I love bass. Bands? Not so much.

[TwentyHz]

For me, making music is mostly about an ongoing, deepening, evolving interactive musical conversation/language with people I genuinely like and find to be interesting, creative, challenging, & supportive. The rest is gravy.

 

[bassbrad]

We all find different reasons to play bass, more power to you.

 

[GBBSbassist]

I can't imagine playing music and not mixing it up with other musicians at least from time to time. To me, that would be like having an extreme passion for playing basketball, but all you ever do is stand in one spot in your driveway and shoot free throws. I've had periods from time to time where I'm comfortable not being in a band, but it doesn't last long.

I go to see the local bands & sometimes I think about how great it would be to play in a band, as I watch them interact.
Then on Monday morning they're fighting on FB, or I run into one of the members & he's talking trash about another member of the band.

These ARE adults you're referring to, right? They sound like children to me. I haven't met many bands like this in my time. Not saying they don't exist, but it's not fair to shy away from playing in a band just because you've seen a few bad apples.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Not just adults, but middle-aged men.

I could write a long list of weird stuff going on among the local musicians, but I guess it's the squeaky wheels that are making the noise.
Then there's all the great stories from forums in Band Management or horrible gig stories.

Seems like there are a lot of bad apples out there, & I'm not the kind who will stand for the stuff I see, hear, & read about that bandmates put each other through.
I guess I don't crave that Saturday night set like a lot of people do. Besides, I have other obligations.

 

[bassbully]

Your playing with the wrong people. Playing music with others not only challenges you it helps you learn. Playing with others is what drives me and without I would rather go fishing.

 

[eJake]

Be the type of musician you want to attract.


Thank you, I have my moments.

 

[electracoyote]

Bands with a tangible direction and goals are great. Bands with people who all agree on the direction and goals are great.

But then, I'm a goal-oriented individual. I'm a life long-learner and believe you never have to stop growing. Just above every step lies yet another.

Bands full of competing and incompatible agendas are a real drag, unless you are like a leaf in the wind and okay with animosity and drama.

 

[obimark]

You don't hate playing in bands, you hate playing with unprofessional jerks! Try and and find some people who are serious about playing. I play in a couple cover bands to keep the bass in my hands (and make a little $). The guys I play with are good players, we all learn the parts, show up on time, and do a good job. Even though I don't like quite a bit of the material its fun to play with good players. I also have a super-casual original project with two guys I've been playing with since college. We write and record funky rock tunes just because we like it. Finding the right situation is key. Find some new people to play with and you might change your mind.

Unfortunately this is the rare exception. Ime these types of situations are in high demand and the same 2 to 3 bassist have these good bands locked down. Here in Atl there is nothing but the same garbage cl wannabes.

 

[mbasile]

Sounds like you're playing with the wrong people, or having unrealistic expectations.

I've yet to have the feel of a song ruined because the guitarist got the chord wrong for half of a measure, or the drummer rushed a little bit. Music is fluid, learn to flow with it and enjoy what is being done rather than focusing on whether it is done like the recording.

 

[Eric Lester]

I couldn't click any of the answers. I've been playing in two more-or-less bands for about 2-1/2 years. Neither one is together enough to get work in the public eye. Nonetheless, this is how I have learned to play: I practiced by myself for about a year, and then started playing with other people. Having no experience, this has been extremely important to me. It has forced me to learn theory, technique, and many specific songs. I can echo many of the complaints I've read here, but it does no good. Whatever the rough spots, this is how I've learned. I hope that some day I can get a chance to play in a "real" band that has an audience, and maybe even get paid. That would be really cool. In the meantime, I just try to get better.

Playing by myself is what I've done with guitar, fiddle, piano, and lastly, bass, pretty much all my life. It's pretty limited. Every time I've had a chance to play music with other people it has seemed like the most fun I have ever had (at this point it's obligatory to say "with my clothes on," but I'm pretty old and that isn't necessarily true any more).

 

[Tony In Philly]

There are some bassists who manage to play the instrument as though it were a deep classical guitar or a finger style jazz guitar. Although I can play finger style guitar I have never managed to move it over to my bass playing, therefore I am an ensemble player when it comes to bass.

Kudos for those players who can manage a whole tune playing only the bass like Stu Hamm or Andres Rotmistrovsky but I'm just not one of of them, hence my ensemble vote. Anyway, everybody should explore Andres' playing; it's quite good:

 

[Paka1234]

I think it all depends on who you play with.there are egotistical jerks, there's the guys who can't play cause they don't practice, the ones who think they need to drink like a rockstar, and the know it alls. Find some guys who are ok to good that just want to have fun.

 

[Joshua Pickenpaugh]

The first time one of those little drama stories (that I read about here & on FB) happened to me I'd split.

