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Have you been "Poached?"

L

lawjazz1

Sep 7, 2013
108
39
#1
So, I am 53 yrs old and I am in a very good classic rock cover band. We do bars and increasingly outdoor summer festival type gigs. Not yet fully established at the local club level but could happen if the band can stays together long enough. Everyone has a day job. Everyone in the band is a pro at classic rock - meaning lead vocals and guitars plays know tons of songs, the drummer is actually has a B.A. in drums from a well known university, and I come from playing jazz standards for years so I have a decent knowledge of theory, though not a music school grad.

Most of my personal practice time is spent on becoming the most versatile bassist I can be, i.e. I have instruction books on slap, Motown, Latin, etc. so that I can be ready for any type of song, even if it is unlikely that I need most of those skills in classic rock. So, a couple of Qs....

1) Is it a pipe dream that I could reach a level good enough to be an in demand "session player" without going to music school at a university level? Are those cats out there and if so, who are they?

2) Has anyone been "poached" by an established touring band say whose member or members were at one of your gigs, needed a bass player, and you went from one level, to a much higher level, e.g. weekend warrior to a band in which you could quit your day job and make a living at music. Unlikely, I know, but has it happened?
 
#2
1. Session work is like any other job where there are more people trying to get in than there are spots - it's all about getting your name out there, being good, and getting lucky.

2. Has it happened? Yes. Is it likely? No. It would take:

1. a touring band needing a bassist.
2. a manager with the time and interest to go to a local club with a cover band.
3. a band that wants a middle aged plus bassist.
4. the stars to align together.

So don't go quitting your day job, but you never know...
 
#3
Thanks for the reply. I know its a long shot. But, I do know that Miles Davis once found an electric bass player that way.

I should have been clearer. By the term "touring band," I did not mean to limit the "being poached" possibilities to a band actively on a tour... I meant an originals band that tours and records often enough so that its members are able to devote time in furtherance of the band and their artistic goals, and make a comfortable living (open to much interpretation, I know). Has anyone been poached from their bar/club band by a band at a much higher level? How did that happen? Luck? Hard work? What's your story about getting where you are in your music career?

So, getting your name out there is part of the key, and being good enough is the other part. You have to be ready, willing and able, if the door opens, to step through. Jazzers and blues players can go to open jams at clubs to meet others. This is possible because of the heavy emphasis on improvisation over chord changes that everyone knows. I do not know of rock/pop jams in the same way...rock/pop are too heavily arranged to make jams really work in clubs, IMHO. Maybe it happens, I don't know. So, my point is that playing in cover bands or other club bands, and taking advantage of you tube etc, is the only way really to get your name out there to a wide audience.

And, music schools at the university level are cranking out new graduates every year on every instrument. While this would be a preferred route, is it absolutely necessary? Are there any "session" players who did it without the structure of a university music program as a foundation?

Just wondering cuz I want to keep the dream alive!

Also, I had to laugh at the "middle aged plus" comment. I've seen many bands with members of differing ages so I hadn't really thought about age discrimination. But, as a 53 y.o. male, I likely would not choose to join a band of 20 somethings and live in the back of a van. I do have some limits :).


\\
 
#5
It's who you know as well. Skill is obviously as important, but someone has to want to hire you or give you a break.

I have a friend that did a 6-8 month arena tour globally with a popular TV show. He got the gig because the actual bassist on the show didn't want to do the tour and he told the BL to hire his buddy.

Dude is a killer bassist though.
 
#7
Here's an interesting true story. I worked with a drummer who was checking out bands in clubs in L.A. He couldn't lock the door on his car, so he brought his stick bag into the clubs with him. The drummer in the band at one of the club noticed the stick bag and on break asked him if he would be interested in auditioning for a band he knew about. He agreed, got the info and went to the audition and got the gig. It was an artist that had just released her first album. the album was a hit and before he knew it he was in MTV videos and touring the country playing major venues and doing national TV appearances. From there he went on to play for an even bigger artist that everyone has heard of. This just goes to show that anything can happen, in any number of ways. Funny thing is, I didn't think this guy was all that great. I have worked with much better drummers. Lucky for him that he couldn't lock the door on his car.
 
#8
There are a number of fine session players that didn't really go the university/college route, but they have been at it for 30 years now.

A friendly reminder, not meant in a combative spirit - don't hold on too tightly to the idea of being a "session" bassist. Those days are long over, and ALL the big session players of the past 20 years are on the road most of the time now. Session work does exist on a very,very small level, but the guys doing it are the guys doing it and nobody's taking applications for new blood. Generally, you have to know the right people and/or be playing with nationally recognized acts to get an invite into that world and work in it consistently.
 
#10
Getting regular (or any) session work?? Probably not gonna happen these days. As Leland Sklar said recently, a lot of his work nowadays is going to someone's home to lay down a bass track because everything is already tracked in pro tools. Actual studio work with other breathing musicians is getting to be the rarity not the norm like in days past. Quite a bit of what you hear in the top 40 or so these days, if it even has a proper bass line, was done on the computer. Unless you know recording artists, are very lucky, and are very good your chances of earning a decent living from bass are close to nil. I've got two very talented kids who have been gigging since they were 8 years old (now 14 and 11). I'm 45 and currently play bass with them however if on the very minuscule chance they manage to do well with their music I still won't get any serious gig on bass. They will probably want (or need) 1) Somebody better than me and 2) Somebody younger and cooler looking than me.
 
#11
for every Dave Hungate, there are 100 equally talented bassists who probably are in the same boat as you... there simply is a major difference between supply and demand for bassists (or musicians in general)..
 
#12
Thanks everyone for the replies! I enjoy hearing stories like the one from HaHaHa. I just want to know that it can happen that an unexpected event can change someone's music career for the better! Moral of the story is, play for your enjoyment, get in whatever scene you can, and make yourself ready for opportunities IF they come. Let's hear some more (true) stories if ya got 'em!
 
#13
Session work vaporized here long ago now.
The odds of "getting that call" are kind of limited by who else you know in the industry. You don't have your hometown listed; maybe you're where industry is, or, not.

Just last week I had someone call me looking for a keyboard/backup vocalist for a national touring act.
Which isn't me, and the two guys I know that could do it both turned it down (***?)
So; I suppose I could get a "we need a bassist" call at some point.

I ain't holding my breath though.
A gig big enough to quit my day job would have to be pretty big.
 
#15
Chef said:
Session work vaporized here long ago now.
The odds of "getting that call" are kind of limited by who else you know in the industry. You don't have your hometown listed; maybe you're where industry is, or, not.

Just last week I had someone call me looking for a keyboard/backup vocalist for a national touring act.
Which isn't me, and the two guys I know that could do it both turned it down (***?)
So; I suppose I could get a "we need a bassist" call at some point.

I ain't holding my breath though.
A gig big enough to quit my day job would have to be pretty big.
Click to expand...
The other problem is so many (even very GOOD) musicians consider Bass as the instrument for the guy who can't play guitar and so settle on some drinking buddy when they go on tour even though they have some top shelf studio ace on their recordings. So the demand for actual bassists is ESPECIALLY low relative to the number of people out there making their main living playing that instrument.
 
#16
It's all about who you know and where you're located.

I do a decent amount of session work and play gigs with multiple bands. Most of it comes from word of mouth and being near NYC gives me opportunities that I wouldn't get if I lived in Montana.

Even the guys that are in big touring bands are still playing local gigs when they come home to make money. The lead guitarist and drummer for a major singer play with my band somewhat regularly...and we make the same amount of money at the bar as they do playing the Sidney Opera House. Although playing is their day job they're still making peanuts.
 

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