• 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.

Cover band jams are too long...just a vent

mboogiemanusa

mboogiemanusa

Mar 6, 2009
538
13
Ventura CA
#1
Just a vent ....I recently joined an established cover band that needed a bassist. Nice group of guys, decent musicians and paying gigs on the calendar. Problem is the setlist is short on popular dancable songs and long on extended concert style lead guitar jams. Once the lead guitard goes into wank mode ....it can last forever. At a recent gig .....the guitarist started his lead by playing with his teeth ala Hendrix....then jammed on what seemed like forever then went back to playing with his teeth because he had forgot that he had already done that already. Even if your a lead guitarist in another band ...your probably bored by this point. A few times...the drummer and I have had to end songs ......in mid lead. There is a place for this kind of concert style jamming but the local clubs want the cougars to dance ...not sit and watch a night of extended lead guitar wankin. The problem is these guys want me to use my connections to book them into bars and clubs where they are not really musically appropriate. Oh well.......guess I'll try to book them into festivals and biker events where dancing cougars are not the priority.
 
#6
I'd have a talk with them, especially if they want you to book them in clubs. I'd just be upfront and explain that most of the audience doesn't want to see that from a cover band. If he argues, explain you can't book the band in the clubs you know...if the guys are really open, see if they're open to going out as a group to see other cover bands one weekend.

My last cover band's lead guitarist did that in a couple songs, and it drove me nuts. People just stand there and stare for a few moments, then walk away.
 
#9
It's not necessarily that the jams go on too long, whether it's a cover band or not. It's the self-absorption.

Not having anything significant to say as a player is the real culprit here. Guitarists are particularly narcissistic about it, but it is not limited to them.

Aimless improvisation ranks right up there with watching the minute hand move on an analog clock as one of the world's greatest sleeping pills.

It doesn't matter how well you can recite the alphabet if you have no stories to tell.
 
#11
Edward G. said:
It's not necessarily that the jams go on too long, whether it's a cover band or not. It's the self-absorption.

Not having anything significant to say as a player is the real culprit here. Guitarists are particularly narcissistic about it, but it is not limited to them.

Aimless improvisation ranks right up there with watching the minute hand move on an analog clock as one of the world's greatest sleeping pills.

It doesn't matter how well you can recite the alphabet if you have no stories to tell.
Click to expand...

This is a pretty good post for any instrument and any genre.
 
#12
Edward G. said:
It's not necessarily that the jams go on too long, whether it's a cover band or not. It's the self-absorption.

Not having anything significant to say as a player is the real culprit here. Guitarists are particularly narcissistic about it, but it is not limited to them.

Aimless improvisation ranks right up there with watching the minute hand move on an analog clock as one of the world's greatest sleeping pills.

It doesn't matter how well you can recite the alphabet if you have no stories to tell.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
#16
Man, you just hit on my numero uno pet peeve so I gotta weigh in. Guitarists (and soloists in general) who act like the music is just some back drop for their endless solos are totally (as someone said earlier) "self absorbed", are not team players and will always be a drag on the overall ensemble sound and the success of the band. To make matters worse, I've also found that more often than not, guitarists who live to solo are lousy rhythm players ... like it's some thankless chore they have to do between their "inspirational" solos. I've got news for them ... if you can't play good rhythm, you're not a good guitarist. I remember reading about a well known Jazz band leader who, when he auditioned piano players, auditioned only their left hand at first. If, and only if they showed that they had good comping skills and groove, did he allow them to show what they could do as a soloist. Another thing is that super long solos are like someone talking and talking, but never really getting to the point ... it's lame, boring and amateur. I understand that everybody wants to show what they can do and have the audience think they're good. However, if you are really good, it'll come shining through for the people in the audience who know the difference. A good example ... back when I was playing full time in the late 70's/early 80's, the Country Rock band I was in opened for Vassar Clements who was/is a very good Nashville fiddle player who'd done mucho studio work backing a veritable who's who of Country music. Anyway, he had this bass player who, along with the good drummer, played really solid rhythm and served the music very nicely. Towards the end of their set, Vassar gave him a bass solo. I usually don't care much for bass solos ... even if done well because the bass player has the disadvantage of not being backed by, well ... BASS! Anyway, this guy did a concise solo that was not only very musical and melodic, but kept the original song melody buried within it, took you from point A to point B and was very dynamic. This guy (I never did catch his name) made _music_ and it wasn't just a chops showcase. Anyway, I left that gig knowing that I'd seen someone who could REALLY play and all I needed was a glimpse of what he could do.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back