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Bass Player Pet Peeves

#41
In no particular order:
  • being the only one in the band that knows how to setup the P.A.
  • having the heaviest equipment.
  • placing a bottle of beer on my amp only to find that it vibrated off during the song.
  • 90% of all bass solos, especially if it is an interpretation of Hendrix's version of The Star Spangled Banner.
  • audible tuning
  • double bass pedals - rarely necessary.
  • guitarists that don't, can't or won't play "the hook" of a song.
  • drummers oblivious to the idea of playing WITH the bassist as part of the rhythm section.
  • being the only one in the band that plays on every song, nearly all the way thru each - (sometimes I can't take a drink or wipe the sweat off my face for 3-4 songs).
  • guitarists that think they can play bass (some can, most cannot).
  • singers that don't do anything (sometimes I ask the singer to "move this over there", then ask him three minutes later to move it back - not because it needs to be moved, but because he needs to do SOMETHING!)
  • drummers with no sense of dynamics.
  • drummers overcompensating with large drum kits (few can effectively use more than a 4 piece).
  • musicians who fail to understand that in most cases (i.e. with FOH PA and limited stage mixes), their amp is for stage volume - in other words turn the %^&* thing towards the rest of the band so we can hear you - it doesn't have to face the audience directly.
  • anyone who consistently borrows 9v battteries.
  • when the sound guy is nothing more than a glorified dj. (I really don't mind a-hole sound guys - I just want them to be good at what they do.)
  • lying club owners/managers. "you guys only brought in 75 people tonight"
  • people getting onstage when we are performing. (old guys: think Pete Townsend and Abby Hoffman)
  • band members that never have this month's (or last month's) rent for the rehearsal space.
  • bassists with an inferiority complex.
i'm sure there's more, but that's all for now.
 
#42
- Drummers who don't count. Why should I do your counting for you? It works from the ground up, and you're the goddamn ground.

- Musicians who consistently want to pursue musical moves which they are obviously not capable of yet. Rehearsal is not practice.

- Drummers answering our ads for a drummer who can't do what we require. If I hear "Hey, uhm... just what is a polyrhythm, anyway?" one more time I shall sacrifice many families to my half-imagined deities.

- Musicians who believe that bass players are a low-end extension of the guitar.

- Bands talking themselves up. If you were all that, you wouldn't even need to say it. Who are they trying to convince?
 
#44
Woodchuck said:
Bass players who want to use my rig, but they'll send over someone else to ask. It's a small thing, but it still bothers me. I always tell them, "Have him ask me."
Click to expand...

Woods-
FWIW, I have never asked(& never will); I show up with all my crap, lug it up on the stage...and then have the band leader come over & say "You're using the headliner's bass amp". I guess he's schmoozing the headliner's Stage/Road Manager while I'm bustin' my ass getting our stuff outta the van.

Anyway, I ALWAYS thanks either the player or said-Stage/Road Manager.
 
#45
Here's a list of some favorite annoyances, big and little, accumulated over decades of gigging:

- eight-hour drives in the dark on icy roads, in shaky old vans with threadbare tires and faulty heaters
- clubs where you need to load in the gear two flights up or down a narrow spiral staircase
- clubs that don't have a toilet backstage
- clubs that "can't" provide any non-meat food
- clubs that won't allow soundchecks until late because "the Masons are holding a ceremony upstairs" or something
- clubs where you have to make your way through the crowd to get onstage and off
- venues with bad wiring where your rig's always buzzing no matter what you do
- festivals where the stage manager tells you "We're running behind schedule, can you cut your set by, say, half an hour?"
- festival backstage passes that are wristbands fastened with a lump of lead
- stage not swept, littered with stamped-out cigarette butts, bits of dirty duct tape, strange set lists &c.
- vocal mics smelling rotten from old booze breath and whatnot (SM58's seem particularly susceptible)
- worn-out boom stands that can't be tightened enough to hold the mic up securely
- having to play stage left instead of my usual stage right, owing to space constraints
- smoke apparatus on my side of the stage, intermittently going "PSSSSH!"
- support bands making away with patch cords, cables, etc., that are not theirs
- support bands sitting around yakking backstage long after they're done, and we're due on stage in ten minutes
- people you hardly know calling you up on the day of a gig: "Yadda, yadda - oh, BTW, can I get on the guest list tonight?"
- semi-acquaintances crowding into the dressing room right after the gig, really only looking for free beer
- gigs where accommodation is way over on the other side of town
- air-conditioned hotel rooms where you can't open the window (I pack a Leatherman to do it anyway)

