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I just quit my band

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#21
Nickthebassist said:
Well, there's no other decent people in York. The drummer is one of the highest graded in York for our age, the lead guitarist about grade 7, I'm grade 6, and the lead singer/rhythm guitarist is pretty good, and writes all the songs. Now I have no-one to be in a band with, so I'm stuffed.
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Therein lies another of those 'compromises.' Do you play with great musicians who are a-holes or do you play with not-so-good musicians who are really cool people?

Playing with awesome musicians can definitely help you become a better musician themselves, but if they're not personable, then that may put a damper on your playing and overall attitude. On the other hand, playing with really cool people who are awesome to hang with will reduce the interpersonal conflicts, but if the music they do is unchallenging, you may get bored.

I'm not saying that one case is preferable over the other. That's subjective/personal. And there are the cases where you have a-holes who can't play for beans and great players who are also cool people.

I'm just merely playing Devil's Advocate and presenting scenarios that could very well be real.

Like everyone else, I'm happy you left that old band given the way the guitarists kinda took a dump on you. All I'm saying is that during this 'between-bands' phase, you DO need to ask yourself a lot of questions and if you do find yourself putting too many restrictions on the kinds of people you wish to play with, you may find yourself not playing with others as much as you'd like to.

I agree with whomever said that this is an excellent opportunity for you to practice more on your own and enhance the relationship between you and your instrument. Or even take a break and try something totally different from music (i.e. cooking.) You don't want the animosity you feel towards the old band influencing your feelings toward a future band you may join. It's like with relationships. If you break up with someone, it's bad news to get with someone else 'on the rebound' while you/they are still vulnerable. If you get back into it too soon, you'll end up comparing that person to your ex since said ex and how s/he did you wrong is still fresh in your mind and you'll make yourself and your new bf/gf miserable.

I honestly hope I'm not being a downer or anything, but these are realities that many of us face or have faced in music or otherwise. Dincrest has been there done that, and is passing his limited wisdom along to anyone willing to listen.
 
#24
Nickthebassist said:
Ahhh crap! Apparently I have to fit in behind all the guitars and drums, and be the quietist member, and aren't allowed to use my warwick cuz it's 'crap'. O, and my new ashdown is 'crap' too, according to the lead guitarist, who thinks my fender is better. I quit cuz I will NEVER be the stereotypical bassist, I wanna be a Flea/Ryan Martinie, and change bass's image from being a rhythem instrument, to being an instrument that is along side the guitars. My idea of a band is that no-one dominates and that we can all be heard equally. Do you think I made the right decision by quitting? :crying: :mad:
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Yes.
 
#26
That's the beauty of being a musician with a day job. I play
music for the fun of it; the money is an added bonus, but since I don't rely on that money to pay the rent, I don't put up with much crap from anyone. Don't have to. They should just carry on without a bass player. They don't need one.
Last time that happened to me, the guitar player (much like the fellow you described) was ragging on me the whole first set of a gig we were doing. At the break, I rolled up my cords, put my bass in the case, loaded up my amp and split.
Pissed him off somethig fierce. He called me non-stop for about a week. I didn't answer the phone. The drummer called me about 6 months later saying they broke up the band and called it a day. Last I heard, he got into model airplanes or motorcyles or something and doesn't play guitar anymore except in his bedroom. Eventually, people like that alienate all the good musicians in the area, and their name rapidly becomes MUD. They can't get people to play with them so they just end up quitting. Usually it's their ego that far outweighs their talent that ends up getting the best of them.
Move on and don't look back. People like that aren't worth the headache.

Slug
 
#27
Nickthebassist said:
Well I just scanned most of the lkyrics from the song book into my computer. Therefore, I'll have a copy, and can use them in my new band. Muhuhahahaha!
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Ummm... did you write the lyrics? If you didn't that is a major no. If you are quitting a band all you can take with you is the material that you wrote- not the stuff you wrote together or the stuff the two guitarists wrote.

Also to play devil's advocate, you are pretty young. And while you may not be able to play some crazy bass stuff in this band- at least it is a band that you can play with. How easy is it going to be for you to find another band for you to play with that will let you do a lot of experimenting?

Also, most bands who look for a bass player don't want someone to play like Jaco or cut through like a guitar, they want someone to play a walking line and hold down the rhythm. We play a supportive role when we pick up the bass and you have to be willing to play that role- If you would rather be soloing and experimenting in a band then you should just pick up a guitar- they are expected to do that.

