Don't just stand there!

[Tampabass]

Don't just do something ... stand there!

 

[Noseferatu]

Another Kiss basher that can't resist himself who probably can't read a note of music but defends the use of tablature yet calls himself a musician and slogs Kiss for non musicanship when both himself and the founding members of Kiss are both musically illiterate.

I asked Gene to clarify that on his website a while back, and he said that he meant that they weren't "Malmsteen-esque" musicians, but he said that they obviously are musicians and that they DO enjoy making music, but virtuosity doesn't interest them.

Go figure. The guy knows plenty of theory, he throws it out there all the time. And I wouldn't exactly call the members of KISS musically illiterate.

When you can write songs like these, you must have some kind of musical capability.



Anyway, for people to sit and tell you that you're musically illiterate for listening to KISS music is as rediculous as saying THEY'RE musically illiterate.




PS, I know you didn't mean anything in particular.

 

[Noseferatu]

Anyway, I happen to feel that you're much MORE of a musician if you can create good sounding music WITHOUT knowing theory. Because, by doing so, you're much more musically inclined and you "feel" it just as good or more than someone who knows all the "rules".

 

[Busty]

1. Take your eyes off your hands. It takes some practice, but it can be done. Practice everything without looking, when you're by yourself, in rehearsals, etc.

Hint: The strings stay where they are, except for vibrations which you can predict. The frets don't move. Your fingers are at the ends of your hands, where they've always been. No need to watch any of those things.

Now that's a good way to have a new look at this issue (no pun). I'll try to keep that in mind.

3. Smile at the people you're looking at. Let them in on the fun. Change your expression to reflect what's going on. Acknowledge what they are doing, or what's going on onstage by smiling, nodding your head, winking, mouthing words, etc. Example: After hot guitar solo, make eye contact with somebody in the audience, smile, let your eyes get big, & mouth "Wow!"

Something i could just not do. That's the job for the vocals & guitar. You cannot do that while having to care about all the very important melody&rythm linking & stuff… I don't care about being grimacing at them (the audience).

WHILE a hot guitar solo i'd chat with the audience on how much that solo sucks.

Always remember this:

It's not about you.
It's not even about the music.
It's all about them (the audience).

Now i have to hardcore-disagree with this: it's all about the music!
No matter if you look like a spastic dwarf having diarrhea!
If that's what's needed to put the necessary groove out, well then nevermind on how anybody looks…

If you groove & look stupid because of that you'll look cool anyway.
If you suck tryin' to look cool you'll probably look even more like a sucker than you would while looking helpless. IMHO.

 

[fourstringburn]

thanks for the link. Here is a link in larger detail so you can see it better. This is Bach's Chromatic fantasy and is a challenging but playable on bass as Jaco and others done.

Yes it is a C# ascending but descending is a natural C and a "courtesy" Flat on the B thus leaving the D minor scale. Written music like jazz and classical are full of accidentals like double sharps and flats. this is what adds different colors to an otherwise boring scale and it keeps you on your toes as you progress in your sight reading.

 

[Busty]

double-post, sorry.

 

[Tampabass]

Yeah, the less you know, the better off you are! Stay away from that music theory, cause it's just gonna' mess up your natural musical genius!

(sheesh, the stuff that passes as "wisdom" here)

I sure am happy that surgeons and air-traffic controllers don't feel that way. But, hey, we're just bassists

Anyway, I happen to feel that you're much MORE of a musician if you can create good sounding music WITHOUT knowing theory. Because, by doing so, you're much more musically inclined and you "feel" it just as good or more than someone who knows all the "rules".

 

[fourstringburn]

I asked Gene to clarify that on his website a while back, and he said that he meant that they weren't "Malmsteen-esque" musicians, but he said that they obviously are musicians and that they DO enjoy making music, but virtuosity doesn't interest them.

Go figure. The guy knows plenty of theory, he throws it out there all the time. And I wouldn't exactly call the members of KISS musically illiterate.

When you can write songs like these, you must have some kind of musical capability.



Anyway, for people to sit and tell you that you're musically illiterate for listening to KISS music is as rediculous as saying THEY'RE musically illiterate.




PS, I know you didn't mean anything in particular.

What I meant by musically illiterate is not being able to read and write music in the standard notation form on what us snob bish musically educated people believe what the standard of music is. If you couldn't read or write by the time you were in high school, you would be scholastically illiterate, get it?

I'm an avid Kiss fan since the seventies and I love what they do and how they do it. I don't regard them as virtuoso's but neither is AC/DC and many other bands I like.

I tested the waters on this forum and it is clear anyone who can play a instrument is automatically a musician whether merited or not UNLESS the "musician" plays in a band that everybody hates, then all the sudden he is not a musician, GO FIGURE!!!

 

[mulchor]

Seriously you two should get a room and rub epeens in private, eh.

On topic -- For bar-bands, the ones that have been my favorites (i.e. would go see on purpose) every place I've lived were ones that conveyed a sense of fun.

I think there's millions of ways of doing it. But if you don't do it, I'm not going to see you again.

 

[Noseferatu]

Yeah, the less you know, the better off you are! Stay away from that music theory, cause it's just gonna' mess up your natural musical genius!