Afterthought: I just realized none of the above is really "bass-specific". Must try harder.
 
#46
driver800 said:
In no particular order:
  • being the only one in the band that knows how to setup the P.A.
  • having the heaviest equipment.
  • placing a bottle of beer on my amp only to find that it vibrated off during the song.
  • 90% of all bass solos, especially if it is an interpretation of Hendrix's version of The Star Spangled Banner.
  • audible tuning
  • double bass pedals - rarely necessary.
  • guitarists that don't, can't or won't play "the hook" of a song.
  • drummers oblivious to the idea of playing WITH the bassist as part of the rhythm section.
  • being the only one in the band that plays on every song, nearly all the way thru each - (sometimes I can't take a drink or wipe the sweat off my face for 3-4 songs).
  • guitarists that think they can play bass (some can, most cannot).
  • singers that don't do anything (sometimes I ask the singer to "move this over there", then ask him three minutes later to move it back - not because it needs to be moved, but because he needs to do SOMETHING!)
  • drummers with no sense of dynamics.
  • drummers overcompensating with large drum kits (few can effectively use more than a 4 piece).
  • musicians who fail to understand that in most cases (i.e. with FOH PA and limited stage mixes), their amp is for stage volume - in other words turn the %^&* thing towards the rest of the band so we can hear you - it doesn't have to face the audience directly.
  • anyone who consistently borrows 9v battteries.
  • when the sound guy is nothing more than a glorified dj. (I really don't mind a-hole sound guys - I just want them to be good at what they do.)
  • lying club owners/managers. "you guys only brought in 75 people tonight"
  • people getting onstage when we are performing. (old guys: think Pete Townsend and Abby Hoffman)
  • band members that never have this month's (or last month's) rent for the rehearsal space.
  • bassists with an inferiority complex.
i'm sure there's more, but that's all for now.
Click to expand...

+1
 
#48
- Guitarist who will always be a little too drunk.
Even if he performs OK (not always, mind You) I have worried about it through the entire set.
- When the singer doesn't get drunk enough to really sweet-talk the crowd inbetween songs.
- Baby-sitting the entire band through PA setup and soundcheck.
- Being the most motivated member of the band, thinking unprintable thoughts every time rehearsal gets cancelled.
- Band members who think they can sing, but it sounds (unprintable again...), but You haven't been in the band long enough to be THAT honest.. We're not playing live yet though.

I'll be back with more after rehearsal tomorrow.

/Ff
 
#50
MY pet peeves:

1. Singers that don't understand that the PA is their responsibility

2. Musicians that drive clown cars too small to haul PA gear

3. Having to haul/provide the PA because I was smart enough to realize that you need a truck/trailer to be a real working musician

4. Singers that think it's O.k. to ride to a gig on their boyfriend's motorcycle - "Oh, you can take my stuff for me can't you?"

5. Bandmates that don't rehearse outside of rehearsal

6. Bandmates that don't show up to load PA gear out of my garage before the gig

7. Bandmates that don't show up to load PA gear into my garage after the gig

8. Musicians that play vague, incorrect versions of well-known tunes because they are too lazy to properly analyze song structures

9. Showing up to the gig with the PA and finding that the rest of the band has already set up their stuff and have only left enough room for either your amp or you. Not both

10. Dark rooms and rosewood fretboards

11. You will love this one - band members that arrive at gigs with coolers so they can fill it up with the client's food and not have to worry about buying food for a few days. I swear I have a guitarist that does this! We regularly play a bar that has a Mexican food restaurant attached to it. We get free food. My drummer and I counted six trips to the kitchen for this guy one night.

