Advice for young guy playing with older gents

[xgator4u]

That was my interpretation, too. But for the OP, I don't think the cover band scene would be a rewarding way to do it. OP lives in a big city. There are other options.

Just my opinion.

Sure, No argument there.
I thought that the point was to expand his experience by playing with and gleaning knowledge by playing with Older, more experienced musicians.
The opportunities of finding older experienced musicians that are playing exclusively originals would be pretty slim.
Just my personal observations.

 

[lbbc]

a good musician is good musician...
1. learn he material that the band has on their set lists
2. don't vary a whole lot from the bassline (if it's a classic)
3. be passionate about your playing
4. know that every gig is a learning experience

when I was 17, I was asked to play bass with a jazz ensemble with members in their late 70's. I learned so much because I was willing to listen to their expectations, immerse myself in their genre of music and was thankful for the gig and experience. Now in my mid-50's, I do the same with younger musicians... hey, older guys...."pay it forward"

 

[xgator4u]

a good musician is good musician...
1. learn he material that the band has on their set lists
2. don't vary a whole lot from the bassline (if it's a classic)
3. be passionate about your playing
4. know that every gig is a learning experience

when I was 17, I was asked to play bass with a jazz ensemble with members in their late 70's. I learned so much because I was willing to listen to their expectations, immerse myself in their genre of music and was thankful for the gig and experience. Now in my mid-50's, I do the same with younger musicians... hey, older guys...."pay it forward"

Darn right pay it forward.
Remember where YOU came from.
NONE of us has always been seasoned veterans, we had to start somewhere.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

That you are asking these questions suggests to me that you'll do just fine. And it really does boil down to a few essentials: Be punctual, come in knowing the material, and be pleasant. I am by no means a virtuoso on the instrument, but I've worked steadily for decades following this procedure.

 

[lfmn16]

Only two rules to remember: Get them back to the nursing home on time and always buy the beer. If you do those two things, nothing else matters!

 

[azureblue]

Stay locked with the drummer. Do not rush.
The key is to make sure everyone is comfortable with your playing. With a new bass player, the rest of the band will be a bit on edge, so
focus on making the groove happen.
Listen to what everyone else is doing and play off of them. Let them know you are paying attention to what they are playing and adapting your bass part to support what they are doing.
Do not for a second underestimate an older player. Most have forgotten stuff you have yet to learn.
Do not be afraid to ask.
And keep your ego in check and don't show off.

 

[MrLenny1]

Just Do It.
It's great experience to jump in and swim,hopefully.
I'm an old fart. Don't play too loud.
Make sure you can hear & groove with the bass drum.
Smile & have fun!

 

[Kmonk]

I'm no gent, but I'm older.

Here is how you get a gig with a band I'm involved with:

1. Show up prepared. We gave you some songs to learn; learn them.
2. Show up on time. If you will waste my time at an audition, you will waste my time at rehearsals, photo shoots, gigs, you name it. You will not get the gig if you are late.
3. Have a positive attitude. Be friendly, and do as you're told. You're the one auditioning for a group that is already partly formed/established. Yes, you are auditioning us as well, but the point is, we probably already know how we like to run our rehearsals.
4. Stay away from preconceived notions. You don't know me.
5. Don't take any crap. If they all tell you they have experience, and you're the green kid, so do everything their way, you're not going to have much fun.
6. Have fun!

I agree with all of this. Being prepared, having a professional attitude and being easy to get along with are key to getting gigs.

 

[Zephrant]

Looks like you may know this already, but worth mentioning: Don't use l33t sp33k, or "ur" or other txt short hands when replying to ads. Knowing when to use professional communication skills reflects well on you.

An appropriate appearance is required too. When I hire for my country band, I'm looking for people that know how to dress for it. Figure out the dress code for the band, and don't push the limits for a while. That might mean buying new clothes, but chalk it up to the cost of playing in a cover band.

