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Bass confessions - episode π
- Thread starter cheapbasslovin
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- clam dissonance fml
On a fretless, no less! Well done. That would be a big challenge to deal with.
At least once each gig I
1) pull the mic out of the cord somehow
2) break the mic stand where I have to hold the microphone in hand
Sometimes i trip over the mic cord as well but I have not fallen yet
The bass player always tries to stay well and far away from my energetic antics.
LOL
1) pull the mic out of the cord somehow
2) break the mic stand where I have to hold the microphone in hand
Sometimes i trip over the mic cord as well but I have not fallen yet
The bass player always tries to stay well and far away from my energetic antics.
LOL
Ok, so lemme see... most recently all the big clams were others, but I'll start with one I remember perpetrating.
We're playing Crazy Fingers, doing our shtick and sending it up as a reggae tune. I love the arrangement actually. Played the song dozens of times. We get to the first chorus and... I have a total space brain fart. I get the first chord right but tentatively search for the other chords. There are actually quite a few other chords in the chorus of this song. The other guys, instead of playing louder, get quieter and look at me. I'm like this ain't a freaking jazz moment, I'm brain farting here, someone play the right thing loud! Oh well, telepathy failed me yet again on that request. *Each subsequent chorus* of that performance is a disastrous repeat of the first. True ignominy. I was a bit crestfallen after that one. But hey, no one died, right?
Last gig, our lead singer leaves out a verse and heads to the first vocal bridge in Sugar Magnolia, the one that leads to the first grand pause. We're all looking around, playing the verse pattern, realizing *something is wrong*. She's a pro, realizes, looks at us, and starts the penultimate verse - deftly skipped both the missed verse and the breakdown, and no one seemed to notice.
Then the keyboard player starts an original song of his, which starts with a brief unison intro, and then he plays a little pick up riff and we all come in together at the top. Only he *completely* clams out on his solo pickup riff to the point where we don't know exactly where he intends "1" to be. The drummer and I fumble confusedly through a bar or so. Then our BL/guitarist/singer employs a plan he'd mentioned to us in rehearsal not a month before: if there's ever a train wreck, we stop and say over the mic we forgot it is someone's birthday - just make up a name - and quickly play a short rocking "Happy Birthday". Well it turned it really was the promoter's brother's birthday, so he stopped the song, announced the birthday, we played Happy Birthday for him, then started the keyboardist's song again and did it right.
The voice of experience there - that's a trick I'll use again one day, I am sure.
We're playing Crazy Fingers, doing our shtick and sending it up as a reggae tune. I love the arrangement actually. Played the song dozens of times. We get to the first chorus and... I have a total space brain fart. I get the first chord right but tentatively search for the other chords. There are actually quite a few other chords in the chorus of this song. The other guys, instead of playing louder, get quieter and look at me. I'm like this ain't a freaking jazz moment, I'm brain farting here, someone play the right thing loud! Oh well, telepathy failed me yet again on that request. *Each subsequent chorus* of that performance is a disastrous repeat of the first. True ignominy. I was a bit crestfallen after that one. But hey, no one died, right?
Last gig, our lead singer leaves out a verse and heads to the first vocal bridge in Sugar Magnolia, the one that leads to the first grand pause. We're all looking around, playing the verse pattern, realizing *something is wrong*. She's a pro, realizes, looks at us, and starts the penultimate verse - deftly skipped both the missed verse and the breakdown, and no one seemed to notice.
Then the keyboard player starts an original song of his, which starts with a brief unison intro, and then he plays a little pick up riff and we all come in together at the top. Only he *completely* clams out on his solo pickup riff to the point where we don't know exactly where he intends "1" to be. The drummer and I fumble confusedly through a bar or so. Then our BL/guitarist/singer employs a plan he'd mentioned to us in rehearsal not a month before: if there's ever a train wreck, we stop and say over the mic we forgot it is someone's birthday - just make up a name - and quickly play a short rocking "Happy Birthday". Well it turned it really was the promoter's brother's birthday, so he stopped the song, announced the birthday, we played Happy Birthday for him, then started the keyboardist's song again and did it right.
The voice of experience there - that's a trick I'll use again one day, I am sure.
OH! The old "it's birthday time" trick! Man i got to add that one to the bag...
Guitar player: This song's in C, right?
Me: Uuuuh, sure, C. That sounds right.
