I haven't seen Ricky Boyer of Assorted Jellybeans mentioned yet. Maybe not the most prolific bassist. My two other favorites are Fat Mike and Dee Dee
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Favorite punk rock bass player?
- Thread starter Nihilism
- Start date
Great band. Sort of the progenitors of "cowpunk" IMO...
punk rock bass "player"
i like sid v, but he didnt "play" per se
(imho)
_dash
Sid, by all accounts, was not much of a player. Glenn Matlock, on the other hand, did just fine.
We know, we know, you hate anything "punk" and consider it noise. How refreshing. However, there have always been a number of good-to-great musicians in punk. Curt and Chris Kirkwood from Meat Puppets...the amazing rhythm section of Mike Watt & George Hurley from Minutemen...the cerebral yet bashing playing from the guys in Mission of Burma...John Doe (on bass) and particularly DJ Bonebrake and Billy Zoom from X...the tight-and-fast-as-hell dudes in Die Kreuzen...I could go on and on...
It's not as if anything that could be considered "punk" was/is all played by snotty amateurs who only knew two chords. Anyone floating that tidbit around clearly hasn't got an effin' clue what they are talking about.
Awesome! My boss is from Edmonton too and used to go to their shows. I was too young to see them in their heyday but SNFU was the first punk band I ever heard. I remember my friends older brother used to play them when I was growing up. Yeah it is kind of depressing to see Chi now. At least from what I've heard he is starting to do better.
I never heard of them until a few years ago but I'm glad I found them!
punk rock bass "player"
i like sid v, but he didnt "play" per se
(imho)
_dash
Offering up Sid Vicious as an exemplar of a punk rock bass player is akin to saying "I know absolutely nothing about punk music". You might as well draw conclusions about what pop bass players are like based upon what you know about Danny Bonaduce.
A great place to start learning more would be to go through this thread, take note of the players, bands, and songs identified, and give them a listen. If *after* you've done that you care to comment and offer judgement on punk bassists, feel free.
Bob Thomson (Big Drill Car)
Incredible player that showed me what could be done if I threw my pick away.
Incredible player that showed me what could be done if I threw my pick away.
Holy hell, I'd forgotten all about Big Drill Car. I never heard much by them but I used to have a track or two by them on a couple of comps and had friends who were pretty big fans. Remember seeing them show up in various old zines like Big Takeover.
I'll have to track down some of their stuff again...
it's ok, but i did say "imho"
...so i dont get your post
_dash
Maybe it would help you "get it" if you realized that it annoys people when you come on repeatedly just to bash whatever the subject of the thread is while displaying your ignorance and then hiding behind "Aw gee, I said it was only IMHO...what's the problem?"
To be honest, if you have nothing else to contribute than snide remarks and infantile streams of emoticons, it shouldn't surprise you that nobody really cares what your opinion is.
It would be exactly the same as if I went on a forum for classical music aficionados and said nothing but useless stuff like "I don't see the fuss...Bach, Mozart, Beethoven...they really aren't that great as composers and all their music sounds the same."
And then got all whiny and "Whoooo? Little ol' meeeee?" when it annoyed someone.
Last edited:
God yes. Bobby Hackney(?). Was the singer, too I think. I just love that opening riff on "Where Do We Go From Here?"
14 pages. One Greg Norton. No Tommy. Ah well, maybe the Replacements weren't really punk. And lots of hate for Sid. But the genre is punk. The question asks for favorite. And Mr. Vicious did hold a bass (when he wasn't hitting people with it). 90% of punk is attitude. Sid had it. Sid stays.
From Wikipedia for what it's worth: "Viv Albertine went further in defence (sic) of his ability, saying that one night she "went to bed, and Sid stayed up with a Ramones album and a bass guitar, and when I got up in the morning, he could play. He'd taken a load of speed and taught himself. He was so quick."
Is this true? I have no idea. But Sid is just so much a face of late 70's punk and a caricature of bad punk musicianship, it's hard not to want to list him. So he's on my list.
From Wikipedia for what it's worth: "Viv Albertine went further in defence (sic) of his ability, saying that one night she "went to bed, and Sid stayed up with a Ramones album and a bass guitar, and when I got up in the morning, he could play. He'd taken a load of speed and taught himself. He was so quick."
Is this true? I have no idea. But Sid is just so much a face of late 70's punk and a caricature of bad punk musicianship, it's hard not to want to list him. So he's on my list.
Well it does ask for favorite punk rock bass player... not too sure Sid technically fits that description... bass hanger maybe?
