Issue with a new band

[TBrett]

Gut feelings can be tricky. While I'm a proponent of trusting one's intuition, it can often be difficult to know what, exactly, those feelings are trying to tell you. Sometimes it's not what you think, and the feeling turns out to be about something else. Certainly, I don't think it's necessarily a waste of time to play with less experienced musicians, but as to whether it will be a rewarding experience for you, only you can decide that. Bad feelings aside, I think the campsite rule applies in most situations: always leave it better than you found it. So if you do end up playing with these guys for a while, stay open to new ideas, share your knowledge, have fun, and enjoy. You might find it more rewarding than you anticipate. Tom's Ramone's story is a good case in point. Those guys may only have had three notes in a bassline, but wow, how those lines were delivered! Also, having a more experienced player in a band can raise everyone's abilities to a new level. As posted in another thread here recently, it's amazing how quickly people can learn when they're ready. Way back when I was an actor, I found that the really top artists were the ones who made even the most inexperienced novice look brilliant. That was a truly humbling and amazing lesson to learn. Just a thought. Still, you've got to do what works for you. I'll be curious to hear what you decide!

 

[Moosehead1966]

I'm sort of offended but not in an angry way. You can practice at home to keep your "chops". So playing with others who are not as "skilled" as you shouldn't be an issue.

I also want to say that usually when I read posts like this or talk to people who say stuff like this that they are jazz type guys or people who usually have "extended range" basses (more then 5 strings). I'm not saying you are, just saying that is typically my experience.

Space and time are much more important then any technical abilities you have. Playing and keeping time, driving the groove, with simple tunes is often harder then playing a billion notes, knowing all the scales and all the other things that are often confused with being skilled. If you can actually hold the less experienced and skilled guys together and cause the rhythm to be locked, tight and smooth, you are using and learning a skiill more important in my book.

Jeff Berlin, Mark Egan, Michael Manring, Jaco, Stanley Clarke and a host of others clearly have skills much better and deeper then mine. However, they don't or can't keep time and groove any better then me or a million other bassists, and often take so much of a lead role that they are just like a lead guitar. Restraint is something that is harder then any other skill on the bass.

That is my opinion, but I hope it gives you insight. The skills you would keep current playing with this band are just as important as the skills you would keep active playing with a more complex, "challenging" band.

+1...I'm definitely in 'this camp' of opinion

Thanks Richard for saying it better than I could have.

Marc

 

[mellowinman]

I didn't say it for the admiration. So please, thank you but I am not looking for that.

I said it to make the point, as many musicians find the Ramones, a lot of punk, and Gene Simmons to be inferior musically. I'm sure there are a bunch of guys here who did a song or two here and there with them back in the day. If you were in the scene, it happened, just depended on where you were or who was having the gigd/party.

I was just lucky enough to live and play in the NYC area. Just being here was and is a huge advantage. I have had the opportunity, along with many others, to run into legendary musicians in a lot of the clubs and after hours coffee houses where we all would just jam or sing acapella.

A great bass player and friend of mine used to go to see Les Paul play every Monday in the city. He was asked to sit in for two songs with Les and his guys about a year before Les passed. We are lucky. Not heroes.

Doesn't matter. The three core Ramones are no longer with us, and they really did something for music, and rock and roll in particular. Did you enjoy them?

I met Mick Fleetwood once, (I was his waiter,) met Cory Wells of Three Dog Night, (I was playing an acoustic guitar and singing, on a curb outside a Greyhound Station in Utah at 6 am, and he said I was a good singer!) and played in the same club as Deborah Harry. Oh, and my all original band opened for the Little River Band, who probably had few if any original members.

I'm intensely proud of those rock and roll moments, but none of them even come close to actually sitting in with the Ramones!

OK, you're not my hero. Fine.

But that's still pretty damn cool!

 

[TRichardsbass]

Doesn't matter. The three core Ramones are no longer with us, and they really did something for music, and rock and roll in particular. Did you enjoy them?

I met Mick Fleetwood once, (I was his waiter,) met Cory Wells of Three Dog Night, (I was playing an acoustic guitar and singing, on a curb outside a Greyhound Station in Utah at 6 am, and he said I was a good singer!) and played in the same club as Deborah Harry. Oh, and my all original band opened for the Little River Band, who probably had few if any original members.

I'm intensely proud of those rock and roll moments, but none of them even come close to actually sitting in with the Ramones!

OK, you're not my hero. Fine.

But that's still pretty damn cool!

It was cool. Its probably more cool now that time has passed and they are legendary. I still remember just about every detail of that night, well, every detail from when I got to play until the bar closed...

It was cool just to get to be on stage and hearing Johnny's guitar from behind me, and to have Joey look my way and giggle when I blew a modulation.

I hope all of the peeps here on TB get a chance to have a moment like that someday.

 

[lweastdad]

They're nice guys and I like most of the songs being played.. the band is fairly local and the gigs are all paid so I'd be making some cash.

Gee it sounds like you've got 99% of band problems beat. Just relax, enjoy the music and have fun! With some practice the others may start coming up to your level.

Story here: I'm in a band with a bunch of old friends. They are all great guys and have been friends of mine for over 40 years (since HS). I'm not the greatest musician in the band nor am I the worst. The important thing is that we love playing together and play songs we like to play. One of our guitarists used to play in high school but his right arm was hurt in an industrial accident shortly after HS. He could not play for more than 30 years. Finally, he was over at our other guitarists house one night and picked up a guitar. He had a major amount of rust but discovered that over the years, his arm came back to the point where he could think about playing. We encouraged him to get going on it and he worked his a$$ off for over a year. Now he is playing very well and is having a great time.

Encourage your band mates to work hard and stretch themselves - you never know what could happen. Good luck!

 

[Liam Wald]

I look at being able to play lots of notes similar to being able to type fast as a writer. It may look flashy, and sometimes can help you produce, but it has no bearing on the quality of the output.

Hey Jive,
That is a great analogy.
All the players in the band I am in have been playing for at least 40 years pro. These guys got the chops. The band leaders favorite saying that we hear pretty much constantly is, "Less is more."
He's a really good leader and arranger. Our sound is deceptively simple and spacious but the interaction is quite complex.