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BASS PLAYER MAG HAS FAILED ME!!

#161
All the original poster said was that he thought the Bass Player magazine failed him for providing an article with the Jonas Brothers' bassist. He thought that was a dumb article. He wasn't really talking crap about the bass player himself. It seemed like he was just saying that he didn't want to read anything Jonas related in a bass player magazine. Understandable.

On another note that I mentioned earlier... I just got through reading September's Premier Guitar magazine and it was absolutely wonderful. Lots of good reviews and articles in the bass issue. I highly recommend that issue.
 
#162
i read the interview again last night, still seems like a pretty good article, he explains how he had the opportunity and took it, and he explains how the gig is challenging and has opened doors for him

...and i'd call this a victory for BP, if for no other reason than the interview generated a lot of discussion about not only the magazine, but the ideas surrounding playing a gig with a successful artist
 
#163
john turner said:
you know, there's a lot of folks in this thread claiming their originality and "integrity" would prevent them from gigging for the jonas brothers, or some other similar gig.

to them, i ask, what do you do for a living? who do you work for? are you cranking on the "original cash register"? or flipping "integrity burgers"?

people sell out every day, whether it's "selling their soul to make a record" or selling their soul to make minimum wage, it's called "being a responsible grownup". you're going to either end up "selling out" to some white collar boss and work in a cubicle, or, if you're lucky, you're going to get the rare chance to sign a contract and then have any number of other "sellouts" dictate to you how your original music needs to be.

as for me, i'd take this gig in a -heart beat-. a gig of this size is going to expose you to -all kinds- of folks in the industry, folks that you can sell your self and music to. if you have anything to say musically that is worth a dime, you'll find a way to sell it on a gig like this, regardless of what it is, a lot easier than you will playing a dumpy bar.
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Im not saying I have more or less integrity than anyone else in this thread, alot of the posters probably play far better and write far better music than I do. But for ME, I couldnt do it. If you took the gig would that mean I had more integrity? No. I just view them in a different light tha some of you do.

JAUQO III-X said:
A lot of the comments on why some one wouldn't/shouldn't play with the Jonas brother(or similar bands) really comes down to just being ignorant. Especially when the bassist talking all the smack is sitting at home broke or sitting at home about to be homeless.


We all have a choice of what we want to do with a possible professional career as bassist but to be hating on a guy and his gig really is pushing it.
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Im not dissing on this guy, if it is what he wants then he has every right to do it, but disagreeing with some of the sentiments expressed in the thread does not make that person ignorant. If I were a professional player and my living depended on playing, I would certainly have a very different opinion.

And if I have offended anyone I am sincerely sorry, I dont want any ad blood over the Jonas Brothers.
 
#165
BassMorpheus said:
:help::help::help::help::help:

Music is a language!

Often times, we Americans, do not seek to learn foreign languages because it is about communicating with those people. English is our language (i.e. the best) and that other garbage or gobbledeegook is, just that, garbage.
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And, of course English is a "foreign language" already...how many does one need? :D:hiding:
 
#167
While home with my sick daughter yesterday, a Jonas video played on the Disney Chanel. Really, it was a catchy song. Sure it was pop, but I can see why people like the music. Would I buy the song or album? No, unless the kids wanted it. But it wasn't bad either.
 
#168
The guy had to audition and had to compete like the rest of us doing auditions. At that level it truly is a JOB. I would prefer to cheer my bass playing bretheren on than wallow in envy or disdain for that matter. Anyone can dis but it is a good bassist that encourages.....stayin' positive is all I am sayin'.

As for the BP rag.....I buy it when the issue moves me. I stopped my subscription a year ago....trimming to feed the GAS monster...
 
#169
Props to that guy. I don't particularly enjoy the Jonas Brothers music, but it's catchy and poppy, and if I got the opportunity to play bass for them on stage, I know I'd have a boatload of fun (I just like playing on stage).

The Jonas Brothers actually seem like pretty cool, level-headed kids from some interviews I've read. It's easy to hate on them for being so successful with seemingly so little to offer musically, especially when the maority of us are probably better players than they are. But it all comes down to who you know, not what you know. One cheesey song can launch a career, and it has for decades.

Good for them. Good for him (the bassist). I'm actually quite intrigued to read the article now. Maybe it will have some good info about the music business.
 
#170
Gimme a friggin' break, are you telling me that at the age of what, 25?, if someone offered you a job playing for the Jonas brothers making $250kor whatever a year you'd turn it down out of artistic principles? Or what, would their recording and touring schedule be too much for you? You'd likely spend about 3-4 months of the year doing that job all told, virtually anonymously, and could spend the rest of the year either on the beach or "focusing on your career," i.e writing originals that no one except your girlfriend will want to hear, and she's just doing it in hopes that she'll land you as a husband and enslave you for the rest of your life and get half of that quarter mil.

I don't have a problem with BP, I enjoy the ads, the articles, the new gear reviews (even if they are always positive regardless of whether the product is actually crap), and I especially enjoy the small articles about upcoming or obscure bass players. I learn something from every issue, and I've been playing a long time, so... maybe you just need to open your minds up a little bit, or hey, just don't buy it if it ain't your thing.
 
#171
i don't think it's a bad idea--i remember when the britney spears bass player was interviewed and he said something that made a lot of sense to me..."maybe playing for spears doesn't provide the artistic satisfaction that one may desire, but my wallet isn't getting any thinner"
and i took that to mean that while people may give him a hard time, he is making good money doing something he loves, and to hear other bass players get down on him for that is just plain stupidity--same with the jonas brothers--i'd take that gig in a second so long as I'd be compensated fairly for it, and maybe that bass player has some advice to give on how to score gigs like that...i'd read it. Music is a business--get over it.
 
