Defending Davie504 (OMG)b

[LBS-bass]

No matter what anybody accomplishes, there will always be others that choose to tear them down because the accomplishments were not made in accordance with the others' various ideas of "what should have been done" or "the way it should have been done".

Oh, heck yeah. I experience this every time I produce new music. It's frustrating, predictable and, I suppose, mildly amusing.

 

[AudioTaper]

I don’t like the way he plays... thumb over neck is awful and his hand banding... anyway

Please post a video of you playing that same line, so I can see how to do it 'right'

 

[LBS-bass]

I've watched a few of Beato's videos because he has access to masters which are interesting. But you can tell from his videos listing/titles that a lot of it is clickbait and it quickly became repetitive. I admit the only videos I watch on YouTube are concerts and stuff you don't find on streaming platforms. Otherwise videos are pretty much a loss of time compared to reading. You can read an article pretty quickly, skimming through it and get back for thorough reading if it's worth it. Videos you've got to listen at normal speed.
As for Davie504, I get your point, I think : you're saying that if the shape/style of the videos is different, the content is the same as a musical video ? I don't know. A moment ago my son told me he had a discussion with his friends over the increasing number of technically impressive but musically poor player videos. He had his friends compare a video of guy skilled in harmonics on bass with Jaco's version of Donna Lee. All agreed Jaco was more musical. I'm not saying kids should be listening to Jaco but maybe they lack musical models and are falling back on technique ?

I hear what you're saying here. On the last point first, I think that being dazzled by technical brilliance to perhaps the detriment (or perhaps just a general ignoring) of the broader musicality is a common thing that has been going on for ages. It's interesting that you bring Jaco in for this example because, back in the day, he was fiercely admired for his technical proficiency, even if nobody completely understood his musicality because it was unique to him and pretty much unheard of until he brought that style of playing into studios.

But 40+ years later, put on a Jaco record for someone younger and the odds are good he'll be dismissed as just another player with those kinds of chops, and they'll pull out the names of three or four young players they think are better, who were hugely inspired by him, but they're the people they are more familiar with. That's what happens as time marches on.

So, to another point, I am not saying that what Davie is offering is the same content as a music video. I'm saying that we have enough of that kind of content, and he's offering a different entry point that appeals to a younger audience. His body of work isn't a complete study in all things bass, by any stretch, but it offers something that draws people in through humor and skill, and might inspire someone to pick up the instrument. I just think there's room for all of it, and I long ago gave up trying to figure out why younger people like different things than I do.

I didn't go out of my way to listen to the big band music that my parents grew up with, though I grew to appreciate it much more as I got older, so I just see it as the same sort of thing. I don't watch his videos, but I respect that they have something to offer to those who do.

 

[knight of ni]

I hear what you're saying here. On the last point first, I think that being dazzled by technical brilliance to perhaps the detriment (or perhaps just a general ignoring) of the broader musicality is a common thing that has been going on for ages. It's interesting that you bring Jaco in for this example because, back in the day, he was fiercely admired for his technical proficiency, even if nobody completely understood his musicality because it was unique to him and pretty much unheard of until he brought that style of playing into studios.

But 40+ years later, put on a Jaco record for someone younger and the odds are good he'll be dismissed as just another player with those kinds of chops, and they'll pull out the names of three or four young players they think are better, who were hugely inspired by him, but they're the people they are more familiar with. That's what happens as time marches on.

So, to another point, I am not saying that what Davie is offering is the same content as a music video. I'm saying that we have enough of that kind of content, and he's offering a different entry point that appeals to a younger audience. His body of work isn't a complete study in all things bass, by any stretch, but it offers something that draws people in through humor and skill, and might inspire someone to pick up the instrument. I just think there's room for all of it, and I long ago gave up trying to figure out why younger people like different things than I do.

I didn't go out of my way to listen to the big band music that my parents grew up with, though I grew to appreciate it much more as I got older, so I just see it as the same sort of thing. I don't watch his videos, but I respect that they have something to offer to those who do.

I agree with you. But I've identified what bothers me on the fact that these videos can draw kids to playing bass. When you have a band or player for model usually you explore the musical genre, build some kind of culture etc. Where to go from Davie504 videos ? No reference is made to some music the kids could listen to. At the very least he could share some of his experience and prescribe a listening or two at the end of his videos. I confess I watched very few of them, so if he actually does I'm ready to admit I'm wrong. It's a good thing to show everyone great musical stuff, but he leaves everyone in the dark. Even the title of a song is enough to begin to crawl the web.

 

[LBS-bass]

I agree with you. But I've identified what bothers me on the fact that these videos can draw kids to playing bass. When you have a band or player for model usually you explore the musical genre, build some kind of culture etc. Where to go from Davie504 videos ? No reference is made to some music the kids could listen to. At the very least he could share some of his experience and prescribe a listening or two at the end of his videos. I confess I watched very few of them, so if he actually does I'm ready to admit I'm wrong. It's a good thing to show everyone great musical stuff, but he leaves everyone in the dark. Even the title of a song is enough to begin to crawl the web.

I think that, for better or worse, the YouTube algorithms take care of that. If you're looking at Davie's channel, you'll be offered other content that's related to bass, bassists, and music. Not sure that's all that great, it might be better to have things curated to a degree, but his content doesn't exist in a vacuum.

On the other hand, when we were kids we were just fed whatever was on the radio, what our friends listened to, what our parents wanted us to hear so we were in a different sort of bubble, but it was also a bubble.

 

[AudioTaper]

I think that, for better or worse, the YouTube algorithms take care of that. If you're looking at Davie's channel, you'll be offered other content that's related to bass, bassists, and music. Not sure that's all that great, it might be better to have things curated to a degree, but his content doesn't exist in a vacuum.

On the other hand, when we were kids we were just fed whatever was on the radio, what our friends listened to, what our parents wanted us to hear so we were in a different sort of bubble, but it was also a bubble.

The stations I listen to never say who the band is. I have to use the google music search function.

 

[Greenman72]

I believe the rule of thumb is that you get around $2-3 / 1000 views on YouTube. Do the math on his view counts and you'll see a dude that's making a lot more from his bedroom than 80% of talk bass combined.

+1 to this

 

[MultiScaleMale]

+1 to this

Just checked - 13.3M subscribers. Some gigs I'm lucky if there are 13 people. Heh. *SLAP*

 

[John Stephen]

+1 to this

You've resurrected a three-year-old thread, but what the hey.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

You've resurrected a three-year-old thread, but what the hey.

But if you start a new thread, then everyone yells “use the search function”.

 

[beaglesandbass]

But if you start a new thread, then everyone yells “use the search function”.

I think the annoyance with zombie threads is when they get resurrected by posts that don’t add much to the conversation, like “+1”

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

"Don't resurrect threads"

vs.

"Do a search before you start yet another ________ thread".

While consistency might be "the hobgoblin of little minds", it certainly helps maintain order on sites like this.

Too many times I see (some of) the same people complaining about both. I think some people just like to complain/put newer people "in their place".

 

[Root 5]

Slap!

 

[Greenman72]

OMG! You need to be stopped.