Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Kip Winger
- Thread starter DoggBisket
- Start date
I think he was actually a good front man in Winger, I though his voice was solid for that style, and obviously he was a good looking dude, which subjected him to a lot of "hater" criticism right off the bat.
As far as playing goes,well.. I couldn't say. If you listen the Winger stuff, he's so deep in the mix, you can barely hear it in a lot of the tracks. And I didn't follow him much when he was with AC.
I do remember one thing he said once, which was something roughly to the effect that he had to focus so much on the vocals, sometimes he had to just hope he hit all the right bass notes. He was only half-kidding. And while a lot of people could lay into him for that, I dunno, it was always made me sorta like him that he was humble enough to admit it.
In any case, I consider him more in the entertainment category than that of bassist. Whether or not that makes him a poser, I guess that depends on your definition.
As far as playing goes,well.. I couldn't say. If you listen the Winger stuff, he's so deep in the mix, you can barely hear it in a lot of the tracks. And I didn't follow him much when he was with AC.
I do remember one thing he said once, which was something roughly to the effect that he had to focus so much on the vocals, sometimes he had to just hope he hit all the right bass notes. He was only half-kidding. And while a lot of people could lay into him for that, I dunno, it was always made me sorta like him that he was humble enough to admit it.
In any case, I consider him more in the entertainment category than that of bassist. Whether or not that makes him a poser, I guess that depends on your definition.
I saw them a couple times in their heyday.
He was a player and had it good with the ladies. Little of both I guess.
Down Incognito is still a great song imho.
He was a player and had it good with the ladies. Little of both I guess.
Down Incognito is still a great song imho.
I remember the video for "Seventeen", he lets the bass hang around his neck a lot of the time but doesn't play it. Now one can do that with a guitar, but doing it with a bass looks ********. And since he states that he had to focus on the singing so much I wonder if he pulled a Blackie Lawless and had a roadie playing the bass behind the stage LOL.
Rickett Customs
Commercial User
Say what you will, I 've met Kip, hellava nice guy, good writer and still makes a living at writing and producing. Plus a Winger show here or there over the past few years, he's doing well, even if some commit him to the poser status.
I've heard and read stuff that says he is a pretty accomplished musician. Although, as stated above, he is so deep in the mix of those Winger albums, you can't tell by that stuff. I think being in a hair band coupled with the fact that he got so much attention for his looks makes trolls like Lars Ulrich hate him but that doesn't make him a good or bad musician either. What about those out there that have seen them live? Any thoughts?
He is talented, I saw him with Winger and solo, he can play...stuff with Alice Cooper, he has a great voice and some tasty lines.
Winger was a very solid all around musician, and an underrated bassist. Unfortunately he is most well known for involvement in a genre of music that gets pooped on.
I believe Kip was a busy studio player before AC and Winger. That's where Furnier (Alice) discovered him and hired him for his stage band. You can't work the studios if you're not really good.
I saw a video of a solo from when he was with AC. It was awful.
I saw winger in concert. He performed live like his videos; swinging the bass and hardly playing. The funny thing is that there was still bass in the mix. So either it was recorded or there was a stand-in.
I saw winger in concert. He performed live like his videos; swinging the bass and hardly playing. The funny thing is that there was still bass in the mix. So either it was recorded or there was a stand-in.
I don't think someone could hang with a drummer like Rod Morgenstein if they were a sub-standard bass player or musician. All those guys in Winger could really play and sing which naturally tended to tick some people off. They got slammed for having an image/frontman that made them popular with teenage girls. How is that any worse than Bon Jovi or Poison? Kip Winger was crucified, unfairly IMO.
Posing for the cover of Playgirl doesn't help either.
Playgirl Cover = Nail in the coffin
Sure they could play, but I still don't see how someone could defend stuff like "She's Only 17" & "Headed for a Heartbeark" with a straight face.
I have some guilty pleasures in my music collection as well, but I would never try to defend them as great art.
Just because someone is a great musician doesn't mean that they write great songs.
I have some guilty pleasures in my music collection as well, but I would never try to defend them as great art.
Just because someone is a great musician doesn't mean that they write great songs.
Kip was one of the counsellors when I went to Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in February of 2006. He is an excellent musician.
He was hand-picked by Alice Cooper to play bass. Alice can have anyone he wants.
He was hand-picked by Alice Cooper to play bass. Alice can have anyone he wants.
The fact that he may not have played live is only half the story, IMO. Back in their heyday, Winger got as much crap as they do now. But realistically, playing in a band with a guitarist and a keyboardist/guitarist, sonically the bass would end up very low in the mix anywway. Let us not forget that bass is a supporting role, and he did it well. So he used a standin live. Isn't something I'd do, but in a live situation, it's about entertainment and sometimes it's ok to do little things to make the whole sound better.
