Local bass "hero"

[Cap'n Redbeard]

I play in a 4 piece cover band and we share our drummer with another local band. His other band was playing a gig at a pub so I went to check them out. It's a three piece classic rock trio made up of some well known and much loved musicians. The show was pretty much what I expected from some of the area's most talented musicians. The bass player is a twenty-something hipster type dude who has got some serious chops. He tends to take a line that requires 10 notes and plays 35 notes instead. While I can appreciate his flashy style, I think it kinda steps on the groove. Whether it's because of laziness or lack of talent on my part, I tend to stay more in the background with my playing. I add fills here and there but mostly I fly under the radar. In the couple hours I was there, I think he played 3 bass solos. People stand and applaud his talents, and rightly so. He is pretty amazing. I just feel like he should use a little more restraint. OR maybe I could take a lesson from him and possibly become less of an unknown. While I used to be a relatively popular musician in the area who had lots of musical opportunities, being away for almost a decade has left me somewhat in obscurity. Maybe I should up my game a bit, though it goes against my instincts as a musician to play on level 10 at all times. My guitar player, who was also at the show joked "If you played like that I'd leave the band". I responded " He doesn't just play the notes, he plays ALL the notes". Maybe I'm just getting passed my prime and jealous of the young bucks getting all the attention. Lol

 

[HubbardsFate]

In a band context, for the most part, I can't stand actual bass solos. The guy playing a bit busier might be alright (especially in the case of a trio) in order to just fill out/move the tunes a bit more, but full-on solos in a classic rock outfit? Three in one night? I dunno...I wouldn't care for it either...I think I remember an interview with Steve Harris a few years ago where he was asked why he disliked bass solos, and his response was "Because they're bloody boring, that's why!" - Which, with a few notable exceptions, pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject too. I love stuff like Roger Glover's little 10-second bass break on Deep Purple's "Pictures of Home", for example; tasteful, musically interesting, not overly flashy, and it changes up the song a bit. But if he did it on every song on every album, or even just two or three songs on every album? Meh...don't get me wrong, I love Glover...he is, in my opinion, one of the greatest (yet sadly under-appreciated) rock bassists on the planet. But the fact that he isn't busting out the solos all the time is one of the biggest reasons I view him in that way.

Getting back to context: One of the few guys I enjoy listening to solo-wise is Alain Caron, the guy is amazing on pretty much every level, and here's the thing: Caron has largely constructed his career not "just" as a bass player, but as a band leader and soloist...in other words, you (should) know heading into a show in which he is performing, that he will probably be soloing, and quite often at that. But let's face it, in jazz and jazz-rock fusion, soloing on bass is - right or wrong - more "acceptable" than in rock music. I'm sure that statement will make some people bristle, but that's how I see it - jazz/fusion is mostly instrumental, so it makes more sense for bassists to be playing flashier/busier than in most other genres of music.

Bottom line for me? It's one thing to be able to solo; it's another thing to know when and where to do it. Again - three in one night, in a classic rock trio? Maybe a bit excessive...

 

[rufus.K]

Everyone plays differently, the kid is doing his thing and everyone involved is happy. My internal psychologist tells me you're lusting after more ability and wish you had more notoriety. You just need reassurance that your playing is great as it is.

 

[two fingers]

It really depends on the band. There is a lot more room for that kind of thing in a three piece. Sure, I agree with you to some extent. But he may get away with it in his particular setting.

 

[Cap'n Redbeard]

Everyone plays differently, the kid is doing his thing and everyone involved is happy. My internal psychologist tells me you're lusting after more ability and wish you had more notoriety. You just need reassurance that your playing is great as it is.

If I'm being honest with myself, I think you're right.

 

[aaronious]

I play in a 4 piece cover band and we share our drummer with another local band. His other band was playing a gig at a pub so I went to check them out. It's a three piece classic rock trio made up of some well known and much loved musicians. The show was pretty much what I expected from some of the area's most talented musicians. The bass player is a twenty-something hipster type dude who has got some serious chops. He tends to take a line that requires 10 notes and plays 35 notes instead. While I can appreciate his flashy style, I think it kinda steps on the groove. Whether it's because of laziness or lack of talent on my part, I tend to stay more in the background with my playing. I add fills here and there but mostly I fly under the radar. In the couple hours I was there, I think he played 3 bass solos. People stand and applaud his talents, and rightly so. He is pretty amazing. I just feel like he should use a little more restraint. OR maybe I could take a lesson from him and possibly become less of an unknown. While I used to be a relatively popular musician in the area who had lots of musical opportunities, being away for almost a decade has left me somewhat in obscurity. Maybe I should up my game a bit, though it goes against my instincts as a musician to play on level 10 at all times. My guitar player, who was also at the show joked "If you played like that I'd leave the band". I responded " He doesn't just play the notes, he plays ALL the notes". Maybe I'm just getting passed my prime and jealous of the young bucks getting all the attention. Lol

If I had to pick you or him, having never heard either of you play. I'd pick you. People say I got chops, but I rarely use them. Like you said. It steps on the groove. If there's one thing I love, it's groove. No need to step on it.

 

[richntiff]

All I can take away from this is "why is a 20 something hipster" playing in a classic rock cover band??

 

[Cap'n Redbeard]

All I can take away from this is "why is a 20 something hipster" playing in a classic rock cover band??

