestra needed a bass player and I thought "McCartney plays bass and he's got a cool job with good mates". I also loved listening to DB in Big Bands, esp Chubby Jackson with Woody Herman.

B) 43 years.


C) Started playing DB in grade school orchestra 4th grade, age 9, '65
Acquired first BG in 6th grade — into rock, pop, soul in the '60s, age 11, '67

Quit DB in jr hi, 8th grade, age 13, '69 — band teacher encouraged me to quit (not orch teacher)
1st rock band in 9th grade, age 14, '70 — church dances, basement parties - Who, Kinks, Cream, Beatles, Stones, Hendrix

Joined Jazz Choir in hi school, 10th grade, age 15, '71-'74 — bebop, swing charts, pop - won many competitions
Private lessons with a couple of Jazz guitarists. Taught me how to play through chord changes and read charts.
Added Jazz Band, 11th grade, age 16, '72-'74— big band charts
Joined first pro rock band - union - bandhouse - hi school dances all over WA state - Doobies, Allman Bros, Satana, Who, Deep Purple, Zep, Stones

Worked straight jobs, trade school, independent bands '74 - '77

College CWU = Jazz Band, Jazz Chior = started DB back up - lessons, Theory I - II, combos age 21, '77
Dropped out '79. Quit DB

T-40 bands '80-'85 - Seattle - Rock, Pop, Wave, Soul, R&B, Blues - WA, OR, AK, MT, BC, AB
Original bands '85-'96 Seattle

Now semi retired - do some pick up gigs. Moved out of WA metro area to the OR coast '96; cover band '96-'97, original hard rock band '98 -'01,
original rock/jazz fusion '98-'05, summer/fall jazz trio '96-present

Lots of great moments opening for some nationals, writing songs and hearing 'em on the local radio.
Good times, good friends, many adventures.
My philosophy is work hard, play hard, have fun.
Take care of yourself, take care of your loved ones, take care of business, take time to rest.

Keep an open mind. Promote the hell out of yourself and your project.

[scottbass]

(A) Got my first real six string. Bought it at the five and dime. Played it 'til my fingers bled. It was the summer of '69...Actually my first 6-string was used (for $10), bought it in the summer of '65. Saved up lots of money from mowing lawns all next summer ('66) to buy a REAL GOOD BRAND NEW AIRLINE (Montgomery Ward) arch-top f-hole 6-string for $26. Took the top two strings off the old crummy six string to turn it into a bass - well, kinda. Ended up playing more and more "bass" and less and less 6-string, which corresponded with listening to more and more Beatles music and hearing those fantastic McCartney bass lines. Quit playing six-string all together in '69 at the ripe old age of 14. Got a crummy (but real) bass, formed a garage band, made some real money, bought a used P bass, the rest is history - well, my history.

(B) Uh, 42 years, if you count my first pseudo-bass.

(C) The best moments are the collaborations with other skilled musicians I have had over the years - some famous, some not. Especially when those collaborations happened in front of large, appreciative crowds. I'm not gonna brag or drop names unless you buy me a beer.

[Ric5]

As a kid when I would find a piano I always liked the "elephant keys" aka the low notes. Then in the late 60s my older brother was starting a band. He was playing drums, he had a friend who played guitar and they asked me to play bass. I said Yes I will join the band and then I asked what is a bass?

Well my first bass was a 6 string guitar with 2 strings missing and strung with big fat flatwound strings. then finally I got a Hofner copy. When I finally learned to play my brothers garage band no longer existed.

I went on to become a pretty good bass player and I also realized that the music business was not a good career. So I became an architect.

Well through the years I have played in many bands and with many different styles. Sometimes I have been very active and sometimes I took several years off.

Now I am over 50 and I am a better player than I was in my youth. I am not sure how long I will keep playing. But I am still having fun. I am glad I got a good day job.

