Female bassists and your thoughts...

[Joebarnes]

Never played with a female bassist before (what would I do then?), but my drummer is a woman and she's awesome at playing drums.

Plus she is an amazingly nice person and has a nice rehearsal space in her house. So, why wouldn't I want to continue playing with her? Plus, she keeps agreeing to join bands with me, so its kind of her fault too.

 

[bearfoot]

I seek a female bassist for love and companionship. Is this the thread for that?

 

[phillybass101]

Hey OP, check out my fellow Brubaker Artists Crystalline Entity and Kate Deutsch. Nothing wrong with female bass players. The world needs more. CE even has a 4 banger like my 5er.

 

[groooooove]

tal and esperanza

/thread

only thing i think of them is that they may have smaller hands than most men. not an issue really.. just what comes to mind.

 

[Caeros]

There are a LOT of female musicians in my community, many of whom are super-talented multi-instrumentalists, singers and songwriters representing everything from hardcore punk to beautiful indie folk. Anytime a band reflects the larger world as a whole (through different forms of diversity) it creates a larger set of experiences to draw from when writing, not to mention a more interesting set of interactions and the potential to appeal to broader audiences.

I am 100% for lady bassists. And drummers, piano players, guitarists, oboe players, saxophonists, triangle players, etc, etc.

 

[ShoeManiac]

As a female bassist myself, I'm just wondering what everyone else thinks about us generally.
I don't see any female musicians in bands of my chosen genre (metal, metalcore, deathcore etc...) which sucks but also gives me something to strive towards.
I've had rejections from bands because "a girl in the band just wouldn't look right" which is a fair point I suppose, but still grinds my gears.

I've been playing in bands with female musicians for years. It's just not a big deal to me. The act that I just ended my tenure of 3 years with was fronted by two women. In this day and age I think you're definitely finding more diversity in band members.

When I saw The Runaways in the movie theater a couple of years ago, it was like being in a timewarp. I had grown so accustomed to women being part of the rock scene (both as musicians and part of the audience), that I was genuinely taken aback by how much flack they had to take from their manager as well as other musicians for being female. But clearly attitudes have changed.

Regarding the OP's post? I attribute that more to the genre than anything else. Metal has been a boys club for as long as I can remember. And it's not just bands, but a majority of the audience, too. Hell, I was shocked when a female friend wanted to go see Black Sabbath, Pantera and the Deftones play an arena show. And I was also a little surprised when a drummer friend of mine told me about a female guitarist he used to work with, and that she's now involved in a death metal project. Given my own experience with female musicians, I feel like I shouldn't be surprised. But when it comes to women in metal bands, even I do a double take. Maybe it's because I know the kind of guys that metal bands draw in, and a good deal of them seem like they may not be in tune with a female vibe.

 

[Swicked]

Any female bassists happen to live around brisbane and into art punk? ...oh..okay...

 

[IPYF]

I attribute that more to the genre than anything else. Metal has been a boys club for as long as I can remember. And it's not just bands, but a majority of the audience, too.

This is because most female musicians are terrible at playing metal. But so are the majority of male metal musicians, which is something that men will ignore 9 times out of 10 because men are so prevalent in the metal scene that you can usually find someone halfway competent to get involved with. The few decent female metal musicians that operate in your town will already be up there killing it with the top acts in the genre. It's a stigma based on economies of scale. There's also a lot of anxiety related to having a woman in the mix because most metal band guys, myself firmly included here, will not want to amend their questionable behaviour to accommodate a woman.

A big thing that gets you is if you've got an attractive woman in your band and you have punters coming to your shows for a perv and not the music. That's bitten a lot of bands that I know who get "Lets go catch that band with the sexy chick in it..." and that pisses of male musicians faster than copping a steel-cap to the nad region. But others would argue that no press is bad press...

 

[Phlipper]

As a female bassist myself, I'm just wondering what everyone else thinks about us generally.

What I think about a female bassist generally depends on how big her !@#$ are.


Now that the misogynist neanderthal comments are out of the way ... as a bandleader and guitarist I don't care what's between my bassist's legs, as long as he/she/it can bring the thunp and the band stays drama free.