Good luck-

 

[Carl Hillman]

Offer to buy them a beer after the rehearsal, then pretend to be interested in the gig stories they'll invariably start telling.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

By the time I was 19 I was playing with 40 year old guys. You can learn a lot very quickly. Not only do you learn new (to you) tunes, you learn how musicians work together and interact, both musically and personally, you learn what it takes to pull off a "professional" gig, you learn how to come prepared for a gig, how to avoid certain situations that should be avoided (getting too drunk, hitting on the bouncer's girlfriend, etc), and you learn how to learn. Sure I made a few mistakes along the way but if you learn from them you can call it "experience". If you don't learn from them then it's a "habit" or an "addiction".

I went on to play in original bands with guys more my age. We were all late 20s at the time. We practised regularly, hauled our gear all up and down the clubs in Hollywood, and learned how to be broke musicians. Now, in my mid-50s, I'm back in a cover band having a ton of fun and actually making enough money for it to be worth my while.

I would recommend getting out there and paying some dues. Who knows? You just might enjoy it.

Good luck to you. Break a leg.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[JGbassman]

Be yourself. Showing a little respect and dropping the cocky attitude will go a long way. If you are a good player and willing to listen to some well meant advice you will be fine. A saying I came up with after many years playing that I tell musicians starting out. "Your ability gets you the gig, but your attitude keeps the gig." Be friendly, courteous, and not afraid of having a little fun. Everything else will fall in place.

 

[generation zero]

I've been playing all originals with my current band for two years now, and most of them are 6 to 10 years older than me. (I'm 34.) I've gone from a Squier and a borrowed Ampeg combo to a $3,500 PRS and a Mesa stack in 2 years... I've been through 2 Squiers, an Ibanez, 3 Fenders (a Mexi, a MIJ, and a USA Deluxe that is currently listed in the classifieds here) and 2 Gibsons before settling on the PRS. And guess what? I am STILL getting "you should play a Fender, kid". Almost every practice. They also want me to get an SVT and an old Ampeg 8x10. And a pick. They bitch and bitch because I won't use a pick. Some things you just won't get away from, no matter what.

There's some great advice in this thread if you truly want to go the cover route, but I'm more in line with the guys who say it's probably not the best idea. Find some guys you get along with, write some songs, and go do your own thing. Your mileage may vary, but for me that path is/has been FAR more rewarding than any attempt at playing covers for quick cash. That's a great gig for many players here, and I'm not trying to start the original/cover battle up, but if your heart is in writing your own music it is my experience that you won't find much happiness, if any, playing covers. Doesn't matter how much older or more experienced the other players are.

Either way, good luck!

 

[KevInDaBassment]

That was my interpretation, too. But for the OP, I don't think the cover band scene would be a rewarding way to do it. OP lives in a big city. There are other options.

Just my opinion.

That was one of the reasons why he has encouraged me to do it. As of right now, I've been trying to find steady band members for literally 4 or 5 years. I have several connections, but there are a lot of "scenes" in Houston and the ones pulling the most weight are either cover bands playing classics, or metal/rock variant bands. We have some indie stuff, but the metal stuff really packs a venue. I have no problems playing metal, I've been in several of those bands, but without going into too much of my personal life, I am not down to play growling "Jesus is lame, we worship thee Satan" music...and there's a lot of that out there too. There's a big age gap between high schoolers and 40+ year old veterans of the music scene. I've also tried maaannny other things, but there are a lot of flakes out there. When I'm writing everything, you say you like the music, AND I'm giving you tabs/sheet music and instructional VIDEOS...I can't do anything more for you. That's honestly been what I've run into, that or nobody practicing the material at home and showing up stupid. Collaboration and help writing? Psh, I don't even know what that's like anymore. If I didn't do everything, nothing would get done

I'll use the next quote to segway into an explanation on my teacher's logic...

