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Footloose is a monster!!!

#81
Bodeanly said:
So, I quit playing in cover bands back in April, but an opportunity has presented itself and I find myself having to learn Footloose for a slot in a wedding/ party band. I am generally a note for note kinda dude, but this song is kind of killing me. I had no idea it was so fun and full of sweet runs and fills. I can tell it will soon be a favorite. But dang.

Here’s a cover of some dude jamming the first half:

Click to expand...

Nobody plays it better than BassCliff ;)
 
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#84
themarshall said:
The funny thing about learning that bass line “note for note” is that I doubt Mr. East played it that way twice. Probably 80%ish - and any differences would be just differences, not goofs or dumbing down - and the feel would be 100%, always.
Any way, great playing that doesn’t at all feel like stringing together fills and licks as some busy lines do.
Click to expand...

He sure did. Once on guitar and once on bass.
 
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#86
Bodeanly said:
I really wanna believe you, but, as I say to my students, please cite your source.
Click to expand...

Some article or interview with Nathan east. Listening challenge: is there a guitar part overdubbing the bass?

I can’t find the reference so maybe I am talking out my A$$ but I do remember reading it.

Edit:
Fun fact: I bear a striking resemblance to Kevin bacon.
 
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#88
Jazz Ad said:
A very typical 80's pop line.
Click to expand...

This one makes the bassline for Duran Duran's "Rio" look, um, easy (and I can play that one note for note...very fun bassline, btw). Footloose is indeed a fill fest, but also as in the pocket as it gets, the latter being why he is THE man in the session biz (along with Levin, Sklar, and the Nashville pros).
 
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#89
mrcbass said:
Yeah we do that song. I had to dumb it down a little on the chorus - the recorded part is just too much for me especially when the drummer kicks it off 20 BPM too fast (almost always). Previous bassist refused to play it near the end because of his arthritis - as soon as I started working on it, I understood why.

I don't worry about being note for note on covers - I try to honor the original groove, but in my own way. This approach works very well in a larger (5 piece) band - there's just no need for busy bass parts anyway - sound just gets muddy when I depart from simple.
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Geez, after watching the isolated bass track, I realized I really dumb down the whole song. :eek: Oh well, it works for my mediocre band. But that did give me some better insight as to what's really going on, may be able to add a few of the nuggets now that I know they're there. I don't ever even think to go looking for isolated bass tracks of stuff I'm learning - maybe I'm too afraid to see just how mediocre I really am.:rolleyes:
 
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#90
BassCliff said:
Hi,

That's pretty cool! It's a fun song. I've always played that song in the key of G, like the Blake Shelton cover. It's similar and I've tried to catch most of the notes and keep the feel. Here's a performance from my previous band.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
Click to expand...

Wow Cliff. Just WOW!
 
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#93
I was learning this song for my last band and my dumbass bandmate ex-best friend would never learn any of my new songs so it sat for a few years. I've got a cubase project from may of last year. I believe I edited the bass track to be a kind of mix of the blake shelton and original versions. Mostly like the original I believe. You should be able to use it with any DAW. I can't upload a midi file here though. Could probably send through PM though. If anybody is interested PM me! My plan was to play along to the sequenced bass track lol. Maybe a bit overambitious. The hard part is remembering what comes when.

Edit: Seems to need a lot of work. I'll try and fix it up for the new year.
 
#94
craigie said:
Some article or interview with Nathan east. Listening challenge: is there a guitar part overdubbing the bass?

I can’t find the reference so maybe I am talking out my A$$ but I do remember reading it.
Click to expand...

listening to it there is very obviously no guitar doubling the bass in the verses and there is in the chorus. So it's probably him in the chorus.
 
#95
Blake Bass said:
I just finished a ship contract, we played Footloose every other night but in the Key of C..and it kicked my butt every time.
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I knew I'd find a comment like this here... I'm fighting this now. The Broadway version is in C, and it's way harder to play than in A. On top of that, there's the Megamix, in which, the tempo is 180 bpm! It's faster than the other two times in the show. Way faster. And the patterns are slightly different because Broadway...
 
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#97
Vanceman said:
I saw a band last Friday play it. We all danced and the band killed it. Bass player was working hard, couldn't even smile. Made me think of BassCliff effortlessly playing and singing this song!
Click to expand...
I'm finally to the point where I can smile while playing it. I get excited when I see it approaching in the set list.
 
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#99
Bodeanly said:
So, I quit playing in cover bands back in April, but an opportunity has presented itself and I find myself having to learn Footloose for a slot in a wedding/ party band. I am generally a note for note kinda dude, but this song is kind of killing me. I had no idea it was so fun and full of sweet runs and fills. I can tell it will soon be a favorite. But dang.

Here’s a cover of some dude jamming the first half:

Click to expand...

Wow, I had no idea. I gotta listen to the original again, with better speakers.
 
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