 

[MetalOfSteel]

Very sorry for necroposting (2013, hell yeah!) and especially for my very bad English. Just found this topic by googling some bass women pics. I read all the thread entirely, and got to say a couple of words.)

At first, girls in music are extra hot, if they CAN play the music. I don't talk about all these "chicks" - if woman play good OR trying to learn to play good, who cares that she's a woman? I will respect her for playing music. Besides, being a woman in metal is quite big bonus to originality and band image. Most of metalheads are men, so, men like women, and they will respect and like a girl-musician at most. If they don't - just ignore these morons, if they care about "metal should play only men" - just "put the dick on them", as it spoken in Russia. There's no sex difference in musical education, technique or ability to play any music styles. If you can play bass - go and play bass, that's it. More, you'll be a good illustration to another, that women are great at playing metal!

And a few words about romance and relationships inside a band. Damn why not? A band is just another place, where people can meet their love. Just think about that - you can shag, love or just flirt at work, in the streets, elsewhere with no negative impact to the business, but in music - "ah, how dare you!"! What a ********. If someone say, "blah-blah, drama, disband, it's because of woman, cluck-cluck" - it's just another way to say "it's not a place to women and for romance". The more women will play music, it's more relationships and romances in bands, and you should deal with it. But what frightens you in that fact? There's tons of great examples, that proves relationships do not lead to drama and disband itself. Maybe, the reason in some personal qualities, such as mental\emotional weakness or stupidity? There's a few great examples: Jo Bench, Liv Kristine, Sharon from WT?
Ah, yes, I play in a metal band with my wife, her brother, and her brother's wife. What if I say, that we have NO problems about that?

When I read about all these "nightmares" of relationships in band, and words like "keep it in your pants" I thought, that you perceive a band as some kind of monastery. But imagine, you fell in love with your female bass player, what you will do - keep it in your pants? Pretty cynical... Maybe, she is the best partner for you. If you are not a kid and you are emotional stable person, who respects the band and that girl, your band will always stay comfortable and nice.
Thousands of bands split up because of extremely stupid reasons, or because of laziness, job, or something, but that's ok, otherwise, girlfriend-bandmate - that's "true evil". Pfff.

 

[hrodbert696]

Very sorry for necroposting (2013, hell yeah!) and especially for my very bad English. Just found this topic by googling some bass women pics. I read all the thread entirely, and got to say a couple of words.)

At first, girls in music are extra hot, if they CAN play the music. I don't talk about all these "chicks" - if woman play good OR trying to learn to play good, who cares that she's a woman? I will respect her for playing music. Besides, being a woman in metal is quite big bonus to originality and band image. Most of metalheads are men, so, men like women, and they will respect and like a girl-musician at most. If they don't - just ignore these morons, if they care about "metal should play only men" - just "put the dick on them", as it spoken in Russia. There's no sex difference in musical education, technique or ability to play any music styles. If you can play bass - go and play bass, that's it. More, you'll be a good illustration to another, that women are great at playing metal!

And a few words about romance and relationships inside a band. Damn why not? A band is just another place, where people can meet their love. Just think about that - you can shag, love or just flirt at work, in the streets, elsewhere with no negative impact to the business, but in music - "ah, how dare you!"! What a ********. If someone say, "blah-blah, drama, disband, it's because of woman, cluck-cluck" - it's just another way to say "it's not a place to women and for romance". The more women will play music, it's more relationships and romances in bands, and you should deal with it. But what frightens you in that fact? There's tons of great examples, that proves relationships do not lead to drama and disband itself. Maybe, the reason in some personal qualities, such as mental\emotional weakness or stupidity? There's a few great examples: Jo Bench, Liv Kristine, Sharon from WT?
Ah, yes, I play in a metal band with my wife, her brother, and her brother's wife. What if I say, that we have NO problems about that?

When I read about all these "nightmares" of relationships in band, and words like "keep it in your pants" I thought, that you perceive a band as some kind of monastery. But imagine, you fell in love with your female bass player, what you will do - keep it in your pants? Pretty cynical... Maybe, she is the best partner for you. If you are not a kid and you are emotional stable person, who respects the band and that girl, your band will always stay comfortable and nice.
Thousands of bands split up because of extremely stupid reasons, or because of laziness, job, or something, but that's ok, otherwise, girlfriend-bandmate - that's "true evil". Pfff.