12. Guitar wanking - either between songs or cute lietmotifs that are meant to compliment the singer's witty banter

13. Guitar tones that dip into the bass frequencies

14. Being the only guy at the gig that bothered to carry a knife, a screwdriver, batteries, duct tape, extra cables, a set list, a towel, a mic. . . . . .

Enough!
 
#53
The fact strings cost so much!

Constantly having to listen for on the fly guitar changes to cover songs to compensate so i don't get the "stare" from other band members for playing the "wrong" note.

Being limited to one gig a week by band member availability when 3 - 4 are being thrown our way.

Having to endure an almost "sympathetic" response from people when they ask what you play in the band when you say "i play bass"...

e.g. "I play bass" "Oh really? wow...*re-assurance on* that's really good, great *re-assurance off*"

maybe this should be renamed "The Jaded Bass Player Thread" :rolleyes:
 
#54
guitarists who brag about the work they've been getting playing bass-
and then proceed to make a load of mistakes (playing guitar) in the set.

guitarists who can't be bothered to get a tuner.
+ audible tuning on stage.

guitarists borrowing a lead, so you can't use your pedal (with a tuner in it)

guitarists always borrowing stuff- as if playing guitar gives you a right to forget everything :rolleyes:

drummers who can't play in time ie. speed up slow down/make playing even a straight 8th rock line feel like walking on an ice rink.
 
#55
FireBug said:
-Going into a music store and seeing a 40 year old dude playing Higher Ground. :scowl:
Click to expand...

Like Flea, maybe? Oh sorry, he's 43 this month...

Anyway, I couldn't add any better peeves than you guys, but here's my compilation of my favourites listed so far.

guitarists who brag about the work they've been getting playing bass - and then proceed to make a load of mistakes (playing guitar) in the set.

The fact strings cost so much!

Being limited to one gig a week by band member availability when 3 - 4 are being thrown our way.

Being the only guy at the gig that bothered to carry a knife, a screwdriver, batteries, duct tape, extra cables, a set list, a towel, a mic. . . . . .

having the heaviest equipment.

drummers who drop time during their bar long drum fills

Singers...and their thinking that as long as they show up, their work is done, while the rest of the band is un/loading gear...

Gotta add one of my own... band members who smirk about how much trouble I take keeping the bass pad organised, and then keep everybody waiting while they look through their own for ages trying to find a chart. "Are you sure we played that one on the last gig?"
 
#56
RichValentine said:
Bassist's who noodle in between songs on a gig. So unprofessional. Really annoys me.
Bassist's who say, why more than 4strings?
Closely related to "Jaco only needed 4 strings" ... great, but I don't want to be Jaco, I want to be me. However, I find the variants amusing, like someone on here posted "Jaco only drove the speed limit"
Click to expand...
Bassists who put an apostrophe where it doesn't belong.
 
#60
Oh, goodie, I get to rant for a moment.

- Musicians that don't show up on time. (mostly guitarists).
- Guitarists that don't have spare strings, an instrument cable or guitar stand.
- Guitarists that lay their instruments on the ground. I haven't stepped on one yet, but I'm sure I will sooner or later. If I break it, it's your own stupid fault.
- Musicians noodling between songs or during soundcheck.
- Musicians that don't listen to the rest of the band.
- Band leaders (a certain band leader, that is) that won't listen to me because "I'm a bass player." The keyboard player certainly must know more theory....... argh!!
- Band leaders (again) that don't know what they want and freak out when I don't play what they want. Great circular logic argument there. It's hard to mind read when there isn't anything to read.

OK, I feel better. Thanks for listening.
 

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