Joined a tribute band

[ArtechnikA]

I blame @BassCliff for this ;-)

Startup Willie Nelson tribute band. BL has been doing the WN thing on a solo basis for years so yeah, he's good enough to pull it off - got the sound, the look, and the guitar chops.

Rehearsals are going well, first show scheduled in a couple of weeks.

I'm the 3rd bassist in this project. First couple of guys had trouble with the material. I was aware of Willie Nelson's work but hadn't studied it closely. It is _not_ just 3-Chord Country. Sure, some of it is. Then you get into "Stardust" and have to play jazz standards like "All of Me," "Blue Skies," and "Georgia." The rest is a mix of World, country swing, jam band, s-l-o-w songs like "Golden Earrings," and of course 3CC. All played to Willie's signature rubato which means you better be able to keep a steady groove without needing the vocal as a reference.

Lineup is Willie, 2nd guitar, bass, drums, keys, harp. There may be plans to add pedal steel for the larger shows. Everybody's competent - in their own way - and rehearsals are mostly just for fine-tuning. I think we'll be OK for our first show and then it's up to BL to go sell the thing.

I have a pair of jeans (haven't worn jeans in about 20 years) and a hat inbound from Shepler's.

 

[5StringBlues]

Nice. Certainly a wealth of material to choose from.

 

[CallMeAl]

Cool! We do always on my mind, and for a ballad, it’s a very fun bass line.

have you settled on an axe yet?

short n sweet article on Bee Spears

 

[Oddly]

Cool. I remember starting a thread on Willie's timing here a while back, and someone said something to the effect that he's essentially a jazz player with a country voice.
Hope it all goes as well as Basscliff's project, and looking forward to the reports!

Also...no Nudie suit?

 

[IamGroot]

Is smoking marijuana a requirement for the gig?

 

[5StringBlues]

Willie's songs are interspersed throughout these videos, but the band in '74 is some of the groovingest, funky country music I've ever heard.


The very epitome of a "tight but loose" band.




I look forward to hearing clips from ya'll when you get it together.

 

[Paulabass]

Congrats!! I did a Willie tribute briefly, great music.
Wendell Ferguson wrote- Why do Christmas songs have so many chords? and Willie wrote Crazy. A good working knowledge of jazz goes a long way. Even simpler stuff like Swingin' Doors, and On the road again is fun.

 

[ArtechnikA]

Cool! We do always on my mind, and for a ballad, it’s a very fun bass line.

I'll take a closer look. Since I had to learn a 90-minute show in 3 weeks, it's pretty much just the basics, although I do get a little jazzy on 'All of Me.'

have you settled on an axe yet?

Since I'm still having to read charts more than I'd like, I'm relying on my fretted Roscoe SKB 5 for almost everything so far.
Normally my #1 is a fretless Roscoe 6, which will still be a showtime backup. With the current setlist, songs I'd prefer the fretless are interspersed with others and I'm not counting on there being time for instrument changes. We will see. I've been watching a lot of Willie Live videos and of course none of his players ever played fretless (as far as I have been able to determine) so it's easy to fall back to "how does Willie's band play it" which is a legitimate approach to a tribute band, IMO... I'm using EB Cobalt (i.e. 'Slinky') Flats, about 70% neck pickup, treble rolled off for that 'P-Bass' vibe.

short n sweet article on Bee Spears

Thanks !

 

[ArtechnikA]

Also...no Nudie suit?

Let's see the gig money coming in first...
I can always wear jeans, so the hat is so far all I've had to spend on this project...

 

[ArtechnikA]

Is smoking marijuana a requirement for the gig?

Better not be - I never touch the stuff.
As far as I can see, this is an all non-smoking lineup.
Even Willie has quit, reportedly...
Willie Nelson has quit marijuana smoking after breathing issues

 

[CallMeAl]

I'll take a closer look. Since I had to learn a 90-minute show in 3 weeks, it's pretty much just the basics, although I do get a little jazzy on 'All of Me.'