Funny seeing this thread zombied. I do think it's good advice not to date a band mate. Relationships can be fragile things and they raise massive emotions. If you break up, it can be an issue, if you become a voting bloc on band decisions, it can be an issue... there's just a lot of red flags. Of course, every rule has its exceptions, and sometimes it's meant to be. But that doesn't invalidate the rule.

But since the thread has been necro'd - not a bassist, but seeing the thread pop up reminded me of Kristin. I got to play with her in a cover band when I was just starting out. She wasn't in the band because she was cute, or because we wanted some token female presence for image (we already had a female singer), or anything like that. She was just a dam fine guitarist. And I have to say, she was one of the most skilled, professional, humble, easy-to-work with people I've ever been in a band with. No ego, no drama, just amazing playing.

That band didn't last. It so happens that her longer-term gig was with an Iron Maiden tribute. Not a gimmick, not an all-female band or anything. She was just the best for the position. And while I'm not a big metal guy, they DID definitely post what may be the best gig pic I ever saw from a local band...

(that's Kristin in the blue denim vest).

 

[MetalOfSteel]

Funny seeing this thread zombied. I do think it's good advice not to date a band mate. Relationships can be fragile things and they raise massive emotions. If you break up, it can be an issue, if you become a voting bloc on band decisions, it can be an issue... there's just a lot of red flags. Of course, every rule has its exceptions, and sometimes it's meant to be. But that doesn't invalidate the rule.

But since the thread has been necro'd - not a bassist, but seeing the thread pop up reminded me of Kristin. I got to play with her in a cover band when I was just starting out. She wasn't in the band because she was cute, or because we wanted some token female presence for image (we already had a female singer), or anything like that. She was just a dam fine guitarist. And I have to say, she was one of the most skilled, professional, humble, easy-to-work with people I've ever been in a band with. No ego, no drama, just amazing playing.

View attachment 2844423

That band didn't last. It so happens that her longer-term gig was with an Iron Maiden tribute. Not a gimmick, not an all-female band or anything. She was just the best for the position. And while I'm not a big metal guy, they DID definitely post what may be the best gig pic I ever saw from a local band...

View attachment 2844424
(that's Kristin in the blue denim vest).

A band itself can be fragile thing, and there's vastly more cases, when band was splitted-up because of job, conflicts, invitations from other bands, laziness, creative disagreements, and more and more. And those issues happens way more often, than break ups. I know at least 5-6 real life examples, where bandmates are in relationships, and guess what? Not a single band was splitted up! Even where one of these examples was broke up. But I know dozen cases, when some band split-up because of "I got bored with this band", "nah, I decide to break up with music" or "my gf requests more attention to her". As you see, girlfriend, that plays in your band can give to you motivation and harmony in playing music.

Besides, if you fell in love with girl-bandmate, hiding your feelings and self-resistance can cause way more suffering, emotions and problems, up to leaving the band or agression. In other hand, if you not break-up, you'll get one of the most beautiful relationships in the world. Pretty risky, but it worth that.
How to avoid this? Just forget about girls and bands with musicians of both sexes. As I said before - monastery and self-resistance. As for me, better to be involved in love and maybe break up, than constant fear of women in music.

Main issue in music relationships - is that it too few examples of them and culture of these things not formed yet in modern music. In jazz music, literature, and other arts creative couples are not that rare, though... So, I'm administrating a big metal community in vk (russian social network) and see statistics - there are many young ladies turned to metal last time, so, we could expect that amount of musical marriages and it's culture will grow)

 

[MetalOfSteel]

Funny seeing this thread zombied. I do think it's good advice not to date a band mate. Relationships can be fragile things and they raise massive emotions. If you break up, it can be an issue, if you become a voting bloc on band decisions, it can be an issue... there's just a lot of red flags. Of course, every rule has its exceptions, and sometimes it's meant to be. But that doesn't invalidate the rule.

