Where's the Bassist?

CerealKiller · #1 10-29-2011, 10:18 PM

So the wife & I are watching Steve Miller Band on Austin City Limits....

Sounds good, then the wife goes.....where's the bassist? I'm puzzled for a few seconds. I hear the bassist, but don't see the bassist. I know we generally don't get any love, but damn......LOL.

Stick_Player · #2 10-29-2011, 10:39 PM

The keyboard player is playing bass (left hand) - at least on the videos I've seen/heard.

CerealKiller · #3 10-30-2011, 10:24 AM

Yeah, they announced it at the end. Guess I really wasn't paying attention.

Stinsok · #4 10-30-2011, 10:27 AM

I saw that. Could have had a singing bassist and got rid of the backup singer dude.

CerealKiller · #5 10-30-2011, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stinsok

I saw that. Could have had a singing bassist and got rid of the backup singer dude.

I know! We were kind of joking on his moves.

Bufalo · #6 10-30-2011, 04:24 PM

At one point there was a guy playing a MM, but the rest was keyboard that I saw.

ian_s · #7 11-02-2011, 02:48 PM

If Joe Wooten is still playing keys for them, then there's your bass player: Vic's brother.

lowfreq33 · #8 11-02-2011, 02:59 PM

I saw them several years ago, Joe was on keys but they did have a bassist. Not sure why they'd go without one, it's not like Steve has budget issues.

Johnpjm · #9 11-03-2011, 08:11 AM

Ah, bass players. Always shoved down by the rest of the band...

Anyone want to start a bass revolution?

cableguy · #10 11-03-2011, 08:29 AM

Just watched a live Bon Jovi show on Netflix with my wife. I noticed in the opening credits, no bass player. You could hear bass in the concert, every now in then you could even see the bass headstock. For some reason they refused to show the bassist. I don't know why, but after one song I had enough and shut it off. What's the deal with that jon?

jaywa · #11 11-03-2011, 08:41 AM

The bass player for Bon Jovi is Hugh McDonald who has a long history with them including, IIRC, recording the bass tracks on some of their biggest hits while Alec Jon Such was still a member of the band.

For some reason Jon Bon Jovi has always had issues with bass players. He fired Alec Jon Such and since then McDonald has played bass on their tours while never being credited as an official member of the band (or I presume, sharing in any of the royalties). McDonald gets to tour the world first class and I'm sure make a nice living while still being able to play and record with others when Bon Jovi is off the road, so apparently it's a trade-off he's OK with.

The Rolling Stones roll much the same way with Daryl Jones.

NWB · #12 11-03-2011, 01:16 PM

Well, that surprising to me.

I saw SMB on PBS last hear and he had a killer bass player. Guy was using a Lakland 55-02 and got a solid and long solo.

Fuff24 · #13 11-03-2011, 01:18 PM

yeah, I noticed the lack of a bassist when I saw steve last year. The MM on abracadabra sounded amazing though.

cableguy · #14 11-03-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

For some reason Jon Bon Jovi has always had issues with bass players. He fired Alec Jon Such and since then McDonald has played bass on their tours while never being credited as an official member of the band (or I presume, sharing in any of the royalties). McDonald gets to tour the world first class and I'm sure make a nice living while still being able to play and record with others when Bon Jovi is off the road, so apparently it's a trade-off he's OK with.

I get the credits and royalties part. But to make sure he's not in any of the concert footage just seems crazy. I'm sure he gets paid well for it and a lot of bassist would take that gig. Just seems strange to me.

BassAlchemy · #15 11-03-2011, 01:40 PM

Its so typical. Unless the bass player is the lead singer there is no love for us that glue the music together. I have noticed this in the Who and Rolling Stones concert DVDs. Its a shame but I dont mind.

hrodbert696 · #16 11-03-2011, 03:10 PM

Not to jump on a boo-hoo-poor-us bandwagon, but it really hit me watching Yes' Live at Montreux video. Chris Squire is not only one of the greatest bass guitarists ever, but he's also a founding member of the band, the principal backing vocalist, and the only guy who has been with Yes in its every incarnation. Whole songs went by with not one cut on him, and certainly nothing highlighting him, until finally they got to Schindleria Praematurus about 2/3 through and the director or editor was suddenly forced to acknowledge that the band has a bass player. Long long sections of closeups on Steve Howe's fretboard though.

The irony is that Squire is the most active person onstage in the whole band, except possibly Jon Anderson - he's jumping and twirling and mugging at the audience and generally hamming it up and having a great time. But the cameras barely ever bother to shoot it. It's largely a matter of the director and editor, though. The Songs from Tsongas DVD is much more balanced.

jaywa · #17 11-03-2011, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrodbert696

Not to jump on a boo-hoo-poor-us bandwagon, but it really hit me watching Yes' Live at Montreux video. Chris Squire is not only one of the greatest bass guitarists ever, but he's also a founding member of the band, the principal backing vocalist, and the only guy who has been with Yes in its every incarnation. Whole songs went by with not one cut on him, and certainly nothing highlighting him, until finally they got to Schindleria Praematurus about 2/3 through and the director or editor was suddenly forced to acknowledge that the band has a bass player. Long long sections of closeups on Steve Howe's fretboard though.

The irony is that Squire is the most active person onstage in the whole band, except possibly Jon Anderson - he's jumping and twirling and mugging at the audience and generally hamming it up and having a great time. But the cameras barely ever bother to shoot it.

This surprises me a great deal. For all the reasons you stated, Chris Squire exerts a tremedous amount of influence over the direction of Yes, on both the creative and the business sides. I find it hard to believe that anything that unbalanced would have gotten his seal of approval.

Unless he really and truly doesn't care about face time on a DVD and just told the producer and editor to do their thing. I mean, if it came down to being seen and not heard on a DVD or vice versa, I would always choose to be heard first. It may also be that the failure was in the filming, i.e., the cameramen were not directed to shoot a lot of footage of Squire and so when it came time to cut it together there simply wasn't much to work with.

Blueszilla · #18 11-03-2011, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NWB

Well, that surprising to me.

I saw SMB on PBS last hear and he had a killer bass player. Guy was using a Lakland 55-02 and got a solid and long solo.

Was that Billy Peterson?

NWB · #19 11-03-2011, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueszilla

Was that Billy Peterson?

Don't know. I wish I did though. The guy had some serious chops.

It was a long solo and the camera was right on him the whole time.

AltGrendel · #20 11-03-2011, 04:17 PM

On the Yes DVD:

Check the credits, I seem to remember something about Howes brother is the editor.

Edit: It may be his brother-in-law.