Well that's nice that you're able to do that, but I think a lot of people are missing the point that not everybody is. The OP suggested that he isn't. So he should have the right to say no.
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- Thread starter Bass Man Dan
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And that's the point.
Look, I could do it. I play crap I don't know all the time. But not everyone is in a situation where they can, or are comfortable, and I think it's got to be something that everyone agrees they can do. If everyone thinks it's reasonable, go for it. But holding up the high-dollar pro situation as the norm for everyone isn't really realistic. That's all I'm trying to say. People shouldn't be made to feel like having boundaries around reasonable expectations is a bad thing.
Pretty typical country songs. It’s not like it’s a prog or symphonic metal wank fest, or a Bach piece. Just a couple of straightforward songs.
Chord progressions on both songs are pretty simple, as are the basslines. I’m sure you could easily handle it. Do up a few quick charts if you feel the need and give the tunes a Youtube listen or two on the way to the gig. No big deal.
Your job is easy. Don’t know how easy the rest of the band is going to find it since I don’t know what their individual skill levels are. And while it is annoying to have that dropped on you with no real notice, you might all want to welcome it as a confidence builder for the band since it’s very doable.
Chord progressions on both songs are pretty simple, as are the basslines. I’m sure you could easily handle it. Do up a few quick charts if you feel the need and give the tunes a Youtube listen or two on the way to the gig. No big deal.
Your job is easy. Don’t know how easy the rest of the band is going to find it since I don’t know what their individual skill levels are. And while it is annoying to have that dropped on you with no real notice, you might all want to welcome it as a confidence builder for the band since it’s very doable.
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I just gave a listen to "Body Like a Back Road." It's I-V-vi-IV, I-V-I over and over and over again. A song that easy, you should be able to listen to the guitar intro and then come in when the singer starts the verse.
"Life Is A Highway" I will concede is slightly more intricate. It's got a "bridge" and stuff.
"Life Is A Highway" I will concede is slightly more intricate. It's got a "bridge" and stuff.
No biggie. Regular deal in my world. Give em a couple listens, make some quick number charts if needed and go mow ass!
Skip an octave and trill..........lol. Does anyone else in the band know these songs? I've played an entire gig by watching the kb players left hand but that is me. Have someone in the band that knows the songs write out the chords for you.
If nobody in the band knows the songs, or has heard of the songs except him, just say no.
All the whining about being a professional and how professionals should be able to handle it, doesn't take into account how the WHOLE BAND handles it. It doesn't matter if you can play anything on the fly. 5 guys all playing a song they've never heard or played sounds like a recipe for disaster. If they usually go OK, then I'm in, but it it's usually a train wreck, I'm out. When I'm getting ready for a gig I don't want to be trying to learn two songs as I walk out the door.
The singer needs to get his head on straight. If you're not a country band, throwing in a couple of country songs at the last minute to impress his friends is a non-starter.
True dat.
But it’s also important to keep all this in perspective. Because what’s the worst that could happen? You have a train wreck and get booed so bad the venue cops an attitude and refuses to ever book you again because it was the owner’s girlfriend’s favorite song? Not like it’s the end of the world even if it did get that ridiculous. And I doubt it ever would.
True dat.
But it’s also important to keep all this in perspective. Because what’s the worst that could happen? You have a train wreck and get booed so bad the venue cops an attitude and refuses to ever book you again because it was the owner’s girlfriend’s favorite song? Not like it’s the end of the world even if it did get that ridiculous. And I doubt it ever would.
I didn't know you could train-wreck a country song...
It probably never would. Much of it hinges on a lot of different factors. I've played train wrecks that audience didn't even notice, plenty of times. But if you're a person with high anxiety (I am not) it can be a lot more difficult an experience than if you're me. My personal objections center more around just not wanting to go onstage to do something unpolished, because that's not the way I was taught to do things. I spend a lot of personal time polishing things up and I don't spend that kind of time and effort just so I can get on stage and be embarrassed.True dat.
But it’s also important to keep all this in perspective. Because what’s the worst that could happen? You have a train wreck and get booed so bad the venue cops an attitude and refuses to ever book you again because it was the owner’s girlfriend’s favorite song? Not like it’s the end of the world even if it did get that ridiculous. And I doubt it ever would.
