• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bass Player Stage Presence

#61
Yeah... no kidding. There ain't nuthin' like getting bopped in the face by a pair of 38-DDs...

...is an injury resulting from something like that covered under Workman's Comp???
Click to expand...

I suppose that depends on the benefits package your cover-band offers... bwahahahahahaha! Benefits package!... oh, that is a good one! Although I believe many would say being injured by a pair of 38-DDs IS a benefit!

Again, sorry ladies - I am just a dude. I cannot help myself.

--tz
 
#63
I tend to move the most. I groove lots, jump on the big beats after a soft interlude, and get up front with the singer. My guitarist is great but he doesn't want to move! He says he has to stay by his pedal board(he has 2 frikkin pedals)
 
#65
socalpyropunk said:
MY precense depends on the crowd a lot, its hard for me to get into it with a non interactive crowd, still try though. when we would get shows with a moving rocking crowd then I'm right with it. Don't move like my guitarist but oh well.
Click to expand...

Boy, I hear ya... When the crowd is into it life is good! BUT... and we all know by know that with me there is always a 'but'... but the nights where the crowd just does not seem to want to get out of their seats are the nights you need to up the ante on the presence thing. Nothing guarantees a dead night like a band filled with dudes who look like there are all pissed off cuz the crowd is not living up to their expectations... That is a little backwards, logic-wise...

If they don't seem to be responding, take that as a personal challenge to do something that will get a reaction. Get the eye contact... give em a head nod like, 'come on out here! Let's party!' Sometimes a crowd just won't get up no matter what... On those nights if you can at least get a consistent 'chair dance' going, you are doing well. And if people respond positively with cheering or clapping, even seated, you are doing something right. And worse case... if the crowd is completely dead or heaven forbid, nonexistent, treat is as a night where you can do whatever the hell you want and find a way to have a great time fooling around with your band. Whatever you do, DO NOT GET ALL DEPRESSED LOOKING AND ACT LIKE THINGS SUCK. That is what we like to call, "a self-fulfilling prophecy".

BUT when the crowd IS into things and fills the floor, ride that wave as long as you can and milk it for everything it is worth! Laugh, smile, shake yo booty, the whole nine yards! There is no bigger or better buzz!

As for not moving like your guitar player... so what? Find your own groove, put your stamp on it and make your guit player wish he could do whatever it is that you do! LOL

--tz
 
#66
I think presence is the most important thing in a live show. The band sounding thight and you knowing your parts is something you do in rehearsals. When you in a gigging band you should know your stuff enough to be able listen to others and entertain without having to focus on your playing. it should be natural and come almost without thinking about it. So you can do wathever you want ans still be a very good sounding band.
 
#67
I hate to quote Gene Simmons, but he made a good point on this topic--he said something like try to steal the show from the lead singer. Personally I don't think it's possible to steal the show from our singer but it's the right mindset to have IMO. Esp. if you're in a cover band, I mean let's face it, you can only play Brown-Eyed Girl so well and so many different ways. Stage presence can be what sets you apart from the million other cover bands out there; it counts for a lot.
 
#69
I think that live music should be entertaining to look at as well as to listen to!! No matter how tight or technically challenging the music is, I hate to see the band just stand in one spot and play. I like to do what I can to acknowledge the crowd and get them into it. Even just thanking them for the applause after the song and calling out the dancers who" go the extra mile" will go a long way. We have a 23 year-old female lead vocalist that has more energy that the other 4 of us put together! Sometimes, it's fun just staying out of her way. When she gets that hair going watch out! As for me moving, I try to fit that to the song so it doesn't come off as too over the top.

I was a little subdued this last gig on St. Patties Day because I played the unlined fretless Dean Edge 5 all 4 sets. It was my first time playing out with it and I had to pay some attention to what I was doing....Even so, I still cut up with the crowd some. :bassist:
 
#70
You will find the more successful live acts have STRONG STAGE PRESENCE. That is not by accident. There are always the miscellaneous exceptions where you get the Bill Wyman/Charlie Watts school of 'disappear into the background' non-presence, but I personally, as a bass player, do NOT want to watch that. I want to feel like the bass player is really into, and enjoying what he is doing. The only way to know that (unless you are psychic) is to SEE it in the way they present themselves.

Citing Charlie and Bill, the only thing you felt from these guys was that they were hanging on for dear life and could not wait to get off the stage and back into bed where they could curl back up into the fetal position and nervously await the next show.

Not my thing, man... it ain't just girls that wanna have fun!

--tz
 
#71
I make sure I can play my songs without looking at the fretboard. (obviously once in a while I do) Every show I play, I move around and move to the music. By not having to look, it makes things a hell of a lot easier to do so.
For my heavier band, I headbanged and got the crowd fired up. The guitar player always just stared at his guitar and maybe swayed back and forth once in a while...
With this new one, it is bass swinging and jump kicks hehe
 
#72
My guitarist is so zany that anything anyone else does is standing still by comparison.

However, I agree 100% with tZer. It doesn't take much effort. Even simply looking at the crowd and making eye contact with people and smiling makes them feel like they are a part of it, because though you are on stage, they are being noticed by you. It pulls them in more.