[Gubna]

A) why you chose to play bass (or how it chose you!)
The first musical instrument I probably played was my grandfathers' grand piano. I used to play it while they were in the other room and making dinner. My family would always tell me it sounded good, and encouraged me. When I was a teenager, I used to play with a tennis racket, and pretend to rock out. Eventually, as I got older, I wanted to play guitar. I found a guitar teacher who went with my mom and I to some little music store in Bernal Heights in San Francisco and picked out an acoustic guitar (yeah, still have it - see sig file). I took lessons for a couple years but being in high school and not exactly into what the teacher was teaching me - and not having an electric guitar - I wasn't really into it. In my final year of high school, I had thought of switching to bass. I'm not even sure why, other than there were less strings, and I think that I thought the bass was cool - both in sound and in some of the funk music I grew up on. So, I saved some money, and my mom and my aunt and uncle matched it - I was able to get my first bass (Dec 1989). I pretty much stopped taking guitar lessons and just played alot on my own. Eventually I got together with other musicians and I realized that was the way to get better - to play with others. I think I had my first jam session with a full band in early '90. In fact, I have a link to one of the tracks right here: Red Slime.

which eventually led to my first band in 1991.

B)How Long You've Been Playing
Damn, has it really been over 20 years? Started on guitar in late 1987, bass in late 1989.

and
C) What's Your Story/HIstory (your greatest moments, favorite moments, what you love about the instrument, etc.)

There have been alot of momments. I've been in 7 or 8 bands...
Obscurity 1991-1992 7 gigs; First gig, we opened for the Mentors (google them), later Fates Warning - a metal band, and then Heathen. We played with Skitzo, who had a lead signer who could projectile vomit ON COMMAND (who ended up on the Jerry Springer show).
Abhorrance- 1993 - one gig. Basically I learned the songs over two months to play one gig. I was filling in for the bass player who had not only quit the band to join another (who ended up playing the same show), but then quit that band just before the gig. They wanted to beat his ass. The music was death metal (before they called it BLACK METAL), and we opened for a band called Death. All I can remember was that I couldn't hear myself, and the songs were so fast and had so many riffs, that when I messed up on the song, it didn't matter because I was already messing up the next riff. (at least one song had 11 riffs, and only a few of them repeated more than once - really, what's the point?) But as I was playing on stage (which made us all look like rockstars), all I could think about was, thank god I only have to play this stuff for a few more minutes! Despite messing up on every song, so many people told me I was great after the set! I thought that was pretty funny.

Random Eye 1994-1997
(I played a homeless guy on an intro to a song on our CD... Hey man, you gotta quarter?...) Oh, and we opened for a sold out show at the Edge in Palo Alto for Gary Hoey. We kicked ass, and their supporting act was not happy about it.


Left Out Lamont 1998-2002 - too many moments to list here, but at our first gig, we had a woman go topless right in front of us (this was at a little bar in the Canary near Fisherman's Wharf in SF). She danced for a bit for us before her husband came to get her, and I thought, THIS IS GREAT, THIS IS JUST OUR FIRST SHOW!!
Then there was the time, when we were recording, and the engineer left his keys to the studio at home, and we sat around the place all day (the same building wherehoused our rehearsal space) and got drunk! Well, I got drunk. And since we had a video camera, it's all on tape. hilarious.
We played alot of collages, including Fresno State. In fact, the Fresno State Kappa Sigma frat made us honorary members. Several road trips.

Once we were on our way to the Monterey Rock Festival and our van broke down. Fortunately, another friends band was passing by and stopped to help. They gave the drummer some AAA miles and we got towed, but the singer had to go ahead and go with them all the way to the gig - while we took the gear back to SF. And one time, we broke down in Lodi - (see Creedence Clearwater Revival song: Stuck in Lodi)

Another time, we drove 100 miles to a gig, and they said, "what, you're not playing tonight". That sucked.

Then there was this time when we played a battle of the bands, and actually won! Back then, my drummer and I had and agreement with the singer - that we'd handle the gear, and he'd handle people, dealings with stuff, mailing list, getting the money, etc. He was the spokesperson. Anyway, he had gone to get the van, and they announce that we won, and I have to go up in front of the audience and say thanks. (btw, if you're listening out there Fresno State - we still want our plaque!)