But since the thread has been necro'd - not a bassist, but seeing the thread pop up reminded me of Kristin. I got to play with her in a cover band when I was just starting out. She wasn't in the band because she was cute, or because we wanted some token female presence for image (we already had a female singer), or anything like that. She was just a dam fine guitarist. And I have to say, she was one of the most skilled, professional, humble, easy-to-work with people I've ever been in a band with. No ego, no drama, just amazing playing.

View attachment 2844423

That band didn't last. It so happens that her longer-term gig was with an Iron Maiden tribute. Not a gimmick, not an all-female band or anything. She was just the best for the position. And while I'm not a big metal guy, they DID definitely post what may be the best gig pic I ever saw from a local band...

View attachment 2844424
(that's Kristin in the blue denim vest).

Nice photos, btw!)

Main reason, why I got that butthurt is that I'm in that kind of relationships. Honestly, we are broke up with my wife a couple months ago, and our band still exists without conflicts and dramas, just because I split band life and my private life, and more, I do more practice now, because it is a great way to fight sadness, and this band is the thing, that makes me go ahead and uplifting me as hell. As for wife - so, she's good friend of mine now) And no drama.
And now I understand, that I just could not get involved in relationships in future, if woman not in music, I strongly used to that kind of life, just can't imagine, that I live with... manager or lawyer... nah! So, that's why I'm saying all these words - people just can't imagine, how beautiful and deep musical relationships could be! And I repeat it - there's no reasons to avoiding live a full life while playing music. Sex, love, friendship, drink, travelling with your bandmates. There's only one rule in band playing - produce enjoyable stuff and enjoy yourself, that's it)
Some people could say that friendship can cause damage to music quality, but who cares about these words)

 

[hrodbert696]

Nice photos, btw!)

Main reason, why I got that butthurt is that I'm in that kind of relationships. Honestly, we are broke up with my wife a couple months ago, and our band still exists without conflicts and dramas, just because I split band life and my private life, and more, I do more practice now, because it is a great way to fight sadness, and this band is the thing, that makes me go ahead and uplifting me as hell. As for wife - so, she's good friend of mine now) And no drama.
And now I understand, that I just could not get involved in relationships in future, if woman not in music, I strongly used to that kind of life, just can't imagine, that I live with... manager or lawyer... nah! So, that's why I'm saying all these words - people just can't imagine, how beautiful and deep musical relationships could be! And I repeat it - there's no reasons to avoiding live a full life while playing music. Sex, love, friendship, drink, travelling with your bandmates. There's only one rule in band playing - produce enjoyable stuff and enjoy yourself, that's it)
Some people could say that friendship can cause damage to music quality, but who cares about these words)

No harm, no foul. If you have a situation where it worked out, no need for anyone to lecture you. But not everyone is so lucky, so hence the general rule... if you can, look elsewhere.

 

[MetalOfSteel]

No harm, no foul. If you have a situation where it worked out, no need for anyone to lecture you. But not everyone is so lucky, so hence the general rule... if you can, look elsewhere.

maybe, so, I'm not alone, if one emotional stable and mature, no damage to the band will be done)
But... all in all, this issues are pretty individual and no rules here.

 

[NoiseNinja]

Good players are good players regardless of gender, I don't have any particular opinion about bass players based on their gender, eye or hair color or their preferred brand of toothpaste for that matter.

In my opinion pretty unimportant details when it comes to playing an instrument.

If I were going to have an intimate relationship with a bass player though I'd personally prefer they were female.

When that is said Julie Slick (Adrian Belew Power Trio, Echo Test) and Paz Lenchantin (Entrance, former A Perfect Circle) is among some of my favorite bass players.

Kim Gordon (former Sonic Youth) and Kim Deal (Pixies) are pretty cool too and I have high respect for Tal Wilkenfeld's bass playing skills as well.

 

[Lobster11]

Julie Slick is not only pushing the boundaries of "traditional" bass playing (see first video below), but is redefining what can be done with a VI (see second video below):





(For the latter, start at 8:40 if you want to skip the interview).

 

[LBS-bass]

I put an ad on Craigslist looking for bass gigs. Got contacted by a guitar player who was looking, I sent him some links, he sent me some, and we ended up working together. Later on he said he was a little surprised that I didn't play the "gender card," as he called it, in my ad. Said he was confused for a few seconds looking at my videos until he realized the person he was looking for was, in fact, the woman in the band. It never occurred to me that I ought to say "female bass player" in any ad. Why would it matter?