Have fun with it. You don't have to be jumping all over the place, but the crowd should know you are into what you are doing...and aren't going to fall over asleep at any moment.

Then again, John Entwistle had stage presence...
 
#74
I really need to concentrate during our opening song, because my bass part is pretty technical in my opinion and if it's not tight it doesn't sound good.

The rest of my playing, if I can't play tight and run around I don't.

That being said from the last part of our opening song to the end of our set I'm usually doing something.
 
#75
szvonek said:
I hate to quote Gene Simmons, but he made a good point on this topic--he said something like try to steal the show from the lead singer.
Click to expand...

Man... Gene is THE guy to quote on this topic. Is there a better example of a bassist who made his career and fame off of his stage presence? Gene is a good bassist, but that sure isn't what he's known for.

Again, it helps that he sings lead on about 43% of their songs though - so the lead singer factor also works in his favor.
 
#76
tZer is right on with everything he said.

Prior to joining the band I'm in now, I didn't move around much. I wasn't a tree either, but I just sort of hung back and grooved.

The band I'm in now is such a popular group (locally anyway), that we are pretty much guaranteed a good crowd. Even on the slow nights, we have a following that goes to every gig, so even if the crowd is generally dead, playing for them is always fun. We know we'll have at least 10-20 people who'll dance and whoop it up with us.

I can't help but get caught up in the fun. I move around more than I ever have...and it's all comes natural. It isn't any preconcieved ideas about what I'm going to do. I just go with the flow. My guitarist is just about THE quitest, shy, introverted person you'd ever meet. Onstage, he just goes absolutely wild...and he doesn't know why. This band just has the philosophy that, "What the hell, we got into this to have fun, so if we're not having fun (regardless of what the crowd is like) why do it at all?"

Every gig we play, we cherish. We're musicians, and we're damned fortunate to be able to do this, have all this fun and get paid too!!! Why wouldn't we be smiling and interacting with the crowd?

If you're not there for the crowd, why are you playing in front of one? And, if you are playing out for the right reasons...and enjoying the hell out of it, most of the time we musicians are entertained by the crowd just as much as we entertain them.

I can't tell you how many women will dance in front of me simply because I acknowledge them and interact with them. I'm a very happily married guy, but they don't know it at the time and are more than willing to "show off" and cut loose. That's why they went out in the first place. Who am I to disappoint them?

If I didn't want to entertain them...then I should stay at home and play for myself, or record something.
 
#77
Sundogue said:
"What the hell, we got into this to have fun, so if we're not having fun (regardless of what the crowd is like) why do it at all?"

If I didn't want to entertain them...then I should stay at home and play for myself, or record something.
Click to expand...

Testify, brutha! I would be willing to be you could put 4 non-musicians on a stage who are having fun - jumping around, laughing, engaging the crowd with eye-contact and 'come on' looks
and on another stage, put 4 musicians who could play reasonably well, but had a 'look at the shoes, stand still and just play the song' demeanor, and the stage with the 4 non-musicians would be the one that the people gravitated to and partied with.

Let's see if someone will provide us with a grant to do this sort of experiment!
 
#78
tZer said:
Testify, brutha! I would be willing to be you could put 4 non-musicians on a stage who are having fun - jumping around, laughing, engaging the crowd with eye-contact and 'come on' looks
and on another stage, put 4 musicians who could play reasonably well, but had a 'look at the shoes, stand still and just play the song' demeanor, and the stage with the 4 non-musicians would be the one that the people gravitated to and partied with.

Let's see if someone will provide us with a grant to do this sort of experiment!
Click to expand...

I agree. How many times have you gone out and seen a relatively terrible band (talent-wise, musically), but they are up there having fun and the crowd is just going nuts for them?

Conversely, how many bands have you seen that had awesome musicians, but acted like no one was there? The crowd acts like that too...like there's no band there.

People love live music...not so much for the songs, but for the "event" taking place. Most people go out to see a live band because they want their night to be more than sitting at a bar drinking and listening to the jukebox.

So, for those that think stage presence isn't that important... What is the difference between a jukebox and a band then?

You can either make it an "event" for the crowd (and yourself) or you can make it just another night of drinking and listening to the jukebox. At least with a jukebox, they get to pick what songs to drink to.
 
#79
How can anyone play standing still? It's just not possible. I get busted by more sound guys for stomping my feet onstage... When I see the mic stands start rockin' back-n-forth I think, "oops". It's like bassface. I can either play the song or worry about how my face is contorting. Not both. Some pics just make me go :rollno: Playing music is a mind and body exercise. If I'm into the music, I gotta move. No choice.

Depending on the lighting I can sometimes see fairly deep into the crowd. I have to be careful when staring or "locking on" to someone (o.k., usually a female but sometimes... I'd rather not go there right now, thank you Doctor ;) because there is an intensity that is an actual physical feeling. I have gotten lost in the song before due to the connection. Invariably those people make a point of speaking to me after the show. It's only rocknroll but I like it! Entertain the masses. It's not just our job, it's our calling. :bassist:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back