Do you like to show off?

No. I try to let my playing speak for itself. I actually think I look very uncomfortable on stage.

 

grmbl.. what kind of question is this ?

We're bassplayers.. we don't need to show off..

 

it depends....


i feel really comfortable on stage, but i normally just chill out by my bass rig unless it's solo time. when i solo, i guess i'm in showoff mode - not necessarily physical chops but mental chops - i step up front and let the crowd have it.


in music stores....generally not, but i get really annoyed when some 14 year old is busting out some new flea thing he learned, so in that situation i may pickup a 6string fretless and rip thru ornithology or the shostakovich 5th symphony or something...just as a friendly reminder. but in general, if i'm trying out something i plug it in, play it for a second, and then stop.


basically everyone i know has heard me play, so i don't need to show off for any of them....



funny enough, shows where i feel like i really smoked most of the time no one says anything to me, but shows where i just stand in the back and don't do anything tons of people come up to me after the show and say how good i sounded....


so i guess that's a "sometimes"


jason

 

There's a fine line beween showing off and bragging. Bragging IMO is bad. People start to expect a certain standard from you. Usually more than you can do. Be modest. Let your friends brag and talk you up. Then let your playing speak for itself. Actions speak louder than words.

 

i don't like to show off but i do it as a summary of my talents. i never slap to show off because a lobotomized monkey banging on a bass could impress some of the simpletons i've met so i always pull out some chops or something of the sort.

 

Only when some pup in GC turns up the volume, and challenges this old man in a funk fight. Afterwards we both turn it down, and I'll teach him the lick that administered the pants down spanking.
On stage it's all about the songs, although, I do like adding a tasty fill in here and there.

 

i dont like showing off. but if you insist .....

 

I can't show off. Not good enough.
Will I show off?

To qoute Freakazoid- "Just a smooch.."

 

i like that line

 

Showing off? When playing a song, in a band, I don't mind pushing myself to my limit (if it doesn't ruin the song, OF COURSE). However, I can't try any monster chops in e.g. a music store - when trying out a bass, I usually sit in the darkest corner playing quietly through an amp with very low volume.

 

I used to worry about showing off and what people might or might not think but one day I realized people are paying good money to be entertained by me so I pull out all the stops everytime I play wither it's to 25 people or howerever many,I find I got lots more work after I loosened up and found out who I was.

 

I came to a revelation about this today, and here it is:

The situation: You are in a music store, and some guy is playing away, prolly 32nd notes or super fast slap. You, being the healthily comptetitive guy you are, decide to play a little to show that sonic space isn't occupied by him alone.

*STOP*

What are you thinking of playing right now? Classical Thump? Portrait Of Tracy? Maxwell Murder? Well, my advice is DON'T. Play something that has a lot of rests, that need real timing and 'feel' to them, rather than an ultra fast ditty. Your soul will out-funk him.

Or, do some doubleslaps. Either is good.

 

im not really that good to be able to show off. however i always play louder when unsuspecting pedestrians come down my sidewalk. ive got a long cord and a big amp in my garage. the expressions of some people are quite entertaining. it looks similar to the effect that nails on a chalkboard have.

 

I tend to freak out when in front of people in a music store. I'd rather just do what Oysterman was talking about, and just sit in a corner all alone.

 

At gigs and to a general rule, no. But if someone comes along and gives a clerk the trouble of taking down a good-quality bass from behind the counter, just so he can play blink 182 riffs; I know what i must do.