But if it happens, it happens, and I shrug it off. I happen to live with a drummer who has anxiety so I know that's easier for me than for some people.
Money is another thing. If it's a crap gig that's paying me $50, you're lucky if you get me there an hour before showtime and never mind trying to commandeer some of my free time for some last minute BS. I didn't put up with that in my salaried world and I'm sure as heck not putting up with it from a 2 bit bandleader. But if it's an actual pro-level show, I will pull out every stop I can. Fortunately for me, the shows like that I'm asked to do also include adequate preparation and I wouldn't expect to be put on the spot for something unexpected. But if I were, I'd do my best to accommodate.
The OP said he's not feeling it and he's in a bar band that's not very sophisticated. I took that into account in my responses here.
I didn't know you could train-wreck a country song...
I once heard a band train wreck on Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill. Which is just one chord for about 95% of it. Something like that takes a certain gift to accomplish.
So never say never.
BL onstage mid-set: "Here's a request were gonna do for MigrahraandReerfcalledBlawam Oggadoorah!"
Me: Huh?
"It's a three chord in C but with a two and a six"... .
K.
... And you proceed to play it. If the two and six were someplace weird they'd have said so.
Stuff like that happens in a bar band. It's fun.
Me: Huh?
"It's a three chord in C but with a two and a six"... .
K.
... And you proceed to play it. If the two and six were someplace weird they'd have said so.
Stuff like that happens in a bar band. It's fun.
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I'd go further and say that most players and laypeople don't know what a bassist does. Part of the problem is that we make it seem easy, because that's our job. They also don't realize that the look of calm superiority on our faces is not an emotional state, but a reflection of the proper order of the universe.
Understood. Which is why my comment was really more directed towards the OP using your comment as a preamble rather than a response to yours.
I probably should have included some additional verbiage to make that more obvious.
Every jazz gig I've ever had, we played at least a half dozen songs I have never heard at warp speed.
All it takes is a drummer who thinks it's in 4/4!I once heard a band train wreck on Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill. Which is just one chord for about 95% of it. Something like that takes a certain gift to accomplish.
So never say never.
I've heard the songs, but haven't played them. I did play acoustic chords for "Body" at one time at home screwing around, so I'm probably more familiar with these songs than someone who heard them for the first time. Basically I just listened once, listened again and set up a Intro Verse Chorus Bridge type of notes and then went to Ultimate Guitar to pull up chord charts for Body and bass tab for Highway. About ten minutes work on each and I had a respectable part going. No, not good enough to tour with Sam Hunt or Rascal Flatts, but my phone has been ringing off the hook from original artists anyways. Most of the bands I've played with could swing this respectably. A few couldn't after two weeks of practice. So I guess it mostly depends on who you're playing with but learning two songs with a few hours advance notice sounds reasonable to me. Yes, you can find plenty of exceptions.
One out of state callup gig I got ... was from a 3 man CW band with 4 30 song playbooks that I was grateful to receive the day before the show.
The lead singer had a bunch of writer-singer stuff that was pretty avantgarde for a CW or even a Jazz band ... with chord changes from the moon, modulations all over the place and I couldn't catch a melody or thread in any of them.
There was no real hook nor something you could even hum.
Well ... I decided to run the not-so-rememberable songs first 'cause I could for sure box-out the others okay, but those writer-performer songs were just too oddball......
At the show, the singer called "Book One, invert the first set and add Book Three without my stuff. Stick to the commercial tunes".
l felt good all of a sudden.
The lead singer had a bunch of writer-singer stuff that was pretty avantgarde for a CW or even a Jazz band ... with chord changes from the moon, modulations all over the place and I couldn't catch a melody or thread in any of them.
There was no real hook nor something you could even hum.
Well ... I decided to run the not-so-rememberable songs first 'cause I could for sure box-out the others okay, but those writer-performer songs were just too oddball......
At the show, the singer called "Book One, invert the first set and add Book Three without my stuff. Stick to the commercial tunes".
l felt good all of a sudden.