I say- stay with the band, learn how to be a very good "standard bass player", work on your solo Jaco stuff in your own personal practice time, and then leave the band when you are a more developed player and know some guys that don’t mind that you push the bass envelope. But wait till you find those guys- cause 99.9% of the bass players in the world don’t make their living by trying to be like Jaco or Claypool- they make it by playing a great supportive role and being easy to work with.
 
#28
MichaelScott said:
Ummm... did you write the lyrics? If you didn't that is a major no. If you are quitting a band all you can take with you is the material that you wrote- not the stuff you wrote together or the stuff the two guitarists wrote.

Also to play devil's advocate, you are pretty young. And while you may not be able to play some crazy bass stuff in this band- at least it is a band that you can play with. How easy is it going to be for you to find another band for you to play with that will let you do a lot of experimenting?

Also, most bands who look for a bass player don't want someone to play like Jaco or cut through like a guitar, they want someone to play a walking line and hold down the rhythm. We play a supportive role when we pick up the bass and you have to be willing to play that role- If you would rather be soloing and experimenting in a band then you should just pick up a guitar- they are expected to do that.

I say- stay with the band, learn how to be a very good "standard bass player", work on your solo Jaco stuff in your own personal practice time, and then leave the band when you are a more developed player and know some guys that don?t mind that you push the bass envelope. But wait till you find those guys- cause 99.9% of the bass players in the world don?t make their living by trying to be like Jaco or Claypool- they make it by playing a great supportive role and being easy to work with.
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+2 due to two good points.
 
#30
MichaelScott said:
Ummm... did you write the lyrics? If you didn't that is a major no. If you are quitting a band all you can take with you is the material that you wrote- not the stuff you wrote together or the stuff the two guitarists wrote.

Also to play devil's advocate, you are pretty young. And while you may not be able to play some crazy bass stuff in this band- at least it is a band that you can play with. How easy is it going to be for you to find another band for you to play with that will let you do a lot of experimenting?

Also, most bands who look for a bass player don't want someone to play like Jaco or cut through like a guitar, they want someone to play a walking line and hold down the rhythm. We play a supportive role when we pick up the bass and you have to be willing to play that role- If you would rather be soloing and experimenting in a band then you should just pick up a guitar- they are expected to do that.

I say- stay with the band, learn how to be a very good "standard bass player", work on your solo Jaco stuff in your own personal practice time, and then leave the band when you are a more developed player and know some guys that don’t mind that you push the bass envelope. But wait till you find those guys- cause 99.9% of the bass players in the world don’t make their living by trying to be like Jaco or Claypool- they make it by playing a great supportive role and being easy to work with.
Click to expand...
They dont have the lyrics copyrighter. I am going to hold them to ransome cuz I'm nasty. And also, I will NEVER sit back and play a walking bass line in a band. I'm the kind of person who is in your face with my sound. I want to get rid of this stupid idea that bass is purely a rhythem isntrument. Time for a revolution me thinks. :hyper:
 
#31
Nickthebassist said:
They dont have the lyrics copyrighter. I am going to hold them to ransome cuz I'm nasty. And also, I will NEVER sit back and play a walking bass line in a band. I'm the kind of person who is in your face with my sound. I want to get rid of this stupid idea that bass is purely a rhythem isntrument. Time for a revolution me thinks. :hyper:
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If i had a dime every time i heard a bass player say that :smug:
Hey nothing wrong with changing up the system, just remember it's all give and take, as it will be hard to find a band that will allow you to do so.
I find people will want you to be out front every once in a while if your willing to hang back and play the traditional bass role.
 
#32
Nickthebassist said:
I'm the kind of person who is in your face with my sound. :hyper:
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Nick, I gotta toss my two pennies in here.

It's hard for anyone to tell you what to do, because we're only hearing YOUR side of the story. The fact of the matter is: it IS possible for a bassist to come to the gig, cop a bad tone, turn up too loud, and make everybody else's day worse. Are you doing that? Are you SURE you aren't doing that?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's very important to stay true to your own inner voice and playing style. The thing is, there's a fine line between "being yourself" to the betterment of the whole and "being yourself" at the expense of the whole.

I would contend that AT THIS POINT IN YOUR PLAYING CAREER you should stay in the band and not punch out YET. Especially if this is the best group of musicians in your area. Have an honest dialogue with them about your frustrations and be sure to LISTEN to what they are saying. If it's something you're not doing properly, then chances are someone else will say the same thing to you later if you don't listen now.

IMHO, the secret to a good band is not all that different from the secret to a good marriage--there is no "meet me halfway". There is only a 100% commitment to make the project work. If you don't have that, then it will never work. Maybe you'll be a huge success if you strike off on your own. But if you ever expect to play with other musicians again, you'll need to perfect the art of compromise. The choice is yours.
 
