Bass Sketch on SNL last night!

[hondo4life]

Yes, which is part of why I find it so funny, anyway. Reminds me of a friend who is an astounding bassist (haven't talked to him in years, sadly). He was regularly playing at blues jams and rarely had a break. He once told me he can deal with the poor guitarists but the parade of bad harmonica players made him question his life choices.

EDIT:
Does anyone else kind of want a keyboard-shaped bass case now?

Looking up "keyboard vinyl wrap" (to make my hardcase look like a keyboard) led me down a rabbit hole for over an hour, and I still never found what I was looking for.

 

[Joshua Pickenpaugh]

Funny stuff! Surprised they played The Simpson's theme instead of the Seinfeld lick.

 

[Neck Diver]

Agreed! When my son graduated from the L.A. Music Academy 15 years ago, I took him to several jams in the greater L.A. area. over the course of a year or so. Some were great (Monday night jams at The Baked Potato were fantastic and the norm - others were cool as well.)

There was one close to home for us which was hit or miss, as the "host" band would rotate. One night was especially "memorable," as it was an older band. My son had joined the jam with the intention of playing on 2-3 songs, but the host bassist went MIA and left him up there for an hour playing with rotating jammers who couldn't play and couldn't sing. Memorable, but not a good experience.

Yes! The Baked Potato a great venue with fantastic musicians. If I still lived in soCal I would go to so many performances there. Only hesitation for me would be volume, it can get quite loud. Everytime I check their website i find myself wishing i could easily go to many of the shows. I can bring my db reducing earplugs. And those potatoes!

If you live anywhere near the L. A. Area and like jazz check it out, highly reccomended.

 

[ashtray]

Looking up "keyboard vinyl wrap" (to make my hardcase look like a keyboard) led me down a rabbit hole for over an hour, and I still never found what I was looking for.

You too?

 

[BarfanyShart]

Does anyone else kind of want a keyboard-shaped bass case now?

Yes, please!

 

[Hawk620]

Agreed! When my son graduated from the L.A. Music Academy 15 years ago, I took him to several jams in the greater L.A. area. over the course of a year or so. Some were great (Monday night jams at The Baked Potato were fantastic and the norm - others were cool as well.)

There was one close to home for us which was hit or miss, as the "host" band would rotate. One night was especially "memorable," as it was an older band. My son had joined the jam with the intention of playing on 2-3 songs, but the host bassist went MIA and left him up there for an hour playing with rotating jammers who couldn't play and couldn't sing. Memorable, but not a good experience.

Been there, done that. I recall one where the jam leader called for a simple shuffle in A. Easy, peasy right? It would've been except the drummer didn't know how to play a shuffle. I'm doing my best to coach him but he's completely lost and gives up. I corralled him later and politely suggested that before he take the stage at a jam with experienced players he learn more of the fundamentals that would be expected of him.

 

[nixdad]

Yes! The Baked Potato a great venue with fantastic musicians. If I still lived in soCal I would go to so many performances there. Only hesitation for me would be volume, it can get quite loud. Everytime I check their website i find myself wishing i could easily go to many of the shows. I can bring my db reducing earplugs. And those potatoes!

If you live anywhere near the L. A. Area and like jazz check it out, highly reccomended.

@Neck Diver - I agree, The Baked Potato is really something special.

The Monday Night Jams would start at around 10 pm, with the house band (led by guitarist John Ziegler of VOLTO! - Danny Carey's side band at the time,) which featured nothing but industry pros. The line up was typically 2 guitars, bass, drums with revolving keyboard players, playing for about 90 minutes. Tunes were typically fusion, definitely with a rock edge. After a 1/2 hour break, they'd start the jam, which always included several members of the house band. The jams were very structured, in the sense that guest musicians needed to be invited to play, and couldn't just participate on a whim. Anyone who didn't follow the etiquette was quickly put in their place (and for God's sake, don't bring your own pedalboard and assume you can plug in!) Tunes played during the jam were typically instrumentals in the vein of "Stratus" by Billy Cobham, or "Root Down" by Jimmy Smith, and were probably 15 minutes long on average

My son Nick was about 19 (but looked 16) when I started taking him to the jams. After several weeks of observing and networking, he was finally invited to participate. I believe the first song he played was "Stratus," which also included guest drummer Eric Valentine who had a long list of recording and touring credits. About 10 minutes into the song (and after several guitars and keyboard solos,) Mr. Valentine decided to switch up the beat and throw as many polyrhythms into the song as he could for several minutes to trip up Nick - I mean, it got brutal! Through all of it, the bass stayed on task and didn't waiver once. That performance earned Nick a lot of respect. Over the next year or so he played with dozens and dozens of top musicians at the jams, which led to him joining multiple bands, recording, some touring, etc. It was a great experience for him, and certainly made me a proud father.

Been there, done that. I recall one where the jam leader called for a simple shuffle in A. Easy, peasy right? It would've been except the drummer didn't know how to play a shuffle. I'm doing my best to coach him but he's completely lost and gives up. I corralled him later and politely suggested that before he take the stage at a jam with experienced players he learn more of the fundamentals that would be expected of him.

Good for you. Yep, plenty of teachable moments for those willing to listen.

 

[turf3]

Except the reality is it's bassists who don't show up at jams. I've played them where there were all of two of us covering 3 hours of jam. Or I'd show up at a jam hosted by some good friends and I'm the most popular guy in the joint to their bassist. He finally gets a break.

So playing for an hour and a half is too much for you?

 

[hooky_marr]

Lmao. I noticed that they were all plugged in as well! I don't think they were really playing tho, the fingering didn't quite match ;-)

No. James Austin Johnson isn’t a bad guitarist in real life: often spotted with a PRS Silver Sky, and I think he was actually playing in this sketch where he was channelling Michael McDonald.

 

[Hawk620]

So playing for an hour and a half is too much for you?

LOLOL....nope. I've played plenty of 4-6 hour gigs in my life just like almost every other weekend warrior has.

But that's not the point of a jam.

 

[micguy]

Funny stuff! Surprised they played The Simpson's theme instead of the Seinfeld lick.

Conan O'Brien was with SNL and the Simpsons - that tie could be the explanation, or it could be that the royalties for the Simpson's theme song are less than those for Seinfeld. Of course, the Seinfeld lick isn't a bass player....

 

[Lefty Joe]

Silly, but Bass Players get lots of love here!

Watch Saturday Night Live Clip: Bass Lake - NBC.com

Watch Saturday Night Live highlight: Bass Lake - NBC.com

www.nbc.com

pretty funny - 'meta' as the kids say - flipping the ratio. Quite the range of styles too (as opposed to Spinal Tap's Big Bottom, which had them all doing the same approach). I imagine this was a last-chance filler sketch, thrown in just because they didn't have anything better, and where's the joke? but may have been more memorable than anything else they did that night. Worthy of Mr Show (and Jack Black would know!)