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Black bassists and "their sound"
- Thread starter Kwesi
- Start date
Eddie Hazel, Mike Hampton, Tony McAlpine, Ernie Isley, Sugarfoot, Prince, Eddie Martinez to name a few
Here are just a couple of Eddie Martinez's
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
I think my contribution to this thread, though off-topic, could have been worded better. It's definitely been misunderstood.
The Fishbone topic is definitely up for debate.
My goof-up is the 'guitar hero' issue.
So, let me re-phrase:
In ROCK music, other than Hendrix or Chuck Berry, who is comparable to Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani? I don't mean in terms of skill or virtuosity, I mean - where are the black 'guitar heroes' featured in Guitar Hero (the game)? There's Slash and Morello (both of whom are mixed, like me). Who is extremely popular and part of the general vernacular when discussing rock guitar heroes?
My point is, there really don't seem to be black 'guitar heroes' (I'm talking about the general public, not the knowledgeable musicians like most on this forum). If you took a poll and asked 'name a guitar hero who is black, not named Hendrix or Berry' - and the difference between the general music buying public and discerning musicians would be quite evident. No?
I mean I could list Eddy Hazel, Prince, Eric Gales, Victor Johnson, Catfish Collins, Vernon Reid, Hiram Bullock - but then I'm starting to veer into blues territory - Albert King, BB, Robert Cray, Robert Randolph, Buddy Guy etc.
I guess my question tries to point to the fact that there are no black 'guitar heroes' in ROCK (again, outside of Hendrix, Berry). This is my opinion, and I'm try to substantiate it by asking the question of you guys.
Is it a cultural thing? I don't know.
If it's still not clear what I'm driving at, then forget it. My bad.
The Fishbone topic is definitely up for debate.
My goof-up is the 'guitar hero' issue.
So, let me re-phrase:
In ROCK music, other than Hendrix or Chuck Berry, who is comparable to Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani? I don't mean in terms of skill or virtuosity, I mean - where are the black 'guitar heroes' featured in Guitar Hero (the game)? There's Slash and Morello (both of whom are mixed, like me). Who is extremely popular and part of the general vernacular when discussing rock guitar heroes?
My point is, there really don't seem to be black 'guitar heroes' (I'm talking about the general public, not the knowledgeable musicians like most on this forum). If you took a poll and asked 'name a guitar hero who is black, not named Hendrix or Berry' - and the difference between the general music buying public and discerning musicians would be quite evident. No?
I mean I could list Eddy Hazel, Prince, Eric Gales, Victor Johnson, Catfish Collins, Vernon Reid, Hiram Bullock - but then I'm starting to veer into blues territory - Albert King, BB, Robert Cray, Robert Randolph, Buddy Guy etc.
I guess my question tries to point to the fact that there are no black 'guitar heroes' in ROCK (again, outside of Hendrix, Berry). This is my opinion, and I'm try to substantiate it by asking the question of you guys.
Is it a cultural thing? I don't know.
If it's still not clear what I'm driving at, then forget it. My bad.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
I'd have to agree with it being more genre related.
You can't-or shouldn't- judge a bassist by his or her color.
A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!
Quite true but besides the Tamas clip those don't sound like the style I'm trying to drive at here. I do dig that Tetsuo clip though. He's the first slapper I REALLY paid attention too.
Maybe it's just me, but that Tetsuo clip is missing something that I would refer to as soul. He's funky, but the emotional feel is just not there in the "soul" department. I know this is extremely subjective, and is hard for me to describe in words...but I know it when I hear it/feel it...slap & pop or fingerstyle.
I like it but I know what you mean. That particular vid is cut from a instructional bass video which could explain some of it. This is one of my favs though: Tetsuo Sakurai and the rest of Casiopea (w/ current bassist Yoshishiro Naruse.
It funny how fast this thread got away from but I'm just enjoying the discussion at this point
MikeBass
Supporting Member
- Nov 4, 2003
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That clip should end it there.....
Seriously, if you mute the audio, Pino looks completely dis-jointed in his playing.
But one listen......good night Martha!!!!!!
No, we just need more bands like Living Colour in general!!!
okcrum
in your chest
How I sound is a mixture of what I've lived, what I've listened to and studied, and who I've played with. It doesn't have a color assigned, just a sound. I think every player's sound is a mixture of those factors.
+1 to more bands like Living Colour.
EDIT: Would you consider Stanley Jordan a guitar hero? Not rock, I know, but he's a monster.
+1 to more bands like Living Colour.
EDIT: Would you consider Stanley Jordan a guitar hero? Not rock, I know, but he's a monster.
I would consider Stanley Jordan a guitar hero. But is he on par with EVH, or featured in a video game. (sort of what I was getting at).
But anyway - I've messed up Kwesi's thread enough.
But anyway - I've messed up Kwesi's thread enough.
How does one invalidate an invalid point?
Considering it wasn't even the main point I was pressing in my comment, and that I was actually quoting the OP and addressing his claim about Victor Bailey having his own style, it seems to me that you're really just trying to piss me off at this point by nit-picking and ignoring everything else I said rather than contributing to any discussion. So, kudos for accomplishing nothing apart from that; your time was well spent.
I agree with you and i do think its about where/how you were brought up. I spent my entire childhood being the only white kid living in an all black neighborhood in the mid 70's-early eighties and i grew up listen to all RnB, funk,disco and Motown. I never heard any classic rock at all until late in high school. Oddly enough the 1st guitarist i listened to was Eddie Van Halen, but I was grooving to Verdine, Bootsy and Louis before that. I didnt know any black people listening to guitar oriented rock so maybe thats why there arent as many black hot shot guitarists as there are white. Maybe i'm typing with my eyes closed ??
for me its all physchosomatic, people see a black guy playing and they think he has more groove than a white one playing the same... But in real life we are all the same, blacks and whites
it is an interesting to think about. as its been said genre of music has to be a big one. but people in general just assume that the best bass players are black. here on TB, we know better
. anyone can be good at the bass.
. anyone can be good at the bass.So far, I haven't been able to find a difference between black people and white people. Except for the skin of course. Unless all black people were sprinkled with fairy dust that makes them play music a different way.