We start playing in C.
The horn section comes in a couple of bars later, in Bb, as intended.
Hilarity ensues. Horn players holding horns in front of their faces, mouthing "C?" at me and trying to transpose on the fly. Guitar player can't see any of this, he's standing up front and singing. Drummer laughs at all of us.
Me: Uuuuh, sure, C. That sounds right.
We start playing in C.
The horn section comes in a couple of bars later, in Bb, as intended.
Hilarity ensues. Horn players holding horns in front of their faces, mouthing "C?" at me and trying to transpose on the fly. Guitar player can't see any of this, he's standing up front and singing. Drummer laughs at all of us.
One time while playing a song that we had been doing for years I noticed something was definitely off . I also noticed the other guys were looking at me and realized I was the one screwing up. It went from bad from to worse as I panicked and failed miserably in my attempts to jump back in. It was one of those songs that you've played so many times you just put it on auto pilot, but I must have been day dreaming or something. I'll never forget that horrible feeling of having my brain freeze up. After that I calmed down, concentrated on all the other songs and the rest of the night went fine.
One of my bands was playing in a big warehouse party and the drummer didn't bring any kind of mat, so to keep his kick drum from sliding, we stuck a tire in front of it.
At one point, I moved a little too far back, tripped backwards over the tire, fell with my butt right inside the tire and sent most of his drum set crashing all over.
Good and bad points resulted:
The good--we kept going until the song was over! The drummer never missed a beat but finished the song standing up with nothing but a high hat and floor tom, and I never dropped a note...wrapped up the song with my behind planted in a big ol' tire.
The bad--this was all captured on film. It was like 25 years ago, so just a VHS camcorder, but still...
At one point, I moved a little too far back, tripped backwards over the tire, fell with my butt right inside the tire and sent most of his drum set crashing all over.
Good and bad points resulted:
The good--we kept going until the song was over! The drummer never missed a beat but finished the song standing up with nothing but a high hat and floor tom, and I never dropped a note...wrapped up the song with my behind planted in a big ol' tire.
The bad--this was all captured on film. It was like 25 years ago, so just a VHS camcorder, but still...
Great story! I can't believe no one has asked yet: What song WERE you playing the intro to?
So many ...
OK, one from before the gig.
Soundcheck at Exit, they have a rebar construct over the stage they called "The Thunderdome".
A cuppla songs into soundcheck I go to do a Townshend leap off the stage (I'm so embarrassed to say, I was playing guitar) and I hit my head on the iron.
Fell flat on my back on the dancefloor, out cold for about 10 seconds.
What to do?
Get up as nonchalant as possible and go score one of the band's free beers (I had 'em all that night, as the rhythm section was dosin'), come back and finish the sound check.
"Three men entered, one knocked out."
OK, one from before the gig.
Soundcheck at Exit, they have a rebar construct over the stage they called "The Thunderdome".
A cuppla songs into soundcheck I go to do a Townshend leap off the stage (I'm so embarrassed to say, I was playing guitar) and I hit my head on the iron.
Fell flat on my back on the dancefloor, out cold for about 10 seconds.
What to do?
Get up as nonchalant as possible and go score one of the band's free beers (I had 'em all that night, as the rhythm section was dosin'), come back and finish the sound check.
"Three men entered, one knocked out."
Another band mate induced clam bake in a blues band I just started working with. We’re playing Spanish Moon in C#, they have me start the iconic bass line. I kick it off, drummer joins in. The guitarist is tentative, and he’s using a watery tone, envelope filter and maybe a chorus too, and I hear him tell the singer/harmonica player that I messed up and I am playing it in C.
But I am in C#. So I keep going. I notice lead pick up a different harp, then sure enough they both come in in C! Fortunately I had heard them talking was ready, so I switched to C within one beat - hello mid-bar modulation! - and the song goes on ok.
At the end of the set the guitarist tells me I played it wrong, we’re supposed to do it in C#. I tell him I was in C# and had to switch to C when they came in. I can tell he’s not really believing me, he says it sounded like I started in C.
At rehearsal, after listening to the recording, he admits I was doing it right. He thinks something about the modulation on his guitar made it sound like we were not in tune.
I am pretty sure we’ll do it in C# from now on. At least the next 10 times.
