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2 man bands....
- Thread starter Billybladez66
- Start date
How do you feel about 3-man-bands that don't have a bass?
Perfect the way it is. No bass needed.
Perfect the way it is. No bass needed.
Look..I love ALOT of music. I like solo performers and duets and large ensembles and have played in trios to 7 piece bands. My point is this..... ALOT of the guitar/drum duos..ill say that again like i did in the original post...guitar drum duos we see these days suck...period. I'm a fan of virtuosic playing....I like simple for a purpose, not simple because that's the extent of what I know. I definitely know the difference between taste and talent(at least I tell myself that). I'm just sick of it because...AS A PROFESSIONAL BASS PLAYER it hurts our craft. It makes s a bass player a disposable and irrelevant commodity to anyone watching who is not a bass player. I don't go looking for accolades and such when I play in a band....I just want the opportunity to get to play in the band..ya know? As a listener anyone can like that as art, music or whatever monicker you put on it. As a bass player the popularity of the simple barchord progression guitar/ drum duo is taking bass out of the mix...very much like Metallica did to Jason Newstead on And Justice For All. Anyone can like whatever for whatever reason...me...I love Rush, Mudvayne, Hadrien Ferroud, Tool, Uzeb, Jaco, Little River Band, Mel Torme, Joni Mitchell, Frank Gambale, Tribal Tech, Greg Howe, Primus,Andy McKee, Mike Stern, Earth wind and fire... The list is endless so please don't try and villify me as to what I like by comparison. Steve Swallow did a bass/piano duet many years ago on some TV show...I remember seeing it..its awesome and I love it...very tasteful. I'll ask this again for clarification, this is a BASS forum correct? as opposed to a musical taste standoff?
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This is the Miscellaneous forum on a bass site, which is for discussing all music related things not specifically bass. You specifically asked, in your first post, "Let me know what y'all think..." Then you get upset when people tell you what they think if it isn't what you want to hear.
What I think: I don't care what White Stripes, Black Keys, et. al. do as far as musicians on stage or record. I have more opportunities to play bass in various bands than I could ever have time to do. Why? Because there are 40 guitarists for every bassist, and almost all of them want a bass player. Some of them will give up looking for bass, and move forward without. Bass is my first instrument love, but the world does not revolve around the bass player. Nor does it revolve around the guitarist, drummer, singer, keyboard, etc. I hate to tell you this, but bass players ARE disposable. They aren't needed to make great music. Every instrument is disposable because great music can be made without any specific instrument. Pick any two random instruments, and great music can be made with just those two instruments.
Look, I'm not mad and I do realize that I asked for peoples opinions about the two man band...what I don't need is anyone presupposing anything about me because they don't agree. I know tastes vary more than anything as far as music goes. So please don't take me the wrong way here, and I don't take it personal. What I find really a bummer from my "bass playing brethren" so to speak is how quick everyone assumes to actually know what you are or are not about by a simple opinion, and how fast people come out to slight you, not like I really care as this is the internet after all. I asked what people thought and all of a sudden I'm being branded some close minded musical idiot because I don't like that format for specific reasons, real or made up...it doesn't even matter. I'm not upset at all people like that
..but noone is gonna try and convince me of its merit or get me to jump onboard. Everyone is trying to convey something there that I'm missing. I'm not missing anything. I like seeing Jack White when he's playing with a full band A HELLUVA LOT MORE than when he's doing the duo, because the dude has talent no question....but unfortunately ALOT of what I have seen just doesn't make me NOT want to look away.....
Funny thing is I used to listen to a lot of two piece bass/drums bands like have been pointed out above. Then I got bored with them because the complexity of the music and range of sounds is just as limited as with a guitar/drums band.
I've done duos without bass guitar, and had a full sound- One of my last gigs I played acoustic guitar with the bass control on the amp way up / or my "low guitar" (an old 12 string acoustic strung with BASS VI type strings)
I've done duos without bass guitar, and had a full sound- One of my last gigs I played acoustic guitar with the bass control on the amp way up / or my "low guitar" (an old 12 string acoustic strung with BASS VI type strings)
If the music is enjoyed it has merit, to them. The spirit of music does not care what instruments are or are not being used to communicate it. Believe it or not I've heard an acoustic guitar/flute combo knock out some pretty good classic rock. That being said, if that trend continues then yes it kind of sucks for bass players, but likely it will remain a small musical niche.
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I think this is more about an irrational fear than taste in music.
To say that an increase in guitar/drum duos is dooming the future of bass players is like saying that the proliferation of female singers is forcing the male singers out of the business.
I get your logic, Billybladez, but I can't imagine it being true. There are so many music styles out there that it's hard to believe that any one style is going to mean the demise of the bass player as we know it.
I can see the duos and solos and DJ's making it harder for larger ensembles to get gigs on the local scene, but bring about the demise of the bass player? Nah. That's a bit of a stretch.