Never bothered to learn the recording 100%, but it’s a great progression and lends itself to some nice descending stuff

Willie Live videos and of course none of his players ever played fretless (as far as I have been able to determine) so it's easy to fall back to "how does Willie's band play it" which is a legitimate approach to a tribute band, IMO

A tribute band is about the only time I would care about looks and if the bass “fits” (as I’m a “I’ll make my P bass work for anything” kinda guy )

Looks like Bee mostly used that Les Paul bass for live. Anything Post-Bee, bassist usually has a P. If there’s ever been a good excuse to get a new toy, this is it!

 

[SLO Surfer]

If there’s ever been a good excuse to get a new toy, this is it!

Yeah I’d say looks are just as important (if not more important) as sound in tribute acts. Maybe get a $100 used squier P bass just to get started.

Do you know why there’s such high turnover of bassists in this band? That’s kind of a red flag.

 

[ArtechnikA]

Yeah I’d say looks are just as important (if not more important) as sound in tribute acts. Maybe get a $100 used squier P bass just to get started.

I appreciate where you're coming from but that's not going to happen. Certainly not without any audience feedback. I haven't closed the door on the possibility of a Roscoe Classic in the future - but this band is going to have to work a lot before that can happen. I don't own any 4-string anything and I can't see that changing. (Maybe when I can afford an upright...)

Do you know why there’s such high turnover of bassists in this band? That’s kind of a red flag.

A few reasons were cited. The first guy had a 2-hr drive each way and in addition to reliability issues, couldn't handle the jazzy stuff. The 2nd guy also couldn't do the jazzy stuff and wasn't learning all the material in the show setlist. He was playing a fretless, and not well... (I brought mine to the audition and after playing 4 of the 5 audition songs on the fretted, pulled out the fretless and showed 'em how it's done.) They both had timing issues coping with the rubato. In doing my pre-audition practice with YouTube Willie I learned in 10 minutes "ignore Willie, just count..."

 

[bbh]

Yeah there’s a lot of old jazz and blues movements that are not common to all of us.
Intuition will probably be your best friend.
Sounds like a good gig. Enjoy.

 

[Engle]

That sounds like a pretty cool gig! I’ve mostly listened to Willie’s earlier stuff and there’s a fair bit of jazz mixed in. Enjoy!

 

[aprod]

You have my condolences.

 

[JRA]

congrats, ArtechnikA ! nice to snag a gig that promises to be rewarding. i hope you have some fun with it, too!

 

[nixdad]

I blame @BassCliff for this ;-)

Startup Willie Nelson tribute band. BL has been doing the WN thing on a solo basis for years so yeah, he's good enough to pull it off - got the sound, the look, and the guitar chops.

Rehearsals are going well, first show scheduled in a couple of weeks.

I'm the 3rd bassist in this project. First couple of guys had trouble with the material. I was aware of Willie Nelson's work but hadn't studied it closely. It is _not_ just 3-Chord Country. Sure, some of it is. Then you get into "Stardust" and have to play jazz standards like "All of Me," "Blue Skies," and "Georgia." The rest is a mix of World, country swing, jam band, s-l-o-w songs like "Golden Earrings," and of course 3CC. All played to Willie's signature rubato which means you better be able to keep a steady groove without needing the vocal as a reference.

Lineup is Willie, 2nd guitar, bass, drums, keys, harp. There may be plans to add pedal steel for the larger shows. Everybody's competent - in their own way - and rehearsals are mostly just for fine-tuning. I think we'll be OK for our first show and then it's up to BL to go sell the thing.

I have a pair of jeans (haven't worn jeans in about 20 years) and a hat inbound from Shepler's.

Sounds like fun! Congrats!

 

[LBS-bass]

Sounds like an awesome gig that has potential, if the BL does it right. I'm eager to see where this goes for you and am wishing you lots of success with it.

 

[MrLenny1]

Good luck on the new gig.
Sounds like it will work well.