Sure, No argument there.
I thought that the point was to expand his experience by playing with and gleaning knowledge by playing with Older, more experienced musicians.
The opportunities of finding older experienced musicians that are playing exclusively originals would be pretty slim.
Just my personal observations.

I think you pretty much get it, but as I said in the original post he's trying to push me out of my comfort zone. He knows I'm confident in my own work and originals, he also knows if it was something that's right up my alley like The Police, Nirvana, or Red Hot Chili Peppers that it would be falling in with music I largely know already. He wants me to learn to deal with things I don't always like to play or feel comfortable with. He knows that not many bands that are 40+ years old are going to play as a Nirvana tribute band. It really is to push me into doing things I'm not comfortable with, which I can see the value in. Also making some money isn't bad either

 

[pnchad]

Hi,

By the time I was 19 I was playing with 40 year old guys. You can learn a lot very quickly. Not only do you learn new (to you) tunes, you learn how musicians work together and interact, both musically and personally, you learn what it takes to pull off a "professional" gig, you learn how to come prepared for a gig, how to avoid certain situations that should be avoided (getting too drunk, hitting on the bouncer's girlfriend, etc), and you learn how to learn. Sure I made a few mistakes along the way but if you learn from them you can call it "experience". If you don't learn from them then it's a "habit" or an "addiction".

I went on to play in original bands with guys more my age. We were all late 20s at the time. We practised regularly, hauled our gear all up and down the clubs in Hollywood, and learned how to be broke musicians. Now, in my mid-50s, I'm back in a cover band having a ton of fun and actually making enough money for it to be worth my while.

I would recommend getting out there and paying some dues. Who knows? You just might enjoy it.

Good luck to you. Break a leg.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

yeah this

when I came up that's how you learned, playing with older guys. You don't only learn music (a lot) but also about gigging. I am eternally grateful to them all.

always be professional and respect all - then play!

 

[Munjibunga]

As DogBone said in #2, don't be a jackass. If you master that, the rest will fall into place.

 

[Downunderwonder]

If you're good enough to use three fingers you can get away with one half the time and fully retire the third while playing covers.

 

[obimark]

For cover bands -Play for the song.

If the original had an adventurous bassline, then yours should be similar. If the original was root notes- you should stick close and throw in a couple of fills here and there.

 

[Feral Feline]

Number of fingers used doesn't matter one whit, you could entirely tap a ballad so long as the tone, timing and note choice are appropriate to the song. Use one finger, use four, use your elbow, who cares so long as you don't distract the audience from the singer/soloist/song. If you're good enough to use three fingers, use 'em – appropriately.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

I'd say, older and more experienced (the two are not always conjoined!) players

BeowulfKingsley beat me to it: "older" does not automatically equal "more experienced" or even "professional attitude". About ten years ago, when I was 22 or so, I played in a classic rock band with guys mostly in their '50s. It was fun in itself and I thought things were going okay, until the son of the guitarist asked if I could help out his band - all teens who had a big show coming up and who had just kicked out their bass player.

The older gang tended to skip parts of the song which were "difficult" to play, never really bothered learning new tunes once I was up to speed and mainly just learned the handful of songs the guitarist was capable of playing. The teens had 2 originals down, played Iron Maiden note for note and were thinking of adding Judas Priest's "Painkiller" at the last minute. They were organized, knew their instruments and had structured rehearsals. It was quite the eye-opener!

He wants me to learn to deal with things I don't always like to play or feel comfortable with. He knows that not many bands that are 40+ years old are going to play as a Nirvana tribute band. It really is to push me into doing things I'm not comfortable with, which I can see the value in. Also making some money isn't bad either

As someone who's spent a year in a cover band playing songs he does not like to play or feels comfortable with, I can tell you one thing: you'll get miserable. I've wasted a year of my life pursuing this very logic, and made NO money in the process. YMMV, and I hope it will, but I will only pursue bands that DO play the type of music I like to play. I can always learn "uncomfortable songs" on my own.