"Let's do Le Freak... it's real easy"

[LBS-bass]

I think we should think beyond just what a bar crowd will accept from us. We should have higher standards, in my opinion. One of the more successful bands I was in was really not very good but they had a large following due to three brothers in the band who had a lot of friends who showed up.

It really depends on what you're doing this for. I don't want other people to impose their values on me, and I try not to do it to others myself. What that means in practice is that, because I have fairly high standards, I have had to sift through a lot of bands that turned out to not be satisfying to my own standards. Ultimately I ended up in better bands because of that. What I didn't do was try to change people to mold them into what I wanted them to be. Well, maybe except for the one drummer who wanted me to help him grow.

But, here's the thing. People play music with others for a variety of reasons, and we all started somewhere. There has to be a place for all of it in the world, or nobody would ever have the opportunity to get good. That mediocre party band that's got a lot of friends will create a fun time for those people whose main goal is to drink a little beer and dance some. And there's nothing wrong with that. Just like there's nothing wrong with that group of teens who got together to play Black Sabbath covers in their garage back in 1975.

We change, and the things that make us happy change with us. It's all good.

 

[51PRI]

It really depends on what you're doing this for. I don't want other people to impose their values on me, and I try not to do it to others myself. What that means in practice is that, because I have fairly high standards, I have had to sift through a lot of bands that turned out to not be satisfying to my own standards. Ultimately I ended up in better bands because of that.....

Same here. In the band I mentioned above I was playing bass and we were playing a local bar three nights a week. Then I got a call from another band, a much better band, to sub with them on Monday nights. That ended up being an offer full time...a six night a week gig.

...What I didn't do was try to change people to mold them into what I wanted them to be.....

Yes, which is why I ultimately let go the idea of trying to change the blues band I'm in. They can't change and don't want to change.

......That mediocre party band that's got a lot of friends will create a fun time for those people whose main goal is to drink a little beer and dance some. And there's nothing wrong with that.....

I agree, and that was a fun band to play with, even though I had to get drunk every night to be able to stand it. It was really weird...sometimes the drummer, if he got tired, would quit playing in the middle of a song..just quit...and then come back in. Very odd. I'm still friends with them.

 

[SteveCS]

...
but should those things be overlooking in a 'blues jam' situation? Why doesn't the rhythm section get to stretch out in a jam session like the guitar players do?

Absolutely agree here. If you can't stretch out or push the boundaries a little at a jam session then where can you? Jams are not all about historical re-enactment or rock-star homage. They are also places to try things out, take a few risks and give everyone a chance to be themselves, and even shine for a bit, if that is what they want. In the context of bass that doesn't necessarily mean blistering solos, chop-fests or the like. It might mean feeling comfortable and confident to shift grooves around, play with different feels and pulses and develop ideas and lines in such ways that take the jam into new territories and interesting rabbit-holes. It also might mean keeping an open mind and being ready to 'tag along' should one or more of the other players decide to go there. Sometimes it will train-wreck and sometimes it will pull through, but sometimes it can exceed all expectations and lead to some truly memorable things happening. Playing safe, sticking to the script and/or not being prepared (or able) to change direction at a jam session is a surefire way of making sure nothing special happens.

 

[LBS-bass]

Absolutely agree here. If you can't stretch out or push the boundaries a little at a jam session then where can you? Jams are not all about historical re-enactment or rock-star homage. They are also places to try things out, take a few risks and give everyone a chance to be themselves, and even shine for a bit, if that is what they want. In the context of bass that doesn't necessarily mean blistering solos, chop-fests or the like. It might mean feeling comfortable and confident to shift grooves around, play with different feels and pulses and develop ideas and lines in such ways that take the jam into new territories and interesting rabbit-holes. It also might mean keeping an open mind and being ready to 'tag along' should one or more of the other players decide to go there. Sometimes it will train-wreck and sometimes it will pull through, but sometimes it can exceed all expectations and lead to some truly memorable things happening. Playing safe, sticking to the script and/or not being prepared (or able) to change direction at a jam session is a surefire way of making sure nothing special happens.

Dude, he was the house bassist. Ya'll keep trying to "gotcha" me on this by pretending you didn't read that part of it, and I'm calling it out as many times as you want to pretend this doesn't matter.

