Davie504 finally playing live

[B-Mac]

He has 12 million subscribers so he doesn't need to play live. However, I always felt it was such a waste for him not to play with Jazz greats, so many of which have passed since he started on YouTube. It would be so cool to see him gig with Cobham, Di Meola, Hancock, Brecker, Ponty, Scofield, Weckl, Gambale, Shorter, Marienthal, and other greats still kicking.

Apparently he is quite shy as well as very insecure about his almost 7 foot stature, hence his indoor YouTube career.

I hope he gets over it and branches out to play with the greats, or anybody of similar ability regardless of the genre.

Slappers!

 

[_Some Dude]

I question whether he was playing "live" or not. Looked like a more or less empty theatre with a lot of lights and camera movement to make up for the lack of stage presence.

I'm not a fan, but there's a 13 year old kid in town who's probably going to be the best bass player around because of guys like Davie504, so the guy's probably doing more for bass than I am.

 

[BassyBill]

Retrovibe EVO Davie504 Signature | Chowny Bass
Does this help?

Yes, it does. Nice looking bass!

 

[Sparkl]

I doubt it, given how many non-US bassists are revered here on TB.

But you have to admit most of those belong to commonwealth, with a small scrap of players coming from elsewhere. Statistically speaking.

 

[BlueTalon]

Is he forging a living playing bass, or making Schlick-y YT videos?

What, does he not play bass on those videos?

 

[TFunkadelic]

I don't always love his playing, but his videos are fun. Apparently 12.7 Million subscribers, 2.5 Billion views, and $4Million in the bank, just from making short bass videos. I can't knock his success. I'd wager more people would recognise him than nearly any other bass player.

Davie is richer than Hadrian Feraud.

McDonalds is the most popular restaurant in the world.

Popularity and wealth are not the same as quality and merit.

 

[bass12]

But you have to admit most of those belong to commonwealth, with a small scrap of players coming from elsewhere. Statistically speaking.

It kind of goes without saying that popular music from North America and the UK are going to be most familiar to... well, most people who consume a lot of popular music. That doesn't mean that bassists aren't open to bassists from other places. I've personally never been aware of such an attitude here on TB, though I have been aware of the opposite (people expressing interest because a bassist comes from a more exotic location than North America or the UK). I would suspect that, for some people at least, bass outside the context of a specific piece of music (e.g., demonstrations of virtuosity for the sake of creating video content, as opposed to bass being played as part of a musical arrangement) simply isn't very interesting - and that the whole approach of these kinds of attention-seeking videos is something of a turn-off.

 

[Snibborwocky]

To me, he's got a Buckethead sort of on stage vibe going on that definitely works (if any of you have seen Buckethead live you know what I mean). I was expecting a small club performance but this gig looks massive if it's really his first time playing out live. I'm impressed. He could definitely make a thing out of this I believe.

 

[Carl Hillman]

At least he hired a drummer (and keys?) for the gig.

 

[Sparkl]

(e.g., demonstrations of virtuosity for the sake of creating video content, as opposed to bass being played as part of a musical arrangement)

Well that basically describes almost any guitar player. Or saxophone player. Or... well you know what I mean probably.

 

[perfektspace6]

Sounded great to me and I am not much of a slap fan.

 

[BAG]

Also thank you Davie for helping Charles finally catch a break!

As I said earlier, Davie is a very good player, but his video style makes me skip a lot of his stuff.
Charles Berthoud's videos on the other hand always have me entranced and gobsmacked at his skills, style and feel in his bass playing.

 

[bass12]

Well that basically describes almost any guitar player. Or saxophone player. Or... well you know what I mean probably.

I think the best ones tend not to rely strictly on virtuosity to get their musical thoughts and feelings across. But people can argue endlessly about who is providing what. Some people will think player X is as good as it gets while others might think player X is soulless. I personally have a hard time getting into a bassist outside the context of songs/compositions, no matter how good that bassist might be on his own. The same goes for any other instrument. So the "playing alone in my bedroom" thing wears thin for me quickly - just as an actor filming nothing but monologues in his bedroom wouldn't maintain my attention for very long, no matter how good an actor that person might be.

 

[JohnnyChatter]

First. Haha. I think this may be the first time I’ve ever read someone calling someone a prick on this forum.

Secondly. I think David is cool but I Don’t follow him. I’ve seen several videos and they are interesting at times but they kinda bore me after a minute. That video was pretty cool though. Honestly I’m kinda annoyed because I spent most my life playing/touring/writing and probably spent more than I have made. Dude doesn’t have to deal with people, lack of sleep, annoying band mates, no showering, etc. but gets to do the fun part and make millions. Also probably inspires several of our up and coming players. Good for him! Seems like a nice guy also.

 

[hawk400]

i agree with everyone's comments that the particular performance is substance-deficient with an abundance of flash. i doubt the posting is the entire performance, but if it was....

still, there is no doubt that he can do things (musically) that are phenom level --- the cat has chops!

TBH, of the youtube savant-class presenters, i'm always more impressed with charles berthoud.
but having favorites is an individual thing, right?

I kind of like them both, and don't watch much of either, trying to avoid youtube rabbit holes

 

[Sparkl]

I think the best ones tend not to rely strictly on virtuosity to get their musical thoughts and feelings across. But people can argue endlessly about who is providing what. Some people will think player X is as good as it gets while others might think player X is soulless. I personally have a hard time getting into a bassist outside the context of songs/compositions, no matter how good that bassist might be on his own. The same goes for any other instrument. So the "playing alone in my bedroom" thing wears thin for me quickly - just as an actor filming nothing but monologues in his bedroom wouldn't maintain my attention for very long, no matter how good an actor that person might be.

But then we're discarding people like Michael Manring and Jeff Schmidt, which is a pity.

 

[PaulS]

Apparently he is quite shy as well as very insecure about his almost 7 foot stature, hence his indoor YouTube career

oh wow, I had no idea he was that tall. That explains his huge hands.

 

[bass12]

But then we're discarding people like Michael Manring and Jeff Schmidt, which is a pity.

Well that's just me. I'm not really into solo bass (with the odd exception). What Michael Manring does is still very much about playing compositions though, so it's very different from creating demonstration content of the sort that Davie does. Manring is definitely an artist. Davie - at least based on the Youtube content of his that I've seen - is not. That's not to say there isn't any merit to what Davie does, it's just that it is likely to appeal to people for a different reason. Or maybe not. I can't say for sure what others are getting out of a performance on an instrument. I just know what I like and I can imagine there are others who have similar feelings to me on this particular subject.

 

[TK1820]

Slap "not like". Kind of boring and looked like a high school auditorium.

 

[_Some Dude]

Perhaps you're right. Just feels like it drags.

I think it's because it's kinda empty between the chord stabs. The original is a quarter note palm muted machine gun. Davie is slapping the quarter notes, so the rhythm bounces off every third beat with some clank in between.