Dressing well and dancing

[ihixulu]

We are musicians. We aren't normal.

This!!!!!

 

[noahw1]

If you played with Prince it was a must.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

yes. put effort into your look.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

oh yeah I forgot they are all original band playing what they created instead of playing cover ...

 

[fretter]

These guys had style:

 

[eff-clef]

My band plays at bars, dock bars, and some yacht clubs. I wear black, cool band t shirts(Fishbone,Weapon of Choice, Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams...) with nice tan dress shorts(sometimes a polo shirt)
when it's hot. During cool/cold weather, I wear dark jeans(gray or black) with said t shirts. I don't give flying fark what the haberdashery facists say ! We (my band) always
get rebooked.

 

[juancaminos]

Yes,

If you are a working musician you should get dressed up and have enough movement on stage to match the atmosphere. Whether that's full on dancing or a mild 2 step, its better than standing there. When you are working enough that people know/assume you can play and hang, the next thing they look at is how you look and dress and I've been hired and fired many times by band leaders looking for a certain "look" on stage.

For one band I work with we have 3 dress codes and none of them allow shorts:
Bar Attire: jeans and a tshirt (black or dark), clean, favorite logos and ironic funny shirts allowed.
Club Attire: fancy Jeans, Button Down, Vest
Wedding Attire: Black suit, white shirt, black skinny tie.

When in doubt, wear all black and have a spare button down in the car if you have to dress up in a pinch. During the summer, a lot of bands switch to all white or light colors for outdoor hits so double check with the band.

A well dressed and coordinated band immediately sounds better to the audience, whether that's perceived or real.

YEP

 

[Korladis]

I read somewhere that in order to be a good bass player, you need to dress well and dance while you are performing live. How many think that these two things are really necessary for being a bass player in a gigging band?

Ha ha, no.

 

[juancaminos]

Not a bad point. I suppose if we're going to be intellectually honest here we should add that caveat.

At least SOME of your band needs to be entertaining. Those two guys you mentioned were covered by others on the same stage.

Wyman had Mick, Keith and Ronnie running around like crazy people covering the bases on "entertainment".

Entwistle had the same thing with Pete and Roger (and Moon at one point).

So, you're correct. You don't have to be the ultimate entertainer by yourself if you have a few others taking care of that for you.

But if NONE of you are doing it......

(Keep in mind, your local bar band singer likely is NOT Mick Jagger or Roger Daltrey. So you'll likely have to pitch in. )

Exactly, in fact the front men in those bands probably spot light hogs anyway. For the rest of us, playing live isn't just about being great at your cosen instrument. It's the entire package. When our band was running hot and heavy we hired entertainers over instrument virtuosity.

 

[David A. Davis]

I don’t dance and I don’t sing. I play bass and tell jokes sometimes.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

I attended the John Entwistle school of bassist dancing, but I don't dress as nice as he did....

 

[Gasman]

Never confuse being a bass player with being an entertainer. There is no reason you can't be both, but they are separate skills.

This

 

[ThaCoast]

If you play in a punk band, no. Maybe. Depending on what you consider dressing well, and dancing

The Clash circa 1979-1981. They dressed well & Paul Simonon did sway & ''dance'' if you will. My band is punk & i dance around cause there's enough room around to dance & jump & do stupid poopie. Also we're a 3 piece so it helps.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

The Clash circa 1979-1981. They dressed well & Paul Simonon did sway & ''dance'' if you will. My band is punk & i dance around cause there's enough room around to dance & jump & do stupid poopie. Also we're a 3 piece so it helps.

Yeah depending on the stage, I usually have to stand behind two guitars and the singer. If the stage is narrow, we kind of stand in a row in front of the drummer. I like to bust out rock moves as much as the next guy but it is hard when standing a row back. Bass player problems.

 

[kesslari]

I think this bass player is hilarious. He's working hard, though.

He's also a monster bass player and sings his ass off. The whole band was doing "over the top" performance in this vid - he was just keeping up.

 

[Badwater]

Great question. Dressing right and moving well is a huge part of playing live. From the days of blues guitar players nothing much has changed. Blues players always dressed for success since the beginning of time. They were the influence to all great forms of modern music. Thus, Dressing for success is the key to any music performance. And, moving to the groove in a elegant fashion like all the great funk players, disco players, pop music players, and hip hop artists is a key to the style of music they perform.

Anyone can buy a great outfit, but they must have the goods to back it up. Not everyone can groove with finesse, and you can't buy that.

 

[Korladis]

Yeah depending on the stage, I usually have to stand behind two guitars and the singer. If the stage is narrow, we kind of stand in a row in front of the drummer. I like to bust out rock moves as much as the next guy but it is hard when standing a row back. Bass player problems.

Make one of the guitarists stand in back.

 

[Pops OB]

If dressing well and dancing is a requirement to play bass in a band, I think I’ll just hang up my bass and go join the cast of Cats.

 

[XrisThaBassman]

I wouldn't say I dress well, but I definitely like to have a wee dance about the stage!

I have been known to do the wee wee dance toward the end of a set, especially if I've had a lot of water and/or beer!

 

[XrisThaBassman]

The Clash circa 1979-1981. They dressed well & Paul Simonon did sway & ''dance'' if you will. My band is punk & i dance around cause there's enough room around to dance & jump & do stupid poopie. Also we're a 3 piece so it helps.

Poopie dance is something else entirely.