To say that an increase in guitar/drum duos is dooming the future of bass players is like saying that the proliferation of female singers is forcing the male singers out of the business.
I get your logic, Billybladez, but I can't imagine it being true. There are so many music styles out there that it's hard to believe that any one style is going to mean the demise of the bass player as we know it.
I can see the duos and solos and DJ's making it harder for larger ensembles to get gigs on the local scene, but bring about the demise of the bass player? Nah. That's a bit of a stretch.
I'm not saying its dooming bass players. What I'm saying is the majority of it that I've seen isn't worth seeing. The musicianship is not there
Specifically in the guitar playing portion. And please don't compare that to a harp-pixcolo duo or something. Look, its all over television, commercials and whatnot. I see some hour-long spotlight on PBS for some and the playing every time I see it is awful. Now, if I see Andy McKee playing with Terry Bozzio...that might make the difference, but most virtuosic guitar are not doing a guitar drum duet because they would prefer solo or ensemble setting. Ultimately all I said at the beginning was I didn't like it..at least the majority of what I've seen. It's boring to hear a guitar player pounding nothing but rhthym over a drum groove. Also, what do I have to be scared of as far as irrational fear? I'm scared of the dumbing down of music in the end...its like common core music for beginners.
Along the way, you have made comments about how these acts are threatening the need for bass players:
Some examples:
This is what I was addressing.
I'm not going to controvert your argument about what the music is like. That's just individual taste. It would be a silly argument. I'm arguing your repeated points about how we as bass players should rise up against the growing tide of thin sounding duos.
Some examples:
This is what I was addressing.
I'm not going to controvert your argument about what the music is like. That's just individual taste. It would be a silly argument. I'm arguing your repeated points about how we as bass players should rise up against the growing tide of thin sounding duos.
Without a doubt, my least favorite feature of TB is the prevalence of bassists who champion bass-less bands as being every bit the equal of bands with bassists. Take that shizz to TalkGuitar or something.
So if I'm on a Ford enthusaist's forum, I can't give a positive opinion on Chevy's, even though I still like Fords?
Toe the line, is what you're saying, or get out?
I think we need to have a bass player purity test when people sign up. Then we can put their score in big, bold letters underneath their avatar. Then you could have a filter to not show any replies from people with a score of 90% or less. Add an option to the [report] button for "not sufficiently pro-bass", which would alert the mods that a users purity score should be re-evaluated.
Lets not forget an indicator that says the person played guitar before playing bass.
Lets not forget an indicator that says the person played guitar before playing bass.
That's not really fair. It is possible that someone saw The Light of Bass and is a true convert to The Sound of Bass. Praise, Bass. Now if they haven't given up the guitar, or even worse, took it up afterwards, they need to have their membership revoked. And don't even get me started about "bassists" who play drums or keyboards as well.
Never trust a convert. They're like people who quit smoking or go on a diet. They talk a big game, but sooner or later, they quietly go back to their old ways.
You can't trust those multi-talented people either. You never know where their allegiance lies.
You can't trust those multi-talented people either. You never know where their allegiance lies.
Look..in any small town venues are scarce and as time goes by club owners seek to pay less to save money. Simple math. If I'm a club owner and a solo guitar or guitar bass duo is doable in my club and saves me 100 to 200 bucks then I book em. The majority of clubs here in muscle shoals Al already do it. This is muscle shoals.people...home of Fame Studios and one time hit recording capital of the world...bands galore...BANDS.... not solo or duos...but no more as the save a dollar trend is more prevalent. ALOT of the guys I have played with now do solo shows in the same venues as they don't have bands there anymore...you starting to see some correlation here geniuses???. I'll say it again like I've said before...ALOT of the guitar drum duo stuff is just lame...period. I guess the funniest thing about it all is that I have you guys to try and educate me.... As if you know sooo much more or are so much more musically enlightened and advanced in your various techniques and have sooo many successful musical projects
With all that going its amazing you have time to reply here...
With all that going its amazing you have time to reply here...
I'm agreeing with you about venues wanting to pay less and less. I gave an example in my first reply (last week). I get it.
It's inaccurate to say that it's killing the bass player. It's killing the traditional bands, as you pointed out, in smaller towns. To be more accurate, it's killing the traditional professional bands. The weekend warriors who don't mind playing for $150 are doing just fine. Those bands have bass players.
There are more people in the world than there was 30 yrs ago. There's a whole lot more emphasis on "making it big". More people following their dreams. All around the country, each area has become saturated with bands. Technology has made it easier for the DJ to put on an entertaining show or for a solo act to loop a rhythm while they play some lead.
Don't think like the railroads did when the airplane took over. They kept thinking they were in the railroad business. They didn't realize they were in the transportation business so they didn't adapt.
Stop thinking that you're a bass player. You're in the entertainment business. It's not about the musician. It's about the paying customer. They want to be entertained. Be entertaining and you'll succeed.
