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Got fired today.
- Thread starter Itzayana
- Start date
If you wanted the slot, yes.
Some bands are more flexible and lenient with re-writing parts. Some bands are not.
Reminds me of the Stan Freberg's parody of Great Pretender
where the jazzy beatnik piano player is out of control:
You play that cling-cling-cling jazz or you wont get PAID tonight!
*cling cling cling cling cling*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPnETiP8V9I
where the jazzy beatnik piano player is out of control:
You play that cling-cling-cling jazz or you wont get PAID tonight!
*cling cling cling cling cling*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPnETiP8V9I
I can. Can anyone else see through this or am I the only one? See, there are always two sides to every story. And then there is the truth. We've got one side here and a lot of posters eager to jump on the BL. There is more to this. I'm not jumping on the OP, I've just seen this thing- experienced this thing more than once.
I think I know what you're talking about, the interaction of a few instruments which are doing very little individually, but together make something pretty big, bigger than they could if they did more.
Prime example, Willie Dixon's I Just Want To Make Love To You, by Muddy Waters.
If any instrument gets too busy on this the groove is lost.
I think of Willie as The Architect of the Blues.
Thanks for all the good feedback. I can honestly say that I agree with everything you all have said.
I guess that the truth is I really didn't want the spot all that much or I would have played it the way the BL wanted it played.
The guy is quite good at what he does and I respect that. I guess as a "traditional blues" aficionado he definitely plays in a very narrow niche. I just don't have the kind of love for the "blind lemon two tooth" tradition that was the goal of the BL.
Had I known that was the goal I wouldn't have done it in the first place. So I guess I will know to ask more questions sooner.
I've honestly never been a really good "sideman". I am always trying to stretch things to a new place. I guess that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Thanks again.
I guess that the truth is I really didn't want the spot all that much or I would have played it the way the BL wanted it played.
The guy is quite good at what he does and I respect that. I guess as a "traditional blues" aficionado he definitely plays in a very narrow niche. I just don't have the kind of love for the "blind lemon two tooth" tradition that was the goal of the BL.
Had I known that was the goal I wouldn't have done it in the first place. So I guess I will know to ask more questions sooner.
I've honestly never been a really good "sideman". I am always trying to stretch things to a new place. I guess that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Thanks again.
You'd probably prefer the English style/renditions type bands from the 60s. Jeff Beck, Yardbirds, Ten Years After, Peter Greene era Fleetwood Mac, etc. Lots more room to move around on the bass.
That traditional stuff is borderline boring, unles everything is there and that's the goal.
Good luck.
Yeah, there's a time and a place for everything. I play in a blues band that is very traditional, too. We do Slim Harpo, Junior Wells, Little Walter, that sort of thing. Most of the time I'm playing the same shuffle pattern, but it's essential for the feel and not the least bit boring, in my opinion.
I think if that's not for you, it's good that you're not a part of that group anymore, but bass players do get fired from blues bands for not having the right feel. As much as I love Jack Bruce, I've heard that guy kill more blues feels than I can count.
I think if that's not for you, it's good that you're not a part of that group anymore, but bass players do get fired from blues bands for not having the right feel. As much as I love Jack Bruce, I've heard that guy kill more blues feels than I can count.
I agree. Dude is a badass on the bass, but sometimes the Mustang Sally approach prevails in regards to the overall sound.
The old stuff doesn't have to be boring. Canned Heat (Larry Taylor) did a lot of cool stuff.
I'm a big fan of what The Mole has been doing post-Canned Heat. Hollywood Fats, Fred Kaplan, all that stuff.
I've never really found the old stuff boring. Not much excites me more than Slim Harpo's 'Tee-ni-nee-ni-nu'. It gets boring when it's a bunch of people who aren't too aware of the tradition and how to make the music exciting.
Hopkins
Commercial User
I've heard this expressed by so many people in TB over the years.
Are you really serious? It's a pretty standard way of working in the music business.
Hopkins
Commercial User
Yeah I am really serious. Riding a horse was a pretty standard way of traveling at one point. I'm glad we got past that. Sorry, I would never want to be in a band with a "boss" that thinks he has the right to tell me how and what to play.
I just don't get how you guys all are in these bands with these "Band leaders"- I have never been in a band with one dictator like this in my life, and have been in at least 8 bands.
As others have said, if someone is going to tell me how to play, what to play, what not to play- that is a J-O-B. So I need to be paid $40/hr for every rehearsal, every gig, and also need to be reimbursed for mileage $.57 /per mile, plus a per diem.
Seriously- man-up and be your own leader- edit your own playing, hold back sometimes and play a fill when there is some space to do it. If your band doesn't leave any space for your bass, or you can't even hear yourselves over a too-loud guitar/keyboard/drums take a walk!
As others have said, if someone is going to tell me how to play, what to play, what not to play- that is a J-O-B. So I need to be paid $40/hr for every rehearsal, every gig, and also need to be reimbursed for mileage $.57 /per mile, plus a per diem.
Seriously- man-up and be your own leader- edit your own playing, hold back sometimes and play a fill when there is some space to do it. If your band doesn't leave any space for your bass, or you can't even hear yourselves over a too-loud guitar/keyboard/drums take a walk!
What if it was, say, Sting, and he was going to pay you 5K per gig. And he had charts, which you are required to stick to. Would you do it?
These bands people on this board are in aren't Sting- and they aren't palying any gigs at that level. Most likely they had no gigs or they were $80/each per gig... but yeah If Sting called me, i'd even play bass with only my Thumb like he did when I saw him this year, and heck I'd even dumb down his bass lines just like he did!
Or, on a local level, what if it's a guy who has busted his ass for years to build his band into a recognizable brand, has a corner on the better rooms in town, has a proven successful image and direction, has contacts and connections, is a marketing bulldog, and gives his musicians above-average performance opportunities and pay?
I'm sure it still wouldn't be worth it for some musicians. I'm sure it would be a fair and good arrangement for many others.
Hopkins
Commercial User
Well I don't think Sting would require a bass player
That is a totally different scenario, and is very rarely if at all the case when people share their BL stories on TB. Yes if I had a chance to be a free agent mercenary in a very big solo acts band I would probably take the gig. But I would go into it with the mind set that it was a job.
In the much more likely scenario that I am just playing because I love playing in a band that rings in about $150 a gig, it will absolutely be a democracy.
Hopkins
Commercial User
If that guy is a control freak that feels he needs to micromanage my playing, and doesn't appreciate my input, I would have to pass on that gig.