Small town. It's what the locals like to hear. My band tries to stick to later stuff to stand out a bit, but we still gotta have a core of classics to keep the barflies happy

 

[Bodeanly]

I tend to "overplay" more in my three piece (one guitar) than in my four piece (two guitars). I'm not trying to cram in a buncha stuff or show off; it's more for filling in the extra space on songs that generally have more than one guitar, especially during a guitar solo.

 

[RichardW]

I think your guitarist paid you a compliment. It's called a "band" for a reason--it's multiple people playing together and (hopefully) creating something more than the sum of the parts. I don't have an opinion on the guy you saw. There have been plenty of "lead" bassists over the years. As long as his band mates don't mind, what's the problem?

 

[Gab124]

I think the only thing that matters, well two I guess, is if the band and more importantly the audience really like it. If they react more to busy bass than groove, well you are playing for them or you wouldn't be getting paid. Not all audiences are like that though. My drummer keeps telling me about a band he goes to see and mentions how busy the bass player is, over the top really. But the kicker is that everyone really likes him. I think the trick is not just that someone plays like that, but that they know how to do it and it compliments the songs. IDK, more power to diversity in music, like to see people push the envelope sometimes for a fresh look at how things could be done and not just how they have been done.

 

[pbass2]

Sounds like you're instincts are right, and your guitarist knows what time it is too. Don't worry about that kid. My story is probably not unusual, but I was a "bass hero" like that where I grew up( plus, in my area there weren't that many bassists to begin with - we're talking late 70's, early 80's). I did have quite surprising chops for a kid, or so I was constantly told. I could play stupid fast and riffy for someone that age, had great gear, etc. I'd play in cover bands with older guys and play like the Ox on Peter Frampton songs, or do riffage Squire would have been proud of during a Bad Company tune. I overplayed like crazy, and used the wrong tone for the context, etc. etc. I was determined to do "my thing" regardless of the musical setting. Not unusual for an immature musician. Needless to say, the glory was short-lived.

But as you might expect, once I learned to play for the song and become a better all-around, supportive bassist, thinking of the big picture and not just the bass, I started getting tons of work. Then I became a bass hero again for being "the pocket guy". That approach has ultimately put food on the table and opened up way more musical horizons and allowed me to learn about and play more different kinds of music than the other lead bass style ever would. I guess with age comes wisdom

 

[MattZilla]

Everybody here is wrong, they're being enablers of your laziness! Go learn some Eddie Van Halen solos an octave down, don some tight dress pants and grow an olde tymey moustachio and show that kid who's boss.

/sarc

congrats on having a tasteful and tactful bandmate.

 

[Genomatic]

Solid grooving always leaves more of an impression on me than the wank-fest.

 

[123321]

"Find yourself and kill it"- John Coltrane...

Seriously, play yourself and EVERYTHING's great. Sometimes, when "disturbed" by another's playing, after long thought, I realized the something within all of "that crap" that was somehow- part of me...

Finally, it will all "Gel" into youse!

Trick with all of this is finding others to play with of a similar enough mind where you can indeed be your self (and maybe factor in a little "X" factor with...)

Nothing like just pure honesty in music. I think it moves people more than flash...

 

[Timmy-Watts]

I've made my career as a freelance bassist by being a quick study, a great person to be around, a good reader, an extensive repertoire, a professional work ethic and attitude, and most of all, a great appropriate tone for all situations, and being committed to the music and the pocke . I have all kinds of chops. I rarely use them. It generally means a more musically satisfying experience for everyone, including me. When I take my solo on Cherokee and play all my bop lines when most (including me) would pass, that's when it gets interesting.

Point is, get a good sound and a good pocket. If you have chops, only flash them very occasionally to remind folks you have them. Otherwise it's not special. Or fun.

 

[Timmy-Watts]

PS... I got fired from a great steady jazz trio gig years back when I was at the peak of my chops fest phase. I look back and see why (the pianist/band leader was a more serious offender but that's a whole other story).

 

[pacojas]

don't worry about it, Cap. we had a local bass hero around town when i was a greenhorn. he would see me practicing scales at the park and show me these brilliant runs, but he couldn't get a steady gig. he played with a friends band briefly, but was fired for playing everyone's parts during the course of certain songs, lol.
he could entertain a large group of people by himself, though
he later ended up a homeless crackhead.

 

[123321]

don't worry about it, Cap. we had a local bass hero around town when i was a greenhorn. he would see me practicing scales at the park and show me these brilliant runs, but he couldn't get a steady gig. he played with a friends band briefly, but was fired for playing everyone's parts during the course of certain songs, lol.
he could entertain a large group of people by himself, though
he later ended up a homeless crackhead.

Sad... Bane of musically inclined people and artists in general...

 

[blue4]

I think if the crowd applauded and was entertained then he did his job well. He sounds as if he could work on some restraint between solos, but any more I'd love to hear a band that could pull off several bass solos a night and keep things entertaining. The world has had plenty of guitar solos, let's hear something different. I'd solo more myself, but I lack the imagination to pull it off consistently. I think the reason most bassists solos are boring is that it's a rare person who can hear a groove and build a solo that maintains that groove. A guitarist for example always has someone to maintain the groove for him. I'd actually love to hear bass players stretch out more in modern rock music
IMO anyway.