I think everyone has heard that hideous "Hollaback Girl" song by Gwen Stefani. Does that mean we're all influenced by it? I'm certainly not. But for some reason, there's a faction on here that thinks everyone's influenced by Jaco even if they haven't heard him. And I guarantee you that more people have heard "Hollaback Girl" than the music Jaco played. I don't get people sometimes.
Yes, you were influenced by "Hollaback Girl". Thats the whole point of what I'm saying: you are influenced by EVERYTHING you've ever heard. It has all, in some way, had an effect on how you think about music, how you approach it, and most importantly how you feel about it. These are not things you can control. Once you've heard something, you cannot "un-hear" it. The mark is indelible. That is not to say that you are going to quote "Hollaback" in your solo tonight, or right a riff that is a take-off on whatever the hell was going on in that song.
Like I said before, music at its best is an extension of your subconscious self. Ideally, there is no gap between what you hear in your head and what comes out of your speakers. Many things can get in the way of this (technique, theory, equipment, etc.) but that is the goal of just about every musician I know. And whereas the subconscious is a collection of ALL the experiences a person has, it ALL comes out in the playing.
I like to compare it to my second favorite thing to do, cooking. I make a mean gumbo. I'm talking simmered all day, spicy as hell, meat-falls-apart, we don't need no stinkin' okra gumbo. If you think of your collective experience as that gumbo, there are major influences, such as whether I used Atlantic or Gulf shrimp, duck breast or duck thigh, andouille or smoked sausage. These are the things that people notice right away, and the things that label the gumbo as what it is. But waaaay in the background, there's little things that have a slight effect on the end flavor. What kind of salt did I use? Did I crack the pepper coarse or fine? Fresh thyme or dry? Everything that goes in the pot affects the taste, in ways that I'm not even aware of. Bass playing, and music in general, is the same. There's stuff going on in that pot that you aren't even aware of, and it all comes out to make your individual flavor.
With that, I am done with this thread (I hope). I think I've explained my point of view as well as I possibly can. Those who still disagree are just going to disagree. though they are obviously wrong.