Of course a jam is for stretching out - for the jammers. The house bassist is getting paid to play a pro set in the genre to facilitate and set the tone for the rest of the jam. This is not negotiable in my book, you are getting paid to do a job and that guy did not do the job he was being paid to do, nor did he last very long.

Sure, why not have a jazz jam hosted by a guy who plays bluegrass two-step styles all night, then? Or maybe have an acoustic jam hosted by a guy who plays Stevie Ray Vaughn?

You see how silly this is? If I'm getting paid to play a genre, my job is to play the freaking genre.

 

[Spidey2112]

Dude, he was the house bassist.

This is the house drummer for my standup routine...



... meh, he's reliable and works for bananas. Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!

 

[LBS-bass]

This is the house drummer for my standup routine...



... meh, he's reliable and works for bananas. Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!

What cracks me up about all of this is that there might be nobody on here who mixes genres more than I do when I write music. But if someone hires me to play a blues set, I'm gonna play the blues.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, and everyone here for whom today is a holiday!

 

[pepj]

I agree. As I mentioned, if you're in a tribute band or recording tracks...that's a different level of playing. But there is a vast difference between an "entertainer" and a "musician". You can be a great entertainer and not be a very good musician. You can also be a great musician and not a very good entertainer.

I have played with guys who are so set on being perfect on stage that they forget to engage the audience. Tell a joke, flirt with the ladies, play those songs we all hate as musicians but the audiences love. Most people would rather see a band having fun than one standing up there playing every song note for note perfect.

LeFreak is a fun song. It's a great dance song. It's a crowd pleaser. I'd have fun playing that song in a band, but I am far from a professional bass player. If I had to choose between playing the song dumbed down to my level or not playing it...I'd choose to dumb it down. The audience will still enjoy it, I'll still have fun playing it, the band will still get paid, and not one member of the audience will give a rat's rump that we didn't play the song note for note.

If we consider we know our craft well and certainly better than 99% of the audience then maybe our role is also to educate...beyond what they expect.

I find plenty of audiences can be 'tone deaf' to a good band, but even when or if they dont know why, they still get that something was above the normal fare they get.
So yep, if your standards are high, you should show it, just accept that you might not get the fair premium for it...and thats because people are used to cheap music.

 

[SteveCS]

Dude, he was the house bassist. Ya'll keep trying to "gotcha" me on this by pretending you didn't read that part of it
...

As it happens I genuinely didn't take that part in since you said he was a stand-in. Of course if that's the job then that's the job.

 

[LBS-bass]

As it happens I genuinely didn't take that part in since you said he was a stand-in. Of course if that's the job then that's the job.

As is usually the case, we end up agreeing . I do agree with you and 51, in general, about being able to stretch and grow at a jam; that's a big part of how I went from being just a song-learner to a fairly decent improviser. But the point I was attempting to illustrate wasn't quite that.

 

[3Liter]

"A clunky guitar part will submarine this faster than grandmas potato casserole."

I feel like this line should illuminate much of what is holding us as a species back from reaching our potential.

I'll probably not read the whole thread but I though this was worth quoting. I play in a garage band with a guy that seems to have lost skill from the vitus. We both play guitar and he'll make the most simple part way more busy than it needs to be. It's seemingly gotten worse since the virus. The acoustic technique doesnt translate to electric guitar.

 

[basseux]

Okay, the actual text says "Any interest in doing this song real easy and I think it's pretty upbeat Le Freek. Chic" He's not big on spelling or punctuation.

But ARE YOU KIDDING? It's real easy? Maybe if you listen to it on your phone, and can't hear the bass, you could get that idea. Aghh... drummers.

It's easy if you are familiar with funk and practiced funk standards already.
But it won't be easy to make it sound right and tight.

The drums looks easy too but usually when it looks easy the difficulty is to be subtle enough to make it sound like funk, not like rock.

It's easy to play the right notes but it's hard to play them the right way so it sounds funk and afro.

But yeah it probably won't matter to a lot of people ...

 

[pepj]

As always, a relatively experienced drummer is key.
I played a horror sub last night with a truly oblivious drummer.
I cant believe he has been playing 30 years because he basically failed at everything.

What's really really worrying is that his bandmates don't know the issue either.