Bassists that "overplay" songs

[QORC]

Recently, I saw a relatively famous bass player (whom I will leave nameless) as part of a cover band. A rock cover band, mostly classic stuff. The guy is incredibly talented. Getting sounds out of a bass, and speed on his hands, I will never get.

Yet, he was incredibly overplaying every song. Adding harmonics, slaps and pops (even to classic rock songs), and little parts all over the place, like he was a lead player. I found it distracting. Annoying, in some ways.

Is it because he's bored? just showing off?

I dunno. I like to stick as close as possible to the famous version of any song I cover. I both envy the ability of bass players that do tons of improvisations, yet also kind of loathe them at the same time for trying to do "too much" and overplay the song.

Like I said - the guy was a prodigy. But it was classic rock covers!

Thoughts?

 

[distrot]

i watched a guitarist put a shred solo in "smells like teen spirit" and he was dead serious

 

[capnsandwich]

I did that when I was bored. I always liked to push the envelope in a song and I liked to experiment sometimes. I don't do it much anymore since I've grown up and matured as a musician but when I did do it, it was because I was bored mostly. I used to be a lead guitarist for 20 years before I became a bassist so that had a lot to do with it too.

 

[Fnord Explorer]

I'd attribute it to boredom. I'd be nodding off during "Mustang Sally" otherwise.

 

[anderbass]

I completely agree with ya there QORC.

 

[ysand]

Adding your personal touch is good.
Overplayin = wanking/showing off

You can make a song less boring with adding a few -interesting- stuff only

 

[therex]

Adding your personal touch is good.
Overplayin = wanking/showing off

You can make a song less boring with adding a few -interesting- stuff only

+1, i love to add some small ska runs during changes while the voice is not singing. but overplaying can really ruin a song

 

[Ampeg SVT]

I think things like that happen when they aren't totally familiar to the music, I mean it doesn't really make sense for a guy like Marcus Miller to play some slap bass over some Cream stuff. I also think its a style thing, that particular bassist probably just plays like that and doesn't know the boundaries of "tastefully playing" to "wanking like a 15 year old at GC".

 

[Blake Bass]

I agree overplaying is very annoying. I was very guilty of this in my 20's and 30's but I've come to realize that the groove is much more important than the notes. You won't get bored playing Mustang Sally if you concentrate/meditate on making sure every note you play is perfectly in the pocket.

 

[palmann]

I never found a song boring, unless I'm tired or I'm not concentrated.

Gruesse, Pablo

 

[TimWilson]

It's a fine line, really, between a:spicing up an old tired part with a little of your own personal thing, and b:commandeering the whole song with your spankin' new part. I've been guilty of overdoing it, but like to think I save it for full moons.

If the guy was a famous player doing covers, then yeah, he was prolly overflexing a bit because he felt like he had the juice to do it. The other guys must have been cool widdit: He still had the gig. Was it one or two songs, or the whole performance?

 

[gregoire1]

I overplay to compensate for my poor timing and terrible technique. when I screw up something simple, I try to follow it with something "unpredicted" hoping the listeners will be distracted and forget. It works for me!

 

[mambo4]

I think 'pushing the envelope' needs to be informed by deep listening and a sense of respect for the music/song.

In those rare moments when find myself bored while playing, I generally assume I'm not listening mindfully enough.

 

[markkoelsch]

I think it depends on the song, the band, and the amount of showing off.

If the song has a lot of space, the occasional, tasteful fill, or lick can add a little flavor. The thing is the not go nuts with it. For instance, I really do not like straight blues, but filled in for a friend on a couple of gigs when he broke his wrist. I was bored, but because my friend was at the gigs and he took his band seriously so did I. That is not to say I did not throw in a couple of semi-wild turnarounds. Also, towards the end of each show they would go into a mostly improvised jam. It was literally whoever went first...the only given was that it be in a certain key. For them, it usually ended up being a slow/mid tempo thing...well, I jumped on it and played a pretty fast and driving blues that was at least twice as fast as any song they played. They looked at me, and jumped in. They were shocked, but it made them play differently than they were used to, and they actually had fun with it.