#172
BillMason said:
Gimme a friggin' break, are you telling me that at the age of what, 25?, if someone offered you a job playing for the Jonas brothers making $250kor whatever a year you'd turn it down out of artistic principles? Or what, would their recording and touring schedule be too much for you? You'd likely spend about 3-4 months of the year doing that job all told, virtually anonymously, and could spend the rest of the year either on the beach or "focusing on your career," i.e writing originals that no one except your girlfriend will want to hear, and she's just doing it in hopes that she'll land you as a husband and enslave you for the rest of your life and get half of that quarter mil.

I don't have a problem with BP, I enjoy the ads, the articles, the new gear reviews (even if they are always positive regardless of whether the product is actually crap), and I especially enjoy the small articles about upcoming or obscure bass players. I learn something from every issue, and I've been playing a long time, so... maybe you just need to open your minds up a little bit, or hey, just don't buy it if it ain't your thing.
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My god you bar band lot are a touchy bunch aren't you?
 
#174
Dr. Cheese said:
+100

BP is supposed to be a magazine about bassists, not a fanboy magazine about bass heroes.:rollno: The dude with the Jonas Brothers sounds like a very successful working bassist. Any bassist who actually wants to make a living with his instrument, would be silly not to consider a gig like that if it became available.
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I would rather die than be there bassist seriously.
 
#175
BillMason said:
Gimme a friggin' break, are you telling me that at the age of what, 25?, if someone offered you a job playing for the Jonas brothers making $250kor whatever a year you'd turn it down out of artistic principles? Or what, would their recording and touring schedule be too much for you? You'd likely spend about 3-4 months of the year doing that job all told, virtually anonymously, and could spend the rest of the year either on the beach or "focusing on your career," i.e writing originals that no one except your girlfriend will want to hear, and she's just doing it in hopes that she'll land you as a husband and enslave you for the rest of your life and get half of that quarter mil.

I don't have a problem with BP, I enjoy the ads, the articles, the new gear reviews (even if they are always positive regardless of whether the product is actually crap), and I especially enjoy the small articles about upcoming or obscure bass players. I learn something from every issue, and I've been playing a long time, so... maybe you just need to open your minds up a little bit, or hey, just don't buy it if it ain't your thing.
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I agree with everthing you have said.
 
#176
I can't name a song they play, but from a theoretically professional standpoint this would be near the top of the list of gigs that would be great to have. Killer shows, I'm sure it's an A+ production....what's the downside? I'm a cover band guy and I can't imagine how anyone else in a cover band could thumb their nose at this. Big bucks for teeny bopper pop or bar band money for playing NickelbackSkynyrdMustangSallySRVetc?
 
#177
superbassman2000 said:
i don't think it's a bad idea--i remember when the britney spears bass player was interviewed and he said something that made a lot of sense to me..."maybe playing for spears doesn't provide the artistic satisfaction that one may desire, but my wallet isn't getting any thinner"
and i took that to mean that while people may give him a hard time, he is making good money doing something he loves, and to hear other bass players get down on him for that is just plain stupidity--same with the jonas brothers--i'd take that gig in a second so long as I'd be compensated fairly for it, and maybe that bass player has some advice to give on how to score gigs like that...i'd read it. Music is a business--get over it.
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Sure, if you play for the Jonas Brothers or Britney Spears, you're going to make some money. Sure. But don't think that you're in Bass Player magazine because you have skills-- you're part of their marketing campaign. "Sell the soap." Period. Like you said, "music is a business." That's MY point. Bass Player is just playing its role in all of this.
 
#179
TrevorOfDoom said:
on a related note, the new one has a huuuuge article with Chris Whots-his-name from Muse detailing his signal chain (three independant channels!) and such. methinks many on this forum would love to read that article. BP has it's ups and downs.
(not enough ups to keep me subscribing, but they're there)
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But if you can subscribe and get the whole year for less than the cost of 2.5 issues on the newstand, it's a lot easier to get your money's worth. While there's been quite a bit of fluff, in my opinion, and it's increased a bit in recent years, at the subscription price, it's still more than worth it as a whole. The mag has a role to play in the marketing side of music, but there are still some great articles and valuable info to be had.

My WIFE has started picking up bass player and reading some of the articles in the bathroom, which has had the wonderful effect of making her less resistant to my outbreaks of GAS. That alone is worth more than the price of the subscription. And in reference to the Muse article in the new issue, it may be the trickle that starts allowing me to dive into the effects realm and branch out from my Bass Pod XT Live.
 
#180
SLIV said:
But don't think that you're in Bass Player magazine because you have skills-- you're part of their marketing campaign. "Sell the soap." Period. Like you said, "music is a business." That's MY point. Bass Player is just playing its role in all of this.
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BP isn't perfect by any measure, but they routinely cover bassists at all levels of the business from bassists playing like Rascal flats, down to guys playing in emerging rock bands. Some guys get in partly because what sets them appart is the artists they tour with, but alot of artists who make alot less money get larger articles based on their "skills" or innovations.

Sure they are all in the "business" in some way, but if you want to start a magazine that covers bassists exclusively based on "skills" without regard to the musical industry meliu that they practice those skills in, then good luck. I'm sure you'll find alot of subscribers and tons of advertisers interested in paying for your staff.....
 

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