But I am in C#. So I keep going. I notice lead pick up a different harp, then sure enough they both come in in C! Fortunately I had heard them talking was ready, so I switched to C within one beat - hello mid-bar modulation! - and the song goes on ok.
At the end of the set the guitarist tells me I played it wrong, we’re supposed to do it in C#. I tell him I was in C# and had to switch to C when they came in. I can tell he’s not really believing me, he says it sounded like I started in C.
At rehearsal, after listening to the recording, he admits I was doing it right. He thinks something about the modulation on his guitar made it sound like we were not in tune.
I am pretty sure we’ll do it in C# from now on. At least the next 10 times.
Hi guys,
Long-time listener, first time caller here. Anyway, I don’t have any personal experience with hitting clams in a live situation (pffffffttt…yeah, right), so I thought I’d share this vid of the Stone Roses’ reunion show back in 2012 (details at bottom). Check out what Mani does at 0:54. First song they’d played together live in 16 years. (Is it me, or does the drummer Reni make a smirk/grimace after hearing it?!?)
[background: Invalid Link Removed
May 22, 2012: Intimate surprise show at Warrington Parr Hall marks live return after 16 years
1,500 fans were treated to a Heaton Park warm-up show. The Manchester legends played an 11-song set, bounding on stage with 'I Wanna Be Adored', the opening track from their 1989 debut album, and closing with 'Love Spreads'. Liam Gallagher tweeted throughout the gig from his balcony seat.]
Long-time listener, first time caller here. Anyway, I don’t have any personal experience with hitting clams in a live situation (pffffffttt…yeah, right), so I thought I’d share this vid of the Stone Roses’ reunion show back in 2012 (details at bottom). Check out what Mani does at 0:54. First song they’d played together live in 16 years. (Is it me, or does the drummer Reni make a smirk/grimace after hearing it?!?)
[background: Invalid Link Removed
May 22, 2012: Intimate surprise show at Warrington Parr Hall marks live return after 16 years
1,500 fans were treated to a Heaton Park warm-up show. The Manchester legends played an 11-song set, bounding on stage with 'I Wanna Be Adored', the opening track from their 1989 debut album, and closing with 'Love Spreads'. Liam Gallagher tweeted throughout the gig from his balcony seat.]
A band I used to be in had a song I pushed them to play live even though they thought it wasn't ready. After three weeks of badgering them they finally agreed to play it. So at that show in the middle of that song me in my drunken wisdom desided to lay my bass down on the stage and walk off. I was so drunk that I thought my rig had fried on me when it was one of the guitars that was having a feedback issue. Needless to say we never played that song again.
Today was a special gig, one where with a packed house and one where we got exposure to loads of potential new fans and promotion. It was going to be great.
We had finished sound check and had a quick bite before the set was to begin. I was calm as ever; we'd played these songs tons of times and I know what I'm doing.
The morning DJ announced us for the crowd and we climbed on stage and strapped on our instruments. We had a big start planned with one of the most popular songs of our set; the guitar started the intro, the people cheered, and as he came around to the one I PLAYED THE WRONG STRING!!! It was a nice long note to be held for two measures so I made sure to pull the string really hard and, in this case, really emphasized the dissonance created by the note. Really set the bar low for the evening.
That's winning, baby.
Anyone else have any colossal screw up stories they don't mind telling
The rest of the gig went great, BTW, it was just a world class opening clam.
Other than blowing my dental appliance out of my mouth, catching it, popping back into my mouth without missing a beat, no, I can’t say that I have....
Never have to worry about making a mistake if you've never been in a band!
There we were, getting ready to play Kashmir by Zep. The drummer gives the typical four clicks and he dives right into the drum beat perfectly, including the double bass drum thumps. The thing is, none of the other band members were ready! 
The drummer stops playing, I quickly look at the crowd and say into the mic: "oh....did you wanna hear Kashmir?" The crowd cheers with a big "yeah". The drummer clicks four and we all come in together and rock the house!
Fun times!
The drummer stops playing, I quickly look at the crowd and say into the mic: "oh....did you wanna hear Kashmir?" The crowd cheers with a big "yeah". The drummer clicks four and we all come in together and rock the house!Fun times!
- Oct 22, 2015
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Oh I've done far dumber things and likely will again. Will say only this: how about realizing you've done something extraordinarily dumb, only to check if someone notices and getting busted checking to see who saw me do that dumb thing. That's worse than having done the dumb thing.