#33
well, i think i'd leave any situation be it music or anything else if the people I were working with took it upon themselves to call my 'setup' be that amp, or style of painting or whatever rubbish. There's no real way thats on basically.
However, you'll have to realise Nick that the bass is definitely a supporting instrument - not too say it can't be a lead sinstrument or whatever, thats been proved, but if you want to get work or just play you may have to be prepared to be a bit more background for some of it.

I look at it like this - I play in a number of different areas in order to satisfy all my musical needs -

musicals for money, great sight reading and playing practise and good musicians around me,

my main band for the thrill of playing BIG venues, playing our own stuff and being with my mates.

jazz bands for serious improvement of technique, theory etc

Classical for serious sightreading and a very different style of playing altogether.

Personal practise to try and get better, slowly but surely!


That way I can pretty much cover all my needs as a growing musician, you may want to consider the same.


On a whole different note, i'm from York (tho studying in Newcastle now) and remember from my earlier year that there are a load of musciians there, you just need to find em. Is fibbers still running?

Dodge
 
#34
dodgy_ian said:
However, you'll have to realise Nick that the bass is definitely a supporting instrument - not too say it can't be a lead sinstrument or whatever, thats been proved, but if you want to get work or just play you may have to be prepared to be a bit more background for some of it.
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Amen to that...how long did Jaco play the Florida circuit before meeting the folks who helped him make it big?

And that's exactly my point....no one can make a successful solo career alone. And developing a reputation as a top-flight bassist will get you exposure to all sorts of new musical opportunities. And then you can soar to the heavens from there.
 
#35
1. Sorry your band mates were jerks.
2. Don't steal their work, now you're being a jerk too.
3. Sorry, bass is the groove. If you want to have a solo in every song then you're playing the wrong instrument. I'm not saying you have to play root notes and nothing else, have fun and play something cool. But don't be stupid about it.
 
#36
Sonorous said:
3. Sorry, bass is the groove. If you want to have a solo in every song then you're playing the wrong instrument. I'm not saying you have to play root notes and nothing else, have fun and play something cool. But don't be stupid about it.
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+1

Nick, just when we start to think you're growing up you slap us in the face with how wrong we are. If you would study Jaco's and Les Claypool's career you would see that they paid their dues for years playing "traditional" bass before they ventured into the realm of ultra-chops oriented bass playing. Your comment about how you would never play a walking bass line or how you want to keep the lyrics for ransom speak volumes about your maturity level. How do you expect to be able to reach this level if you're not willing to tackle the basics?

In all honesty Nick I think you have much more of a guitarist's attitude than a bassist's attitude. The wankery you seem so intent on is not only expected by them, it is applauded. I seriously suggest giving guitar a chance. Please don't misunderstand me Nick, I say this to try to point you in the right direction. Best of luck in your journey. :bassist:
 
#37
Nickthebassist said:
They dont have the lyrics copyrighter. I am going to hold them to ransome cuz I'm nasty . And also, I will NEVER sit back and play a walking bass line in a band. I'm the kind of person who is in your face with my sound. I want to get rid of this stupid idea that bass is purely a rhythem isntrument. Time for a revolution me thinks. :hyper:
Click to expand...
As it seems I've been saying to a lot of your posts:

:rolleyes: :scowl:

It's our job to simply hold the groove not to go wanking off into a solo every five seconds. Yes, yes you are nasty, and honestly, I would go so far as calling you an embarrassment, though at one point we all see these dreams, but in quitting a band, stealing their work and calling for a revolution? That takes it a bit far. Right now I'm seeing the guitarists as better people than you, actually.
Also, what's wrong with a walking bassline? Do you honestly even know how to play one? I have great fun while playing them on the spot (not prewritten ones, just going with the song). I play some S.R.V. stuff in a band on occasion, and it's great fun, but all it is is walking basslines. And also, you have to develope the basics before you can rip into things like Claypool and Jaco!
But, I agree with squidfinger as well. Clear the slate and pickup a guitar, you may end up happier.


Ray
 
#40
I see people saying to just kinda sit back and be the supportive role and get used to it. I agree and disagree. Look at Ryan Martinie for example (listening to Mudvayne so he was the first one that popped into my head). He plays his supportive role, but really stands out and cuts through with his lines. Also, in Severed, he has a tapping solo. You can't sit there and tell Nick to sit back and be supportive and if he wants to stand out to pick up a guitar. He can play a supportive role and still stand out and have his own sound, and yes, he can have solos even if he is the bassist.

I know not everyone is saying this, but from a few posts I read people are telling him to sit back and let the guitarist do their own thing and him not be really heard.
 
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