I started playing in the '70's and I'm not sure I was aware of any other women playing bass at that time. I just did it because it needed to be done.

If I'd placed an ad looking for singing gigs, it would have been a different thing. But if a player can do the job, I don't think it matters.

 

[MetalOfSteel]

I put an ad on Craigslist looking for bass gigs. Got contacted by a guitar player who was looking, I sent him some links, he sent me some, and we ended up working together. Later on he said he was a little surprised that I didn't play the "gender card," as he called it, in my ad. Said he was confused for a few seconds looking at my videos until he realized the person he was looking for was, in fact, the woman in the band. It never occurred to me that I ought to say "female bass player" in any ad. Why would it matter?

I started playing in the '70's and I'm not sure I was aware of any other women playing bass at that time. I just did it because it needed to be done.

If I'd placed an ad looking for singing gigs, it would have been a different thing. But if a player can do the job, I don't think it matters.

Absolutely right. But, tag "female {instrument} player" could be pretty pleasant for audience, though. I listen to Bolt Thrower for about five years, and just a year ago I knew that there's a woman on bass, and I was delighted with this)
But as for ads and playing music itself it really doesn't matter at all. Just a little unnecessary specialty for image and audience.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Wow.... just a few posts in and my opinions are starting to spill out of my fingers .

As a female bassist myself, I'm just wondering what everyone else thinks about us generally.
I don't see any female musicians in bands of my chosen genre (metal, metalcore, deathcore etc...) which sucks but also gives me something to strive towards.
I've had rejections from bands because "a girl in the band just wouldn't look right" which is a fair point I suppose, but still grinds my gears.

"a girl in the band just wouldn't look right" is ABSOLUTELY NOT A FAIR POINT. And don't let anyone tell you that it is.

In fact, you should probably wear steel toe boots the next time you're going to be around those people and introduce those boots to their crotches. What a bunch of losers.

Before I even start with my opinions on female bass players in general, I want to respond to this. It might not seem like a fair point, but it's a reality and something that I don't believe one should bother fighting against. It's wasted energy. Accepting that that's just the way it is would be a lot more productive IMO than thinking of those people as losers. They're making a choice, and they have every right to have in their bands whoever they want in their bands. There are many bands who require their members to use certain instruments, won't hire a guy cuz he's overweight, or bald, or whatever. Ya wanna talk about discrimination - people over 40 have a lot more working against them than a woman does - but all that BS doesn't have to play into the game. It only causes problems if it's what someone is putting their focus on. I could have gotten caught up in the impossibilities of someone close to 60 landing a happening gig, or I could look where the opportunity was. I chose the latter, and always will.

Regarding the less opportunity for women, I actually think it balances out. Especially for attractive women (though attractive men have an edge too). When I first joined up with a Zep tribute we played some shows with all female tributes. One in particular was beyond horrible - they couldn't sing, they couldn't play, BUT they could look and dress awesomely. The members of the Zep tribute were light years away talent wise, but guess which band was booked solidly within a couple of months, and playing clubs the Zep tribute couldn't come near. Experiencing things like that make me know that it all balances out. There might be less opportunity for women in certain bands, but there's tons more opportunity if looked at it from another angle. Works the same with the BIG bands at times, too. For every band that WON'T hire a female, there are artists who will ONLY hire a female, and talent has little to do with the choice.

I'll add that just like there are all guy bands, there are all girl bands. It's not the fault of men that there aren't as many all girl bands. And I get why people want to keep things like that. Guys act differently when you throw a woman in the mix. Same way girls act differently when you throw a guy in the mix. Touring becomes a little more complicated too. If more girls were picking up guitars and drumsticks, the playing field would be a bit more balanced - I don't think this is something that should be getting blamed on "the guys."

There's lots more I can say about this, but I just woke up and have a strong feeling this isn't coming out the way I want it to . Before I get myself in trouble I'm going to shut up.

I truly believe there is just as much opportunity for women bass players as men. If they're looking in the right direction. And tons less competition.