(sheesh, the stuff that passes as "wisdom" here)

I sure am happy that surgeons and air-traffic controllers don't feel that way. But, hey, we're just bassists

I'm not saying theory is bad. I know some theory. I'm just saying that someone who's been playing bass for 10 years and can improvise alot and do it well and has a better feel for things impresses me much more than someone who is a theory freak and can do the same thing.

 

[Edb]

Spit blood, breathe fire, and blow stuff up! KISS ROCKS!!

 

[Jeff K]

As far as your bandmates giving you grief, just tell them that Mick and Keith never seemed to mind that Bill Wyman just stood around and looked serious most of the time. Really though, not everybody in the band has to be jumping and prancing around. Just be yourself.

I'm not real animated when I play. I do a lot of swaying to the beat, but I'm not all over the stage. I smile if I notice somebody catching my eye who is clearly enjoying the music, but I don't grin like a cheshire cat or anything. And I have a lot of fun interacting with my bandmates.

But one of our guitarist's wives told me one time that I'm the only one in the band who seems to be having fun up there. Took me a bit by surprise because I'm a bit of an introvert by nature. Of course her husband is even more Wymanesque than Wyman! Fortunately, in our current lineup, our drummer and lead guitar player are very extroverted. That evens it out for us...

 

[Noseferatu]

Spit blood, breathe fire, and blow stuff up! KISS ROCKS!!

....and play catchy basslines.



The rest is gravy.

 

[jive1]

There's nothing wrong with being yourself. But, sometimes yourself is not very entertaining.

Every time you play, you are selling your music. If you don't look like you're enjoying it, it'll be hard to expect your audience to. Even if you're having fun with a scowl on your face, nobody will know it unless they can read your mind.

 

[chicago_mike]

It IS about the audience. Because they just payed 5, 10, 15 bucks to see you.

Think baby steps here, first relax, which you tell youreself you are, but..its more a comfort zone...two different things...Your comfort zone is you not moving...doesnt mean your relaxed. If your relaxed, youll be more interested in moving because at some point youll get bored just standing there.

As stated previously, practice in the dark and stop looking at the bass...its not going to bite you.

Tidbit: after you get acclimated to moving around and having open eyes,, you can now close them...at certain points in songs..to add...tension and get the audience to pay attention.

Example: We do a famous Jimi Hendrix tune nightly...and the way we do it theres stops..not just one, but one after the other, and all according to how the band leader wants them....I dont look at him, everybody else does...I know how he does the hits. And every danged time I do this, I can hear people in the audience.."He's not even looking!!!" In fact I purposely look away. But not just a head movement...it has to be a full body movement...

 

[Ric5]

Examples of all entertainment and no musicianship: KISS (yeah, I said it folks)

+1

 

[JohnMCA72]

...
Now i have to hardcore-disagree with this: it's all about the music!
...

I truly feel sorry for anybody who honestly thinks this.

If somebody really feels that way, then they also must believe that their customers would be getting a much better deal from a piece of equipment that can reproduce that music faithfully, consistently, & accurately 100% of the time while probably costing a lot less, having to take breaks, & taking up a lot less space. If you do, indeed, honestly care about your audience you'll want them to have the best experience possible. Since the jukebox makes fewer mistakes & produces the music much more accurately than even the original recording artists can, you'll be doing them a favor by not being there in the first place.

Research how much of human communication is non-verbal/non-audio. That's how much of your show is getting un-performed when you ignore the "non-musical" aspects of your performance.

 

[Big chicken]

this guy wasent noticed until he wore this

 

[rtslinger]

first suggestion go wireless if you are not already, that way you can move about freely
second Start out slow maybe when the lead guitarist is soloing move over and jam with him always smile
Third visit the drummer turn your back on the crowd and rock with him looks cool and has been going on for years
Forth is one I am not sure why it works? But it does, crouch down at the end of the stage

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

I personally like "statueing." If I could I'd act like a total robot whilst playing.

I truly feel sorry for anybody who honestly thinks this.

If somebody really feels that way, then they also must believe that their customers would be getting a much better deal from a piece of equipment that can reproduce that music faithfully, consistently, & accurately 100% of the time while probably costing a lot less, having to take breaks, & taking up a lot less space. If you do, indeed, honestly care about your audience you'll want them to have the best experience possible. Since the jukebox makes fewer mistakes & produces the music much more accurately than even the original recording artists can, you'll be doing them a favor by not being there in the first place.

Research how much of human communication is non-verbal/non-audio. That's how much of your show is getting un-performed when you ignore the "non-musical" aspects of your performance.

I never went to shows until I was an older teenager so, for all of my life up until that point music was just the sounds. I've been to a few shows and it is fun, but I still feel that "music is the noises that instruments and/or the voice make."

When I'm at shows I actually get very bored with all the talking to audience banter. I would much perfer a band to do their soundcheck, say "Hello [town] we are [band name], and we're gonna play a tune called [name of first song on setlist]!!" *band goes right into playing song*.

When I play for people I don't think about rocking out, I just concentrate on playing my music to the best of my ability.

I actually made a comment in another thread once that if I could I would perform behind a wall/curtain/something that prevents the audience from seeing you. And I don't mean like Pink Floyd's "Wall", I'd like the curtains drawn and the audience would be hurled headfirst in sonic turbulence with nothing but a blank barrier to assosiate the sound with.

And about your middle bit. That is actually happening, they're called DJ's.

I'm not saying any of us is right or wrong, but this is how I see it.