I wouldn't say he's my sole idol but he certainly is a very capable player. Some of his basslines are just inspired, you sit down and wonder how on earth he ever came up with them. It's great fun to play too, Stone Cold Bush, Blackeyed Blonde, Subterranian Homesick Blues, Aeroplane. All great fun for the bassist to play. As a guy he's always come across as a real human and not arrogant in any way, after all it was his idea that the RHCP should start a trust that donates 5% of all their touring income to charities (since they loose around 75% of it anyway this really is a lot). What people don't give Flea credit for is that he actually plays fingerstyle and pick as well, increasingly more laterly. The chorus to Blackeyed Blonde is a nice exercise in fast fingerwork.
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Flea
- Thread starter VEZ
- Start date
Vox Populi said:
exactly but he seems to doesn't want to be like them cause he plays "his way". Like a punk loll
Vox Populi said:
and the people that say that flea or mark hoppus (bet no one thought they would ever see them in the same sentence since that last mark hoppus thread huh? lol) aren't as good as vix or stanely et al are just as... not narrow-minded, but... well narrow minded. alot of wooten's stuff, while inspired and incredibly difficult to play is just that: incredibly difficult to play. The stuff that he made for commercial success (his new cd) isn't really all that special. Don't get me wrong, i saw him when he was in NY and it was awesome, but virtuosity get's tiresome after a while. the groove is lost. I've seen the Chili Peppers a bunch of times, and every single concert I was at, i said, "god damn, please don't make this end."
bassists don't need to play 32nd note runs and slap really fast to be good. they can just slap really fast and have an innate sense of time, groove, and harmony.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Flea Rules. The best part?
He seems to be getting better.
Favorite Bassline? Soul 2 Squeeze and Pretty Little Ditty are a constant inspiration to me.
L
He seems to be getting better.
Favorite Bassline? Soul 2 Squeeze and Pretty Little Ditty are a constant inspiration to me.
L
wow!!
thats cool, i was waiting for loads of people to come slag him off without much justifcation...
he's a dude. a cool guy and a cool musician - makes for a cool bassist.
and for the record,
he is playing more pick than he has done recently but when he started out playing bass it was nearly all pick, i think what really upset him was the singer (forget his name) made him only hit on the downstroke to be proper punk...
(this was in an actual punk band, not RHCP)
and i have it on authority that slap was invented by the bassist for Sly and the Family Stone (such a kickass band) who was trying to fill in for his drummer, so i do sympathise for you 40 year old + people i guess...
thats proper influence. Inventing a totally new style. Maybe didnt perfect it. But wow. (im working on playing bass with an actual drum stick...
)
thats cool, i was waiting for loads of people to come slag him off without much justifcation...
he's a dude. a cool guy and a cool musician - makes for a cool bassist.
and for the record,
he is playing more pick than he has done recently but when he started out playing bass it was nearly all pick, i think what really upset him was the singer (forget his name) made him only hit on the downstroke to be proper punk...
(this was in an actual punk band, not RHCP)
and i have it on authority that slap was invented by the bassist for Sly and the Family Stone (such a kickass band) who was trying to fill in for his drummer, so i do sympathise for you 40 year old + people i guess...
thats proper influence. Inventing a totally new style. Maybe didnt perfect it. But wow. (im working on playing bass with an actual drum stick...
)
fenderx55@yahoo said:
I don't really like Victor Wooten either, for that matter.
But to say that Flea and Mark Hoppus are better than Stanley Clarke is quite a stretch...
Flea is awesome, but in a different way to Victor Wooten or Mark King.
Firstly Ive never seen anyone play their bass that low and slap so well.
Secondly. Flea is soooooo tight. He's one of tightest rock bassists around - esp in this generation.
Thirdly. He's just brilliant. He was one of the ones that inspired me to play bass
Firstly Ive never seen anyone play their bass that low and slap so well.
Secondly. Flea is soooooo tight. He's one of tightest rock bassists around - esp in this generation.
Thirdly. He's just brilliant. He was one of the ones that inspired me to play bass
bassicinstinct said:Mark Hoppus??!!