Great point: I wonder if it is a "thing" nowadays for people to be fired / let go / never hired again due to negative rants about their current band / gig to social media, TB, etc. I see so much of it here. You know, this IS the internet, not just a few people at your local pub.

Just curious.

 

[Mvilmany]

I'm really lucky. I am in a "weekend warrior" type band with two guys that I really like a lot and who play really well. We're all serious about music. They're both very talented and competent. Also, we get along really well together and we don't have the big alpha-type person who tries to run everything.

I plan on continuing playing in this trio for as long as possible, because of the great time that Im having in this group. And we're playing some of the best music I've ever played.

I hope all of you find something similar.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I wonder if it is a "thing" nowadays for people to be fired / let go / never hired again due to negative rants about their current band / gig to social media,

It did occur to me that if player X goes on FB every once in a while after a weekend of gigging announcing that he's going to quit...
maybe all the players who are watching this drama are thinking,
If he quits that band, I want no part of him in my band, LOL!

Most of them are "friends" on FB around here, so they see a lot.
TBH I don't even need to go out to see the local bands, because folks are sharing live feeds at their gigs, and it's usually a person from another band.

Just recently members of 4 different bands converged right near me to support a 5th band that was performing. I really wanted to be there, but it was just too crowded!~
I'll make up for it tomorrow. Going to a venue I haven't been before to see a TB member perform.

 

[RickyWoo]

This is a whiny post,come to think of it.

 

[LBS-bass]

There are some bassists who manage to play the instrument as though it were a deep classical guitar or a finger style jazz guitar. Although I can play finger style guitar I have never managed to move it over to my bass playing, therefore I am an ensemble player when it comes to bass.

Kudos for those players who can manage a whole tune playing only the bass like Stu Hamm or Andres Rotmistrovsky but I'm just not one of of them, hence my ensemble vote. Anyway, everybody should explore Andres' playing; it's quite good:

I would go to my grave happy if no one ever covered this song again. Seriously, it should have ended with Jeff Buckley.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So I really enjoy playing bass. I love the sound, the groove, the way the instrument moves the soul and the feet. But it is not a solo instrument and only truly shines in a band.

I like to learn new songs. I like to expand my horizions.

But I don't particularly like playing with bands. People. They show up unprepared. They rush tempos or play the parts "wrong" or mess up the mix (too loud) and they're terribly inefficient. It takes them an hour to accomplish 30 minutes worth of productive work.

What about you? Love bass and hate bands?

It's hard to do life without interaction with fellow humans.

You did touch on one of my pet peeves, and that is wasted time. Pretty much over 50 years of working with bands, two things, I refuse to waste anybody else's time, and I will not stand for having my time wasted. Rehearsals ahould have a scripted agenda before hand to give everybody a chance to be prepared. You also need to set realistic expectation of what needs to happen at rehearsal, and how much time it will take. When things go off track, it is much easier to get back on track if you have one in the first place.

 

[Tony In Philly]

I would go to my grave happy if no one ever covered this song again. Seriously, it should have ended with Jeff Buckley.

True - but seriously, you totally missed my point about how to do a solo on on bass.

 

[Nephilymbass]

So I really enjoy playing bass. I love the sound, the groove, the way the instrument moves the soul and the feet. But it is not a solo instrument and only truly shines in a band.

I like to learn new songs. I like to expand my horizions.

But I don't particularly like playing with bands. People. They show up unprepared. They rush tempos or play the parts "wrong" or mess up the mix (too loud) and they're terribly inefficient. It takes them an hour to accomplish 30 minutes worth of productive work.

What about you? Love bass and hate bands?

I'm 36 and fortunate enough to be in a band for 17 years with friends I'd hang out with if we weren't in a band together. They are my best friends. My best man and groomsmen in my wedding. I've been playing in bands with our guitar player for 21 years, literally before either one of us even had a drivers license. I played in two other bands on the side in my late 20s and didn't have anywhere near as much fun. One band had a drummer and singer that were spoiled divas and didn't want gig or rehearse as often as i did. The other band had a great guitar player but he wanted to dictate what everyone played and showed no respect for anyone else's ideas where in my long running main band You could even say I get more creative input than anyone in the band. I think it all comes down to what type of experiences you've had. If you had nothing but bad experiences I totally get not wanting to be in a band. And if you want a better band situation you have to be willing to put in the time with people. Maybe they aren't the best musicians or don't have the best gear for a while. But that can slowly get better and better. The relationships between the members of the band Is the tricky part. Heck our guitarist used to have cheap gear. Now he has two nice tube amps (5150 and a Mesa rec) and like 6 nice guitars. Our drummer Is the biggest gear head in the band and they can both effeciently play our music