(my drummer's reaction to us winning)

Oh yeah, then there was the time our singer says that we're playing up in Sacramento (90 mins from SF), but when we got on the road, and he busted out the directions, not only was it not in Sacramento, it wasn't even in the Sacramento valley. It was in some hills west of Maxwell - which is a really small town. We just kept driving, and finally got there. It was at a reservoir. Prior to playing, the drummer had to use the porto-potty, but it had been there several days, and piled up quite a bit - he had to get a rock and some tp to push it down so he could use it. Then, during the first song, BAM! he busts his hand open on one of his cymbals and there is blood everywhere.


And, one of the best memories was a UC Davis freshman initiation party. They blindfolded them, and told them they were breaking into a UC building to get something.
It was just a barn with us about to rock. So they got them all in there and had em take off their blindfolds.
Then we rocked.

I also threw my back out twice during gigs, and once had a bass cabinet dropped on my foot, which may or may not have broken some bones.

and, on a personal note...The women. The friends. The women. oh, the women.

[MrBorisSpider]

A) I always wanted to play bass, for some reason. Guitar has never really appealed to me. I also once played tromobone for a year when I was 12, so maybe there's my bass-attraction there.
B) Since April of 2007.
and
C) My favourite moment has probably been transcribing my first few songs back in December/January (U2 songs like New Year's Day). I felt enormously proud (although as I go back, I did miss stuff which I can hear now).

[mikethecannibal]

I always wanted to play bass, mostly because everyone else was playing guitar and i thought id get noticed if i played bass

since id say last september or so

favorite moment was when i learned hoe to play caught in a mosh's opening bass line, i always thought that was like really hard in... yes... guitar hero... but now that i can play it in real life i feel relativley cool lol

[Anthbass]

A). I didn't choose to play bass, it was chosen for me. My parents were both amateur musicians who wanted to start a 'family band' when I was 10 or so. My dad bought me a P copy and I started listening to the bass lines on Johnny Cash records (initially, I didn't know what a bass actually sounded like). The whole damn thing sprang from rather inauspicious roots.
B). I've been playing for approximately 20 years. I still have good days and bad days.
C). I played with some memorable bands during first time go round with university and even though I loathed playing in the 'family band' at the time, I can appreciate it more now. I think the best is yet to come.

[lamonica78]

Fun topic! Just to toot my own horn for a bit....today is my 30th birthday and I have now been playing bass for 11 years! On to the questions:

A) why you chose to play bass (or how it chose you!)

Well, I started out playing alto sax in the 5th grade and played all the way through college. I had always been drawn to bass though (grew up with an older brother who got me into Floyd, Zep, Rush, etc at an early age when most kids were listening to Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer, haha)

Anyway, I always wanted to play the bass, but I thought I was too old to pick up a new instrument. After my senior year of high school, I started dating a girl who had a younger brother that played bass. He let me mess around with his and I finally decided to pick up a Squier to get myself started in 1997.

B)How Long You've Been Playing

Like I said above, I bought a cheap Squier p-bass on June 18, 1997 with some birthday cash....11 years later I have since upgraded to Spector and Pedulla

C) What's Your Story/HIstory (your greatest moments, favorite moments, what you love about the instrument, etc.)

I spent a lot of time playing with some friends in college and just getting the fundamentals down. I already had the musical background from sax, so it came pretty naturally. I played in my first rock band after college until 2 years ago. That band fell apart, but I have been playing in a philly-based band for the last year and a half and we have been gaining a lot of notoriety. My proudest moments as a musician both came this year when we were selected to perform in an annual "Best of" showcase on the main stage at World Cafe Live in January and in April when we sold out the Tin Angel, a legendary listening room in Philly.

What I love about the instrument.....I don't know how to really describe it. I've always just naturally zoned in to the basslines of my favorite songs growing up and just loved the sound.

[ryco]

^^ Happy Birthday!!

[lamonica78]

Originally Posted by ryco

^^ Happy Birthday!!

Thank you!

[secombs]

A) My dad played bass so he taught me the basics at an early age. I just thought it was a cool instrument to play.

B) about 15 years

C) The bass just 'feels' right to me. I like the way it involves both rythm and harmony and ties it all together. I like being the foundation of a band and that small nuances can make a big effect on the overall sound. It somehow fits with my personality.