Now, if the band is a very straight and accurate cover band, then throwing in additional material is not appropriate. A friends band is the best rock cover band I have ever heard...they nail Yes, Kansas, Rush, Van Halen, Journey, and Styx. If I were to ever fill in for them I would not think about throwing in a lick at all...I would just focus on playing the parts correctly as they focus on that, and get well compensated for doing it.

Really, I think it comes down to taste. As I said, there is a time and a place. Sometimes a song or even a whole band can be structured around a lot of playing...if so, enjoy it. In reality, most bands do not have that mentality towards bass, so sit back, and get your groove on.

Mark

 

[lunarpollen]

Well perhaps the bass player wasn't very good. I mean, he may have been a master at technique and gimmickry and wankery, but a good player will be able to make a simple appropriate bass line sound great, which helps make both the song and the band sound great. Maybe this bass player was unable to do that, and therefore resorted to gimmicks and overplaying to cover up and distract from his flaw.

 

[QORC]

I think it depends on the song, the band, and the amount of showing off.

If the song has a lot of space, the occasional, tasteful fill, or lick can add a little flavor. The thing is the not go nuts with it. For instance, I really do not like straight blues, but filled in for a friend on a couple of gigs when he broke his wrist. I was bored, but because my friend was at the gigs and he took his band seriously so did I. That is not to say I did not throw in a couple of semi-wild turnarounds. Also, towards the end of each show they would go into a mostly improvised jam. It was literally whoever went first...the only given was that it be in a certain key. For them, it usually ended up being a slow/mid tempo thing...well, I jumped on it and played a pretty fast and driving blues that was at least twice as fast as any song they played. They looked at me, and jumped in. They were shocked, but it made them play differently than they were used to, and they actually had fun with it.

Now, if the band is a very straight and accurate cover band, then throwing in additional material is not appropriate. A friends band is the best rock cover band I have ever heard...they nail Yes, Kansas, Rush, Van Halen, Journey, and Styx. If I were to ever fill in for them I would not think about throwing in a lick at all...I would just focus on playing the parts correctly as they focus on that, and get well compensated for doing it.

Really, I think it comes down to taste. As I said, there is a time and a place. Sometimes a song or even a whole band can be structured around a lot of playing...if so, enjoy it. In reality, most bands do not have that mentality towards bass, so sit back, and get your groove on.

Mark

it wasn't just occasional. it was CONSTANT.

And yes, he's very very good. And actually relatively famous. I won't say whom because he does business with Talkbass.

I found his overplaying annoying though.

 

[QORC]

It's a fine line, really, between a:spicing up an old tired part with a little of your own personal thing, and b:commandeering the whole song with your spankin' new part. I've been guilty of overdoing it, but like to think I save it for full moons.

If the guy was a famous player doing covers, then yeah, he was prolly overflexing a bit because he felt like he had the juice to do it. The other guys must have been cool widdit: He still had the gig. Was it one or two songs, or the whole performance?

the whole performance. Every song.

 

[Jefenator]

Knock yourself out - more work for me.

 

[bikeplate]

HI

LOL I'm with Jefe

Its just plain selfish, imo. Prince was speaking in an interview about it sometime back. He was praising Larry Graham on how great his groove was and how he laid it down behind the band. He called people who overplayed and played "on top of the beat" selfish players. I agree with Prince completely. There are exceptions to the rule, of course. For the most part, though, bass has a certain role is modern music. The tastiest guys get the gigs, the soloists dont.

Rob

 

[OtterOnBass]

Maybe he's thinking that since he's in the band, the audience expects him to do the things that only he can. If I went to see one of the big-names in bass exploration, I'd want their cover songs to pop, hum, sing and fly all over the place. I can put on the CD at home. This guy must have not been able to hear how distracting from the rest of the music his parts really were.