I missed that.
That is TRULY priceless.
In your opinion. Who is anyone to comment otherwise? I used to think no one could possibly be better than Flea. He's just starting out and learning...give him some time and he'll find out about Stanley, Marcus, Victor etc.
Flea inspired me to go further on bass, before i heard RHCP i played root notes with a pick and considered myself pretty poor on bass.. then i saw this ''Off the map'' video, a live concert of RHCP and Flea's bass playing blew me away.. then i started learning slap, dropped the pick, and it made me a overall better player, and i progressed, and he does have some juicy slap lines and grooves..
Although.. RHCP's latest album ..''By the way'' doesent impress me at all.. what happened to that FUNK?! why the mellow? to me they have gone downhill, i hope they come back with a funkier ..chunkier album, with some nice basslines, who knows.
Although.. RHCP's latest album ..''By the way'' doesent impress me at all.. what happened to that FUNK?! why the mellow? to me they have gone downhill, i hope they come back with a funkier ..chunkier album, with some nice basslines, who knows.
I think Flea gets (or used to get) a lot of attention because of his spastic slapping back in the day. I wish more people would pay attention to his more melodic stuff like Soul to Squeeze, Under the Bridge, outro to Warped, intro to Aeroplane.
I'd like to know what this guy could do if he knew some theory(he has said the same thing in interviews). I will admit that I have taken some advice from him which is: "When coming up with a bass line, listen to the other parts before you play a note on the bass. Sing your part before you play it."
Good advice.
I'd like to know what this guy could do if he knew some theory(he has said the same thing in interviews). I will admit that I have taken some advice from him which is: "When coming up with a bass line, listen to the other parts before you play a note on the bass. Sing your part before you play it."
Good advice.
i respect the **** out of his slap and finger style as well...and i also respect the fact that he is so down to earth and not an ego maniac...i would put him and geddy in my awe list
i agree his video is quite the inspirational... i was a little disappointed by BTW when i first got it (4 YEARS AGO) but it's complexity grows on you. and judging by the new tracks on the greatest hits cd and Hyde Park, the new cd they started in march should be freakin sweeeeeet.
I'm in my 40's, and Flea's been a great influence for me. I'm still trying to pick up some of his slap technique (I grew up in the 70's - we really didn't have much slap back then).
I grew up in 70s also and seem to remember Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke, Chuck Rainey, Abraham Laboriel, David Hungate, Willie Weeks, Gary Grainger all doing a bit of slapping
I really liked Flea a lot when I first heard him in late 80s. As I listen to him now, I don't enjoy him as much (although he has become virtually synonymous with slapping for a generation younger than myself) mainly for tone and beat placement. He seems to always play on top of the beat, which is great for the Chili Peppers, but it doesn't groove or swing as much for me. I know this is a minority opinion.
I grew up in 70s also and seem to remember Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke, Chuck Rainey, Abraham Laboriel, David Hungate, Willie Weeks, Gary Grainger all doing a bit of slapping
I really liked Flea a lot when I first heard him in late 80s. As I listen to him now, I don't enjoy him as much (although he has become virtually synonymous with slapping for a generation younger than myself) mainly for tone and beat placement. He seems to always play on top of the beat, which is great for the Chili Peppers, but it doesn't groove or swing as much for me. I know this is a minority opinion.
abaguer said:I'm in my 40's, and Flea's been a great influence for me. I'm still trying to pick up some of his slap technique (I grew up in the 70's - we really didn't have much slap back then).
I grew up in 70s also and seem to remember Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke, Chuck Rainey, Abraham Laboriel, David Hungate, Willie Weeks, Gary Grainger all doing a bit of slapping
I really liked Flea a lot when I first heard him in late 80s. As I listen to him now, I don't enjoy him as much (although he has become virtually synonymous with slapping for a generation younger than myself) mainly for tone and beat placement. He seems to always play on top of the beat, which is great for the Chili Peppers, but it doesn't groove or swing as much for me. I know this is a minority opinion.
Precisely.
I am certainly in that minority too.
